A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

With introductions out of the way, Erik frowned and decided to get a little more serious.

"Listen, Ankhur," he said, with a frown. "First of all, I don't begrudge you your interest in my mother… She deserves it, and I've already lost and mourned my father. Furthermore, I don't intend to try and get in your way. Mom is perfectly capable of choosing her own partners without my interference."

Ankhur nodded slowly and appreciatively. Somewhere inside, he was relieved to hear Erik's father wasn't in the picture anymore, yet he instantly squashed that feeling as he admonished himself.

"That said," Erik continued, his eyes narrowed threateningly. "I'm sure you've heard from Naeku what I did to Lilith… Now I want you to imagine what a blow like that would do to someone weaker than her."

A flash of scepticism went through Ankhur's eyes, but before he could say anything, Erik growled harshly, "Unleashing another attack like that would once again render me unconscious and vulnerable, but don't doubt for a second I'd pay that price to take you down… for good… If I saw a good reason for it."

For a second, tension hung in the air as his words sank in. Ankhur tried to ascertain the truth of his words, Naeku panned her gaze between them nervously as she recalled the power Erik unleashed against Lilith, and the rest of the Bastet-Family bristled a little at Erik's threats.

But then, Erik released some tension by suddenly grinning and shrugging lightly, "If it came to that, of course." Surprising everyone, he then winked at Naeku, "I'd be curious to figure out the family dynamics after you marry my mother!"

Instantly, the tension exploded as anger rose exponentially. "You—!" Ankhur began as he took a threatening step closer, his face twisted in a stormy expression.

Yet, he was interrupted by his daughter. "D— Do not think me some easy conquest, Erik!" she exclaimed with narrowed eyes, despite the heavy blush on her cheeks. "I won't deny to feeling f— favourable towards you, but don't think you can get anywhere with roguish behaviour like that!"

Despite the slight stutter in her speech, there was also a deep conviction and determination there. Many of the spectators looked at her with a hint of surprise, and Ankhur looked mostly satisfied, but Erik didn't seem surprised at all.

He simply smiled slightly at her, "I'm not sure what you mean, Naeku? I just meant Ankhur and I will need to figure out what I'm going to call him if he marries Mom. Do you truly like me? How forward of you!"

Slowly, Naeku blinked a few times as Erik's words sank in. But then, surprisingly, her lips began to curl up in a smile. Rather than become embarrassed, Naeku suddenly started to laugh, her eyes crinkling slightly. "Haha. Alright, that was a good one!"

Erik looked pleased. As he expected, Naeku may be inexperienced with sex and quickly embarrassed by anything related to it, but she wasn't meek or shy. She was confident, and she knew her own worth.

Still smiling, she pointed at him with a clear challenge, "But you already knew I like you a little, and vice versa! And I meant what I said!" She crossed her arms, and grinned at him, "The old world may be gone, but if you want any chance of marrying me, you'll need to take me on a date!"

"Eh?!" Emma, Emily, and Astrid all exclaimed at the same time, eyes widened. "That was an option?!"

Instantly, Elora began to giggle. "Looks like you really stepped in it now, my love!"

Erik chuckled wryly and panned his gaze between Naeku and his three wives. "Of course it is… We just haven't had much free time lately." He smiled slightly, "But I'll take all of you on a proper date, alright?"

The Humanitas Sangh wouldn't make another move for at least another two months, as that was how long his mother would be in recovery, and thus incapacitate Lilith. They still had plenty to do before then, but he could afford a few days to thank his wives for the constant support they gave him.

"Looks like I may have caused you some trouble," Naeku quipped mischievously. The twinkle in her eyes made it clear that she regretted nothing.

Meanwhile, the Bastet-Seti family was looking at their exchange with various expressions. Fatima and Leila, Naeku's aunt, looked pleased, while Amina and Nadia looked at Erik suspiciously, but it was Tarek and his son, Ankhur, who had the biggest reaction.

With every word Naeku and Erik exchanged, the two men's eyebrows began twitching harder. Finally, Ankhur couldn't hold it anymore.

"Exactly what is going on here?!" he growled in a low voice. "No one will be going on any dates with my daughter until I give my approval."

Instantly, all the women surrounding them raised their eyebrows as they turned to look at Ankhur, including Naeku. His daughter opened her mouth to say something, but Erik was first.

"Hey now, old man," he grinned cheekily. "I promised not to interfere between you and my mother, but that goes both ways! If you start interfering between me and Naeku, I'll have to start doing the same!"

Anger flared in Ankhur's eyes, third ranked power thrummed, and his powerful muscles rolled under his skin.

Yet, before he could do anything more, he quickly deflated when Naeku snorted next to him, "I suggest you don't interfere, Father, because it really won't matter. I told you before, didn't I? My business with Erik is none of yours. I can handle myself just fine!"

Ankhur looked almost heartbroken as he turned to his daughter with hopeless eyes. "L— Little Naeku, I—"

"Just leave it, husband," Nadia rolled her eyes. "Our Naeku is all grown up now, and who she dates is her business, not ours."

"Don't you remember how my parents resisted your advances towards me as well?" Amina said with a raised eyebrow, before showing a small smile. "It only drove me faster into your arms."

Ankhur breathed loudly in and out a few times. Finally, he turned to Erik with narrowed eyes, "If you—"

But Erik interrupted him with a sigh and shrug, "Look, we can threaten each other all day, but how about we just agree to nominally stay out of each other's love life, while we keep a close eye on the health and happiness of those we care about, hmm? Both my mother and your daughter are woman enough to handle themselves."

His estimation in the eyes of the women there quickly rose by a few percentage points

Erik stuck out his hand and grinned, "We'll make it a gentleman's agreement, what do you say?"

Slowly, Ankhur settled down a little, and looked at Erik's hand solemnly. "You know, I think I both respect and hate you right now," he growled slightly. Yet, after glancing at the determined expression of his daughter, he nodded unwillingly, and shook Erik's hand once again. "But, fine. You have a deal."

As he shook Erik's hand for the second time, he was reminded of his missing arm, and frowned slightly. Yet, he counted himself lucky it was his left arm, and not the right.

"That's funny, I actually kind of like you," Erik grinned as another contest of strength began…