The Detective Omega

POV: Seraphina Vale

"Why is his skin healing?" I asked, crouched beside the body.

The air was misty and cold, but the alley smelled like the smell of the dead person staring at us.

Marcus knelt beside me, brushing blonde curls from his face. "That's... not possible, right?" he said, blinking at the corpse's arm.

There were deep claw marks that was still open, but I could see the tissue moving, slowly knitting together.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!" I screamed jerking backwards. Marcus did the same as well. Both of us hugging each other scared. Seeing no reaction from the body, I stood up and kicked the leg of the body a few times; Marcus hiding behind me. "Is he DEAD or ALIVE?"

I crouched beside the body again, checking it. "He's dead. The body doesn't heal after death," I mumbled, grabbing my gloves tighter. "Unless it's not just a body."

Marcus tilted his head. "You think this is one of those rare infection cases? Or maybe synthetic enhancers?" His voice always had that hopeful, bouncy rhythm in it. Almost like he was trying to make something terrifying feel normal and less scary.

"Maybe," I said, standing slowly, scanning the alley. There were trash cans, crushed cans, wet walls and then an obvious but faint imprint on a brick like a handprint. It didn't look like that of a human, because it was too long and too clawed. I took a picture with my camera and then brought out my phone to record the scene.

"Boooo!" Marcus jumped into the front of my phone recording; scaring me.

"Oh my God!" I gasped, then started hitting Marcus. "Are you out of your damn mind? This isn't a time to do that kind of joke...prank..whatever you call it."

"Okay! Okay! Stop hitting me...it hurts." Marcus pleaded.

I stopped then glared at him. "Still no ID?" I asked.

" Nope! Just a name on the phone in his pocket," Marcus said, holding it up in a plastic bag. "Ben Sorrel. But the call log's wiped. Weird, right?"

Weird didn't begin to cover it. This was not normal at all.

"Get the lab to run the bloood scan again. Something's off. And not just the way the blood's drying," I said.

He nodded and stepped a little closer. "You okay? You look pale."

"Just tired." I lied.

He smiled. "You always say that."

"Because I'm always tired."

He didn't laugh like I thought he would. Just smiled again, softer. "Well... if you ever want company for coffee that actually tastes like coffee... you know."

I blinked at him. "Are you asking me out on a murder scene?"

He started panicking. "No! I mean...yes? Not now! Obviously. Just... never mind." He laughed at himself and rubbed the back of his neck.

For a second, he looked so gentle and cute. He looked attractive, and I wanted to hug him so bad. I snapped myself out of my thoughts quickly. Then I tried to change the subject. I first cleared my throat then spoke.

"Check the perimeter cams," I said, kneeling back beside the body.

"Already sent the request. I know your next five moves, Vale."

"You've been watching me that long?"

He grinned and turned to walk back toward the van. "Maybe."

Fifteen minutes later, the rest of the forensics team was sweeping the scene. I kept going back to the body because it actually had a scent. I couldn't describe it exactly. But everyone said they could only smell cold bold. Maybe my nose was playing

tricks on me.

Until now, we had no clues, but I wasn't ready to give up yet. I pulled out my light scanner. Luckily, I saw something. Near the edge of the alley wall, beneath a crumpled cardboard box, something gleamed faintly. I moved closer and saw a gold cufflink. It looked shiny, clean, expensive and definitely out of place.

I bagged it carefully and examined the insignia: a black wolf's head surrounded by a circle of gold. I had seen it before...somewhere...but where? Nothing clicked in my head. So I pulled out my phone, took a picture of it and used the internet lens.

The results made me gasps. It belonged to a big corporation and only one man in that corporation wore it. He was even famous for it. His executives had grey wolfs while he had black. He is a man who never should've shown up at a crime scene.

" OMG! Lucien Kael." I gasped.

He is a Tech tycoon, into global real estate, made it to Top 10 Porbes list, had politicians under his control. He was basically untouchable and adored by everyone. Especially because of his extreme handsome and attractive looks.

Like come on, he has been No.1 Most Handsome man in the world for 10 years straight. Yet somehow he was always near the ugliest events, murders and scandals but nothing changes...he is never charged and never questioned.

And now? His mark is found near a dead body that shouldn't heal. I stood frozen in thoughts, with goosebumps coming on my skin.

"What is it?" Marcus asked, returning with two coffee cups.

I held up the evidence bag. "This case just got very, very interesting and political."

He squinted. "That's Kael's symbol, right? The guy who owns like half the city?"

"Yep."

"He's not gonna like you poking around his circle."

