His answer was both honorable and disheartening.  The more time she spent with him, the more she knew that he was a good man and a good leader to his pack.  He put their interests before his own needs, which was what an alpha should do in the hard times.  Still, when he mentioned family she realized why this all meant so much to her.  Her parents were gone, killing Antony would not bring them back, but her pack was still out there, under his tyrannical rule.  She had witnessed enough in the time he kept her caged to know that he was not treating those beneath him in the pack well.  Some of the women of her pack had been coaxed or forced to consider a mate bond with lesser wolves, the men who served Antony.  They might have been lower in rank, but in a group, even weaklings were able to create a considerable force.<br/><br/>Ylva pulled back a little from Valko, but still stayed within his reach.  Her wolf growled at the move, though it was just as divided as she was.  Valko smelled like her mate.  Tasted like him.  So that end was simple to the beast inside of her.<br/><br/>"If they choose not to help my pack, Valko..."  She began, but almost did not want to say the words aloud.  It was as if speaking them would make them real, and some part of her wanted to create a bubble around them.  A safe place that could not be invaded by reality.<br/><br/>"They are your family and you've kept them safe.  I wouldn't ask you or them to threaten that safety...but my family is not safe.  They're dead, dying or unhappy.  I can’t pretend like they’re okay, while I live out a happy life here, with you.“ Tears has started to well up in her eyes, because she was so torn between the man standing before her and the loved ones she had left behind.<br/><br/>Perhaps it was better to be honest now, if she were the type that was able to just abandon the past she would not be fit to be alpha.<br/><br/>“Everything inside of me wants to be with you, Valko, and I know you are earnestly trying to do what is best...” She lifted a hand to his cheek and gently touched his face.  “And I want to be with you, I know my place is with you, but Antony isn’t a true leader and that pack is still mine, and that truth burns beneath my skin.”