A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

After the initial shock passed, the trio had various reactions.

Nora looked at him with even more lust than before. 'You just got ten times hotter, handsome. Teacher refused my advances, but you won't!'

Björn's gaze was complex when he looked at Erik. It appeared as if reverence and respect were fighting with suspicion and caution as he turned to Viljar. "Are you sure you're not being deceived by another of this guy's weird abilities, Boss? I can't imagine Teacher's son shacking up with humans."

As for Anne, after the shock had passed, her gaze became even more furious when looking at Erik. "You dare impersonate Teacher's family?! We all know her family died seven years ago!"

She turned to Viljar. "How can you believe this crap, Boss! Teacher's son would never shack up with humans! Don't you remember what he let that human bitch do to Olaf?!"

When he heard Emily referred to in such a way, he narrowed his eyes and felt some surprise at the fury that welled up inside him. 'Do I already care about her that much?' he wondered.

Regardless, the current Erik was not someone who would ignore something that angered him.

Before anyone could react, lightning struck, and the werelynx was hanging in the air, lifted up by Erik's hand around her throat.

Evidently, lightning flash had recharged in the last few moments of Erik's fight with his uncle.

Elora was, somehow, still sitting on his shoulder and looking at Anne with amusement. Happiness sparkled in her eyes at Erik's behavior. This is precisely how she wanted him to be.

"I suggest you be a little more respectful about my companions. I'm sure you have plenty of reasons to feel anger towards humans, but you should know your limits. If you need to be a pathetic slave to your anger, at least save it for when it doesn't get you killed." He growled and conveniently ignored the fact he was currently acting on anger as well.

Anne struggled in his grip, unable to believe she could not free herself despite being in beast form while Erik was not. She tried to activate her runes, but every time they began to appear on her skin, Erik sent a heavy electric shock through her system, causing her to lose focus.

Everyone around them was stunned and unsure how to react. They were afraid to attack Erik for fear he might just snap Anne's neck. Especially Viljar felt immense surprise at the complete departure from the Erik he once knew.

"Erik! You… Look, she shouldn't have called your..." He struggled to suppress the nearly instinctual disgust creeping into his tone, pausing to gulp before continuing, "human friend... by that name. But there's no need to do anything rash!"

Erik scoffed before turning his head towards Viljar behind him. "You know, I thought that Olaf guy was the impulsive instigator in your group, but this lady is giving him a run for his money."

Holding up his hands in an attempt to calm Erik down, he explained. "Don't be too critical of her. She normally has one of the coolest heads among us; she just gets a little… agitated when humans are involved."

Besides Erik, both Björn and Nora had their claws at the ready, even if they looked conflicted. "Let her go!" Björn growled. "If you're really Teacher's son, I refuse to believe you would harm her students!" Nora also threw her support behind that statement.

Erik threw a questioning gaze towards Viljar, who nodded. "After the awakening, these three and Olaf were some of the first people we encountered. Runa was the strongest among us, so she became our leader and their teacher. If you killed one of them… I'm sure she would forgive you, but she wouldn't be happy."

His tone was a little desperate, clearly hoping Erik would spare Anne.

Erik frowned and turned towards Björn. "First of all, if you think my mother would not punish a stranger for insulting someone she cares about, regardless of who they are, then you didn't know my mother."

Then he turned towards the struggling and sputtering Anne, who had lost much of the fury and conviction in her gaze. "That said, I can be a little lenient in Mom's name. So tell me, Anne. Will you play ball by respecting me and mine, or should I have you enslaved right alongside Olaf?

If you choose to be enslaved, I will let you both go in a few days, but if you decide to play ball, this will be your one and only warning. Next time, nothing will stop me from snapping your neck like a twig."

Viljar, Björn, and Nora realized this was the best they were going to get from him, so instead, they looked pleadingly at Anne, hoping she would know when to accept defeat.

Having lost much of her human-induced fury and finally regaining some of her calm in the face of certain death, Anne managed to croak through Erik's hand around her throat, "P- play… b- ball."

Immediately, Erik let her go, and she sagged to the ground, coughing and sputtering. "Good choice." He said before walking back to stand beside his Uncle, who looked at him with a mixture of surprise and caution.

"You really have become your mother's son." He mumbled. He wasn't sure how he felt about the world losing a sweet, innocent boy and gaining another hard-ass.

In response, Erik shrugged. "It was that or death." Causing Viljar to remember he had considered the sweet Erik to have died a long time ago anyway, so anything they got back was better than nothing.

As for Erik's similarities to his mother, that was true. While much of Erik's changes over the past seven years could be attributed to a combination of losing his loved ones, Edda's betrayal, and Elora's influence, it couldn't be denied that his memories of Runa guided him along.

Meanwhile, Elora looked physically excited at Erik's dominant behavior. She giggled. "That's my emperor! Show them who's boss! No one talks shit about your possessions!" she said through their connection.

Erik rolled his eyes at Elora, calling Emily a possession. Still, he couldn't keep the grin from his face due to her excitement. "Figures you liked that."

Behind them, Emily had come closer, with Olaf in tow. She had come in case Erik needed help without even really thinking about it.

Naturally, this meant she had heard and seen everything that happened, causing her heart to feel sweet and a slight smile to appear on her face, something she quickly wiped off her face before anyone noticed.

Erik turned to the trio in front of him, who were currently crouching on the ground together, as Nora and Björn were helping Anne recover. They threw complicated gazes at Erik.

On the one hand, his strength and status as Runa's son caused them to feel awe and respect. On the other, his aggressive behavior and apparent care for humans made them wary and resentful. As for Nora, she also had a healthy dose of lust mixed in there.

Seeing that the situation was temporarily resolved, Viljar grabbed his forehead. "Alright, alright, how about we all take some time to calm down? You three go take a rest at my old home, and I'll go have a talk with Erik."

But before the trio could respond, Erik interrupted. "Hold on, we're not done yet."

He stuck out his hand, and dark green magic began coiling around it—a clear sign of a covenant being prepared. Elora had already disappeared from his shoulder and taken up residence in his soul again, as that was the only way for Erik to use this magic.

Under everyone's wary gaze, Erik explained. "I trust my uncle, but I don't know you three, and you've seen too much. Especially with Elora's appearance. I'll need you all to sign covenants in order to ensure your silence."

Still a little cowed, Anne said nothing, but Nora, Björn, and Viljar frowned. "Is that really necessary?" Viljar asked.

Without taking his eyes off the trio, Erik nodded seriously. "Yes, it is. I need to protect myself and my people." He addressed the trio now, "In honor of my mother, I won't kill you if you refuse, but I will have Emily turn you into a slave until I leave these lands."

Viljar raised an eyebrow at Erik's plans to leave again but decided to ask about it later. Instead, he asked, "What are the terms then?"

He explained in a flat voice. "They will stay here in Frostvik until me and my group leave, they won't harm the humans, Emily and Emma, or the vampire, Astrid, and they are forbidden from revealing new information about me or anyone in my group to others."

Hearing him mention Astrid's name, Viljar had a revelation and smacked his forehead. "That ghoul was Astrid! Now it all makes sense!" To which Erik chuckled, "Yeah, I was fortunate to find her."

"Anyway, one more condition to the deal," he suddenly continued with a mischievous grin. " All three of you are to report for training tomorrow morning. Since my mother isn't here right now, I'll ensure you don't embarrass her with your weakness."

'Many fences can be mended on the training field,' Erik thought to himself. 'Plus, it might be useful to have some training partners.'