His new stepsister His biggest threat (Claire and Elijah) novel Chapter 236

Chapter 236

Claire’s POV

The drive back to the Hale estate was thick with a silence that wasn’t exactly peaceful.

55 vouchers

Elijah’s hand never left mine. his thumb tracing a steady, repetitive rhythm across my knuckles that felt more like a grounding exercise than a simple gesture of affection.

As we pulled through the gates the floodlights of the manor illuminated the fog, turning the gravel drive into a path of shimmering silver.

The house looked like a fortress tonight, every window glowing with a sharp, artificial light that screamed business.

“Ethan’s car is still here. Elijah noted, his voice a low rasp. And the Council’s transport is gone. At least we don’t have to deal with Marcus’s cologne for the rest of the night.”

Small victories” I murmured, though my stomach did a nervous tip.

We walked into the foyer, the warmth of the house hitting us like a wall.

The scent of old parchment and woodsmoke was stronger than usual. We followed the sound of low, urgent voices toward the grand library:

Inside, the scene was a chaotic blend of high-tech and ancient history.

Ethan was leaning over the massive oak table, his shirt sleeves rolled up, while Silas sat in his high-backed leather chair, a stack of digitized files projected onto a screen in front of him.

You’re late. Silas grunted, though he didn’t look up from the blueprints he was studying.

We had a game, remember?” Elijah said, his voice dropping into that defensive. Alpha-in-training tone. “And a run-in with the Valerius family in the parking lot. Turns out Val isn’t leaving with her father

Ethan finally looked up, his face etched with a

fatigue that made him look every bit the Alpha of a pack in transition. “We know. Marcus made it clear that oversight’ was the price of keeping the Regency off our backs for the month. But that’s not why you’re here.”

He gestured toward the holographic display. It was a map of the North Ridge-the territory the Reeds had just vacated.

But it wasn’t a standard topographical map. It was laced with red lines that didn’t follow roads or property markers.

“What am I looking at?” I asked, stepping closer to the table.

These are seismic and thermal sensors the Reeds installed months ago, Silas explained, tapping his cane against the floor. “Under the guise of industrial upgrades for the distillery. But look at the depth. They weren’t looking for minerals or grain storage. They were looking for the Old Wells

Elijah went still beside me. “The Wells? Those are legends, Silas, Chost stories to keep the pups from wandering too far into the deep woods”

“Legends are just history that people have grown too lazy to remember, Silas snapped. “The Wells are ancient pockets of concentrated lunar energy. The original Alphas used them to ground the territory. If the Reeds were tapping into them, they weren’t just trying to win a pack feud. They were trying to rewrite the biological frequency of the North”

“To what end?” I asked, my heart starting to pick up pace. 82 bpu

1/3

17:38 Thu, Jan 22 G D

Chapter 236

< 2.8%

55 vouchers

Ethan looked at me, his gaze heavy with a dark realization. “To the end of creating a forced bond, Claire. They found the data from your surgery. They saw how the heart-link stabilized Bijah’s transition. They weren’t trying to kill you at the distillery-they were trying to distill you.”

The room felt like it tilted. I reached out, grabbing the edge of the table to steady myself.

The “silver-wolfsbane” wasn’t just a poison. It was a catalyst. They had been trying to extract the unique chemical signature of our bond to see if they could manufacture it.

“They wanted to turn the bond into a weapon,” Elijah growled, his eyes flashing a dangerous, molten gold. “They wanted to be able to choose who their Alphas were paired with. No more fate. Just power.”

“And that’s not the worst part,” Silas added, flicking his wrist to change the display. “The sensors aren’t just in the North Ridge anymore. We found three more on the perimeter of this estate. They were placed within the last forty-eight hours.”

“Marcus,” Elijah and I said in unison.

“Exactly,” Ethan said. “The Reeds started the work, but the Council is here to finish the audit. They don’t just want to know if we’re stable, Elijah. They want to know if the ‘Hale Anchor’ is something they can replicate for the Southern Primes.”

The silence that followed was absolute. For weeks, I had been worried about being the “broken girl” who couldn’t keep up.

I had been worried about high school drama and hockey scores.

But the reality was much more terrifying. I wasn’t just a member of the family; I was a prototype in the eyes of the most powerful wolves in the world.

