Lucy's head snapped up, eyes narrowing, her whole body going deadly still.

"Stay here," she said, voice low and tight.

She stripped off her gloves and tossed them aside before striding out of the room, her footsteps sharp and purposeful as they echoed down the hallway. Juliet lay frozen on the bed, every muscle locked in place, her breath coming in shallow gasps while her ears strained to catch every sound. Her heart pounded like a war drum, and pain coiled low in her belly, building like a storm that threatened to tear her apart.

The front door creaked open with an ominous groan.

Lucy's voice rang out from the entrance, firm and clipped, edged with the kind of urgency that made Juliet's blood run cold. "This is private property. You need to leave. Now."

Then came another voice-a voice Juliet hadn't heard in months, a voice she had desperately hoped never to hear again cutting through the night air like a blade.

"Where is she, Dr. Carter? "

Cool. Controlled. Venomous.

"We know she's here."

Sofia Walton.

Juliet's heart plummeted straight into her stomach as terror slammed into her chest like a freight train. Her hands twisted into the sheets until her knuckles went white, and her throat went bone dry as panic clawed its way up from her chest.

How had they found her? It was impossible-she'd been so careful, so hidden, completely off the grid for months.

Lucy's voice came again, steel-hard now and unwavering in its determination. "There's no one here but me. This is my personal residence, and you're trespassing. Leave before I call the police."

Sofia barely paused, her response cutting through Lucy's words like they meant nothing at all.

"Don't try to play games with me," she snapped, each word dripping with malice. "We know the little whore is here."

Another contraction ripped through Juliet's body with vicious intensity, making her back arch off the bed. Her hand flew to her mouth, and she bit down on her knuckles hard enough to break skin, tasting copper as she fought to stay completely silent.

Then a soft whimper echoed from the bassinet.

Sofia's voice turned knife-sharp with sudden interest. "Was that a baby? "

Heavy footsteps thundered down the hallway, getting closer with each passing second, and Juliet's lungs seized as panic surged through her veins like wildfire. They were coming for her-Sofia would find her helpless and in labor, would find her baby, would drag them both back to hell where they'd never escape again.

*No.*

The word wasn't hers but came from somewhere primal and fierce, somewhere deep inside where Rosie had been waiting.

*Run.*

Another contraction hit, but this one was different-raw power rushed through her limbs like electricity. Her fingers trembled as her skin felt electric and alive, her spine arching as her breath came in sharp, desperate gasps that seemed to fill the entire room.

Her bones began to shift as Rosie took control.

"No," Juliet gasped, cradling her swollen stomach protectively. "The babies... they're not ready..."

*Trust me,* Rosie growled with fierce determination. *I will protect our pups.*

The shift came like a lightning strike, violent and unstoppable. Bones cracked and reformed while muscles stretched and rebuilt themselves, skin tearing and reconstructing in a transformation that should have been impossible in her condition.

By the time the door burst open with explosive force, the bed was empty except for blood-slicked sheets and haunting silence.

The window hung open to the night, curtains snapping in the cold air like battle flags announcing a war that had already begun. Outside, a wolf with piercing blue eyes melted into the trees, her shape disappearing into shadows while her belly remained heavy with unborn life.

Agony tore through every nerve in Juliet's body as Rosie ran through the darkness, each stride sending shockwaves of pain that threatened to tear them both apart. Juliet floated inside the wolf's consciousness, feeling every jarring impact but powerless to stop the desperate flight that carried them away from danger.

Her mind drifted in and out of awareness while her bones jarred with each stride, as if they belonged to someone else entirely.

Rosie moved with desperate purpose through the night, running through blood and paralyzing fear without stopping, without slowing, not until they reached the one place that might truly be safe. She was heading for the storm cellar behind Lucy's clinic-the only place Sofia would never think to look, hidden behind a sagging shed and a fence that leaned like it had given up, half-buried in ivy and the kind of shadows that devoured secrets.

With every pounding step, Juliet felt herself fading as her mind dimmed like dying embers, while Rosie surged forward with crystal-clear determination.

*Hold on, *Rosie whispered urgently.* Almost safe.*

The rusted doors groaned as she shoved them open with her snout, padding down into the consuming darkness of their childhood refuge. The air inside was cool and dry, heavy with dust and damp wood and bleach.

