Page 2 of Unclaimed

“Ten-four.” Waylon looked his way. “We have a specialist. He’ll take care of everything. I’ll let you know when it’s safe.”

Frost nodded. He couldn’t say what Waylon even looked like because he couldn’t lose this staring contest. Frost heard the front door open and close. The snake’s head turned toward the side of the house again. With only a screen between them, he heard voices, but they sounded too far away to make out the words. The cobra suddenly darted in the direction of the voices. Frost jumped back. Not only had he not known how big cobras were, but he also hadn’t realized how fast they moved. He didn’t hear any screams or even raised voices, but it had definitely looked as if the snake was a fight-over-flight fellow. Strangely, he hoped they didn’t kill it. It hadn’t done anything wrong. The snake hadn’t dropped himself off in a place he didn’t belong. He was just being a snake. An odd one, but still just a reptile.

The voices continued. Laughter reached his ears. Frost carefully slid open the screen and poked his head out. He didn’t see the cobra anywhere. Two men stood with their backs to the door. One had long, blond, curly hair and was probably six foot. The other had jet-black hair and was maybe two inches shorter than the blond guy. Waylon faced them but was still just a blur to Frost, because he couldn’t take his eyes off the blond. As he looked on, the man turned his chin up. It looked as if he sniffed the air. He spun so fast, Frost wondered how he didn’t fall. The guy was huge but had the grace of a cat. His eyes were electricblue, almost aqua in color. They were so vibrant; Frost could see their color with twenty feet between them. His stare was so intense, Frost couldn’t look away.

Frost swallowed. “Is it safe?”

A smile exploded across the man’s face. He was stunning. While he wasn’t really Frost’s type, he was still very aesthetically pleasing to the eye. He held up a white lidded bucket as he headed Frost’s way. “You’re good. I’ve got him.”

Frost forced himself to tear his gaze away from the man’s perfectly cut body to look at the bucket. A completely tattooed arm held it. Frost unglued his tongue from the roof of his mouth. “He looked way too big to fit inside that. You didn’t kill him, did you?”

The man’s perfect smile never wavered. He didn’t look like he laughed at Frost. It was merely a friendly smile. “Cobras can make themselves look huge when threatened or they can curl up pretty small to hide. And no, I didn’t kill him. I have a friend who’ll make sure he ends up in the right place. Likely, someone had him as an exotic pet and dropped him in the forest, thinking he’d never get spotted with this much land. It’s a good thing you found him.” He shifted the bucket from one hand to the other. “I’m Gemini.” Of course he was. No one who looked like him would have a typical name.

Frost accepted the handshake. He swore a jolt ran up his arm and punched him in the chest. Neither of them let go right away. “Frost.”

Humor flashed in Gemini’s eyes. “Of course you are.”

A smile exploded across Frost’s face. It was as if Gemini had read his mind. He reluctantly took his hand back. “So, are you like a wildlife officer, or…”

“Nah. I’m just that guy. Everyone knows everyone around here. People tend to call me with the weird wildlife issues.”

Frost couldn’t stop smiling. “Do you deal with a lot of crazy animals?”

“You have no idea.”

God. The butterflies in his stomach had butterflies. “So… are these tattoos all over?” Frost asked, motioning toward Gemini’s fully inked arms. A blush exploded across his face the moment the words left his lips. He couldn’t believe he had asked such a thing. That was completely out of character for him. While Frost was beyond confident in a medical setting, he was a bit of an introvert otherwise.

A sound came from the back of Gemini’s throat that had goosebumps rising on Frost’s skin. It had almost been inhuman—like a contented wildcat. “Would you like to find out?”

The heat doubled in Frost’s face. “Sorry. I have no idea why I asked in the first place. That probably sounded a little rude.”

“Dr. Hymal, Deidra down at the nine-one-one facility said not to forget to text her.”

A laugh burst from Frost. “Everyone really does know everyone around here.”

“Your last name is Hymal? Isn’t that Asian?”

Frost flashed Gemini a smile. “Yeah. My grandfather was Asian. Not that you could tell it by looking at me. Blond.” He pointed at his head—like an idiot. “Don’t ask me how that happened.”

“You’re adorable.”

For a moment, they simply stared at each other. Neither of them made a sound or looked away. Finally, the alarm went off on Frost’s watch. He glanced down. Frost fought a growl over having their time interrupted. “I have to get to the hospital.”

Gemini nodded. “Yeah. You’re the new doctor down at the ER, right?” He didn’t wait for Frost to answer. “I guess I really need to get to work too.”

“Don’t forget to drop off our friend.”

Gemini’s chin dropped, as if he had forgotten he held a cobra. “Oh. Yeah. My buddy will come by and grab him later. He’ll be okay.”

Frost took a step backward toward the house. “Well, it was nice meeting you.”

“You, as well.” Gemini didn’t move. Oddly, Frost never wanted to look away again.

Goddamn. Gemini had not planned on meeting his fated mate today, but here they were. In fact, Gemini had given up on that bullshit a long time ago. He was old and tired. Not everyone had another half out there waiting. In his world, Goddess Celeste—or who humans called God—paired souls. Whoever she picked was who each creature spent eternity with. It was an irresistible pull to the other half of your soul. The bond was unshakeable. There would never be anyone else for Gemini. He could try, but he would never feel the same crazed love and lust. Sex would be so watered down, it was pointless. This was Gemini’s other half. Hewas stunned. Apparently, that made him lose his wits. Gemini couldn’t think of a thing to say to keep Frost a little longer. He was a snow leopard. Well, a Were snow leopard. Still, he wasn’t human. His life was eternal. Frost was human. Gemini had no clue how to woo one of those.

Frost took another backward step toward the house.

Gemini panicked. “Maybe I should give you my number. You know, in case something like this happens again.”

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