[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-my-sister-stole-my-mate-and-i-let-her":3,"chapter-my-sister-stole-my-mate-and-i-let-her-my-sister-stole-my-mate-and-i-let-her-chapter-298":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","My Sister Stole My Mate, And I Let Her",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},764422,1010,"Chapter 298 THE FAMILIAL BOND","my-sister-stole-my-mate-and-i-let-her-chapter-298",298,"\u003Cp>SERAPHINA’S POV\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seraphina Lockwood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had been so long since I answered to that name, and it felt strange in my mouth when I said it out loud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t that it didn’t fit; it was that, for the first time in my life, it finally did.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was almost absurd how easy it had been—just a thumbprint and a signature, and that was that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well,” Ethan said, gathering the documents, unable to hide the joy in his smile. “You’re officially Seraphina Lockwood. Welcome back, sister.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I drew my knees close, my smile mirroring his.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you. I—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In a heartbeat, something shifted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It felt like a seam giving way inside my chest, a hidden pathway opening where there had once been a wall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A soft gasp escaped me as my fingers curled into the sheets and my vision blurred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan stiffened instantly. “Sera?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before I could answer, his eyes went unfocused, his jaw tightening as another presence stirred—older, heavier, threaded with instinct and power. It wasn’t overwhelming or intrusive, just there, like a heartbeat quietly syncing with mine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Ah,’ a voice rumbled, amused and curious all at once. ‘There you are.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I sucked in a breath. ’What—’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>‘Hello, Sister. It’s nice to finally meet you.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before I could react, Alina answered, soft and only a little hesitant. ‘You too, Brother.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan exhaled, his gaze refocusing on me. And then his voice echoed in my mind. ‘I wasn’t going to bring it up because I didn’t want to stress your recovery, but how could you keep the fact that your wolf had awoken from me?’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I blinked. “Wha—what’s happening?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan said out loud, “You’re officially a Lockwood again. The familial bond has snapped into place.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My heart pounded—not from fear, but from the disorienting intimacy of it. “That was...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Logan,” Ethan confirmed. “My wolf.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maya straightened instantly. “Wait—what?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan gave her a sheepish look. “It was inevitable.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s not the point,” Maya snapped, pushing off the wall where she’d quietly borne witness to me signing the documents. “I was the first one who knew about Alina, and I haven’t been able to speak with her, and Logan just—what—wandered in?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I pressed my fingers into the quilt, torn between apology and disbelief. “I didn’t know that would happen.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan ran a hand through his hair. “The familial bond follows instinct before intention.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maya scoffed and crossed her arms. “Fantastic. Love that for both of you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan smirked and slid next to her, slipping an arm around her waist. “Well. There is a workaround.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maya’s eyes narrowed. “What?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You could marry me,” he said. “Be an official Lockwood and join the family bond. You’d sense Sera’s mind, too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A heavy silence settled. In that suspended moment, I sensed the conflict take root in her—freedom versus connection, autonomy weighed against intimacy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maya was a free spirit. She loved Ethan, but I doubted she was ready to settle down and wear the mantle of Luna just yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tempting,” Maya admitted after a beat. “Very tempting.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan grinned. “I’m going to ignore the fact that you’re more tempted by the concept of bonding with Sera than marrying me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She rolled her eyes, but there was no real heat behind it. “You know I love you.” She shrugged. “I just don’t want to be claimed by a title yet.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yet,” he echoed, leaning down to capture her lips with his.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I groaned and looked away, warmth blooming in my chest, both infuriating and sweet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The warmth lingered, settling instead of surging, and with it a new sense of orientation—an awareness of Ethan’s presence, an acknowledgement of the echo of shared blood and history.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a feeling I’d spent my whole life missing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And this new bond made it easier not to dwell too much on the one I’d lost.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>***\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Taking back the Lockwood name was one thing. Rejoining Frostbane was an entirely different ball game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That door remained ajar, but I couldn’t bring myself to step through.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For now, my name was mine again, my blood acknowledged, my history reclaimed—but my future remained unwritten.