# **Chapter 5: Blood and Betrayal**
*Writer's POV*
The coffee mug crashed to the floor, shattering into a hundred pieces. Maeve didn't even notice. Her world had just exploded with Alpha Braden's words: "Your mother is missing."
"What do you mean missing?" Maeve's voice came out as a whisper. Her hands shook so badly she had to grip the table to stay standing.
Alpha Braden's face looked like stone. "Your house was attacked an hour ago. We found blood. And there's a paw print on your front door that doesn't belong to any normal wolf."
"No, no, no." Maeve shook her head. "This is all my fault. They want me, not her!"
"Which is exactly why you're staying here," Alpha Braden said firmly. "Under guard."
Something hot flashed through Maeve's chest. For the first time in her life, she didn't back down from an Alpha's command. "No! She's my mom. I won't hide while she's in danger."
Alpha Braden's amber eyes flashed with surprise. No omega had ever talked back to him like that. "You'll do as you're told."
"With respect, Alpha," Maeve said, her voice getting stronger, "that's my mother. I'm going to my house whether you like it or not."
Heavy footsteps thundered down the hall. The triplets burst through the doors, looking grim and worried.
"The Shadow Pack wolves ran away," Ash reported. "But they left another message carved in the old pine tree. Same as before—bring the omega girl to the old oak at midnight."
"Over my dead body," Raiden growled. His ice-blue eyes burned with anger.
Maeve stepped forward. "I have to go to my house. My mom—"
"Is being used as bait," Cade interrupted. His usual smile was gone. "Maeve, this is exactly what they want."
"Then they can have what they want," Maeve said. "Because I won't let her die because of me."
The three brothers looked at each other. Through the strange bond she felt with them, Maeve could sense their feelings—they wanted to protect her, but they also understood her need to fight.
"We all go together," Ash said finally. "All of us."
Alpha Braden started to argue, but Raiden cut him off. "She's our mate, Father. Where she goes, we go."
---
Walking to Maeve's house felt like walking to her own funeral. Pack members stared and whispered as they passed. Thanks to Calla's lies on social media, some looked angry while others seemed scared.
"Ignore them," Cade said quietly. "They'll change their minds when this is over."
Maeve's small house looked wrong. The front door hung broken on its hinges. Deep scratches marked the wood like claw marks. On the white door, a bloody paw print stood out like a warning—too big for any normal wolf.
"Stay behind us," Ash ordered.
Inside was even worse. Chairs were flipped over. Her mom's knitting was scattered everywhere. A lamp lay broken on the floor. The smell of fear hung in the air, mixed with something wild and wrong.
"Mom?" Maeve called out, even though she knew no one would answer.
Raiden knelt by the overturned coffee table. "There was a fight. She didn't give up easily."
Cade picked up a piece of paper from the floor. "Another note." He read it out loud: "'The bloodline must be preserved. The omega's mother lives while the omega cooperates. Old oak. Midnight. Come alone, or she dies.'"
Suddenly, Maeve's bracelet got burning hot. She gasped and grabbed her wrist as pictures flooded her mind—memories that weren't hers. A woman with her same green eyes running through dark woods. The same woman, younger, putting the bracelet on a baby's tiny wrist. A man's voice saying: "Keep her safe. Keep the bloodline secret."
"Maeve!" Ash's voice broke through the visions. "What's happening?"
She blinked and found herself on her knees. All three triplets were around her, looking worried.
"I saw something," she whispered. "My grandmother. She was running, hiding something. Hiding me."
A slow clap came from the doorway. They all turned to see Liam standing there. But he didn't look like the quiet, gentle warrior anymore. His eyes were hard and serious.
"Finally," he said. "The memories are starting to come back."
"Liam?" Maeve struggled to stand up. "What are you doing here?"
"The same thing I've been doing for eighteen years," he said, stepping into the messy room. "Watching you. Protecting you. Waiting for this day."
Raiden moved in front of Maeve like a shield. "Explain. Now."
Liam looked right at Maeve. "Your grandmother wasn't just an omega, Maeve. She was Lyanna Blackthorne, the last heir of the Blackthorne pack—the royal family that ruled all the packs in this area three hundred years ago."
The room went completely silent.
"That's impossible," Ash said. "The Blackthorne line died out centuries ago."
"That's what everyone was supposed to think," Liam continued. "When the great pack war almost destroyed all supernatural life in these mountains, the last Blackthorne heir went into hiding. She took a new name, married a simple omega, and disappeared into the Valoran Pack."
Maeve felt dizzy. "My grandmother."
"Your grandmother," Liam confirmed. "And when you were born showing signs of royal power, she knew you'd need protection. So she asked Elder Thorne—the only one who knew her secret—to find someone to watch over you."
"You," Cade said, understanding.
"Me." Liam never looked away from Maeve. "I'm not just a pack warrior. I'm the last member of the Blackthorne royal guard. My family served yours for generations."
Maeve stared at this man who had always been kind to her, who had offered comfort when no one else would. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because the Blackthorne bloodline has enemies. Ancient enemies who've spent centuries hunting down any survivors." Liam's face got darker. "The Shadow Pack isn't just any rival pack, Maeve. They're led by the descendants of those who destroyed your ancestors. They've been searching for the last Blackthorne heir for decades."
"And now they've found her," Raiden said grimly.
Just then, a bone-chilling howl split the air—closer than before. Much closer.
Liam's head snapped toward the sound. "They're here. They've come for her."
Through the broken window, red eyes glowed in the darkness of the woods. Not just one pair. Dozens.
Maeve's bracelet flared with blinding light as footsteps surrounded the house.
A voice called out from the darkness: "Come out, little princess. Time to come home."