A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing-Chapter 624 - An invitation

Slowly, Nobuntu smacked her lips and frowned. Talking through telepathy felt much the same as speaking normally, and she was still getting used to the feeling of calling someone master. For now, it remained a word that felt strange on her tongue, mental or otherwise.

"You'll get used to it," Erik chuckled softly, correctly guessing her thoughts.

"You say that like it's a good thing…" she grumbled softly, before falling silent. She still had a lot to think about regarding what happened here.

Meanwhile, the trio of Ankhur, Naeku, and Kudzai approached them, and the latter immediately ran up to his mother with a worried frown. By now, Erik and Nobuntu had already returned to human form. "Are you alright, Mom?!" the young man asked anxiously.

"I'm fine, Kudzai." Nobuntu nodded sternly, yet not without warmth. She loved her son, even if he had disappointed her a little by letting himself get manipulated.

Kudzai immediately breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed a little. "Phew!" At the same time, he facepalmed and shook his head. "I told you not to do that, Mom! I can't believe you thought Naeku and her father would go for that!"

Beside them, Ankhur nodded slowly, his sharp eyes boring into his old friend. "It is a little unbelievable…" he muttered with a hint of scepticism.

"Hmpf," Naeku snorted derisively. "I think you're both overestimating her," she grumbled while completely ignoring Nobuntu's presence.

Immediately after speaking, she brightened up and turned to Erik with a wide grin. She jumped into his arms. "You were great, Erik! I love watching you fight!"

Erik smiled softly and wrapped his arms around her furry form. Before answering, however, he couldn't help but notice the pang of pain he felt through his bond with Nobuntu. Although she was focusing on her son right now and didn't show anything on her expression, he knew Naeku's comment had hurt her.

'Interesting…' he muttered inwardly, before simply filing the information away for later.

This content is taken from freёnovelkiss.com.

Meanwhile, Naeku continued. She was now nestled into his chest, looking up at him with narrowed eyes. "I'll need to grow stronger quickly," she claimed with conviction and a cheeky grin. "I can't let my future husband outclass me too much."

Erik chuckled. "You were already close to breaking through before, and now you've been training inside my dimension for a few months as well. I'm sure it won't be long, right?"

"Hehe, yeah, I'm getting very close already," she grinned smugly. "Emma and I have a little bet going about who gets there first."

Curious, Erik raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Whats the price?"

She averted her eyes cheekily and shook her head. "That's a secret…"

Naturally, Erik immediately wanted to ask more, but Naeku interrupted his thoughts when she turned her head back almost immediately. "By the way!" she exclaimed excitedly. "You'll help me combine my affinities after I reach the third rank, right?!"

"Absolutely," Erik nodded seriously. "Oasis is a powerful affinity, and perfect for a fighting style of defense and support. I'm sure it will be extremely beneficial for you."

Naeku grinned and hugged him tighter for a moment. Neither of them felt the need to wonder how much of Naeku's feelings for him came from the support he could provide her and her people. It would always be a part of their relationship, so why worry about it?

Originally, she'd wanted to get the oasis affinity before breaking through, but Erik had advised against it. He'd done it as a second-ranker, but only because he needed to grow stronger quickly at the time. It'd set back his breakthrough to the third rank by a bit, and there was no need for Naeku to do the same.

Meanwhile, Kudzai had broken away from his mother and turned to Erik and Naeku with a solemn frown. "Silver Emperor," he began and bowed slightly. "Thank you for showing mercy to my mother. I know she was rash, but—"

"Haha," Erik interrupted him with a warm laugh. "It's fine, Kudzai. Beneath that stern exterior, your mother is clearly a passionate woman. I can appreciate that!"

He released Naeku and patted Kudzai's shoulder. "Anyway, listen," he spoke with a small grin, causing Kudzai to look at him curiously. "I know there were never any romantic feelings between you and Naeku, but would you feel weird if I invite you and your mother to the wedding?"

"W— What?!"

Two voices overlapped as Neaku and Kudzai yelled the same thing. On the sidelines, Ankhur and Nobuntu simply looked surprised.

"I ehm…" Kudzai muttered awkwardly as he glanced behind Erik towards an indignant Naeku. "Maybe you need to discuss this with Naeku first…?"

"What a sensible suggestion!" Naeku growled with narrowed eyes trained on Erik's back.

Unfortunately, Erik ignored her and simply grinned at Kudzai. "I'm sure she'll be fine with it. After all, she basically gets to invite half the kingdom as her guests, but I only have a very small group, so you can be my guests! I need to pad the numbers a little, you know! Hehehe."

Naeku's eyes widened. "T— That's—!"

"Completely fair, and you know it," Erik chuckled as he turned to glance at her playfully. "As for the history between you and them… I think that, deep down, you actually want them there."

"B— Bullshit!" Naeku immediately denied, flinching slightly.

Unfortunately, Erik didn't buy it. "Oh? Are you sure…?" he asked, teasingly.

"Yes!" Naeku grumbled cutely. In a huff, she turned her face away with her arms crossed in front of her chest. "B— But do as you like, I guess…"

With a smile, Erik turned back to an uncomfortable Kudzai. "There. I've got permission from the future missus," he chuckled cheekily. "What do you think, Kudzai? Want to be my guest?" He then looked up to wink at Nobuntu. "We could even discuss some kind of alliance, still."

Kudzai gulped and once again glanced at Naeku. Truthfully, he held plenty or regrets about his friendship with Naeku, but he still cared about her. He truly did want to attend her wedding.

So, he turned back to Erik and nodded. "Alright… Thank you."

***

A little while later, Naeku and Erik were walking shoulder to shoulder through the palace halls again. By now, Nobuntu and Kudzai had been given one of the guestrooms in the palace while preparations for the wedding remained underway.

Naeku was still a little annoyed at him. "Did you really have to do that…?" she grumbled with a slight pout.

Erik smiled and nodded. He could see she wasn't actually that upset. "Absolutely. It's a great opportunity to discuss an alliance with them."

"Uhuh," Naeku scoffed sceptically. "And that's your only reason?" Naturally, she suspected him of trying to repair her relationship with Kudzai and Nobuntu, parent-trap style.

"Who knows?" Erik simply chuckled before quickly turning to her and waving playfully. "Anyway, it seems Elora wants me for something. Good luck with the rest of the planning!"

Instantly, he disappeared into his dimension, leaving an indignant Naeku to curse him out.