CHAPTER THREE

SHE SHOULD HAVE RECOGNIZED HIS scent right away. Why hadn’t she? She had just smelled him that night! She chewed herself out as she paced in her house. He was the stallion, the black stallion from the wild herds. How had she not realized it sooner? How had she not realized that no horse, wild or not, should be that smart.

Her phone rang, again. It was him. She ignored it, resuming her pacing. What was she going to do? He didn’t seem dangerous, but… Should she risk it? Maybe he was dangerous. Maybe that was what his whole ploy to get her to help him find the lost item crap was about.

Her phone chimed, a text message notification. She picked up her phone like it might explode, with two fingertips and pushed the button to open the message.

Please, just let me explain. Talk to me. I mean you no harm.

Exactly what someone who meant her harm would say. She replied.

No. Stay away from me.

How could she have let this happen? And, he had seen her! He knew she was a Pegasus. Well, it was possible that he didn’t know what she was. Not many people knew about her kind. She was so stupid to have shifted into her Pegasus form. She should have shifted into her equine form to flee and then when she had gotten out of sight, let her wings shift to escape.

I need your help. You’re the only one who can help me find the lost item.

Should she listen to him? He had seemed genuine. Or was this just a ploy?

How do I know that you’re telling the truth? How do I know that you won’t hurt me?

She waited for his reply nervously, pacing back and forth around the room.

You don’t know and I don’t know that there is anything I can say to convince you.

I swear on my honor that I would never hurt you.

Please, help me.

What should she do? She wanted to help a fellow equine, but she didn’t know if she could trust him.

I’ll help you, but if you do anything untoward, I will leave immediately and never speak to you again.

He replied immediately.

Thank you!

Mom had always told her to trust her instincts. For some reason, she felt like she could trust him and that he really did need her help. She was certain that if her mom were here, she would help him.

What do you need me to do?

She might regret this later, but she would just have to wait and see how things played out. It took him awhile to respond and then she saw why. His text was very long.

It’s a bit hard to explain through text. I would really rather meet and discuss this in person. I know that you don’t trust me and I completely understand that. I’m more than willing to meet you in a public place of your choosing at whatever time you choose so that we can discuss everything. I swear that I will not harm you and will protect you from others while you are with me. Let me know where you want to meet and what time.

Where should she have him meet her? The park wasn’t a great place for this type of meeting. She wanted it to be somewhere very public so that he couldn’t try to do anything. It was already too late to meet tonight. She needed to shower and go to sleep for work tomorrow.

Tomorrow. Noon. Lunch at Biscuits Bistro.

It was near her work, busy, and would give her safety. She didn’t think he would try anything, but she still wanted to act carefully. She thought he might protest and want to meet immediately, but he didn’t.

I’ll see you there tomorrow. Have a good night, Mendra.

He could tell she was picking a place that they wouldn’t be alone and there would be many people around to keep her safe. It infuriated him that she had been hurt before. He wanted to find those people and show them what true wrath looked like. She was damaged and alone and he no doubt made her nervous. How could he convince her to come with him on his quest? How could he fix what had been broken? How could he heal her?

His phone rang and he answered without looking at the caller ID. “Lynsander.”

“Why didn’t you come by?” Martin, a human male he had befriended, asked.

Lysander rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. “I’m sorry. I forgot.”

“You forgot? You never forget.” Martin countered. He was silent a moment and then asked, “Did you meet a girl?”

“Well…” Lysander wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Mendra was gorgeous and he wanted more than anything to take her to bed, but…

“Alright!” Martin cheered. “Finally. I thought you might never pick a woman. She must be smokin’ hot. Where’d you meet?”

In the desert, saving horses. “A bar of all places,” he replied after a moment’s hesitation.

“Really? I can’t wait to meet her.”

“Martin, I just met this girl. It’s a bit early to want to introduce her to my friends,” he reminded him. That would most likely just scare her away. She was skittish enough as is, he didn’t want to give her any other reasons to bolt.

“Do you at least have a picture of her? Is she on social media?”

“Dude,” he said and exhaled as he rubbed his eyes, exhaustion wearing on him. “Chill. I just met her. I only know her first name.” And that she’s a Pegasus, the last of her kind on this side of the rift.

“Sorry. Sorry. It’s just exciting. I’ve been trying to hook you up with women for years. I was starting to think you just didn’t want to admit that you were gay. Nothing wrong with that if you are, by the way.”

