Page 3 of Rebel's Fairytale

“No buts,” Allie interrupted. “That’s dating, and I’m here for it! Which one?”

“Excuse me.” Liz waved a hand in front of their faces. “What is a Howler?”

“Howlers MC are based in Warden’s Pass,” Allie told her. “They are a motorcycle club of eye candy perfection.” She waggled her eyebrows at Bri. “Which one did you snag?”

Bri took another sip of her margarita and then a deep breath before she replied, “Rebel.”

Allie shook her head, but she looked to be in awe. “Of course. If there was one of them who liked books and was sweet and thoughtful, Bri would be the one to find him. Nice, Bish. Nice.” Then she held her fist out to Bri across the table, to which Bri immediately hit it with her own.

“Okay. Hold up. I need to know more,” Liz said. “So, he’s a biker who reads, is sweet and thoughtful, wanted to pet Bleu, and saved you from choking on a gummi bear?” She narrowed her eyes on Bri. “What’s wrong with him? No one isthatperfect.”

“I haven’t talked to him except the few times he came into the library.”

Allie took a drink before she blurted, “Can we just talk about the fact that these are the men who can change into animals? Did you see that on the news?” She looked over at Liz, whose eyes went wide.

“Yes!” Liz’s gaze shifted back to Bri. “Is he one of them?”

Bri nodded. “A wolf.”

“Holy batman,” Liz began, “you stumbled into a shifter biker romance.”

“Isn’t it fantastic?” Allie giggled and took another drink of her margarita.

Liz narrowed her eyes. “But she doesn’t look happy.”

Allie gazed at Bri with curious eyes. “Does it have something to do with the bombings and stuff that happened in Warden’s Pass?”

Bri held up her hands to stop her friends from bombarding her with questions. After another sip of her margarita, she told them the story of everything that had happened since she met Rebel. When she was done, she let out a deep sigh. “And now I have all these questions. They are nagging me, and I don’t know what to do.”

Liz reached over and gave her hand a squeeze. “Sounds like he has a lot going on. Maybe you should give him a moment to breathe.”

Allie nodded. “Then, when you see him again, tell him you have questions and see if he’s willing to answer them.”

“I like this plan,” Liz said.

“I don’t want to wait,” she grumbled.

Her best friends laughed, and Liz uttered, “That’s because your curious brain needsall the information. Make your list of questions… or at least add the new questions to the list I’m sure you’ve already started.”

Bri took a large drink of her margarita as she lifted her pinky finger in the air — Their secret way of flipping each other off.

Rebel

Two days after the scene in the alley behind the library, Rebel walked into the auditorium at the high school and his eyes instantly scanned the crowd for the prettiest librarian he had ever met. Hell… she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever met, but he didn’t see her.

Disappointment filled him as he took a seat at the end of the roped-off section of the second row. The Howlers and Claws seats were sectioned off with caution tape, like they were diseased or dangerous. If they were actually a danger, did the town really think caution tape would stop them? Rebel rolled his eyes and yanked the tape down. That wouldn’t help their cause.

His brothers and the Claws filed in and took seats, except for the ten who would be on stage. Crush decided on Pinky, Ginger, Shortcake, and Kitty to join her. It made sense. Just like the Howlers had Skull, Top, Rex, and Siren join Axle on stage, Crush chose the most notable members who already had a presence and a good reputation in the community.

As he waited for the rest of the townspeople to enter the room and take their seats, Rebel’s thoughts once again turned to Ruby. After what she saw him do in the alley of the library, he hoped she wasn’t afraid of him. He didn’t regret it, but he didn’t want her to think the worst of him.

His wolf snarled at him. Yeah, his wolf was pissed that he might have pushed away their woman, but it wasn’t like Rebel wouldn’t do whatever he needed to do to fix it.

“Why the frown?”

Rebel jolted at the sound of her voice. He turned his head to the right, and there she was, sitting next to him, giving him a sweet smile. Her beautiful blond hair was half-pulled back in a simple braid, and she had on simple make-up that allowed her beauty to shine through but also accentuated her gold-flecked blue eyes.

“You’re here.” He cringed as soon as the words left his mouth.No shit, Sherlock!