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’d meant it when I said I was leaning towards Shadowveil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shadowveil wasn’t a cage. Not the way Nightfang had been. Not the way Frostbane felt even now, heavy with legacy and expectation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shadowveil offered a fresh start, a place where the scarred were welcomed and gently guided toward healing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, I’d given Lucian my word. After all we’d been through, and all that still lay ahead, keeping it was the least I could do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan hadn’t argued, but he hadn’t liked it either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re really going to Shadowveil,” he said the morning I prepared to leave, having gotten Tallulah’s all clear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He leaned against the doorway of my room with his arms crossed, his tone a little too neutral.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nothing is set in stone,” I replied, tying my hair back. “But...maybe.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He exhaled through his nose. “And there’s nothing I can do to convince you to come back to Frostbane?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I offered him an apologetic smile. “There’s too much history here. If I tried to sweep all the water under the bridge, the bridge would drown.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He chuckled dryly. “Fair enough.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he sobered, the lightness fading from his expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll admit, I’m not much of a fan of Lucian Reed,” he said, “but I won’t push you. I know how big a concession it was for you to change your name back to begin with.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was a brief pause—just long enough to acknowledge how unfamiliar this still was—before Ethan stepped forward and pulled me into a hug.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was a little awkward, our movements hesitant, as if we were still getting used to the shape we were allowed to take in each other’s lives now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His arms were firm around my shoulders, protective without being possessive, and after a heartbeat, I found myself relaxing into it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When we pulled apart, he cleared his throat and asked, “Do you want me to go with you to pick up Daniel?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I shook my head. “Before I do that, I have a quick detour to make.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He cocked his head. “Where?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I shrugged. “It’s Friday.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And that means...?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It meant I’d survived the fallout from one half of my choice. Now it was time to face the other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>***\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucian and I agreed to meet at one of the restaurants we usually frequented back when dinner dates were a normal part of routine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soft light bathed the room in amber and gold, glinting off polished wood and muted glass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The air was rich with the scent of roasted herbs and fresh bread, warm and inviting, curling through the space and urging you to stay a little longer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I arrived early, sliding into a cushioned booth along the wall. The vinyl was cool under my fingertips, warming slowly as I settled in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The place felt lived-in in the best way: quiet laughter drifting from nearby tables, cutlery chiming softly, a low hum of something familiar and safe, the steady reassurance of a place unchanged even as everything else in my life shifted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It felt like the perfect place for this conversation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A waiter brought water with a polite smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I traced the rim of my glass as the minutes slipped past, studying the menu more out of habit than hunger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When it was five o’clock, and Lucian hadn’t walked through the door, I checked my phone and found no message from him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I set it down, then lifted it again a few minutes later, thumb hovering over the screen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Me: Hey. I’m here. Are you close?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Delivered. Unread.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Concern crept in slowly, uncalled for but persistent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An hour passed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My concern sharpened, threading uneasily through my calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I told myself not to spiral. There were a hundred reasonable explanations for his lateness. But each of them was accompanied by a hundred unpleasant scenarios that made a prickle of unease slide down my spine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sky had begun to darken when my phone finally buzzed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucian: I’m sorry, Sera. I won’t make it tonight; something urgent came up. I’ll find you when I’m back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stared at the screen, its glow painting my fingers with pale light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Relief and disappointment washed over me, neither strong enough to overpower the other.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I exhaled slowly and typed back, my hands a little unsteady.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Me: Okay.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I set the phone down and closed the menu, suddenly aware of how tired I was—not physically, but in that deep, bone-level way that came from too much change in too short a span of time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And even though I now had an explanation—albeit a half-assed one—for Lucian’s absence, the unease didn’t lift.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If anything, it intensified.\u003C\u002Fp>",1450,"2026-06-03T02:27:49.405Z",1,"novelbin.me","5f982a1117c5c2ad010953ba53583ca77ab04bbe4966bb3d70700e1e87e31969","my-sister-stole-my-mate-and-i-let-her-chapter-299","my-sister-stole-my-mate-and-i-let-her-chapter-297",488,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fmy-sister-stole-my-mate-and-i-let-her-cover.jpg"]