The Rise of the Rejected Mate: The Scion Book 1

Chapter 4

Gia

_____

I stepped onto the sidewalk and breathed in the crisp air. Despite the early hour, the streets were already crowded with people going to work, trying to get a head start on the day. 

I sighed. I had not slept well and wasn’t feeling my best but couldn’t avoid going into the office. Besides being a skilled assassin for RAD, I had also started working as a liaison for them so I kept fairly regular office hours. Apparently, I was about to receive the dossier of my next target so it couldn’t be avoided. I recalled the dream again, I also needed to figure out the message and whether it had any connection to the professor. My breath hitched a bit, I would have to tread very carefully. I had no idea what was going on or who, if anyone, I was up against.

I straightened my pencil skirt and adjusted my shirt as I started walking the few blocks to the Skyscraper RAD used as their home base under the guise of a company called Rad industries. The company did indeed exist and was one of RAD’s many assets. It was convenient since RAD owned the building as well. RAD industries had the first ten floors and the other thirty were used exclusively by the RAD council. The top two floors were for the use of the leader, Jenson Rolfe, only. One floor was his office and the other his home.

I fidgeted with my skirt as I walked into the building then grabbed my security card from my handbag and swiped as I went through the turnstile. The reception was all glass and steel befitting a successful major corporation. Everything was automated and the security staff was the only people always present. As always, I smiled at the guard stationed there.

“Good morning, Lewis,” I greeted. 

“Good morning, ma’am,” he replied cheerfully. Lewis was a genuinely nice guy, in his thirties and always chirpy, even at ungodly hours. 

“How’s Irene and little Chrissy?” I asked, pausing to hear his answer. I always made it a point to get to know the people others usually ignored, partly because I was genuinely interested and partly because you never knew when you might need a favor or someone to back you up. Maybe it was just because I’d grown up in a small village where everyone knew each other well. 

“They’re doing well, thanks,” his smile widened and his eyes lit up. It was clear that Irene and Chrissy were the sources of his joy and zest for life. 

“Good to hear, make sure you take good care of them,” I ordered in jest, wagging my finger at him. 

“Yes, ma’am. Always,” he grinned. 

I waved and headed to the elevator, nodding at those I passed. When the doors finally opened I stepped in and scanned my card again, selecting the thirty-fifth floor. Only the first ten floors were accessible to everyone and those with clearance could access the higher floors with their personal security cards. 

The lift carried on at the usual speed until it reached the tenth floor, after that any selected floor was reached instantaneously. They’d had the lift spelled that way, because you know, waiting that extra few seconds was so bougie. The door opened on the thirty-fifth floor and I walked toward my office. 

As offices went, mine was tiny, I’d seen bigger walk-in closets. I was still a junior and so couldn’t really complain. I just needed to do my time and hope to move up in the ranks. I dropped my handbag on my desk and took a seat, switching on my computer. The meeting was in an hour and I figured I may as well get caught up on paperwork while I waited. Paperwork was definitely my least favorite part of the job so I tried to get it over with as soon as possible. 

The door swung open abruptly and I glared at the uninvited guest as she strolled in. 

“Damn it, Sophia. Will you ever learn to knock?” I scolded. Sophia giggled, unfazed. 

“Honey, there has to be some perks to being your friend,” she drawled in the typical Southern accent, laughing. 

I knew she was joking but she was also right. While I was friendly on the surface, I didn’t make close friends easily, mainly because I found it hard to trust anyone. It took a long time for me to warm up to anyone and most people took it as total disinterest and stopped trying after a while. She, on the other hand, seemed to have made it her mission to get under my particularly thick skin. I caught myself wanting to smile. 

Sophia was one of the few humans working for RAD. She was just a few years older than me, twenty-five I thought, though I had never asked. She worked in the finance department as a clerk. Although she always dressed in black, she had that girl-next-door look, shiny chestnut hair that always smelled of strawberries,  a fair complexion and deep green eyes. She had a slight build, she was dainty and very feminine. The quintessential southern belle. The complete opposite of me.

“How was your weekend,” she asked. I thought about everything that had happened. It had been an eventful weekend indeed. I frowned, wondering how much to tell her. 

“It was busy,” I said, then decided that I could use all the help I could get if I was going to figure out what was going on with RAD. Sophia and Uncle Ted were the only people I felt I could trust. “I’m actually a little concerned about the target I was given,” I confided quietly. She frowned deeply and closed the door, moving closer to me. 

“What do you mean?” she asked, perplexed. 

“I mean, I took out my target. He was a professor of anthropology at Yale and I know that doesn’t mean much, but I only got good vibes from him,” I explained. I considered whether to share the dream with her or not. Would I have to tell her the history behind the dream? No, I could just say that my grandmother came to me. 

