Page 50 of Rebel's Fairytale

>What time should my sexy ass and sweet smile arrive?<

Another quick reply.

>Come at 6:30 and I’ll make you dinner first.<

She bit her lip as she sent her reply.

>I’ll bring dinner. See you at 6:30<

The heart she got in return made her own beat a little harder.

Everything he had told her about mates, Ol’ Ladies, and love had her mind swirling. She knew she had to process it and make some decisions, but how did she do that when she couldn’t stop questions from piling up?

Most of her questions could be answered with one word — Magic. She knew he couldn’t answer those questions any more than she could. She wondered how much of an impact his wolf had on him and his desire for her, but he insisted he would still want her if his wolf wasn’t a thing. Not wanting to start a relationship on doubt, she felt the need to believe him on that. Following that train of thought, she believed that he loved her, too. Hell, he had said as much during his rant about how much he wanted her.

The man was practically everything she would have said she wanted if she would have been asked to compile a list of attributes she wanted in a man. His rugged, sexy exterior hid a deep intellect and kind soul. He was capable of violence, but he wasn’t quick to act, and generally lived his life with generosity and gentleness. He brought her tea when he barely knew her. The way he was with that teen was just who Rebel was. From what she knew of the Howlers, they all operated with the same mindset.

Rebel was so focused on giving his cousins a safe place and some stability, something they had never experienced, even though they were adults. Not many men would toss aside their bachelor ways to take on supporting two grown men and do it without an ounce of regret, or expectations of a return on the investment.

The biggest shocker for her was the list of things they had in common. She loved books, and so did he. She had a corny sense of humor, and Rebel had shown her he wasn’t averse to a stupid joke. They both wanted to belong, to have a support group around them, to have a family they could depend on.

When you took their similarities and his heart, added his considerate personality and his amazing body, and topped it with the way he fucked her, she felt silly even having to think about whether to be with him for the long haul.

The fact that he was a shifter was obviously a bit crazy, but it was a good kind of crazy. What self-respecting romance reader wouldn’t jump at the chance to be on the arm of a sexy biker shifter? It wasn’t a difficult choice when she simplified it like that.

Still… He said the mating was permanent. If by some crazy chance, he turned out to be someone completely different than she thought, she couldn’t just walk away. Could she?

She briefly thought about the Ol’ Lady stuff and shrugged. If she came to the conclusion she would accept the mating, the Ol’ Lady status came with it. Therefore, she decided it all boiled down to the mating.

As she dressed, she let herself imagine a life with him and what it would entail. She had just finished throwing together a Chicken Pot Pie Casserole when she came to the realization that she was already pretty attached to him and couldn’t imagine a day when she’d want to walk away.

Deciding to let that marinate for a while, she did a quick job of applying a natural look to her face and did her hair. Once she was done, she noticed she had fifteen minutes to get to Rebel’s. Grabbing her purse and the casserole, she headed out to her car.

She was on her way to Rebel’s house when she heard the notification from her phone. She finished the drive and parked in his driveway next to where he normally parked his bike. Checking her phone, she saw a text from him.

>I’m running late. Sorry! Will be about 30. Lock code for the garage door is 83572. Door to house from there will be unlocked.<

She sent him a text to let him know she would be fine until he arrived, put her phone in her purse, grabbed the casserole she had prepared, and headed inside.

Rebel

They had to push the meeting back until six, since loading up Diamond’s stuff took the guys longer than expected. Axle said Rock had mentioned something about Ranger and his damn flirting.

After texting Ruby the door code, so she could get in his house, Rebel told the twins to get to work cleaning up the clubhouse and showed them the storage closet where they kept the cleaning supplies. Then, he headed up to church.

Everyone was already there when he arrived, so he skirted the table and took his seat.

“Okay. Now that the man of the hour has arrived, let’s get started,” Axle said and slammed the side of his fist onto the table. “Ruby was confronted at the library by Sharon White. After throwing some fucked-up words at Ruby, Sharon threatened to withdraw donations and fuck with funding for the library. That can’t fucking stand.”

Dragon’s growl through the room wasn’t a surprise, but it was Pike who asked, “What in the fuck did that bitch say to Ruby?”

Fuck.The vehemence in his brother’s voice warmed Rebel’s heart. His family was already inprotect Rubymode.

“Most of it had to do with us and the usual bullshit,” Axle answered in a calm voice, “but she capped it with calling out Ruby’s love life. I won’t repeat the fucking words she used or what she insinuated.”

“Fuck that shit,” Skull blurted. “Okay, yeah, we’ll figure out funding for the library. I think that’s a given. But I won’t stand by while some bitch talks shit about my sister.”

Agreement sounded around the table.