Chapter 257: Chapter 257: Blinded by Lust
Quentin Ford smiled with his eyes, but he kept his mouth shut.
On the surface, he seemed to be bantering with Yara, but his gaze would drift inadvertently toward Zoe Pierce.
The young Omega listened to Samuel King’s directions, striking several graceful poses.
His hair occasionally brushed against the back of his neck.
His gaze was fixed on the ground; he didn’t notice any fallen hair.
Quentin Ford silently retracted his own gaze.
When Zoe Pierce finished and it was Miles Sherman’s group’s turn, Quentin Ford waved to him again.
Zoe Pierce didn’t think much of it and walked over. "Councilor Ford?"
"Could I trouble you to show us around your school in a bit?" he asked with a broad smile, though his gaze landed on Yara.
Having just learned Yara’s identity, Zoe Pierce immediately understood. This was an opportunity to get to know his future direct supervisor.
He’d already missed his classes for the day because of the photoshoot, and Chase Shaw was supposed to arrive soon. After a moment’s thought, Zoe Pierce nodded. "If you don’t mind."
Yara hadn’t expected this. After Zoe Pierce walked away, she cast a confused look at Quentin Ford.
"Since we’re already here, we might as well get a better look at the boy," Quentin Ford said with a placid smile.
He paused. Choosing to use his Intelligent Brain over whispering, he sent a message: Zoe Pierce’s spirit sea seems to be having some issues. You should pay close attention.
Whispering next to her could easily be overheard by the Alphas, but for someone to intercept an Intelligent Brain message, they’d have to use their spiritual power to specifically monitor them, and do so constantly.
Right now, everyone’s attention was on the photoshoot. No one was paying any mind to Yara and Quentin Ford.
Yara knew Quentin Ford was well-informed. He often found things out before she did.
Her brow furrowed slightly before her gaze shifted to Zoe Pierce.
She was willing to accept Zoe Pierce as her successor, partly because he possessed an S-Class soothing ability.
She sized him up for a few moments. Zoe Pierce’s expression showed no hint of guilt or distress. He didn’t look at all like someone with spiritual power issues.
After some thought, she sent a message back to Quentin Ford: Are you sure there’s a problem?
Quentin Ford replied, "I only know that the higher-ups covered something up. I don’t know the specifics."
Yara fell silent for a moment.
She figured that if it were truly something bad, the Federal Military Academy would already be in an uproar.
But looking at the instructors present, every one of them appeared calm and composed. Even Jasper Quinn’s gaze on Zoe Pierce was amicable.
In other words, it probably wasn’t anything bad. It might even be something good.
But it had been kept from her.
Perhaps whether she knew or not had no bearing on Zoe Pierce’s path to becoming an Omega councilor.
This was naturally a bit vexing, but without knowing the specifics, Yara wasn’t foolish enough to ask about it directly.
’Should I take Zoe Pierce for a physical examination?’ she wondered.
It was a standard procedure that every councilor had to undergo, and the results would be officially filed.
She had previously planned to just use the medical report provided by the Federal Military Academy for Zoe’s physical, but now she felt that wouldn’t be sufficient.
While she was lost in thought, another young Alpha appeared at the edge of the stadium.
As the tall, almost burly, Alpha approached, everyone was hit by the scent of his extremely aggressive pheromones.
He must have used a spray-on inhibitor to minimize the scent, but his irritation was still palpable.
Director Quinn’s gaze, which had been fixed on Samuel King, finally shifted to the newcomer. "Why didn’t you take an inhibitor?"
It was obvious he was in his sensitive period.
Chase Shaw glanced first at Zoe Pierce, who was frowning at him from the side. "The doctor said I’ve been taking too many," he said in a deep voice. "It’s better if I ride this one out myself."
He was spouting nonsense.
Still, it was a plausible excuse that doctors sometimes gave.
After all, inhibitors were still a drug. The body occasionally needed to release its pent-up energy naturally to self-regulate.
Even Director Quinn, standing a short distance away, couldn’t help but frown, to say nothing of everyone else.
In this state, Chase Shaw was practically a walking pheromone bomb.
Now, Director Quinn couldn’t be bothered with his dissatisfaction toward Samuel King. He went right up to him and demanded they photograph Chase Shaw first.
Samuel King took one look at Chase Shaw’s state and immediately agreed.
Everything was rearranged to accommodate Chase Shaw. The pace for both his solo and group photos was quickened.
During the group photo, Zoe Pierce happened to be standing right in front of him. He felt a finger press against the base of his spine, right at his tailbone. It didn’t do anything else; it just rested there.
But after the wild night they’d just had, that single finger felt more like a deliberate act of flirtation.
Zoe Pierce struggled to keep his expression neutral and betray nothing.
But the man behind him grew restless, tracing the small bone over and over with the pad of his finger.
It tickled a little, but mostly, it made him feel flustered and guilty.
’Chase Shaw has some incredible nerve,’ Zoe Pierce thought, ’daring to pull these little stunts in front of so many people.’
"Chase Shaw!" Samuel King shouted, and Zoe Pierce’s whole body tensed.
"You guys, huddle up a bit. Don’t be so spread out."
Zoe Pierce felt the finger on his spine press in even closer, rubbing the spot incessantly. His legs started to feel a little weak.
Just as he was about to warn Chase Shaw, he heard Director King say, "Alright, hold that pose. Four or five more shots should do it."
The hand behind him stopped, and Zoe Pierce let out a small sigh of relief.
By the time the shoot was over, his back was covered in a thin layer of sweat.
He shot a resentful glare at Chase Shaw, but Chase was already sitting down for his interview with Director King.
Because of Chase’s distinctly uncomfortable pheromones, the whole process was rushed. The moment his segment was over, Director Quinn and Director King told him to leave immediately.
After he left, someone was quickly ordered to spray air freshener to dissipate the aggressive Cedar scent.
Zoe Pierce was waiting off to the side when he felt his Intelligent Brain vibrate. It was a message from Chase Shaw, who had just left.
"I’m waiting for you in the Hovercar."
He replied with an "Okay" and put his Intelligent Brain away.
He had thought Chase would take an inhibitor before coming over.
But no, Chase Shaw had shown up radiating aggressive pheromones; clearly, he had ulterior motives.
’He still wants me.’
’The man is blinded by lust, plain and simple.’
Zoe Pierce licked his slightly dry lips and glanced at Yara and Quentin Ford, who were standing off to one side.
He still had to give Yara a tour of the campus soon. Chase Shaw was in for a long wait.
Thinking of the finger Chase had just pressed against his spine, he let out a soft huff. ’Let him suffer.’
’It serves him right. Maybe this will teach him a lesson.’
Chase Shaw, on the other hand, wasn’t overthinking it. He got into his car, activated the one-way privacy screen, and sat back with his arms crossed and eyes closed, waiting with an imposing posture.
During this most difficult time, his mind was filled with vivid memories of the previous night’s sensuous encounter.
Zoe Pierce had been right on the money. He was completely blinded by lust.
But right now, there was nothing. He couldn’t even find anything in the car that carried Zoe Pierce’s scent. All he could do was knit his brows and close his eyes, trying to compose himself.
