His new stepsister His biggest threat (Claire and Elijah) novel Chapter 218

Chapter 218

Chapter 218

Claire’s POV

The air in the cabin didn’t just feel different-it felt like it had been rewritten.

The declaration hung in the corners of the ceiling, a heavy, golden weight that made the hospital equipment look small and insignificant.

Elijah had claimed me. He had stood in the face of his father, the doctor, and the laws of the territory, and tied his soul to mine.

“The Old Alpha?” I whispered, my voice finally finding some strength. “Elijah, Silas hasn’t seen anyone since the Great Shift. He’s… he’s secluded for a reason.”

Silas Hale, Elijah’s grandfather, was a legend whispered in the dark. He had stepped down before I ever entered the family, retreating to a fortified cabin in the deepest part of the Red Pine woods.

They said he was too wild, that his wolf had taken over too much of his mind to live among anyone else anymore.

“He’s the only one with a seat on the High Council that Ethan can’t override,” Elijah said, his hands moving to check the release on my IV. “If he backs the claim, the traditionalists will fall in line. They won’t care about the ‘stepbrother’ title; they’ll only care about the purity of the bond.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

Elijah stopped, his gaze meeting mine. He didn’t sugarcoat it. “If he doesn’t, we’re outlaws by dawn on the second day. But he will, Claire. He has to. He always told me that a Hale’s greatest strength is their mate. He won’t let the Reeds destroy that.”

Getting out of the hospital was its own kind of mission.

Mom arrived twenty minutes after Ethan left. She didn’t yell.

She just walked in, saw the look on Elijah’s face, and handed me my clothes. She was a mother, but she was also a woman who had married into a pack of wolves; she knew when a storm had turned into a hurricane.

“Your father is at the pack house,” she said, her voice strained. “The warriors are restless. They think the Reeds are planning a full-scale raid.”

“Let them think that,” Elijah said, helping me into my oversized hoodie. “It keeps them sharp.”

“Elijah,” Mom said, grabbing his arm. “Be careful. Silas isn’t the man he used to be. He doesn’t see family; he sees hierarchy. If he thinks you’re weak for choosing love over the crown, he won’t help you.”

“I’m not choosing,” Elijah said, his jaw set. “I’m taking both.”

We snuck out the back service exit. The night air was crisp, the scent of autumn leaves and damp earth a welcome relief from the clinical smell of the ER.

My heart felt solid-a heavy, reliable stone in my chest. Even though I was a werewolf, my body had always struggled to handle the intensity of the shift, but knowing I belonged to him had given my wolf the anchor she needed.

We took the old Jeep, the one Ethan rarely used.

Elijah drove with a focused intensity, his eyes scanning the treeline for any sign of a Reed scout. Every few miles, he’d reach over and squeeze my hand, his thumb tracing my pulse.

“Still steady,” he’d mutter, more to himself than me.

“Still here,” I’d reply.

The road transitioned from asphalt to gravel, and then to a dirt track that barely qualified as a path.

The pines grew thick and tall, their branches interlacing above us like the ribs of a cathedral. This was the heart of the territory, the place where the human world felt like a distant, irrelevant memory.

Finally, we saw it. A cabin built of dark cedar and river stone, tucked into the side of a cliff. There were no lights in the windows, but the air around the clearing felt alive. It hummed with power.

As soon as Elijah killed the engine, the silence was absolute.

“Stay behind me,” Elijah whispered.

We walked toward the porch. Before Elijah cou Successfully unlocked! Silas Hale stood in the doorway. He was massive,

faded with age.

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the heavy door swung open.

is eyes a glowing, predatory amber that hadn’t

Chapter 218

The scars across his arms and chest told the history of a hundred battles.

“You smell like a hospital,” Silas growled. His voice was like grinding tectonic plates. “And shame.

“Grandfather,” Elijah said, bowing his head slightly-a sign of respect, but not submission.

“The boy who lets himself be broken on the ice comes to my door,” Silas said, his gaze moving to me. He sniffed the air, his nostrils flaring. The power rolling off him was immense; I felt my wolf want to whine and tuck her tail. “And he brings a girl whose wolf is as fragile as her heart.”

“She’s my mate, Silas,” Elijah said, his voice ringing out in the clearing. “And I’m here to claim my seat.”

Silas let out a bark of a laugh, a sound that made the birds in the trees scatter. “Mate? You claim a wolf with a faulty heart as the future Queen of the Red Pines? Ethan must be foaming at the mouth.”

“Ethan is thinking about politics,” Elijah stepped forward, onto the porch. “I’m thinking about the pack. The Reeds are circling. They think we’re soft because we follow the Council’s rules. They think they can strike at her to break me.”

Silas narrowed his eyes, stepping closer to Elijah. He was a head taller, a mountain of a man. “And why shouldn’t they? If she is your weakness, you are unfit to lead.”

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“She isn’t my weakness,” Elijah said, and for a second, his own eyes flashed with a golden light that rivaled the old man’s.

“She’s the reason I’ll do whatever it takes to end them. I’m not here for your permission, Silas. I’m here for your vote. The Council meets in forty-eight hours. You’re going to be there.”

The silence that followed was thick with the scent of challenge. Silas looked at Elijah, then at me. He walked down the steps, circling me like a predator. I forced myself to stand tall, to keep my breathing even, to look him straight in his terrifying eyes.

“You have the scent of the bond on you,” Silas whispered, leaning close to my ear. “Deep. Primal. It’s been there for years, hasn’t it? Buried under the ‘stepbrother’ lie.”

“Yes,” I said, my voice unwavering.

Silas straightened up, looking back at Elijah. A slow, terrifying grin spread across his face.

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