Claimed by My Ex's Half-Brother

Lilith’s POV

It was a cold night as I stood at the gates of the Medical University. My wolf, Thea, paced restlessly inside me.

"Calm down, Thea," I soothed her. "We have to do this. For Clara."

The Moon Goddess’s prophecy echoed in my mind,I had less than a year left to live.

My phone rang, interrupting my thoughts. It was Sabrina.

"Did he come to see you?" Her voice was heavy with concern. "Clara keeps asking where you are."

My heart clenched.Yesterday, Sabrina had specifically taken me to a specialized shifter hospital for examination.Since this morning when the hospital results came back, Sabrina had been helping me. Even though the truth about my alleged betrayal and information leak was never cleared, she chose to believe me,a dying woman’s plea.

"Not yet. Giving me his contact was probably as far as he was willing to go."

"How can he be so heartless!" Sabrina sighed. "Even after Cassian explained your situation..."

"Thank you, Sabrina," I struggled to keep my voice steady. "Take care of Clara for me."

"Clara’s being so good, she just misses her mom. Why don’t you stop waiting? I can bring her to you."

"It’s okay," I said softly. "Let her stay and play at your place a little longer. I want to wait just a bit more..."

The line went silent. I knew Sabrina had been holding back tears since we got my test results today.

Finally, she said, "Promise me. You still have a year. Don’t give up on treatment yet."

Sabrina knew I had been banished as a rogue, without access to proper treatment. She even offered to be my guarantor at the pack hospital and pay for my medical bills. I was truly grateful for her help.

"I know."

After hanging up, I checked the time. After 9 PM already. I’d been standing here for over twelve hours.

Had Brett received my texts and calls? Or had he decided not to come at all?

By ten o’clock, I had to give up. Just as I was about to leave, a black SUV pulled up slowly in front of me.

My heart nearly stopped. It was Brett’s car.

The window rolled down, revealing his stern face. Five years had passed, and his features seemed sharper, his eyes colder. Only his scent remained unchanged,that subtle blend of mint and musk that still made my wolf tremble .

"Get in," he commanded.

I reached for the passenger door but was interrupted.

"That’s Vanessa’s seat. You sit in the back."

I nodded,swallowing the bitterness rising in my throat,and slid into the back seat.Once upon a time, that front seat had been mine. But everything had changed now.

"Thank you for coming, Brett," I said.

He didn’t respond, just coldly studied me through the rearview mirror.Under his scrutinizing gaze, I knew I must look terrible—thin, pale, my body broken by disease and hardship.

Taking a deep breath, I pulled out a framed sketch from my bag. It was a portrait Brett had drawn for my eighteenth birthday, a gift he had made with his own hands.

"Do you remember this?" I asked, handing the drawing toward the front seat. "When you drew this, you promised that no matter what difficulties I faced, you would always be by my side, protecting me forever..."

"Enough!" he suddenly growled, his voice filled with suppressed pain and anger.

I felt Thea shrink inside me, feeling Jacob’s fury.

Brett turned around, his eyes red with anger, almost revealing his Alpha wolf nature. "What right do you have to bring up the past? Lilith, do you realize what you did? You betrayed the entire pack! You betrayed me!"

I didn’t argue. Five years had passed, and I’d long given up trying to explain. No evidence could prove my innocence; only time would reveal the truth. But time was something I no longer had.

"I know you hate me," I said, "but this isn’t about me."

I pulled out another drawing, one Clara had made. Simple yet showing talent beyond her years."Clara drew this when she was four. She inherited your artistic gift, Brett."

He glanced at the drawing, his expression changing from anger to mockery. "You’ll stop at nothing to get what you want, won’t you? How could a four-year-old possibly draw like this?"

Before I could stop him, he grabbed the drawing and tore it to pieces.

"No!" I cried out, lunging forward, but it was too late.

The fragments scattered across the car like snowflakes, just like my shattered heart. I knelt on the car floor, picking up each piece one by one. Every fragment represented Clara’s hard work.

"That was her birthday gift to me... she spent days working on it..." I murmured.

Brett watched my pitiful state without a shred of sympathy. "A four-year-old drew that? Do you take me for a fool?"

I gathered the last piece of torn paper, carefully cradling them all in my palms.

With trembling hands, I pulled out the hospital’s diagnostic report from my bag and handed it to Brett."I have a werewolf genetic defect disease.It’s advanced, terminal. There’s no cure. I don’t have much time left, Brett."

My voice broke."I’m not here for Aurora BioSciences’ research secrets.I’m just begging you to do another lineage test. Clara is truly your daughter. I never betrayed you."

But Brett didn’t even look at the diagnosis, knocking it to the floor. "Lilith, the Goddess sees all. You’d lie about having a terminal illness to get what you want? Now you’re even using a child?"

His words grew more cutting. "Your daughter’s deafness is the Moon Goddess’s punishment for you. If you don’t repent and keep weaving these lies, beware of even fiercer retribution."

"Brett, I swear I’m not lying, I really..." My voice cracked as I desperately fought back tears.

"Don’t call me Brett. You lost that right." He cut me off.

"Alpha Brett..." I tried again, opting for the more formal address.

"Enough, Lilith. Every word from your mouth is a lie." The disgust on his face pierced my heart.

I fell silent as Thea, my wolf spirit, howled in anguish, longing for recognition from her mate, Jacob.

"You can get out now. I promised Vanessa I’d bring her a late dinner."

Moments later, Brett stepped out of the driver’s seat and opened the back door. The message was clear,he wanted me gone.

I clutched the torn sketch pieces as I quietly stepped out. He roughly threw my bag onto the ground, and with it fell the portrait he’d drawn of me when I was eighteen.

The frame shattered with a crack, scattering glass across the pavement.

As he moved to return to the driver’s seat, I remembered the Moon Goddess’s words in my dream. I only had a year left to live, and Clara needed her father. I couldn’t let her live as a rouge anymore, dependent on others’ charity. Swallowing my pride, I fell to my knees before him.

"Alpha Brett, someone is clearly preventing you from acknowledging Clara. She truly is your daughter.Please, just do another lineage test."