Astraea

"She doesn't seem injured," Briony said in a hushed voice.

"Shh..." Brina glared at her and motioned her to keep quiet.

"There," Brina said then she stretched her hand to reach out but they were startled when a hand grabbed her wrist.

Brina and Briony looked at the girl on the bed and found that her eyes were open and glaring at them.

"What the hell are you two doing?"

Briony grinned at her. "Well, we heard that you came late last night. We were just checking out if you hurt yourself. We are here to help you before Mom and Dad find out. And can you please keep yourself from cursing early in the morning, thank you"

Bell rested both her elbows on the bed and pulled her body up. "I'm good." She said nonchalantly.

Every time she would come back after a hunt, the twins would meet her first to see if she is injured before her parents could check out on her.

It was rare for her to be badly injured while on the hunt. Usually, just some bruises and cuts or dislocations. And Brina has been a great help at that.

Her parents never suspect that they are up to something dangerous every time they go on a vacation.

The twins do the same with Brylee.

"No, you are not," Brina said in a soft voice. Then she pointed at Bell's knuckles.

Bell raised her knuckles and saw red bruises on them that are starting to turn violet. She didn't notice it until now. She must've got it when Chaol tried to run away from her and she had to wrap the chain tightly on her hand while dragging him.

"Give me your hand," Brina said and Bell obliged politely.

Brina put Bell's hand in between her palm and concentrated.

Bell started to feel the warmth of Brina's palm traveling deep in her hand.

"Where are Brylee and Bianca?" Bell turns to Briony and asks.

"Brylee already went to the restaurant," Briony said while watching Brina and Bell's hands clasped together.

Hearing that, Bell looks at the clock on her bedside table. "She's early." The restaurant opens at 11 in the morning. The staffs including Brylee arrive at 10 am. But it is only around 8 in the morning.

"Yeah, she said there is a new dish that she has been trying to perfect and hoping to incorporate in the menu. Didn't she tell you about it?" Briony looked at Bell. While Brylee works as the Executive Chef of their restaurant, Bell manages all their restaurants.

Bell stared at her hand for a while then said, "I thought it was already perfect." She said without any emotion.

"It is not perfect until she says so." Brina who had released Bell's hand said and looked at Bell. "You know how perfectionist Brylee is."

Bell nodded her head. She raised her soft and smooth hand to look at it. The bruises were gone like it was never there before. "Thank you." She thanks Brina like what she did was nothing but unusual. That is not the first time that Brina did it to help her.

"And Bianca?"

Bell as the eldest felt compelled to look after her younger sisters, which she doesn't mind because she loves them unconditionally even though she doesn't show it.

And since she has been gone for three days, she wanted to know how they are doing.

Briony and Bell looked at each other. "Uhm...about that."

Bell cocked her head and raised a brow at Briony who kept her hanging.

"We think that she is acting weird." It was Brina who continued.

Bell sighed in relief. She was internally worried that something happened to their youngest sister while she was gone.

"She is always acting weird," Bell said nonchalantly.

"But...it's different this time." Briony widened her eyes at Bell.

Brina nodded her head. "She's right. I think you should talk to her."

Bell stared at the twins who are acting weird about something that she thought they were already accustomed to.

"Okay, I'll take care of it," Bell said then her eyes traveled to Briony's shoulder. "So, how's your hunt?"

"We caught him!" Briony said proudly.

"And?" Bell knew that it was not just that.

And the twins know that they cannot hide anything from their eldest sister.

"She was stabbed in her shoulder badly." Brina sounded like it was nothing.

"But I managed to heal myself even before we delivered the man to the bondsmen," Briony said in a lively tone to keep her sister from worrying.

Bell eyed the twins. "You should avoid getting yourself injured. I heard that the man was gloating that he badly injured you and yet you are here, completely healed. You are lucky no one believes him and suspects you. But you cannot tell when you will run out of luck."

"And you Brina, we cannot risk you getting injured especially that you cannot heal yourself." Bell continued.

Brina nodded her head. "I know."

"You've been telling that to us all the time." Briony pouted her lips.

"Just reminding you." Bell glared at Briony making her close her mouth.

Bell's glare could shut all her sisters up.

"By the way, Uncle Lorcan wanted to see us." Briony changed the topic but didn't tell Bell about his visit to check out on her shoulder because Bell would definitely say 'I told you so'.

"Okay," Bell replied, obviously wanting to get this conversation over because she badly needed more sleep. She still has time to sleep before she heads over to her office and goes back to her normal work.

"How about this lunch?" Briony asked.

Bell frowned. "Don't you have classes?"

"We do until eleven. We just needed to be somewhere during lunchtime." Brina said and gave Briony a scornful look.

Bell looks at Brina then at Briony. "Avoiding someone?" She knows because Briony is doing it a lot of the time.

The twins are both beautiful and popular in school but Briony gets the attention and invites the most because she is a social person. Bell knows about that even if the twins don't tell her. And she also knows that Briony would always decline every invitation coming from a guy.

Briony just gave her a goofy smile.

"Lunchtime it is!" Briony exclaimed and clapped her hands.

Bell rolled her eyes. "Inform Brylee and Bianca. Now go!"

Bell shooed the twin and rolled back to bed on her stomach.

The twins who were sitting on the edge of the bed stood up and left Bell to sleep.

Lunchtime.

Bell's car stopped in front of a modern bachelor's pad. It has a flat roof, gray bricks, and stained wood wall accents on the outside.

Bell went out of the restaurant with Brylee and picked up the twins and Bianca in their school before they head over their Uncle Lorcan's pad.

Lorcan's black SUV and car are parked in the garage indicating that he is inside.

"I wonder what he wanted to tell us," Brylee said when she opened the door of the passenger seat and step out of the car. She is wearing a lightweight vintage-style dress. Among the five sisters, she is the most feminine.

"It has been a long time since he called us all. Normally he would just call one of us to check." Briony said afterward following Brylee who is 3 years older than her and Brina.

Brina and the mysterious Bianca just silently followed them.

Bell is already out of the car and had already walked toward Lorcan's pad.

The pad is two-story. The two-car garage on the ground floor, his gym, and work area. While he lives on the second floor.

Bell goes for the door behind the garage that leads to a stair going to the second floor while her sisters follow her.

But before Bell could punch in the passcode, the door suddenly burst open.

A pretty girl is standing there frozen while looking at the five sisters. Her cheeks, nose, and eyes were red indicating that she has been crying. In fact, her face is still wet from tears. Her hair is messy looking like she just got up from the bed.

There was sadness in her eyes before it was replaced with anger.

The Villan sisters look at each other confused. Was that anger intended for them?

After a while, the girl walked past them and ran away from Lorcan's pad.

The five sisters were left looking at the retreating back of the girl.

"Wow! I thought Uncle Lorcan is not interested in the opposite sex." Briony was the first one to snap back.

"She is so pretty," Brina commented in a dreamy voice.

"But why is she crying?" Brylee asked no one in particular.

"Let's go." It was Bell's cold voice that brought them back to the reason why they are in their Uncle's pad.

When they reached the second floor of Lorcan's pad, they found him in the front of the huge glass window of his living room staring at something or rather someone that has long been gone.

"Hey, Uncle Lorcan. Who is that pretty girl that was running out of your pad crying? Aw!" Briony greeted Lorcan but Brina struck her sides with her elbow.