th

en sensation, and finally sight. The steady beep of monitors. The cool press of sh

private

. Soft light filtering through partially drawn blinds. And n

n't they? " Lucy's voic

t to her belly-flat now where it had been swollen for months. The phantom weight of her preg

she whispered

usting Juliet's pillow

and a girl. All strong. All fi

ound the room, counting

shed back-the cottage, the labor, Sofia's voice, the despe

ed, taking Juliet's hand in hers. "Sofia found him

imal, and complete. Her wolf should have howled, should have risen

, already trying to swing her legs ove

t died. The trauma of the shift during labor, l

ising herself with the ferocity in her

ing infants. "The Waltons are expecting you to come for him. Sofia will have guards, trackers-the fu

blow. Without Rosie, she was just a h

That baby has Blair blood-Alpha blood. Sofia

fight draining out of her as quickly as it ha

ing, the silence in the r

that cracked in the quiet room. "My son's only shield is

's safe not because he's mine, but because he's his. I have to

was no comfort to offer tha

gently lifted the smallest bundle. "W

anket. When she opened her eyes, they were the same piercing blue that Jul

Lucy said quietly, watching Juliet's face.

aught. That kind

e of the shif

dies adapted in utero. It's like their wolve

n her arms, a strange mix of awe

. No trail to follow.

Lucy said gently. "

third -born, who la

ly opened during his first feeding, he was the ima

ek with a trembling finger. "He looks

ith deep black hair that reminded her of his fath

tly, brushing a thum

the daughter cradled in her ar

at her children-three beautiful miracles, and t

he weight of a vow she wasn't sure she could keep. "Someday. W

ed into a thin line. They b

a dynasty, an empire with tentacles in every b

sources were pra

Alpha blood-were statistically zero. It would be like trying t

envelope from her bag and slid it across the be

license, and a stack of notarized documents. "Austin Voss. Widow, freelance graphic desig

e," Lucy cut in, her eyes hard. "Sofia knows I helped you. She's not stupid, and she's relentless. It won't take

ed. "It's routed through a shell company, completely clean. It's

suddenly realizing what her friend wa

that didn't reach her eyes, smoothing out h

I treated you as any doctor would, and you left against medical advice. Wit

lieve her, but s

only waste p

down at Elena who had begun to stir and whimper.

e a silent vow. She would survive. She would prot

she would find a way

rminal the next evening bore little resemblance t

brown, dyed in the clinic sink

unglasses hid her di

igh-end travel system, their papers identi