Tyler was born into a pack--just not the Lockwoods. Mason Lockwood had befriended a wolf pack in the 90s, and one day, he found they were all dead. There was only one survivor: a little boy named Tyler who was too young to even know what werewolves were, let alone become one himself. Mason, feeling for his friends, and knowing his big brother and his wife were struggling to have kids, took Tyler back to Mystic Falls so Richard and Carol could adopt him.

Tyler doesn't really remember his biological parents, but he always knew that he was adopted; his dad made sure of it. Tyler isn't sure why his dad even agreed to the adoption, considering how much the man seemed to hate him, but he never got the answer to that question. He grew up with a domineering, abusive father, and a mother who tried her best to make up for it by smothering him with love, regardless of his angry outbursts. 

When Tyler was a teenager, his dad died. He would never admit it to anyone, but it was more of a relief than it was sad. The real trouble came when he accidentally killed a girl and triggered that long-dormant gene. From there, Tyler was thrown into a world of witches and wolves and vampires, full of blood and loss.

At 18, he was forcibly turned into the first successful werewolf-vampire hybrid by Klaus, the Original Hybrid. It was a gift that gave him immortality and the ability to never have to turn on the full moon ever again (unless he wanted to), but it also made him a slave to Klaus Mikaelson.