***
For a long time, Robyn thought that there was little that could surprise her. At thirteen she had been made the titular heir to S.H.A.S.H.I.M.A with none of the benefits and all of the repercussions.

By twenty, she had accumulated enough targets on her back to make pincushions out of a small coven of vampires. Despite all this, she had been content with her lot. She never once complained about the fact that she needed to be both an exceptional agent and daughter just to survive.

After all, it was her duty. She owed everything she had to the organization, it only made sense that she used some effort to pay it back.

She had made peace with her role and never once showed displeasure, until one day just surviving wasn't enough...

She had fallen in love with another agent, and not just any agent but one that had been assigned to her.

Against all odds and opposition, she had tried her best to carve out a future for the both of them, away from the danger of missions and assignments. And she had been so close.

All Robyn ever wanted was to be able to protect those she loved but in the end all her good intentions had been rudely trampled on and discarded.

It had been battered, bruised and boiled down till all that remained was vengeance.

She was no longer the person that she was and it left a bitter taste in her mouth.

The Robyn of old would have never deliberately tried to hurt someone yet here she was doing just that. She had so much anger bubbling in her chest that she started to feel disgusted.

If he could see her now, Jester would also feel disgusted but that was something she couldn't help. All she could hope for was that when everything was over and done with she'd return to her former self.

If she didn't... She might as well join him in the depths of hell.

It's been two years, Robyn thought, staring out the plane to gaze at the sea of clouds beneath it.

Two years of snooping through dirt to find out why it just had to be her fiance's squad that got ambushed that day. Why Jester had to be labeled as a traitor before his spirit even had a chance to settle. Why the organization never bothered carrying out a thorough investigation to find out why so many high level operatives had lost their lives.

But today, after years of sifting through redacted intel, she had finally found a clue.

Slade's head fell against her shoulder, gently nudging her back to reality.

Robyn shot him a glance, her heart full of laughter.

Here she was, seething with rage and burning for revenge yet somehow he was able to sleep so peacefully beside her. The contrast was truly astonishing.

He was so at ease that he could even use her as a pillow. Robyn wished she had the same peace of mind. If she was in his position, she wouldn't have been able to sleep a wink.

"Slade." She tried to wake him up. The flight wasn't ending anytime soon and the last thing she wanted was a sore shoulder.

He murmured something and snuggled even closer.

Robyn deadpanned and immediately considered slapping him awake yet as her hand drifted to his face, she lost the intention.

Her fingers grazed his cheek first, then her palm landed softly on his jaw. His skin was so smooth, the way she imagined chocolate would feel if it was a fabric, and she ended up pinching him.

Slade's eyes opened and she pulled away like she had been burned, in her heart she fumbled to hide her embarrassment. What was I doing?

He stared at her in confusion, like he didn't quite understand who she was or why he was here, then he flashed her a brilliant smile that made her mouth dry.

Yes, he's the only one who would dare smile at me like this. It had been years since she had faced this level of innocent sincerity.

On the day of the interview, she had thought that he had been like the others and dug into every nook and cranny of her past but it turned out that not only was he not like that, he even thought that he had arrived late. He didn't even take time to remove his coat and scarf before knocking on her door.

He had treated it like any other job interview because to him it basically was. The only special thing was that he seemed to be her fan.

That much, she could tell because he had quite honest eyes. Whatever she wanted, he would try his best to provide. They were supposed to be partners but she used him more like an assistant, yet he didn't complain even once. It was others who complained for him, and even then he would say that it was good for him to gain experience this way.

Robyn was sure that if she asked him why he said things like that to defend her, he was say something like, "You don't need anybody to defend you, I was just saying the truth."

Sometimes his honesty smothered her.

It made it obvious that when he treated the other agents well, he treated her even better. He was politely reserved with them yet when he spoke with her she was aware of all the times forcefully cut himself off to seem more professional. He always seemed to want to pour out all of his thoughts in front of her for her to see but always managed to hold himself back in the end.

But all this didn't erase the fact that he clearly joined the organization to get close to her or the fact that he had just just dropped unto the surface of the planet three months ago. Slade Adolph, was that even his real name?

Other than what was filled out on his job application, S.H.A.S.H.I.M.A had nothing on him, even the witches she had outsourced had no clue who he was.

He had to have been wearing a glamour to conceal his identity but what was the point? Why do he expend all this effort just to offer himself on a platter for her to use?

Robyn cleared her throat. It didn't matter what his motive was, she'd figure it out soon enough. "You're still lying on me."

"Sorry." He let go of the arm he had been clinging too and unfurled like a well-rested kitten. "Are we almost there?"

She nodded before she realized what she was doing. "Just some hours to go."

"I didn't make you uncomfortable, did I?"

Robyn pretended not to see the trace of regret in his eyes, like he wished that he had managed to continue sleeping... Or rather, his obvious wish to continue using her as a pillow.

She was sure that if she answered, he would say something like, "It's good that you weren't uncomfortable. I was very comfortable."

"No, you didn't. I just woke you up so that we can discuss the mission. This is the first time we're partnering together. I don't want any mistakes."

Those words made the tenderness in Slade's gaze vanish. He nodded seriously and pulled a notebook and pen from his jacket.

Inwardly, Robyn let out a sigh of relief. "This year alone sixty four shifters have been found hung in forests all over the country. They were all killed execution style but the M.O. of most of the cases are different. This week I found another clue. All these years, S.H.A.S.I.M.A has characterized the first murderer as the original and the rest as copycats but what if all the murders were ordered by the same people?"

"You mean to say that someone is hiring hunters to kill shifters. . . This kind of thing, the organization usually has no problem with that."

"Yes, but these murders are too conspicuous," she had no choice but to spin a quick lie, "the organization wants it investigated."

"Hm." He wrote something down. "What was the clue that you found?"

"The forests where the hangings occured are all within the vicinity of Sabreclaw's suspected pack locations. We are heading to the most recent location before the next hanging happens," Robyn explained simply because the rest could be easily inferred.

"You want to catch them in the act?" Slade couldn't help but ask. "You're sure that they are the ones responsible?"

"Shifters might have human forms but they are still beasts." Her eyes darkened.

"Some in our team are shifters," he murmured.

S.H.A.S.I.M.A rid the world of the inhuman, but they ironically needed the inhuman to do it effectively. To join the organization as a shifter or witch, you had to renounce your previous identity in your community and leave no way out for yourself. From that moment on, those closest to you will hate you and try to kill you and the organization would be your only home.

"But they can't be agents. They can only occupy support positions." Robyn said, shutting her eyes to the fluctuations in Slade's mood. "No matter what is said, the organization doesn't trust them enough."

***