Claimed by My Ex's Half-Brother

Lilith’s POV

I stared at the paper in disbelief, my hand shaking as I held my daughter protectively against me.

"How is this possible?" I mumbled, my eyes scanning the blood lineage test report, reading again and again that heartbreaking line.[Brett Lancaster is excluded as the biological father of Clara Hartwell.]

The words sent blood rushing to my head, making my limbs weak and numb as my thoughts spiraled into chaos. Thea, my wolf, let out a low, mournful whine inside me.

Members of both Moon Valley and Shadowpine Packs quickly crowded around, grabbing papers of the test results, their eyes darting suspiciously between the papers and us.

"Lilith, what exactly are you trying to accomplish by coming back?"

"Alpha Brett and Vanessa are about to have their mating ceremony. This little stunt is disgusting."

"This pup is obviously your bastard with Finn Blackwood. Are you trying to pin her on Alpha Brett now? Trying to ruin his bond with Vanessa?"

Each accusation stung as I felt Clara tense in my arms, clearly frightened. I held my daughter tighter, looking over the crowd directly at Brett. Those eyes that once held love for me now contained nothing but cold hatred and disgust.

"Brett, please," I begged, "the results must be wrong. Clara is your daughter. She has your peanut allergy. She has your photographic memory. You love drawing, and she started sketching at only two years old..."

My voice nearly broke, "Brett, Clara is your daughter! The test must be flawed. Could you please try another lab? I’m begging you..."

During my pleas, Clara reached up with her small hand to gently wipe the tears from my face. "Don’t cry, Mommy," she whispered softly. "Clara doesn’t need a daddy. Clara only needs Mommy."

Her words cut through my heart, making me look at Brett with even more determination, only to be interrupted by his furious roar.

"ENOUGH!"

I immediately covered Clara’s ears, terrified his anger would hurt her damaged hearing. She didn’t need more pain in her sensitive ear.

Brett’s eyes filled with disappointment and rage. "Lilith, when you came to find me days ago, I actually questioned myself, wondering if I had misjudged you. I even felt guilty."

"To make absolutely certain, I didn’t even tell Cassian. I personally took samples of Clara’s hair for testing. I didn’t use just one lab, but several, to avoid any mistakes. Yet every single result was the same—she is NOT my daughter!"

His voice hardened,"What’s all this about a terminal illness and running out of options? Another scheme with Greystone Heights Pack? Let me guess,since Finn Blackwood is rotting in the Alpha Council’s dungeon and can’t help you, you decided to come crawling back to me?"

"Lilith, you’re so despicable. Aren’t you afraid the Moon Goddess will truly punish you, making your fake illness real?"

Each accusation felt like a knife to my heart, but I kept my hands firmly over Clara’s ears, grateful she couldn’t hear his cruel words about my illness.

"Alpha Brett," I pleaded, "Clara’s hearing is damaged in one ear. Her hearing aid amplifies sounds to painful levels. Could you please lower your voice? And not discuss these things in front of her?"

Brett scoffed, "Now you care about your daughter’s feelings? Your daughter’s deafness is the Moon Goddess’s punishment for your betrayal, Lilith."

He threw down a stack of photographs. One landed in front of me,showing the bespectacled, slightly paunchy executive from Umbra Capital Group’s pharmaceutical division who had approached me multiple times.

"He did want to collaborate with me, but I refused," I explained desperately. "I never considered—"

SLAP!

The sudden strike came from my brother Leo. "Lilith, you ungrateful bitch," he snarled. "Dad was just saying he might forgive you, might take you and the child back to Shadowpine territory because you’re living so pitifully. Is this how you repay the pack?"

My cheek burned from the slap.Leo raised his hand to strike again, and Brett, the man who once promised to always protect me, was now only concerned with shielding Vanessa. It was Cassian who stopped my brother.

"Leo, stop!" Cassian urged. "What if there’s some misunderstanding?"

"What misunderstanding could there be? She clearly came back to continue sabotaging both our packs, and to steal Brett from Vanessa!"

While they argued, I gathered my frightened daughter close. Despite her fear, my sweet Clara tried to comfort me.

"Mommy, does it hurt?" Her little hand hovered over my reddened cheek. "Clara will make it better." She gently blew on the spot where Leo had struck me.

Seeing her eyes filled with tears she was trying not to shed broke me completely.

"Mommy doesn’t hurt," I managed to say. "Don’t be scared, baby. Mommy’s fine. Is your ear okay?"

The wolves’ arguments must have been amplified painfully by her hearing aid, but my Clara just shook her head, "Not hurting, Clara not hurting. Mommy."

"Mommy, can we go home?" she pleaded. "They’re all scary. Clara doesn’t want to stay here."

I wiped her tears and nodded gently, "Yes, baby, let’s go home."

Five years ago, no one believed in my innocence. Now, with this lineage test result, they would believe me even less. I didn’t know how the results could be wrong, but before leaving, I looked directly into Vanessa’s eyes.

My intuition strongly told me she was behind all this. My suspicious gaze made Brett pull her closer protectively.

"Lilith, don’t think about coming after Vanessa," he warned. "Whatever you came back to do, it won’t change the fact that Vanessa and I are having our mating ceremony."

Vanessa tugged at his sleeve, pretending to be kind-hearted. "Brett, stop. My sister is already upset enough."

I almost sneered at her performance. I never wanted to change their relationship. If not for Clara, I would have gladly never seen Brett Lancaster again.

"Alpha Brett," I said coldly, "you think too highly of yourself.To me, you’re nothing but the mate who rejected me. I couldn’t care less who you mate with."

"I only wanted to..." Thinking of Clara, I choked up, unable to finish.

My hope of entrusting Clara to her birth father before my time ran out had been completely shattered. With the Moon Goddess giving me so little time left, I needed to quickly find another solution.

"Pretend I was never here," I said, completely disillusioned with the man I once loved. His actions today only made me more desperate.

Thankfully, I still had Clara in my arms. That small body, our heartbeats so closely connected. As long as I had her, losing the entire world wouldn’t matter, because she was my world.

"Clara, Mommy’s taking you home," I signed.

"Mommy, let’s go home!" She wrapped her arms around my neck.

As I carried her toward the exit, Brett deliberately raised his voice. "Vanessa and I will move our mating ceremony from October to May."

His announcement was clearly meant for me, but I didn’t break stride as I walked toward the door. The server opened it for me, and I didn’t look back.

Brett continued, "Lilith! Don’t try any more tricks. If I discover you working with Greystone Heights Pack against us, you’ll regret it."

I didn’t hesitate, walking out without acknowledging his threats.