My Sister Stole My Mate, And I Let Her Chapter 479 CONTINGENCIES INSIDE CONTINGENCIES

LUCIAN’S POV

By the time Lucian found Jack, the surrounding forest had begun to wither and die.

Leaves turned black on the branches Jack had passed under, and the grass curled inward, becoming brittle and gray.

The air was thick with the stench of blood, burnt magic, and something far more sinister—an evil that mirrored Catherine’s signature darkness, a taint belonging neither to wolf nor man.

Jack was crouched in a hollow between two ancient sycamore trees. His immense, corrupted wolf form was hunched over a half-crushed boulder, and black blood seeped steadily from his wounds.

His breaths were ragged, each exhale sounding like shattered glass being dragged across stone.

For a fleeting moment, Lucian simply observed him, motionless.

He remembered Jack Draven when arrogance still held a human guise. He had known him to be cruel, reckless, power-hungry, and desperate for an approval he would never openly seek.

However, the creature before him now bore only faint traces of that man.

Marcus had failed to save his son, and Catherine had certainly not improved him.

They had emptied him, replacing his essence with a darkness that thrived on pain and rage, leaving behind only a weapon infused with Jack’s decaying memories.

Jack’s head lifted slowly, his black-and-gold eyes locking onto Lucian’s.

“Lucian,” he rasped, the word barely audible from his distorted throat. The fact that he could speak in this form was a testament to Catherine’s meddling.

Lucian stepped into the hollow, keeping his own magic subdued and controlled.

“You’re falling apart.”

Jack’s mouth contorted, revealing teeth far too large for his jaw. “Then put me back together. That’s the deal, isn’t it?”

“You know I can’t.”

A wet, broken growl escaped him as he laughed. “Can’t, or won’t?”

Lucian remained silent.

The darkness within Jack stirred in reaction to Lucian's silence, simultaneously recoiling and reaching out.

Lucian could now perceive the unnatural power Catherine had woven into Jack more clearly than ever.

It was volatile, collapsing inward, yet still tethered to something external.

Should Catherine manage to recover him, she would require little more than a fragment, a single command, or a remnant of his corrupted core.

That would be sufficient to forge something even more terrifying.

Lucian had lingered too long under the pretense that remaining close to Catherine was the only method to mitigate the damage.

He had deceived himself for too long, believing compromise equated to control.

He had watched the lines blur beneath his feet until he could no longer discern his own position.

But this particular line was starkly evident.

Jack could not be allowed to return to them.

His first act of cleansing himself would involve staining his hands with black blood.

Without any warning, Jack lunged.

Lucian raised a hand, and witchlight surged from the ground, forming a circular binding beneath the corrupted wolf.

The first ring ensnared his forelegs, the second constricted his throat, and the third slammed down across his spine, driving him forcefully into the earth.

The hollow reverberated with his enraged roar.

Lucian maintained the spell's integrity as Jack thrashed violently, his claws gouging deep trenches in the soil, black blood spattering the glowing sigils.

“Coward,” Jack snarled.

“Perhaps.”

“Catherine will have your head for this!”

“Maybe.”

Lucian advanced, gathering magic in his palm until it coalesced into a slender blade of blue-white light.

“But she won’t have you.”

Jack’s gaze fell upon the blade, and for the first time, genuine fear pierced through the haze of madness in his eyes.

Lucian lifted the blade.

Then, his power abruptly ceased.

It felt as though an invisible force had grasped his spell, holding it perfectly immobile.

A chill coursed through Lucian’s veins.

He slowly looked upward.

A woman stood at the edge of the hollow, the sunlight filtering through the leaves to illuminate her auburn hair and pale face.

Her jade eyes met his with a stillness that made his breath catch.

Evelyn.

She stood directly between him and the only clear path forward.

“No,” she uttered softly.

And the blade in Lucian’s hand dissolved into countless specks of light.

He stared, dumbfounded, at his empty hand. The final fragments of his destroyed blade drifted lazily through the air like pale blue embers before vanishing entirely.

Still ensnared, Jack strained against the bindings with frantic, desperate strength, his massive form jerking against the luminous seals that bound him.

Black blood stained the ground beneath him, and each struggle sent fresh cracks spiderwebbing across the surrounding earth.

For several long moments, neither Evelyn nor Lucian broke eye contact.

Just as when he had first seen her in Catherine’s laboratory, an unfamiliar sensation settled in his chest—an awareness he couldn't quite comprehend.

“Evelyn,” he said slowly. “What are you doing here?”

She maintained her gaze upon him.

“That strike would have killed you.”

Lucian’s brow furrowed.

