Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/9528557.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Shadowhunters_(TV), The_Mortal_Instruments_Series_-_Cassandra_Clare, The
      Bane_Chronicles_-_Sarah_Rees_Brennan_&_Cassandra_Clare_&_Maureen_Johnson
  Relationship:
      Magnus_Bane/Alec_Lightwood, Ragnor_Fell/Raphael_Santiago, Clary_Fray/Jace
      Wayland
  Character:
      Magnus_Bane, Alec_Lightwood, Raphael_Santiago, Ragnor_Fell, Clary_Fray,
      Isabelle_Lightwood, Jace_Wayland
  Additional Tags:
      Dubious_Consent, Dark_Magnus_Bane, Hurt/Comfort, Loss_of_Virginity, Mpreg
  Stats:
      Published: 2017-01-31 Updated: 2017-05-31 Chapters: 6/? Words: 30697
****** Sihir ******
by t0nt0n
Summary
     Spin-off of my arranged marriage fic, Takdir
     Magnus is the de facto leader of the Downworlder. During the Uprising
     he lent his forces to the Clave to defeat Valentine in exchange for a
     blood contract for anything he wanted. 14 years later, he decides
     that he wants Alexander Lightwood.
Notes
     WARNING: This story is a lot darker than my other stories, so pay
     attention to the tags.
     Magnus is super powerful and basically runs the Downworld in this
     story. He's also kind of evil. Bottom line, I've switched up some
     things, so read this as an AU.
     Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. I also started writing
     this at 4 in the morning one day, so it might not make a whole lot of
     sense. Read at your own risk.
***** Chapter 1 *****
“If you help us against Valentine, we’ll give you whatever you want,” said
Malachi “Money, jewels, property, anything.”
“There’s nothing that you can offer me that I don’t already have,” said Magnus,
“And plus, Valentine hasn’t touched my people. I don’t have any reason to
declare war against him.”
“We both know you’re not dumb enough to believe that,” said Imogen, “Valentine
has it out for all Downworlders. While he’s stayed away from your warlocks so
far, that doesn’t mean he won’t in the future. Being the Prince of Hell will
only protect you for so long.”
Magnus smirked at the two Clave representatives in front of him. The Inquisitor
was right of course, Magnus knew that Valentine was only biding his time before
he made his move. And Magnus knew that helping the shadowhunters was the best
way to get rid of Valentine before he gathered any more followers. He had heard
whispers that Valentine was planning on destroying the entire Downworld as soon
as he had displaced the Clave. Of course that didn’t mean that Magnus was going
to simply help the Clave without compensation.
“Fine,” sighed Magnus dramatically, “I can’t think of anything I want right
now. When I think of it, I’ll let the Clave know. But I want a blood contract
stating that I get anything I want in exchange for my army.”
“No,” spat Malachi, “The Clave will most certainly not agree to something so
preposterous.”
“Fine by me,” said Magnus, getting up. “If you want to throw the one chance you
have at defeating Valentine down the drain, that’s your prerogative.
Personally, I’d take advantage of his wife’s tip, but I won’t stop you from
walking to your death in an hour.”
“Wait,” said Imogen, stopping Magnus before he could leave, “Malachi, we don’t
have a choice. We just don’t have enough time to gather people to fight
Valentine. Without Bane’s army of warlocks, we don’t stand a chance.”
Malachi glared at Magnus before nodding resolutely and motioned for Magnus to
draw up the document. With a flourish, Magnus created the contract and a knife.
When everyone finished signing in blood, Magnus finalized the spell and handed
Malachi a copy.
“I’ll send a fire message to my people. They’ll be outside the Accords Hall
waiting for Valentine’s ambush,” said Magnus“Oh and Imogen? Never refer to me
as the Prince of Hell ever again. Asmodeusu may be my father and the King of
Hell, but we have nothing to do with each other.”
 
***14 years later***
 
“You can’t avoid the problem anymore, Magnus,” said Ragnor, “It’s getting
worse.”
“I know!” exclaimed Magnus, “But I can’t force myself to take a mate just
because my magic is going crazy.”