Rosie circled once, then collapsed in complete exhaustion, releasing her hold on Juliet's body.

The shift back came agonizingly slow this time, and Juliet gasped as her human form returned, slick with sweat and trembling while her belly contracted violently. Another wave of pain slammed through her with merciless intensity, and the second pup slid into the world with a sharp cry that echoed off the stone walls.

A boy, smaller than the first but breathing strong and determined. He had a head full of black hair and eyes the color of tempest-dark ocean-deep, sharp, unmistakably blue.

Minutes later, the third came in a rush of fluid and relief-another boy crowned with chestnut hair that gleamed even in the dim light. When his eyes opened, they gleamed gold like captured sunlight, bright and wild and fierce with newborn fury.

Then the fourth and final pup arrived with quiet determination. Black hair again, and the same piercing blue eyes as her second brother, but this one was a girl-tiny and absolutely fierce, her cry softer than the boys' but equally demanding of attention and love.

Juliet lay motionless on the cold stone floor, arms trembling as her heart raced with exhaustion and overwhelming emotion. The world had narrowed to four perfect, fragile cries that filled the darkness with new life, and she should have felt overwhelming relief that they were all safe and breathing.

But something was wrong-deep in her soul, she felt it.

Not pain from the birth, not blood loss from the trauma, but something fundamental unraveling inside her chest, dissolving like sugar in rain.

*Juliet, *Rosie whispered with infinite sadness. *I can't stay.*

Terror cut through her like a blade, sharp and cold and final.

"No. Please. Don't leave me alone with them."

*I have to,* Rosie said with gentle finality, her voice already growing distant.* The shift shattered something inside us that can't be repaired, but the pups are here and they're safe, and that's what matters now.*

Rosie's voice was fading with every word, becoming nothing more than whispers on the wind.

*Juliet,you are everything they need and more. You always were stronger than you knew. Love them, keep them safe-that's your destiny now, and it's more important than anything else in this world.*

Juliet gasped as her chest heaved with emotion, her limbs shaking uncontrollably while she gathered the pups to her chest one by one. Their hearts fluttered against her ribs like four precious, synchronized clocks marking time in their new world-alive and real and completely hers to protect.

Tears streamed down her face, her wolf was gone, leaving behind only the faintest whisper of love.

*Juliet,I love you. I love our pups.*

Then-emptiness so complete it took her breath away.

The bond was severed forever, and Juliet didn't scream or fight against the inevitable. Her body surrendered before her mind could fully process what had happened, and she collapsed beside her pups with her arms still protectively wrapped around their tiny forms.

Her eyes closed as her breathing became barely perceptible, and then merciful darkness claimed her, carrying her away from pain and loss into dreams where Rosie still ran free through endless forests under starlit skies.

Author

When Juliet's consciousness finally returned, it came in fragments-first sound, then sensation, and finally sight. The steady beep of monitors. The cool press of sheets against her skin. The antiseptic smell that could only mean one thing: safety.

Lucy's private clinic.

She blinked slowly as the world came into focus. White walls. Soft light filtering through partially drawn blinds. And next to her, three tiny bundles nestled in a portable bassinet.

"They're beautiful, aren't they? " Lucy's voice came from the doorway.

Juliet tried to sit up, wincing as pain shot through her abdomen. Her hand instinctively went to her belly-flat now where it had been swollen for months. The phantom weight of her pregnancy still pulled at her muscles, her body not yet understanding what her mind already knew.

"My babies," she whispered, throat raw.

Lucy moved closer, adjusting Juliet's pillows so she could sit up.

"Three healthy pups. Two boys and a girl. All strong. All fighters. Just like their mother."

Juliet's eyes darted around the room, counting again. Three. Not four.

"Where..." The question died in her throat as memories crashed back-the cottage, the labor, Sofia's voice, the desperate flight into the woods. "The first one. My firstborn."

Lucy's face tightened. She sat on the edge of the bed, taking Juliet's hand in hers. "Sofia found him in the cottage. They took him. I'm so sorry, Juliet."

