Coming of Age

Chapter 6

“What?! Coming of age vampires? What does that even mean?! I’m a guy, Phil. I- I can’t get pregnant! And even if I could, I don’t want to carry a fucking vampire inside of me!”

“It’s not like human reproduction, silly boy!” Phil laughed closing his eyes as he did so like he just heard the funniest joke. “I’m so glad you’re my mate. You’re funny.”

“Phil!”

“Right, sorry,” Phil smiled, going right back to business, biting his lip so he wouldn’t giggle anymore. “You’re my mate. That simply means that we belong to each other. You saw the mates in the beginning of the ceremony. Nicholas and Tessa, Julian and Damien, and Vanessa and Seth and all the others. They’re mates and they all love each other. I know you don’t now, but one day, you’ll love me as much as I already love you.”

“You love me?”

“Of course I do, Dan. There’s nothing not to love about you.”

“You don’t even know me! I don’t know you! You can’t love me! I was taken from my bedroom and—”

“Oh no, you’re angry again. Would you be more comfortable if I got your bed from home and brought it here? You seem to reference it a lot.”

“No, it’s—it’s not my bed. It’s just that I was taken from it against my will and tied up.”

“The restraints were just to be sure you wouldn’t hurt anyone or yourself. We wanted to make sure you weren’t going to run away. Now that you have our scent on you, you won’t be safe unless you’re with us.”

“Why’d you have to go and kidnap me then?! I was safe before!”

“No, you weren’t. Since your birth, you’ve had the promise and the scent on you because you were chosen. It only gets stronger with age. If you weren’t taken soon, you and your parents would have been in terrible danger. They’re safe now, and so are you.”

“In danger from what?”

“Other clans. Not all clans are as friendly as us. When they find a Chosen One, the appeal is strong. Some clans will steal Chosen Ones and kill them or bind with them so that the clan they belong to can’t grow.”

“What happens if they bind with the wrong mate?”

“It’s very painful for the mate. Excruciating pain and most of the time, the mates don’t survive it. As for the clan with the stolen mate, we all go into a sort of depression. And for the vampire with their mate gone, they can never have another. Once their mate dies, that’s it. Notice how Lilith doesn’t have a mate?”

“Oh god, her mate was taken?”

Phil nodded sadly, looking back at Dan.

“When mates are delivered, we go with. I was there for your birth just like Lilith was there for her mate’s birth. We keep a watchful eye on them throughout their lives making sure that they’re taken care of and loved. Sadly, Lilith’s mate came from an abusive family. So she took him one night to save him from his parents before he was of age. It’s a rule that the vampire cannot go and retrieve their mate so she broke our laws to save him,” Phil explained, holding onto Dan’s hands. “It’s what anyone would do to save their mate. But he still had growing to do. We couldn’t have him yet so Abraham put him back, but the scent was there. Another clan came by a few nights later and murdered him and his family. You never get over that sort of thing. I’m just happy you’re safe and with me now.”

Dan had to look away for a moment finding a new sympathy for Lilith. He can’t imagine the pain she must have gone through having to see her mate be beaten by his parents, then killed by another clan.

“What happened to the other clan?” Dan asked hugging his knees.

“Lilith, Abraham, and a few others went after them. They hunted them down and killed the vamps that slaughtered her mate. We heard that they disbanded after that seeing as their leader was taken out,” Phil replied with certainty that made Dan feel as sure as Phil.

“That’s mental,” Dan sighed, not knowing what else to say.

“Yes, it is, um, mental," Phil agreed, the slang falling clumsy from his tongue. "Lucky for Lilith, she still has us as her clan. Some clans throw vamps out if they don’t have a mate, but we would never do that with any of our own. We look out for each other.”

“Maybe it’s a bad time to bring this up,” Dan started.

“No, never. Anything you want to say around me, you’re going to be heard.”

“Jillian and Lilith and Abraham. They all touched me and…I don’t know. I thought Lilith was going torape me and Jillian touched my butt… I thought that everyone had their mate, so why were they on me like that?”

“Vampires are just romantic creatures. We flirt a lot, but only our mate is loved. And I know Lilith wasn’t going to rape you. She most likely just wanted to see your body.”

“Why? That’s so weird.”

“The human body is beautiful, Dan! Though it has its limitations, it’s a wonderful thing! I don’t know why humans are shamed when they show their bodies off. Big, small, strong, weak; they’re all sobeautiful.”

“Am I going to have to walk around in only these?” Dan asked throwing the blanket off of him motioning to his choice in pajamas.

“You can walk around however you’d like to. Most mates prefer to stay naked because of the praise they get,” Phil replied pulling the blanket back over Dan’s legs and patted his knee. “But you seem protective of your body and that’s okay too. As long as you’re happy.”

“Are there any clothes for me to wear? I—um, it’s nothing against you, it’s just that I’m not used to being naked and gawked at, you know?”

“I understand. I am sure the other humans feel the same way right now, but before you know it, you will be comfortably calling this home.”

Phil got up off the bed and walked over to his wardrobe which is when Dan took note of his clothing choice. He wore black skinny jeans and a purple Gengar Pokemon shirt. Dan had to stop himself from laughing at him. Vampires are supposed to wear things like Lilith—all black and leather and tight, but here was Phil, happily sporting a Pokemon shirt like he was just a regular teenager his age.

"Is something funny?" Phil asked trying to hide a smile. "You’re smiling, did I put it there? Have I done something funny? "

"Just you," Dan replied shaking his head. "Where did you learn to dress like that?"

"Oh no, you don’t like it? I thought because you liked your handheld game so much that it would make you happy to see this, but I have other clothing. I can change—"

"Phil, it’s fine. You just—you’re not what I pictured vampires to be. It’s—well, it’s not comforting, but it’s not horrible."

“I don’t assume you have eaten at all since you’ve arrived. Just the saline drip, correct?” Phil smiled, taking Dan’s words as a compliment as he placed a folded pile of clothes in front of Dan on the bed.

Was this it? Was Phil going to feed him blood? Is that how they bonded or was it more of a sexual thing? It’s not like school could have taught him this shit. He felt his face go pale as he backed up against the pillows holding the duvet up over his nose.

“I—I’m not hungry,” he lied despite his stomach telling him otherwise.

“You are afraid again. Do you dislike my choice in clothing for you? You may choose whatever you’d like to wear, as long as it makes you happy,” Phil smiled holding his hand out to his wardrobe. “Or is it because I was feeding on blood in front of you earlier? I promise I won’t do that until you’re more accustomed to me.”

“The clothes are fine, but I’d appreciate the no blood thing,” Dan replied.

Dan felt grateful Phil was being so patient with him when he’s sure Phil could easily break his neck or force feed him if he wanted to. The more he thought about Phil drinking blood, the more he thought about one of the first things Phil said to him. He’d might as well ask…