Lysander sighed long and loud. Martin meant well and was a good guy, but he was a bit high strung. “I need to shower and call it a night.”

“Right. Right. Well, I’ll see you at work tomorrow,” Martin said and then hung up.

He stared at his phone and wanted to message Mendra again, but reminded himself that he was trying not to scare her away. He had not felt like this about a woman in a long time. Part of it, he knew, was because she was equine, like him. He had resigned himself to being with human women, but they just didn’t understand him. They didn’t understand why he reacted to things the way he did or moved the way he did. She would. She would understand him. She would know just by his body language what he was feeling or thinking. That thought actually made him nervous. He used to be great at keeping his face and body from giving away his emotions, but it had been decades since he had used those tools.

Work was boring on its best day, but as Lysander watched the clock, waiting for his chance to meet Mendra, it seemed to take a century.

“You’re a bit strung out,” Kayla commented from the cubicle next to him.

“What?” he asked, focusing on the work on his screen. He’d taken several night classes to learn how to use computers and it had definitely paid off. Coming to an interview without knowing what a computer even was had been the most embarrassing moment of his life after being tossed to this side of the rift. He vowed never to let himself be ignorant to technology again. That was probably why he had joined the huge tech company he worked for now. Now he knew about things years in advance of the public.

“I’ve never seen you so tense. You’re usually relaxed and carefree. Today, you look like you’re waiting for your first chance to race out of here. What’s up?”

“He’s got a hot date,” Martin said and waggled his eyebrows suggestively at them both.

Lysander rolled his eyes at the man and to Kayla said, “I’ve got a lot on my mind right now.”

“Is she hot?” Kayla asked. She chuckled a moment later. “Of course she is, look at you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he challenged.

“You’re gorgeous,” she said simply. “Any woman to get with you has got to be gorgeous too.”

“I’m not shallow,” he said defensively. “I don’t judge women based solely on their appearance.”

“It helps if they’re hot though,” Martin replied. “It’s easier to put up with a woman’s crap if she’s pretty.”

“That’s the dumbest thing I have ever heard you say,” Lysander said in disbelief. “I don’t care if a woman is beautiful or not, if she has a good heart and soul, that’s all I care about.”

“She’s hot though, isn’t she?” Kayla asked.

He couldn’t stop the smirk from forming on his lips. “Yeah. She’s perfect.”

“Are you going to take a picture of her at lunch?” Martin asked, hope in his eyes.

“That’s creepy,” Kayla said right away.

“No,” Lysander replied to him. “I’m not. I’m going to meet her for lunch and talk to her.” And try to convince her to ditch work to go on a treasure hunting adventure that might possibly put them in a ton of danger. He wasn’t too worried about the danger, not for himself, but taking Mendra into danger did bother him. He wanted to keep her safe and was glad he had kept up on his workouts and training here in the human realm.

“You’re no fun,” Martin grumbled.

“Where are you meeting her?” Kayla asked.

Lysander gave a bark of laughter and shook his head. “Nice try.”

“Dammit,” Martin grumbled.

“Why are you so twitchy today?” Paula asked Mendra.

“Sorry,” she whispered and tried to stop her shaking leg and ease up on her keystrokes.

“Are you wearing makeup?” Paula gasped.

Mendra hadn’t heard her walk up to her cube and jumped in her seat. “Paula,” she chastised. “You scared the crap out of me.”

Paula smiled happily. “You’re going on a lunch date, aren’t you?”

“No,” she snapped and then sighed. “Maybe.”

“Who is the lucky guy?” she asked her and leaned on the top of the cubicle wall with her elbows. Paula was in her sixties, but could outshine girls in their early twenties easily. Her face had zero wrinkles and glowed with youth and happiness.

“I just met him last night,” she replied, not wanting to give anything away about Lysander. She had spent an hour getting ready this morning. Most of that time had been her putting on makeup, arguing with herself about doing it to impress him, removing the makeup, and then putting it back on.

“Details!” Paula urged.

“I don’t want to jinx it,” she admitted sheepishly. As much as she wanted to lie to herself, Mendra couldn’t lie about the attraction she felt with Lysander. He was handsome, smelled amazing, and something drew her to him. She assumed it was because they were both equines, but she felt it was something else.

“Oh, he must be something special then. How hot is he? A six?”

“Ten,” Mendra breathed immediately.

