A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

After that, an awkward silence reigned for a while.

Astrid's eyes were downcast, her brow was furrowed, and her expression complicated.

Meanwhile, Erik looked calm, but on the inside, his emotions were far more chaotic. He wanted Astrid to accept him, wanted that part of his past to stay with him, wanted to love the girl whom he should have loved from the beginning.

Still, he could take solace in the fact she hadn't denied his intentions for her yet.

As for Emma and Elora, they sensed Erik's inner feelings through their link and sent him feelings of support. Elora was loving and with a hint of her own obsessive possessiveness; Emma was bright and comforting. Together, they provided a soothing contrast for Erik.

Feeling their support, Erik released a sigh, 'Well, whatever will be, will be,' he thought.

Having calmed his emotions, he smiled down at the white-haired woman on his lap and took her in his arms before standing up.

At the same time, Elora quickly fluttered from Emma's shoulder over to his. Emma giggled happily as she went up in the air, still with her arms around his neck.

Now standing, Erik smiled at Emma with something that was not quite love yet but came infinitely close to it. When you could literally feel the love someone held for you pouring out of them, it was hard not to feel some of that yourself.

He leaned in to kiss her, and she responded happily. Feeling Erik's delicious taste, Emma moaned lightly as her eyes rolled up in her head. Erik enjoyed Emma's soft, wet lips as always, but the thing he loved most was seeing her reactions to him.

When they separated, Emma was smiling deliriously, causing Erik to chuckle. He leaned in and whispered in her ear, "This is only a taste. Tonight you will get the real thing."

Emma's silly smile quickly transformed into one of anxious excitement, despite her flushed cheeks. "Y- Yes…" she mumbled.

He put her down and lightly groped her ass while wearing a perverted grin. Then he turned towards Astrid, his grin having transformed into a warm smile. The strawberry-blond girl had barely responded to their actions and still seemed to be lost in thought.

"Well, you've clearly got a lot to process and think about," Erik said. "Would you like us to leave you alone? Alternatively, you could come join my training with the others?"

Astrid finally seemed to be pulled from her thoughts and looked up at Erik with complicated emotions. She blinked a few times, apparently taking a moment to register his question, before suddenly jumping up from the sofa with an excited grin, "Alright, but I won't be holding back this time!"

Erik laughed heartily at her provocation, "Bring it on, big Sis!"

That title seemed to do some emotional damage to Astrid as she staggered back with narrowed eyes, "You! Don't think you can win me over just by calling me… that!"

Erik grinned playfully, "I wouldn't dream of it, big Sis! Is it so wrong that I like calling you big Sis now? Maybe I'll just start calling you big Sis all the time!"

With exaggerated anger, Astrid covered her ears and yelled, "Argh! Stop it, stop it, stop it! I won't let you convince me like that!"

Despite their banter, the complicated emotions in Astrid's eyes were still clear, although they did lighten a little.

Erik chuckled happily. In the past, he barely interacted with Astrid in this way, as he was way too awkward for that. But now, he could enjoy himself. "Alright, alright. But you still want me to call you that, right? So how about we make it a bet?

If you manage to land a clear hit on me today, despite your weakened state, I'll call you Sister from now on. And if you can defeat me, either today or someday in the future, I'll call you big Sis for the rest of our lives. Deal?"

Interest shone in Astrid's eyes as she narrowed them, "Hmm, but the first part of that deal only counts for today?"

Chuckling, Erik nodded. "That's right. I only dare to do that now because you're still recovering."

Naturally, Astrid wouldn't shy away from something like this, so she humphed and glared at him with clear fighting intent and excitement, her complicated feelings now largely pushed to the back of her mind. "You're on! I'll teach you not to underestimate me in any situation!"

Now mirroring her excitement and fighting intent, Erik grinned "I look forward to seeing it!" before turning to Emma lightly kissing her again and smiling softly. "Go join the others in the bedroom together with Elora.

I trust you to make some dinner for us later, okay? With our new bond, you now have access to the storage space in my armor, so take whatever food looks good to you."

Emma smiled and nodded, "As you wish, Master!"

Next, Elora enlarged herself while she fluttered down from Erik's shoulder. In the process of falling and enlarging, she hooked her left arm around his neck, making her swing and crash softly against his body, where he caught her with one arm and a grin. .

Astrid, seeing this for the first time, widened her eyes in surprise. Not only for the way she saw a woman suddenly expand before her eyes but also because of how utterly devastating Elora's beauty was.

She couldn't help but feel a sting of jealousy pass through her.

Meanwhile, Erik and Elora were looking into each other's eyes, a hint of a challenge shining through in them, before Elora relented with a chuckle and leaned in to kiss Erik.

Their kiss was wet, deep, and as perverted as a kiss could get, causing both Emma and Astrid to become red in the face, even as they kept watching.

Whether Elora was trying to establish dominance in front of these two other women or simply wanted to enjoy a more extensive kiss with Erik was uncertain, but when they were done, the fairy turned towards Emma and Astrid before winking and licking her lips.

Erik could only chuckle and grin, before disentangling himself from Elora and smacking her on her perfectly shaped ass. "Go on, my empress. Educate my other women!"

Naturally, he meant on sigil craft and general cultivation, but the implication made Elora giggle, and speak in a sultry tone, "As you wish, my Master"

The other women present in the room blushed even more, while Astrid's eyelids twitched as she remembered their weird bet.

Elora turned around elegantly, her crimson hair fluttering in the air, and beckoned for Emma to follow her. "Come, dear. I'll use some sigils to create a quiet space for you, while I teach those other two."

She walked away with the strut of a confident and powerful empress, causing Erik to smile fondly, while Astrid was surprised to find herself momentarily mesmerized.

While they walked, Elora leaned over to Emma and whispered with a playful and lusty twinkle in her eye, "Maybe we can also have a little talk about how you'd like tonight to go, hmm?"

Still blushing a little from before, Emma now looked more akin to a tomato on a human body. Despite that, she also softly squeaked out an approval to Elora's plan.

When they were gone, Astrid shook herself free from her daze before snorting in annoyance at herself. She finally couldn't resist her urges anymore and punched the unprepared Erik standing next to her in the side out of annoyance and a hint of jealousy. "Are we going, or what?!" she growled.