I sipped the coffee, smiling mischievously. "Good, all more reason to do so." I said. "Let's poke harder."

By noon, the coroner's report was ready. We quickly drove there.

Official cause of death:

1. Exsanguination due to deep lacerations.

2. Blood loss, but the tissue samples showed something else; an unusual cellular regeneration.

I paced the lab, trying to figure it out. They only told me that it seems like an animal attack.

I wondered. Did Lucien Kael buy a wild animal to use for murder?

I stopped midway my pacing because my head felt fuzzy and my skin and body was getting warmer and warmer. I summed it up to the lack of sleep, but I caught Marcus watching me with concern again with two plastic cups of coffee still in his hands.

"You sure you're okay?" he asked, stepping into my space again.

"I said I'm fine," I snapped, too fast.

He didn't flinch, rather he just looked sad. "You don't have to figure it out all alone, Sera. We're a team remember."

I sighed. "You're too soft for this world, Marcus."

"Or maybe I just haven't let it make me hard. I'm more of an optimistic person unlike you."

"Just let me be." I replied. He placed the coffee down and left me in silence.

Back at the station, I ran the symbol against private databases just to be extra sure. Kael's connections came up again... his VIP clubs, hotels elite parties, places you didn't enter unless you were somebody or selling something. However, one location came up again and again.

Club Umbra - Exclusive - High security and known for its silence. It was a place where secrets got buried and bodies vanished. But it wasn't on any police list.

So why did I find his cufflink near a healing corpse?

Why did the scent at the scene remind me of something warm...nice but dangerous... and deeply wrong?

I wrote my questions down on my sketch book. At the center of it all was Club Umbra. I needed to find a way to get in and find proof to put that beast of a human being Lucien Kael behind bars...and make him pay for all his sins.

I smiled like a psychopath about to carry out her next crazy plan.

"Lucien Kael, watch your back!"

POV: Seraphina Vale

"You want me to do what now?" I asked, blinking at Marcus like he had grown another head. Marcus developed the plan to infiltrate the club and he got a link to assist.

"Go undercover," he said. "At Club Umbra but not as a cop or normal person. They'll never let you in like that."

I crossed my arms. "So what do you suggest? Bartender? Dancer?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, sheepish. "Escort. One of the... girls. I mean...only if you're okay with it. You're the only one who could pull it off. You're smart, confident and..."

"Hot," I said proudly flipping my hair backwards.

He choked. "That's not....I mean...yes, of course, you are gorgeous...but that's not what I meant. I just think you'll blend in easily and get close to Lucien Kael.

I sighed, rubbing my temples. "Okay. When are we carrying out this plan?"

"Today!" He said glaring at me innocently.

"Okay, Today...what time?..." I paused processing what I had just repeated. "TODAY?" I gasped.

"Yup, tonight by 9:30pm." He said, slowly moving away from me.

"Are you out of your mind? What kind of plan is so short notice?" I came closer to him with my fists folded.

"Wait! Hear me out...That's the only time the link said he can help. Plus the link said this was his only favour to pay me back. It's our only chance." He said, protecting his face.

I stopped midway. "Oh really? Then I guess we would have to manage."

Marcus sighed in relief but I smacked him anyways. Just once....hehe!

"Ouch!" He screamed.

"Give me the tracker and mic and make sure you tell no one else."

Marcus hesitated. "You sure?"

"No. But I'm doing it anyway."

By nightfall, I was standing in a dark hallway behind the club, with my heart beating fast. A woman with bright red lipstick handed me a tray and a tiny earpiece.

"Room service. VIP floor only. Smile, walk slow, sway your hips and don't spill anything."

I nodded. My real clothes were gone. In this club...the ladies wore what was given to them to wear. I was wearing a sheer, nearly see-through lace corset, black thong, and six-inch heels. My breasts were pushed up like they were about to escape and my hips curved like I'd been made into a fanta bottle or hour glass.

"Damn," I whispered to myself while looking at myself in the mirror. "I look like I can bag me a sexy hot billionaire vampire or werewolf in those Korean dramas."

Marcus's voice crackled in my ear. "You good in there?"

"Yeah," I whispered back. "Wish you could see me right now. You'd pass out."

"I probably would. 100% will."

I smiled. I knew the flirty tension was always there, but this wasn't the time. I joined the other ladies as the backdoors opened and Club Umbra swallowed us whole.

There was red lights, pounding music, and hot bodies everywhere. Heat rolled off the crowd like steam, champagne, cologne, pheromones... it was dizzying.

