A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

As soon she told him she'd already realized his real reason for being there, Erik grinned, "And here I was hoping to have a little more fun with you." But despite saying so, he continued holding the immobilized Seraphina.

"Yeah, because you're an asshole," the vampire snarled, as she tried to turn her furious gaze and look him in the eye. "Now are you going to let me go, or will you prove how much of an asshole you really are?!"

Her implication was clear. They were alone in a forest, after all, and Erik was clearly capable of overwhelming this beautiful woman.

Erik pursed his lips wryly, and decided that this was kind of losing its charm now, but before ending it, he did want to toss one more jab in. So, he leaned forward, and whispered in her ear, "Hmmm, that does sound tempting…"

Instantly, her body tensed, and her expression became one of shock, proving she didn't actually believe he'd go through with it.

Fortunately, she was proven right, when Erik let her go in the next moment and took a step back. "But I prefer my partners to be willing," he shrugged casually, as if that was his only obstacle to going through with it.

Seraphina trembled a little as her body relaxed, before she turned around and looked at him even angrier than before, "You really are an asshole!"

Erik smirked confidently, "So you say. But we both know you kind of like and trust me. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been so shocked just now, and you wouldn't have helped me take Emma and Emily with me back then."

The vampire's pale cheeks reddened a little, but it was unclear if it was embarrassment or rage when her eyes started practically spitting fire, "Absolutely not! You are arrogant, annoying, and devious! Who would like you?!"

When Erik just continued smirking confidently at her without answering, Seraphina finally just cursed and stamped her foot.

Then, she snarled and pointed at him accusingly, "Whatever! I still don't know if helping you escape back then was a good idea or not! You say they are fine, but why should I believe you?!"

Erik grinned, before waving his hand. Suddenly, four women appeared as if out of nowhere. Beside him now stood Emma, Emily, Astrid, and Alice, who all looked at Seraphina with various degrees of amusement. Naturally, they'd watched the entire thing.

At the same time, Elora also made an appearance, as she left Erik's body, and now sat on his shoulder, looking equally amused.

"What the fuck?!" the object of their attention exclaimed, as she recoiled in surprise, her face filled with the shock of seeing a large group of people appear as if out of nowhere.

Erik had no problem showing her this ability of his, partly because most of the Enclave had already seen him do it, but mostly because Seraphina was still bound by the covenant not to reveal anything about him to others. Even if she learned that information after the deal was made.

Astrid and Alice had only heard of Seraphina before, so they stayed in the background for now. But Emma and Emily naturally stepped forward. "It's good to see you again, Seraphina," Emma smiled kindly. She was polite, but a little distant.

The white-haired maid looked quite favourably upon the vampire, because she distinctly remembered her concern and attempts to make sure Erik wasn't forcing her into anything. Plus, had it not been for Erik, it would have likely been Seraphina who rescued her. At least, partly.

She knew Seraphina, or the Council, would have likely been unable to solve the genetic defect that was causing her aetherium storage to grow slowly, or restore Emily to her current, mostly sane level. But effort counted, to Emma.

As expected, Emily greeted her very differently. She grinned teasingly, "Seraphina! I remember how you raged against people like him in the past, but now you're falling for one?!"

Emily's comment immediately brought Seraphina out of her shock. Once again, she cursed into her surroundings and balled her fists, while she furiously exclaimed, "I am not falling for him! Why would you even think so?!"

"Call it a hunch," Emily shrugged as she continued to grin while closing the last bit of distance between her and Seraphina.

There she threw her arms around the the fuming vampire and her voice became a little warmer, "It's good to see you again, Seraphina… I hope we'll have a little more time to catch up this time."

Suddenly feeling her childhood friend's hug, Seraphina groaned in annoyance, but her anger also quickly started draining away. She wrapped her arms around Emily as well and sighed, "I hope so to, Emily."

For a moment, silence descended, as everyone watched two old friends reunite. The two girls hugged tightly with their eyes closed, both happy the other was still alive.

A year ago, Emily was still in a very dark place when she met Seraphina again, even after going through the first treatment by Elora and Emma. But now, she was doing a lot better, and Seraphina noticed that.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"You seem happy," Seraphina commented fondly as they finally separated. "I guess the corruption is gone?"

Emily chuckled humorously as she took a step back, "Not exactly, but I'm doing much better, and I'm very happy."

That was when Seraphina finally took a good look at her old friend, and noticed the new clothes, as well as the crimson lines running through Emily's eyes.

She raised a curious eyebrow, "You look… different? I mean, the clothes are on brand for you, but what happened to your eyes?" Then, she pointed with her index finger at Emily's large collar, "And what's with the collar….?" before moving downwards at the see-through mesh on Emily's stomach, "Or that strange tattoo?"

Before Emily could answer, the vampire panned both her gaze, and her finger towards Emma, who was wearing her maid outfit, and Astrid, who was wearing the armour Erik had created for her, both of which had the same tattoo prominently displayed, "And why do they have the same one?"

Both Astrid and Emma smiled lovingly while they put a hand on their tattoo's, proud to display the proof of their marriage to Erik. Seraphina noticed their behaviour, causing her to look at them strangely, before turning back to Emily with a questioning gaze.

Frist, Emily simply shrugged, "My eyes are a result of the continued presence of corruption." Before Seraphina could utter any concern, she quickly continued, "Don't worry, the progression has halted, and I'm fine now, although the eyes are there to stay."

Then, she grinned playfully as she softly tugged on the ring attached to her collar, "What do you mean? I've often worn a collar, haven't I?"

Suspiciously, the vampire narrowed her eyes, "No… You've worn chokers, some of which had spikes and looked a little like collars, but you've never worn anything like that. It even has a ring on it!"

"I suppose that's true," Emily answered while her grin widened. She continued pulling on her collar, while she panned a lustful gaze towards a smirking Erik. "But I've also never realized my true nature before…"