Nathan Lockwood had to count himself lucky that she had feelings for them.

Otherwise, she could have completely disregarded whether they lived or died.

Why did she have to be with them? She could have just flipped the whole table and said she wasn’t playing this kind of game.

But Zoe Pierce’s heart softened. She asked.

She asked if this was what they wanted.

Her feelings for them had become the leverage he held over her.

She didn’t want to lose them, just as they didn’t want to lose her.

Nathan Lockwood’s hand finally dared to caress her cheek. Her skin, soft as a baby’s, slowly transferred its warmth to him.

"Zoe."

"Then who do you want to be the first one to be with you?" Nathan Lockwood asked in a low voice, posing another sharp question.

Who was it.

Who held the number one spot in your heart.

A month was long enough for jealousy to warp a person, but like a fine wine aged in anticipation, it also made the result incredibly tantalizing.

If she didn’t give them an answer today, none of them would back down.

Zoe Pierce looked up at Nathan Lockwood. To her, there seemed to be no difference between any of them.

But she could tell from her Perception that after Nathan Lockwood spoke, the breathing of everyone behind her hitched.

They were tense, waiting for the answer.

Zoe Pierce reached out, feeling a sense of reckless abandon. She felt she had been drawn into a strange circle, led along by Nathan Lockwood.

Her eyes were calm as she suddenly reached out and caressed Nathan Lockwood’s face. "Nathan Lockwood, who do you want me to choose?"

A flicker of something crossed Nathan Lockwood’s eyes. The answer was obvious enough; he didn’t believe for a second that Zoe Pierce didn’t know.

But Zoe Pierce insisted on making him say it. "Do you want me to choose you?"

Nathan Lockwood’s fingers brushed the corner of her lips. The cherry-pink color, combined with her current, somewhat cold expression, was as beautiful and alluring as ever.

"Choose me."

"Zoe Pierce, I want you." ’Look only at me. Belong only to me.’

Zoe Pierce withdrew her hand. "Fine."

Nathan Lockwood glanced up to see the expressions on the others’ faces: disappointment, regret, and a bit of displeasure. Some suppressed it, some did not.

But more than anything, there was an undisguisable jealousy.

He gave Zoe Pierce a small smile, then took her delicate hand in his. "Zoe, for this month, I’ll be your temporary boyfriend."

He was already pushing his luck.

He was blurring the lines of being a suitor and jumping straight to the role of her boyfriend to be by her side.

Nathan Lockwood felt like he had been driven mad long ago. After all, seeing the intensely suppressed and controlled expressions on the others’ faces brought him a rare sense of pleasure.

They had each gotten a head start, one by one. This time, it was finally his turn.

’Zoe, his Zoe... After this month, he’d probably be consumed by jealousy too.’

’After all, desire is never easily satisfied.’

’Once you’ve tasted her sweetness, the pain of losing it again would be immense.’

He knew all of this, yet he stubbornly chose this beginning anyway.

’An insatiable abyss of desire.’

’All for this little bit of sweetness.’

’Was it worth it?’

The unique warmth of an Omega flowed ceaselessly from her palm into his.

He looked down at the silent Zoe Pierce and curled his lip into a smile.

Chase Shaw and the others were like front-row spectators at a play, with a crystal-clear view of their clasped hands.

It was glaring.

But they couldn’t say a word.

They were mad with jealousy, yet they had to endure it.

On the way back, Nathan Lockwood was likely the only happy one. The rest were silent.

Just as they were about to leave the forest, Nathan Lockwood voluntarily let go of Zoe Pierce’s hand. Seeing her look up at him, he said slowly, "Zoe, we won’t cause you any trouble."

A month isn’t a long time, but it isn’t short, either.

If they were to show their affection for her in front of outsiders, it would only cause people to look at her strangely.

That wouldn’t be good for her.

They only ever wanted what was best for her.

This sentence wasn’t just for Zoe Pierce; it was also for the others behind him. A warning not to cause her any trouble.

Ryan Jacobs spotted a few figures from a distance. When he could clearly see it was Zoe Pierce and the others, he let out a huge sigh of relief. "Alright, you all head back to the Starship and rest. Leave the rest to your instructor."

Nathan Lockwood acted naturally, relaying all his deductions and information about the forest to Ryan Jacobs.

He watched Zoe Pierce’s figure as she boarded the Starship, then turned back and said, as if offhandedly, "Zoe, I’ll come find you in a bit."

Ryan Jacobs looked at the others’ strange expressions, his brow furrowing. ’Why do Miles and the others look so grim after this trip?’

But he quickly put the thought aside and said, "A group we just captured has already confessed. The plants in this forest have hallucinogenic properties. They used that and then cut off the signal."

An ordinary person would never be able to find their way out.

"But another group already escaped in a Hovercar. We were short on manpower."

"We’ll deal with it later." There were still too few of them; it was too much effort to try and catch everyone.

Ryan Jacobs checked the time, estimating that reinforcements would arrive in a few more hours.

After finishing his report, Nathan Lockwood, under the intense gazes of Chase Shaw and Erin Xavier, walked leisurely toward Zoe Pierce’s room on the Starship.

Leaving Miles and the other two behind.

"That’s enough," Miles Sherman said suddenly, looking at Erin Xavier and Chase Shaw. "This foolishness has to have a limit."

He started to move, but Erin Xavier blocked his path with his body, head lowered. "Miles, what are you trying to do?"

Miles Sherman pressed his lips together. "Forcing Zoe to make this choice... it’s meaningless."

Miles had to admit that he wasn’t without his own desires, but once back on the Starship, his thoughts had cooled and cleared, and he immediately saw the absurdity of this whole selection process.

They were all pressuring Zoe Pierce.

"So, are you trying to stop Nathan?" Erin Xavier asked.

Miles let out a long, heavy breath. "It shouldn’t be like this, should it?"

Every time he pictured Zoe Pierce’s shattered expression, Miles felt that this never should have happened in the first place.

Hearing this, Erin Xavier turned his face to the side, his gaze not meeting Miles’s. "Miles, you’re a good person. I’ve never been one."

"You can afford to be noble. I can’t."

"You can give up this month. I can’t."

The most important premise of all was that Zoe Pierce had agreed.

If she had shown even the slightest objection, Erin Xavier might have had to continue enduring, enduring until he broke down.

But now, Nathan Lockwood had torn open a path. He knew it was deliberate, that it was a trap, but he was still willing to jump right in.

Miles looked at Chase Shaw, who was standing silently to the side. His eyes were also downcast, but like Erin Xavier, his body was blocking Miles’s way.

"We’re willing to accept the outcome of our wager."

If, in the end, Zoe Pierce didn’t choose him, Erin Xavier would be resentful, but he would no longer be able to deceive himself: his place in her heart had lost out to someone else’s.

But right now, the war had not yet begun.

He was resentful and unwilling to admit defeat just like this, to hand her over to someone else.

"Miles, we will absolutely never force her to do anything she doesn’t want to do." This was the first time he had ever cherished an Omega in his heart; how could he possibly make her cry?