Chapter 5 Hidden Away

Juliet

Juliet's hands trembled as she stared at the ultrasound screen in Lucy's private clinic.

Four distinct shapes flickered on the monitor-four tiny, flickering heartbeats. Four lives growing inside her.

She felt the room tilt just a little.

"You're pregnant with quadruplets," Lucy said gently, her voice calm but clinical as she moved the wand across Juliet's still-flat stomach. "Four little pups, Jules."

Juliet couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. Rosie, her wolf, was howling inside her-a mix of panic and something fiercer. Protective.

"That's... that's impossible," she whispered, even though the proof was right there on the screen. "Four? "

Lucy Carter had been Juliet's closest friend since their Princeton days-two overachieving weirdos in the AI medical research program who had bonded over late-night coding sessions and bad takeout.

She was one of the only people who knew what Juliet truly was.

And now, Lucy was staring at her with that sharp, no-bullshit look that had always seen straight through her.

"What happened, Jules? " she asked, wiping the gel from Juliet's stomach. Her brow furrowed deeply. "I haven't heard from you in over a month, and then you show up looking like you've been through a war... and now this? " She gestured at the monitor. "Quadruplets. From an Alpha, judging by their size already."

Juliet closed her eyes, fighting the burn behind them.

"I've been hiding out near the border," she said softly. "The Waltons-" her voice cracked. "They drugged me. Sent me to the Blackwood Alpha's bed."

"Alpha Kaius Blair? " Lucy's head snapped up. "Jesus, Juliet."

Juliet nodded, guilt and fury twisting in her gut. "They meant to send Sofia. I was just... convenient. Disposable. A backup plan."

Lucy stared at her for a long moment. Her voice dropped. "So the pups are his? Does he know? "

"No," Juliet whispered. "And he can't. He can never know."

Lucy's mouth tightened. "But mate bonds..."

"We don't have one," Juliet cut her off, sitting up straighter on the table. The paper crinkled under her like it was protesting the truth. "I was drugged. It wasn't... real."

Lucy didn't speak right away. Just watched her, expression caught somewhere between disbelief and compassion.

"Four pups from one night doesn't sound like an accident, Jules. The Moon Goddess doesn't just... roll dice." Her voice was quiet. Serious.

Juliet shook her head hard. "Don't. Please. I can't go back there." Her hand drifted to her stomach automatically, protectively. "I can't survive another rejection."

Lucy's expression softened immediately. She understood.

As an Omega, Juliet's biology was already fragile. Being rejected once had nearly broken her. Twice could kill her. Rosie might not survive it.

"I know," Lucy said gently. "But you need to think about these babies. Four is high-risk for anyone. But for an Omega..."

She didn't finish the sentence. She didn't have to.

Juliet stared at the ceiling, blinking fast.

"My parents died when I was five." She swallowed hard. "I grew up in a state-run Omega orphanage before the Waltons pulled me out like they were doing me a damn favor."

Her voice turned sharp. Bitter. "I thought I found family with Jasper. And we both know how that ended." She laughed once, the sound cracking halfway through. "But even fated mates can betray you, apparently."

She placed both hands on her belly, and this time, the shaking stopped. "These pups are mine. They're all I have now. And I'm keeping them. Every single one."

Lucy sighed, but didn't argue. Instead, she turned to the cabinet and pulled out a small amber bottle.

"This will suppress any lingering scent markers," she said, handing it to Juliet. "Being scentless finally has its perks."

Then she reached into a drawer and handed her a key. "I've got a cottage on the edge of town. No neighbors. No prying eyes. You'll be safe there while you figure things out."

"Lucy, I-" Juliet's throat closed up. The words tangled.

Lucy rolled her eyes, but her voice was warm. "Oh, don't get sappy on me. What are best friends for, if not hiding you from homicidal noble families and pissed-off Alphas? "

Later that afternoon, Lucy helped Juliet settle into the cottage.

It was tucked deep in the woods, the kind of place you'd miss if you weren't looking for it. Small, but warm. The kind of cozy that wrapped around you like an old quilt.

Through the windows, Juliet could see the pine forest stretching for miles.

It was quiet, wild, and completely removed from the packs and their politics.

"The pantry's stocked, and I brought prenatal vitamins formulated for werewolf pregnancies," Lucy said, placing a large bottle on the kitchen counter.

The label was handwritten, the glass dark amber-classic Lucy, always five steps ahead. "Four pups will drain your nutrients like a Vegas slot machine. Take these religiously."

Juliet nodded, heart pounding beneath the grateful smile she offered her friend. "I don't even know how to thank you."

"Name one after me," Lucy said with a wink, then added more quietly, "Just stay safe. Take care of yourself and those babies. I'll check in every week."

After she left, the silence settled in around Juliet like snowfall. She wandered the small space, letting her fingers trail over the wood surfaces, the checked curtains, the old stone fireplace.

It smelled like cedar and cinnamon.

In the corner, she imagined four tiny cribs. Four high chairs lined up like little soldiers.

Four sleepy heads resting on her chest. Four reasons to keep breathing. To keep fighting.

She didn't know how she would manage. She had no plan. But failure wasn't an option.

In the bedroom, Juliet sank onto the bed.

The mattress dipped with her weight, soft and worn. She placed both hands on her still-flat belly.

Four tiny heartbeats. Four pieces of her.

"We'll be okay," she whispered, voice rough but sure. "I promise. I'll protect you."

Rosie shifted beneath her skin. Her growl was soft, but full of warning. Protective. She agreed with Juliet. These pups were theirs.

That night had left its mark on Juliet. Alpha Kaius Blair's scent still clung to her memory like smoke.

But for the first time since then, she felt something new.

Hope.

It was fragile. A spark in the dark. But it was hers.

Her life hadn't turned out the way she imagined.

She'd been used. Betrayed. Left behind. Now she was alone, carrying pups that were never meant to exist.

But they were hers.

Maybe... just maybe... they were the family she had always been searching for.