Gerald trembled, the shaking of his hands so visible he clasped them together in a desperate attempt to hide it. His mouth was dry, his lips cracked, and when he spoke, his voice wavered like the thin edge of glass about to snap.
“Please,” he begged, his eyes wide and frantic. “Please, you must understand, I am of no use to you. I’m just Gerald now, as you rightly said. Just Gerald. No title, no place, no power. The alpha stripped me of everything. I am no elder of Blood Crescent any longer. I am nothing. Spare me, let me go. I swear, you gain nothing from keeping me here.”
The man across from him...still seated comfortably as though this were nothing more than a social visit...regarded him with an expression Gerald didn't understand. He let Gerald’s words hang in the air, savoring the w
