Claimed by My Ex's Half-Brother-Chapter 207 Ethan, this isn’t worth it

Ethan’s POV

My friends rushed to help me up from the ground, my pride hurting worse than my body.

"Ethan, this isn’t worth it, man," Jake muttered, gripping my elbow as I swayed. "Victoria’s changed—she’s too powerful now. And with Damien Sterling backing her? What can you even do?"

Mike shook his head, his voice dripping with venom. "That bitch is heartless. Dropping you like yesterday’s trash. After all you did for her." He spat on the ground. "Women, right? You loved her, and look what she did to you."

"You can’t just let them get away with this," Chris added, his eyes narrowing. "Especially that bastard Damien. He’s always been jealous of you. Now he’s taking everything that should be yours."

Their words fed the rage burning inside me. My vision blurred around the edges as hatred consumed me. I clenched my fists so hard my knuckles turned white, my entire body trembling with fury.

"I want them both dead," I growled, feeling my wolf Leon stirring dangerously within me. His howl of anger echoed through my mind, demanding vengeance, demanding blood.

But what could I do? I couldn’t even land a punch on Damien before he had me pinned and humiliated. The memory of it made bile rise in my throat—the way he’d handled me like I was nothing, the contempt in his eyes.

My only option was to drown my sorrows. I let my friends drag me to the nearest bar, where I proceeded to drink myself into oblivion. Whiskey after whiskey, each burning shot a temporary distraction from the constant pain of Victoria’s betrayal and my brother’s triumph.

By the time I stumbled home, it was nearly midnight. The mansion was eerily quiet, the staff having retired for the night. I lurched up the grand staircase, gripping the polished mahogany banister to keep from falling. When I pushed open the door to my bedroom, I found it empty.

No Mona.

Where was my wife at this hour? My alcohol-soaked brain struggled to remember that my mother was visiting her family tonight, but where was my father? Where was everyone?

I’d been avoiding home for days, losing myself in a haze of alcohol and self-pity, completely detached from whatever was happening in my own house.

As I turned to head back to my room, a sound froze me in place—a woman’s breathless moan drifting from the guest bedroom down the hall. My wolf senses immediately heightened, cutting through my drunkenness.

"Mmm... yes... oh!"

I crept down the hallway, my heart pounding against my ribs. When I reached the guest room door, I pressed my ear against it, barely breathing.

"Daddy! Yes, Daddy!" The female voice moaned, sending a shock through my system. "You’re so good... I love you so much!"

"Oh, baby... my wife..." a man’s voice grunted between heavy breaths.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. My body went rigid with disbelief. Was this some alcohol-induced hallucination? I couldn’t bring myself to open the door, couldn’t face the reality of what my wolf senses were already confirming.

My wife and my father. Together.

I pressed myself against the wall beside the door, hidden in shadow. Minutes later, the door opened. My father emerged first, his shirt partially unbuttoned, his normally immaculate hair disheveled. Behind him came Mona, wrapped in nothing but a silk robe, her skin flushed with post-coital glow, her scent mingled with his in a way that made my stomach turn.

"Same time tomorrow?" she whispered, and my father nodded, caressing her cheek in a tender gesture he’d never once shown me.

They parted ways, each returning to their respective bedrooms, leaving me frozen in place, watching from the shadows.

I should have stormed after them. Should have confronted them both, demanded answers, exacted revenge. That’s what any self-respecting Alpha would do. But I couldn’t move. My wolf Leon was strangely quiet, as if stunned into silence.

And then I felt it—an unexpected stirring, a perverse excitement. The forbidden nature of their betrayal sent a twisted thrill through my body. The ultimate taboo—my father claiming my mate—awakened something dark within me. I imagined them together, pictured every detail, and found myself aroused rather than repulsed.

What the hell was wrong with me? 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

I slipped into the guest room where they’d been, inhaling their combined scents. The sheets were still warm, still carried the evidence of their betrayal. I collapsed onto the bed, surrounded by their scent, and spent the night there, lost in disturbing fantasies.

I waited until morning, until I heard my father leave for work. Only then did I emerge, finding Mona in the kitchen nursing a cup of coffee.

She startled when she saw me, nearly dropping her mug. "Ethan! When did you get home?" Fear flickered across her features, quickly masked by a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

I approached slowly, studying her. "Why so jumpy, Mona? Do you need to know my schedule now? Or are you worried I might have discovered something... interesting?"

"Of course not." Her voice dropped to that submissive tone she used when trying to manipulate me. "You misunderstood me."

That voice—the same one that had called another man "daddy" just hours before. The same lips that had formed my father’s name in ecstasy.

Something in me snapped. "You worthless whore!" I backhanded her across the face, sending her stumbling against the counter. "You couldn’t even keep our baby alive!"

My mind flashed to Victoria—beautiful, powerful Victoria, who had chosen my brother over me. Everyone betrayed me. Everyone.

"All of you—nothing but lying bitches!" I struck her again, a surge of twisted pleasure rushing through me with each blow. My wolf Leon howled, not in protest but in savage agreement.

Mona crumpled to the floor, tears streaming down her face as she covered her head.

I stood over her, breathing hard, my body alive with adrenaline and rage. This woman, this betrayer, would pay. They would all pay.

In that moment, I knew I had crossed some line within myself. The man I had been was gone, consumed by something darker, something that found pleasure in pain and revenge. And I welcomed it.