Page 23 of Rebel's Fairytale

Mary gave him a smile as the tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks. “I’m okay, Wes.”

His hands reached up to wipe away her tears, and that’s when she spotted the other new tattoo. It was a simple outline of a diamond on the ring finger of his left hand.

She told him she wanted proof that he was all-in, and he was making sure she knew he meant it. The joy that filled her heart overwhelmed her. She shot to her feet, wrapped her arms around his waist, and face planted against his body.

“Mary?” Rock wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. “What’s wrong?”

She shook her head. “Nothing. Everything is perfect.”

And just like that, she was sobbing into his chest again.

Rebel

Still smiling from seeing Ruby, Rebel parked his bike in a spot near the front of the local grocery store and headed inside. He couldn’t wait to have her in his space and to have his cousins get to know her better. He had no doubt they would love her, but it was important to Rebel that Ross and Ryker had more than an acquaintance relationship with the woman that was going to be in his life.

Ruby was his mate. His wolf had made that fact very fucking clear. Now, it was just about building the relationship, so it didn’t freak her out when Rebel started to plan their future out loud instead of only in his head.

He grabbed a basket from the holder near the entrance and made a left. As he perused the produce, he let his mind wander to what Ruby would look like first thing in the morning. He wanted to know what her eyes looked like heavy with sleep and what her version of bedhead was.

Grinning, he grabbed two bundles of asparagus and dropped them in the basket as he thought about what she would wear to dinner. Would she be buttoned up librarian, or would he finally get to see her in a more casual outfit? What did she look like when she was reading in her chair?

Fuck. He wanted to be able to picture her in every situation and every place, not because he had a good imagination, but because he’d witnessed it, and he had an excellent memory.

As his wolf began to pace inside him, Rebel assumed it was because of their shared urgency to build that history with Ruby. It wasn’t until he made his way to the meat section that he began to notice how people would change course to avoid getting too close to him.

He’d never been treated like that before in Warden’s Pass. Usually, the town was very accepting of the Howlers, knowing the Howlers did a lot of good things for the community, but things were different after the truth of shifters had been announced to the world.

The general world population was a mixed bag of people who believed and those who thought the video proof was altered in some way. It wasn’t. However, the residents of Warden’s Pass had experienced shifters, firsthand, just a few days ago and knew it all to be true.

Axle had warned they would probably experience some push back. He had told all of them to expect awkward or frightened glances. His orders were to not react any differently than we would have before. Our mission was to prove to the town nothing about us had changed. It was the truth. The only difference was in the knowledge of the residents.

Rebel shook off the avoidance and grabbed a large package of high-end steaks. Dropping them in his basket, he turned and headed for the aisle that held the tinfoil. Once he had that in his basket, he moved over to the spice aisle.

He was trying to pick the best seasonings to put on the steaks when he glanced over and noticed a woman heading down the aisle he was in. She was on the city council and had been fighting to revoke the liquor license from Heat, the Howlers MC owned strip club, for as long as Rebel could remember. She was what Rex’s teen daughter, Neveah, would call aKaren.

As she got closer to him, he gave her a polite nod as he usually would. She scowled at him in return. When she walked past him, she hissed, “Somebody should call animal control.”

Before Rebel could formulate a response, she was gone, turning down another aisle. Shaking his head, he picked up his favorite steak seasoning and marinade, and dropped them in his basket.

Remembering he wanted to make her his grilled potatoes, he headed back to the produce section and grabbed the first bag of potatoes he came across. He needed to get out of the store before he snapped and told all of those judgmental assholes what he really thought of them.

With the basket in one hand and the five-pound bag of potatoes in the other, Rebel headed for the front of the store, trying extremely hard not to let his annoyance show on his face.

Keeping his cool was important in this situation, probably more important than ever before. The Howlers and the Claws didn’t need to give the citizens of Warden’s Pass any reason to rise up against them.

They were already receiving reports from the champions of the gods about a group of hunters that had sprung up with the mission to eradicate any paranormal creature. They didn’t have solid evidence of the group or where they were located yet, but it was still on their list of problems. The last thing they needed was to grab the attention of the hunters or their band of idiots.

When he reached the front and attempted to get in line behind a few other customers. Those customers moved to a different line. Gritting his teeth, he moved forward and started unloading his basket.

The cashier was polite, but she definitely wasn’t friendly as she rang up his purchases. When she was done, he wished her a good day, and all she gave him in return was a forced smile.

Deciding that having groceries delivered was probably a good idea next time he was having a good day, Rebel returned to his bike and loaded his purchases into his saddlebags.

Before he started his bike, he sent Axle a string of texts, informing him of the reception he received at the grocery store. The reply text told him to stop by the compound, so that was what he was going to do after he dropped the groceries off at his house.

As he rode out of the parking lot, he made a promise to himself that their asshole behavior wouldn’t ruin his day. Ruby was coming to dinner, and that was something to be happy about.

Chapter eight

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