Page 38 of My Brutal Alpha

With how they seemed to accept her, an idea flickered into the forefront of my mind. While it seemed unlikely before, I began to wonder if they might actually be okay with it—if they'd be willing to give up their stance on me being with Nora.

From what I could tell, the plan seemed to be working, and a small ember of hope settled within my chest.

All I needed was for them to forget about Nora, and then I'd be free to figure out everything between me and Zoe.

For a moment, my thoughts became even greedier from that sense of hope, and I considered the idea that I might be able to have Zoe without completely disappointing my parents.

While the former was the most important part, regardless of the ruse, having the latter didn't seem like the worst thing in the world.

Maybe then we'd have the opportunity to patch things between us and move on from my treatment as a child.

It was a lot of wishful thinking, but it didn't seem all that unrealistic at that moment.

Chapter 18 - Zoe

To my surprise, given how apprehensive Ezra seemed about the whole thing, I was more comfortable than I imagined.

The two of us were bouncing false tidbits off each other, further pushing our story to his parents, and for the most part, they seemed to be buying it. It was going well, and they came off as very receptive.

Of course, the situation was still strange. On one hand, we were just pretending and doing our best to convince them we were in love, but at the same time, it almost felt like there was an underlying truth beneath it all.

We did have our bond, which was surely working in our favor. So, in a sense, there really was something there, just not in the way they thought.

It was difficult for me to keep track of where the lies ended and the truths began, but despite the strange circumstances, it didn't seem like too much of a problem.

As Ezra talked more about our relationship with his parents, sprinkling in half-truths occasionally, it started to feel real.

It both troubled and excited me since the prospect of us being together seemed less absurd with every passing day.

Looking back, it was almost like Ezra had been so concerned about his parents not budging for no reason. As if he had been so paranoid just for them to end up being completely normal about it all.

The longer it went on, the more relaxed I started to feel about it all.

To be completely honest, it scared me slightly, knowing how at ease I was becoming, all because they were more understanding than either of us expected.

It felt like I was already accepting the role of Ezra's mate and Luna as if there was no room for doubt.

"It's nice to see how enthusiastic you both seem about this," his mother, Ophelia, said with a tight-lipped smile. Despite her other expressions seeming sincere, something about that one almost caught me off-guard.

Dane, his father, leaned back and nodded in agreement. "It seems you've done a lot of growing since the last time we saw you, Ezra. You have a pack of your own, convictions, and even a mate lined up. You've certainly come a long way on your own."

Glancing at Ezra then, I noticed the faintest hint of pride in his features, almost like he had been waiting a long time to hear something like that. After hearing what his parents had been like when he was a kid, I could only imagine that was true.

For good measure, Ezra smiled faintly and placed his hand over mine as he met my gaze for a moment. "It's true...a lot has changed."

There was a moment of silence as we looked at each other, and in that brief period of peace, I could feel our bond pulled between us.

With its presence living within us both, it seemed to swell at the very idea of us accepting it.

Even if we weren't saying it directly, an unspoken understanding was being exchanged. Regardless of our efforts to convince his parents we were legitimate, there was something real, and we both knew it.

I wanted nothing more than to bask in that moment and sit in it longer as that flicker of time seemed to stretch between us.

"But one thing won't be changing," Ophelia said, tearing us both from our momentary reverie.

We glanced over at her, expressions unguarded and curious.

"What's that?" Ezra asked, tone lighter and more trusting than he had been for a while.

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