A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

"That's a beautiful ceremony…" Naeku muttered absentmindedly when Erik reached this point in the story. She'd been sitting on his lap for the last hour while he recounted everything that happened back then. Since they'd already told Naeku about Elora's origin, Erik didn't see a reason to keep things like this from her.

"What happened afterwards?" she then asked, curiously.

"Nothing particularly interesting," Erik shrugged with a gentle smile as he pulled her body a little closer against his. "Mother-in-Law snuck us out of Ebonhollow again, and the two of us continued doing our mercenary work. Only now, we were husband and wife."

"What about that sigil stone?" she asked, tilting he head curiously. "Did you ever need to use it?"

"Yes, and no," an amused Erik chuckled as he shifted his body a little. "Instinctively, it really is hard for a dark fairy to keep another person in the loop regarding all of their plans."

A distant look entered his eyes, and a distracted smile appeared on his lips as memories from the last five years flooded his mind. "She tries her best, but sometimes she still gets a little stuck in her own head about these things. The last time was when she pretended not to want Emma and Emily around to drive them into my arms, without telling me."

He shook himself free of his thoughts and grinned at Naeku. "But I've never used the stone. It now sits in a neglected corner of my storage space. I trust her, and I know she tries her best. That's good enough for me."

Naeku nodded slowly in acknowledgement, and for a moment, they both sank into thought, as silence fell.

Suddenly, with her werepanther head resting against Erik's shoulder, Naeku started smiling a little wryly. "You and Elora really have lived an amazing life, huh? Kind of makes me envious. I don't think I'll ever really be able to catch up."

Erik chuckled and shook his head. "Don't think about it like that. We should be able to live for hundreds of years. At some point, those eight extra years will just be rounding error."

"Hehe, fair enough," Naeku chuckled, her spirits lifted as a distant smile appeared on her lips. "I'm looking forward to our years together, Erik, even if I can't be your first or main wife."

"That reminds me," Erik suddenly began, raising an eyebrow as he looked at her. "You are remarkably okay with the harem thing, especially since I also have Nora and Anne to take care of me."

Naeku smirked wryly. "Heh, well, admittedly, I would prefer if you stuck with your wives alone, but that's not too big of an issue for me."

She shrugged and smiled casually. "Either way, our community has always involved both men and women with multiple spouses, even before the awakening. Both the Egyptians and the Maasai, who they integrated with, had these customs, so they stuck around, even till now."

"Truly wonderful cultures," Erik chuckled as a hint of lust flashed through his eyes.

"Pervert," Naeku grinned and rolled her eyes. Yet, she couldn't help but heat up a little at the hungry look in his eyes.

Suddenly, Naeku sat up and turned to look at him curiously. "By the way, Elora was okay with sharing you from the start, right? So didn't you meet anyone you wanted to marry back on Söl?"

Erik pursed his lips and tilted his head back and forth a little. "Well, it was a little more complicated. Elora didn't mind if I had sex with others, especially when it advanced our goals and she got to watch, but emotionally, she was actually quite jealous at first."

"So she didn't want you to marry a second time at first?" Naeku asked, raising an eyebrow in mild surprise. "What changed?"

Erik shrugged casually. "Time, I guess. There came a point where she realized the potential of binding powerful women to me through marriage in order to make our family stronger. But that happened only a few months before we got pulled back to Earth, and we just never really stuck around long enough in any one place for such a relationship to begin."

Naeku blinked a few times, and then pouted. "That's a little cold…"

"Hehe, yes it is, but that's the kind of woman Elora is. The only thing she puts above our mutual goals is our wellbeing," Erik grinned, love twinkling in his eyes. "When it came down to it, sharing me emotionally simply wasn't big enough of a deal to forgo the obvious advantages."

"But it doesn't change anything for us, right?" he said, smiling as he leaned a little closer and wished she was in her human form so he could kiss her. "We love each other, regardless of Elora. As for Elora herself, she puts family above all, even the sister-wives she originally didn't want."

Naeku smiled gently. "Close your eyes."

Chuckling, Erik did as requested, and he soon felt her human lips pressed against his. They descended into a passionate kiss, while Naeku wondered curiously about the fact she didn't feel a need for Erik to prove his love for her through a heartfire sigil as well.

'I guess I simply trust him,' she muttered with content joy in her mind as her tongue wrestled with Erik's. She looked at his closed eyes and felt happy. The fact he continued respecting her family traditions was a large reason for her trust in him.

When they separated again, Erik waited for her to change back to werepanther form before opening his eyes. He grinned mischievously. "I think it's time we start planning this wedding, Naenae. I can't wait much longer before getting my hands on you."

Naeku saw the hunger in his eyes and felt herself heating up as well. "I guess we'd better hurry then…" she grinned at him, before standing up and taking a seat across from him again.

After sitting down, she leaned forward with a curiously raised eyebrow. "You know, I really liked that ceremony you did with Elora. Do you think we could create something like that here…?"