Part 8 (1/2)

Wait and see. The most common and exasperating words in the medical world. He'd said them a million times to patients, and now he understood why they didn't always take those words well.

He patted himself down through the hospital gown dotted with Underworld General's caduceus, and everything seemed to be okay. He felt fine. Didn't even feel the distant need for s.e.x.

And wait . . . while a Sem was recovering from injuries, the need for s.e.x would go into a hibernation of sorts, but the moment they were well, the need should hit like a punch to the groin.

”If it's been three days, why am I not going mad with-”

Eidolon, obviously antic.i.p.ating the question, gestured to a full syringe lying on the nearby instrument tray. ”A few years ago I developed a drug for Wraith that would temporarily ease the symptoms. I injected you this morning after I determined you were healed enough for the need to set in. You probably have four to six hours at best before the need hits you.”

Great. And then what? Did he go hunting for a female . . . or for Slake?

”I'm glad you woke up,” Eidolon continued. ”Your buddy is a little . . . tenacious. He called ten times a day, and I don't know how much longer he was going to be civil about our lack of a diagnosis.” He reached for a backpack on the counter and tossed it to Raze. ”He brought you some clothes this morning. He didn't want you to wake up and not have something of your own to wear.”

Raze's hand froze as he reached for the pack. That was the most thoughtful thing anyone had done for him in a long time. Especially considering the fact that Raze had attacked him.

The thought took a slow slide from his brain to his gut, where the reality sat like a jagged piece of brimstone. He'd lost control and could have seriously hurt Slake. And what if the coma was a result of going against his Seminus DNA and having s.e.x with a male instead of a female?

What should have been a happy discovery had just turned into a stinking pile of s.h.i.+t, and as he pulled a red Manchester United hoodie and a pair of jeans from the bag, he succ.u.mbed to the realization that he needed to come clean with Eidolon.

Which made him want to throw up that lump of brimstone.

Standing to put on the pair of jeans, he spit it out before he chickened out. ”Something's going on, Doc.”

Clearly sensing that this wasn't going to be a light and fluffy convo, Eidolon sank into one of the chairs next to the bed that had been Raze's home for three days. ”Hit me.”

Raze mirrored him, taking a seat on the bed. Then he just sat there. Looked around. Tapped his fingers on his thigh.

”Whatever it is, you can talk to me,” Eidolon said. The guy could be a ballbuster, but he always knew how to put a person at ease too.

Finally, Raze blew out a breath. ”I, uh . . .” Just say it, man. ”I'm gay.” There. He'd said it. Cringing inwardly, he watched Eidolon, who, to his credit, kept his surprise limited to c.o.c.king one black eyebrow.

”Given the fact that we have to o.r.g.a.s.m with females, being gay must be difficult for you.”

Raze hadn't thought Eidolon would react badly, but his measured response, utterly free of judgment, still stunned him. His respect for the doctor swelled more.

”It is,” Raze admitted. ”It's lonely.”

Eidolon inclined his head in a slow nod. ”So what does this have to do with your current situation?”

”I'm not sure. Something happened. When I was all raged out. It was weird. Good, but weird.”

”You gotta give me more to go on.” Eidolon kicked his legs out and crossed them at the ankles.

This was so d.a.m.ned uncomfortable to talk about. ”I was . . . I was with a male. And I . . . there was no female, but I . . . I came.”

This time, both of Eidolon's eyebrows popped up, and his head actually snapped back a little. After a moment of silence, he leaned forward again, propping his forearms on his knees. ”Are you sure it was a male you were with? There are a lot of spells, tricks-”

”I'm sure.”

The skepticism didn't completely drain from Eidolon's expression, but at least he didn't push. ”What species is this male?”

”Duosos. I'd never heard of it until he told me.”

”Interesting,” Eidolon mused. ”They're isolationists. Rare outside of their communities. So rare that I've never met one, and we've never treated one here.”

Raze kept to himself the fact that Eidolon had, indeed, met one. ”What do you know about them?”

”Not much, and what I aknow' is mostly rumor and speculation. But if you were able to have s.e.x with a male of that species, then one of the rumors might be true.” Reaching over, he swiped his laptop off the counter and tapped on the keyboard. He studied the screen for a moment, and then turned back to Raze. ”According to Baradoc, who developed the Demonic Biological Cla.s.sification system, Duosos demons are born female, and at some point in their lives, they can choose to morph into males.”

Raze sat there, stunned. The pillow talk he'd shared with Slake came back to him, and the words he'd spoken took on new meaning.

”They accepted me until I turned into something they couldn't understand: a male who was attracted to other males.”

Holy h.e.l.l, he'd meant that literally. He'd actually turned into a male.

”If that's accurate,” Eidolon said, ”and there's no reason to doubt that it's not, then maybe our Seminus instincts get kind of . . . scrambled, for lack of a better word . . . in the presence of a male Duosos who used to be female.” Eidolon's dark eyes lit up with excitement. There was nothing he liked more than a medical mystery. ”Will you be seeing this male again?”

Eidolon might as well have punched him in the gut. Slake had saved his life and brought him to the hospital, but that didn't mean he planned to see Raze again. Not that Raze could blame him if he didn't. Not after what Raze had done to him.

The memory lingered, an uneasy combination of both regret and excitement that the one impossible thing Raze had wanted all his life, to be wholly with a male, had actually happened.

”I don't know.”

”Well, if you do, tell him I'd love to talk to him.”

By ”talk,” Raze figured Eidolon meant, ”poke, prod, and take a whole lot of bio samples.”

”I'll let him know.”

The door swung open, and Dr. Shakvhan stepped inside. The tall, curvy succubus offered a thin smile. In all the time Raze had worked at Underworld General, he'd never seen her show warmth for anyone except a potential s.e.x partner. Fortunately for her, the fact that she was a top-notch surgeon made up for her s.h.i.+tty bedside manner.

”I'm ready for the procedure,” she said crisply, and Raze frowned.

”What procedure?”

Eidolon stood. ”Remember I said something was odd with the way you were healing? When I consulted with Dr. Shakvhan, she said it sounded familiar. She's here to test you for a s.e.xual tether.”

”A what?”

Shakvhan moved like a serpent. One second she was near the door, and the next, she was pressing Raze's palm in hers. ”This is going to hurt-”

He yelped as what felt like a thorn jammed into his hand. ”What the h.e.l.l?”

”Shh.” The succubus hummed, and searing heat spread from his hand through his body, the intensity growing until he thought he was going to pa.s.s out again. Sweat coated his skin, and his heart thumped about a million beats a minute, and just as his vision began to blur, she released him. Blood dripped to the floor until Eidolon wrapped his hand in gauze.

”Just as I suspected,” she said, with an arrogance only she could manage. ”He's linked to a female.”

”Linked?”

She looked at him like he was an idiot. ”Somehow, you allowed a succubus to attach herself to you.”