“Lennon Demise,” Oscar called, “It’s your turn son.” Lennon nervously followed his father into a cave. He wasn’t sure what to expect. Talking about the ceremony was forbidden. The moment could be affected if you were aware about what was going to happen beforehand. The elders also wanted to make sure that no one would try and find their mate before they became adults or without proper precautions. If someone were to do so, the consequences would be dire, not just for the offender, but also for the clan. Underage vampires were reckless and could accidentally risk exposing the clan, which no one wanted to risk. So rules were set in place to ensure that the clan would be able to live peacefully. 

“Don’t worry son, you’ll be fine,” Oscar murmured into his son’s ear, bringing Lennon back to reality. Oscar understood how Lennon felt right now, after all he himself had gone through the same thing. He, like his father, simply wanted his son to find a nice girl, or guy, for himself. Same sex mating had become more common in the last hundred years. No one knew why, but times were changing, and they needed to adapt with it. 

“I have a surprise for you, son,” Oscar began, “I’ll give it to you after the ceremony.” Oscar hoped this would make Lennon less nervous. He was planning to announce Lennon being the heir to the clan. The current leader, who was Oscar’s dad Lee, was planning to retire soon, and Lee had declared Lennon his heir on the day of his birth. They had just not officially announced it, because they had not wanted to put pressure on Lennon at a young age. The only people who knew were the elders. 

“Will it hurt, dad?” Lennon looked at his dad. 

“Of course not son,” reassured Oscar. Lennon still wasn’t feeling confident. What if he embarrassed himself? What if he…

“Son, you’ll be fine,” Oscar said, smiling at his son. Oscar was proud of the man his son had become. Lennon was now just as tall as him, and was perhaps even stronger. Lennon didn’t have thick muscles like Jake, he was built leaner. But that didn’t mean he didn’t have muscles. His muscles were like waves, surrounding his body, it fit him. He didn’t body build, but he didn’t have an ounce of fat on him. He kept in quite good shape, and even managed to sport a six pack. 

“How do you know dad?” Lennon wondered out loud. 

“Because, you’re the smartest, brightest person I know. And, you have a big heart.” This made Lennon smile. Knowing he had his father’s support meant a lot, and helped him push away his unease.

“Okay son, into here,” The two of them had finally reached the end of the cave, where a hidden room was. Lennon walked in first, pushing away the thick black curtains at the entrance. He was then momentarily blinded. In the middle of the room was a huge crystal. It let off a bright blue glow that lit the entire room. 

“Put your hands on the stone,” said Vivus, one of the elders. It was only then that Lennon noticed the elders were in the room. Lennon looked nervously at his father, who simply gave him a smile and urged him towards the crystal. 

“The crystal will not hurt you,” reassured Alchos, another elder. Lennon slowly walked forward and put his hands on the crystal. All of the elders then proceeded to start murmuring under their breaths. They were all in unison, repeating the same things over and over. Then suddenly, all Lennon saw was…