Here we are with the next chapter, sadly it is a bit later then I wanted to and from now on I'll just have to result to submitting the chapters is I go along. 08 is currently with the editor and I'm working on chapter 09. Things are a bit crazy in that thing called a real life. But don't panic, I got plenty busting my ass to keep on working, which I am, just a bit slower then I want to.
Muchos kudos for Mikothebaby for a job well done editing Nulli, EvilJ and many others for their continuous support and encouragement.
Enjoy the read!
Mokkelke
Chapter Seven : Offspring.
Both men stood there waiting. The smaller one knew what was going to happen so he had a relaxed stand. The other one didn't know what was going on so he appeared relaxed while his senses went to their full potential, trying to be prepared for anything.
"Relax John, nothing bad is gonna happen. Just don't move, I got your six covered," Adam said, shoving his old LT.
John gave him a credulous look as he relaxed his stand.
A few seconds later, the air in front of them started to cloud up. Another few seconds later, two men appeared in front of them. Both were about the same height, but where one was tall and blond, the other was tall with raven black hair. The one with black hair stumbled a little bit and cursed.
"I'll never get used to this no matter how many times I do this. It's not natural!"
"Don't get your pants in a twist. It's as natural as anything else, Ed, so stop moaning. I spared us from a long flight in way too small seats and food that isn't to our standard," the blond replied in a teasing voice.
Adam looked amused as the two quibbled for a few moments longer.
"It's good to see the both of you. You're doing me a huge favor here. I don't know if I can ever repay it!" Adam said his welcome, stepping forward and giving Ed a manly hug. Once he stepped back he grabbed the hand of the other one and slapped him on the shoulder.
Adam stepped back and held out a hand and motioned John to get closer.
"Let me introduce to you my old LT from my days in 'Nam, John Bradley. He kinda surprised me with being here but it seems we have a common interest. I've asked him to wait till you both got here so he didn't have to explain twice what his interest is."
Adam turned to John and started to introduce the two men to him in turn.
"This is Ed Whelan, a Beta of the SIW pack," Adam paused then and looked at Merlin, silently asking if he could tell who he really was or that it should be the cover he used. A small nod told Adam what he needed to know and he went on, "And this is Merlin, an old friend of the family."
"Nice to finally meet you, Ed," John directed at both men, extending his hand in greeting. He recognized Ed; he was one of the Whelan brothers that basically took in Adam as their brother. "It's nice to put a face to the name I've been hearing about," he added. As he looked at Merlin he couldn't really tell what it was, but all his alarm bells were going off. He smelled old and that was all he could distinguish. He gave the tall blond a curious look and waited for a plausible explanation.
"Any friend of Adam is considered a friend of me," Merlin said before continuing with caution, "I see you're puzzled at what I am. The name doesn't ring a bell?" Merlin couldn't help but feel a bit amused.
"The only Merlin worth mentioning is just a legend," John replied.
"Is that so? Don't they say that each legend has truth to them? I'm not gonna start a little show, but I am who I say I am. However I do trust you, being a friend of Adam, to keep that little fact to yourself. If word got out..." Merlin explained.
For the first time in ages John was speechless. Somehow it didn't add up. The Merlin of those old days was always portrayed as an old man with a white beard and long hair and here he was looking at a tall handsome man with blond hair. As the words Merlin had said sunk in, he had to correct a little something.
"I can promise to keep this from my children and fledglings, but I can't hide this from my wife. For starters she would get very mad at me if I tried to hide anything from her. She can be trusted not to tell, I have my ways with her."
The look that appeared on John's face was proof that he adored his wife.
"I sense the bond between the two of you is pure, she can know, but no one else. Now that we have this out of the way, why don't you enlighten us with your interest in this little endeavor?" Merlin asked.
"I'm assuming you both know why Adam is here, so let me pick up with that. He can fill me in later. I know generally why he is here, I've kept tabs on him."
Ed and Merlin nodded in agreement, Adam just stared at John for a second. He couldn't believe his old LT had actually cared enough to do such a thing.
"Don't worry Adam, I never interfered in your life, but after 'Nam you were a wreck, especially when I found you at one of those VC-camps."
John didn't go into detail. Adam knew what he was talking about. Now it became clear to him why the LT was able to sneak up on him like that. Vampires could move very silently and a were couldn't sense them at all.
"Let me first tell you all a bit about myself, my mate and how we ended up in this situation. As you probably have picked up, I refer to some of those I sire as children and others I call fledglings. The fledglings are those that either me or my wife have sired. We don't do it often and we do our best to keep track of all of them. From the moment they stray from the path we follow, we bring them back to the mansion and have a serious talk. They all know the consequences.
"I don't mind providing them with cash, a living space and whatever else they want. We only ask that they behave themselves and keep their feeding of humans to a bare minimum. We don't need much to survive and the older you get the less you need. After a few decades, our fledglings can live with a single feed each month and only need a few mouthfuls, not even so much that it would make the human dizzy. The strict rule is the human can never know unless they happen to find their mate. In those cases, we help them in every way we can to make that transition as easy as possible."
John looked around the room and saw everyone was listening to him with great interest so he continued.
"Then there are those that my wife and me deem our children. Those are the very few that over the course of years meant a lot to both of us, people who would go to hell and back to help protect us and keep our secret safe. The reason why those select few are special is we sired them both; we both drained the human and gave him or her both of our blood and powers.
"The difference is, that once our children awake in their new form, they have a huge advantage over our fledglings. They feel the need to feed like any of us, but since they have both our blood they can instantly control that need and they can tap into their powers right away. This isn't something we share with the other vampire covens because they would frown upon it, to them they're all mine, not Gabriella's.
"We only have three children, Jassy, Davinia and Derrick. The girls are doing fine. It's Derrick that is going wrong. I don't know how or why, but we failed him. We saved him as a little boy and raised him as our own for two decades. As you know," he said while looking at Adam, "we have no issues walking in the sun, so raising him was a nice thing to keep us busy. Gabriella doted on the boy. The arguments we had about that, but she got her way every single time. That woman is cunning; there are no words for it.
"But, back to Derrick. When he hit puberty, he went through a rough period, got in touch with the wrong crowd, we nearly lost him. Neither of us understood what was going through his mind, but then one evening he barely made it home alive. He had pissed of the wrong people again, only this time he wasn't fast enough and they got their hands on him.
"When he called us that fateful evening he could just tell us where he was. I've seen a lot in my years but to see someone you care so much about being beaten to a pulp."
It still riled him to even think about this, telling this wasn't easy either. Gabriella and he hardly spoke of these events.
"It was that night we gave him the choice. He wouldn't survive his injuries for much longer. So, he died or we made him one of us. We both stayed with him during his change as it took longer than normal due to his injuries. But he pulled through. We went easy on him those first few weeks, but once we got wind of it that he was once again picking fights with the same people who beat him up that first time, we knew we had to do something."
The men had moved to the sitting area and were still listing with great interest, especially Adam. There was a bitter undertone to what John was telling them. In 'Nam John had never shown emotions and had kept them in check, always, well almost always, as he thought back.
It seems we all have a burden that marks us in some way
