Page 1 of Rebel's Fairytale

Chapter one

Bri

Brianna‘Bri’JeanneCooke’sbrain was unprepared for what she saw when she stepped up behind those young men at the open back door of the library and looked out into the alley. She had expected to see Rebel fighting with someone or even a gun battle.A shoot-out?She had heard a few shots, so she was prepared for that, and at first, that was exactly what she saw. That hadn’t surprised her at all.

What surprised her was when Rebel turned from a man to a large wolf in less than a second.How?She couldn’t even begin to process… That wasn’t true. Her book nerd brain could come up with a thousand ways to explainhow, but she wasn’t living in a book. She was living in the real world, and things like that didn’t happen.

Right? Right?!

After he tore that man to shredsas a wolfand turned back into the man she knew, he approached her and the two younger men. She just stared at him, her mind attempting to process what she had seen while he spoke with the men. After a moment, the two young men stepped past her and entered the library. Rebel’s gaze shifted to her, and he uttered, “I’ll explain that later. Okay?”

She was curious, but she could see that he had more important things to take care of, so she just nodded. Although she had a million questions and was beyond curious, while also stunned, her brain had begun screaming,Now is not the time!

He looked as if he wanted to say so much, but he only lifted his hand, clocked the small amount of blood on it, and lowered it.How was there only a small amount? No! Not the time.She watched him as he walked away, pulling his phone out of his pocket, and typing something out on the screen, most likely a text message.

She had a flash of thought about how his phone was able to make it through him turning into a wolf and back, but she shook it off.Again, not the time!As she did, her eyes dropped to the mess of blood, bones, and tissue on the asphalt of the alley.

Why was she not more freaked by the dead man torn to shreds? Probably because she was stuck on the wolf’s appearance. It would hit her — The shock and the freakout. When? Bri didn’t know, but she knew it would, eventually.

She called out, “Should I call the police?” Bri watched as he turned around to look at her.

Rebel shook his head. “I’ll take care of it. Just… let me take care of it.”

She nodded again and started to back into the library. Glancing back down to the mess of human pieces, Bri held a surety in her gut that the man deserved what Rebel gave him. As much as she didn’t like violence, she somehow knew Rebel wouldn’t have done it without it being a last resort.

Closing the emergency exit door, she sighed and rolled her eyes at herself. She didn’t know the man. Bri was a responsible, logical person who should be calling the police after witnessing a murder, but how would she explain what she saw?Um, yes, officer, I said the man turned into a large wolf and tore the other man apart. No, officer, I don’t need to talk to a therapist.

“He’s not a freak,” one of the young men said as she turned to head back to her desk.Ryker?He was leaning back against the wall, approximately ten feet from the emergency exit. “We’re… we’re not freaks, Ruby.”

She smiled at his use of the nickname Rebel had given her. When he showed up with the women, children, and the two young men, Rebel introduced her that way. To her surprise, it didn’t bother her at all. She actually liked it, which was another thought for another day.

“Yeah, Rubes,” the other young man, Ross, added. “We were born this way.”

“I believe you.” She shrugged and offered a smile. “I’m a librarian. By nature, I’m a book nerd. It’s almost impossible for me tonotthink anything is possible.”

Ross snorted a laugh. “You know that was full of all kinds of confusion, right?”

Bri grinned. “What can I say? I have a way with words.”

It was a few hours later, when the truth of what she saw in that alley finally hit Bri. She knew she wasn’t losing it. She actually witnessed a man turn into a wolf and tear another man apart. Bri saw the blood and the gore, heard the growls and the screams, smelled the unfortunate scent of death. Ithadhappened, and she needed answers.

Bri thought about getting in her newish Camaro and heading over to the Howlers MC compound to find Rebel and get those answers, but she didn’t. After what she saw in that alley and on the news, she knew he had a lot to deal with. He didn’t need her needling him with questions.

Instead, she curled up on her couch in her two-bedroom townhouse, with a cup of hot peppermint tea and her favorite shifter romance. Okay, it wasn’t her favorite, because picking a favorite sounded like torture to Bri, but it wasoneof her favorites.

The way the author wrote about the shifters was hilarious. She leaned into the typical animal clichés. All the male lions were particular about their manes. The she-wolves were strong and aggressive when provoked, and the wild dogs loved chocolate, but it had an adverse effect on them. The author made you wish you lived in that world. She made you love the dangerous shifters, even though they could rip your throat out. Bri needed that.

As she read about the male wolf, who just happened to be a biker, finding his mate, and helping her come into her own power, her thoughts drifted back to Rebel.

Bri’s brain still wouldn’t let her even approach thinking about the scene in the alley. Instead, it brought her back to the day they met and how sweet he was to her when he saved her from choking on a gummi bear. That was the day he dubbed herRuby. He said it was because of the pretty red color of her cheeks when she blushed. When he said those words, her heart skipped a beat.

Then she thought about the day he stopped by with coffeeandtea for her. He had been so nervous about getting it right. For being a rough, badass biker, he was awfully cute when insecure. He didn’t realize that she would have drunk anything he brought her just to make him feel better. Rebel asked her out that day. She’d said yes, of course, but they had yet to have their date.

And the kiss…Oh, that kiss!When he showed up at the library to ask if the women and children could hang there, she immediately agreed. She wouldn’t be the reason a group of women and children he cared about were unsafe. His immediate response had been to kiss her.

It was the single most perfect kiss she had ever had. It wasn’t a deep one. There was no tongue or teeth involved, just a simple press of lips against lips, but it lit up her body. Her blood heated and her heart raced from the contact. Every time she thought about it, she wanted to do it again, wanted to feel his mouth on hers, wanted to feel that sizzle that ran through her body.

Rebel was sexy with that blond hair and beard on top of that fit body, but he was also sweet and kind. He was protective of the people he loved. He was smart and giving. As crazy as it sounded, Ruby knew he would never harm her. She was beginning to think he was everything she had ever asked for… and more. She didn’t remember asking for a man who grew fur, but hey, everyone had their quirks.