A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

"Let me ask you first, Asha, what's the most important thing when establishing a profound dom/sub relationship with someone? What is the thing that most people would be able to see through if you pretend, and without which you won't get anywhere?" Erik began, his voice calm despite Leila slurping on his dong and pleasure tingling up his spine.

Asha, still on her stomach on the counter, looked up at Erik and cocked her head for a moment. She pursed her lips a little in thought. Finally, she nodded with certainty. "It's confidence!"

A small smile spread on Erik's lips, having expected that answer. Yet, he shook his head. "Wrong. Confidence is good, but it's not essential. Love can compensate for a lack of confidence, for example. Two people can love each other, slowly explore each other's desires, and eventually end up in a dom/sub relationship, even if neither is confident in the beginning."

His relationship with Elora had essentially worked out this way, so he could speak from personal experience. He told Asha about this.

"Okay, so… what's the most important, then?" she asked him curiously.

Erik looked into her eyes and smiled mysteriously. "I can see you have a genuine desire to learn from me. That's good, and it brings me to my point: the most important thing is sincerity."

Asha raised both eyebrows. "Sincerity…?" she asked, a little sceptically. "How so?"

Without stopping his assault on Leila's throat, he began to explain, his voice stern. "You need to understand, Asha, that the life of a dom is not just getting to fuck your submissive lovers all day. The agreement you're establishing with them is essentially that they soothe your mind and pleasure your body, while you take care of everything they don't want to deal with."

He gently caressed Leila's cheek and looked down at her teary, but devotion-filled eyes, puffed cheeks, and bulging throat as she impaled herself with a gentle rhythm. "A relationship like this speaks to something primal inside you, and them. If you're not sincere in delivering your end of the bargain, they'll know. If not consciously, then subconsciously, and they'll never submit to you fully while they believe you're insincere in fulfilling your part."

He looked up at Asha again, whose eyes were wide with realisation. "Tell me, Asha. You've been sincere with your main girlfriend because you love her, but you've been trying to keep your other lovers at a bit of a distance, right? That's why you're not making much progress with them. Your lovers may enjoy your bossy, dominant nature, but they'll never become your true submissives while you remain insincere with them."

With wide eyes, Asha nodded. "I-Yeah… I guess you're right, but… what can I do about that? It's not like I'm not willing to take care of them, I'm just…"—a flicker of uncertainty appeared in her eyes—"I'm just not sure how Nita will react if I get more serious with them…"

"Yes, you wanted too much, too fast," Erik nodded sternly. "As soon as Nita became submissive enough to share with you a little, you became greedy. You started trying to subjugate others without the ability to be sincere with them. It wasn't bad to have a little fun after Nita gave you permission, but you should have continued focusing on her!"

He continued, some fervour in his voice as he spoke about a subject passionate to him. "Only once she's unable to deny you anything anymore; when she willingly becomes a participant in your attempts to create a harem, that's when you actually start expanding! That's when you can start being sincere with others, make them dependent on you, and bring them home to serve you—and possibly your girlfriend if you allow it."

By now, Asha was no longer lying on her stomach and occasionally glancing at Leila. Rather, she was sitting cross-legged on the counter and looking seriously at him. "Which also requires sincerity, right…?" she asked, frowning in thought. "Nita needs to believe there's no chance I'll abandon her…"

"Once again bringing us back to sincerity, exactly," Erik grinned, happy with how quickly she picked his up. "And this actually brings me to my first gift for you."

He flicked his hand, and suddenly a sigil stone appeared in it. He tossed it at Asha, and she quickly caught it. She inspected it with the curiosity of a cat. "This is a sigil stone, right…? What's inscribed on it?"

Erik explained calmly. "This sigil can bond with one master or mistress, you, for example, to become the nexus. After it's bound to you, you can start creating bonds with others, which will create marks on both your bodies to signify the bond. You'll then be able to talk to each other over a few kilometres, and most importantly, you'll sense each other's emotions. The bond can be broken at any time, by either party."

He continued explaining a little more about how she'd able to choose the mark locations and what they looked like on both bodies. Nora was actually the one who'd requested these as rewards for members of her church. Considering the material of her sermons, it was no surprise that many dom/sub relationships were forming within her followers.

Asha appeared thoroughly impressed as she looked at the sigil, but Erik had to warn her. "Just be aware of the pitfalls here," he frowned somberly. "There's deliberately no way to change or hide the emotions either party puts out. This bond will either prove your sincerity… or expose your insincerity. Only use it when you're absolutely sure."

"Got it," Asha nodded seriously. Without waiting, she activated the sigil stone and was surprised when it melded into her hand to form a mark on the back of it. Erik chuckled a little and quickly explained that this was normal and how to use it from here.

When he was done, she grinned at him. "Thank you, teacher! I'll make you proud!"

"Hah!" Erik barked a laugh and nodded. "Teacher, huh? Sure, I like it. Any questions before I get to the more practical parts?"

Asha nodded again. "Kind of. I'm wondering about love. You've mentioned it a few times, but how does it fit into dom/sub relationships, in your view? I love Nita, and she loves me, but I don't think I feel the same about the others."

"That's fine," Erik shrugged. "Mutual love just means you're making sure you're designing the relationship to fit you both. Without love, the relationship becomes more transactional… at least on your end. If you do your part right, there's almost no chance the submissive party doesn't fall in love with you, and you need to set their expectations right."

He looked down at Leila again. Gently cupping her cheek, he pulled his dripping cock out of her lip seal and vacated her mouth with a plop. Leila panted, tongue lolling out and saliva dripping down her chin. Her eyes were unfocused, but she moaned a delirious question. "Daddy… Use me more~? Please…? You haven't… fed me yet…"

"Heh, I'm almost ready to feed you, don't worry," he smirked, then cocked an eyebrow. "But first, do you love me, Leila?"

"So much," she nodded, smiling sincerely, yet clouded by lust. "I love you so much, Daddy… You make me feel safe, and good, and cared for. No one's ever made me feel like you do, and I don't ever want it to end… I can't do without it anymore…"

Erik nodded, then continued sternly. "What about the fact that I don't feel the same way?"

"Hehe, that's fine, Daddy," she giggled, still grinning unconcerned. "I don't need your love. My love is my gratitude for all you've done, not an expectation of the same. Please, just… keep making me feel this way…"

At that point, she opened wide and flicked her tongue desperately. Need burning in her eyes. Asha had watched the whole exchange with wide, excited eyes.

"Good girl," Erik smirked, and thrust back into her throat.