Paula’s eyes widened. “Pictures?”

Mendra shook her head. It was hard to get pictures when you were flying away from him and hiding like a child. She wondered if she should apologize to him. She’d done it out of fear and didn’t think she needed to apologize, but…

Her alarm went off and she stood up so abruptly that her chair fell over and Paula gasped in shock. “Got to go,” she practically yelled as she raced out of the office and into the elevator. She smoothed down her dress and double checked her reflection in the elevator doors as it descended. Her heart hammered in a fast staccato. She walked slowly, forcing herself to appear calm as she approached the bistro, in case he saw her before she got there.

She came to a dead stop ten feet from the bistro when she saw him waiting for her outside. He was wearing a suit and his brown hair was styled with gel in a professional look. He looked even hotter than he had the night before.

She had stopped as soon as she spotted him, but he was actually glad for the moment of reprieve. Her red dress hugged her curves and gave only a brief glimpse of cleavage, leaving him to wonder what she would look like without it on. Her hair was styled in a currently popular style for office workers, up and piled atop her head. It was a look that made most women look ridiculous, but she pulled it off. She could pull off any style though, her luscious lips were parted slightly, a look of surprise on them. He felt the same. Seeing her in work attire was much different than her casual clothes had been. She wasn’t gorgeous, she was breathtaking.

He smiled at her and she smiled in response. Her smile was happy and nervous at the same time, the edges of the smile quivering slightly. He wanted to ease her nerves, but didn’t want to move towards her. She needed to make the move today. He would let her be in charge of this dance.

It took her a moment to remember that she needed to move, but once she started walking, her mind lost the fear she had felt initially. “Hi,” she said as she stood before Lysander. She’d forgotten how tall and muscular he was. She felt petite next to him.

“Hello,” he replied and opened the door for her.

“Thank you,” she said and walked past him. She inhaled, savoring the scent of him as she moved by.

“You look gorgeous,” he commented in a husky voice behind her.

Good, she was glad that she wasn’t the only one affected.

“Thank you,” she replied as she took her spot in line to order her food and then turned to face him.

He had his hands in his pockets, his stance casual and relaxed. She could see tension in the way he held his shoulders though. Was he worried she would bolt again?

“I’m sorry about last night,” she whispered finally, casting her eyes downward to avoid seeing his reaction and tilted her head to the side to hide it fully.

“You have no reason to apologize,” he whispered. “I’m sorry for scaring you.” He wasn’t really sure what he had done that had scared her.

“You don’t understand,” she said simply. He watched her face, seeing a frown form and then disappear. “You don’t understand because I didn’t tell you.”

“So, tell me now,” he offered.

“After we sit,” she promised.

They ordered their food and then she picked a seat outside that gave them a bit of privacy to talk away from the others. He kept silent despite the thousand questions swirling in his head that he wanted to ask her.

She sipped on her water a moment to calm her nerves and then met his beautiful eyes. “Last night you helped a herd escape from the government,” she said.

His eyes widened and he asked, “How did you know that?”

“The mare that helped open the pens?” she asked.

He nodded.

Slowly, she raised her hand. “Hi.”

His eyes widened even more. “You? You were the mare who opened the pens?”

She nodded. “That’s why I freaked out when you switched into your…” she paused as she looked around them. “…equine form. I recognized you.”

He leaned back in his chair and exhaled. “Now I understand. You thought I had followed you.”

She smirked. “Partly.”

“I really didn’t know,” he told her adamantly.

She nodded. “I know.” And she did. His reaction had been genuine shock.

“I thought that mare…you…had been acting strangely,” he said and then chuckled.

She didn’t say anything else, waiting for him to give her information now. She’d apologized and admitted why she had freaked out. It was his turn to fess up and tell her something about this treasure and what they were going to be looking for.

“I was a guard for the Centaur’s most treasured item,” he began softly. “It was a position I had held for thirty years and nothing ever happened. It was boring and I became carefree and let my guard down. I got drunk on my shift and someone stole the item. Before I could stop them, they crossed the rift to this side and I didn’t have the power to do the same. Not that it would have mattered since I had never crossed before and had no idea what to expect. When the others found out, I was put on trial. They banished me from the herd and from my homelands to live among the humans. I never told them that the person came here. I have been here for thirty years and haven’t been able to get the item. If I can get the item, I can go back home. I can return to my herd. I can get my old life back.”

