Beastly Intentions Ch. 07

Instead, he stared at Jeffrey as the man stood motionless, the platter of food in one hand. In the other was a bundle of herbs that he'd just started shaking over the food.

Nathaniel's nose, still sensitive even in his human form, smelled the aroma of those same herbs that Jeffrey used on his food during the change. He stared in confusion, not understanding for an instant why Jeffrey would be putting those herbs on his food now, for he was a man again, and not a beast.

Understanding dawned, and, with it, a growing horror as he thought back to the times he'd eaten those same drugs, the way the food made him feel, the medicines Jeffrey pushed upon him the days before the change to try to thwart its hold upon him. These herbs, that medicine, it was what caused the change!

Nathaniel grabbed Jeffrey by the throat, the plate of drugged food falling to the floor at his feet and spattering over the old musty carpeting. "What is this?" he roared. He grabbed the bag of herbs in his hand, holding it up as he stared at the man he'd trusted above any other.

"It is just herbs, master," Jeffrey stuttered, for behind the eyes of the man he could see the savage nature of the beast longing to get out.

"Just herbs? You expect me to believe that? Then I guess you wouldn't mind eating some of them yourself?" He shook the older man who hung from his hands like a wet rag doll.

"I...I meant no harm, Master. Surely you know of my loyalty to you and your family. I was with your father until his death; I sat with you when your mother took her life. I helped you through the changes and kept you safe and away from those who would hurt you. You cannot think I would wish you ill, Master." Jeffrey cowered in his hand, holding up his own as he pled for his life.

Nathaniel turned, shoving the older man into the room, feeling this betrayal to his soul. "Why? You must tell me why you've done this to us, Jeffrey, to me and my father, and my mother whom you professed to love with your very soul. How could you hurt her so by taking away the one thing she loved with her whole heart?"

"Nathaniel?" Melissa called, stepping down from the bed, belting the huge robe snugly around her tiny waist. "What is it?"

"You drank of the tea I made yesterday, did you not, Melissa?"

"You know I did, but it was a bitter brew, as I told you, Nathaniel. What is this?" she asked, holding out her hand to Jeffrey and going to help the older man up.

"Do not touch him!" Nathaniel snarled, grabbing her and holding her close to him. "He has been poisoning my food, Melissa, all these years with this same mixture. He's the cause of the curse, the reason that the beast came to be. You drank the tea, the tea I brewed from these herbs. Then you changed, but like me, when I first changed, it didn't last, and only showed as a lengthening of the teeth, a growth of the nails." He lifted the bag with the herbs in it. "Where did this come from?"

Jeffrey stood on his own, brushing off the knees of his black breeches with shaking hands. He held his head high, though his cheeks were wan and pale. "An old woman in the village, Master Nathaniel, she makes the blend for me from an ancient recipe."

"Why, Jeffrey? I thought of you as family, as the father I'd never known. Why did you do this to us?" Nathaniel felt Melissa's arm coming around him, squeezing gently as she stood at his side.

"It started so many years ago, sir; you were but a lad when I was approached. I...had a small problem with gambling and had borrowed money from the wrong people. I was desperate for a way out of the predicament I was in. I was also young and foolish." Jeffrey shook his head, his disgust for himself evident. "I should have gone to your father as soon as I was offered the deal, told him everything. But I was proud and jealous and spiteful."

"Who approached you?" Melissa asked.

Jeffrey closed his eyes, a huge sigh coming from deep inside of him. "If I tell you, he'll kill me."

"If you don't tell me, I'll kill you. I wonder what eating the entire contents of this bag would do to you, Jeffrey." Nathaniel held the bag up in his hand, his intent clear.

"It would indeed kill me, sir," Jeffrey said, pushing a strand of gray hair from his face. "It is probably what I deserve for the evil I have done. But I will plead for my life if it becomes necessary."

"Tell me who got you to do these things to my family, Jeffrey, and I might be persuaded to give you a head start before I come after you to kill you."

Nathaniel's voice deepened, turning into a throaty growl reminiscent of the beast.

"Y-your Uncle, sir. He came to me all those years before, offering me enough money to end my problems and to make my life easier if I would but feed the herbs to your father and become his treasured servant and keeper. I had no idea at first what it would do..."

"You lie," Nathaniel hissed a line of white forming around his lips. "You bastard, you lie!"

"No sir," Jeffrey yelped, jumping back as Nathaniel surged forward, the lust for blood in his eyes. "He was here last night sir, he wants me to...to..." he glanced helplessly over at Melissa.

"He wants you to what, Jeffrey?" Melissa asked him, putting her small body between the two men.

"To kill you, Miss. He knows that you will distract the master, keep him from the routine that keeps him the beast, as you've already done. He wants you dead, mutilated as if the beast had done the killing. He said that it would be the last straw to push Nathaniel into the madness of the drug." Jeffrey reached out a shaking hand toward Melissa. "I told him no. I told him that giving the drug was one thing, but murder, that was something I couldn't do."

"My uncle," Nathaniel said, his arm falling away from Melissa's shoulders. "Why would he want me dead? I am his last living relative."

"Money," Jeffrey said simply. "He wishes it all, your title, your lands, all your money. It will be his if anything were to happen to you without an heir."

"He drugged his brother, his nephew, wanted to kill me, all because of greed?" Melissa was shocked, her hand going to her throat.

"It is an evil thing done by an evil person." Jeffrey bowed his head, waiting for the master's next words.

"You've put me through hell, Jeffrey," Nathaniel said. "I cannot forgive the things you have done to my family and to myself."

"I never expected such, Master Nathaniel." He took a deep breath, holding it for a moment before letting it out in a long sigh. "I shall pack my things and wait for the police to come and collect me, Sir."

He started out of the room, his head bowed.

****

Garren growled softly, staring at the book. He wanted to rip the man apart, for not only had he torn apart his grandparents, forced his father to live in exile, he'd ruined Garren's own life. His eyes darkened until the blue was almost black. His teeth seemed to lengthen, his chest rumbled with his anger. Rage turned his vision red.

He wanted to howl out his anguish and his rage, to ease the burning in his chest that seemed to flame until he could barely control the pain it caused. He dropped the book to the floor, saving it from the rasping of his claws as they dug into the chair, ripping at the upholstery until it was tufts of fluff in the air.

Still the rage burned, his desperate need to feel Jeffrey's neck in his claws, to tear out the throat of the man who had turned him into this beast causing him to jerk from the chair, knocking it over in his ire.

Brenna sat up in the bed, her eyes cloudy with fatigue, pushing the hair from her face. She turned at the noise of the chair hitting the floor, jumping at the loudness of it and the inhuman growl that came from the shadows of the room. "Garren?" she called cautiously, disturbed by the animalistic sounds he was making.

He came rushing at her, a huge beast, barely recognizable as the loving man who'd made her feel such passion and pleasure earlier. His teeth glowed in the light of the fire, clear drops of saliva dripping from them as he bared them. His eyes flamed red, a mad rage in their depths. His claws were outstretched, as if to tear her apart.

Brenna screamed, falling back to the bed as he leaped at her.