Petty revenge filled the soul with joy.
Kaiden’s expression shifted into a confident grin.
He was not angry at the man, not even feeling truly vindictive.
The Paragon of Sin was just... satisfied.
Luna and Nyx still held their positions on either side of him when he stepped forward, sliding neatly between them. He moved with the kind of ease that suggested this was his natural place, right in the middle of his troublemaking duo.
Without breaking eye contact with Rupert, Kaiden lifted his hands.
His right settled on Luna’s thin waist, fingers fitting against her as if he’d done this exact motion a thousand times.
His left slid along Nyx’s generous curve, grabbing her with the same bold, unbothered motion.
Both women leaned into him at once.
Smirks curled on their lips. They looked smug and victorious, sporting the kind of expressions that told the entire world: Yes, this man is ours, and we’re his. And yes, we’re greatly enjoying this.
Rupert looked between the three of them, eyes wide, sweat starting to bead at his hairline. The image alone, Kaiden framed by two deadly beauties who seemed all too pleased to be pulled close, was enough to make him swallow hard.
Furthermore... It felt as if Kaiden towered over him.
Rupert’s breath hitched as a horrifying thought crossed his mind:
’Was he always this tall? This... imposing?
But I saw him a couple of months ago, and he was a nobody! A literal nobody! A wannabe!’
Kaiden tilted his head just slightly, with the grin never leaving his face.
"After consulting the opinion of my partners," he began, voice carrying effortlessly over the plaza, "Valhalla’s Sinners will not be answering any questions from AwaNews until further notice."
The words hit the plaza like a shockwave.
Gasps.
Buzzing.
Whispers exploding into loud commentary.
But all Rupert could do was stare, with his face draining entirely of color.
He looked seconds away from collapsing.
Kaiden’s grin widened just a hair.
The girls pressed closer.
Just then, a frantic whisper cut through Rupert’s earpiece.
"Rupert! Rupert! Engagement is skyrocketing!" one of his cameramen hissed from behind the lens. "People are flooding the stream."
Then he grimaced as he realized, "Comments are, uh, well... they’re not kind, boss."
The man sounded apologetic.
Rupert winced.
He didn’t need to look to know exactly what kind of brutal remarks were pouring in.
Still, the cameraman pushed on, voice brimming with excitement.
"But who cares, right? Opportunity is opportunity, you told me this! Negative or positive, we at AwaNews don’t shy away from any form of publicity! Ask more questions! Push it!"
The man whispered, thinking Kaiden and co couldn’t hear anything.
They heard every word.
Luna and Nyx exchanged a look with a shared, savage grin.
Rupert looked like he wanted to fold into dust.
With his throat bobbing and sweat running down his temples in clear lines, he stammered, "Mr. Kaiden, I, uh, apologize if any misunderstandings, uh, occurred in the past... Sir, ah, c-could you perhaps clarify- are your recent actions connected to- was this coordinated? Is there internal conflict within your- your, uh team? Are you open to discussing-"
He fired off question after question without managing to finish any of them, voice quivering, eyes pleading.
As if begging them to throw him even a scrap. Just react to any one of them. Just nod. Or even just wink!
Please!
Kaiden didn’t budge.
He didn’t flinch.
He didn’t even blink, let alone wink.
Because Kaiden wasn’t one to show mercy, not when his girls had already decided the sentence was execution. Personally, he wasn’t invested in the drama too much. Rupert was old news, and the ’wrong’ he did was too mild for his heart to begin pumping hate fuel demanding justice. But he sure as hell wasn’t going to ruin Luna and Nyx’s fun just to spare another guy’s pride.
From the journalist’s eyes, he seemed to grow even further, becoming more imposing with his shoulders squared and presence swelling, as though the world had rearranged itself to spotlight the fact that this man was out of his league.
Kaiden’s grin stayed exactly where it was. Warmth did not reach his eyes.
"Did I stutter?"
The words dropped like a hammer.
Rupert let out a squeak, an actual squeak, and took a step back so fast he nearly tripped over his own cameraman.
Before he could fully process the humiliation, chaos struck from both sides.
Other journalists flooded in like starving wolves.
"Kaiden! Over here!"
"Valhalla’s Sinners, question!"
"Kaiden, is it true you-"
Hands grabbed Rupert by the collar and yanked him out of the way. He flailed uselessly as he was pulled back, swallowed immediately by a tide of microphones, recorders, and desperate competitors scrambling for even one second of Kaiden’s attention.
Kaiden’s grin finally receded when he looked past Rupert and saw the full scene in front of him.
Dozens of recorders.
Cameras shoved forward, lenses nearly brushing Luna’s and Nyx’s faces.
Microphones pushed in so close they practically grazed Aria’s skin.
A press of bodies closing in around them in a tightening ring.
Kaiden didn’t mind when people crowded him.
His own space was whatever.
But when it came to his girls?
His chest tightened.
Possessive instinct shot through him like a reflexive punch.
And then he noticed something that made the last of his good mood shatter.
A few reporters, rather than fighting for a word from him or the human girls, were trying to slide around the group to get closer to Bastet and Calypso.
Two women who they hoped had no filter.
Two women who had no understanding of Earthly media traps.
Two women who, in the wrong hands, could have their words twisted into a dozen explosive headlines before the first sentence even fully left their lips.
Kaiden gritted his teeth, and his eyes darkened.
He stepped forward just enough for the cameras to catch it.
"Anyone who invades our personal space will be ignored by Valhalla’s Sinners and its allies until the end of time."
The plaza rippled with tension.
Reporters froze, but only partially.
Some stopped immediately.
Others looked to the sides, calculating, debating if the payoff was worth the risk.
Then they saw it. The futility of it all.
Both Bastet and Calypso stood with arms crossed under their chests. A slow, amused smirk tugged at their lips while their felinid and demonic tails swished behind their butts in lazy arcs, uncaring for the drama and merely enjoying the show of their beloved handling the annoying flies for them with such a manly flare.
The reporters paled.
They got the message.
Loud and clear.
Neither of the two would answer anything until they got the go-ahead from Kaiden.
"I’ll give a detailed interview at a later date," Kaiden said. "For now, all you need to know is this: Valhalla’s Sinners is here to join the hunt. We’re participating like any other awakened group. Combat only. Nothing else. That is all."
A murmur swept through the crowd, a mix of awe, frustration, and pure hunger for more.
Kaiden didn’t indulge them.
He moved on, guiding Luna and Nyx forward while Bastet, Calypso, and Aria fell in behind him like a five-woman phalanx.
The journalists parted reluctantly, like a tide forced open by an immovable force.
"Kaiden! One question about your latest video!"
"Can you comment on the room in the video-"
"Is it true that-"
They threw questions at the group as they passed.
None of the girls reacted.
Kaiden didn’t spare a glance.
It was time to get down to business.