“Then, my grandmother came to me in a dream and told me not to kill the seer. I’m not sure if the professor was a seer or not, but something seems off. I need to figure out what’s going on if anything. If it’s nothing then at least I know and I can let it go,” I explained. Sophia frowned as if working on a puzzle as if trying to unravel a great mystery. 

“You have to be careful, Gia,” she warned. “I know you’re an exceptional person. You’re the only being, supernatural or not, to graduate from RAD’s three-year training program in just eighteen months, but there are a lot of power struggles in this organization despite the united front they show to the world. And if something shady really is going on, then asking the wrong person could tip them off; the consequences could be dire. Promise me,” she demanded. 

“I promise,” I said and nodded. I hadn’t ever seen Sophia so serious, I was definitely going to heed her warning.

“Now what was the name of your target? I’ll try to check the files for any extra information,” she offered.

“Thomas Campbell,” I answered. The truth was that I was grateful. I had only been at RAD a few months and would probably run into trouble poking around. 

“Thanks, I’ll ask Ted as well. He should be able to help too. Just… you be careful too, okay?” I said. She nodded and turned to leave. I looked at the clock, so much for paperwork. I got up and made my way to my superior’s office. 

Dalton Green, my immediate superior, was the only human in the inner circle of the RAD council. His portfolio was Human Relations; he made sure that most supernaturals and humans in the know never leaked the existence of supernaturals to the human greater public. While humans were much weaker than all of the supernaturals, we outnumbered them greatly. If it ever got out it would cause widespread panic and more than likely all out war. Humans were never kind to anyone different, even within our own ranks. Blood would be spilled and countless lives would be lost.

 It was remarkable that Dalton had managed to attain such a high-level position in his late forties. The supernaturals lived so much longer than humans so the rest of the council were practically ancient. From what I’d heard, none of them were under a hundred years old, yet they all looked like they were in their thirties. He seemed to be able to stand his ground among them. 

I knocked on his office door. 

“Come in,” he answered. 

“Good morning, sir,” I greeted, taking in his pitch-black hair, bright green eyes, and subtle musky scent as he sat behind his desk. He looked good for his age, the only sign of it being some laugh lines in his face and the beginnings of a potbelly. 

“Have a seat,” he offered and I obliged, sitting in front of him. “How was your first job?” he inquired casually. 

“It went well, smoothly. I met him at the bar and went home with him. There I administered the poison and left him in his bed. It should look like a heart attack. The entry point of the needle shouldn’t be visible either. The human police and coroner will not find any evidence,” I finished. I didn’t need to tell him of our little romp in the hay. 

“That’s good to hear,” he said, resting his elbows on the desk and steepling his fingers. “Were there any strange relics at his apartment?” he asked. I frowned. 

“His place was full of relics, actually. I asked about it curiously and he said he was a collector,” I replied. I thought of the ring I had taken. Were they looking for it specifically? It was on a lengthy chain hanging around my neck. It wouldn’t look good if I admitted that I had taken it so I just kept my mouth shut and deadpanned him.  

“Ok. Let’s get onto your next job.” He pulled a manila file from his drawer and handed it over. I opened it and looked at the name on top of the page. 

Name:

Noah Manson

Age:

25

Height:

Six foot one

Weight:

180 pounds 

Hair color:

Blonde

Eye color:

Green

Address:

121 Juniper Drive, New Haven

Occupation:

Professor of philosophy and ethics, Yale University 

Notable powers: Seer

I forcibly controlled my breathing as I read the last few lines but internally I was trembling in shock. My heart rate sky-rocketed as I flashed back to my grandmother’s eerie message. This Noah Manson was the seer and I was supposed to kill him. 

I looked at the photographs, he was well-built and had the bearing of a fighter. My mind reeled. I closed the file and looked up at my boss. 

“Thank you, sir. I’ll start working on this straight away,” I said, thankful that my voice came out steady. 

“Thank you, Gia. Good work on the last job,” he said. I nodded and stood to leave. 

I slumped into my chair when I got back to my office. I needed some quiet time to think things through. I couldn’t go against RAD outright, but I couldn’t kill the seer either. Catch twenty-two. If I didn’t kill him, RAD would send someone else, and if I did, well, nothing good ever came from ignoring the ancestors. My head hurt. 

I took a few deep breaths. Why did they want the seer dead? That could be the key to everything, I needed to find out. I rubbed the ring as it hung on the chain and wondered what was so special about it. I froze, a cold chill running down my spine. If they were looking for the ring then someone must have checked his apartment after I had left. Suddenly I was glad the ring was hidden and not in plain view.