Claimed by My Ex's Half-Brother-Chapter 74 Misunderstand

Damian’s pov:

I stood outside William Lancaster’s hospital room, gifts in hand, hesitating before knocking. As Damien Sterling, Alpha of Blood Moon Pack, visiting Victoria’s grandfather was the proper thing to do. After all, pack etiquette demanded respect for elders, especially ones as influential as William Lancaster.

But before my knuckles could touch the door, laughter spilled from inside. Several voices mingled together—more visitors than I’d expected. One voice in particular caught my attention, making Arthur stir within me. That young wolf, Alexander Hayes. Victoria’s supposed "perfect match."

"I know, I know, you mean that Alpha, right?" Alexander’s voice carried clearly through the door.

I could almost picture the knowing look he must be giving Victoria, as if implying something intimate between her and whoever they were discussing. My jaw clenched involuntarily.

"What Alpha? No—he and I are just acquaintances, nothing more," Victoria’s voice replied hastily. "We barely qualify as friends. Don’t misinterpret things. There’s absolutely nothing between us."

My fingers tightened around the gift bag handles, the paper crinkling under my grip. Arthur growled low in my chest.

"I haven’t even mentioned who I’m talking about, yet you immediately knew," Alexander teased. "Could it be you have feelings for him?"

The silence that followed was deafening. I leaned closer to the door, my heightened senses straining to catch Victoria’s response.

"How could I possibly like him? Don’t be ridiculous!" Victoria finally answered, her voice pitched slightly higher than normal.

The wolf within me recoiled as if physically struck. Arthur’s disappointment and anger crashed through me like a wave. I’d spent the entire night by her side, had driven her to the hospital when she needed help most, had stayed when she was vulnerable—and this was how she truly felt?

"Who are you talking about?" William’s curious voice joined the conversation.

"No one important, Grandfather. Don’t listen to Alexander’s nonsense," Victoria dismissed.

No one important. Arthur’s growl rumbled through my chest, and I had to force him back. The beast wanted to burst into the room and demand explanation, to challenge this Alexander who seemed to be circling what Arthur considered ours.

My lips curled into a bitter smile. Of course. To Victoria Lancaster, I was just a convenient ally, someone to use when needed and dismiss when not. Perhaps even a momentary distraction after her breakup, but certainly "not important."

I stepped away from the door, my decision made. Walking to the nurses’ station, I placed the gift basket on the counter.

"Please distribute these among yourselves," I told the startled nurses, my voice colder than intended.

One of the younger nurses blinked up at me, confusion clear on her face. "Sir, aren’t you here to visit someone?"

"I was mistaken," I replied simply, turning toward the elevator.

In my car, I placed my phone on the center console and gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles whitened. Arthur was pacing angrily within me, pushing against my control, demanding we return and stake our claim.

What claim? The woman clearly stated I meant nothing to her. My wolf didn’t want to accept it, but I needed to be rational. Victoria Lancaster had no obligation to return my interest. We’d shared one night together—a night that clearly meant much more to me than to her.

I shouldn’t even care about Victoria’s opinion. This was merely business—a mutually beneficial alliance between our packs. If not for the contracts already signed, I’d withdraw from the entire arrangement.

Who did she find worthy of her affection, if not me? That Alexander Hayes who sat so comfortably at her bedside? Or perhaps she still harbored feelings for my worthless half-brother? What could Ethan possibly offer that made Victoria waste five years of her life on him? Her judgment in males was seriously questionable.

I told myself I didn’t care. That her words didn’t matter. Yet "I could never like him" and "no one important" echoed in my mind like a painful mantra as I drove to Blood Moon headquarters. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Victoria’s POV::

I couldn’t bear Grandfather’s interrogation any longer. "Grandfather, please stop teasing me. I really don’t have a boyfriend," I insisted, meeting his knowing gaze.

Technically, I wasn’t lying. Damien and I weren’t dating—sex hardly constituted a relationship. But even as I maintained this truth aloud, Nora whined softly within me, contradicting my words.

The truth was more complicated than I wanted to admit. I was beginning to realize that my feelings for Damien extended beyond the pull of our wolves. It wasn’t just Arthur’s scent calling to Nora, or the primal attraction between potential mates. I genuinely liked him.

The man I’d discovered beneath that cold, arrogant exterior was nothing like the villain I’d painted in my imagination. So many of my assumptions about him had been wrong, colored by my own prejudices and his carefully maintained facade.

But when it came to matters of the heart, I wasn’t brave enough to acknowledge these feelings—not yet. After Ethan’s betrayal, the thought of opening myself to that kind of vulnerability again terrified me. I needed more time before I could openly admit the truth, even to myself.

"I need some air," I announced, desperate for escape. "You two chat for a while. I’ll be back soon."

It was a strategic retreat. I knew Grandfather well enough to understand that once he latched onto a subject that interested him, especially my love life, he wouldn’t let it go easily. Better to remove myself from his line of questioning than continue this uncomfortable conversation.

I had barely stepped into the corridor when a young nurse at the station called out to me. "Miss Lancaster? A very handsome man came by your grandfather’s room earlier, but he left without going in."

"A handsome man?" I repeated, my heart skipping despite myself.

The nurse nodded eagerly. "Yes, incredibly good-looking. He brought quite a few things, but he left them with us to distribute instead of delivering them himself."

My wolf immediately perked up, sensing what I already suspected—it had been Damien. But why would he come all the way here only to leave without seeing us? That didn’t make sense.

I didn’t have a photo to confirm with the nurse, but Nora was already pacing anxiously within me, responding to the mere possibility of Arthur’s proximity.

"When did he leave?" I asked, trying to keep my voice casual.

Had he overheard something that made him uncomfortable? But we hadn’t been discussing anything particularly sensitive in the room. At least, I didn’t think we had.

"Just now," the nurse replied. "He can’t have gone far."

Without another thought, I rushed to the elevator and rode it down to the ground floor. My wolf urged me forward as I pushed through the doors into the hospital’s main lobby, my eyes scanning each face for Damien’s familiar features. Finding nothing, I continued outside to the entrance, the cool air carrying no trace of his distinctive smoky cedar scent.

Disappointment settled in my chest, heavier than I wanted to admit. Perhaps it hadn’t been him at all—I could be jumping to conclusions.

I pulled out my phone and typed a quick message: "What are you doing right now?"

His response came surprisingly quickly: "At the office. Why?"

The reply seemed normal enough—no indication that anything was wrong. And it made sense that he’d be at work at this hour. I stared at his message, trying to discern any hidden meaning but finding none.

"No reason, just checking. Don’t let me interrupt your work," I replied, attempting to sound casual.

If Damien was truly at his office, then whoever had come to the hospital must have been someone else. But why was Nora so convinced? My wolf rarely showed interest in any man, yet she seemed certain the visitor had been Arthur’s human counterpart.

I glanced around the hospital grounds once more, searching for any sign of him.