His father and mother were in a political marriage, and they had him and his siblings.

They were respectful, but distant.

There was nothing wrong with it, really. They appeared to be a happy couple in public, but...

Miles Sherman’s mood darkened, but he didn’t let it show.

’In time, perhaps he could bring himself to accept it.’

"Whose family is she from?" Erin Xavier asked, rubbing his chin. In their circle, there were only so many Omegas of marriageable age.

Miles Sherman didn’t want to discuss the topic any further with Erin Xavier. He turned away. "I’m heading back."

Erin Xavier could tell Miles Sherman didn’t want to talk about it. And it made sense. ’Who would be happy about being forced to marry an Omega they had absolutely no interest in?’

Just imagining himself in that situation was enough to make him feel sick with disgust.

Seeing Miles Sherman’s retreating back, Erin Xavier hurried to catch up.

Zoe Pierce soon noticed that when Erin Xavier returned, he wasn’t running his mouth anymore. He shot a couple of glances at her resting in Chase Shaw’s arms, then walked over to Ethan Grant.

"Just leave him like this?" he asked, crouching down to poke Ethan Grant’s face. The Alpha’s spiritual power had only just been temporarily soothed. He was still covered in a cold sweat, not yet conscious.

Ethan Grant was a complete mess, intermittent, muffled groans escaping his lips.

Nathan Lockwood glanced at the time. "The White Mallow Flower still needs a while to take full effect." That explained why Ethan Grant wasn’t conscious yet.

Clearly, Erin Xavier was also familiar with the White Mallow Flower. The group fell silent, waiting.

By the time the moon was high in the sky, Zoe Pierce had fallen asleep, leaning against Chase Shaw.

She didn’t know how much time had passed. In a drowsy haze, Zoe Pierce felt the previously still body behind her begin to stir.

She didn’t fully register it. With a soft hum, she nuzzled against his chest and drifted back to sleep.

But Chase Shaw was wide awake.

The brief rest had fully cleared his head, but the scene that greeted him left him stunned.

There was a delicate Omega nestled in his arms.

His stirring seemed to disturb her. She frowned, nuzzled her face against him, and continued to sleep.

His arms were still wrapped around her waist. Chase Shaw lowered his head, studying the person in his embrace.

She was curled on her side, her body pliant and soft. Asleep, only half her face was visible. Her head rested in the crook of his arm, her breathing steady and peaceful.

It felt as if he could crush her with the slightest effort.

The moment the rhythm of his breathing changed, the other three noticed.

"You’re awake, Chase." Erin Xavier sat by the fire, idly twirling a branch. "How are you feeling?"

Chase Shaw instantly released Zoe Pierce. Her body slumped to the side, but he quickly caught her shoulder to keep her from falling.

Hearing Erin Xavier’s words, he subconsciously focused inward, sensing his spiritual power.

It had been so long since he’d felt such tranquility. The turbulent sea of his spiritual power felt as if it were brand new.

He finally realized that the person he had clung to so desperately in his delirium was Zoe Pierce.

Nathan Lockwood was already there, gently taking Zoe Pierce from him.

The movement wasn’t much, but it was enough to wake Zoe Pierce. She rubbed her eyes, startled to find herself leaning against Nathan Lockwood.

She turned her head and met Chase Shaw’s gray eyes.

Gone was the beast-like savagery from before. He took a damp towel and wiped the blood from his face, revealing his sculpted features.

His voice was deep, laced with an innate laziness as he answered Erin Xavier, "Yeah. I’m good."

More than one person had now commented on how good Zoe Pierce’s soothing ability was. Erin Xavier was getting genuinely curious. ’Just how incredible must her soothing ability be to earn praise from both Nathan Lockwood and Chase Shaw?’

He opened his mouth, about to ask Zoe Pierce to try soothing him, but he caught Miles Sherman’s warning gaze and reluctantly held his tongue.

Zoe Pierce sat up, joining Nathan Lockwood and the others around the campfire. Having only gotten half a night’s sleep, she couldn’t stop yawning.

Nathan Lockwood took a special blanket for Omegas from her Space Button. Although an Omega’s clothes were designed for warmth, he had still packed a soft blanket in her Space Button.

Sure enough, as Zoe Pierce wrapped herself in the blanket, she let out a sigh of contentment at the soft feeling.

Nathan Lockwood then took out a small spray bottle and handed it to her.

Zoe Pierce took it automatically, staring at it in confusion. The label read: Freshener.

It took Zoe Pierce a few seconds to remember. This freshener was for eliminating the scent of pheromones.

She currently smelled faintly of Cedar.

The pheromones Chase Shaw had been unconsciously releasing had clung to her for hours.

Zoe Pierce wanted to say it wasn’t necessary. Because of the problem with her glands, Alpha pheromones couldn’t linger on her for very long.

The scent would fade on its own soon enough, but meeting Nathan Lockwood’s eyes, she found herself unable to say the words.

His eyes were fixed on the spray bottle.

’Fine, I’ll spray it. It’s not like it’ll hurt anything.’

Zoe Pierce sprayed the freshener a few times. The faint Cedar scent on her gradually faded until, in a moment, it was gone. All that remained was the faint, dried smell of blood.

As Chase Shaw caught the dissipating scent in the air, the hand wiping his face paused. He shot a sidelong glance at Zoe Pierce, then quickly looked away.

Once he was more or less clean, he tossed the towel—now stained with so much blood its original color was unrecognizable—directly into the fire.

"I ran into a Weeping Beast on my way here," Chase Shaw said, getting straight to the point. "This A-level Alpha was affected by its spiritual power."

Among Advanced Xeno-beasts, it’s not uncommon to find those with special abilities. Some Xenobeasts even possess spiritual power and can affect an Alpha’s spiritual power. The Weeping Beast is one of them.

"I felt something was off as soon as I got close." The elimination buttons issued by the academy could emit an attack powerful enough to hurt even an S-Class Xeno-beast in a pinch, so Chase Shaw hadn’t planned on getting involved. "That Weeping Beast’s spiritual power was strange. Even I was affected."

His spiritual power was prone to rampages, but not to the point where an A-level Xeno-beast could provoke one.

And yet, for some inexplicable reason, he was affected.

So, he turned the tables and killed the Xeno-beast.

"And then, I found this." From his pocket, Chase Shaw took out a broken, knuckle-sized plastic syringe.

The fact that this special syringe, capable of piercing a Xeno-beast’s hide, had been found on an abnormal Xeno-beast, inevitably raised suspicions.

Nathan Lockwood took the syringe. It was empty. With just the container, there was no way to know what it had held, and no direct evidence to prove anything.

As they were studying the syringe, a groan suddenly sounded from the ground.

"Water... My head hurts..."

Ethan Grant, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly struggled to sit up. He shook his head, trying hard to focus his vision.

’Am I dreaming? Why am I seeing Zoe Pierce and Nathan Lockwood again?’