The pain that tore through Juliet then was worse than labor-raw, primal, and complete. Her wolf should have howled, should have risen to fight. But there was nothing. Just emptiness where Rosie had been.

"We have to get him back," Juliet said, already trying to swing her legs over the side of the bed. "We have to..."

Lucy's grip tightened. "Juliet, stop. You almost died. The trauma of the shift during labor, losing Rosie... your body is barely holding on."

"I don't care !" Juliet snarled, surprising herself with the ferocity in her voice. "That's my son ! My firstborn !"

"And if you go after him now, you'll lose these three too," Lucy said firmly, gesturing to the sleeping infants. "The Waltons are expecting you to come for him. Sofia will have guards, trackers-the full resources of the Frostfang Pack waiting. It would be a suicide mission. And without your wolf..."

The truth hit Juliet like a physical blow. Without Rosie, she was just a human. Weaker. Slower. An easy target.

Lucy's voice softened. "They won't hurt him. That baby has Blair blood-Alpha blood. Sofia will likely take him straight to Alpha Kaius."

Juliet slumped back against the pillows, the fight draining out of her as quickly as it had come, leaving only a bitter ash in her mouth.

She stared up at the ceiling, the silence in the room heavy and suffocating.

"So that's it then," she laughed, a brittle, broken sound that cracked in the quiet room. "My son's only shield is the very blood that made us targets in the first place."

She turned her head, looking at the wall with hollow eyes. "He's safe not because he's mine, but because he's his. I have to trust the monster to protect my child. God, what a cruel joke."

Lucy didn't deny it. There was no comfort to offer that wouldn't feel like a lie.

Instead, she moved to the bassinet and gently lifted the smallest bundle. "Would you like to hold your daughter? "

The baby was impossibly light in Juliet's arms, wrapped in a soft white blanket. When she opened her eyes, they were the same piercing blue that Juliet saw in her own reflection. A shock of black hair crowned her tiny head.

"There's something else you should know," Lucy said quietly, watching Juliet's face. "All three of them... they're scentless."

Juliet's breath caught. That kind of trait was rare.

"Is it because of the shift? " she asked.

Lucy nodded. "That, and the trauma. Their bodies adapted in utero. It's like their wolves learned to hide before they were even born."

Juliet looked down at the baby in her arms, a strange mix of awe and guilt pooling in her chest.

No scent meant safety. No trail to follow. A gift born of chaos.

"They need names," Lucy said gently. "All three of them."

Juliet looked at the third -born, who lay sleeping peacefully.

With his brown hair and golden eyes that had briefly opened during his first feeding, he was the image of his firstborn brother-the one now lost to her.

"Leo," she whispered, stroking his cheek with a trembling finger. "He looks so much like him... we'll call him Leo."

Juliet looked at the second child, another boy, with deep black hair that reminded her of his father. His eyes were as blue and endless as the sea.

"Milo," she said softly, brushing a thumb over his tiny fist.

And finally, she looked down at the daughter cradled in her arms. "Elena. Her name is Elena."

Tears streamed down Juliet's face as she gazed at her children-three beautiful miracles, and the hollow space where a fourth should have been.

"We'll get him back," she promised, her voice cracking under the weight of a vow she wasn't sure she could keep. "Someday. When we have the leverage. When we aren't running for our lives."

Lucy nodded, her lips pressed into a thin line. They both knew the grim calculus.

The Blackwood pack wasn't just a pack; it was a dynasty, an empire with tentacles in every boardroom and back alley across the East Coast.

Alpha Kaius's resources were practically infinite.

The chances of reclaiming a child from them-especially one with Alpha blood-were statistically zero. It would be like trying to steal a cub from a lion's den while wearing a steak necklace.

After a long silence, Lucy pulled a thick manila envelope from her bag and slid it across the bedside table. It hit the surface with a heavy thud.

"These are for you," she said, flipping it open to reveal a passport, a crisp new driver's license, and a stack of notarized documents. "Austin Voss. Widow, freelance graphic designer, seeking a fresh start. I've booked you on a red-eye to London leaving tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow? " Juliet looked up sharply, wincing as the sudden movement pulled at her stitches. "We don't have time," Lucy cut in, her eyes hard. "Sofia knows I helped you. She's not stupid, and she's relentless. It won't take her long to sniff out the trail leading here. You need to be gone before her enforcers kick down my front door."

