"He...he's my brother."

That simple line rang through my head, spinning and jumbling into something unrecognizable. How do you even respond to something like that? How dare you? Why haven't you mentioned it before? Why did you keep this from me? Although I wanted to ask all of those and more, I did what was probably the worst option at the time: I laughed.

Starting from a giggle, it quickly escalated into a rolling belly laugh, and only when my stomach started to burn and cramp did I stop. Clutching my tight abdomen, I straightened from my bent position expecting to see Tiberius smiling along with me, glad to see I was enjoying his little prank.

He wasn't.

Running his hands down his eyes and cheeks, pulling at his chin, I saw the clear distressed expression on his face. The grin residing on my face was immediately wiped off, as smoothly as clearing marker from a whiteboard.

"Are...are you shitting me right now?" I asked, disbelief seeping into my words. Slowly, Tiberius nodded, his hand over the lower portion of his face and eyes cast to the bedspread lain over him.

"Yes, unfortunately. He was banished 8 years ago by my father. Almost no wolves under the age of 20 have heard of him, unless their parents told them," he said low and simply, face slack.

"But- but why would he do this? He's your brother, right? Wait, why was he banished? How long ago was it? Why doesn't anyone kno-" I was firing question after question until he stopped me by standing from the bed and cupping a hand over my mouth gently.

"Shh," he hushed, coming in close to my ear. "I'll explain everything, but first let's get something to eat, huh?" he suggested, reaching to take my hand. Tempted to take it, I saw his hand come closer to mine, until I came to my senses.

Snapping out of my daze, I snatched my hand back from his enclosing grip, backing away a few feet and crossing my arms defiantly. "Not until you tell me what's going on." I stated strongly, leaving no room for argument.

Sighing, he rolled out his neck and padded back to the bed. Laying down over the covers against the headboard, he motioned for me to sit by him. Shaking my head slightly, I rested on the foot of the bed and sat Indian style, staring at him expectantly.

Sighing again and sitting up a little straighter, he began.

"First off, my brother's name is Blade. Blade Connall. He's my elder brother by 4 years, meaning he's 30 right now. He was originally heir to the Alpha Territory, but he was banished when he was 22 and I was 18." Scratching his jaw, he sighed again. "When we were younger, both us us would play-fight most of the day, determining who was the stronger brother. Many times I would win, and when that happened, he would go crazy, yelling and throwing things everywhere. My father saw this and took it into consideration, subconsciously deciding who he thought would be a better Alpha.

When I was 17 and Blade was 21, many different packs were being a nuisance, always sending Messenger Wolves to ask for more attention or protection, never offering anything in return. Yes, we're the leader of the Wolf Territories, but we can't give every pack what they want!" Tiberius furrowed his brows, annoyance crossing over his features. "Anyway, Blade and I would visit other packs often, deciding if what they asked for was a truly a necessity. More than often, they weren't, and Blade started to get angry. He sent out a message to the packs, saying that if they kept asking for things they didn't really need, there would be.."consequences." The messages from other packs died down for a while, but then soon started back up again, and I noticed Blade disappearing more and more each day." Tiberius paused for a moment. "And then the calls came in."

"Male Alphas, Betas, and Messenger Wolves from all over started to panic, saying their mates were missing, disappearing into thin air. My father and I investigated along with Fighter Wolves to try and figure out what was going on, Blade never coming with us once. Then, as the months wore on, the clues came together, and we figured out the truth. Bringing Blade in to questioning, he admitted to killing the Female mates to males who were involved with the false emergency calls, hiding their bodies in undisclosed places throughout the Wolf Territories."

I gasped, shocked at how someone could be so cruel and, well, crazy!

"After my father found out, he immediately banished Blade from the Alpha Territories, thus stripping him of his Future Alpha position and making him a Rouge. Everyone within the Territories were ordered not to tell the younger generations of him, for the sake of the Alpha family and to maintain peace. I was then next in line to become the Alpha."

Flopping my mouth open and closed like a fish, not finding the right words, I finally managed to mutter, "But why did he attack you?"

Thinking for a minute, he bit the inside of his cheek. "Right before we finalized the Banishment, he warned that if we did, he would get his revenge in the future, taking back either the Alpha Position or something that means dearly to me, knowing that I would be Alpha by the time he did manage to get it. Ambushing me and the others was just a small part of it, I'm afraid, and he's gathered Rouges to fight for him. How many, I don't know, but we need to be prepared."

Letting the new information sink into my mind, I sat quietly, picking at my fingernails and biting the inside of my lip, tasting copper. "Okay, that explains all but one thing; why didn't you tell me this before? Did you not think I could handle it or something?"

Tiberius' eyes widened before he raised his hands. "No, no! It's not that at all! It's just..well I didn't think you needed to be burdened with it. It doesn't really concern you."

This plucked a nerve. "This doesn't concern me? Are you serious right now?" Seeing Tiberius start to fix his answer, I grew angrier and stood from the bed. "How does this not concern me? You're my MATE, Tiberius! Anything that 'concerns' you concerns me!" I flushed, raising my hands to do air-quotes for added emphasis.

"Ellie, I know! I jus-" he started, but I cut him off.

"No, you don't know!" I scoffed. "Is there anything else I should know about?" I said sassily, aggravation and frustration dripping from my jaws.

He paused. "Well everyone in the Mansion knows but you.." he replied quietly, lowering his head in shame.

At this, I threw my hands up in anger and spun on my heel, tearing open the door and storming out. Yes, I know I was acting like a bratty teenager who didn't get to see her boyfriend, but at the moment I didn't care.

Taking pleasure in hearing the door bounce off the wall, most likely creating a hole, I heard Tiberius calling my name behind me. Not stopping, I bounded down the stairs, letting my feet guide me wherever they wanted to go.

Outside or Haley? Outside or Haley?

Outside it was.