CHAPTER 274: CHAPTER 274 HE’S HOLDING MY MOM HOSTAGE

Ava’s POV

"Hello darling, aren’t you coming home?" The voice on the other end of the line sent ice through my veins.

"Isaac?" I gripped the phone tighter. "Why do you have my mother’s phone?"

"Because I have your mother, of course." His voice dripped with satisfaction. "I saw you getting cozy with that Alpha. Quite the show you two were putting on."

Isaac’s words coiled around me like a venomous snake, making it hard to breathe. Through the speaker, I could hear my mother’s muffled protests in the background.

"What do you want?" I asked, trying to keep my voice calm while Joseph looked at me with worry.

"I want you to come inside," Isaac replied simply. "Alone. We have some... family matters to discuss."

"I’ll be right there," I whispered, ending the call.

"What’s happening?" Joseph demanded, his hand already on the door handle.

"Isaac has my mother." My voice trembled. "He’s inside my apartment."

Joseph’s eyes darkened. "I’m coming with you."

"No, he said—"

"I don’t give a damn what he said," Joseph growled, his Alpha dominance filling the car. "I’m not letting you face him alone."

I knew there was no point arguing. As terrified as I was for my mother, having Joseph beside me gave me strength I desperately needed.

We approached my apartment door cautiously. When I pushed it open, the scene that greeted us made my blood run cold. Isaac sat on my sofa with a knife pressed against my mother’s throat. Odelia’s eyes were wide with fear, but there was anger building underneath.

"I said come alone," Isaac snarled when he spotted Joseph.

"Let her go," Joseph commanded, his Alpha voice filling the room.

Isaac just laughed. "Your Alpha commands don’t work on me here." He pressed the knife closer to my mother’s throat. "I’ve come prepared."

I noticed then the strange silver-flecked powder scattered around the room and the acrid smell in the air—wolfsbane mixed with silver dust. A deadly combination for werewolves, especially potent against Alphas.

"You need to leave," I told Joseph, my eyes pleading with him.

"I’m not going anywhere," he growled.

"Either he goes or mommy dearest gets it," Isaac threatened, drawing a small line of blood from my mother’s neck.

"Joseph," I whispered, "please. For now."

The conflict in his eyes was painful to watch. His wolf was demanding he protect me, but we both knew Isaac wasn’t bluffing.

"Five minutes," Joseph finally growled. "Then I’m coming back with my pack members."

When the door closed behind him, Isaac’s smirk widened.

"Finally, just us family." He gestured for me to sit across from them. "We have so much to discuss."

"What do you want?" I asked, my eyes never leaving my mother’s.

"What I’ve always wanted—you." Isaac’s grip on my mother tightened. "But I’ve been curious about something. Your mother never liked me, did she? Always watching, always suspicious."

"Let her go and we can talk," I offered.

"I’ve been doing some research on your mom and where you’re from," Isaac continued as if I hadn’t spoken. "Interesting history you have. The Flynn name was rare in this territory, and your mom’s Trollope last name is quite... extraordinary."

What was he talking about? Why couldn’t I understand? My mom had never told me any of this.

"It wasn’t hard to connect the dots once I started digging," he said. "Your grandmother’s reputation in Northhaven..."

His eyes gleamed. "And you, my dear Ava—the supposedly wolfless Omega who always smells just a little... different when the moon is full."

My mother’s eyes widened in alarm.

"I know what you are," Isaac whispered, leaning forward. "What you all are."

Was he trying to expose that I had witch blood? Werewolves and witches were indeed enemies. But I didn’t think my witch bloodline, which was so diluted it was barely there, could do anything useful or give me any advantages.

"You know nothing," I responded coldly.

"I know enough." He traced the knife along my mother’s jawline. "Enough to understand why you’re so valuable. Why you need to be mine."

"I will never be yours."

"Oh, but you will." His smile turned predatory. "Because if you don’t agree to come back to me right now, I’ll tell everyone about your family’s little secret. How do you think your new Alpha boyfriend would feel knowing he’s been lied to? That you’re not just some ordinary wolfless Omega, but something much more... unnatural?"

He was threatening me. I looked at my mother, whose face had changed from fear to something else—a calm, focused look I remembered from when I was little.

I was starting to panic.

"Isaac," my mother spoke for the first time, her voice eerily serene. "You made one critical mistake."

"And what’s that?" he sneered.

"You threatened my daughter in my presence." She closed her eyes. "No man does that twice."

Before Isaac could react, my mother began whispering words in an ancient language I first heard four years ago.

The air around us felt charged with energy, and Isaac’s eyes widened in alarm.

"What are you—" he began, but his words died in his throat as invisible forces pinned him against the couch.

The knife clattered to the floor as my mother rose to her feet, still whispering her incantation.

Blood trickled from her nose. This was the price of using magic while weakened by wolfsbane, but her eyes burned with fury.

"Mom, stop!" I cried, seeing her grow paler by the second. "You’re hurting yourself!"

But she continued until Isaac’s eyes rolled back in his head and he slumped unconscious on the sofa.

The moment her spell was complete, my mother collapsed.

I rushed to catch her before she hit the floor.

"Mom!" I cradled her in my arms, wiping the blood from her face. "What did you do?"

"Memory... binding," she whispered weakly. "He won’t... remember what he learned. But the silver... it weakened me more than I expected."

The door burst open as Joseph returned, law enforcement officers behind him.

He took in the scene. Isaac was unconscious on the couch, and my mother was bleeding in my arms.

The officers immediately put silver handcuffs on Isaac’s hands.

"What happened?" he demanded, rushing to our side.

I met his eyes, knowing I couldn’t tell him the whole truth. Not yet.

"My mom... she got his weapon away from him," I said carefully. "But she’s hurt. We need to get her help."

Joseph nodded, already pulling out his phone to call for assistance.

As he spoke urgently into the receiver, my mother squeezed my hand.