His new stepsister His biggest threat (Claire and Elijah) novel Chapter 228

18:14 Wed, Jan 14

Chapter 228

Chapter 228

Claire’s POV

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The heavy iron gates of the Hale estate sealed with a resonance that felt like a final punctuation mark on the era of the Reeds.

As the latch clicked into place, the high–voltage perimeter fence hummed to life, a low–frequency buzz that I could feel in the fillings of my teeth.

Elijah didn’t stormed into the foyer. He was still vibrating with a lethal energy, his charcoal–gray hoodie torn at the shoulder and stained with a mixture of industrial soot and the dark, thick blood of the wolves who had tried to block his path.

He looked less like a high school senior and more like a young god of war who had just finished a particularly grueling shift.

“The Council isn’t coming to mediate, Ethan!” Elijah’s voice tore through the grand entrance, hitting the vaulted ceilings and bouncing back like an echo.

He didn’t stop to shed his gear; he paced the length of the Persian rug, his boots tracking arena frost and Mason’s failure into the house. “They saw the video feed. They saw the silver–distilled wolfsbane. If we don’t move now–right now–we’re giving Thomas Reed time to burn his ledgers, scrub his servers, and vanish into the North like he was never here.”

Ethan stood at the bottom of the grand staircase, illuminated by the flickering, orange–gold light of the massive stone hearth.

He looked ancient in that moment, but not fragile. He looked like the mountain itself—immovable and cold.

He was nursing a glass of something amber, his eyes reflecting the flames as he watched his son spiral into a protective frenzy.

“The ‘Watch Order‘ is a double–edged sword, Elijah,” Ethan said, his voice dropping into that calm, terrifyingly level register that usually meant someone was about to be dismantled. “If we strike their primary compound before the Lead Elder officially signs the decree of exile, we are the ones who face the silver firing squad. I will not have this family branded as vigilantes because you couldn’t wait three hours for a signature.”

“They tried to stop her heart!” Elijah roared. He spun around, his hand finding mine in the shadows.

He gripped it with a possessive, grounding force, his pulse thrumming against my palm like a frantic drum. “The decree is a formality. My bond is the law of this territory. Every second we wait is a second they have to prepare a counter–strike.”

I stepped forward, the heat of the house finally starting to thaw the ice that had settled into my bones. “Ethan, it’s not just about the attack,”

I said, my voice cutting through the male aggression like a blade. “Felix tracked the shipments. He caught a ping on the encrypted Reed server before they went dark. They aren’t just burning files. They’re moving heavy crates toward the old distillery on the North Ridge. It’s a tactical fortress. If they get whatever is in those crates inside those stone walls, the Council’s ‘exile‘ won’t mean a thing because we won’t be able to dig them

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Chapter 228

out.”

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The silence that followed was suffocating. I could hear the crackle of the fire and the distant, rhythmic ticking of the grandfather clock in the hall. My heart was steady–72 bpm–a solid, reliable rhythm that felt like a miracle every time I tuned into it.

“A distillery?” Felix chimed in, leaning against the doorframe of the kitchen with a half–eaten sandwich in one hand and a tablet in the other.

Despite the fact that we had just survived a lethal confrontation, Felix looked remarkably unfazed. “Man, the Reeds are so cliché. What’s next? A secret lair inside a volcano? A hollowed–out mountain with a laser beam?”

Elijah shot him a look that could have withered a redwood tree. “Not the time, Felix.”

“I’m just saying,” Felix muttered, taking a bite. “If we’re going to a distillery, I hope it’s at least the top–shelf stuff. If I’m getting shot at with silver bolts, I’d like a nice aged bourbon to go with the trauma.”

“The North Ridge distillery has been a dead zone for years,” Silas Hale’s voice rumbled as he emerged from the study, leaning heavily on his silver–headed cane. “It sits on a fault line of the pack’s spiritual ley lines. If Thomas is moving there, he isn’t just hiding. He’s looking for an anchor. He wants to hold the land hostage.”

Ethan’s eyes narrowed.

He looked at Silas, then at the map on the wall, and finally at Elijah. The transition was visible—the father disappeared, and the Alpha took over.

“The Watch Order is officially active,” Ethan commanded.