Men and women in masks lounged on velvet couches. Others danced like they were about to devour each other. I walked past slowly, serving drinks, smiling, pretending I belonged.

One handsome man slid a hand over my hip and smiled. Another grazed my thigh when I leaned in.

Stay cool, Seraphina. Don't burst your cover. You've been in worse places. I forced a smile and moved on.

"Looking good," a tall man said, eyeing my chest like it spoke a different language. "Nice booty."

I winked and walked faster. "Marcus," I whispered. "I think I see him."

Through the crowd, a figure with red shoulder length hair and all black clothes, moving towards one direction. Lucien Kael was known for this look. I struggled through the crowd to be sure. And Yes, it was him. He had no guards at all.

His back was broad and his hands in his pockets. He looked calm and drop dead gorgeous like everyone says. But his scent hit me hard, like the sand after rain, coconut and smoke. It prickled my skin. Why would someone have such a scent? Rich people probably have bad taste in perfume.

"I'm going after him," I whispered.

"Be careful," Marcus said in my ear.

"Okie-dokie."

I slipped through the dancers and followed Lucien to the VIP corridor.

"Make sure you...................." Marcus cut off, everything went static.

"Marcus? Hello?"

I heard nothing. The earpiece went dead and so did my tracker. Every signal cut the second I crossed that threshold.

"Great! Solo Mission...Of course." I murmured.

I kept on going searching for him, my heels clicking. The hallway had many doors, each were numbered. Suddenly I saw Lucien pop out of one door and disappear into another one, but I wasn't sure which. Room 9? Or 10?

I came loser, adjusting my boobs so they won't fall out. "I guess I'll try my luck with room 10.

I knocked lightly and stepped in with a tray, ready to flirt, fake it, and maybe drop something in a drink if needed.

But the room was dark, there was no music. Then I heard little noises and breathing.

"Hello? You asked for an escort girl...."

Suddenly, I paused, trying to adjust my eyes to see what was in front of me. I was about to gasp out loud when I quickly covered my mouth, trembling.

A man?....no, it looked more like a creature was on the floor with someone beneath him. I looked closely and saw that he was eating an escort girl.

Blood was smeared on the walls and the victim's eyes were open, lifeless. Her neck was torn open and some flesh was gone.

The thing looked up but I couldn't see it so clearly. But it's eyes were definitely glowing yellow.

Whatever it was, it smelled me.

"Shit," I whispered, backing up fast.

It lunged towards my direction as I dropped the tray and the bottles crashed. I stumbled, kicking off my heels. It was huge and too fast. I ducked under a table and grabbed a bottle neck, smashing it for a weapon.

It roared and flipped the table. That's when I screamed at the top of my lungs.

It grabbed my wrist...very strong...and slammed me into the floor. My corset snapped and I could feel the pain through my whole body. It growled as I cried, kicked, scratched, panicked.

Just when I thought I was really going to die, the door burst open, and a man came in, crossing the room in seconds, his eyes glowing gold. He tackled the creature, claws ripping from his fingers. The creature howled. Next thing, blood sprayed everywhere....on me also.

, but the man didn't stop.

Slash...Bite..Tear....

I watched, frozen and stunned, as the man ripped the monster apart like paper. Before I knew it, everywhere was silent.

The man stood up straight and his gaze went straight to me. I was still on the floor, breathing hard, my torn lingerie was barely holding up.

He came closer and closer towards me, as I tried to move back but my body failed me.

When he came closer, the moon cast light through the window to his face. Then, I realized it was the man I was looking for...Lucien Kael.

"No humans are allowed to witness this," he said, in a deep and scary tone.

I tried to stand, my legs shaking. "I..I did.....n't.... kno....w...I...I...was.... ju...st"

I was sweating profusely and stammering.

Before I knew it, he moved so fast I didn't see it. His hand gripped my throat and he easily lifted me off the ground, one-handed. My feet dangled and I was pleading for life as I was loosing my breath.

"You shouldn't be alive," he growled.

Then suddenly he sniffed, then sniffed me again. His grip loosened. I could see his eyes widened just slightly.

"What... are you?" he whispered.

At that slight moment, I saw confusion and shock come across his eyes. But then I passed out before he could say more.

POV: Seraphina Vale

"Where am I?" I whispered, sitting up fast. The bed was big, and the sheets were very soft and the city lights were pouring in through the glass walls.

My head was pounding, and my chest heavy with panic. I wasn't dead, right? I wasn't in heaven either. But I knew I was definitely not in safe hands.

Then I heard footsteps. I panicked covering myself under the duvet like it would shield me from a man who tore a creature to pieces.

