His new stepsister His biggest threat (Claire and Elijah) novel Chapter 225

Chapter 225

Claire’s POV

The high of the afternoon victory at the rink faded as the sun dipped below the jagged horizon of the Red Pine mountains, leaving a bruised purple sky in its wake,

The Hale estate was supposed to be a fortress, but the atmosphere inside was claustrophobic,

Despite the win at school, the air felt thin. Ethan had called for a formal dinner–a “display of unity–but the silence at the long mahogany table was so heavy it made the silverware feel like lead.

Elijah sat beside me, his thigh pressed firmly against mine under the table. His hand hadn’t left me for more than a minute since we’d returned.

He was still in his training gear, his scent a sharp mixture of cold ice and the metallic tang of healing, skin.

Across from us, Mom looked exhausted, her eyes constantly flicking toward the darkened windows, while Ethan sat at the head of the table, nursing a glass of amber liquid and staring at a stack of surveillance reports,

“The border scouts found more silver–tipped arrows near the northern ridge,” Ethan said, his voice flat. “The Reeds aren’t trying to hide their movement anymore. They’re inviting us to react”

“Then let’s react,” Elijah said, his grip tightening on my hand.

“We’ve spent enough time playing defense. I broke their champion. I took their pride in front of the Council. Why are we still waiting for them to make the first move?”

“Because the Council is looking for a reason to call this an unprovoked slaughter,” Ethan countered, setting his glass down with a sharp clack. “If we strike now, we look like the aggressors. We look like the ‘degenerates‘ Thomas Reed claimed we were. We have to be perfect, Elijah. No mistakes.”

The meal ended shortly after, the tension too thick to digest. Elijah led me upstairs, his pace hurried, his wolf pacing just beneath his skin.

The second the door to our suite clicked shut, he pulled me into him, his face burying in the crook of my neck.

“I can’t breathe in there,” he muttered, his voice a low vibration against my skin. “The rules, the politics… it’s all just noise. I just want them gone, Claire. I want to be able to take you into the woods without wondering if there’s a scope trained on your heart.”

“We’re going to get through this,” I whispered, my fingers tracing the hard lines of his shoulders.

He pulled back, his eyes glowing a soft, dangerous gold. “I’m going to make sure of it. Tonight, I’m taking the midnight patrol. Felix and I are going to sweep the northern ridge ourselves.”

“Elijah, no. Ethan said—”

“Ethan is thinking like an Alpha of a pack at peace,” Elijah interrupted, his hands framing my face. I’m thinking like a wolf whose mate is being threatened. There’s a difference. I’m not going to sit here while they lace the trees with silver.”

–

He kissed me a hard, possessive claim that tasted of desperation–and then he was gone, slipping out into the hallway to meet Felix in the shadows.

I sat on the edge of the bed, the silence of the room suddenly deafening.

My heart was steady, but my mind was a storm. I looked at the heart monitor on the nightstand, its screen dark. I didn’t need it to tell me that something was wrong.

12:12 Sun, Jan 11 Gj

Chapter 225

An hour passed. Then two.

64

I couldn’t stay in the room. The air felt stagnant, charged with an electricity that made my skin itch. I walked to the window. looking out over the moonlit lawn. The sentinels were in place, their shadows moving rhythmically across the grass,

Suddenly, the house’s perimeter lights flickered. Once. Twice.

Then they went black.

Panic flared in my chest. Not the sickly, fluttering panic of my old heart, but the sharp, tactical alarm of a wolf. I turned toward the door, but before I could reach it, the handle turned.

It wasn’t Elijah.

Mason Reed stood in the doorway. He looked different–haggard, his eyes bloodshot, his clothes smelling of dirt and something chemical.

He didn’t have a weapon, but he didn’t need one. He had the look of a man who had already lost everything and had nothing left to fear.

“You shouldn’t be here, Mason,” I said, my voice steady despite the adrenaline surging through me.

“The great Hale fortress,” Mason mocked, his voice a dry rasp. “My father is a fool. He thinks he can win this with lawyers and Council votes. He doesn’t realize that some things just need to be burned down.”

“Elijah will kill you,” I warned, stepping back as he moved into the room.

“Elijah is five miles away chasing shadows in the north,” Mason said, a sickening grin spreading across his face. “He’s so predictable. Threaten the mate, and the big, bad wolf runs right into the trap.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, glass vial. Inside, a liquid shimmered with a pale, ethereal light.

Wolfsbane.

But not the standard purple variety. This was the refined, silver–distilled essence–the kind that didn’t just burn; it paralyzed. “This won’t stop the bond, Mason,” I said, my wolf beginning to growl in the back of my throat.

“It doesn’t have to,” he said, his eyes fixated on my chest. “It just

has to stop your heart for long enough. Let’s see how the ‘perfect‘ Hale rhythm handles a little silver in the blood.”

He lunged.

I didn’t cower. I didn’t scream. For the first time in my life, I leaned into the strength I had found in the hospital, in the sand of the circle, and in Elijah’s arms.

I dodged his first grasp, my hand catching the heavy bronze lamp on the nightstand.

I swung with everything I had.

The lamp connected with the side of Mason’s head with a satisfying crunch.

He stumbled back, the vial slipping from his hand and shattering on the floor. The fumes hit the air instantly–a sharp, acrid scent that made my lungs burn.

I didn’t wait. I bolted for the door, but Mason recovered faster than I expected.

He tackled me from behind, his weight slamming me into the hardwood.

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12:12 Sun, Jan 11 Gej

Chapter 225

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