Chapter 7 Birth in Shadow 2

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.