Claimed by My Ex's Half-Brother-Chapter 109 Let go of me!

Victoria’s POV

I coughed violently, water burning my lungs as consciousness returned to my foggy mind. My wolf, Nora, stirred anxiously within me, sensing danger before I could fully process what was happening.

Strong arms held me in a vise-like grip. As my vision cleared, a sickeningly familiar voice assaulted my ears.

"Victoria, my Victoria, you’re awake!" Ethan’s voice dripped with desperate obsession. "You promised we’d never be apart again, remember? You just agreed to it!"

His scent—that once-familiar smoky cologne now tainted with something sour and wrong—made my stomach turn. Nora growled inside me, hackles raised in warning.

"Let go of me!" I pushed against his chest, but my limbs felt heavy and uncoordinated. The drug he’d used still coursed through my system, making it impossible to summon my Alpha strength.

Ethan seized my hands, his fingers digging painfully into my wrists. "I’ll never let you go, Victoria. Never again. I’ve learned my lesson. We’ll be happy together, just the two of us, with no complications. Don’t you want that?"

"You said you forgave me already," he continued, his eyes wild with delusion. "I knew you still loved me. My Victoria, my mate..."

The moon reflected in his eyes revealed a fractured mind. This wasn’t the Ethan I thought I knew for five years. This was a predator, dangerous and unhinged.

"Ethan, release me right now!" I demanded, my voice stronger as Nora pushed against my human form, desperate to protect us.

I glanced around, finally taking in my surroundings. We were at some abandoned dock, waves crashing against weathered pilings. The cold night air whipped around us, carrying the scent of salt and decay. No lights, no people—just darkness and isolation.

"You’re sick," I hissed. "What do you want? I never agreed to anything! We’re over—our bond was severed the moment you betrayed me!"

The wind howled across the water, matching the rising panic in my chest. My thin blouse clung to my skin, soaked through from when he’d dunked me in the freezing water. I shivered involuntarily, and Ethan’s grip tightened.

"You’re cold, Victoria," he murmured, pulling me closer against his chest. "I’ll keep you warm. I’ll always take care of you." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

His embrace felt like being trapped by a python—suffocating and inescapable. Every cell in my body revolted against his touch. If only I had my full strength, I would have shattered his jaw with a single blow.

"Ethan Sterling, you’ve lost your mind," I said through clenched teeth. "We are DONE. Our bond is broken, and I don’t want you in my life!"

"Impossible!" he snarled, his eyes flashing with Leon’s amber light. "I never accepted that. Five years, Victoria! Five years we shared everything. You can’t just forget what we had. You agreed to forgive me—you nodded your head when I asked you!"

The delusional certainty in his voice chilled me more than the wind.

"When exactly did I agree? When I was unconscious?" I spat. "You’re completely deranged."

"Just before you woke up," he insisted. "I said your silence meant forgiveness, and you nodded."

"You manipulated my unconscious body?" Disgust rolled through me in waves. "You’re even more pathetic than I thought. This isn’t about me at all, is it? This is about the Lancaster name, about the Crescent Dawn Pack. You just want access to my Alpha bloodline and my family’s power."

Nora snapped her jaws inside me, desperate to emerge and tear out Leon’s throat.

"You want the Lancaster fortune and influence," I continued, watching his face. "You never wanted me—just what I represent. How does it feel to be so transparently greedy, Ethan?"

His expression faltered for a moment, confirming my accusation. Then his features smoothed into practiced sincerity.

"Victoria, that’s not true. I love you for you, not for your name or your pack position. My feelings have nothing to do with the Crescent Dawn Pack or Lancaster Industries."

I laughed bitterly. "Do you even believe your own lies anymore? Tell me, Ethan, what about your secretary? Have you been sleeping with her too?"

His silence was confirmation enough.

"You’re cheating on your wife—the woman you chose over me—and now you’re trying to add me back to your collection? How pathetic. How absolutely revolting."

"It’s all a misunderstanding," he pleaded, desperation creeping into his voice. "I’ll divorce Scarlett immediately if you come back to me. And Mona—she seduced me! I was drunk, I thought she was you. She kept tempting me until I made a mistake. But I swear, Victoria, once we’re together again, I’ll cut them all off. You were always meant to be mine."

Every word that left his mouth made me sicker. Blaming others for his weakness, refusing to take responsibility for his actions—he was unworthy of being called a wolf, let alone a man.

"Being with you was the darkest Chapter of my life, Ethan. Now get your hands off me!" With a surge of renewed strength, I shoved him away and scrambled to my feet, preparing to run.

His face twisted with rage. "You’re forcing my hand, Victoria!"

He lunged for me, catching me before I could get far. My legs still weak from the drug, I couldn’t outpace him. He dragged me back toward the car, his fingers bruising my arm.

"I’ve only slept with two women," he hissed, his voice turning ugly. "But you? You’ve been with how many men now? I don’t even care anymore! I’m willing to share you with all those other men. I just want a chance! Why won’t you give me that?"

My wet blouse clung to my skin as he threw me against the car. The thin white fabric had become nearly transparent in the moonlight. I saw his eyes rake over my body with possessive hunger.

"Since you won’t listen to reason..." he growled, his hands suddenly grasping the front of my blouse.

The sound of tearing fabric echoed in the night as he ripped my shirt open. His eyes widened, fixating on my exposed skin with an intensity that made my wolf howl in fury.

Then his gaze stopped on my neck, narrowing at the fading mark there. His finger traced roughly over the tender spot where Damien’s lips had been just days before.

"Who did this?" he snarled, his voice distorted with rage. "Which male dared to touch what’s mine? Was it Damien? Did you let my brother claim you?"

The jealousy in his eyes turned them feral as Leon fought for control, making Ethan’s features shift subtly toward his wolf. His fingers dug painfully into my throat where the mark remained, and I knew with absolute certainty that if I didn’t act now, I might not survive this night.