Draugs

Chapter 1 : New Beginnings

Pakin looked at the four boys in front of him. For him, who was almost a 800 years old, the four were actually boys, as they were just about 500 years old. Vampires stopped ageing when they were 25 or 26, but that would not change the truth. But whatever their age, these were the people he trusted most. "We have cases of rogues," he said, without preamble. "You have people who can take care of that," Phayu said, reluctantly. "We know we do. But the situation is trickier than it seems," Chai said. "And that is?" Dean asked. "They sired a few new, who are not mates. And what's worse is, they have some fledgelings!" Pakin said, sounding disgusted. "And they are not usual fledgelings. They are male ones, who can bear young," Pakin said, looking straight at the four of them. Dean gasped.

"Men bearing children? How does that even work?" he asked. "You four disappeared from civilisation, choosing to retire. The world has changed in the past couple of hundred years," Chai said, a chiding note in his tone. "There are more and more couples coming out, more like us," Pakin said. "As you know, it's survival of the fittest. So, nature made it possible for those couples who had no hope at all, to get some. We have strict adoption and surrogacy laws in place, so that no family can hurt or misuse anyone," Chai continued. "Which is why you need to find those four fledgelings," he added. "What's so special about them?" Pai asked. "They are the first of their kind. The first to be born with a womb," Chai said. "Let me explain it to them," a voice spoke up, and everyone turned to the door. Pakin and Chai immediately got up from their seats and waiied to the newcomer. Although the four younger men had no idea who the person was, it was clear that he was someone of stature, so they bowed as well.

"Khun Thiwat? How are you here?" Pakin asked, respect clear in his tone. "And they are?" the man asked, answering a question with a question. "They are our Enforcers who I told you about. They retired a while back, but they are the only ones we can trust for this mission Khun," Chai said. "I am grateful to all of you. You have no idea what it means to us to have you all here to help us out. You see, one of the fledgelings..," Khun Thiwat's voice broke a bit at the end. "One of the fledgelings is Khun Thiwat's son. He is just 19, and still growing into this world," Pakin completed the sentence for him. The four boys looked at one another. They now understood why they had been specially called. From what they had been able to see, Khun Thiwat had some kind of higher position in the hierarchy of their world.

"Although rare, there was a concept called male pregnancy. It mostly occurred in human men, who did not present as female, but in a sense, they had a womb. Under normal circumstances, nothing could come out of it. But when they became mates to vampires, and became vampires themselves, they became more, and were able to give birth. But as I said, such cases were rare. However, as time passed, and things became tough for our people, as fear started setting in in the minds of people, as we started getting hunted down, as our own people turned rogues and traitors, as we went into hiding, biology within us changed, and we started to develop to help us become stronger, and keep to our community. But even if a male becomes pregnant, it's not that easy to keep the child. It takes years of trying, so babies born are also rare. You four were born to such families, isn't it?" Thiwat said, not realising that he had dropped quite a bomb on the four of them.

"But the four fledglings born to us and our friends, turned out to be so different, the first male vampires to be born with a womb. If something happens, and they are bred against their will, it may create unprecedented problems. The fact of the matter is, these fledgelings can only be bred by their mates, as their gestation would require a regular supply of fated blood. Any other kind of blood could kill them. We have just gotten through one war Nong, and we cannot afford to lose our children to this one." Tears flowed down Khun Thiwat's eyes. "You look shocked," Chai said. "We don't remember anything about our families, and Khun Thiwat did. Seems..," Phayu began. "Strange?" Khun Thiwat asked. All four of them nodded. "I know all your families," he said, and Phayu, Pai, Dean and Win were shocked. "We..," Dean began. "I promise you all that we will talk. I am sure Khun Thiwat will answer all your questions. But right now, it's imperative that we find the rogues, as well as the fledgelings," Pakin said.

"Where were the rogues last seen?" Pai asked, curious to know about his past, but knowing where his duties lay. "Northern part of Bangkok. We need to capture them within Thailand. Once they leave us, we will have to bring in foreign enforcers, something I don't want to do," Pakin said. "Okay, send us the last noted location. We will take it from there," Win said, as the four men stood up and waiied to the elders, and left without looking back. "Don't worry Khun Thiwat, we have complete faith on them. They will not fail us, I assure you," Chai said, and Thiwat nodded, as he looked at the door where the four men had passed through.

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"What do you think that was all about?" Pai asked, as they all got into Phayu's Range Rover. Phayu sat a moment after he started his car. "Do you think he really knew our families?" he asked, resting his head on the headrest, his eyes closed. "I don't know. And until we find those fledgelings, we will not either. So, sooner the better," Dean said. "Jing, I agree with Dean. Let's go," Win said, and everyone nods. Phayu pulls away and drives to the location sent to their cell phones. He parked the car a distance away, since they had decided that this was the best way to ensure that no one realised that they were approaching. Years of training and practice stood them in good stead, as they stealthily made their way towards the mostly abandoned looking warehouse in front of them. "Let's take the four corners," Phayu mouthed, as he pointed. The others nodded, as they spread across on the four sides of the building.

"See anything?" Phayu's voice sounded in the heads of the rest of them. Vampires usually could hear each other's thoughts, but they usually kept the doors closed, so that there would be no constant voices to distract them". However, in these scenarios, and especially since it was the four of them, their senses were so finely tuned into each other, that they did not even need practice. They just opened their minds and let their thoughts pour into each other. "I am not sensing any movements, neither outside, nor inside," Dean's voice came through. "But I am picking up remnants of voices that have passed through in the last 24 hours. And a lot of pain," Win said. "Yes, the pain and the fear are overpowering," Pai said, and the others could feel their heart clenching as well.

They all met in the front of the warehouse. Phayu waved his hand and the doors opened. The four of them moved in, using their nose and preternatural hearing and senses to flare out and look for more than just visible clues. "Look at this," Dean said, as others crowded around him. It was a button made of cloth. "It has a strange smell," Phayu said, scrunching his nose. "What smell? I don't get any smell," Pai said, as Win nodded. "It smells of chocolate, with hints of lavender, scented with fear," Phayu said. "Are you actually getting a smell?" Dean asked, surprised. Phayu nodded, frowning. "What does it mean Dean?" he asked. "Your mate! If none of us are able to get anything from this button except the scent of fear, it means, what you get is the scent of a mate," Dean said, shocking Phayu, and the others. "Fuck! Are you saying that one of the fledgelings is his mate?" Pai asked, shocked. "Looks like," Dean said. Phayu was rendered speechless!