"Why am I sleeping here?" Melissa asked, her eyes blank as they remained fixed on the ceiling while she stayed tucked beneath a thin duvet.

The bed was comfortable, and the room held just the right temperature for a good night’s sleep. But what truly bothered the girl was her company.

"Ehehe~ of course, we are going to sleep together," Amanda said, hugging the little doll in her arms as she rubbed her cheek against hers affectionately.

Melissa groaned, "We are grown up now. Let’s respect boundaries."

Amanda scoffed, "Not between us. It has been a long time since we last met. Aren’t you happy to see me, Milli?"

Melissa let out a slow sigh, "It’s not like we aren’t in contact. We call each other every other day."

Amanda often called Melissa at night, especially when she knew her cousin wouldn’t be working. Melissa was like a diary to her, someone she could tell everything about her life without holding anything back.

Most of the time, Melissa simply listened to her complaints and stories, but when things turned serious, she would step in and offer her advice.

Just like recently, when Amanda had called her while crying about her breakup. And when Melissa found out the reason behind it, she wasn’t surprised at all.

But now, she was.

"How did he agree to patch things up?" she asked, looking at her from the side, her gaze sharp with curiosity.

Amanda hummed softly. "Kyle? Well, you can say he has a soft heart. So when I kept showing up outside his house again and again, he eventually decided to give me another chance."

Amanda trusted her sister blindly, that much was true. But even then, she chose not to tell her about Kyle’s secret.

People often formed their own perceptions about things, and those perceptions could easily lead them to judge situations differently from what Amanda wanted. Because of that, she kept certain truths to herself, locking them away where no one else could reach.

"But what changed so suddenly?" Melissa turned her head to look directly at Amanda, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Your desperate self didn’t end up revealing things about the aether world, did it?"

Melissa knew just how deeply Amanda treasured her relationship with Kyle. Maybe it was because it was her first time dating, but she had become far too devoted to him, to the point where letting go didn’t even seem like an option.

At some point, Melissa had feared that Amanda might end up confessing her secret to him when things started turning rough between them. And this sudden reunion only pointed more strongly toward that very fear, making her suspicion harder to ignore.

However, "No, Milli. I swear I didn’t reveal anything to him." Exhaling a soft sigh, Amanda told a lie with a perfectly straight face. "The reason for the distance between us was the workload I was burdened with over the past six months."

"Hmm? Has your workload been reduced because of that anomaly?" Melissa asked, tilting her head slightly.

Amanda froze for just a brief moment before speaking, "You’ve heard about him as well?"

"I mean, anyone actively involved in the aether world knows about him." An anomalous, unregistered Nightwalker who had been causing quite a bit of chaos for the officers lately.

"What’s your opinion on him?" Amanda asked, trying not to sound overly curious, though she genuinely wanted to hear Melissa’s thoughts.

If anyone’s opinion mattered to her, it was Melissa’s view of Kyle.

"Hmm, I don’t really have much of an impression of him," Melissa replied after a moment. "Actually, I only heard about him from my father recently."

"Uncle?" Amanda asked, her curiosity rising. "What did he say?"

As open with her sister as always, Melissa answered honestly, "He wanted me to create a tracker that could be attached to someone from a distance, remain in their bloodstream for a long time... and detonate whenever needed."

"!!!" Amanda’s eyes widened the moment she heard that last remark.

Anger swelled within her chest, rising fast and sharp. Her fists clenched tightly at her sides as she asked, "Did Uncle take that request to make a weapon because of someone’s demand?"

Melissa nodded. "Yes, it was that woman... she has been coming over to our place quite often these days. You know, the red-haired woman who has been all over the news recently."

"Ava Klaus," Amanda breathed out, and Melissa gave a confirming nod.

Amanda’s frustration deepened, tightening inside her chest. That sick woman was supposed to track down the rogue Nightwalker, and instead, she was preparing to kill him.

Kill her Kyle?

"But I failed to fulfill her demand," Melissa spoke up suddenly. "I didn’t have the motivation to make anything before coming here, so I rejected her request."

Amanda let out a brief breath of relief, her shoulders easing just a little.

Fortunately, Ava didn’t get what she wanted. But still she would warn Kyle later.

Amanda’s hold on her sister tightened slightly as she said, "Good girl. You shouldn’t be getting involved with her too often."

Melissa glanced at her for a moment before asking, "By the way, how do you manage not to break under such a big man? I mean...I can tell he must be really rough in bed."

Amanda paused, and then her face flushed a deep shade of red.

"Milli! That’s not a question you should be asking." Flustered, Amanda quickly turned away from her, facing the wall as if trying to hide her embarrassment.

Melissa smirked to herself. The plan had worked perfectly, and now she could sleep peacefully.

....

"You are quite late."

Veronica paused as she heard the voice the moment she stepped out of the car.

She didn’t need to turn to know who it was.

"Ava Klaus." The redhead stood outside the base with her arms crossed. "...Why are you here and not working?"

The woman smirked. "Oh, I am working, actually." She stepped closer before adding, "I found a very interesting lead when I visited the incident site."

"Is that so?" Veronica replied, her tone flat and bored.

"Yes. And do you know what’s even more interesting than that?" Ava leaned in closer and whispered into her ear, "That lead is somehow related to you."

Veronica didn’t give her the reaction she wanted. She simply stepped back and walked past her. "Good luck with your lead, then. I hope you succeed in your mission."

Though she said that, Veronica naturally was quite worried about the whole situation.

Thankfully, now Blake was involved in this so if something goes bad he would at least come out and support Kyle openly.

Ava chuckled softly as she watched her walk away, increasing the distance between them.

She then took out her phone, where a live feed showed herself standing in the distance.

Turning slightly, she moved toward the car Veronica had driven and reached near the backlight, plucking out a small hidden camera.

Lifting the camera between her fingers, she muttered under her breath, "I know where you are, my dear lamb."

°°°°°°°°°

A/N:- Fucked.

Well, thank you for reading. If you have been enjoying the story so far, drop a comment.