A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

In stepped Erik's mother, Runa, and his soon-to-be aunt-in-law, Leila. The former was wearing casual, modern clothing that strained to suppress her beauty, while the latter dressed in the ceremonial, Egyptian style of her ancestors, which accentuated her slim body.

She looked quite alluring, and surprisingly, chose to be in her human form. After their previous confrontation, it didn't seem like she thought it mattered any more.

As soon as they saw him, Runa began to chuckle, a wide grin spreading on her lips. "Hehehe, look at you! My little boy is so handsome!"

Erik turned to them with a wry smirk. "Good morning to you, too, Mom. I'm a big man now, you know?"

Runa's grin widened as she strode across the room with big steps and waved her hand dismissively. "You'll always be my little boy, Erik! A real big man would accept that with honour!"

Erik rolled his eyes. It seemed like an excuse to him, but he wasn't about to argue with her over it. "Fine, Mom… You know you can call me whatever you want."

Having reached him, Runa chuckled and started fussing over her son's suit. "Hehe, I know! I don't need your permission, my cute little Silvy!" She narrowed her eyes at his outfit and started adjusting things everywhere. "This is all wrong! Ugh, you really are helpless without those girls!"

With a sigh, Erik surrendered to his fate. After their years of separation, seeing her this happy over anything was enough for him to forget about small embarrassments. Besides, deep inside, he enjoyed it…

A few steps away, Leila, who'd become his mother's friend, pressed a hand against her lips. Her eyes twinkled with joy as she tried and failed to keep her laughter inside.

Yet, when Erik shot her a dangerous glance, her laughter quickly died. Their last encounter was still fresh in her memory, and knowing her feminine wiles actually had little effect on him scared her, just a little. She started pouting nervously.

Runa noticed their exchange and glanced between him and her friend, even as her hands never stopped fussing over his clothes. "Right…" she muttered, before narrowing her eyes at Leila. "Didn't you have something to say, Leilei…?"

Hearing the nickname caused Erik to chuckle and look at Leila smugly. He clearly wasn't the only subject of his mother's nicknames, and it quickly became obvious who wore the pants in their friendship.

With Erik and Runa now both staring at her, Leila's pout deepened. She looked at Runa miserably, hoping to get out of it, but the dangerous glare she got back was enough to break the last of her resistance. Truthfully, she'd never really had a female friend, at least not for long, and she desperately wanted to hold on to this one.

Sighing, she started poking her fingers together and looked at Erik awkwardly. "I'm sorry, Erik…" She glanced at Runa, hoping to be done, but Runa's eyes quickly convinced her to continue. She turned back to Erik and sighed again. "I shouldn't have accosted you like I did back then…"

Erik grinned widely. He parted his lips to try and rub her face in this situation, but he suddenly felt a dangerous feeling coming from his left. Glancing that way, he noticed his mother had now started glaring at him, instead.

His words died in his throat, and his grin faltered. Looking back at Leila, his grin quickly turned into a wry smirk. "Let's forget about it, Leilei," he said, unable to stop himself from using her nickname with a hint of mocking. "But I think you should apologize to Naeku, as well."

"I have!" Leila quickly nodded, ignoring the way he addressed her, because she wanted this to be over with. "And… thank you for not saying anything to her about it."

Erik shrugged indifferently. Despite what happened, he'd realized Leila was simply an impulsive woman, and not out to hurt Naeku in any way. He didn't see a reason to harm their relationship over it.

"Good!" Runa grinned, clapping her hands joyously as the previous awkward mood quickly dissipated. But then, her grin turned a little mischievous. "Now, how about you two spend some time together in a few days? After the wedding is over?"

"What?!" his son and friend both exclaimed in surprise, eyes widening.

"Hehe, well, why not?" Runa asked, crossing her arms over her breasts, she shrugged, her grin never wavering. "Don't think I haven't noticed that dreamy look in your eyes lately, Leilei!"

Suddenly, she stepped behind Leila and, to everyone's surprise, cupped the woman's small breasts, pushing them up while looking at Erik mischievously. "And I'm sure my little rascal is very interested in seeing more of you, hehehe."

"Ah!" Leila yelped as a blush spread across her cheeks. "Y— You—! Stop that!" she exclaimed, yet couldn't stop herself from glancing at Erik to see his reaction.

After his surprise had settled, Erik realized this was actually perfectly in line with his mother's usual behaviour. He glanced at Leila and noticed nothing of the seductress who had tried to dominate him a few days ago.

A small grin spread on his lips. "Well, I can't deny her body is alluring… perhaps we could spend some time together."

It's not like he rejected her because he wasn't interested—he simply didn't want to do anything with her just before his wedding with Naeku. Of course, if he did start something with her, he'd have to teach her that the only woman he'd accept to be dominated by was Elora, assuming she ever wanted to.

Fortunately, Leila was clearly unfamiliar with dominant men in her sex life… and Erik was very confident in being able to tame her. He had no interest in marrying Leila, but that wasn't the only option…

With his acceptance, some of Leila's confidence returned. She ignored Runa's hands on her breasts and crossed her arms haughtily in front of them. "Hmpf, who says I want to?"

"Then we won't," Erik answered with an indifferent smile.

"You—!" she exclaimed, her eyes widening, before her expression fell. "Are you really so uninterested in me…?"

Smirking, his eyes twinkling with delight, he shrugged. "Only one way to find out, Leilei…"

Her eyes flashed with various emotions… before she snorted defiantly. "Hmpf! Fine, then! I suppose I can let you entertain me for a few hours!"

Behind her, Runa chuckled and finally released her friend. She was curious to find out how this would go, but she had a sneaking suspicion…