“How did you—”

“The spell you were wielding wasn’t a standard execution binding,” she explained, her eyes briefly flicking towards Jack before returning to Lucian. “You compressed your core into the blade.”

Lucian glanced back towards Jack.

The corruption twisting beneath Jack’s fur had grown increasingly volatile during their exchange. Dark veins throbbed violently beneath his matted pelt, spreading and retracting in erratic pulses.

“That was the sole spell potent enough to bring this to an end,” I stated, my voice hushed.

Evelyn’s lips parted, her face a mask of shock. Swiftly, this transformed into irritation, and then full-blown anger.

“You were aware?”

I released a breath through my nose.

The scent of corruption and scorched magic still lingered in the air.

Aware? Of course, I was aware.

Yet, I remained silent because no explanation could possibly make me sound less unhinged.

Yes, I knew the spell would obliterate both Jack and myself.

Yes, I had resigned myself to that fate.

“It would have been a worthy price.”

Evelyn gazed at me, her stare unblinking.

For a few long moments, she simply stared.

Then—

“You absolute fool.”

Her words lacked the vehemence she likely intended.

For beneath the vexation lay something tender.

Something delicate that I doubted she meant to reveal.

I scrutinized her closely. Her eyes locked onto mine with an intensity that caused an uncomfortable clench in my chest.

“Why do you concern yourself with this?”

“I—”

Her expression snapped shut instantly, her face reverting to an impassive facade.

“Who claims I care about you?”

I lifted an eyebrow. “Then what is our purpose here?”

She turned her attention toward Jack, a flicker of softness entering her eyes.

“He is a murderous lunatic devoid of almost any redeeming traits”—she drew in a deep breath, shaking her head—“but in essence, he is my brother.”

I blinked, taken aback by her justification.

I was unsure which notion was more unsettling: that she viewed Catherine as a mother, or that she saw Jack as a brother.

Regardless, I maintained a high level of vigilance. Anyone aligned so closely with Catherine could not be trusted.

Evelyn’s gaze sharpened as she observed the creeping corruption beneath Jack’s skin. When she spoke again, her tone had become gravely serious.

“The power residing within him will not be easily vanquished.”

“What?”

Evelyn proceeded slowly towards the perimeter of the containment circle.

Jack let out a snarl as she drew near, yet an odd phenomenon occurred amidst the corruption twisting through him.

It recoiled. As if pure instinct recognized imminent peril.

Evelyn knelt near the spell’s outer edge, studying him with intense focus.

She remained silent for a spell. Then, she let out a sigh.

“Catherine would not engage in such a reckless gamble.”

A chill began to unfurl beneath my ribs.

“What do you imply?”

Evelyn stood and turned her gaze back to me.

“I imply that Catherine does not unleash incomplete endeavors upon the world, hoping for favorable outcomes.”

A heavy silence descended between us.

Behind me, a gentle breeze rustled through the foliage.

Jack’s labored breaths echoed hollowly through the clearing.

“Consider it,” Evelyn continued softly. “Marcus immolates himself. Jack absorbs the corruption. Jack conspicuously loses control and flees.”

Her eyes met mine with unwavering intensity.

“And Catherine permits this sequence of events.”

In an instant, the truth dawned upon me.

Catherine was a master strategist, meticulously constructing layers of contingency upon contingency.

There was no possibility she would allow a threat as volatile as Jack to roam freely without some form of safeguard. Without another concealed maneuver beneath the one visible to all.

Slowly, my gaze returned to him.

To the darkness writhed beneath his damaged skin, yet my focus shifted. I was no longer seeing Jack.

I was searching for Catherine. For her underlying plan.

A failsafe. A connection.

Something poised for activation.

“Why impart this knowledge to me?” I queried, turning back to Evelyn. “You ought to be aligned with Catherine.”

Evelyn became motionless.

For a moment, her gaze drifted to the trees, then to the ground.

Anywhere but my face.

When she finally responded, her voice had softened considerably.

“You are not the sole individual to have erred. To have placed trust in the wrong entity and now yearn for redemption.”

I furrowed my brow. Might this be a stratagem? A ploy orchestrated by Catherine?

However, a certain quality in Evelyn’s voice, in her averted gaze, made it difficult to maintain my defenses.

“If your aim is atonement…” she faltered, “…you need not self-destruct in the process.”

The tension in my chest intensified as Evelyn drew nearer.

Not close enough to make contact, but just enough for me to perceive the earnest conviction in her eyes.

“Should you choose to cooperate with me,” she stated deliberately, “I will extend my aid.”

My frown deepened.

Aid?

“Evelyn—”

“I will assist you in rescuing Margaret.”

I went rigid.

Then, she added in a hushed tone, “And Zara.”