"We use sap of the spruce for wounds such as these, I have not seen aloe before,"  Ylva said with a soft shake of her head.  The slightly green gel offered stung for a moment but then immediately began to soothe the pain of the marks upon her wrists.  Wolves healed rather quickly as it was, the injury she had purposefully incurred would not remain on her skin for more than a few days, but this certainly lessened the pain.  "I won't scratch them."  She wondered if the aloe would also help with the marks that were typically left by burn-like injuries.  That was what silver did, it was like a hot iron against the skin, melting and searing into the flesh of a werewolf.  The sad thing was, Antony knew what he was doing when he put those chains on her.  He knew the injuries they could inflict.<br/><br/>Ylva shook her head more fervently when he told her to forget the man who had killed her father and usurped her rightful place in the pack.  She knew why he warned off, even with barely meeting him, she could tell his intentions were earnest.  He was trying to protect the pack and protect her.  As he came in closer, she tensed.  Ylva had been too used to Antony and his betas only getting close when they intended to put her in her place.  She would have been able to take Antony or the others one on one, or maybe even three on one, but they had kept her docile to an extent using lack of food and sometimes pouring something into what little water they gave her.  It had been months since any other wolf approached her without some ill intention.  Still, all it took was a single breath in with him this close for her anxieties to flee.  His scent filled her senses and somehow it immediately gave her the impression that she could trust him.  Perhaps even more than that, the scent was attractive.  Most alphas she had met smelled good, but this was different from that smell of strength and power.  Something she could not put her finger on.<br/><br/>"I would very much like to bathe, cold water or if there is a lake or ocean nearby, anything will be fine."  Their human counterparts did not always bathe with regularity but the wolves, but humans did not run through branches and sap and mud as the wolves did.  Ylva reached out a hand and touched his forearm.  She was not sure the action was really important, beyond gathering his attention.  "I cannot forget, but I promise you...I vow to you, I will not do anything intentionally to cause discord within your pack.  I also will not run off to dig my claws into his neck, for the time being.  I fear I am not strong enough for any such attempt."  As the people around them filtered out of the hall, a bit of worry began to fill her chest.  She had been alone a lot in the last few months and wolves were creatures that craved company.  She did not want to be left alone again.<br/><br/>"Antony sees the world as a beta or even less than a beta.  He craves the attention of a she-wolf, and so he thinks offering attractive mates to the unmated will buy him favor.  If he were a true alpha, he would realize that if you were to take me as a mate, then your interests would begin to align with my own.  The same goes for my female packmates he may have sent off to other unmated alphas.  He is creating stronger enemies, not more peaceable friends..."