Valko was prepared for any number of branching paths, careful to note the tension in Gunter's muscles, the snarl at his lip. He was prepared to fight, if needed. Prepared to sink his teeth into this stranger's neck and force him to submit. He was prepared for Gunter to walk away, or for him to try and convince Ylva to leave with him, or anything... anything except<i>this. </i>The alpha tilted his head, brows knit together, confused. Gunter was chastising him like he was a child who had behaved inappropriately, broken some kind of decorum. What business was it of Gunter's what he and Ylva did in the privacy of his own home? Valko was a young alpha, certainly, and perhaps he hadn't listened as closely as he should have to the elders' teachings on mate bonds, but that was between him and Ylva and no one else, especially this stranger with a mouth full of judgmental words.<br/><br/>"Ylva is a wolf grown, as am I. What we choose to do with one another is none of your concern," Valko snapped, irritated. Valko had been careful to never knot a female, to never leave a bastard pup without caring, loving parents. Being an alpha's pup was difficult enough without the feelings of pain and neglect that came with an unmated father bouncing between families to which he held little emotional connection. He had been careful, and the one time he chose to submit to his desires he was being met with nagging from some wolf he had never met before. What had he done to deserve such scrutiny?<br/><br/>Ylva's thoughtful words calmed him somewhat, though agitation still pricked at the back of his neck. No longer attempting to subtly watch the two alphas bicker, Valko's wolves were staring now, prepping in case they needed to defend their alpha. Valko sighed, shaking his head and turning back toward his home. "Come in," he said, waving Ylva and Gunter forward. "No need to cause a scene here. If you have anything else you wish to say to me, you can do so inside."<br/><br/>He waved lazily toward some of the long benches surrounding the now dead fire pit. "Make yourself comfortable. If you require food or drink, I shall send someone to retrieve something for you." He paused, inhaling deeply before speaking again.<br/><br/>"It sounds like you and Ylva have some history. I wonder, where were you, Gunter, when Antony usurped the Evergreen pack and kept Ylva like a common pet? You who worry so for her honor. Why come now to rescue her from my clutches and not then?"