The Alpha's oppressive aura weighing on Zoe Pierce shattered like a soap bubble. Turning the tables, she instantly suppressed Nathan Lockwood's spiritual power.
Just as Nathan Lockwood had enveloped her spiritual power moments before, Zoe Pierce now enveloped his, rendering it useless.
But in the next second, she stumbled. Her hands were pinned high above her head, her back slammed against a tree, and a muffled grunt escaped her lips.
Even with his spiritual power suppressed by Zoe Pierce, Nathan Lockwood's body—honed by a warrior's relentless training—reacted almost instantly to subdue her.
His eyes were filled with utter astonishment. Even his perpetually cold expression couldn't hide his shock as he simply stared at Zoe Pierce.
She met his gaze, defiant and unyielding. A fire seemed to burn in her clear eyes. Her chin was lifted, and her chest heaved violently. Though pinned against the tree, she simply bit her lip, refusing to let another gasp escape.
They remained in that position for a few seconds before Nathan Lockwood abruptly released her hands and retreated several steps.
Zoe Pierce turned her head away and wordlessly rubbed her right wrist with her left hand.
"Sorry."
Nathan Lockwood covered his mouth, uncharacteristically flustered. "I didn't mean to do anything to you."
The moment he released her, her enveloping spiritual power receded.
Zoe Pierce kept her gaze lowered, not responding to his words.
He'd just gone too far.
Pinning her against the tree like that... the gesture had been far too intimate.
A strange silence fell between them. Zoe Pierce had no idea what she could possibly say. She had been completely exposed—her spiritual power.
At this point, she was ready to throw caution to the wind. 'Whatever. If Nathan Lockwood wants to make an issue of this, there's nothing I can do about it.'
She just hated it—hated the feeling of not being in control, hated his condescending attitude.
"I..."
"You know now. So, what are you going to do?" Zoe Pierce cut him off before he could speak.
Her beautiful, delicate face was expressionless, even colder than before.
A light breeze rustled through the woods, sweeping strands of her ponytail across her cheek. Zoe Pierce stood there coldly, tucking the loose hair behind her ear.
Nathan Lockwood's gaze darkened, and his Adam's apple bobbed. "I can teach you."
Zoe Pierce was stunned. "What?"
In the distance, Ethan Grant was trying to sneak a probe with his spiritual power. Nathan Lockwood split his focus, sending a mental warning in that direction as his heavy gaze returned to Zoe Pierce. "I can teach you... how to use your spiritual power."
Zoe Pierce had absolutely no idea what Nathan Lockwood was trying to do.
'What was he saying?'
'Did I mishear him?'
'He wants to teach me?'
"Huh?" It was the only stunned sound she could manage after a long moment.
Nathan Lockwood spoke to her as if he were calmly analyzing pros and cons. "Your spiritual power is very special."
"But your methods of attack are too one-dimensional. You have no training; you're relying purely on instinct." 'If she had a few more tricks up her sleeve, I'd probably be on the ground right now instead of talking to her.'
Zoe Pierce pressed her lips together. She knew everything Nathan Lockwood said was true.
Compared to what Nathan Lockwood had just done, she was like a child fighting a fully grown adult—a child who possessed a great treasure but had no idea how to use it, against a man who had been training his entire life.
Naturally, she had lost. There was no question about it.
"Why would you help me?" Zoe Pierce finally lifted her eyes to meet his, her calm gaze making her features look even more exquisite.
An image of her eyes flashed through Nathan Lockwood's mind—the stark difference between how they looked just now and in this moment.
His heart gave a few sudden, rapid beats.
"I'm curious. Curious about your spiritual power," he said, giving a high-minded excuse. "Your spiritual power... it's like an Alpha's."
'She obviously knows she's special, or she wouldn't be hiding it from everyone.'
'If I hadn't caught a glimpse of it, she would have probably kept it carefully under wraps, never letting it show.'
"I'm curious to see how far you could go with proper training."
"Right now, you're my teammate. We'll be stuck together for at least another month."
"Want to find out, Zoe Pierce? To see what you could become with training?"
Every word he spoke was an enticement, making her heart pound.
"As an apology for my actions just now, I'll help you keep this a secret. And I'll provide you with targeted training," he added at the very end.
It was only then that Zoe Pierce realized just how much his earlier actions had bothered Nathan Lockwood.
She pressed her lips together. "That's not enough."
"Tell me one piece of information. You said you'd give me one piece every three days. Tell me one now."
Seeing that he was genuinely apologetic, Zoe Pierce pressed her advantage.
She knew she was pushing her luck, but for some reason, Nathan Lockwood didn't seem annoyed. Instead, he said, "Your brother lost a bet some time ago. He owes a huge sum of money."
Having heard Damien Pierce mention a ledger before, Zoe Pierce already suspected it had to do with his debts.
It was just that she had no one she could rely on, so she had no way of investigating it herself.
Hearing it from Nathan Lockwood's lips, she felt a sense of grim confirmation.
Still not satisfied, she pressed, "The accident involving my parents and me... does it have anything to do with my brother?"
But this time, Nathan Lockwood didn't answer. "You said one piece of information," he replied.
Zoe Pierce couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes.
'I should have just asked that question directly instead of beating around the bush.'
But the thought that she only had to wait three more days for the answer was enough to make her hold her tongue for now.
'On the bright side, Nathan Lockwood is an S-Class Alpha; training me would be a piece of cake for him. It's like I've gotten an experienced teacher for free.'
'And this joint exam is long enough. Maybe by the time it's over, I'll have gained some ability to protect myself.'
Ethan Grant had no idea what Zoe Pierce and Nathan Lockwood had discussed, but when they returned, the atmosphere between them was completely different.
They still kept a certain distance from each other, but there was something new between them—something hard to define.
"Zoe," he called out, only to find Nathan Lockwood's expression darkening as he looked over.
'He hadn't found Ethan Grant to be a nuisance before, but now, Nathan found him entirely superfluous.'
"You can go," Nathan Lockwood said deliberately. "No need to wait for your squad to arrive. Leave."
Ethan Grant eyed him with suspicion, wondering why Nathan Lockwood was suddenly being so generous. Nathan's ruthlessness was legendary, and everyone knew he was a master manipulator. For a moment, Ethan wondered if this was some kind of test.
"For real?" he asked, still doubtful.
He glanced at Zoe Pierce, trying to read something on her face.
But clearly, he failed.
Zoe Pierce's expression was even calmer than his own.
'It's really hard not to let your mind wander. It's like the two of them conspired about something over there and then suddenly decided to let me go.'
His face was far too expressive. Nathan Lockwood's brow twitched. "If you don't want to leave, then stay."
Ethan Grant immediately scrambled away. Nathan Lockwood didn't give chase, and no spiritual power followed. 'Did he really just let me go?'