Ezra POV

My ears are ringing from the words he says. I swallow the lump in my throat. Could he be saying what I think he's saying? Am I hallucinating?

Tea? Who is Tea? Could the Red Alpha possibly have a past with this stuck up Councilman?

Everything rushes through my head like a swarm of bees and I can't think straight.

The conversation continues around me, but my eyes stay glued on the Councilman's mouth as it moves, but no words come out. All I can hear is static, like a radio picking up a channel that's too far away.

When I look at my fellow leaders of the pack, I'm not surprised that they're all staring at me. They know my fear, know my questions. They've heard about what she really said to me that day.

And each of them knows how important it is to me to find the truth.

I'm not sure how long I stay sitting there while they wrap up the conversation, but it's long enough to where I watch Ryk and Savannah make their way out together, Veiler is close behind them but glances at me with a nod.

My Alpha knows I need this.

When Cole stands, trying to leave, his whole demeanor is more reserved and quiet now. I waste no time as I burst out of the chair and rush at him. Before he can say a word I have him against the wall, pinning him harshly with my hands fisted in his shirt. I know my eyes must be pitch black now.

"You know her? How do you know her?" I ask, narrowing my eyes at him. His moustache rises with his eyebrows, a glint of hidden information shining in his eyes.

"Yes, I suspect it's someone I know. I haven't seen her in almost a hundred years. What's it to you anyway, Blackmore?" He spits at me, and I growl. He doesn't know, doesn't know what I know, Veiler hasn't told him.

Maybe I can use that to my advantage.

"Who is she to you?" I press, hoping to grasp some answers through the fog. Everything in me screams that he's important in all this, and I need to trust my instincts.

"I don't need to tell you." He replies reluctantly. I take a deep breath and release it. The bastard.

"Why would she want to get revenge on you? What did you do to her exactly?" Cole goes quiet, staring at me blankly as if he hadn't my question. I lift him and slam him back against the wall. The wood paneling groans in protest.

"Why would you think I did anything in particular? She's an insane girl, she snapped. There may be no reason to it. And as for revenge, it could be on anyone." The Councilman says calmly, seeming almost at peace as if nothing can bother him.

I can change that.

"Because you're a son of a bitch and I wouldn't be surprised if you did something. Plus you look like you're about to shit yourself. I know you know more about this than you let on, and it will catch up with you, Cole." I snarl, trying to get ahold of my thoughts that scatter in my brain. Too many emotions cloud my judgement. I need to focus.

The sinking feeling continues to asail me and I can hardly breathe through it.

"No, Ezra, I think you know more than you let on." He protests slowly. My rising anger won't go away, all I really want to do is throttle him.

I can't tell through the red haze if he's saying this to put the heat off of himself, or because he knows that I know something detrimental. A bead of sweat travels it's way down my forehead and cheek to drip down onto the Councilman's suit.

I hope he doesn't mistake the perspiration for fear, I'm nowhere close to being scared of the male.

"Well, even if I did, I doubt you'll get me to tell you." I spit in his face. He chuckles, the little ass has the audacity to chuckle in my face.

"If I want to information I'll get it, I assure you. The Guard will let me strap you down to get what information I want." He says lightly, like it's as easy as that when he knows full well that it's not. He can't just interrogate me on a hunch.

He's bluffing, and he's not very good at it.

"You heard Veiler, asshole. He'll fight to protect the members of this pack. You can't just barge in and drag me away no matter how much you want to." I swear under my breath.

My whole life has been spent wondering where my real family was, what they were up to. This male might have all the answers to my questions. He knows my sister, or knew my sister.

"You can't prove I did anything wrong. You have no proof." Growls Cole, his eyes narrowing. "You can't blame this whole thing on me. The female is out of control. She's probably dead anyway."

There's a slight trickle of doubt in his voice and something else... fear. Fear. Fear is good.

"There's only one thing that makes a lycan that crazy, Cole, and I think you know what it is." I whisper.

After voicing what we both know is true, I suddenly picture what it would be like if something ever happened to Klepto. My heart stutters in my chest as fur wants to sprout from my skin. I would lose my mind, lose all grasps of sanity. My world would shatter and I would become an empty husk. A monster.

I didn't think it was possible, but I actually relate to the Red Alpha. If that's what happened to her, I know why she's the way she is. It's the only possible explanation.

There's nothing left but a crumbling mind.

"I wouldn't know." Spits Cole, but I can sense the presence of deep fear bolting through him, it spreads in the atmosphere around us. He's trying to hide his terror. It won't work.

"And yet we all know it. The death of a lycan's mate is no joke. It would certainly explain her tirades. And then there's the fact that she wants revenge. Someone must have killed her mate, and I bet you know who." I drawl slowly, watching the panic settling in his eyes.

He knows. Of course he knows. I have the suspicion that he knows he killer all too well.

"You know why she's crazy! You know why she's merciless and cruel! Don't you?" I apply more pressure to him, pressing him so hard into the wall that his green eyes bug out of his head. His face hardens, jaw going tight and his whole demeanor changing.

He's tortured, sad.

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

I let go of him so fast that I stumble backwards in my shock. His words pound into me and I can hardly breathe because of them.

The look in his eyes matches the Red Alpha's as she called me her brother. Things shift around me as it all fits into place, each piece of information clicking together.

It all makes sense to me now. The ending of a bloodline, the revenge, the hatred.

You look just like him, you know. It makes me hate you even more.

He looks like me. The hair, the stubborn mouth, those thick eyebrows. I can hear the blood rushing through my ears as my heart thuds painfully.

I've spent my entire life wanting to know where my real parents were, and now I'm nose to nose with my real Father.

I should be happy, I should be mad, I should be saying something, anything at all. There's not even a fraction of doubt in my mind that this lycan is my parent.

Slowly I realize something. I don't care. I couldn't care less. Once the shock wears off I figure it out.

His blood may run through my veins, but that doesn't mean anything. I don't know him, I don't like him, and he doesn't need to have any part of my life just because we're related. I chose my own path. I chose the people I put in my life.

Klepto was right, and the acceptance of her advice is so freeing I want to shout with pure joy.

With my mind set, I turn on my heel and walk out of the room to go to my real family.

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If you're reading this, I love you:)

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