[{"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-416":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},764540,1010,"Chapter 416 ALPHA BABYSITTER","my-sister-stole-my-mate-and-i-let-her-chapter-416",416,"\u003Cp>JACK’S POV\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucian didn’t flinch when I smiled at him like I meant to draw blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I hear you’ve become a lackey for my parents,” I said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Anyone else would have bristled, or snapped, or at least let the insult register in the tension of their shoulders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucian only watched me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Calm. Measured. Unmoved in a way that felt less like restraint and more like indifference.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That would be inaccurate,” he said, his tone as even as it had been before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I huffed a quiet laugh, circling him, pressure coiling tighter under my skin with each step.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What title would you prefer?” I asked. “Errand boy? Servant?” I chuckled. “How does it feel to be an Alpha at someone else’s mercy?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His gaze tracked me without turning his head, as if he had already calculated every movement I could make before I made it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I would argue that between you and me right now, I’m not the one at someone else’s mercy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something sharp twisted low in my chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The fuck is that supposed to mean?” I snarled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind him, the forest seemed to hold its breath again, the others keeping their distance but not their attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I could feel it—every flicker of awareness, every instinct telling them something was about to snap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucian cocked his head as if he were studying me. “You need something, don’t you? I understand that if you don’t get it quickly enough, things get...uncomfortable for you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pressure under my skin surged. My fingers twitched at my sides, nails biting into my palms as something feral reared up, demanding release.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You think you understand this?” I asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I understand enough.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you?” I took a step closer, close enough now that I could see the faint shift in his pupils, the way his body adjusted—not retreating, but preparing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do you understand what it takes to hold this together without losing control?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Trust me,” he said. “I know more about control than you can ever know.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then you should know better than to push me,” I said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m not pushing you,” Lucian replied. “I’m challenging you. No one ever did that, and that’s why you grew up to be such a brat.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That did it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The surge broke through.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The world sharpened at the edges, sound thinning, focus narrowing to a single point.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I moved—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucian’s hand came up and pressed flat against my sternum.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I froze in place. For a second, nothing happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Pain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not the kind that came from impact or injury.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was deeper, like something had slipped past bone and muscle and gone straight for whatever was coiled underneath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I dragged in a sharp breath as the pressure inside me exploded, slamming against the intrusion like a caged animal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Enough,” Lucian said quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Something moved through the contact point, subtle but undeniable, threading into the chaos under my skin with cold, surgical precision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I staggered back a step, more from the sensation than the force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You—” My teeth clenched as another wave hit, sharper this time, dragging a low sound out of my throat before I could stop it. “What did you do?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucian lowered his hand, watching me with that same steady, infuriating calm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The same thing she does,” he said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No. Not the same.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I could feel the difference immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catherine’s energy had always been controlled. Not gentle, but tempered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She guided it, smoothed the edges, dampened the worst of it so it didn’t tear me apart while it was being forced back into place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was raw. Unfiltered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like someone had taken the mechanism and stripped out every safeguard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My breath quickened as the sensation deepened, cold threads winding through the chaos, constricting, crushing it inward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It hurt like something was being compressed into a space too small to hold it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I laughed, the sound breaking unevenly. “You’re—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another wave hit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My vision flickered at the edges, the forest tilting for a fraction of a second before snapping back into place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re—” I dragged in a breath, forcing the words through clenched teeth. “You’re doing it wrong.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No,” Lucian said. “I’m doing it efficiently.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The distinction was glaring.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catherine eased.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucian forced.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Where she would have softened the edges of my awareness, dulled the pain just enough to make it bearable, Lucian did nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He let me feel all of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every shift.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every compression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every moment of the thing inside me being dragged back into alignment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You could numb it,” I gritted out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I could do that,” he said, and then shrugged. “Too bad I don’t want to.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The next wave came without warning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Brutal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It tore through me, ripping a sound out of my throat that I didn’t recognize as my own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My knees hit the ground before I realized I had moved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The forest spun again, slower this time, like it was being pulled out of focus piece by piece.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Somewhere in the distance, I heard movement—one of the others taking a step forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Stay back,” Lucian said, not raising his voice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The movement stopped immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I braced a hand against the ground, fingers digging into the dirt as I forced myself to stay upright.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You bastard,” I rasped. “You’re enjoying this.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What gave that away?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I laughed again, the sound rough and edged with something that wasn’t quite amusement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just wait till Catherne hears about this.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another surge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This one was different.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Less chaotic. More...contained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The thing under my skin, the constant pressure, the gnawing instability—it was still there, but it wasn’t spilling over anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was being held. Forced into shape whether it wanted to or not.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I sucked in a slow breath, the air burning on the way down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“See?” Lucian said quietly. “Effective.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I lifted my head, meeting his gaze through the haze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You should understand something,” he said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I pushed myself up slowly, my body still humming with the aftermath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucian stepped closer again, close enough to invade, far enough that it was just shy of threatening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Marcus and Catherine don’t have time to watch you right now,” he said. “They have something bigger in motion. Something that requires their full attention.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A chill slid through me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And I’m what?” I asked. “An afterthought?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re a liability,” he said. “The volatile rogue who needs a babysitter.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fuck you,” I spat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I let out a slow breath, rolling my shoulders once, testing the edges of the control he had forced into place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It held.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You think I’m going to ruin whatever they’re planning,” I said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is that not in line with your track record?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A beat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, quieter, “Either way, that’s not the question right now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I tilted my head slightly. “Then what is?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucian’s gaze sharpened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Whether you can stay in line long enough not to become a problem again. Feel free to act out of line; it’ll be my pleasure to set you straight.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t get comfortable,” I hissed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Trust me,” he said, his eyes darkening. “The last thing I am here is comfortable.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, almost as an afterthought, he added, “And don’t think about running to them with complaints.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“They won’t intervene,” he said. “Not for this. They don’t have time. And even if they did...this doesn’t register as a problem worthy of their attention.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I glared at him, heat swirling in my chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The worst part was that he was right; this was exactly the kind of thing Marcus and Catherine would do.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Prioritize. Adjust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cut away anything that didn’t fit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good,” I said finally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucian’s brow lifted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Less interference,” I continued. “I was getting tired of being smothered.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Behave yourself, and we won’t have a problem,” he said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I laughed again, softer this time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t know which of us is more pathetic, the rogue Alpha heir, or the Alpha babysitter.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lucian didn’t respond, but the slight twitch in his eye told me I hit a nerve.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I rolled my neck once, feeling the lingering ache from where the control had been forced into place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catherine and Marcus evidently thought I was a liability rather than an asset. I had to prove them wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fine,” I said, my voice settling into something steadier. “You oversee. I behave.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“For now,” Lucian said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“For now,” I echoed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because neither of us believed that would last.\u003C\u002Fp>",1384,"2026-06-03T02:27:49.405Z",1,"novelbin.me","acdda12f6d9357734d39fa717e7662e151227feb4dfc1e8f76aeb5ccc99f03e1","my-sister-stole-my-mate-and-i-let-her-chapter-417","my-sister-stole-my-mate-and-i-let-her-chapter-415",488,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fmy-sister-stole-my-mate-and-i-let-her-cover.jpg"]