Phayu stood at the large French windows overlooking the beautiful gardens of the home he shared with his brothers. He felt restless, and stared unseeing as he felt something brewing but not quite there. "The Council just called. They want to see us," Phayu turned at Pai's voice. "Why now? And who is us?" he asked, scathingly. "The four of us. You, me, Win and Dean," Pai said, a frown furrowing his brow. "Why now?" Phayu repeated his question. "Don't they know we have retired?" he asked, as he saw his other friends walking in. The four of them had known each other all their lives and their trust in each other was a thing of beauty. Nothing and no one could break their bond. They had gone by several names over the years, but now, they lived as brothers more than friends, even sharing the same surname, making it easier for them to leave their properties to each other in case something happened to anyone of them.

They mostly lived their lives away from the lights, the darkness and mystery shrouding them and their past, adding to their allure. To top it all, the fact that they were amazingly gorgeous looking made their lives tougher, which made it easier for them to hide away, as easily as they could. And then, they could help each other to keep the darkness inside the others a little at bay. Just a gentle presence. But enough for a lifetime. "Chai said it was urgent, and that only we could take care of it," Pai said, breaking Phayu's train of thought. "Let's go find out what they want Yu. It must be something very bad, if Chai personally called," Dean said, putting his hand on Phayu's shoulder. "Okay then. If that's what you all feel," Phayu said.

The Council was housed in one of the calmest places in downtown Bangkok, beside the Wat Arun. Phayu always thought that the ancestors really had the weirdest sense of humour. But contrary to popular lore, their kind was nothing like what history made them out to be. They were not blood-sucking soulless fiends. On the contrary, they were god-fearing and did not actually need humans to survive. They had beating hearts, and loved a good meal. They did need blood, but of another vampire. Mostly friends and family, but once a mate was found, no matter the species, only that blood could fulfil and complete them. 'Draugs' or mate were the ultimate victory and achievement, and very rare to come across. Draugs did not have to be other vampires. In fact, many of their kind had found mates in humans, fairies, weres, the list was endless. The Draugs could become vampires, but it was not a single bite. It was a whole process, and could only happen with the complete consent of both the partners.

As the four men stood outside the chambers of the High Commissioner, they were immune to the glances from other vampires who moved around. Several of the younger vampires actually slithered in to catch a glimpse of the Four Horsemen of the Council. With their looks, Phayu, Prapai, Dean and Win, all garnered attention when they were alone, but together? They were beyond formidable. All were tall, more than 6 feet, and all except Win, had dark hair and dark eyes. Win was blonde and had honey brown eyes. While Win and Phayu had longer hair they pulled back in a bun, Dean and Pai had softer cuts framing their face. But even though they were so different in looks and styles, there could be no iota of doubt in anyone's mind that they were together and a force to reckon with. The entire group of people were taken aback when the for of them turned together with military precision as the door behind them opened.

"Come on in, all of you," someone ushered them. "Swasdi Khap P'Chai, we are glad to meet you," all four of them waiied to him. He waiied back, and the four stood in front of the High Commissioner. "Swasdi Khap P'Pakin," they waiied quietly. Pakin turned around. Pakin and Chai single-handedly ran the South East Asian Council of their community. They were highly respected and were known for being ruthless and just at the same time. Both of them stood no nonsense and were the epitome of great leadership. They were not only partners, but also mates, which made them that much stronger and invincible. Phayu had been one of Pakin's first recruits. He had found him even before he met Chai, living off the streets, orphaned after his parents had been killed in rogue attacks. He had educated him, and trained him, making him his protégé. It was through Phayu that he met first Dean, then Prapai and then Win, and realising that they fit each other like a glove, with excellent non-verbal communication, he trained them to have each other's backs.

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.

*************************************

"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!