“So, what do we do?” I asked, my voice surprisingly steady. “We can’t just sit here and wait for them to poke us with more needles.”

“We do exactly what we did tonight,” Silas said, standing up with a grim smile. “We remain perfect. We give them nothing but the image of a unified, unbreakable pack. And in the meantime…”

He looked at Elijah, a spark of ancient fire in his eyes.

“In the meantime, we find those Wells. If the Council wants to tap into the power of this land, they’ll have to go through the Hale bloodline to do it. And as far as I’m concerned, the Wells are closed for business.”

Elijah turned to me, his hand finding mine and squeezing so hard it was almost painful. It wasn’t just protectiveness anymore; it was a pact.

We were the anchors of this pack, the glitch in the Council’s system.

“No more secrets,” Elijah whispered to me, his forehead leaning against mine as his father and grandfather continued to debate strategy. “From now on, we play their game better than they do.”

“Starting tomorrow?” I asked.

Starting now,” he replied.

We walked out of the library and up the stairs toward our rooms the house felt different. The “normal” life we had glimpsed at the arena was a beautiful lie, a thin veil over a much more dangerous truth.

But as I felt the steady, powerful thrum of Elijah’s heart through the bond, I realized I wasn’t afraid.

The Council wanted to study us. They wanted to measure us.

But they forgot one thing: you can’t measure a heartbeat that doesn’t belong to you.

2/3

17.32 Thu Jan 22

Chapter 236

65 vouchers

Ethan looked at me. his gaze heavy with a dark realization. To the end of creating a forced bond, Claire. They found the data from your surgery. They saw how the heart-link stabilized Elijah’s transition. They weren’t trying to kill you at the distillery-they were trying to distill you.”

The room felt like it tilted. I reached out, grabbing the edge of the table to steady myself.

The “silver-wolfsbane’ wasn’t just a poison. It was a catalyst. They had been trying to extract the unique chemical signature of our bond to see if they could manufacture it.

They wanted to turn the bond into a weapon.” Elijah growled, his eyes flashing a dangerous, molten gold. “They wanted to be able to choose who their Alphas were paired with. No more fate. Just power.”

“And that’s not the worst part. Silas added, flicking his wrist to change the display. “The sensors aren’t just in the North Ridge anymore. We found three more on the perimeter of this estate. They were placed within the last forty-eight hours.”

“Marcus,” Elijah and I said in unison.

“Exactly,” Ethan said. “The Reeds started the work, but the Council is here to finish the audit. They don’t just want to know if we’re stable, Elijah. They want to know if the ‘Hale Anchor’ is something they can replicate for the Southern Primes.”

The silence that followed was absolute. For weeks, I had been worried about being the “broken girl” who couldn’t keep up.

I had been worried about high school drama and hockey scores.

But the reality was much more terrifying. I wasn’t just a member of the family; I was a prototype in the eyes of the most powerful wolves in the world.

“So, what do we do?” I asked, my voice surprisingly steady. “We can’t just sit here and wait for them to poke us with more needles.”

“We do exactly what we did tonight,” Silas said, standing up with a grim smile. “We remain perfect. We give them nothing but the image of a unified, unbreakable pack. And in the meantime…”

He looked at Elijah, a spark of ancient fire in his eyes.

“In the meantime, we find those Wells. If the Council wants to tap into the power of this land, they’ll have to go through the Hale bloodline to do it. And as far as I’m concerned, the Wells are closed for business.”

Elijah turned to me, his hand finding mine and squeezing so hard it was almost painful. It wasn’t just protectiveness anymore; it was a pact.

We were the anchors of this pack, the glitch in the Council’s system.

“No more secrets,” Elijah whispered to me, his forehead leaning against mine as his father and grandfather continued to debate strategy. “From now on, we play their game better than they do.”

“Starting tomorrow?” I asked.

Starting now,” he replied.

We walked out of the library and up the stairs toward our rooms the house felt different. The “normal” life we had glimpsed

at the arena was a beautiful lie, a thin veil over a much more dangerous truth.

But as I felt the steady, powerful thrum of Elijah’s heart through the bond, I realized I wasn’t afraid.

The Council wanted to study us. They wanted to measure us.

But they forgot one thing: you can’t measure a heartbeat that doesn’t belong to you.

2/3

17:0 Thứ 2