A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Without saying a word, Erik smiled softly, and pulled Emily onto his lap. His beautiful slave-wife yelped slightly, but otherwise barely reacted. "Master, I—"

"Shh," Erik interrupted her before kissing her lips possessively. Emily seemed surprised but quickly leaned into his touch, as she always did, with submissive relish.

For several minutes, their tongues wrestled, and their hands roamed. Right in the middle of the bloody desert, they reaffirmed their feelings and desire. Fortunately, an isolation barrier kept the rest of the world out of their way.

Finally, Erik pulled back his head, and grabbed her chin. "Let's just enjoy each other's presence for a moment, alright?" he suggested, his amber eyes boring into hers.
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Still half in a daze, Emily nodded, and pressed her forehead against his chest. There, she breathed deeply from her husband's scent and finally felt herself relax a little. At the same time, Erik wrapped his hands around her, and pressed his nose into her long dark hair.

They sat there for an unknown amount of time. Neither of them could tell for sure how long it was, but it had to have been at least an hour. In this time, they simply breathed in each other's scents, relishing in the fact they could still do so.

Had Erik failed to stop the fairy, supposedly named Imogene, then Emily would have been kidnapped and used as a bargaining chip. On the other hand, if Ymir hadn't saved Erik after his impulsive actions, he might just have become worm food by now.

During this time, Emily slowly calmed down and, for the most part, returned to her old self.

Finally, Erik spoke up softly. "How are you feeling?"

"Weak and silly," she sighed meekly, her face still buried in his chest, her arms wrapped around his chest. "You almost died saving me! Not to mention that I keep losing control of myself and need you to stop me…"

Erik chuckled and grabbed her chin to look straight into her eyes. "Isn't that our deal? Aren't I supposed to control you?" Slowly, his hand slipped down to her collar, and grabbed the ring firmly, pulling on it slightly.

Emily's breath hitched slightly, and she nodded as desire started sparking in her eyes. "Y—Yess! B—But…" quickly, depression suppressed her desire again. "But… you can't always be there, Master. I thought I'd only have to deal with the consequences of my previous corruption, but now this corrupted core or whatever is making it much harder again!"

Slowly, her body sagged down a little, causing the collar Erik was holding to tighten around her throat a little. This sensation actually caused her to feel better as her mind was pulled into focus. Feeling like her master had control over her breath allowed her to feel more control over everything else.

"And… more importantly," she continued, her voice a little higher pitched now. "You almost died saving me from that bitch's plans! I know I wouldn't have been able to turn in time without you, but I should have been able to! Or… Or done something else! Back in England, I used a burst of power to push Dimitri away. I could have accessed that power again!"

Knowing Emily's desires, Erik tightened his grip on the collar to underscore his control. He realized this relationship was somewhat of a crutch to Emily, but he didn't think that was such a bad thing. Sometimes, people needed a crutch for a while. The problem started when they relied on it forever.

"Could you have…?" he asked, calmly as he looked at her sternly. "We both know you've been avoiding the topic of that corrupted core since it showed itself. You're scared of it, so you've barely touched it. But fear is not the way to get control or power, Emily."

Emily relished Erik's new control over her breath. It focused her thoughts, not only because she felt freedom from her lack of control but also because she felt the need to please him by taking his words seriously. Almost unconsciously, her arms unwrapped from Erik's body, and crossed behind her back instead, opening her body up to him.

"I— I know, Master, but—" she muttered, unwillingly. She knew he was right, but the fear she felt for that damn corruption permeated her entire being. It was the cause for her betrayal of Emma, and all of her misery in the first few years of the awakening.

"No buts," Erik growled, now releasing the ring on her collar to directly grab her supple throat instead. "If you want to get control over your corruption and increase your power, you have to confront that corrupted core, and so you will! Elora and I will help you, understood?"

Overwhelmed by her desire to obey and submit to Erik, Emily felt compelled to nod earnestly. "Yes… Master…" she wheezed softly, gratitude and love flooding her mind despite the situation. This was how she wanted to be handled. His dominance over her was the only path through her desperation and fear.

Finally losing his stern gaze, Erik released her throat and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Good girl," he smiled gently, pulling her body a little closer to him. "I'll make sure to reward you later."

Emily rubbed her throat and looked at him with a meek, loving smile. Sometimes, the way she felt about him discomforted her. To realize someone had this much power over you was understandably disturbing at times. Fortunately, the trust she felt would always trump the discomfort.

Meanwhile, Erik looked at her with a hint of discomfort of his own. "Anyway, I should apologize to you…"

Instantly, Emily's eyes widened, and she stopped rubbing her skin. "Y— You, what?!" she exclaimed in shock. "You just nearly died saving me!"

With a thoughtful frown, Erik nodded. "That's true… but I never really thought about the impact my death would have on you girls. Especially if I saved one of you in the process. Thinking about how I would feel about that myself, I'd probably rather be the dead one."

"That…" Emily muttered, her eyes downcast and feeling a little uncomfortable, but unable to deny the truth of his words. "I guess that's true…"

She looked back up at him sceptically. "So, what? The solution is we don't save each other anymore?"

Chuckling, Erik shook his head. "Of course not! You might as well try to physically stop a moving train as a mere mortal. No, I just think we should be aware of what we leave behind if we do end up dying…"