Free Prince of Pleasure by Mandy M. Roth Page B

could shift into birds.
    The “birdies” she was hunting.
    History was littered with sightings and reports from eyewitnesses. Some labeled what they saw as angels or even demons. She believed the men were something else entirely. From what she’d pieced together, they were real and they weren’t gods or anything of the sort, but rather beings that had come and gone freely since the dawn of time.
    She’d found patterns in the sightings. Narrowed down the best possible locations to perhaps catch a look at them herself and document proof of their existence. With her camera at the ready, she pushed deeper into the woods.
    The bite of fall was in the air and Lucy was pleased she’d had the forethought to bundle up prior to heading out. Still, her cheeks and nose were cold. She ignored the discomfort and continued on. She’d get her proof and others would stop laughing at her.
    She was no one’s joke.
    The temperature dropped even more with each step she took deeper into the woods. She pulled her jacket tighter, thankful she’d paired it with one of her university sweatshirts. The Rebs logo was faded and worn—the mark of a well-loved article of clothing. She’d spent three comfy years donning it whenever she could—wearing it while studying for exams or when she noticed all her roommates were out on dates while she was back at the shared condo reading the latest and greatest on the newest chupacabra sightings. The sweatshirt was something of a security blanket for her. It was there for her when men weren’t. And it didn’t give a rat’s ass what size she was.
    Unlike men.
    Alice was right. She did need to find a guy. One who didn’t care that she wasn’t a stick figure. That she actually enjoyed eating and, unlike some of the girls she knew, didn’t rush to the bathroom to expel anything she ate.
    “Fat chance I’m finding a prince charming who likes curves,” she mused, walking onward. Her sex-starved body would have to wait. She was a girl on a mission and she wasn’t stopping it for anything—not even the quest to get laid. Besides, the men she met never lived up to her idea of Prince Charming. They lacked something he had.
    Wings.
    She smiled as she thought about the birdman that had captured her attention when she was young. He’d been unbelievably handsome. Not to mention, he could fly.
    What little girl wouldn’t grow up with a secret crush on him? Now a young woman, she found it hard to be bothered with human men. Not when she knew the truth of what was out there.
    Soon, everyone would know about them.
    A tiny pang of worry filled her gut. What if she’d imagined the birdmen? What if Pappy’s stories had been so vivid, so compelling to her that she’d allowed herself to think she’d seen a majestic creature with wings?
    “No,” she said. “They’re real. I know it. He’s real.”
    When she came to a clearing, she paused, staying to the tree line as she clicked off her flashlight and took a seat. This was it. The spot she could trace several sightings back to. She’d been here before, more than once. Nothing had come of it, but that didn’t matter. She knew in her gut this was where she needed to be.
    Something rustled the leaves on the other side of the clearing. She brought her camera up and waited. Excitement churned in her stomach, heightening her senses. She watched, positive this was the moment she’d spent years waiting for. The smell of pine needles increased to the point that it was sickening.
    Another rustle of leaves sounded.
    She put her finger over the button to snap a picture, fully prepared to have her moment. When a raccoon wandered out from the other side of the clearing, her heart sank. She let out a breath she’d been unaware she was holding and then pulled her finger away from the button on her camera.
    Darn.
    She’d been so sure.
    “What do we have here?” a deep voice asked from behind her, startling her, making her drop her camera as she spun around. The camera