Page 20 of Unclaimed

Gemini couldn’t take any more. He touched his lips to Frost’s. For a moment, they shared each other’s air before they ended up tearing at each other’s skin to get closer. Even though Gemini understood it would always be this way, he couldn’t stop treating every moment like he would never experience this again. He was a leopard in love. Frost would be the happiest of mates.

Chapter Eight

Frost’ssmileneverdimmed.He had lunch with Deidra again, and several eyes had latched on to his mating mark before sliding away again. The move helped him separate the humans from the Weres of their town. He was only a few minutes away from getting to see Gemini again, and he couldn’t wait. They hadn’t quite decided how to combine their lives. Likely, Gemini would move in with Frost. Gemini owned more land, but Frost’s cabin was nicer and the nearly million and a half acres surrounding him gave Gemini a lot more space to run.

He typed out his final notes for the day, counting down the minutes.

“We meet again.”

Frost’s head shot up as Lucifer’s unmistakable voice washed over him. Despite knowing who he dealt with now, a smile stillexploded across Frost’s face. “Hey. It’s the guy who rips off legs for fun. I had to reattach that, by the way.”

The gorgeous laughter that filled the air told him exactly how unbothered Lucifer was by everything. “To be fair, I don’t appreciate being spied on. If my sister wants to know anything about my life, she can bring her pious ass down here and ask.”

“Who’s your sister?”

“Ah. So you don’t know everything. Celeste.”

Frost paused while signing his last form of the day. “Huh.” He stared into space. “Following the stories in the Bible, you were God’s favorite angel or something of that nature. Not that I subscribe to any religion.”

“Who has that kind of money?”

Frost laughed. Lucifer was oddly charming. “Exactly.”

Lucifer shook his head. “You’re a mystery to me. By all rights, you should be terrified, but there isn’t an ounce of fear in you. Fascinating. As for any of the countless versions of the Bible used by humans, exactly zero are based on fact. There’s no singular creator, and that’s the problem. All that power and no true boss. The heavens have Celeste. Valhalla has Odin. Zeus has Mount Olympus and so on and so forth. It’s exhausting. If you knew how many wars were fought just to split the universe into some sort of compromise that everyone could live with, you’d understand why I want none of it.”

Frost leaned against the empty nurses’ station and hung on every word. He could listen to Lucifer talk all day. It was riveting to hear the true history of the universe from someone who had witnessed so much. “Don’t you rule Hell?”

A loud bark of laughter burst from Lucifer. “No Gods are fighting over that place. It’s the ladder climbing demons I have to watch out for. Where else was I supposed to go? I’m not welcome in the heavens, and your king stalks me here, waiting to see what mischief I’ll cause.”

“Do you plan to cause mischief? One leg wore me out. I don’t relish the idea of sewing limbs on all day every day.”

“I wouldn’t be me if I behaved.” Lucifer eyed him as if inspecting his next snack. “Don’t worry. I’m the great deceiver. I’m usually much more subtle than a vampire attack. People don’t see my hand… until it’s too late.”

Frost understood it was a warning. He couldn’t explain why he wasn’t afraid. Like Jonathan, he imagined Lucifer could snap his fingers and destroy everything. Yet he was as old as time, and he hadn’t.

“If I destroyed this watery planet, what would I do for fun? Trust me, things were horribly boring back when there weren’t that many places to play. But a lot of pain can be dealt out without killing anyone. Mental anguish is so much worse and more satisfying. I am who I am.” Lucifer sighed. “You’re very popular. Another time.” He vanished. One second, he stood inches from Frost. The next, he was gone as if he had never been there.

“Hey. It’s the good doctor.” Waylon was all smiles. His gaze dropped to the scar Frost proudly wore before meeting Frost’s stare again. “Some guy stopped by the station earlier with a broken arm, wanting to press charges against your mate.” He dropped the term so slyly and kept moving. Frost wanted to be surprised, but he wasn’t. There had always been something about Waylon. “He claims Gemini broke his arm, tossing him from the house. It didn’t take much prodding to learn he had broken in before getting tossed on his ass.” Waylon chuckled and shook his head. “That’s a first for me. I’ve never had anyone want to press charges when they were the one committing a crime. Nuts. After I told him I’d have to arrest him first, he changed his tune. I gently suggested he leave town.”

Frost shook his head. “Part of me wants to be surprised, but I’m not. Craig always was an entitled ass.”

“What made you date someone like him? He seemed pretty adamant he hadn’t actually broken in because you were one private conversation away from taking him back.”

With a tired sigh, Frost shook his head. He chose honesty. “Loneliness.” Frost flashed Waylon a sad smile. “A person will put up with a lot to hang on to the only physical touch they get.” The more Frost spoke, the more he said. Something inside him screamed Waylon needed to hear the words. This was how he could help. This was his healing balm. “I was completely alone in the world, and I think—unless someone’s lived it—they don’t understand what it’s like to never be hugged.” A wave of sadness washed over Frost just remembering his old life. It felt so long ago. “No one says your name. There’s just silence waiting at the end of every day. I suppose something awful felt better than thathell… until it didn’t any longer. One day, silence sounded a hell of a lot better than mental abuse.”

Are you okay? Why are you sad?

I’m fine, baby.

“I suppose I know what you mean.” Waylon rubbed the back of his neck. “So, anyhow. Are you coming to tonight’s run?”

Waylon is asking about some sort of run.

The full moon run. I didn’t think you’d be interested, so I didn’t bring it up.

Full moon? That sounds like something you’d enjoy.

Yeah, well, yeah. But I didn’t think you’d want me to chase you through the woods, catch you, and fuck you under the moon.

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