His new stepsister His biggest threat (Claire and Elijah) novel Chapter 222

Chapter 222

Chapter 222

Claire’s POV

Across the circle, the Reeds were a portrait of absolute ruin.

Thomas Reed looked like he had been turned to stone, his face a mask of pale fury as he watched his champion-the supposedly invincible Northman-limp out of the circle in a state of utter humiliation.

Mason, however, looked worse.

He looked terrified.

The smugness had been stripped away, leaving behind a boy who realized he had just poked a sleeping dragon and watched it wake up.

“The Council recognizes the union,” the Lead Elder repeated, his voice echoing off the vaulted stone ceiling. “By the laws of the First Howl, the trial is closed. The house of Hale is vindicated.”

Ethan stepped forward then.

He didn’t look like the weary, politically burdened Alpha I had seen earlier that week. He looked like the king of the Red Pine.

He walked past the Reeds without a single glance, his presence so massive that several younger wolves in the crowd instinctively lowered their heads.

“Get them to the car,” Ethan commanded, his voice a low rumble directed at Felix and the other sentinels. “And someone

get Dr. Adrian. No-actually, tell Adrian to stay in his clinic. We’ll use the pack healers.”

Elijah stiffened at the mention of Adrian, his growl vibrating against my hair.

Even exhausted and bleeding, his possessiveness was a raw, jagged edge. “I don’t want Adrian near her,” he rasped, his voice sounding like it had been dragged over gravel. “I don’t want anyone near her.”

“I heard you, son,” Ethan said, his eyes softening just a fraction as he looked at the two of us. “Let’s just get home.”

The drive back to the Hale estate was a blur of dark trees and the rhythmic flashing of the car’s headlights against the pines. I sat in the back of the SUV, Elijah’s head heavy in my lap.

Mom was in the front seat, her head turned back the entire time, her eyes glowing with a maternal ferocity that usually remained hidden behind her calm exterior.

“His shoulder is deep, Claire,” she whispered, her hands shaking slightly as she handed me a clean cloth to press against the worst of the gashes. “But the healing… it’s already twice as fast as it should be. The bond is feeding him.”

I looked down at Elijah. His eyes were closed, his breathing ragged and uneven.

Every few minutes, he would flinch, his fingers digging into the fabric of my jeans as if making sure I was still there.

I brushed the matted, dark hair away from his forehead, my heart aching with a love so intense it felt like it might actually burst through my ribs.

“I’m here, El,” I murmured, leaning down to press my lips to his temple. “We’re safe. We’re going home.”

His eyes flickered open, the deep blue clouded with pain but instantly sharpening when they landed on me. “Mason,” he whispered.

“He’s gone, Elijah. He’s nothing now.”

“If he… if he ever looks at you again…”

“He won’t,” I promised, though I knew that in the world of wolves, ‘never’ was a dangerous word. “Rest. Just rest.”

The Hale estate was a hive of activity when we arrived. The news of the trial had traveled ahead of us through the pack link, and the driveway was lined with members of the territory.

They didn’t cheer-that wasn’t the way of the Red Pine-but they stood in a silent, powerful vigil, their heads bowed in a sign of total submission to the heir who had fought for his mate.

Ethan and Felix helped Elijah out of the car, carrying him toward the main stairs.

I followed close behind, my hand never leaving the small of Elijah’s back.

I could feel the heat radiating off him, the fever Successfully unlocked! overtime to knit bone and muscle back

together.

We bypassed the medical wing, heading straight for the master suite Elijah had claimed as his own.

1/2

Chapter 222

It was a massive room overlooking the forest, smelling of leather and old books. The pack healers were already there. setting out bowls of herbs and clean linens.

“Out,” Elijah growled as they approached him with needles and thread. “Just the salves. Leave the rest to Claire.

The healers looked at Ethan, who simply nodded.

They left the supplies on the nightstand and retreated, leaving the room heavy with a sudden, intimate silence.

I sat on the edge of the bed, my hands trembling as I reached for the jar of healing salve.

Elijah was propped up against the pillows, his chest bare, the moonlight catching the silver lines of the fresh scars. He looked like a fallen god, beautiful and broken and terrifying all at once.

“You’re shaking,” he said softly, his hand reaching out to steady mine.

“I thought I was going to lose you,” I whispered, the tears I’d been holding back finally spilling over. “When that Northman had you… when I heard your shoulder snap…”

“You won’t lose me,” he said, pulling me toward him until I was tucked into his side, my head resting on his uninjured shoulder. “I told you, Claire. My heart only beats because yours does. If yours stops, mine follows. I don’t have a choice in the matter.”

I started to apply the salve to the deep grooves on his chest, my fingers gentle as I moved over the heat of his skin. The silence of the room was a sanctuary, a stark contrast to the violence of the stone chamber.

Outside, the wind moved through the pines, a low, mourning sound that seemed to lament the end of the secret we had carried for so long.

“Ethan says the Council will be watching us,” I said, my voice muffled against his skin. “The ‘stepsister’ thing… it’s going to be a scandal for a long time.”

“Let them watch,” Elijah said, his hand sliding down to rest on my waist, his grip firm and possessive. “Let them talk. I’d walk back into that circle a thousand times if it meant I could stand here tonight and call you mine.”

He tilted my chin up, his eyes searching mine with an intensity that made the air in the room feel thin.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify