Page 65 of My Brutal Alpha

Left alone then, gaze set solely on Zoe, my feet were moving before I could even attach two thoughts together.

Her expression was soft with relief and admiration, and with ease, she met me partway.

The moment I felt her against me, along with her arms wrapped around my midsection, it was all I could do to stay upright and hug her back, surrounding her. Letting my eyesclose as I buried my face in her dark hair, I inhaled her comforting scent and allowed myself the time to take it all in.

I had her back in my arms, safe and sound; that was all that mattered to me then.

“I’m sorry,” I murmured against her, throat nearly closing around the words despite how important it was for me to get them out. “I never should’ve done that to you—any of it. Breaking your heart before, roping you into my baggage, and hurting you all over again. I…I don’t deserve you or this bond, but I’ll be selfish when I say it’s all I want. All I need.”

Zoe’s grip tightened on me by a fraction as she listened to my words, sniffling with her face pressed against my chest. Her fingers pressed against my bare skin, almost like she was afraid I’d disappear otherwise. I knew that was how I felt.

Then, she pulled in a breath and pulled back enough to look up at me. “I was mad at you. So damn mad at you for so long, then, I was mad at you all over again. But after all of this…I can’t be. Not anymore.”

My expression softened to match hers—something that happened rarely for me. But at that moment, I couldn’t be anything but vulnerable. No other response felt right after everything that just gone down.

“You should still be mad at me, you know. You should hate me.”

“Trust me, I want to,” Zoe said, face giving away to a small smile. “But it’s not worth it. You have some serious sucking up to do, but I can’t be angry over the things you needed to come to terms with.”

Letting go of a pensive yet grateful breath, I nodded and gently raised a hand to cup her cheek. I pulled a faint smile of my own as I stroked her cheek with my thumb. “I’ll do everything in my power to make it up to you, to make things right. That beingsaid, I hope you know this means you’re stuck with me now. No take-backs, not while you’re my mate, and I’ll accept nothing less. I can’t be without this bond now.”

Her lips pulled a bit more as I leaned my forehead against hers, and a quiet hum came from her chest. “And I expect nothing less.”

Able to breathe properly for the first time in a while, I closed my eyes and soaked in the shared warmth between us. Aware that after it all, we still had each other and our bond, and we were more than willing to do whatever it took to protect it.

She was mine, and I was hers, and nothing could change that.

Chapter 30 - Zoe

Lydia once described to me the relief she felt after she and Sebastian worked everything out and put their problems behind them.

It sounded so serene and fulfilling. Almost like coming home after being away for too long.

She was the happiest I had ever seen her, aside from after Callie was born. There was something different about how she smiled and acted around him as if they had nothing to worry about.

Before, I assumed I would never have that feeling from myself. Despite being unwaveringly happy for them, a small piece of me envied the look of sheer peace and joy that she eventually wore.

However, Ezra managed to prove me wrong. After putting his life on the line to fight for us and our bond, I could feel that once-in-a-lifetime relief for myself. I was lucky enough to know what it was like to not only have a mate bond but also to be blessed by the calm after the storm.

Ever since he won the fight against his dad, we have never heard anything from them or Kody Arron. Dane took Ezra’s word for it and stayed away, and while his fate was unknown after the fact, it didn’t matter either way.

After sticking to his convictions, he managed to get his parents off his back, and in the end, we didn’t have to convince them of anything to make that happen.

Fortunately, the contentment we felt extended to the rest of the group. All at ease with those issues behind us, Ezra decided to celebrate with a bonfire several nights later.

Gathered together in the backyard with a roaring fire between us, we sat around it in the dark as the flames reached for the night sky, and it lit up our smiling faces.

Ethan was busy rotating sausages over the fire, nearly drooling as he watched the greases drip down into the coals. Despite having eaten numerous ones right before, he still looked at them as if he was starving.

“If you eat one more of those, you’re going to turn into one,” Levi said after a moment of watching the other.

The blonde chuckled, undeterred by the playful jab. “There are worse fates.”

With a forced sigh, Levi sat back in his chair and brought his beer to his lips, speaking over the rim. “I was afraid you’d say that.”

“At least we don’t have to watch you scarfing down those crappy wings from the bar,” Jacob said, shaking his head absently.

Ethan hummed to himself in thought. “They’re so shitty, yet so worth it somehow.”

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