"Gerald! Gerald! Wake the f**k up!"
Someone was shaking him and the movement sent pain shooting through his entire body. Gerald opened his eyes to see Kael's worried face above him, his beta's hands gripping his shoulders.
"How long?" Gerald asked and his voice came out rough.
"Just a few seconds," Kael said quickly. "But you need to get up. The settlement---"
Gerald's eyes snapped fully open and he realized what had happened. He'd blacked out after hitting the tree and in that moment of unconsciousness something inside him had shifted.
He could feel it now, that rage that lived in his blood and his bones. The curse his grandfather had carried, that his father had fought against, that Gerald kept locked down tight through sheer force of will every single day of his life.
It was loose
