A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Honestly, the real shapeshifters and vampires were fairly boring when compared to those depicted by modern media. They did have a higher regeneration rate compared t0 humans, however.

At least, that is everything Erik\'s parents taught him on the matter.

Regardless, telepathy was certainly something new for the young Erik as he genuinely started to lose all grip on exactly what situation he was in.

Despite his fear, however, he realised he needed to answer this voice, but had no idea how to.

Likely anticipating the problem, Elora sounded again. "To answer me, just think with the intention of relaying the thought. I\'ll pick it up."

Erik hesitantly tried to do as Elora had said by thinking \'at\' her, "Hello? How are you doing this? Who are you? And where am I?"

Somehow, Erik felt like Elora was mentally shaking her head at him, "I told you, my name is Elora. The rest is not important right now. Instead, we should focus on the fact that you\'re dying."

This time, it was Erik\'s turn to shake his head, mentally anyway, "I\'ll be fine. My wounds aren\'t deadly, and the wolfsbane won\'t kill me; I just need a little time for my natural regeneration to take care of it."

But he received a small, somewhat condescending laugh in return, "Come now, I\'ve read your memories. You\'re not a genius, but neither are you an idiot. You know this fatigue you feel is not natural."

Unfortunately, Erik knew she was right. His parents put him through some intense training to give him the ability to survive. This training often left him wounded and even poisoned by wolfsbane.

Yet never before had he felt as strangely disconnected from his body as he did right now.

Considering the state of his body, he should feel fatigued, sure, but also pain and his mind shouldn\'t be as clear as it is. Yet, right now, his mind seemed fine, while his body felt so heavy he couldn\'t even open his eyes.

After a few moments of silence, he said, "So what are you saying? And what do you mean you read my memories?"

Elora giggled with amusement, "Exactly what it sounds like; I read your memories. You see, the state of your body is a direct result of your wounded soul because it is slowly detaching itself from your body."

While Erik tried to put aside the discomfort he felt at his memories being read, Elora continued, "It won\'t be long before your soul loses all grip on your body and dissipates into the air, which, surprise, surprise, is bad for you. Your wounded soul is also why I could read your memories so easily."

As if anticipating what Erik was about to ask, she shook her head mentally, "And don\'t ask me how you wounded your soul; I promise to tell you everything later, but for now, time is limited."

Suddenly, Erik felt like she was smiling mysteriously at him, "I have a proposal that will not only help you survive but help you thrive. Accepting or not is up to you, but I have to warn you, it\'s not much of a choice, considering the only other options are becoming a lab rat to my mother or death."

Erik wasn\'t sure whether Elora was manipulating him or not, but even if she was, what could he do about it? Currently, he was at the mercy of these two women, and becoming a lab rat certainly didn\'t sound appealing.

He grumbled a little, but after another moment of silence, he asked, "What is this proposal?"

He could almost feel the victorious grin on Elora\'s face as she answered, "Become my soul-bound! Although fairies like myself are magically gifted, we only have access to a specific type of magic called Seidr magic, which is not suited for combat."

She continued explaining, "Because of this, fairies have devised a way to create a soul bond with someone who will then act as their protector while the fairy supports them with their Seidr magic. And I want you to be my protector!"

Erik decided to set aside his surprise about the existence of fairies for now and instead focus on the actual issue, "I\'m guessing this soul bond will heal me?"

He received a mental shrug, "Not directly, but through the bond, I will be able to heal you."

Erik nodded thoughtfully, frowning, "Alright, but this is not the only way you have to save me, right? Otherwise, becoming a lab rat wouldn\'t be an option."

Elora chuckled at Erik\'s deduction, "Clever boy. But you are partially wrong: the only person here who can save you without the soul bond is my mother, and she will definitely use you as a lab rat afterwards. However, if you prefer death over either option, I promise to kill you quickly."

Erik fell silent again. He felt ashamed for considering the option of a simple death. He had always been timid and a little apathetic, trying to avoid conflict and going through training mostly to appease his parents. He preferred to spend his time reading.

