My Kingdom Come Book 1: The Saints We See (Complete)

Chapter 14: Monster

661 standard years after the signing of the Alliance treaty

Hathu quietly let himself into the house. Blue team had worked hard today and he'd let them out early. He told them to go home and get a good night's sleep, that he had something special planned for the next day.

His father wasn't home yet. Hathu had suspected he would be having another meeting tonight.

Hathu sank into a seat at the dining room table, dropping his bag on the floor next to him. He pulled his datapad out of his pocket and flipped to tomorrow's training schedule, out of habit. He stared for a long moment at the page of notes that he had gone over with his leadership team just half an hour ago. His hands were shaking. He dropped the datapad on the table and hid his face in his hands. Did I do enough?

"Master Hathu?"

Hathu let his hands drop. He looked up at Gemma standing in the doorway of the kitchen.

"Are you okay?"

He opened his mouth to say he was fine, but the words wouldn't come out of his mouth. The intense pressure that had been building up in his chest for the last two weeks seemed to rise up his throat and settle in his fangs. Hathu's eyes squeezed shut, his hands flew up to clutch at his face and he cried out. His mind filled with the irresistible urge to bite into something. Anything.

Gentle hands touched his shoulder.

"Master Hathu."

Hathu's entire body clenched in on itself. Gemma's scent was much stronger than usual and it was irresistibly tantalizing. His mouth filled with saliva. The ache in his fangs grew stronger. He felt like if he didn't bite something, he would go mad.

"Hathu, let me help you."

"No." Hathu groaned, clenching his throbbing jaw. He was filled with loathing for himself. I am not a monster. I will not be a monster.

"Hathu." Gemma's tone was soft. "It's okay. Relax."

Hathu was terrified. He had no idea what to do, or even what was happening. The pressure in his fangs and the urge in his mind to hunt, to bite, tear, rip...was all growing to the point where he wasn't sure he would be able to stop himself from hurting Gemma.

"Let me help you, Hathu."

I need to get out of here. Hathu shoved his chair back and tried to stumble for the door, but Gemma grabbed him by the shoulders.

"No, Hathu. You can't go out right now." Her voice was still soft, but her grip was forceful. She lightly kicked the back of his knees and he crumpled to a kneeling position.

"Bite into this."

Another smell was pushed up to his face. Meat. Hathu grabbed at the large hunk of raw meat like a starved animal. He bit into it over and over ripping and tearing at it with his teeth. The ache in his fangs eased a little each time his jaws squeezed down on the meat. He slowly began to feel calmer. Finally the unbearable urge to bite and the pressure in his fangs was gone. Hathu became aware of the shredded hunk of meat in his hands. It was turning black.

"There, you did good, Master. Do you feel better?"

Hathu slowly looked up at Gemma. He felt intense shame. What's wrong with me? Tears started in his eyes.

Gemma smiled at him kindly. "Come master, let's get you cleaned up." She took hold of his elbow, helped him up and led him into the kitchen. "Drop the meat in the trash bin, there, master."

Hathu dropped the meat into the bin.

Gemma guided him over to the sink. She turned the water on. "You wash up and I'll get your supper ready, master."

Hathu pushed his hands into the water. The feeling of the warm water on his skin seemed to bring him back to himself. There was a bitter taste in his mouth along with the dull taste of old blood. His breathing slowed and deepened as he washed his hands, then leaned forward rinsed his mouth out and washed his face. He dried his face and hands on a towel then stood quietly at the counter for a moment. The pressure in his chest was gone. The thoughts in his mind had slowed. He felt tired. Very tired.

"Where would you like to eat, master?"

Hathu turned around and gestured at the island in the center of the kitchen. There were stools tucked under the far side of the counter. Gemma put a plate of hot food on the counter.

"What would you like to drink, master?"

"Water." He made his way over to the other side of the counter, sat down and began to eat. The food tasted extra good tonight. He was much hungrier than he had realized. Gemma set a glass of water in front of him.

"Gemma. What just happened to me?" Hathu asked between hurried bites.

"Don't rush, master Hathu. I don't want you to make yourself sick. There's plenty more."

Hathu tried to slow down and chew more thoroughly.

"As for what just happened; master, you're going through puberty. You have been sleeping very little, eating very little. You have been very stressed about the upcoming games. All that together has put a large amount of stress on your mind and body. Stress is a signal to your system that you are in danger. Your mind is just trying to protect you and relieve that stress by building up an excess amount of venom in your venom glands and pushing your prime to the forefront of your control. I'm sorry you don't have parents that could have been here for you tonight. That must have been terrifying for you."

Hathu took a deep breath. He never wanted to go through that again. "It was terrifying. Thank you for-" his eyes filled with tears. He put his fork down and covered his eyes with his hand.

"Master?" Gemma laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Hathu pulled his emotions back under control. He wiped his eyes and looked up at Gemma standing next to him. "You've always looked out for me Gemma. Thank you so much."

She smiled. "It's my pleasure, master. You've always been a good boy and you're growing up to be a fine young man."

"Thank you, Gemma." Hathu turned back to his food feeling even more guilty.

Gemma cleaned up around the kitchen while Hathu ate. It reminded him of when he was a little boy, after Deetha had gotten married. He would eat an early supper in the kitchen while Gemma finished preparing the meal for father and the guests that were coming to his meeting. Then Hathu would go up to his room for the night while the meeting went on downstairs.

Hathu finished eating his food and brought his empty plate to the sink where Gemma was washing dishes.

"Did you want anything more to eat, master?"

"No Gemma. I'm tired. I'm going to go up and sleep. Thank you." He hesitated for a moment, then he leaned down and kissed her cheek before leaving the kitchen.

He felt relaxed and sleepy. He gathered his bag and datapad then made his way upstairs. He almost decided to skip taking a shower before bed, he had another early start tomorrow. He was just pushing his bedroom door open when he heard his mother call his name. He paused. She called his name again.

Hathu made his way down the hallway to his parents' room. He stood outside the door. It was slightly ajar. "Yes, mother?"

"Come in, Hathu."

Hathu pushed the door open. He stepped just inside the doorway. The small light on his father's side of the bed was on. His mother was in bed, her face held no emotion.

"Hello, Hathu."

"Hello, mother."

She stared at him for a long moment. "Hathu, did you mean what you said the other night? Am I prey, weak and pathetic?" Her voice was flat and emotionless.

Hathu swallowed and shook his head. "No mother. I was just saying whatever I had to, to distract father."

"Hm. Hathu?"

"Yes?"

She was quiet for another long moment, then she said, "goodnight."

"Goodnight mother." Hathu pulled the door almost closed behind him and went to bed.