“Elijah, get to the armory. Felix, put the sandwich down and get the drones in the air. I want eyes on every exit of that distillery before the first truck hits the gravel.”

The next two hours were a masterclass in organized chaos. The basement of the Hale estate, usually a quiet expanse of storage and wine cellars, was transformed into a tactical staging area.

Sentinels moved with lethal efficiency, checking magazines, tightening tactical vests, and calibrating infrared

Scopes.

I stood by the weapons rack, feeling a bit like a spectator at a high–stakes play, until Elijah appeared behind

1. me.

He didn’t say a word; he just slid a lightweight, reinforced tactical vest over my shoulders and began tightening the straps.

“You’re not serious,” I said, looking down at the black Kevlar.

“I’m deadly serious,” he muttered, his fingers working the buckles with practiced ease. “I tried leaving you behind once tonight, and look what happened. You’re coming, but you’re staying in the command vehicle with the heavy glass. You are the ‘Package. If anyone so much as looks at the truck you’re in, the sentinels. have orders to level the surrounding three blocks.”

“The ‘Package?” I raised an eyebrow. “Is that my code name? I feel like I should at least be something cooler.

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Chapter 228

Like ‘The Heart‘ or ‘Valkyrie.”

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“You’re “The Package,” Elijah repeated, pulling me around to face him. He looked me dead in the eye, his gaze softening just enough to break my heart. “Because you’re the only thing worth saving in this entire godforsaken valley.”

“Smooth, Hale,” I whispered, reaching up to adjust the collar of his vest. “Did you practice that in the mirror?”

“Maybe,” he leaned down, his forehead resting against mine. “And for the record, Felix wanted your code name to be ‘Lampshade‘ because of what you did to Mason’s head.”

I couldn’t help it; I let out a small, jagged laugh. “I think I prefer ‘The Package.”

“Good choice,” Elijah murmured. He kissed me–not a sweet, romantic goodbye, but a hard, possessive claim that tasted of adrenaline and iron. “Stay in the truck. If you get out of that truck, I will personally lock you in the attic until you’re thirty.”

“Noted.”

The convoy rolled out at exactly 11:45 PM. Five blacked–out SUVs moved like shadows through the mist- heavy woods of the Red Pine.

We didn’t use sirens; we didn’t use headlights. We used the heightened vision of the wolves behind the wheels and the silent, thermal feed from the drones overhead.

As we crested the final ridge, the distillery loomed in the distance.

It was a brutalist structure of stone and rusted iron, sitting on a cliffside that dropped off into a churning river. It looked like a tomb.

“Thermal is picking up twelve signatures inside,” Felix’s voice came over the comms. “All armed. They’ve got snipers on the catwalks and something… wait. There’s a massive heat signature in the basement. Like, industrial–grade massive. They’re running a generator.”

“They aren’t hiding,” Elijah’s voice crackled through the speakers of the command vehicle. “They’re prepping. Ethan, the Council just sent the ping. The decree is signed. We are green for breach.”

“Do it,” Ethan’s voice was a cold blade. “Let the wolf off the leash.”

The world exploded. The lead SUV rammed through the chain–link gates, the sound of tearing metal echoing across the valley.

From my position in the armored truck, I watched the thermal monitors as the blue icons–our people- surged forward.

The Reeds began firing back. Silver tracers cut through the night, looking like falling stars that brought only death. I gripped the edge of the seat, my heart racing, but the monitor on my wrist remained steady,

My wolf wasn’t panicked; she was watching. She was waiting for her turn.

“Breach established!” Jax shouted over the radio. “We’re in the main hall! It’s–holy hell, there’s wolfsbane

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Chapter 228

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everywhere! They’ve rigged the ventilation!”

“Masks on!” Elijah ordered. “Felix, get the fans reversed! Claire, stay in the truck! I mean it!”

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I watched the screen as Elijah’s icon moved deeper into the red zone–the heart of the distillery where Thomas Reed was waiting. The bond between us was a physical weight now, pulling at my chest, telling me that he was heading into a trap.

“He’s going too fast,” I whispered to the empty truck.

I looked at the door handle. I looked at the monitors. I looked at the tactical knife Elijah had tucked into the side of my vest ‘just in case.

Elijah was right; I was the Package. But sometimes, a package

needs to be delivered right to the front door.

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