Mendra didn’t think guarding an item sounded like a fun life to get back, but she didn’t say that out loud. “If you’ve been searching for thirty years, what makes you think I can help?”

He opened his mouth to reply, but stopped when a waiter brought out their food. He waited until the human was gone before responding. “I went to a Seer. She told me that a woman would come and only she could find the Horn.”

“Horn?”

“Yes, the Centaur’s prized possession is a horn. If blown, it can be heard all across the lands.”

She thought it sounded stupid, if she was honest, but it wasn’t up to her to decide if it was a prized possession or not. “How do you know I’m that woman? You’ve run across thousands of women these past thirty years.”

“She told me that the woman would have feathers softer than an angel’s,” he continued. “I wasn’t certain what she meant by that, but when I saw you shift into a Pegasus, I knew it was you. It has to be you.”

“My feathers aren’t that soft,” she muttered in embarrassment.

“Pegasus have the softest feathers of any creature. It comes from being created from clouds by Zeus.”

“What?” she asked in disbelief.

He nodded. “Zeus created Pegasi from clouds.”

She had not heard that before. It sounded ridiculous.

“Please, Mendra. I need your help. I want to return to my herd. I want to return to my home. I cannot do that without you and your help. I cannot do that without finding the horn. I miss Olympus. I miss my family.”

She tensed and asked with a slight quiver to her voice, “Do you have a mate there?”

It took him a moment to understand what she was asking. He’d not meant her to think he had a family consisting of a mate and children. “No, but my parents and siblings are there,” he specified.

“What would we do to search for this horn? The world is huge. It could be in another country. It could be across the world.”

“It’s in this country,” he said adamantly with a nod of his head. “I can sense it.”

“Wait, you can sense it, but you haven’t found it?”

“I can sense that it is within one hundred miles and the general direction that it is in.”

“Again, how am I supposed to help? I can’t sense it. I don’t know what it even looks like.”

“I am honestly not sure,” he admitted to her. “I’m sure that we’ll figure it out as we go.”

They ate in companionable silence, but once finished, Lysander met Mendra’s eyes, making her squirm a bit. “I know this is not a typical request. I realize that you don’t know me. Quitting your job sounds insane. However, I can compensate you.”

Dirty thoughts swirled in Mendra’s brain while he wrote down something on a napkin. He slid the napkin to her and she stared at it in disbelief.

“What is this?”

“Your payment for assisting me.”

“There are six figures here,” she pointed out.

He nodded. “Yes.”

“How can you possibly have this?” He didn’t look like a millionaire or billionaire.

He smirked. “I invested in companies as they started and I also invested wisely on the stock market. If you don’t believe I have it, I am more than willing to give you half now and half when we finish.”

“What if I find it within a month?” she asked skeptically. He wouldn’t want to waste that much money on her.

“Then it will be money well spent.”

Her brows were creased. She wasn’t sure if she could believe him. That money could change her life though.

“I’ll start as soon as the money is in my account,” She told him.

He smiled wide. “Thank you.”

“What am I supposed to do?” she asked him.

“Take a drive with me tonight to the other side of town.”

“And?” she prompted

“And, I’ll see if I can sense it better with you by my side.”

It didn’t make any sense to her, but she didn’t argue with him. If he could find the horn and return, then she could get paid and follow her dream of opening the horse rescue she always wanted to.

He watched her leave the restaurant and knew he was smiling like a fool. She had agreed to help him. Now, he could find the horn and return home while fixing the damage caused to Mendra.

Tonight, would be the first test. He would see if he could break down her walls slightly to let him in. if he could get her to open up and tell him what had happened, he could determine how best to help her. Even if he got the horn tonight, he wouldn’t leave until he had repaired the damage that had been done to her soul. No one with a soul as pure as hers should live with a cloud of black around them. his mother had been the healer for their herd and he knew a couple of tricks to healing those that had been hurt or damaged by others’ acts. If his mother had been here, she could have fixed Mendra the first night that they had met.

Lysander wondered if he should offer to bring her back to Olympus with him. She could be around others of her kind there. She could have a herd. She could even find a mate. Lysander snorted and stamped his foot. The males would tear each other apart to possibly earn a chance to win her hand. Thinking about it made him angry. Had he been in equine form, his tail would be swishing at the thought of another male with her. He wasn’t normally possessive, and that thought shocked him out of his stupor. “Get a grip, Lys,” he grumbled to himself.