The soap washed off the blood, and the warmth of the water relaxed her muscles. The young woman drifted deeper in to the bathtub, closing her eyes.

Loki's bathroom was completely golden, and she could see the glow even behind closed eyes.

"Ylva"

Ylva shrieked and sat up, splashing the water around her.

A man stood across the room, dressed in black hunting attire.

He seemed to be in his late thirties, yet his hair was dark grey with streaks of white just like his short, stubbly beard. Bold eyebrows framed his irritating yellow eyes, and Ylva realized how handsome he was when he smiled.

"Apologies, I know this is a bit inconvenient" he said, his voice a smooth baritone. "Dress yourself and come outside" he demanded politely, not looking at her form hidden by the foam, but directly into her eyes.

"Pack Leader?" Ylva asked. Her heart was racing. His eyes were all to familiar, and his whole appearance radiated authority.

"You can call me Ullr, Yvla" Ullr blinked and walked outside the bathroom. Ylva dressed as quickly as she could and practically ran outside to find him on the balcony.

Ullr was staring at the moon, his eyes glooming yellow.

Ylva couldn't help but to stare at the Pack Leader in his human form.

If anyone would ask Ylva to describe him, she would only have complete opposites in her mind: He seemed young, yet incredibly old, well-mannered, yet untamed,friendly, yet somehow vicious and brutal.

"The trickster has done well for himself. I know him since he was a child" Ullr stated, then turned to Ylva.

"Don't fear me, Ylva. We are family" he spread his arms as her in a welcoming gesture.

Ylva nodded, her wet hair still clinging to her skin. "Pack Leader, I am honored by your presence" she said, remembering Ullr was a god. The god of winter, Ylva remembered as she shivered. The air was ice cold.

"No need to be so formal. I want to help you, Ylva" Ullr offered, his eyes glimmering with amusement.

"And I sure need it. I have done something terrible today, and I don't know how to fix it" Ylva confessed, feeling more at ease. Her wolf senses told her this was her leader, and that she could trust him unconditionally.

Ullr stepped forward and stroke over Ylva's cheek: "I already fixed it. The twins only remember your version of the story, and they will send North to serve a noble man who is in my debt. They will have a happy life there, far away from court"

"Thank you. But Ullr.. why didn't you come earlier? Why didn't you help my father when he killed this man? He and I, we both needed you!" Ylva said loudly, lowering her eyes. He was above her, and she could not disrespect the god Ullr himself.

Ullr chuckled softly. The white in his hair looked like snow had fallen on his head and not melted.

"You have a wolf's temper" Ullr smiled, showing his slightly longer canine teeth.

"A long time ago, my father was our pack leader. His children could turn into wolves at night, and they were powerful and wild.

Odin thought they were a danger to Asgard, and he did nothing as humans started to hunt the wolves down. My father alone could not protect all the werewolves, and he begged Odin for help.

The Allfather called the wolves monsters unworthy of living, and within a few years, all the werewolves were killed. It broke my father's heart. He didn't survive it" Ullr told bitterly, and Ylva noticed frost flowers unfolding on the wall of the palace.

Ylva felt tears running down her cheeks. While Ullr was speaking, she could see the images in her head: Wolves, piled up like dead cattle, with red blood tainting their fur.

"How could he do such a thing? They were humans during the day. They had families" Ylva whispered, deeply moved by the god's story.

Ullr nodded, deep hatred in his eyes.

"That sounds just like Odin."

Ylva swirled around, only to see Loki standing on the other side of the balcony. He was dressed in his green and golden armor, and he even wore the helmet with the long corns. Loki looked more majestic than she had ever seen him.

"Loki" Ullr said, bowing down with mockery.

"I said I would not let you out of my sight" Loki said lowly to Ylva, then turned to the god.

"Continue your story, please" Loki's green eyes were slits, and Ylva could see his hand gripping his dagger.

"Killing the wolves wasn't enough for the good people of Asgard. They knew the descendants existed. Odin forced me and Skadi to flee into the wilderness, away from humans, so that our magic could not awaken the descendant's heritage. They stayed just like the rest of mankind, while my sister and I lived alone, apart from the world"

Ylva could feel Ullr's anger. Her instincts took over, and the wolf inside her was ready to do anything Ullr demanded.

Loki looked like he was ashamed of Odin's actions.

"I remember you coming to the Palace, though, Ullr" Loki said calmly, not seeming to mind the harsh cold air.

Ullr's features began to relax, and the mischievous smile returned to his lips.

"Odin scolded me for breaking the rules of my banishment. I had approached Vernwood in a hunt and triggered a descendant's gene, Ylva's father to be precise.

Odin offered to pardon me and Skadi. His youngest son, prince Loki, had a mysterious power of freezing objects he hold in his hands when he was angry, or making the air colder. Odin hoped the god of winter may be able to help. But I couldn't. You and I, we are completely different species"

Ylva took Loki's hand as she saw the hurt in his eyes. His own father had tried to cure him from his abnormality, and Loki tried his best to pretend it didn't bother him.

"Odin was very disappointed in me, and instead of letting Skadi and me come back to Asgard, he cast a spell that would truly keep us away forever, a line we could never cross"
Again, anger took over in Ullr's eyes as he started to play with the hunting knife at his belt.

"He also insured that you could never tell anyone about me" Loki completed, realization dropping on him. Ullr pointed at Loki with his knife.

"Exactly."

"Do you blame me?" Loki asked defiantly, and Ullr started to throw the blade in the air only to catch it.
Ylva felt the tension between them, but she stayed quiet. She would only intervene if one of them would threaten the other.

"We are even, trickster" Ullr grinned his wolfish grin, and Loki started to smile as well: "I killed Odin and broke the spell"

"Thanks to you, trickster, I can be here in this beautiful palace with the lovely Ylva, who is now the newest member of my pack"

"How can you have a pack, if the Akessons are the last of their bloodline?" Loki asked, and now Ylva was curious as well. According to her father, they were the last descendants alive

"I may let everyone believe all my father's children are dead. But trust me, trickster, the Akessons aren't the last. Now that I can move around freely, more of the descendants will join my pack"

Ullr started to walk around on the balcony, his steps smooth like the ones of a predator.

"I have a deal for you, trickster. You let me and my sister back into the realm. In exchange, you have our full support. A king like you needs allies."

"I won't banish your kind. I am not the Allfather. I do not fear anyone who is different" Loki said, his green eyes honest and passionate.

Ullr looked at Ylva, and then back to Loki. She was still clinging at his arm.

"Ylva may stay at your side then, trickster, as my eyes and ears"

"What if I hurt people again?" Ylva asked warily, and Ullr approached her, cupping her face with his warm, rough hands.

"You will learn not to, Ylva. I will help you" the god with the grey hair turned to Loki, and put his hunting knife under his throat.

"Ylva does not belong to you, frost giant. You may love her, but you'll never own her. She is a wolf of my pack, and she does not need to obey anyone but me" Ullr growled, his yellow eyes flashing.

Then, the god's siluette began to glow.

Before Loki could fight him, the god of winter began to fade.

"We know about Thanos. We know about the deal you made with him, and the promise you broke. Give him the Tesseract, or Thanos will turn Asgard into ashes"

Ullr's voice faded as well, and Ylva was left with Loki on the balcony, while snow flakes began to fall from the sky.

Nope, I have not forgotten about Thanos :D I had so much fun writing Ullr aka Pack Leader. In case you're wondering, I kinda imagined him to look like Chris Pine (except for the yellow eyes and grey hair of course)

Thank you for your reviews!