Bonded to My Ex's Alpha Brother Chapter 228

Erin's POV

His words struck me hard. I was angry with myself for not trusting him, for not seeing that he was only trying to protect me all along. "I was kept in the dark..." I said, lowering my head. "Back then, I only wanted to be with you as your soul bond..."

Derek looked away, pouring himself another drink. "I just admitted it was all my fault. Now go to sleep. From tomorrow, you must take on all the responsibilities of a Luna. Tomorrow you will be announced as the Luna of Darkwood Pack."

Feeling dejected and defeated, I walked to the bed and sat down on the edge. I noticed Derek watching me as he drank, his eyes trailing to my neck. Self-consciously, I touched the spot. "What?"

He didn't answer, so I went to the mirror to check. I saw a love mark there and felt my cheeks flush red. I remembered the previous night—how I hadn't been disgusted by his touch, but troubled by the belief that he had hurt my mother. If I had known the truth then, I wouldn't have stopped him.

Derek looked away, finishing his drink before grabbing a pillow and blanket for the sofa. I sighed and climbed into bed, my eyes fixed on his form as he settled onto the couch. Despite the distance between us, it felt like we were finally a little closer to understanding each other.

I must have fallen asleep eventually, because the next thing I knew, loud knocking on the door jolted me awake. The sound was urgent, insistent. Derek was already on his feet, moving swiftly to answer it. I blinked away my drowsiness, sitting up in bed.

Derek opened the door to reveal one of the estate's maids. Her face was tense with worry, hands clasped nervously in front of her.

"Alpha, please come to the living room," she said, her voice trembling slightly. "Miss Mya... please come quickly."

She bowed hastily before hurrying away. Derek rushed out of the bedroom without a backward glance, not even pausing to change out of his robe. Whatever was happening, it was serious. I scrambled out of bed, quickly adjusting my nightgown and grabbing a light robe to cover myself before following him.

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The hallways of the mansion seemed longer than usual as I hurried after Derek, my mind racing with possibilities. By the time I reached the living room, a crowd had already gathered. What I saw made my stomach drop.

Mya was in the center of the room, crying as she clung to Derek in a desperate embrace. But what shocked me most was the mark clearly visible on her neck—a werewolf's mating mark, raw and recent. Derek's body was rigid with tension as he held her, his expression darkening by the second.

"Who marked you?" Derek demanded, his voice tight with barely controlled fury.

The room fell silent. Mrs. Windsor was crying softly in the corner, while Judy Stone stood with her hand covering her mouth, her expression one of absolute shock. Charlie Windsor stood to the side, his face a mask of pain as he watched his daughter.

Bradley entered the room with his head bowed low, his shoulders hunched in a way I'd never seen before. "It was me, brother," he admitted, his voice barely audible. "I marked her."

The collective gasp that filled the room seemed to suck all the oxygen away. I couldn't understand why Bradley would forcibly mark Mya. It went against everything werewolves believed about consent and respect, especially for a woman promised to another pack as part of an alliance.

Derek gently disengaged from Mya's embrace, his movements controlled and deliberate. Then, in a flash of movement too quick to follow, he charged at Bradley, landing a powerful punch to his face that sent his brother staggering backward.

"How dare you mark her without her consent?" he roared, his voice vibrating with a rage that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

"Derek, calm down!" Judy screamed, moving forward as if to intervene.

Harry Stone caught her arm, holding her back. "Let him be," he said firmly. "The boy deserves it. We didn't raise him like this."

Charlie Windsor watched silently, his eyes filled with pain for his daughter and something else—resignation, perhaps, as if he'd always expected something like this to happen.

"Brother, I was drunk," Bradley tried to explain, blood beginning to trickle from the corner of his mouth. "I don't know how—"

Derek didn't let him finish. He punched Bradley again, cutting off his explanation. As he drew back his fist for another blow, I found myself moving without conscious thought. I ran forward, grabbing Derek's arm.

"Please calm down," I pleaded, my voice barely audible over the pounding of my heart.

Derek's fist remained clenched, but he pulled his arm from my grasp with such force that I stumbled back a step. When he turned to look at me, I saw his eyes had changed to the golden hue of his wolf—a sign of just how deeply his anger ran.

"I promised her father I would always protect her from his son's harm," Derek growled, each word sharp with rage. "But you! You are my own brother, and you did this. How could you?"

Bradley lowered his head in shame, and I felt my own anger toward him growing. How could he do something so despicable? To mark someone without consent was one of the most serious violations in werewolf society.

"Erin, believe me," Bradley said, looking at me imploringly. "I didn't mean to do this."

Derek grabbed Bradley's collar, yanking him close until they were face to face. "You can't just go around marking women without their consent and then play the victim like this," he snarled. "If the women in my pack aren't safe from my own family, how can I protect them from outsiders?"

I stared at Derek, suddenly seeing him in a new light. He was truly a loyal Alpha who cared deeply for the members of his pack. I understood now why Silverpine Pack had wanted him so badly, why Alexander had been so insistent that his daughter become Derek's mate. Derek's sense of responsibility and justice ran deep, even when it meant standing against his own brother.

"Derek, please don't punish him," Judy begged, tears streaming down her face. "Save him, please."

"Brother, please forgive me," Bradley pleaded, his voice breaking. "I don't know how she got to that room last night. I was drunk and went to a private room at the bar. But she came in, and after that, I don't remember anything."

"You hear that?" Judy said desperately. "He was drunk. Please forgive your brother, Derek."

I turned to Mya, who was still crying in her mother's arms. There was something about this situation that didn't quite add up. "May I ask why you entered that room?" I asked gently.

Mya looked at me with tear-filled eyes, her expression suddenly defensive. "You think it's my fault?" she demanded, her voice breaking.

"No, I didn't say that," I clarified quickly. "I'm just asking."

Mya's legs seemed to give out, and she collapsed to the floor, her sobs growing louder and more broken. Mrs. Windsor knelt beside her, trying to comfort her daughter.

"I was upset last night and wanted to go to the bar for a drink," Mya finally explained between gasps for air. "But there... I saw him... Alexander."