Chapter 37

**** Alyssa ****

“I’m so sorry! In my defense, when the bear growled, your wolf clamped his jaws tighter. I was happy until then to let him think he had me bested. I wanted to avoid this fight, but then when he bit down, I had to get him off me,” the Duke tries explaining as he kneels beside me. I hear the words, but they still don’t quite register.

Frantically trying to stem the bleeding, my hands slipped in the rapidly pooling blood. I can’t think straight when there’s this much blood. It’s hard to even tell where the worse part of the wound is.

“What did you do?” I mumble, more to myself than anything, my voice soft and shockingly fearful.

“He was going to kill me. I had to defend myself,” the Duke answers.

“I get that!” I snap. It doesn't make me feel any calmer though. “What exactly did you do?” tearing my eyes from my mate’s blood-soaked belly to glare at the Duke. Surprisingly, he does look regretful. He also answers immediately.

“I shifted my claws and tried to shove him