Claimed by My Ex's Half-Brother-Chapter 17 None of your business

Victoria’s POV

The club drama? Ancient history. I shoved it into a mental box labeled ’never again’ and moved on.

Work demanded my full attention now. Lancaster Corporation ran most operations overseas, but we kept a solid presence stateside too.

Crescent Dawn Pack dominates the business world among werewolf territories.

Blood Moon Pack? They’re the heavy hitters—pure military muscle.

Someday I want Crescent Dawn to pack that same kind of punch in combat.

Right now though, I need to nail down the basics and run our current operations like a well-oiled machine.

Still got a mountain to climb.

Every spare moment found me at company headquarters.

Grandpa had taken in Kane and Elena Lancaster when they were just kids—orphaned siblings with nowhere else to go. He raised them like his own, made sure they got into the best prep schools money could buy. Elena already climbed the corporate ladder at Lancaster, while Kane just walked across the graduation stage. Grandpa handpicked him as my right hand.

We’d practically grown up in the same sandbox—thick as thieves, though Elena was currently playing executive overseas. Kane’s job? Show me the ropes of pack business from the ground up.

The second I spotted Kane, I threw my arms around him. "Kane! Way too long. I’ve been going crazy missing you and Elena."

Kane straightened his tie, all business. "Miss Lancaster, just tell me how I can be of service."

"Miss Lancaster?" I laughed and swatted his arm. "Since when do we do formal? Call me Victoria. Or Vicky, like when we were kids stealing cookies from the kitchen. It’s lunch o’clock—let me buy you a burger so we can actually catch up!"

Kane nodded and fell into step beside me. As we headed for the elevator, he slid a résumé into my hands.

"Victoria, I dug up a promising candidate. Give it a look when you get a chance. If they pass the smell test, we can bring them on board. You’re building your empire from scratch—you need people who’ll have your back."

I tucked the résumé under my arm as the elevator doors slid shut. "Thanks, I’ll give it the full treatment."

We stepped out of Lancaster’s gleaming lobby together. Then I froze. Ethan lounged against a marble pillar like he owned the place. Did this bastard know who I really was?

Kane shifted into bodyguard mode, positioning himself between us. I shot Ethan one cold glance, planning to walk right past him like he was invisible.

But Ethan darted into my path, plastering on that fake-sweet smile that used to make my knees weak.

"Victoria!" His voice oozed false warmth. "What brings you to this neck of the woods?"

Nora snarled deep in my chest, hackles rising at the sight of our betrayer. "None of your damn business. Move," I bit out.

His eyes zeroed in on the resume in my grip.

"Victoria," he said, voice dripping with condescension, "Lancaster’s way out of your league. You never even set foot in college—trying to apply here will just make you look pathetic." His tone shifted to mock sympathy. "Why don’t you come work for me instead? I’m running the show at Sterling Enterprises now. I could set you up as my personal assistant. What do you say?"

Kane’s jaw twitched beside me, barely containing his disbelief. The sheer audacity—suggesting the heir to Crescent Dawn Pack and Lancaster Corporation should fetch his coffee! And claiming I lacked education, when I held advanced degrees from Ivy League universities, having blazed through accelerated programs my entire academic career.

If I hadn’t buried my identity chasing some fairy tale about true love—what a cosmic joke that turned out to be—none of this charade would’ve been necessary.

"Are you deaf? I said move," I hissed, my wolf eyes threatening to surface as rage built in my chest.

"Victoria, I’m trying to help you," Ethan pressed on, his voice thick with condescension. "Don’t you know your place? Who else would want damaged goods like you besides me? Are you using that pretty face to worm your way into Lancaster? First my brother Damian the other night, now other men helping you play corporate infiltrator? What can you possibly offer besides your body? You look like a wh—"

The crack of my palm across his cheek echoed through the lobby like a gunshot.

Ethan clutched his flaming cheek, too stunned to speak. When he finally met my gaze again, he found nothing but arctic disgust staring back.

"Revolting," I spat. "I must’ve been blind as a bat before!"

How had I ever fallen for this pathetic excuse for a man? How had I wasted five years of my life on him? Just a dark Chapter I wanted to rip out and burn. Either he’d been Oscar-worthy with his acting, or I’d been so love-drunk I couldn’t see the snake hiding behind the smile.

I spun on my heel to leave. Ethan lunged after me, but Kane stepped between us like a wall of steel.

"This is Lancaster Corporation," Kane said, his voice deadly quiet. "Not your personal playground for tantrums."

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Ethan roared. "She’s my girlfriend! She’ll come crawling back eventually!"

Kane’s expression turned to ice. He’d grown up protecting me like a brother, and now he faced the bastard who’d shattered my heart.

"Remarkably stupid," Kane said, his voice cutting like a blade.

As we walked away, Kane’s fingers flew across his phone screen. Some lessons required more than words.

Later, in the back of the car, Kane cleared his throat. "Victoria, there’s something you should know. I had some people... educate that man."

"Did they kill him?" I asked calmly, completely unfazed by Kane’s methods.

"He’ll live," Kane replied. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"Shame, but acceptable," I said with a cold smile. "Some debts taste better when you savor them slowly."

"I’ll help you get payback!" Kane offered eagerly.

I chuckled softly. "We shouldn’t waste brain cells on trash like him. I already threw away five years. Time to focus on bigger fish."

"We should’ve told him you’re the Lancaster heir," Kane said, still seething. "Let him choke on his own words!"

"When the time’s right," I replied. "Once I fully take the reins at Lancaster. Men like him—social climbers who marry for money—might get even more obsessed if they knew the truth. Desperate people do desperate things."

I wasn’t ready to handle the company’s full operations yet, and within the pack, I hadn’t established my authority. This wasn’t the time to paint a target on my back.

Kane nodded in understanding.

At lunch, Kane slid his tablet across the table. "What’s the game plan moving forward? Here’s a list of potential business partners worth our attention."

I scrolled through the options thoughtfully. "What about Blood Moon Pack? They own massive international conglomerates. Have we ever done business with them?"

"They’re our competition," Kane explained. "Their alpha built Blood Moon Pack from nothing about ten years ago."

"Business is about smart partnerships," I replied decisively. "There’s a reason Blood Moon Pack exploded onto the scene so fast. Contact them—tell them Lancaster wants to discuss potential collaboration. Find out when their CEO, Mr. Achilles, has an opening."

"I’ll set it up," Kane agreed.

Author’s POV:

Floor-to-ceiling windows wrapped around the top floor of Blood Moon Industrial Tower, offering a commanding view of the city sprawling below. Damian Sterling stood motionless against the glass, his powerful silhouette carved against the urban landscape.

Sunset bathed his sharp features in amber light, highlighting the defined line of his jaw and the steel intensity of his blue eyes.

A soft rap at the door broke his concentration.

"Enter," Damian commanded, his voice carrying natural Alpha authority, though he didn’t turn from the window.

Kane Lancaster stepped into the pristine office, his movements crisp and efficient—every inch the capable assistant to Victoria Lancaster.

"Alpha," Kane began with respectful deference, "I have two updates that might interest you. Your half-brother Ethan tried to visit Crescent Dawn headquarters today."

At the mention of his half-brother, Damian’s lips curved into the ghost of a smirk. "And?"

"Didn’t even make it past security," Kane reported with barely concealed satisfaction. "The major projects we’ve been... disrupting have left him scrambling. I believe that’s what drove him to approach Miss Lancaster’s company."

"That all?" Damian asked, his voice deceptively casual as he adjusted his platinum cufflinks.

Kane straightened slightly. "The current head of Lancaster Group wants to meet with you about potential business collaboration."