"There's fifty thousand in the account I've set up," Lucy continued. "It's routed through a shell company, completely clean. It's not a fortune, but it should get you established somewhere safe."

"And what about you? " Juliet asked, suddenly realizing what her friend was risking. "When they come looking..."

"I'll be fine," Lucy said with a tight smile that didn't reach her eyes, smoothing out her skirt as if preparing for an interrogation.

"I've already prepared my story. Hippocratic Oath. You showed up bleeding, I treated you as any doctor would, and you left against medical advice. Without a warrant or proof, they can't touch me. It's a free country, mostly."

Juliet didn't believe her, but she nodded anyway.

Arguing would only waste precious time.

"I need to feed them," she said instead, looking down at Elena who had begun to stir and whimper. "And then I need to learn how to be Austin Voss."

As she settled the baby at her breast, Juliet made a silent vow. She would survive. She would protect these three children with everything she had.

And somehow, someday, she would find a way back to her firstborn.

The woman who walked through the international terminal the next evening bore little resemblance to the trembling Omega who had fled into the night.

Her golden hair was now chestnut brown, dyed in the clinic sink and cut short in a practical bob.

Oversized designer sunglasses hid her distinctive blue eyes.

Three sleeping infants were secured in a high-end travel system, their papers identifying them as the children of Austin Voss.

Kaius

Six months had passed since that night of intense passion. Yet those incompetent Frostfang wolves hadn't provided a single useful lead. Not even a decent photograph. Just a name: Juliet Walton.

Kaius paced his office, fingers drumming on the polished mahogany desk. He wasn't used to being out of control. As Alpha of the Blackwood Pack, the most powerful werewolf collective on the East Coast, he was used to obedience and results.

But this elusive Omega, possibly his true mate if his wolf was right, had vanished like mist at sunrise.

"Still no word? " Ethan asked from the doorway. He leaned casually, the way only a Beta could.

Kaius growled low. "Nothing worth mentioning."

He had considered rejecting Juliet.

An Omega with no status and a scandal at her back was the last thing he needed.

Sofia Walton claimed Juliet had drugged her and taken her place that night. Maybe it was true, maybe not.

Juliet had disappeared before he could ask. No explanation. No defense.

But Alex, his wolf, had refused every other female since.

"You're obsessing," Ethan said. He poured himself a glass of Kaius's bourbon and took a sip. "Six months is a long time to chase a ghost."

"She's not a ghost," Kaius snapped. He forced himself to calm down, rolling his shoulders to release the tension. "If she's carrying my pup..."

That night had been unforgettable.

His body still remembered the way she moved, the sound of her voice, the warmth of her breath against his skin. If she had conceived... if she returned and apologized, he might take her back.

She might have lied. She might have used him.

Still, she was his mate.

He was Alpha. He didn't run from what was his. He protected it.

He could imagine a proper mating ceremony.

The intercom buzzed.

"Alpha," came the voice of his secretary. "Luna Cara of the Frostfang Pack requests an audience. She says it's about your ongoing investigation."

Kaius's heart beat faster. Maybe they had found Juliet at last.

"Let her in. Now."

The door opened fast, and Luna Cara stepped inside. Two Frostfang guards followed her.

But Kaius only saw what she held in her arms. A small bundle wrapped in a blue blanket.

"Alpha Kaius," Luna Cara said, bowing politely. Her voice was smooth and diplomatic. "I bring news about the Omega Juliet."

"I can see that," Kaius said, eyes locked on the small bundle. "Is that what I think it is? "

She stepped forward and pulled back the edge of the blanket. A sleeping baby lay inside. Brown hair. A familiar jawline. The resemblance was clear.

His wolf surged, growling softly with instinct. Kaius stiffened, his hand twitching at his side. He wanted to hold the child. Protect him. Claim him.

"Your son," Luna Cara confirmed. "Born to Juliet, about three days ago."

Kaius stepped closer, his expression unreadable. He had been lied to once. He would not be fooled again.

"Dr. Reynolds," he called. The pack doctor stepped out from the shadows of the room. "Run a DNA test. Now."

