His new stepsister His biggest threat (Claire and Elijah) novel Chapter 207

Chapter 207

Chapter 207

Claire’s POV

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The silence of the Hale house was never truly silent. Even at three in the morning, the walls seemed to hum with the low- frequency energy of the pack.

But tonight, that hum felt jagged, electric and wrong.

Elijah was upstairs, finally asleep in his own bed after hours of stubborn arguments with the doctors and a grueling car ride home.

The neck brace made him look fragile, a word I never thought I associate with him.

I couldn’t sleep.

My heart was a restless bird, fluttering against my ribs in a way that made my chest ache with a dull, persistent pressure.

I slipped out of my room, my bare feet silent on the hardwood, and headed toward the kitchen for a glass of water.

I stopped at the top of the stairs when I heard voices coming from the den.

“He targeted him, Alpha. It’s on every camera angle in the rink.”

It was Felix. His voice was low, vibrating with a guttural edge I usually only heard right before a full moon.

“I know,” Ethan replied.

His voice was different than I’d ever heard it. Usually, Ethan was the pillar-the calm, steady Alpha who ruled with logic and a firm hand.

Tonight, his voice sounded like grinding stones. It was the sound of a father who had watched his son’s neck snap the ice. It was the sound of a wolf who had seen his heir nearly extinguished.

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“The council is calling it a ‘game incident,” Felix spat. “They’re talking about a five-game suspension. Five games for trying to paralyze the future Alpha of this territory? It’s an insult.”

“It’s a provocation,” Ethan corrected him. “The Reeds have been testing the borders for months. They used the game as a shield. They thought if it happened on the ice, under the lights, we’d have to play by human rules.”

I gripped the banister, my breath hitching. I knew the Reeds were a rival pack, but I hadn’t realized the hit on the ice was a piece of a much larger, deadlier puzzle.

“Are we playing by human rules?” Felix asked. The silence that followed was heavy, suffocating.

“No,” Ethan said. “We aren’t.”

I stepped back, my heart giving a sharp, painful jolt. I needed to get back to my room, to pretend I hadn’t heard, but my legs felt heavy.

“And Claire?” Felix’s voice softened slightly. “She’s not handling well. Her scent… it’s all over the place. Stress like this could trigger her condition. Elijah probably wouldn’t want that.”

“I’m aware,” Ethan said, and I could hear him pacing now. “She’s ragile. Elijah’s protection of her is the only thing that keeps her stable. If something happens to him, we lose her too. The bond they’ve formed…is basically tethering her to this world.”

My hand flew to my mouth. They knew. They didn’t know the fi extent of the “forbidden” nature of what I felt for my stepbrother, but they knew we were linked in a way that defied medical explanation.

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Chapter 207

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Reed

“Go home, Felix,” Ethan commanded. “I’ll make arrangements with your father for the scouts. I want eyes on every movement. If Mason Reed so much as breathes near this school omorrow, I want to know.”

I hurried back to my room before the door opened, diving under the covers just as I heard Ethan’s heavy footsteps on the

stairs.

He paused outside my door. I held my breath, praying my heart wouldn’t betray me with its frantic thumping.

After a long moment, he moved on, his door clicking shut down the hall.

I lay there in the dark, the paper Elijah had given me clutched in my hand. The war wasn’t coming; it was already here. And I was the weak link in the chain they were all trying to protect.

The next morning, the house was a fortress.

Two members of the pack guard were stationed in the kitchen, nursing mugs of coffee but looking like they were ready to tear through a brick wall.

Mom was at the stove, her movements stiff as she flipped pancakes that no one was eating.

Elijah was downstairs, seated at the head of the table. He was out of the neck brace for the moment-the doctor said he could take it off for short periods if he remained still-but the bruising on his neck and jaw had turned a deep, sickly purple.

“You’re not going to school,” I said, sliding into the chair next to Him.

“I have a mid-term, Claire,” he rasped. His voice was still shot, a haunting reminder of the impact.

“Ethan already called the principal,” Mom said without turning around. “You’re excused for the week. Both of you.”

I blinked. “Me too?”

“Safety protocol,” Elijah muttered, his eyes meeting mine. They were clear today, the concussion haze replaced by a smoldering intensity. “Ethan doesn’t want you on campus without me there.”

“I can take care of myself,” I whispered, though we both knew it was a lie.

Elijah reached out under the table, finding my knee and squeezing it.

His touch was grounding, a warm current that seemed to settle the static in my veins. “It’s not about your heart, Claire. It’s about the Reeds. They took a shot at me and missed. They’ll look for another way to hurt the Alphas.”

“By coming after me?”

“They won’t get the chance,” he said, his jaw tightening.

The front door heavy-thudded open, and Ethan walked in. He looked like he hadn’t slept a second. He was wearing his tactical gear-the heavy boots and the dark, reinforced jacket he wore when pack business turned into pack combat.

He looked at Elijah, a silent communication passing between fater and son. A passing of the torch, or perhaps a shared vow of vengeance.

“The council met this morning,” Ethan announced, his voice eching in the kitchen. “They’ve upheld the five-game suspension for Mason Reed.”

Felix, who had just walked in through the back door, let out a hash, barking laugh. “That’s it? A vacation?”

“That was the council’s decision,” Ethan said, his eyes turning a sharp, molten gold. “But the Hale pack has made its own.”

He turned to look at me, his expression softening just a fraction hough the predator was still visible beneath the surface.

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Chapter 207

“Claire. I need you to stay in the house today. No exceptions. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Ethan,” I said, my voice small.

He turned back to Elijah. “Can you stand?”

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