A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

"Idiot boy!" Runa exclaimed as she smacked the top of her son's head. "You know how many you'll leave behind if you die?! Did you even think of those cute little wives of yours when you nearly blew yourself up?!"

Erik cringed slightly, and rubbed the spot where she'd hit him. Strangely, he found her attack to hurt surprisingly much for a second-ranker's strength. 'I suppose that's the power of an angry mother,' he chuckled in his mind.

Meanwhile, he shot a dirty glance at Ankhur, who innocently continued giving orders to his people. Unsurprisingly, he'd informed Runa about what happened.

Focusing back on his mother, he sighed wryly. "I know, Mom. But when I realized Emily was in danger, I just reacted…"

"I know, Silvy," Runa nodded, now smacking his shoulder with a wide grin. "And I'm very proud of you for keeping your wives safe."

Yet, before Erik could react, her expression became furious again, and she smacked him on the head for the second time. "But that doesn't excuse almost dying, you idiot son of mine! What if you'd left Alice behind, huh?! Would you let her loose a third father?!"

A few steps away, Alice was looking at this interaction with an amused smirk at their interaction, yet when pulled into the conversation, her expression became a little sombre. "I'm… the wrong person to ask about this, Grandma,"

She turned to look at Erik fondly. "Of course I don't want father to die, but… sacrificing himself for his loved ones is how my biological father died. Judging him for it now, seems… disrespectful."

Runa's eyes widened at Alice's words, even as Erik seemed proud at her eloquence.

Runa, however, was far too angry for eloquence. After recovering, she turned back to Erik and smacked on top of his head for the third time. "Whatever! You're still an idiot!"

Having realized by now that his mother was just worried for him, Erik smiled softly at her, before deciding to pull her into a hug. "I'm glad I'm still alive, too, Mom," he chuckled at the same time.

Surprised, Runa blinked a few times… but then sighed and hugged him back, squeezing tightly. The sight was actually rather grizzly, as both mother and son were covered in their own blood, mixed with that of countless others. A situation that was only worsened when Alice joined them, too.

When they separated, Runa took a deep breath and seemed to have calmed down a little. At least, she didn't seem in the mood to continue hitting her son.

"So, how did little Alice do during the battle," Erik then asked his mother, shooting a sideways smirk at his adopted daughter.

Instantly, Runa started grinning as her gaze switched to the young wereverine beside them. "Hehehe, the tyke reminds me of myself in my younger days!"

Alice's lips immediately curled up in a wide smile, her small chest swelling in pride. Experience tales with My Virtual Library Empire

Yet, Erik raised an eyebrow with amused scepticism. "You were in large-scale battles in your youth?"

Of course, he knew that to be impossible. There may have been some minor skirmishes between hunters and fighters from Frostvik, but those would have involved several tens of individuals at most.

Runa narrowed her eyes at her son. Yet, before she could respond, a fourth person entered their immediate area, and immediately jumped into Erik's personal space.

"Erik!" a transformed Naeku exclaimed as she wrapped her furry arms around him. Surprisingly, body trembled slightly, and she didn't say anything else. Clearly, she'd heard about what happened, too.

Shooting an apologetic glance at Alice and his mother, he wrapped his arms around Naeku in response. With a snort, Runa decided to leave her son to his business and turned to talk with Ankhur, pulling Alice along with her. The young wereverine looked back at Erik and Naeku curiously but was unable to resist Runa's pull.

"I heard what happened," Naeku whispered as she tightened her grip. "Are you alright?"

"Hehe, I'm fine, Naeku," he chuckled fondly as he rubbed her back. "And I'm glad you are, too."

They stayed in each other's embrace for a little while longer until Naeku broke it off and looked at Erik strangely, almost nervously. "Listen, I— I wanted to thank you… From the bottom of my heart. Without you and your family, my people… they might have been wiped out already."

She looked at him with such sincerity, that Erik almost felt guilty about having had one foot out the door this entire time. This Enkarian kingdom was just a springboard to him. A place to build his empire out of.

Yet, to Naeku, it was essentially her whole life. She'd dedicated every single moment since the awakening to protecting the people living under her family's rule, but Erik would have let them all die if it meant keeping himself and his own family safe.

But Erik quickly discarded these distracting thoughts and focused back on Naeku. With a smirk, he raised his eyebrow. "You know I had my own reasons for helping, Neaku. But if you're looking for a way to repay me? I could suggest some things..."

Instantly, a blush appeared beneath the fur on Naeku's cheeks, and she started to pout. "Pervert!" she muttered indignantly. "I was being sincere, but you had to ruin it!"

Chuckling, Erik closed the distance between them again, before grasping her chin and looking into her feline eyes with sincerity of his own. "It was my pleasure to help your people, Naeku. I've actually come to enjoy my time among them, and I'm honoured to have them become the basis of my empire!"

Naeku's expression melted as she looked into his eyes and heard his words. Her breath hitched in her throat slightly, and she started feeling a little strange. She realized it was excitement—and desire.

Yet, before she could respond, Erik's expression turned mischievous. Closing his eyes, he started leaning closer to her as a small isolated barrier started covering their bodies.

Blinking, Naeku saw him approach and started to breathe faster. Her desire was getting inflamed, and she leaned forward… after quickly transforming back into human form.

Softly, their lips pressed together, and Naeku moaned softly as his taste spread around her mouth.

For several minutes, their tongues wrestled with each other, before they separated. Naeku was panting heavily, her body burning up with heat as her eyes looked at Erik's handsome face with intensity.

Meanwhile, Erik whispered in her ear. "I'll visit you when we get back to the city, alright?"

Slowly, Naeku gulped… and then nodded.