A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Seven hours later, Erik skidded to a halt just inside a forest clearing. This forest bordered Bamburgh and its castle, home to Alexandre de Beaumont.

At the edge of the clearing, casually leaning against a tree, stood a woman, whose pale skin and crimson eyes clearly identified her as a vampire. She had shoulder length, black hair, and an angular face. She wore tight, black leather clothing that accentuated her humble, yet attractive curves, and had a large, two-handed sword strapped to her back.

This woman was a vampire warden, a powerful agent of the Council's peacekeeping force, the shadow sentinels, which was commanded by Katya, aka the iron sentinel. And, probably not so coincidentally, Erik recognized this warden.

"Seraphina!" Erik immediately exclaimed with a shit-eating grin and wide-open arms. "It's so good to see you again!"

Seraphina, who hadn't noticed his approach, was surprised by his sudden arrival, and jumped up, pulling the sword from her back. "Who…?!" she exclaimed and pointed her sword in his direction with narrowed eyes.

But it didn't take long for her recognize him, causing her to blink in surprise. "You…!" she stammered and lowered her sword, still a little shocked. But then she suddenly scowled, and pointed an accusing finger at him, "What the hell are you doing here?!"

Erik ignored her aggressive greeting, however. Instead, he continued to advance with open arms and a wide grin on his lips, clearly intending to hug her. "Is that how you greet an old friend!?" he exclaimed in mock surprise. "Come here and give me a hug!"

"Screw you!" the angry vampire cried out while ducking under his arms and resisting the urge to attack him. She created some distance and pointed her weapon at him again. "Do you know how much trouble you and that damn woman caused me?!"

First looking at his empty arms with disappointment, Erik then grinned at Seraphina, "Didn't I give you some of my blood as thanks for your trouble?" Next, he quickly punctured a finger, causing some blood to flow, and waved it front of her face, "Would you like some more?"

Seraphina's eyelids twitched. Erik's blood had run out quite a while ago, and she still remembered both the amazing taste, and the way it actually refined and improved her body to the point where she was outperforming others of her rank in physical performance.

Erik was sure he saw a glint of hunger in her eyes. But then it disappeared again, and in an impressive display of self-control, Seraphina shook her head and jumped back to get away from him. "Keep your blood to yourself! I don't need it!" she exclaimed with so much conviction that Erik almost believed her.

Almost.

Yet, he didn't plan to push the matter. His original plan was to bind Seraphina to him through his blood, but perhaps that become both unnecessary and unfeasible.

After all, he had already struck a deal of sorts with Katya, who was the shadow sentinel's leader, and having a single warden under him as well wasn't really worth the trouble and moral gymnastics involved in becoming more forceful with her. She clearly had a large amount of pride and refused to be dependent on anyone.

So, he just sighed dramatically and shrugged, "As you wish then," before wiping the blood from his finger and allowing the wound to close. Then, he winked at her, "But you just say the word, alright? You can always have a little more when you ask nicely."

Although Erik had always been a bit of a tease, at least since he got involved with Elora, it was particularly prideful women like Seraphina and Katya that brought out the worst in him.

It was just more fun with them. Plus, Elora had taught him to do so as an effective way to make people more submissive and willing to follow his suggestions.

It technically worked on both genders, but the idea of teasing a man like that… didn't appeal to him. To put it mildly.

"Fat chance of that!" Seraphina scoffed, as she almost snarled at him with narrowed eyes. But despite her defiance, a hint of relieve shone in her eyes when that alluring smell stopped permeating the surroundings.

"Anyway, what are you doing here?" she grumbled, her face scrunched up with frustration and hunger, while she finally decided to drop her sword. "And where are Emily and Emma?"

A year ago, Seraphina showed up in London in the capacity of a warden, because she knew the Ashcroft sisters in the past, and wanted to help them. Now, despite both sisters choosing Erik over her when it came time for them to decide their future, the vampire still cared about the two.

First, Erik smiled mysteriously, "Emma and Emily are fine, don't worry." Then, he shrugged casually, "As for why I'm here, one of your council people approached me. I believe her name was Aria? You've mentioned her before, right? Anyway, she wanted me to keep a lookout on this place for a few days."

He scratched his chin, choosing not to notice the increasing anger quickly spreading on Seraphina's face, "She said something about a possible kidnapping going down here? Anyway, she made a good offer and asked me to help protect the guy, so here I am. What about you?"

Seraphina's expression was stormy, although she seemed more annoyed and frustrated than angry. Still, she sheathed the sword behind her back again, seemingly deciding she wouldn't need it. But then, without a sound, she suddenly used her first gravity affinity skill to lighten her body and shoot forward.

Her fist was pointed straight at Erik's face, and just before she hit him, she reversed her skill, making her body heavier instead, but without affecting its speed.

Fortunately, just that was far from enough to defeat the current him. It wouldn't even be enough to defeat Frostfang or Sigurd. Although, it would have definitely been enough to give the him from a year ago a true challenge. Which was still impressive for someone without all his advantages.

So, just when her attack was about to hit, he suddenly shifted to the left, ever so slightly. Seraphina's eyes widened when she realized what happened, but she didn't have time to truly process it, because Erik immediately pressed the advantage.

Grabbing the vampire's outstretched arm, he quickly bent it behind her back, immobilizing it. Then, he used his other hand to grab her throat, before dragging her, and the sword on her back, against his chest. Suddenly, she was entirely immobilized and unable to pull her weapon or even exercise any real strength.

For a few moments Seraphina growled and cursed as she struggled against his hold, all while Erik watched her with amusement, but then she suddenly went slack and groaned, "I can't believe you're the mercenary my boss was talking about..."Nôv(el)B\\jnn