His new stepsister His biggest threat (Claire and Elijah) novel Chapter 266

Chapter 266

Claire POV

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The drive back to the North wasn’t like the high-speed chase we’d had on the way in. It was quiet- unnervingly quiet.

The truck purred along the old logging trails, the interior filled with the smell of sweat, and the faint, sweet scent of the pine air returning.

I was curled up against the door, my head resting on the cool glass. Outside, the shadows of the forest were finally starting to look like home again instead of a hiding place. 68 bpm.

My heart felt like it had run a marathon and then decided to take a three-day nap.

“You’re remarkably still,” Elijah said, his voice a low rumble in the dark cabin. He reached over, his hand finding mine on the seat. He didn’t pull or squeeze; he just let his fingers rest against mine, making sure I was still there.

“I think I used up all my ‘glow’ back there,” I whispered. I looked down at my palms. They looked normal. No sparks, no blue veins, just a few scratches from the bunker. “It’s weird. I can still feel the Well, but it doesn’t feel like it’s trying to shout over me anymore. It’s just… there.”

“That’s because you didn’t just stop the relay, Claire,” Valerius said from the front passenger seat. She was staring out the windshield, her face illuminated by the green glow of the dashboard. “You synchronized. You forced a Southern machine to speak a Northern language. You basically told the Citadel’s tech to go to sleep, and it listened.”

“So, are we safe?” I asked, looking at Ethan in the driver’s seat.

Ethan’s jaw was tight. He didn’t look back at me. “For tonight? Yes. But Marcus isn’t the type to just give up because his toy broke. And the Council still has the coordinates for the North Ridge. We’ve won a round, Claire, but the game is still going.”

We reached the hidden entrance to the North Ridge territory just as the sky was beginning to turn that pale, bruised purple that happens right before dawn. Silas was waiting at the gate, standing next to a black SUV, When he saw us, he didn’t cheer.

He just nodded, a look of profound relief crossing his weathered face,

“Get them to the Manor,” Silas told Ethan as we pulled up.

“The other Alphas are already there. They saw the energy spike from the South. They want answers.”

“Answers or blood?” Elijah asked, his voice sharpening.

“A bit of both,” Silas admitted. “But they know Claire is the reason the ‘Cleanse’ signal didn’t go out. That buys us a seat at the table.”

The Great Hall of the Hale Manor was packed. It wasn’t just our pack anymore; there were Alphas from the

Silver Run the Iron Peaks, and the Deep Woods.

18:07 Tue, Feb 3

Chapter 266

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The room smelled like wet fur, old leather, and tension so thick you could cut it with a knife.

As we walked in, the room went silent. Every eye turned to me. I felt the familiar urge to hide behind Elijah, but I forced myself to stand tall. I wasn’t just the ‘human girl’ anymore.

I was the one who had walked into the Citadel and walked back out.

“She’s back,” a tall Alpha with a scar across his bridge of his nose said, his voice echoing. “And the Southern relay is dark. Is it true? Did she shut it down?”

“She saved your territories,” Ethan said, his voice booming as he walked to the head of the table. “While the Council was prepping to wipe us off the map, Claire entered the heart of their facility and neutralized the threat. The North is stable because of her.”

A murmur went through the crowd. Some looked skeptical, others looked at me with a new kind of fear.

“And what of the Regency?” another Alpha asked. “They won’t

take this sitting down. They’ll send the full battalion now.”

“Let them come,” Elijah stepped forward, his eyes turning gold. The heat coming off him was intense, a silent challenge to anyone in the room who doubted us. “We’ve spent centuries hiding and hoarding our power. We’ve let the South treat us like a gas station. That ends now. We have the Anchor. We have the Wells. And we have each other.”

I looked around the room. For the first time, the Alphas weren’t arguing. They were looking at each other, then at me, then at Ethan.

“We need to seal the borders,” Silas said, stepping into the center of the circle. “Not just with wards, but with a unified front. If the Regency crosses the line, they aren’t just fighting the Hales. They’re fighting the North.”

It was a declaration of war, but it felt like a declaration of independence.

Later that morning, after the Alphas had retreated to their various corners of the Manor to plan, Elijah and I walked out onto the back porch. The sun was finally up, hitting the snow-capped peaks of the Ridge and making them sparkle like diamonds.

“It’s beautiful,” I said, leaning against the railing.

“It is,” Elijah agreed. He wasn’t looking at the mountains, though. He was looking at me.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled paper bag. He handed it to me with a lopsided grin. “Found a stash in the kitchen. They aren’t from the burger place, and they’re definitely cold, but…”

I opened the bag. It was full of leftover potato wedges from the Alphas’ breakfast. I laughed, a real, genuine laugh that felt like it was clearing the last of the ozone out of my chest.

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