[{"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-409":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},764533,1010,"Chapter 409 BETTER CONDITIONS","my-sister-stole-my-mate-and-i-let-her-chapter-409",409,"\u003Cp>CATHERINE’S POV\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Marcus’s pack had always favored strength over subtlety.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Alpha residence reflected that philosophy, all dark wood, reinforced walls, and wide windows that did not soften the world beyond them, only framed it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stood near one of those windows now, my gaze resting not on the forest stretching endlessly into shadow, but on the faint reflection cast across the glass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The darkness outside revealed nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The glass, however, showed me everything I needed to see.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Myself, composed and still.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The low, amber glow of the overhead lights.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Marcus Draven, lounging far too comfortably against the edge of the table behind me, as though the ground beneath his carefully constructed empire had not begun to shift.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’ve been quiet,” he said at last, his voice carrying that familiar edge of mockery that always grated against my patience. “That’s rarely a good sign.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Neither is incompetence,” I replied evenly without turning. “And yet here we are.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A low chuckle followed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I see,” Marcus said, pushing himself off the table. “So we’re starting there tonight.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You had one job,\" I hissed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hey, it’s not my fault Celeste wasn’t where she was supposed to be.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You lost her.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Marcus’s expression darkened. “She was moved.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Which means you lost her,” I repeated, my voice cutting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A flicker of anger flashed in his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Watch your tone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Or what?” I snapped. “You’ll fail at something else?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The room seemed to tighten around us.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a moment, neither of us spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then Marcus let out a humorless laugh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This from the woman who couldn’t secure her primary target,” he shot back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Seraphina was never meant to be secured at that stage,” I said. “Celeste, however, was already contained.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Unbelievable,” I muttered, turning away from him again before my irritation could escalate into something less controlled. “You had one fucking job.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There was interference,” he said sharply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There’s always interference,” I replied. “That’s the nature of opposition. The difference between success and failure is whether you account for it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And you accounted for Seraphina?” he countered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes,” I said without hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I forced down the thought of that last blow from Seraphina and her hidden friend that caught me off guard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I exhaled slowly, forcing the edge out of my tone before continuing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“With Celeste out of reach, we’ve lost a leverage point,” I said. “Which leaves us with fewer options.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Marcus’s expression shifted again, his frustration settling into something more calculated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not necessarily,” he said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I glanced at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>F“You still have Margaret.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The name darkened the room like a shadow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes,” I said carefully. “I do.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then use her,” he said bluntly. “Kill her. Complete the transfer. End the instability and move forward.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a moment, I simply stared at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then I mimicked his humorless laugh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You really don’t understand what you’re suggesting, do you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Marcus’s eyes narrowed. “I understand enough.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No,” I said, my voice dropping. “You understand the outcome. Not the risk.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stepped closer to him, closing the distance just enough to ensure he understood the seriousness of what I was about to say.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If I mishandle that process,” I continued, “Margaret doesn’t just die, she transfers into me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He arched a brow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She could overwrite me,” I went on. “Or worse—exist alongside me. A second consciousness with equal claim to the power I’ve taken.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Marcus’s jaw tightened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s a risk you’ll have to take eventually,” he said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Eventually,” I agreed. “Not prematurely.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And beyond that,” I added, stepping back slightly, “Margaret still has value.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Marcus frowned. “As what?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“As leverage,” I said simply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His expression hardened. “We already tried that with Seraphina.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And we’ll try again,” I replied. “Under better conditions.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Better conditions.\" He scoffed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His expression was infuriatingly relaxed, but there was something else beneath it, something sharper, more calculating. The kind of look he wore when he believed he had found leverage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Say whatever it is you have to say,\" I snapped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Honestly,” he continued in a honey-sweet voice, “I’m just worried about you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My eyebrows shot up. “What?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes,” he continued, his tone shifting, losing some of its mockery in favor of something more probing. “Because I’m starting to wonder whether your judgment is being compromised.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My expression did not change. “By what, exactly?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Marcus’s eyes narrowed. “Sentiment.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I scoffed. “Where the hell did you get that idea?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He shrugged. “Maybe Margaret’s power is affecting you more than you think. Just like it recognized Edward, maybe it recognizes Seraphina.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a moment, I simply stared at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then I turned away from him again, my gaze returning to the reflection in the glass.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you’re trying to suggest that Seraphina’s existence is affecting my decision-making, you’re wasting your time,” I said. “She is a variable. Nothing more.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I could feel his gaze on me, measuring, evaluating, searching for cracks that were not there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Variables can become liabilities,” he said eventually.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And liabilities can be eliminated,” I replied smoothly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That seemed to satisfy him—at least enough for him to shift the conversation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then I assume you’re pleased,” he said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“With what?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“With the diversion,” he clarified. “Your coordinated attacks across Nightfang and Frostbane.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I allowed myself a small, satisfied breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course I am,” I said. “Unlike some aspects of this operation, that part went exactly as intended.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I turned back to him, folding my arms loosely across my chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Kieran’s pack should be dealing with the aftermath as we speak,” I continued. “Psychological disruption, fractured trust, lingering instability. Those kinds of wounds take time to heal.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Marcus’s expression flickered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Assuming the damage was as effective as you claim.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It was,” I said flatly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because I had felt it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fracture.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment where instinct faltered under the weight of memory twisted into something grotesque.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if they recovered, the seed had been planted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Doubt had a way of spreading.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Marcus studied me for a moment longer before nodding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fair enough,” he conceded. Then, almost as an afterthought, he added, “Though I wouldn’t count on that being as effective as you think.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My eyes narrowed. “And why is that?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Lucian,” he said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that, my patience thinned again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t remind me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thought alone was enough to set my teeth on edge, souring my already frayed mood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He’s not cooperating,” Marcus continued. “Which is becoming increasingly inconvenient.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Inconvenient?” I echoed. “He’s becoming a liability.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Locked in the lower levels, restrained, monitored, pressured from every angle—and still he refused to yield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It would have been admirable under different circumstances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, it was simply irritating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve had him pushed to the edge,” I said. “Isolation. Psychological pressure. Controlled exposure to Zara.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And nothing,” I snapped. “He bends, but he doesn’t break.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The silence that followed was thick with shared frustration.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because we both understood what that meant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without Lucian’s cooperation, the next phase stalled, and my instability worsened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a brief moment, neither of us spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A knock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Marcus and I both turned toward the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Enter,” he said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The door opened, and one of the lower-ranking guards stepped inside, posture rigid, eyes carefully lowered in deference.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Report,” Marcus commanded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man swallowed once, then straightened slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“There has been a development,” he said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My attention sharpened instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What kind of development?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He hesitated, then said, “Lucian Reed has agreed to cooperate.”\u003C\u002Fp>",1224,"2026-06-03T02:27:49.405Z",1,"novelbin.me","57a88af1eb6016c6be125f00375f065ef73842b2ebd2099d29779c116ce7d4da","my-sister-stole-my-mate-and-i-let-her-chapter-410","my-sister-stole-my-mate-and-i-let-her-chapter-408",488,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fmy-sister-stole-my-mate-and-i-let-her-cover.jpg"]