He cast her another quick glance and shrugged. “If it makes you feel better to say that, go ahead, but the reality is, you won’t. Enjoy the sunrise. The weather report said there won’t be any fog tomorrow.”

His evil laugh echoed through the house as he strode out, slamming the door with such force that the lock broke and the door swung inside again, remaining ajar.

Twenty-seven

There was a buzzing sound and Gabriel pressed against the door. Inside the modern commercial building, he turned to his left, following the witch’s instructions. As he walked along the sterile corridor with its white walls and light green linoleum floor, his heart beat heavy in his chest. He wanted to claim Maya as his own, but he wanted to do it without this deformity. Despite the fact that she’d let him fuck her, he wasn’t convinced that she could truly look past this ugly thing. Fucking a guy who was a freak was one thing. Marrying—blood-bonding with such a freak—was another.

He pushed the door that said “Lab 87” open and stepped into the brightly lit room.

“I’m in the back,” Francine’s voice immediately greeted him. He followed the sound and walked past the work benches, the sinks and centrifuges and the large fridges and freezers that lined the path to a small office. In it, he found the witch sitting behind a messy desk.

She looked up when he entered and pointed to the chair opposite her. “Take a seat.”

Despite feeling antsy, he dropped into the chair and leaned back. “You have an answer for me?”

She tsked. “No ‘good evening, how are you’?”

He frowned. “Are we still playing games?”

“Cheer up; I’ve got good news for you.”

Gabriel straightened in his chair and leaned forward. “Don’t keep me on tenterhooks. I know it gives you pleasure to see me suffer, but for once just give it to me straight.”

“You should really grow a sense of humor, Gabriel. Life is not all dark and without fun.”

He merely lifted an eyebrow, indicating he was out of patience.

“Fine, fine. To the news then. You’re not a full-blooded vampire. I tested your blood and it came back with—”

“What do you mean, ‘not a full-blooded vampire’? Of course I’m a vampire.”

“On the surface, yes. But you have other genes in you too.”

“And what’s that got to do with my deformity?”

She smiled. “Everything.”

“And how would that be considered good news?”

“You’re a satyr, Gabriel, and that thing you’ve got is not a deformity. It’s a second penis.”

Gabriel jumped up from his chair. “What?”

“Just what I’m telling you.”

“You mean I’m some sort of beast—half man, half bull?” He tried to wrap his brain around the news.

“No. You’re talking about a minotaur. A satyr is a little different. A satyr is a mythical creature, fully man, but a highly sexual creature whose need for carnal pleasure has endowed him with a second appendage for double the pleasure so to speak,” the witch explained. There was a soft chuckle in her voice.

Gabriel shook his head. “If you’re right in what you’re saying, then how the fuck do you explain that deformed thing? It looks nothing like a penis. Double the pleasure, my ass!” He turned away from her and heard how her chair scraped against the floor as she pushed it back and rose.

“Gabriel, listen. There’s a reason it doesn’t look like a penis.” She paused. “Yet.”

At her last word he turned. “Yet?”

She nodded. “A satyr’s second penis doesn’t develop immediately.”

Gabriel gave a mirthless laugh. Wasn’t it shock enough that he was some kind of beast? “Francine. Do you have any idea how old I am? I’ll tell you. I was thirty-three when I was turned, and I’ve been a vampire for over a hundred and fifty years. Do you know how old that makes my so-called second penis? I’d say that thing is a late bloomer. Are you telling me I have to wait another hundred and fifty years for it to turn into what it’s supposed to be?”

So he was still a freak. Well, at least now he had a name for it: satyr. Now he was a half-vampire, half-satyr with a deformity. And she called that good news?

“No. I’d say your transformation is already starting. According to the legend, once a satyr meets his life mate, his genes go to work and change the growth. Haven’t you told me that you’ve already seen a change, as if it appears to be growing?”