The events orchestrated by Edda may have lit a flame under him for a while there, but now that he was in this situation, he wondered if continuing to live was worth it.

Still, there was a small ember inside him, burning for revenge. The question was if he wanted to make a deal with the devil for it? After all, "Neither you nor your mother are good people, right?" he asked Elora.

Elora giggled cheerfully, "You\'re right about that. My mother has always taught me to be ruthless towards anyone outside our family."

"That said," she continued with her lips pursed in amusement, "you should still consider yourself lucky you encountered me."

"Full disclosure:" she sighed, "fairies are divided into two factions, \'The Radiant Glade\' and \'The Obsidian Enclave\'. While the former is considered righteous and the latter wicked, the main point of contention between the two factions is in how we handle our protectors."

She shrugged as she explained, "The Glade creates equal bonds, where the fairy and their protector become true partners, but the Enclave creates bonds of slavery, where the protector will serve the fairy with absolute obedience."

Erik got an ominous feeling when he asked, "Dare I ask which faction you belong to?"

Elora laughed at the obvious question with the equally obvious answer, "The Enclave, of course. But I meant it when I said you should consider yourself lucky. You see, like my fellow members of the Enclave, I am plenty wicked, but unlike the others, I prefer the idea of making a bond of equals with my protector."

Her voice grew excited, as she had clearly been thinking about this for a long time, "I don\'t want a slave to do my bidding; what I want is a partnership to last the ages! I want it to be you and me against the world!"

Her voice was filled with promise of the future, "I want us to stand above the rest! To be king and queen, emperor and empress, I want us to rule hand in hand, so do away with your timidity and become a conqueror!"

Fire seeped in her voice, "You\'ve already seen the way the world truly is. And I see the rage and fury hiding behind a facade of defeatism. Give in to it! Show the world what you can do! What we can do!"

Finally, her voice turned to a purring whisper, "With me by your side, you will never be brought so low again. Never again will your fate be in anyone\'s hands but mine and your own. Just like my fate will be both in my hands and yours."

Erik felt himself getting swept up in her enthusiasm, and the fury he had buried after losing all hope when Edda cornered him was once again rearing its head, demanding to be given a say.

For the first time since he woke up on that ridge overlooking the slaughter of everyone he cared about, he felt like there was a clear path forward. Grab this woman\'s hand, give in to his desires and step to the forefront. Forget his old self and become someone new!

He felt like saying yes then and there, but there was still something he was unclear about, "You still haven\'t told me why you want me for this."

The answer was immediate, "At first, it was just because your species and physiology are ideally suited for my unique talent, something I will tell you about later."

She shrugged, "But after checking your memory, I realised you were even more perfect. Although you were initially a little too timid for me, I can see that recent events have changed you enough for me to manipulate you into becoming more like the man I want by my side."

Erik actually had to laugh at her words, "You\'re pretty honest for a wicked person."

He could feel her smiling in a conspiratorial manner, "Only to you, my dear protector."

Erik fell silent for a few more minutes, but in the end, his newly awakened desire for power and revenge made him long for a new beginning. \'It\'s sketchy, but what\'s my alternative? Lab rat? Death? Sure, maybe this woman lied to me, but the fact is, I still can\'t move.\'

His inner struggle was short, and with a mental sigh, he decided to accept, "So, how do we create this bond?"

He felt Elora\'s enthusiasm as she said, "Just repeat after me:

Through highs and lows, we find our way,

A journey marked by night and day.

Hand in hand, through thick and thin,

Our souls a dance that\'s set to spin.

No force can sever what\'s combined,

Two hearts, one rhythm, well-aligned.

In cosmic waltz, we move with grace,

Soul-bound partners, forever embrace."

As Elora\'s words echoed in his mind and he repeated them, Erik felt a surge of energy pulsating through him. The air around him seemed to thrum with power as invisible threads of fate weaved around them, binding them together in a powerful bond.