His new stepsister His biggest threat (Claire and Elijah) novel Chapter 235

Chapter 235

Claire’s POV

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The adrenaline from the win was still humming in the air, a sharp contrast to the biting night chill of the parking lot.

The fog had rolled in thicker now, turning the streetlights into hazy, golden orbs and muffling the sounds of the dispersing

crowd.

It felt as though the entire world had been swallowed by a damp grey veil, leaving only the sound of my own rhythmic breathing to fill the void.

I stood by the passenger side of the truck, my breath blooming in white plumes, waiting for Elijah.

Most of the team had already cleared out, heading to the diner in a noisy caravan of honking horns and muffled cheers, but Elijah had stayed behind for a “closed-door” debrief with Ethan and Silas.

The sound of the arena’s heavy side door clicking shut made me turn, the metal groan echoing through the empty lot.

I expected to see the broad silhouette of the boy who held my heart, but it wasn’t Elijah. Valerius stepped out of the shadows of the concrete overhang, her hands tucked into the pockets of her black leather jacket.

She wasn’t smirking anymore. In the dim light, she looked older her green eyes reflecting a weariness that didn’t belong on a high school senior.

She moved with a strange grace, stopping a respectful distance away, her eyes scanning me with an intensity that felt like a physical weight.

“You’re a difficult variable to account for, Claire,” she said, her voice smooth but lacking its usual sharp edge. “My father spent the entire third period looking for a reason to call the Regent. He had the paperwork signed in his mind. He was waiting for the ‘Hale temper’ to shatter the glass, waiting for the Beast to prove he couldn’t be tamed by a jersey and a whistle.”

I leaned back against the cold metal of the truck, crossing my arms. My pulse was a steady 72 bpm. I felt a strange sense of calm, a stillness that had been forged in the fire of the last few weeks.

The game

had proven something to me-that Elijah and I werent just reacting to the world anymore. We were shaping it.

“He’s going to be waiting a long time,” I replied, my voice steady. Elijah knows what’s at stake. We both do.”

“Maybe,” Val conceded, tilting her head as she watched a stray wisp of fog curl around her boots. “But don’t mistake silence for safety. My father is leaving tonight, heading back to the Southern seats to report on the ‘Northern anomaly, but I’m staying behind. The Council wants a permanent set of eyes on the North Ridge, and it seems I’ve volunteered for the duty. I’ll be enrolled by Monday morning.”

“So you’re our new neighbor for real?” I asked, a sense of irony settling in my chest. “From auditor to classmate?”

“I’m your shadow,” she corrected, her voice dropping an octave as she stepped closer. The smell of cloves and rain followed her. “There’s a shift coming, Claire. The Southern packs aren’t just curious; they’re hungry. They’ve heard the rumors of a she wolf who can anchor a Prime’s power, a girl who can stabilize a transition that should have been lethal. To them, you aren’t just a girl-you’re a blueprint. If they can figure out how you survived the bond without turning, they can replicate it. They can create artificial anchors for their own bloodlines, turning fate into a manufactured resource.”

A chill that had nothing to do with the freezing mountain weather crawled down my spine. The idea of being a “blueprint” made me feel hollow. “I’m not a science experiment, Val. And I’m not a resource.”

“To the Council, everyone is a science experiment,” Val said, her yes flickering toward the arena door as it opened again.

Elijah finally emerged, his gear bag slung over his shoulder, looking exhausted but triumphant.

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Chapter 233

He stopped dead when he saw her, his posture instantly shiftingento a defensive, predatory crouch.

The air around him seemed to hum with a protective energy that I could feel through the bond.

“Valerius,” he growled, the sound low and dangerous.

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Val didn’t flinch. She didn’t even move. She just looked at him, then back at me, her expression unreadable. “Friday was a win. Hale. You kept your head. But keep your heart steady, Claire. The real predators don’t play by hockey rules, and they don’t care about the score on the board”

With a sharp, military turn, she vanished into the fog, the sound of her boots fading into the darkness until there was nothing left but the hum of the distant highway.

Elijah was at my side in seconds, his scent-sharp ice, sweat, and victory-enveloping me like a shield.

He dropped his bag, his hands reaching for my shoulders, checking me for injuries I didn’t have. “What did she say? Did she touch you? If she threatened you, I’ll—*

“She was just giving me a warning, El,” I said, reaching out to steady him, my hands resting on his chest.

I could feel the vibration in his muscles, the lingering “high” of the game still fighting to settle beneath his skin. “She’s staying in Red Pine. The Council wants her here as a permanent observer.”

Elijah let out a low, frustrated growl, tossing his bag into the back of the truck with a heavy thud. “Of course they do. They want to see if the crack in the foundation gets any bigger. They’re waiting for us to fail.”

“Then let’s show them how solid it is,” I said, stepping into his space and pulling him toward me.

He leaned down, burying his face in the crook of my neck, taking a long, shaky breath that smelled of desperation and relief. “I almost lost it out there,” he whispered into my skin. “When that guy hit the glass… I could feel your heart jump through the bond. It felt like he’d hit you. I wanted to tear the boards down. I wanted to end him.”

“But you didn’t,” I reminded him, my fingers tracing the hard, hot line of his jaw. “You stayed. You played. You won. You showed them that you’re in control.”

He pulled back, his eyes searching mine, the amber glow fading back to a deep, human brown. “We won.”

We climbed into the truck, the heater blasting against the mountain cold as the engine roared to life. As we pulled out of the lot, the headlights cut through the mist, illuminating the black sedan of the Valerius family heading toward the highway.

Marcus was gone, but the “audit” was far from over; it had just changed shape.

“Ethan wants us back at the house,” Elijah said as we hit the main road, his hands gripping the steering wheel. “Silas found something in the Reed files they managed to recover from the distillery. Something about the North Ridge border that doesn’t add up.”

“Can’t it wait one night?” I asked, looking out the window at the way the moonlight hit the snow-capped peaks. “Just one night of being normal high schoolers who just won a big game?”

Elijah looked at me, a small, sad smile touching his lips.

He reached over, interlacing our fingers on the center console, his thumb stroking my palm.

“We’ll get there, Claire. I promise. But tonight… tonight we make sure nobody can ever threaten this home again. We have to know what they were planning.”

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