The Blade and the Blood

Felicity Graves was a woman with extra extravagant tastes. Her gallery reflected it. Massive chandeliers loomed overhead. The floor was polished obsidian, inlaid with silver runes that hummed faintly underfoot. Display cases lined the room, each holding relics with enough dark history to make a necromancer shirver.

The crime scene sat at the center of it all, roped off by magical barriers that shimmered under the gallery lights. The scent of old blood still clung to the air, though the body had been removed.

Vivi stepped under the tape, ignoring the familiar static tingle of supernatural wards reacting to her presence. It felt like walking through fire. The push to remind her that whoever had set up the magic didn't want her there.

"Subtle," she muttered, shaking off the residual hum. "Because nothing says 'we're handling this professionally' like a murder scene wrapped up like a goddamn Christmas present."

Callum, following close behind, cast a sharp look around the room. "You talk too much."

"And you scowl too much," she shot back, walking ahead of him. "But here we are."

His answering huff was pure exasperation. "I'd take this more seriously if you weren't treating a murder like a minor inconvenience."

"Oh, trust me, Big Bad, I'm taking it very seriously. It's just that when I start screaming about the fact that someone left an extremely cursed dagger in a puddle of dead body, you're going to start whining about how I should've seen it coming."

Callum arched a brow. "Whining?"

Vivi grinned, sharp and sweet. "Well. Brooding loudly."

He shook his head, but she caught the barest flicker of amusement before he turned away.

At the center of the room, the murder weapon rested exactly where Felicity's body had fallen. It gleamed under the light, a ceremonial blade marked with ancient runes. The blood that stained its edge had darkened to near black, thick with lingering magic.

Vivi crouched, pulling on a pair of gloves before she touched it.

Callum loomed behind her. "Is that a good idea?"

"Nope," she said, plucking it from the ground anyway.

The moment her fingers wrapped around the hilt, a pulse of raw energy crackled through the air. The runes on the blade flared to life, glowing red-hot for the span of a heartbeat before dimming again.

Vivi let out a slow breath. "Well, that was dramatic."

Callum crouched beside her, his expression dark. "Let me see."

She handed him the blade, and his grip was careful, almost reverent. His thumb ran over the etched markings, eyes narrowing.

"This isn't just any weapon," he muttered. "It's one of the Fenrir Blades. There are only six made, and they're all blood-bound to my pack."

"Which means what, exactly?" Vivi prompted.

Callum's jaw tightened. "It means the only way someone outside my pack could use this to kill Felicity is if they had our blood on their hands first."

"Oh," Vivi deadpanned. "So now it's not just murder."

Callum stood, his grip on the blade turning to iron. "Whoever did this didn't just want to frame me. They wanted to make sure the Council got involved. This is a message."

Vivi dusted off her gloves and rose to her feet. "Well, the good news is, we have a lead. The bad news is, the lead is 'whoever decided to literally bleed out one of your people before shanking Felicity.'"

"Helpful," Callum muttered.

"I know," she said, cheerfully ignoring the sarcasm. "We need to track the enchantment on this thing. If we follow the blood-binding trace, we might find the person who used it."

Callum's lips twitched in something that wasn't quite a smile. "And here I thought you didn't believe in magic."

"I believe in results," Vivi countered. "And right now, magic is the fastest way to get them."

Outside, the sun had started its descent, turning the city skyline into a blend of deep gold and burnt orange. Most of the supernatural crowd had cleared out for the evening, leaving the streets quieter than usual.

Vivi stopped beside her car—a battered but dependable sedan that looked like it had barely survived a war. Beside it, Callum's sleek black motorcycle gleamed under the fading light like something out of a high-budget action movie.

She eyed his ride, then looked back at her car. "Compensating for something?"

Callum didn't dignify that with a response. "Where are we going?"

"We need a witch," Vivi said, unlocking her door. "The trace on that blade isn't something I can follow on my own. We'll need someone with a decent spell repertoire to track it properly."

Callum frowned. "I have a witch in my pack—"

"Absolutely not," Vivi interrupted, sliding into the driver's seat. "Your witch is part of the pack they're trying to frame. You think the Council's going to take anything she says seriously?"

Callum exhaled sharply. "Fine. Who do you have in mind?"

Vivi smirked. "Someone who doesn't particularly like me, but owes me a favor."

Callum didn't look thrilled. "This is going to be a disaster, isn't it?"

"Wouldn't be my life if it wasn't."

The coven's lair was tucked between two unmarked buildings downtown, disguised as a cozy little shop overflowing with herbs, incense, and enough ambient magic to make Vivi's teeth itch.

A bell jingled overhead as she pushed the door open.

From the back of the shop, a voice drawled, "Well, well. If it isn't Vivienne Kane."

A tall woman with emerald-green hair and piercing amber eyes emerged from behind the counter, robes shimmering like oil on water. She leaned against a shelf, arms crossed, her smirk as sharp as the daggers she kept hidden beneath her sleeves.

"Delilah," Vivi greeted, giving her best courtroom smile. "Still scamming tourists with overpriced hex bags?"

Delilah arched a brow. "Still throwing yourself into cases that are way above your pay grade?"

Vivi sighed dramatically. "I missed this. Really."

Delilah's gaze flicked to Callum, and her smirk widened. "And who's this? Don't tell me you've finally hired a bodyguard."

Callum's eyes darkened. "I'm her client."

"Oh, an Alpha." Delilah tilted her head, assessing. "That explains the brooding."

Vivi rolled her eyes. "We need a trace spell." She placed the Fenrir Blade on the counter. "Can you track where this blood-binding magic leads?"

Delilah examined the blade, lips pursing. "This is nasty work. You sure you want to follow it?"

Vivi offered her best deadpan stare. "No, Delilah, I thought we'd just stare at it and hope the killer confesses out of sheer guilt."

Callum muttered, "Do you talk like this to everyone?"

"Yes," Vivi and Delilah said at the same time.

Delilah snorted. "All right, Kane. Let's see where this leads."

As she began the spell, Vivi leaned in slightly toward Callum and whispered, "If I die in here, delete my browser history."

Callum didn't miss a beat. "If you die in here, I'm billing your estate."

Vivi grinned. "You really know how to make a girl feel special."

Callum huffed. "Let's just find this damn killer."