Page 1 of Unclaimed

Chapter One

ThedayFrosthadcome home from an overnight shift in the ER to find his fiancé in bed with their neighbor, he had known everything would change. When he picked up, accepted a job in Wulfe, Washington, and moved from Boston, he had hoped the beautiful scenery would soothe his soul. His cabin sat at the edge of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Nearly a million and a half acres of nothing but peace filled his backyard. He kept a tight lid on his trash cans and hoped he didn’t tempt a gang of aggressive raccoons or a grizzly. Frost really didn’t want to encounter a grizzly. Knowing all of that and trying to go into things as prepared as possible, there was no way in hell Frost could have prepared himself to come face to face with a cobra.

Thankfully, a sliding screen door stood between him and the massive snake. Still, Frost stood frozen. He couldn’t let his eyes move. If the snake disappeared and he had to live in fear of where it went, Frost would die. Plus, he didn’t know if the reptile could somehow get inside. If that happened, he would neversleep again. Frost had never been more… confused, honestly. He didn’t know what to do. Rattlesnakes were a maybe to run across, but a goddamn cobra? They weren’t native to the U.S. and he sure as hell shouldn’t be looking one dead in the eye. That was another thing. The beast was oddly coiled, or maybe they were just bigger than he realized. Whatever the reason, its head stood nearly as tall as Frost. Granted, Frost was short, but he wasn’t that fucking short.

For a solid minute, Frost and the snake studied each other, as if equally afraid to look away. When Frost recovered a brain cell, he slowly slid his phone from his back pocket and dialed nine-one-one.

“Nine-one-one. State the nature of your emergency.”

“Um. Yeah.” Frost was fully aware of how he was about to sound. “I wasn’t sure if this was a nine-one-one level of emergency, but I’m currently staring at a cobra.”

“A cobra?”

“Yep. A cobra.”

A moment of silence met his words. “Are you sure it’s a cobra?”

Frost fought a hysterical laugh. “I mean, if you’ve got a number or something where I can send a text, I’d be happy to send you a picture. While I might be terrified and baffled, I’m not crazy or blind. It’s a fucking cobra.”

“Yeah. I’d kind of like that picture.” She sounded guilty as she quietly rattled off a phone number like their call wasn’t being recorded.

Frost switched the phone to speaker and snapped a photo.

“Okay. Picture on its way.”

“All right. I have… police headed your way.” She dragged out the word police like she had no idea who to call any more than Frost did. “Holy shit. That really is a fucking cobra.”

Frost nodded, even though no one could see him. “Yep. Tell whoever responds that the front door is unlocked. They should let themselves in because I can’t move. Can cobras slide through small spaces?”

“I have no idea. This is the wildest call I’ve ever taken, and that’s saying a lot.”

A nervous chuckle escaped Frost. “This certainly isn’t how I intended to spend my day.”

An officer appeared much faster than they ever would have in Boston. Frost assumed it was because it was such a small town. He was a burly guy who towered over Frost and was twice as wide. “Yeah. That’s a cobra.”

The hysterical burble of laughter he had been holding back finally broke loose.

“Since help has arrived, I’ll leave you in their capable hands.” There was a slight pause. “Text me what happens.” She hung up before he could respond.

“We have a guy on the way,” the burly officer said, sounding totally unaffected. “My partner is standing at the back corner of the house to keep watch. If he gets away, we’ll need to see which way he went.”

The snake looked toward the side of the house, as if he understood the officer.

“That’s good. If he gets away, I’ll have to burn this whole place to the ground.”

His rescuer laughed. “Yeah. I’ll bet.”

“What’s your name? Usually, we have that information by the time we arrive, but I think you shocked that nine-one-one operator senseless.”

“It’s Frost Hymal.”

“Oh. You’re the new doctor.” He held out his hand to shake, as if they weren’t still getting the beady-eyed stare down. “Waylon Black.”

Frost blindly shook his hand. It seemed overly hot. Of course, it was possible Frost was cold from the shock. “Nice to meet you.”

“Hymal. Is that foreign?”

Before Frost had time to answer, Waylon’s radio crackled. “Gemini’s here.”

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