Lucien Kael walked into the room, calm and collected like when I saw him at the club. I peeped a little bit and saw his shirt unbuttoned halfway. He had a drink in his hand....looking all chilled, like he hadn't just almost killed me the night before.

"You're awake," he said. "Took you long enough."

I pushed myself out of the duvet slowly. "Please...Just let me go...I won't say anything...I didn't see anything...I don't know nothing either...I swear to God!"

"Don't bring God into this!" He snapped.

"Oh! I'm sorry....Uhmmm...please just don't hurt me." I pleaded, my two hands rubbing together almost like I was praying to him.

He raised an eyebrow. "Begging already?"

"I'm not here to cause trouble...Please... don't kill me."

He chuckled and stepped closer. "I don't kill breathtaking ladies."

I blinked, then sighed on the bed. "Well... that's a relief."

He tilted his head. "But who said you're breathtaking?"

I paused, my eyes rolling with my mouth open for some seconds. "I... stand corrected."

I slid off the bed, heart pounding, my legs were wobbling at this point. I knelt slightly just trying to look less like a threat or less like a target.

"Smart move," he said with a smirk.

He moved closer to me slowly like a cat circling a bird. I stood up fast and stepped back until my back hit the cold wall. His arms went up, one hand on each side of my head and trapped me.

I froze, and held my breath.

His face came closer; close enough to see the flecks of gold in his hazel eyes, his cheekbones, jawline and smooth skin, his lips looked so irresistible.

My heart began pounding fast than it was already doing. Tears welled up my eyes without my permission, and sliding down my cheeks. I hated that I was feeling this scared. I hated how he smelled so good. How his heat made me dizzy.

He leaned in, closer again and I squeezed my eyes shut. "Please... don't do it."

"Please don't do what?" His voice was deep and close to my lips, almost like he was teasing me.

"Don't," I whispered again. "Don't."

He paused, then I felt his breath on my cheek, then my neck, slowly.

I tried to bend down and go under his hands.

"Stay put." He instructed.

I quickly obeyed and stood straight. He smirked. Then tried to lean in again but I tried pushing him away. However, that only made things worse for me. He caught both my wrists and pinned them above my head in one move of his left hand.

"Behave, girly."

I froze. I was still wearing the sexy wear from the club and he could see all of me clearly. My cheeks went red as he looked at me.

He leaned in again, nose brushing my neck, taking a long, slow inhale. He giggled under his breath. Just giggled, then let go of me. Just like that.

I stumbled, catching myself on the wall.

He walked to the bar area like nothing had happened.

"You're too hot to be a club worker," he said, pouring a drink. "Even for Umbra."

I stayed against the wall, arms crossed tight over my chest like he just violated me with words. "I was just... working."

"You're lying." He sipped his drink.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I'll find out sooner or later...." He smirked, then turned with the glass in hand, and said calmly. "You do know that thing you saw wasn't human right?" It was a werewolf."

I laughed. I couldn't help it. Was he delusional?

"A what?....That's not real...That's like folklore...Stories basically." Tears coming out of my eyes from laughing. "You're so funny. If you want to lie, just call a normal wild animal."

He didn't laugh back. Instead, right in front of me, Lucien shifted. His bones cracked, muscles twisted; and then Fur spread like shadows over his skin. Not fully wolf but enough for me to see fangs, claws and glowing eyes. I jerked back, screaming. Then everything went black. Yeah! I passed out....

When I woke again, my head was still spinning and it felt like I was choking, gasping for some air.

Lucien was lifting me to lay me down gently on the bed. As he laid me down, he missed a step and we both crashed together on the bed. I saw his face right above mine and our eyes locked.

We were so close I could feel his heartbeat. His chest pressed to mine and the heat between us was getting too hot. We remained like that for about 30 secs.

He froze, not breathing. Then suddenly, he pulled back quickly, like he had been shocked. He stood by the bed, looking at me like something had gone wrong.

"I..." he muttered, then stopped.

"What is it?" I whispered, still dazed.

He blinked. His chest rose and fell faster now. "You're... burning up."

"I feel... hot, really hot." I admitted, my cheeks turning red. "Everything feels... too much."

He turned away, a hand running through his hair. "You're not just scared."

I sat up slightly. My body felt like it was aching, like it needed something and didn't know what.

Lucien looked back at me, coming closer with a mischievous smile. "You're in heat and turning me on..."

My heart cut in half. Was he a werewolf pervert trying to get down with me?

"What? What's heat?"

He stared at me, stunned. "You're a werewolf....Not just any werewolf...An Omega."