Page 74 of Gunnar

Then a small, strangled sound escapes her.

I know what she sees.

An eight-foot grizzly stepping out of the trees.

Blood in his fur.

My fur.

I force the bear down.

Bones grind. Muscles twist. The shift tears through me, dropping me to one knee in the dirt.

By the time I look up again, I’m human again.

And she’s running toward me. “Gunnar!”

My muscles are shaking and the wound along my ribs burns like fire, but I force myself upright.

“I’m sorry, Alexandria,” I say.

“I tried to get back to the lodge, but I couldn’t see⁠—”

She stops a step away, breathing hard. Her eyes sweep over me, taking in the blood.

“Oh, my god, you’re hurt.”

“It’s nothing.”

She steps closer anyway. “That’s not nothing. I thought you were going to kill each other.”

“Bear fight.” I shrug. “Just how we work shit out sometimes.”

“Where is he?”

I jerk my head. “Gone to lick his wounds. He won’t be back for a while.”

She passes a hand across her face. There are tears in her eyes she’s trying to hold back. “He hates me, doesn’t he?”

I go still. Her words are a stab in my chest. “What? No—of course he doesn’t hate you.”

She swipes at her eyes with the heel of her hand, like she’s angry at herself. “Gunnar, we were just kissing—and he came in and attacked you. That was no coincidence. The deer on the table today. Everything.” She shakes her head. “He doesn’t want me here.”

I let out a breath. “Come here.”

I reach for her with both hands.

For a long moment she just looks at them. Then, slowly, she places her hands in mine.

“He doesn’t hate you,” I say, quieter now. “Of course not. Nobody could.”

I want to pull her in.

But I don’t.

Not like this. Not with blood still on my hands.

“He’s been on edge,” I go on. “Ever since that trouble with the other clan. He thinks this is on him. The blood debt. Thinks if he’d handled it differently, we wouldn’t be dealing with any of it now.” I shake my head. “He’s not thinking straight. He’s just… worried you being here brings more risk.”