Whatever efforts she might have made to conceal what had happened between them the night before, were now for nothing.  Gunter had all but announced it to Valko's entire pack that they had been together.  Ylva looked a little deflated as she entered Valko's home again.  There had been some hope that the dramatics of her past were behind her, that things could move on and that she could find her footing again, but it seemed that was not the case yet.<br/><br/>Gunter settled on one of the benches, though he still looked disgruntled, and that expression did not fade as Valko began to question him further.  His brow furrowed and he waited for the younger wolf to finish.<br/><br/>"I have known Ylva since she was barely more than a twiggy, wee thing and I was barely much bigger myself then.  Our packs were peaceful, friendly even.  Antony was able to keep the word of his attacks quiet for quite a time, and then when it did spread, my pack was not in a place to try and rescue her.  We're small, no more than ten souls among us, and the Evergreen pack numbers at least ten times that."  Gunter began, folding his arms over his chest as if he were daring Valko to challenge his logic.  "I had no good options.  I could run in, try to save her on my own, and risk my death, or risk the deaths of several of my packmates.  I assume ye would have made a similar call, yes?"<br/><br/>Ylva knew it was the right call, and she would have been mad if Gunter had tried otherwise and lost his life or the lives of his packmates.  "I had heard yer pack was reasonable and fair, I figured I could approach her here and see to her safety."<br/><br/>In all reality, his presence here caused Ylva to realize something she had not recognized before...Gunter's pack was dying.  He had no mate and most of his wolves were not exactly the fighting kind, one elderly couple and two small families.  Without a mate, the leadership of the pack would not grow.  He had come here hoping to find a way to breathe new life into what would be lost, she somehow saw that in his eyes...And instead he was met with a loss.<br/><br/>"Look, Gunter, I know the way he and I are going about things is...Unconventional...but Valko has already served as a balm after a horrific few months of my life.  Even if a mate-bond was on the table, with how chaotic and strong my feelings are about seeing that Antony someday meets justice, I am not sure I could commit fully.  This isn't Valko's fault, I accept full responsibility and he has done nothing wrong, nothing to hurt me..."  Ylva said, trying to calm the fires between the two men.