The Walls Close In

The moment they burst into her office, Vivi flung her bag onto the desk like it had personally offended her. Papers scattered, her coffee cup teetered dangerously, and the whole room seemed to hold its breath. Her heart was still pounding from the car ride—from him.

Callum followed close behind, his presence an infuriating force of nature, all quiet intensity and restrained power. He shut the door with a soft click, a sound that sealed their fate, a harbinger of the storm brewing between them.

"We need to talk," he said, voice like gravel and honey.

Vivi whirled on him, her finger a dagger in the charged air between them. "No, what we need is to forget whatever just happened and move on. I have a career to think about, and you have… whatever it is you do when you're not dragging me into supernatural chaos."

His jaw clenched, his steel-gray eyes flashing. "You're being unreasonable."

Vivi let out a sharp, humorless laugh. "Oh, I'm being unreasonable? No, Callum, I'm being practical."

His gaze locked onto hers, and for a moment, the air between them shimmered with unspoken things, things too dangerous to name.

"You felt it," he murmured, voice dropping into that low, rough register that made her stomach twist in ways she refused to acknowledge.

Vivi swallowed hard, masking the sudden heat creeping up her spine. "Feelings don't matter," she snapped. "What matters is that this—" she gestured wildly between them, "—is a complication neither of us needs."

Before Callum could counter, her phone buzzed violently on the desk. Grateful for the distraction, she snatched it up, barely glancing at the screen before answering.

"What's wrong?"

Delilah's voice came through in a hushed, urgent whisper. "You and your wolf boy might want to buckle up. The Council Vault was just attacked."

A chill ran down Vivi's spine. "What?"

"They're saying it was the Black Circle. The Veil is gone."

Vivi tightened her grip on the phone. "And the enforcer?"

Delilah hesitated, then sighed. "Dead."

Vivi's stomach dropped. "They're accelerating their plan."

"Exactly. If you've got a move to make, Kane, now's the time."

The line went dead.

Vivi lowered the phone, her mind racing.

"What is it?" Callum asked, stepping closer, his voice quieter now.

She met his gaze. "The Veil's been stolen. And Garrick is dead."

A muscle ticked in Callum's jaw. "Then we don't have time to waste."

They found their next lead in a dimly lit, back-alley bar that reeked of stale beer and bad decisions. The neon sign flickered overhead, a sickly green glow casting eerie shadows across the cracked pavement.

Inside, the atmosphere was thick with unspoken deals and whispered threats. The patrons—a mix of vampires, witches, and creatures even Vivi couldn't name—paused their conversations just long enough to give her and Callum a once-over. A test. A warning.

Vivi rolled her shoulders. "Charming place."

"Stay close," Callum muttered, his hand ghosting near the small of her back. She ignored the way her skin tingled at his proximity.

They approached the bar, where a hulking troll polished a glass with a rag that had clearly given up on life. He barely spared them a glance.

"We're looking for someone," Callum said, his tone all business.

The troll snorted. "Aren't we all?"

Callum leaned forward, letting just the hint of his claws show. "The Black Circle. Where are they?"

The troll's smirk evaporated. He glanced around, as if checking for unseen eyes, then muttered, "Old subway station near Fourth. Midnight. But if you've got any sense, you'll stay far, far away."

Vivi smirked. "Good thing we don't have any sense."

In the car, the silence between them crackled like a live wire. The hum of the engine was the only sound as Callum gripped the steering wheel tight enough to make the leather groan.

Vivi exhaled sharply, staring out the window. "You're quiet."

"So are you."

"I'm thinking."

Callum huffed out a laugh, but there was no humor in it. "About what?"

"About how you're wrong."

He shot her a look, his silver eyes burning. "About what?"

"About this… whatever it is." She waved a vague hand between them. "It's not real. Just biology. A reaction. That's all."

The car screeched to a sudden stop. Vivi lurched forward, barely catching herself before whipping around to glare at him. "What the hell?"

Callum turned to her, his gaze a molten storm. "Stop lying to yourself, Kane. You felt it."

Vivi forced out a laugh, but it was thin, brittle. "You think you own me now? That some cosmic force just decided we're bound together forever? Please. You sound like a bad romance novel."

His lips curled into something dangerously close to a smirk. "You love bad romance novels."

"Not the point!" she snapped.

He leaned in, his voice dropping to a growl that sent a shiver down her spine. "Deny it all you want, but you are mine. And whether you like it or not, I'm yours, too."

Her breath hitched. For a second—just a second—she let herself imagine what it would be like to give in. To let that fire consume her.

Then she wrenched herself back to reality.

"Drive," she ordered, voice unsteady. "We have work to do."

Callum exhaled through his nose, but he obeyed. The car roared back to life, tearing through the city streets. But the tension between them? That was here to stay.