A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

A little while later, Erik left his bedroom and walked into the living room of his dimension. Behind him where Emma, Emily, and Astrid, while Elora had taken her usual spot on his shoulder.

He quickly noticed Nora, Anne, and Alice weren't here either, but he simply assumed they'd gone to train. Since they didn't need anyone to steer the ship anymore, Nora and Anne could finally spend some more time training, which they were already making use off. Naturally, Erik approved.

There was one person in the room, however: Seraphina. She looked fine, for the most part. A little frazzled, and missing her weapon, but otherwise none the worse for wear. She'd even dried herself already, and she was still wearing her black leather outfit.

She was currently sitting on one of the couches, bend over, eyes pointed downwards, and with her hands entangled in her hair. Erik realized she was probably lost in thought, because she didn't react to their entry.

Erik watched her for a moment, but then silently moved further into the room, before taking a seat on the couch across from her. Astrid and Emily took a seat on his left and right, while Emma walked off to make some tea.

Still, no one said a word as they continued watching Seraphina for a moment. Occasionally, she shook her head and muttered something to herself. Based on what she was saying, she clearly blamed herself for what happened and was trying to rehearse what she'd tell him when he showed up.

After a few minutes of this, it was Emma who broke the silence when she walked up to Erik with a cup of tea. "Here you go, Master," she chirped happily, before moving to the other side, and standing behind Erik like a dutiful maid.

Astrid and Emily momentarily glared at Emma for not getting them any tea, but she ignored them with a small smile. She wasn't their maid, after all, and they had perfectly good legs. She could have easily taken some with her, of course, but to her, it was the principle of the thing.

On the other couch, Seraphina's head suddenly shot up, and looked at the people across from her with shock. Meanwhile, Erik simply smiled at Emma, "Thank you, little Glimmer."

Before Seraphina could recover from her shock, Erik sipped his tea while looking at her with a mischievous and curious glint. "Have you decided what you want to say yet?" he asked teasingly.

She barely listened to his words, however. Instead, when she recovered from her shock, she quickly jumped up. "Erik!" she exclaimed, before beginning to fidget nervously with her fingers. "I, uhm… how are you?" she asked, with barely any of the pride and defiance that usually tinged her voice.

"I'm fine, Sera," Erik answered calmly as he drank his tea. "How about you?"

The raven-haired vampire was unsure what to do with herself now. She'd half expected Erik to be angry, but this calm felt even worse, because she didn't know how to deal with it.

She nodded miserably, "Y— Yes… I— I mean, fine as well, thank you." Then she suddenly shook her head, "N— No! I— I mean, thank you for asking, not…" But then she groaned, and grabbed her hair with a shaking hand, "Shit! I— I mean, thank you for saving me as well, of course, but—"

At that point, however, Erik interrupted her. "Enough, Sera," he said resolutely, while standing up, and handing his tea to Emma, who gladly held it for him. At the same time, Elora dissolved herself into his body again, knowing what her husband wanted to do.

Erik walked up to the clearly panicking and confused Seraphina. Being honest to himself, he had to admit that he didn't enjoy seeing her like this. He liked her confidence and defiance, and this mess wasn't the woman he was interested in.

So, he decided to hopefully bring that woman back.

Confused and frustrated as she was, Seraphina was far more susceptible to his commanding voice than normal. Thus, she stopped talking and looked at him with a trembling body and complicated gaze. She was in a vulnerable place right now, and she had no idea how to feel about Erik.

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"Before we start talking about what happed, let's continue the conversation we had just before," Erik said calmly as he stopped mere inches before walking into her. Since she was only a little shorter compared to him, she now looked straight at the stubble on his chin.

Meanwhile, He didn't want to make this situation worse for her, so he kept his hands behind his back, rather than grabbing her chin like he'd usually do. She'd probably just get very annoyed at his macho move.

To her credit, she didn't back away from him, despite her current state of mind. Personally, she was surprised to realise she didn't feel any fear towards him, despite previously assuming he'd be angry.

"W— What?" Seraphina stammered. Despite not taking a step back, she did become a little more flustered.

Erik took her shaking hand and presented it to her. "Look at yourself," he said sternly. "I'm sure you feel bad about what happened, but this isn't you. You need to drink."

It wasn't just that she nearly got herself killed by a sea monster, only to be saved by Erik—the man she desperately didn't want to grow dependent on—but she was still starving.

Even before the attack her body was being affected by the lack of blood, and now that she had been forced to struggle desperately without oxygen, things had only gotten worse. It wasn't just her body that was being affected by the lack of blood now, it was her mind as well.

"Ugh," Seraphina groaned, and palmed her face. "I— I know! I— I can't focus, for shit! But…"

"I know," Erik sighed patiently, before continuing sternly. "You're frustrated, and you can't bear to show any more weakness after what's already happened. But you're not doing anyone any favours right now. Certainly not yourself. So, drink, get yourself together, and then lets talk."

Seraphina looked up at him with an expression of hunger and started hyperventilating slightly. His words were what she secretly longed to hear. She knew she needed to drink, but her pride was getting in the way She needed him to offer, so she didn't have to ask.

But she didn't dive in yet.

"Y— You had a condition," she growled softly. With him standing so close, she could smell the delicious blood flowing beneath his skin, yet she was showing remarkable restraint in not sticking her teeth in his neck right away.

Erik's lips curled into a small grin. Just before the kraken attacked, he was about to tell her his condition for allowing her to drink his blood whenever she needed it.

"Just that you can only drink directly from the source," he smirked slightly while tapping his neck. "You're beautiful body pressed against mine will be my compensation."n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Seraphina couldn't even pretend to be offended by that, because she was far too hungry. Having heard his condition, she finally snarled desperately, and lunged forward. She wrapped her arms around his body, and sank her teeth into his neck.