"Easy for you to say. You didn't have to fight an immortal male to transition. All you had to do was have sex with your boyfriend. That's easy."
"It's debatable which is easier." Kaia glared at him. "You don't need an emotional bond with Yamanu for him to be able to induce your transition. It's much easier for men. Not everyoneis as lucky as I was." She looked lovingly at William. "I found the love of my life before I knew I was a Dormant and that he could induce my transition. I feel so sorry for Soraya and her sisters, who have to find someone to bond with before they can attempt it. They are not young, and they have been through so much, and it's not easy for them to initiate or even be open to new relationships. If they were men, they would already be post-transition because men don't need any emotional component. Just the physical fight, the venom, and the body's response to both."
"When put like that, it does sound easier for men," Tony admitted.
"Like everything else," Shira muttered. "Men usually get it easier, but not always. Girls born to the clan have it the easiest. Being around the Clan Mother is all we need to become immortal, as long as it's done when we are little. Adult female Dormants need to find a male to induce them."
"That makes no biological sense," Tony said. "How can being around the Clan Mother induce transition?" He looked at Kaia. "Do you believe that?"
Kaia shrugged. "I've given up trying to find logical explanations for everything I've experienced since joining this community. I've learned to accept that some things are just what they are."
"That's unsatisfying for a scientist."
"Extremely. But it's also kind of freeing." She pulled out her phone and looked at the time. "We should go. Are you ready?"
"No."
"Good answer. Let's go."
Tony didn't move. "There is still time."
Shira grabbed a light jacket. "It's time. You need to be there to greet your guests, not the other way around."
Tony chuckled. "What guests? I don't have friends here. Who's going to bother to show up for a midnight ceremony to watch a delusional human make a fool of himself?"
"You'd be surprised." Shira patted his arm.
"I doubt it."
The walk to the pavilion was quiet. The evening air carried a chill that Tony barely registered through the haze of anxiety clouding his senses. William and Kaia walked slightly ahead, their hands intertwined, and Tony tried not to feel envious of their easy intimacy.
Shira walked beside him, close enough that their shoulders occasionally brushed, but she didn't try to hold his hand, probably guessing correctly that it was clammy. Thankfully, the sky was clear, and the moonlight was enough to see by, so he didn't need to hold her hand just to know where he was going.
They didn't encounter anyone on the way to the pavilion, which confirmed his suspicions that no one was coming to his ceremony. He'd told himself not to expect anything, but the disappointment still stung.
The pavilion was deserted as well, and as they took the elevator to the gym level, Tony told himself that it was still early and that people might still come. Perhaps not many, but Tula would be there. She'd promised. Tamira and Elias should be there as well, and perhaps the rest of the harem ladies.
When William pulled open the doors to the gym, Tony froze in the doorway, his brain struggling to process what his eyes were showing him.
There were people everywhere, sitting on folding chairs, standing in clusters, gathered around tall tables laden with food and drinks. The place was filled with sounds of music, laughter, and the overlapping hum of many conversations.
"Surprise." Shira's voice was warm with amusement.
Tula separated from the crowd, a big smile on her face as she walked up to him and wrapped him in a hug. "Good luck, Tony. I'll be rooting for you."
He hugged her back, allowing himself to absorb her familiar scent and let it ground him. "Did you do this?"
"No." She pulled back. "It was all Shira's doing."
Tamira and Elias were next, with Tamira hugging him and Elias offering a handshake and words of encouragement. The other ladies followed.
Naturally, Esag was there, but so were his roommates, Davuh and Roven. The entire lab team seemed to have come, people he'd assumed barely knew his name. Roni waved at him from one of the refreshment tables.
The room blurred, and Tony blinked hard, cursing his Latin genes that made him emotional.
"Are you crying?" William sounded worried.
"I'm not crying. There's something in my eye."
