C8

"I am fine," Nyra whispers, looking appropriately fragile. "It is just that my footwear is not designed for this type of mountain stone."

Darius glares at the director. "Mr. Chapman, can we not deploy transport vehicles to reach the settlement?"

"The path is too narrow and steep for automated vehicles," Jonah replies smoothly.

Nyra gives Darius a brave, determined smile. "It is fine, brother. Let us keep moving."

He knows exactly how to play Darius. Surely enough, Darius reacts with immediate disapproval. "Walking uphill in those silk wraps will ruin your feet. Your tunic is too long; someone is going to step on your hem."

Darius himself is wearing stiff ceremonial leather shoes and a heavy formal suit, looking completely uncomfortable.

Jonah doesn't find their complaints annoying; he is secretly thrilled. Perfect drama for the opening minutes!

"We cannot alter the terrain," Jonah says with fake resignation. "This is the only route."

"Can we hire motorcycles from the villagers?" Darius demands.

Before Jonah can answer, Ronan shoots a piercing glance at the siblings and scoffs loudly. "You only have your own arrogance to blame for dressing like palace pets when you knew we were filming a survival show in the wild sectors."

Ronan is wearing sensible, heavy-duty cargo gear and sturdy tracking boots. He looks at the rest of us, noting that only the Whitmore siblings and Zinnia are dressed inappropriately.

"You came completely unprepared, and now you are causing a scene for the cameras?" Ronan sneers.

The other scouts are stunned by his bluntness. The rumors on the network are true; Zeus has a vicious tongue.

Darius’s face turns completely black. "We did not expect the production team to choose a primitive mountain zone!"

"The brief explicitly stated the countryside," Ronan counters, raising an eyebrow. "Even if you didn’t expect a steep incline, is it logical to dress like you are walking a red carpet at an awards gala? It is entirely pathetic."

I look at Nyra’s teary eyes and Darius’s shaking fists, and I mentally give Ronan a huge thumbs up.

Ezekiel steps in, his voice deep and authoritative. "He didn't know the parameters of the route. It is normal for an omega to favor traditional silk garments. We should focus on getting our two delicate scouts up the mountain safely instead of arguing."

I know exactly why Ezekiel is speaking up. He doesn't care about Zinnia; he just wants to shield Nyra from further public embarrassment.

Ronan isn't buying it. "Well then, Commander Thornhart, what is your grand tactical solution?"

Ezekiel chokes on his words, unable to answer. He looks at Nyra, who is giving him a gaze full of intense gratitude. "Can we not request transport beasts from the village elders?" Ezekiel asks Jonah.

"The grade is too dangerous for passengers," Jonah answers. "We cannot accept the physical risk."

In the live chat feed, the fans are waging a total pack war. The Whitmore loyalists are calling Ronan a rude, mannerless brute for attacking their delicate prince, while praising Ezekiel for being a true gentleman. But Ronan’s fanatical followers refuse to back down, arguing that Nyra is being an absolute burden to the entire expedition.

'He is a total drag on the team. Zeus is just speaking plain facts!'

On the trail, Jonah looks at the group. "Does anyone have a functional suggestion? Miss—Master Nyra cannot hike five miles in those wraps."

"That is an incredibly simple fix," I announce, speaking for the first time.

Every eye shifts toward me.

"He obviously has standard tracking boots packed inside his luggage crate," I say, pointing a finger toward the supply cart. "He can simply change his footwear right now. Of course, if he insists on maintaining his delicate prince persona, he can always let his doting brother carry him up the mountain on his back."

I flash a cold smile at Darius. Go ahead, Scumbag Number Five. Carry him. This completely shatters Nyra’s plan to look like a brave, long-suffering martyr. Darius looks totally frozen; he knows he can barely carry his own heavy gear up this incline, let alone another grown male.

"Nyra," Darius asks, his voice tight. "Did you pack proper boots?"

Nyra looks like he wants to rip my throat out. If I hadn't spoken up, he would have played the tough little fairy for another mile before 'remembering' his boots. Now, he has no choice but to tap his own temple and offer a fake laugh. "Oh, wow! My mind must be foggy from the mountain air. I completely forgot I packed a pair of flat leather boots in my trunk."

Ronan lets out a loud, mocking scoff. He knows a fake display when he sees one. He clearly detests Nyra’s innocent act, remembering how Nyra tried to corner him at a previous territory gala.

"I need to stay far away from that snake," Ronan’s body language says clearly as he steps ahead.

Darius immediately goes to retrieve the boots from the supply cart to save his brother from walking over the stones. Seeing how much he spoils the adopted omega doesn't hurt me anymore. In fact, I want the drones to capture every single second of their bizarre, overly attached behavior.

Nobody on the MoonNet Circle knows Nyra is adopted yet. When the truth drops later, their intense physical codependency—the constant hugging, the cuddling, the way Nyra demands his 'brothers' carry him to bed—will look incredibly twisted to the public.

Nyra has always been intensely possessive of the five Whitmore sons. He systematically ruined Cassiel’s engagement by demanding constant attention, and he sabotaged Malachi’s courtship of a prominent sector alliance female because he refused to share his alpha protectors.

The more the viewers praise their deep sibling bond right now, the harder the backlash will hit them when the real bloodlines are exposed. Real brothers do not behave like this. I will let the world see exactly who the real player is.