His new stepsister His biggest threat (Claire and Elijah) novel Chapter 287

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Chapter 287

Eliah’s POV

The Envoy didn’t flinch when I presented the revised terms. She stood in the center of the Great Hall her slate-grey uniform a stark contrast to the ancient, fire-warmed stone of the Manor.

She scrolled through the tablet with a detached, clinical speed, her eyes scanning the demands I had dictated: the withdrawal of Sentinels, the medicinal shipments, the recognition of the North as a sovereign power.

“You are asking for a significant amount of autonomy, Alpha Enjoy Marcus said, her voice like dry leaves skittering on pavement. “The Council generally prefers a more… integrated relationship with its power sources

“The Council is currently down one High Spire and a Director, replied, standing behind the heavy oak table. Integrating with us has proven to be an expensive venture. This is the price of the peace you claim to want.”

Beside me, I felt Claire’s presence. She wasn’t sitting; she was standing tall, her hands resting lightly on the table.

The sapphire resonance was quiet now, tucked away behind a mask of calm, but the air around her felt ionized, sharp with the potential of a lightning strike.

The Envoy looked at Claire. For the first time, I saw a flicker of something human in the messenger’s eyes-a flicker of calculation. She wasn’t looking at a battery. She was looking at the woman who had survived Thorne’s obsession and come out the other side with her teeth bared.

“The Council accepts Marcus said, clicking a final confirmation on the tablet. “The first shipment of medical supplies and border-dampening tech will arrive at the Neutral Zone by dawn in return, the first resonance discharge will be expected forty-eight hours after.”

“Well be there,” I said.

“See that you are,” the Envoy replied. She bowed once, a sharp, eficient movement, and turned to leave. “The Council is pragmatic. Alpha Hale. But do not mistake pragmatism for weakness. We expect the flow to remain steady,”

As the doors closed behind her, the tension in the room snapped like a bowed string.

The next day was a blur of activity.

The pack was wary-many of the older wolves didn’t trust a piece of Regency glass any more than they trusted a silver bullet –but the arrival of the medical crates began to shift the mood. We weren’t just surviving, we were being compensated.

I found Claire on the balcony of our quarters, watching the sunset bleed across the peaks. She was wearing a thick, oversized sweater of mine, her hands wrapped around a mug of tea.

She looked more peaceful than I’d seen her in months, but there was a new gravity to her posture.

“You did it,” I said, coming up behind her and wrapping my arms around her waist. I rested my chin on her shoulder, breathing in the scent of cedar and the faint, lingering ozone of her power.

“We did it, she corrected, leaning back into me. “But this is just the beginning, Elijah. The Regency is playing a long game. They’ll wait for us to get comfortable. They’ll wait for the North to depend on their supplies, and then they’ll try to tighten the leash again.”