A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Erik and Elora stared at each other for a moment longer. Finally, however, Elora sighed helplessly and palmed her face, "Whatever… Just consider yourself lucky the harem council voted in your favour."

Erik blinked and couldn't help but chuckle, "The what now?"

The fairy began to smile deviously. "Well, even if we're fine with following your lead most of the time, we do need a way to let our collective voices be heard."

Erik pursed his lips while narrowing his eyes, "Careful now, little Ember. We don't want any of that union nonsense around here."

Elora giggled, because she could feel he wasn't serious. "Sorry, my love. It's already done."

Erik groaned as he rolled his eyes, and finally looked incredulously at Emma and Emily. "I could have expected this from Elora and Astrid, but you two?!"

Emily grinned widely and shrugged, mischief twinkling in her eyes, "I figure it's a good reason for you to punish me, Daddy~~" Stay updated with empire

Above his head, Emma smiled softly and with love while she continued to caress his hair, "Don't worry, Master. I'll always vote in your favour."

Erik couldn't help but chuckle at the most loyal of his wives. "That's my girl," he winked playfully at his maid-wife, causing Emma's smile to widen and her eyes to sparkle.

Erik then sighed and looked up at the ceiling helplessly. "Well, at least Emma still loves me…" he muttered, while melancholy tinged his words.

Instantly, he felt three angry, narrowed stares burrowing into his body from all sides. But before they could say anything, he laughed loudly. At the same time, he finally pulled his hands out from under Elora, and they became a blur as he pulled his four wives into a group hug.

Realizing what was happening, Elora yelped, and quickly turned her body big to prevent herself from being squished. Astrid, Emily, and Emma also made their surprise known, while Emma was even forced to bend strangely, since Erik's head was still on her lap.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"I'm just kidding my loves," Erik chuckled happily while hugging them tight. "I'm glad you guys got a way to let me know about your collective concerns, although I do hope you won't just stop coming to me with things personally."

Of course, none of them ever thought he did have a problem with it, for the simple reason that they could feel his emotions.

Now in his arms, his three newest wives giggled happily, while only Elora still pouted a little grumpily. But that was quickly solved, when Erik planted kisses on all their lips, which finally dissolved her frown.

Yet, she still didn't look entirely happy, prompting Erik to look into her emerald eyes with sincerity. "I know I took an unnecessary risk, Elora… but it was a small one, and you know it. I would never endanger our family."

On the side, Astrid chuckled, "Come on, Elora. I don't like it much either, but we lost the vote, remember?"

With both of their prodding, Elora finally deflated a little. 'I know I was the one to push him into getting more wives, but why can't they just agree with me,' she groaned inwardly.

Regardless, she finally sighed, and truly let it go. "Alright, alright," she grumbled while looking away. "You're forgiven this time."

But then she turned back to look at him with narrowed eyes, as her voice turned deathly serious. "But if you endanger our family again, even a little bit, and then loose the harem council vote, there will be hell to pay!"

Erik smiled softly and nodded obediently, "Understood, my love." He wasn't sure what sanctions or punishments his wives could lay down on him at such a time, but he wasn't keen on finding out either. He may be the dominant, and leading force in their lives, but he didn't want yes-women without their own opinion.

Mostly, anyway. There was Emma, of course, but that wasn't exactly the same. She simply considered serving and supporting him her life's purpose. Rather than having no will of her own, she expressed her own will everyday by serving him. In fact, he suspected that Emma possessed a willpower only matched by the far more experienced Elora.

He let his wives go, and they all sat up on the bed. Looking around, they quickly realized Alice, Nora, and Anne had left to give them some privacy.

But rather than comment on that, Erik suddenly realized Astrid had just said 'we' lost the vote. He looked at Astrid and Elora curiously. "Wait a second," he wondered out loud while pointing at the two of them. "If you two voted against my actions," then he pointed at Emily and Ema, "And you two voted for, then who broke the tie?"

It was Elora who answered with a casual shrug, "We made Alice the tie breaker."

That answer caused Erik to purse his lips a little at the thought of Alice being involved in anything harem-related, but then he shook is head and put his thoughts straight. "I guess that makes sense," he muttered a little. "She deserves some input."

He sighed, before moving on, and looking at his wives quizzically, "Anyway, did Seraphina make it out okay?"

At the mention of her name, Astrid and Elora's faces fell a little, but Emma and Emily both smiled. It was Emily who answered him with a nod, "She's fine, Master. Her pride is hurt, and she's a little shook up, but physically she's fine."

"That's good," he nodded, but then he smirked a little, and leaned back against the headboard of his bed, while crossing his hands in front of his stomach. "So, does the harem council have any wishes about how to handle her?"

Although Erik carried some blame for not making much of a fuss when he met Sera at the ship's deck, it was still she who made the decision to talk there. Plus, she admitted she'd already been on the deck multiple times before, meaning the fact Erik was there at the right time was mere coincidence, and she could have caused the ships destruction, and her own death, far earlier.

This time, Elora and Astrid perked up, with sinister grins on their faces.

Instantly, Erik rolled his eyes, "Okay, I can see the writing on the wall. Let me hear it, then."

Elora looked satisfied at her three sister-wives, before telling Erik about their decision. "It was unanimous this time!" she smirked victoriously. "There need to be consequences for endangering us, and proper gratitude for saving her!"

Her smirk deepened, "And we've already thought of a recommendation…"