[{"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-388":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},764462,1010,"Chapter 388 NEUTRAL GROUND","my-sister-stole-my-mate-and-i-let-her-chapter-388",388,"\u003Cp>SERAPHINA’S POV\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Three days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was all we allowed ourselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time had the peculiar habit of moving too quickly when you needed it to slow down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It slipped away in a blur of intense training, strategic discussions, and long stretches of silence, during which we never voiced what lingered beneath the surface.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Worry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the longer we stalled, the longer my mother stayed imprisoned and alone and entirely at the mercy of the woman who had once been her closest friend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the morning of the third day, I stood in the Frostbane strategy room, phone in hand, every gaze fixed on me as I prepared to make the call.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kieran stood beside the window with his arms crossed, the early sunlight outlining the hard line of his shoulders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ethan leaned against the far wall, his expression carefully neutral, though the tightness in his jaw betrayed his emotions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Corin sat calmly at the table, fingers loosely interlaced as though this were any other day, any other conversation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Maya, Brett, and Maris lingered nearby, their attention fixed on me with quiet intensity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When I finally pressed the call button, the ringing seemed unnaturally loud in the still room.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the fourth ring, the line connected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well,” Catherine’s voice drifted through the speaker. “Seraphina. You certainly took your time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her tone was smooth and warm in the way a blade might feel smooth and warm as it slid between someone’s ribs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I kept my voice steady. “You wanted to meet.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catherine chuckled. “Nothing would make me happier, dear.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How do I know my mother is safe?” I asked, my grip on the phone tightening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Well, you’ll have to see for yourself now, won’t you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I shook my head even if she couldn’t see me. “No. I’m not coming to the Maldives. We’ll meet on neutral ground. I’ll send you the details shortly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A small pause followed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Catherine laughed again, though the sound held a sharper edge now. “Even as a child, you were formidable. I look forward to seeing the powerful woman you’ve become.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you agree or not?” I snapped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another pause stretched across the line, though this one felt more deliberate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Very well,” she said finally. “Neutral ground it is.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her agreement came so easily that suspicion immediately knotted in my stomach, but I didn’t press.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll send the details soon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll be on the edge of my seat.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just before I hung up, she called out. “Seraphina?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The humor in her voice dropped out. “Remember, come alone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I glanced around the room—at my friends, my family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Noted.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>***\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The morning of the meeting arrived beneath a pale, quiet sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The packhouse was still wrapped in the soft calm that came just before sunrise when I stepped into the kitchen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a moment, I simply stood there, listening to the silence of the sleeping house and gathering my thoughts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then I began preparing breakfast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The simple routine grounded me in a way strategy meetings and battle plans never could.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I cracked eggs into the pan while the scent of butter warmed the air, slicing fruit and toasting bread the way Daniel liked it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While the eggs cooked, I moved around the kitchen, preparing a few extra dishes that could be stored in the refrigerator for later—containers of pasta salad, roasted vegetables, and a tray of baked chicken that could be reheated easily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A few minutes later, I heard the familiar patter of small footsteps in the hallway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Mom?” Daniel appeared in the doorway, rubbing sleep from his eyes. “You’re up early.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So are you,” I replied with a faint smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wandered over and climbed into his chair at the table while I placed his plate in front of him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is a lot,” he noted, eyeing the other dishes on the counter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s so you can have a taste of my cooking when you miss me,” I told him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stilled, fork halfway to his mouth. “Why would I miss you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your father and I are taking a short trip,” I explained gently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He blinked at me. “Where?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just something I need to take care of.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Daniel studied my face for a moment with seriousness. “Will you be gone long? Like last time?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No,” I said, reaching out to brush a strand of hair from his forehead. “I’ll be back soon, I promise.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He nodded slowly, absently pushing food around his plate, his gaze flicking up at me with the worry he tried to hide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a moment, I reached into my pocket and placed something carefully on the table between us.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The small brass compass caught the early light from the window.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Daniel’s eyes widened. “You still have that?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course I do.” I smiled. “It’s my most prized possession.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I could still remember the fierce concentration on his young face as he gave it to me, insisting that every traveler needed a compass so they would always find their way home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You see?” I said softly. “That means you’re coming with me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Daniel’s expression brightened immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I held him close, breathing in the familiar sweet warmth of him while a quiet prayer formed deep inside me that the promise I had just made would not turn into a lie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll see you soon,” I murmured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Be careful,” he said, tightening his grip on my shirt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I will.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>***\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The journey toward the meeting point took several hours.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kieran drove while I watched the forest slide past the window as the road carried us steadily north.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind us, Ethan followed in a second vehicle with Corin, Maya, Brett, and Maris.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The silence inside the car was not uncomfortable, though it carried a certain weight. Maybe because every mile brought us closer to a moment none of us were looking forward to.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kieran reached across the console at one point and covered my hand with his.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We’re close,” he said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I nodded, my gaze still fixed on the passing trees.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon the forest began to thin, and the distant scent of salt drifted through the cracked window, carried inland by the ocean breeze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kieran eventually slowed down along a narrow stretch of road bordered by tall pines before bringing the car to a stop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a moment, neither of us moved. The engine ticked softly as it cooled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was reaching for the door handle when Kieran’s hand closed gently around my wrist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sera.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I turned toward him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Up close, the concern in his dark eyes was impossible to miss. He studied my face for a moment as though committing every detail to memory.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re not alone out there,” he said. “No matter what it looks like.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I exhaled. “I know.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His thumb brushed across the back of my hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even if you can’t see me. I’m here. I’ll always, always have your back.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My mouth curved. “I know that too.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tension in his shoulders eased, and then he leaned closer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His hand slid up to cradle the side of my face, warm and steady, and when he kissed me, it was slow and certain, carrying both reassurance and promise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he pulled back, he pressed his forehead to mine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Come back to me,” he murmured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I will,” I whispered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He searched my face one last time before he released my hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is where you get out,” he said quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I opened the door and stepped onto the gravel as the second vehicle pulled up behind us.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone else filed out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We stood together in the cool morning air, the quiet forest stretching around us.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You don’t have to face her alone,” Ethan said, his fists clenched at his sides.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You know I do,” I replied calmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Corin stepped forward then, his expression thoughtful as his power unfolded around us like a subtle ripple in the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A strange stillness settled over the clearing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We’ll stick to the plan,” he promised. “Everything will be okay.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I nodded, giving him a grateful smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kieran stepped closer to me, and I met his eyes, an unspoken reassurance passing between us before he stepped back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I turned toward the narrow path leading through the trees, the compass resting warm in my pocket.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyone watching from a distance would have believed I had come exactly as Catherine demanded: alone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet as I began walking toward the rendezvous point, I could feel the faint presence of my pack moving silently through the forest behind me, hidden beneath Corin’s psychic veil and ready to act the moment anything went wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The trees parted gradually ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And somewhere beyond them, Catherine was waiting.\u003C\u002Fp>",1444,"2026-06-03T02:27:49.405Z",1,"novelbin.me","f93534eaaedbdff60c403180ee700ee5d5281a55eb1b9f26aa9779c70c32c142","my-sister-stole-my-mate-and-i-let-her-chapter-389","my-sister-stole-my-mate-and-i-let-her-chapter-387",488,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fmy-sister-stole-my-mate-and-i-let-her-cover.jpg"]