Chapter 6 Birth in Shadow 1

Juliet

The cottage had become Juliet's sanctuary over the past four months.

What started as a temporary hideout had slowly turned into something else.

It was modest and hidden deep within the forest, far from roads, cell towers, and questions.

No neighbors. No surveillance. Just trees, quiet, and the steady pulse of life growing inside her.

The living room now held four handcrafted cribs, lined up neatly against the far wall.

They didn't match perfectly. One leaned slightly, another had uneven slats. Still, each one had been sanded smooth, brushed with oil, and painted with care.

Books about multiple births and werewolf pup care were stacked across every surface.

Their pages were creased, underlined, and tagged with color-coded sticky notes.

Juliet had studied them the way she once studied blood pathologies and toxin interactions. Her mind hadn't changed. Only the subject mattered now.

At nearly six months along, Juliet's belly had grown enormous-larger than most full-term human pregnancies.

Lucy had joked she looked like she was smuggling a small pack of wolves.

Which, in a way, she was.

"You look ready to pop," Lucy said as she stepped into the cabin, setting her worn leather medical bag on the kitchen table.

"How are you feeling today? "

Juliet shifted on the couch, trying to find a position that didn't press a foot into her ribs.

"Like I swallowed four Alpha-born cubs who've just discovered kickboxing," she muttered, wincing as another jab landed hard beneath her sternum.

"Is it normal to feel like they're staging a coup? "

Lucy laughed, already pulling out her stethoscope.

"Four pups with Alpha blood and a rogue mother? I'd be worried if they weren't giving you hell."

She knelt beside the couch and pressed the stethoscope to Juliet's abdomen, moving slowly and carefully.

Her face went serious for a moment. Then she smiled.

"All strong heartbeats. All four are doing well."

Relief washed over Juliet like a warm tide.

Every check-up, every steady heartbeat, felt like a small rebellion against fate.

"We need to talk about delivery," Lucy said, putting the stethoscope away, her tone sobering.

"Quad births are risky for werewolves. With your rogue status and no pack healer, we're on our own."

Juliet nodded. They'd had this conversation before.

Hospitals were out of the question-too many records, too many questions, and too many eyes that might trace her back to the Blairs or the Waltons.

Pack healers were worse.

They answered to Alphas. And Juliet couldn't afford to be found.

"I've been looking into home births," she said, gesturing to the high stack of books beside her.

"I've got everything you asked for. The herbs, the supplies... even backup clean towels."

Lucy glanced around the room and nodded with approval.

"I've filed for a leave starting next week. I'll stay here until they arrive."

She reached out and gave Juliet's hand a squeeze.

"You won't go through this alone."

The words hit Juliet harder than she expected.

After months of silence, secrecy, and survival, the promise of company felt like a lifeline.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Don't thank me yet," Lucy said with a crooked grin.

"You might start cursing my name once the first head crowns."

Juliet laughed softly, then winced again as another pup kicked.

-

Two weeks later, Juliet woke in the middle of the night.

Pain slammed into her like a freight train, sharp and deep, stealing the air from her lungs.

She gasped and clutched at the sheets.

A warm wetness spread beneath her.

"Lucy !" she cried, voice tight and cracking. "It's time !"

Lucy appeared in the doorway seconds later.

Her hair was tousled from sleep, but her eyes were alert.

"Let's get you to the birthing room."

They had turned the small guest room into a makeshift delivery suite.

It was stocked with clean towels, medical supplies, and every emergency tool Lucy could smuggle out of her clinic.

She slipped an arm around Juliet's waist and helped her across the hall.

Juliet staggered, bent over as another contraction hit like a punch to the spine.

"That was fast," Lucy muttered, worry creeping into her voice.

She crouched to check Juliet's dilation.

Her eyes widened.

"You're progressing faster than expected."

Juliet's breaths came in quick, shallow pants. "Is that... bad? "

"Not necessarily," Lucy said, though her tight jaw told a different story.

"Werewolf births can move fast. Especially for Omegas. Especially with Alpha blood involved."

The next few hours passed in haze and heat.

Sweat clung to Juliet's skin.

She gripped the sheets until her knuckles turned white.

Lucy moved like a storm in control-quick, calm, exact.

"I can see the first crown !" she called out.

"Push, Jules !"

Juliet obeyed.

A raw scream ripped from her throat as she bore down, her entire body shaking.

Then it came.

A sharp, piercing cry filled the air.

High-pitched. Alive. Furious.

"It's a boy !" Lucy announced, beaming.

She wrapped the tiny, wriggling pup in a clean blanket and laid him on Juliet's chest.

Juliet sobbed.

Her arms trembled as she held him.

He was so small, but strong.

A shock of brown hair crowned his head.

His eyes opened briefly, bright gold, clear and fierce.

His lungs already worked like they belonged to a born Alpha.

Joy burned through her exhaustion like fire through dry grass.

But there was no time to rest.

Another contraction rolled through her like a wave of fire.

"This is just the beginning," Lucy said, voice steady.

She placed the baby in the waiting bassinet and turned back to her.

"Three more to go. You've got this."

Juliet braced herself.

Her muscles tensed.

Her jaw set.

Then a noise outside.

A slam.Car doors.Voices.

Her blood turned to ice.She met Lucy's eyes.They didn't speak.

Someone had found them.