CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:MY BROTHER?

         MY BROTHER?

He looks ----- nervous.

That’s the first thing I notice, standing there in the foyer of my grandparents’ mansion, sunlight spilling in through the tall windows and dust motes floating like they’re minding their own business.

My supposed brother.

The guy from the ceremony.

The one who detonated my reality with a single sentence.

He shifts his weight slightly, hands flexing at his sides, jaw tight in a way that feels painfully familiar. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he was bracing for impact.

Like he expects me to scream.

Or slap him.

Or faint.

Possibly all three.

I don’t do any of that.

Instead, I stare.

Not rudely. Not accusingly.

Just… openly.

Because the more I look at him, the more the weird sense of familiarity settles in my chest. The same shape of brow. The same stubborn angle to his jaw. Even the way he holds himself — alert but controlled — feels like something I’ve seen in the mirror on my worst days.

My wolf shifts closer curiously.

Matteo moves to stand slightly in front of me, subtle but unmistakably protective. “Emily,” he says calmly, “this can wait—”

“No,” I say.

Both men freeze.

I step around my grandfather until I’m standing directly in front of the stranger.

“My name is Emily,” I say, mostly for myself. “And you already know that.”

His lips press together. Then he nods. “I do.”

Silence stretches.

Finally, I ask the question burning its way out of my chest.

“What’s your name?”

He exhales, like he’s been holding his breath for years.

“Elio.”

Of course it is.

Because apparently my family specializes in dramatic names and even more dramatic secrets.

“Elio,” I repeat softly.

The sound of it does something strange to my chest. It doesn’t feel foreign. It doesn’t feel forced.

It feels… overdue.

“I didn’t come here to upset you,” he says quickly. “If I had known—”

I hold up a hand. “Stop.”

He stops immediately.

That alone tells me a lot.

“I need a minute,” I say. “So… start talking. Slowly. And please, for the love of all things holy, don’t lie to me.”

Elio nods once. “I won’t.”

I glance back at Matteo.

He studies me for a long second, then sighs like a man surrendering to fate.

“We should sit,” he says.

We end up in the sitting room — the smaller one, not the intimidating ceremonial one. Someone brings tea. No one pretends this is casual, but no one makes it cold either.

Grandma joins us quietly, taking my hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze.

“There were reasons,” she says gently. “But we never stopped loving either of you.”

I swallow hard and turn to Elio. “Start from the beginning.”

He doesn’t rush. He doesn’t dramatize.

“That’s the thing,” he says. “I have been here. Just… not with you.”

My brows knit. “Go on.”

“They hid me,” he says simply. “At first, to keep you safe. Then, later, to keep me safe too.”

“From what?” I ask.

He glances at Matteo.

This time, my grandfather answers.

“You both carry blood that draws attention,” Matteo says carefully. “You were vulnerable. He was… volatile.”

Elio snorts softly. “That’s one way to put it.”

Grandma shoots him a look. “You were a very energetic child.”

“I burned down a training shed,” he admits.

My mouth falls open. “You— what?”

“Accidentally,” he adds quickly. “Mostly.”

I blink. Then — inexplicably — I laugh.

A real laugh.

It bursts out of me, sharp and disbelieving, and for the first time in days, the weight in my chest cracks just a little.

“Wow,” I say. “Okay. Of course you did.”

Elio smiles, tentative but genuine.

He continues. “They trained me here. Quietly. Away from the pack’s eyes. Different instructors. Different routines. I stayed hidden, even when you arrived.”

My stomach tightens. “You watched me?”

“Yes,” he admits. “From a distance.”

That could have freaked me out.

Strangely… it doesn’t.

“Why tell me now?” I ask.

“Because hiding you worked,” he says softly. “Hiding me stopped making sense.”

The room hums with unspoken truths.

I glance at my grandparents. “So this whole time…”

“We wanted you to have a normal life,” Grandma says. “Or as close to normal as we could manage.”

“And him?” I ask.

Matteo’s mouth curves slightly. “We wanted him prepared.”

I look back at Elio.

He meets my gaze steadily. No arrogance. No pity.

Just… brother.

“I’m not here to replace anything in your life,” he says. “I just… wanted to know you.”

Something in my chest loosens.

Then — without overthinking it — I step forward and hug him.

He stiffens for half a second before wrapping his arms around me, careful, warm, real.

“Oh,” he murmurs quietly. “Okay.”

I pull back, wiping at my face like this is inconvenient moisture.

“Don’t make it weird,” I warn.

He smiles wider. “Too late.”

My wolf presses forward gently, no longer afraid.

For the first time since I arrived here maybe for the first time ever I don’t feel like t

he odd piece in a puzzle.

I feel like I belong to something.

A family. Weirdly hiding a ton of secrets but still mine.

And now?

I'm just going to act like a docile child.