She knew the difficult place she had put him in.  But the way he said he would help her, it calmed the storms inside her in a way she had not expected.  Though she desperately wanted her revenge, the tranquility was a subtle reminder that leaving him would also break a piece of her.  It was incredibly rare for wolves to forsake a mating bond as strong as this one.  To do so was to court utter madness, because no other would satisfy like this chosen person would.  Ylva realized if she did run off to try and kill Antony, but died in the process, she might truly be sentencing Valko to a horrible life of loneliness at best, and insanity at worst.  He was willing to try and help her, so she needed to be willing to try and make it work as well.<br/><br/>She wiped the tears from her eyes and took his hand.  As they walked through the village, he was right, the people around them watched their movements carefully.  The conversation with Gunter had no doubt sent rumors spinning through the pack.  Now, as Valko led her by the hand, whatever modesty or secrecy she had tried to create was likely simply gone.  His pack would know about the attraction between them soon, if they weren't aware already.<br/><br/>The site of the river also sent a bit of calm through her heart.  Even though less than a day had passed since she bathed in it with Valko, that had been the place where their wolves seemed to realize the pull between them.  She immediately caught site of the elders, a group of older wolves, three women and two men, sitting on logs near the shore, watching as the river ran by.  Most were either silver-haired, or dark haired with streaks of silver, but one woman stood out, who had managed to keep a good portion of her auburn hair.  She smiled at Ylva as they approached and her smile held a genuine warmth.  It wasn't just a welcoming smile, the woman seemed very pleased to see her and Valko together.  Perhaps she had been witness to the ruckus that occurred that morning.<br/><br/>"So some upstart sends you a she-wolf as a gift and the first thing you do is bed her Valko?  Tsk tsk."  The woman said as they got near, clicking her tongue playfully.  Her words confirmed that she had likely heard what Gunter shouted this morning, but she clearly knew Valko better than Ylva's childhood friend did.  The woman pushed to her feet, using a wide branch as a cane and once her feet were steady beneath her, she shook it in Valko's direction.  "It was a bit fun watching that stranger scold you, though I assumed you two simply felt the call of your wolves and did what came naturally, since I never assumed you the type to harm a wounded woman."  A smirk blossomed on the lady's lips and it caused Ylva to blush in spite of herself.  She wondered if this woman was just very perceptive, or if the whole village now knew that she and Valko had slept together last night.