Luna Cara gave a small smile. It didn't reach her eyes. "Of course. We expected that."

Thirty minutes later, Kaius stood in his private lab. The results were on the screen. 99.99% probability. The child was his.

He should have felt triumphant. But instead, his chest felt hollow. Something was missing.

"The boy is healthy," Dr. Reynolds said. "Strong vitals. Good weight. But. no scent. That's rare-even for hybrids. Still, he'll be a fine heir."

Kaius's eyes narrowed. "No scent? "

The doctor gave a slight nod. "Completely neutral. Undetectable to wolves."

Kaius fell silent, staring down at the child cradled in his arms. The boy stirred, then settled against his chest without a sound.

No scent. No signature. But he was still Kaius's son. Still Alpha-born.

And Kaius had never needed tradition to build power. He would raise the boy himself-shape him, sharpen him.

Scent or no scent, this child would rule.

But where was she? Why hadn't Juliet come herself?

Kaius returned to the pack's receiving hall to find Luna Cara waiting, her expression carefully arranged into a politician's smile.

"The pup is mine. That much is clear. You've proven marginally useful-for once. Now tell me. where's Juliet? "

Luna Cara's eyes darted to the side, her fingers nervously smoothing a non-existent wrinkle on her skirt.A tell-tale sign of discomfort.

"Juliet... didn't survive the birth," she said, her voice dropping to a somber pitch that sounded rehearsed, like a press release delivered to a grieving public. "The labor was difficult. Complications arose. By the time our midwife realized something was wrong... it was too late."

The words hit Kaius like a physical blow.

Alex howled in anguish within him, a sound so filled with grief that Kaius nearly doubled over.

Dead? His mate gone before he'd even had the chance to truly know her?

"I'm so sorry," Luna Cara continued, though her eyes held a calculating gleam that belied her words. "We did everything we could."

Kaius tightened his hold on his son, using the child as an anchor against the storm of emotion threatening to overwhelm him.

He couldn't accept that Juliet was gone, that he would never see the woman who had haunted his dreams for months, never know the face of his son's mother.

There were barely any photos of her in the Frostfang Pack's records, and the few that existed were all from before she turned ten.

Something about Luna Cara's story rang false, but he couldn't identify what. Not yet.

"I see," he finally said, his voice dangerously soft. "Then I suppose we're done here."

Luna Cara smiled, a predatory flash of teeth that vanished as quickly as it appeared. "We were hoping to discuss the continued alliance between our packs. Perhaps a formal acknowledgment of the Frostfang Pack's role in securing your legacy..."

"Get out," Kaius interrupted, ice coating each syllable. "Consider every deal, every trade route, and every security pact between Blackwood and Frostfang frozen effective immediately."

Luna Cara's smile vanished. "But Alpha Kaius..."

"Be grateful," he cut in, stepping forward, his shadow falling over her, "that I don't burn the bridge entirely. Now, leave my office."

Luna Cara opened her mouth as if to protest, then wisely closed it.

With a stiff nod, she and her guards retreated, the heavy oak doors closing behind them with a decisive thud.

The moment they were gone, Kaius turned to Ethan. "Keep digging into Juliet Walton's whereabouts. And I want surveillance on the Frostfang Pack doubled. Put a tail on Cara. I want to know who she calls, where she eats, and when she sleeps. Something isn't right."

"You think she might still be alive? " Ethan asked carefully.

Kaius looked down at the sleeping infant in his arms, tracing the delicate curve of his cheek with one finger. "I don't know," he admitted. "But until I see proof otherwise, we keep looking."

He moved to the window, holding his son up to the fading afternoon light. The child's eyes fluttered open-golden, just like his own. A true heir to the Blackwood Pack.

"Meanwhile," Kaius continued, his voice firm with resolve, "prepare a press release. The Blackwood Pack has an heir, and I will be raising him as a single father." His jaw tightened. "His name will be Eliot Blair."

The baby gurgled softly, tiny fingers grasping at the air. Kaius held him closer, making a silent promise-to his son, to himself, and to the mate he refused to believe was truly lost:

"We will find the truth," he whispered. "I don't care if I have to tear the world apart brick by brick."