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
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