The rustle of fabric and the jingle of bone ornaments marked the approach of the oily-skinned native woman with clear orders to pleasure Kaiden.

Her steps were unsteady, each one filled with tension that trembled through her bare legs. She was doing her best to smile at him seductively, but in the eyes of Kaiden, who was accustomed to genuine female expressions, dead set on seducing him, he could tell it was a forced one.

Her expression was one of fear and desperation.

Kaiden's eyes locked onto hers. Her gaze pleaded without words.

'Please, accept me…'

He understood instantly.

She didn't want this. But she was told to. Her opinion on the matter was irrelevant.

A soft, strangled whisper came from beside him.

"... Taigi?"

Kaiden's head turned. The voice came from Naira, the native teen who was seated with his group. Her hands were balled into fists on her lap, nails digging into her palms hard enough to draw blood. Her bronze skin had gone pale, and her teeth were clenched so tightly her neck bones were visible.

He saw the shock in her eyes.

Kaiden didn't know this Taigi woman, but Naira did.

The recognition, the grief, the fury building in the young native's chest was impossible to miss.

The girl called Taigi was no stranger.

She was four years older than Naira, someone she'd grown up with. A good friend, and perhaps even a sister figure. Naira's childhood had been lonely; she was the only child in her family, and Taigi had filled that gap. They had laughed together, hunted berries together, shared dreams of someday leaving the reservation to see the world beyond.

They had to do that in hushed tones because of how the elders, and frankly, all adults, thought of the outside world as teaming with danger and the Pale Ones as greedy monsters in human skin.

And then came the real monsters.

Taigi's father died the same night as Naira's. But while Naira and her mother had been spared the vile duties of "servicing" the tribe's leaders thanks to Lira being labeled used goods and Naira being deemed too skinny to tempt them, Taigi was not. She was young, healthy, and beautiful.

Taigi froze mid-step.

Her attention snapped toward Naira. The torchlight flickered across Taigi's face, illuminating her dark eyes that were wide and trembling as they locked onto the younger girl. Her painted lips parted as if to speak, but no sound came.

She was so focused on her mission of 'seduce the outsider' that she didn't even notice the girl she thought of as a beloved younger sister was sitting next to him.

The oil on her skin caught the light, making her look almost ethereal, but that shimmer couldn't hide the shame twisting her features. Her body trembled from realizing that the young and innocent Naira was seeing this ugly sight of her.

Taigi never wanted Naira to see this.

Naira didn't move. Fury and disbelief warred in her expression, and the air around her seemed to grow heavier by the second.

Naira knew that Taigi was part of the leader's staff like her mother, but she did not know the details… She was not allowed into the large home before. When her mother returned to her after her shift was over, Lira never told Naira what was going on behind the doors.

Now, the teen was getting a proper glimpse.

And she despised it with her whole being.

Kaiden's eyes darted between them, piecing the story together without a word spoken. The shared past, the broken bond, the unspoken horror… it was all there. The older girl who had once been like a sister was now standing here, stripped of pride and forced into sexual servitude, offering herself to him under Varek's command.

Not that Naira was much better off… The older girl was a sex slave, while she herself was a labor slave forced to go on suicide missions. Both were suffering immensely.

Taigi's eyes lingered on Naira for a long, trembling moment. Her lips quivered and her breath came unevenly. The shame in her expression was unbearable to witness; an apology she couldn't voice, an old friendship she felt she had no right to reach for anymore. She was a tainted woman, while Naira was bright and pure.

But then something in her gaze shifted. The sadness didn't fade, but it hardened. It became a mask of weary resolve. She lowered her head, swallowed the tremor in her throat, and forced her body to move again. One slow step came after another as she resumed her walk toward Kaiden.

Kaiden watched the approaching woman and sighed inwardly. He found himself in quite a dilemma.

If he rejected her, that would mean she failed. Whatever awaited her afterward was likely punishment. Maybe pain. Maybe worse.

But if he accepted? If he allowed this act to happen… her oily, trembling body rubbing against his, while his lovers sat nearby watching?

No. That wasn't him.

Kaiden might have a harem, yes, but it wasn't a mark of his desire for endless indulgence. It was a mark of trust. Of love. Each of the women beside him had accepted him, shared his burdens, and given him a place in their hearts. They weren't trophies. They were his equals.

Even if the Valkyries weren't in the room, he wouldn't do it. To betray them like that, out of pity or pressure, would cheapen everything they had built together.

He truly didn't want to be serviced by this woman. But at the same time, his eyes softened as he looked at the trembling woman. 'You poor thing...'

Then movement stirred beside him.

Aria stood.

Unlike her man, the Moon Valkyrie did not seem to face any difficulties coming to an answer to their conundrum.

Every head turned to the sound of her standing up from her seat.

The gym-born yandere walked to stand between Kaiden and Taigi. Her eyes were sharp, but her smile was calm. Her hand lifted, refusing to let the woman come closer.

However, this wasn't one of Aria's possessive, jealousy-induced moments, evidenced by the fact that she didn't glare at Taigi. She didn't curse or threaten.

Her attention shifted to the figure lounging far too close to their group for her liking.

Varek.

He was reclined in his seat while he drew on a long, curved pipe. Smoke coiled around him like mist. His eyes gleamed through it, hungry for reaction.

That was what he'd wanted all along. To see what Kaiden would do.

Aria's voice cut through the smoky silence like a blade.

"Enough."

The single word stopped the air itself. Even the fire crackled more softly.

"We came here out of respect for your people. To understand, to speak, and to share. But this…" her gaze moved toward Taigi, who stood frozen, "… this goes against everything we stand for."

Her eyes, sharp as moonlight, fixed on Varek.

"We appreciate the hospitality your tribe has shown us thus far. Even shelter itself is a rare luxury in these parts. But forcing a woman to entertain guests is not hospitality, it's rape. A good host should not make his guests witness something like this, let alone force them to make a scene to stop it."

The murmurs began at once.

Whispers rippled through the gathered tribesmen like a current, wide-eyed and disbelieving. No one had ever spoken to Varek that way since he took the mantle. At least not without living to tell the tale.

Varek's smile faltered.

For the first time since their arrival, his expression darkened. The air grew heavier, becoming suffocating for weaker ones like Naira.

But then, just as quickly, he exhaled. The smoke drifted from his pipe lazily upward again, and the familiar grin returned to his lips.

He chuckled softly,

"Ah… it seems there has been a misunderstanding," Varek said smoothly. His gaze never once moved to Aria, however. Instead, his eyes settled on Kaiden, acting as if it was the man and not the woman who addressed him. Perhaps his pride couldn't handle it if he acknowledged what happened here.

It was visibly difficult for the man to get over it as it was. "It seems my servant has caused you to be uncomfortable with a misunderstanding. She must've read your expression as an invitation."

He turned his head toward the trembling native woman, and his voice dropped into a command. "Apologize for your mistake."

Taigi's entire body flinched at his tone.

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