Chapter 15: The Man Who Knew My Brother

The masked man's attack came without warning.

Emmett moved faster than I could see.

He stepped forward and struck the attacker across the chest, sending him crashing through the doorway.

“Stay behind me,” Emmett ordered.

I didn't argue.

The guards surrounded us as the stranger rose from the floor.

His mask had fallen away.

He was young, perhaps in his late twenties, with a scar running from his temple to his jaw.

His eyes locked onto mine.

For a moment, his expression changed.

Recognition.

“You…” he whispered.

My heart tightened.

“You know me?”

The man smiled bitterly.

“Not you.”

His gaze dropped to the silver pendant around my neck.

“That belongs to him.”

I froze.

“My brother?”

The man's expression became guarded.

Emmett stepped closer.

“Where is he?”

The stranger laughed.

“You really don't know anything.”

“Answer me.”

Emmett's Alpha pressure filled the room.

The man staggered but refused to lower his head.

“Your brother is alive.”

My breath caught.

“Where?”

“Aldwyn.”

The same answer Diana had given me.

But this time, there was something different in his voice.

He wasn't trying to lure me somewhere.

He was afraid.

“Who are you?” I asked.

The man hesitated.

“Someone who was ordered to watch him.”

“By whom?”

He looked toward Robert.

My father had gone completely pale.

“Robert Jennings knows.”

Everyone turned toward him.

Robert's lips trembled.

“Don't listen to him.”

I stared at my father.

“Then tell me the truth.”

He remained silent.

Nolan suddenly stepped forward.

“Robert, if you know where Laurel's brother is, tell her.”

Robert looked at Nolan with surprise.

“You don't understand.”

“Then explain it.”

For once, Nolan wasn't defending Chloe.

He was demanding answers.

Chloe grabbed his arm.

“Nolan, stop.”

He pulled his arm away.

“Chloe, this has nothing to do with you.”

Her face went white.

I noticed the change immediately.

She knew something.

I turned toward her.

“What are you hiding?”

“Nothing.”

Her answer came too quickly.

The stranger suddenly laughed.

“She knows.”

Chloe stared at him in horror.

“Shut up!”

The words escaped before she could stop herself.

Silence filled the room.

Nolan looked at her.

“Chloe?”

She lowered her eyes.

I walked toward her.

“You knew about my brother?”

Tears filled her eyes.

“I didn't know everything.”

“But you knew something.”

She nodded slowly.

“When you came back three years ago, Dad told me there was another child.”

My heart sank.

“Why didn't you tell me?”

“Because I was scared.”

“Of what?”

She looked toward Robert.

“Dad said if anyone found out, the family would be destroyed.”

I stared at Robert.

The man who had once told me that I should be grateful for a place in his house.

The man who had sent me away to marry a stranger.

He had known.

He had always known.

Emmett's voice was ice-cold.

“Where is the boy now?”

Robert finally broke.

“He's under the protection of the royal family.”

I froze.

“The royal family?”

Robert nodded weakly.

“After the elders tried to eliminate both children, someone from the palace intervened.”

Victor stepped forward.

“Who?”

Robert looked at him.

“The former Queen.”

The room went silent.

The former Queen had died more than a decade ago.

If she had protected my brother, then someone in the royal family had known about us all along.

I looked at Emmett.

“Why would the Queen protect him but leave me behind?”

No one answered.

Then the stranger spoke again.

“Because your brother wasn't the one they were afraid of.”

His gaze settled on me.

“They were afraid of you.”

A cold shiver ran through me.

“Why?”

The stranger smiled faintly.

“Because your wolf isn't ordinary.”

The silver pendant around my neck suddenly grew warm.

A faint silver light spread across its surface.

The stranger's smile disappeared.

“It's awakening again.”

Emmett immediately reached for my hand.

The moment his fingers closed around mine, the strange energy surged through my body.

My vision blurred.

For one brief second, I saw a vast white wolf standing beneath a silver moon.

Its eyes opened.

And then I heard a voice inside my mind.

Find him.

My eyes snapped open.

“My brother…”

Emmett looked at me.

“What did you see?”

I stared toward the window.

For the first time, I knew where we had to go.

“The palace.”