“Your magic isn’t going crazy, it’s getting too powerful and dark for you to
handle by yourself. You need a mate to help you ground your magic,” said
Ragnor. “And you don’t really have a choice. It was manageable when it was just
the occasional power outburst, but now your temper is becoming more volatile as
each day passes. If we don’t do something, the demon half of you is going to
take over and I know that’s not what you want. You didn’t fight Asmodeus all
those years ago only to turn into him.”
Magnus sighed, knowing his friend was right. He walked over to the balcony of
his office, looking down at the dance floor of his club, Pandemonium. Just as
he was about to call it a night, he spotted a nephilim girl and an Eidolon
demon cut across his dance floor. Magnus narrowed his eyes as the shape
shifting demon followed the shadowhunter into what Magnus presumed was the
demon’s funeral.
“Raphael!” shouted Magnus, “Why are demons and nephilim walking freely around
my club?”
“You never said you wanted to ban nephilim,” replied Raphael, rolling his eyes
at his boss, “As for the demon, you know we have trouble with spotting
shapeshifters. None of the warlocks we employ as bouncers are as powerful as
you. Some things just slip through the cracks.”
Ignoring his friend, Magnus walked quickly down the steps towards the storage
room. He opened the door just as a blonde shadowhunter stabbed the demon with a
seraph blade. The four nephilim in the room looked up at him, weapons drawn.
Putting his hands up to show he meant no harm, Magnus stepped into the room and
closed the door.
“You should leave,” said the blonde.
“Jace, we can’t let him just leave. He saw you kill that Eidolon,” said the
dark-haired shadowhunter girl.
“Relax, I’m not a mundane. This is my club; I’m Magnus Bane,” said Magnus, “You
got demon ichor all over my floor.”
“Sorry, we’ll clean it up,” said a petite red-head.
“We’re here on official Clave business. That demon has been killing mundanes in
the area,” said the fourth shadowhunter. Just as Magnus was going to tell the
nephilim where the Clave could shove it, he looked up into the bluest eyes he
had ever seen. The shadowhunter was absolutely beautiful.
“And who are you, blue-eyes?” asked Magnus, smiling at the blue-eyed
shadowhunter.
“Uh…Alec. Alec Lightwood. Those are my siblings, Izzy and Jace. And the red-
head is Clary,” stuttered Alec.
“Alec, is that short for Alexander?” asked Magnus.
“Yeah, but nobody calls me that. Sorry about the mess. I know we’re supposed to
notify you before hunting on your territory, but we tracked the thing here and
didn’t have a chance. If you want to report us to the Clave -“
“That won’t be necessary,” said Magnus, “I’m not an unreasonable man. As a
matter of fact, I should thank you for getting rid of the trash for me. Why
don’t you let me take you out for dinner?”
Jace narrowed his eyes at the warlock and stepped in front of his blushing
parabatai, “Shouldn’t you be thanking me? I was the one that killed that
thing.”
“We should head back to the Institute,” said Izzy, not wanting Jace to anger
Magnus anymore than he already had. Jace grabbed Alec’s arm and pulled him
towards the door while Izzy and Clary followed.
Ragnor and Raphael were waiting by the door when Magnus stepped out of the
storage room. Seeing Raphael’s glare, Magnus feigned ignorance, “Why are you
glaring at me?”
“You know damn well, Magnus,” said Raphael, “You spelled that door close so we
couldn’t follow. I’m your bodyguard and it’s a little bit difficult to do my
job when you go locking yourself in rooms with shadowhunters and demons.”
“Were you worried about me?” asked Magnus teasingly.
“I was thinking of me and my clan. If you die, there would be nobody to stop
Asmodeus from trying to take over all of the Downworld,” replied Raphael.
“Gee, thanks,” said Magnus dryly. “It’s nice to know that you only stick around
because you’re scared of Asmodeus.”
“You know that’s not what Raphael meant,” said Ragnor, “If he didn’t care about
you, he wouldn’t of been pacing the entire time you were in there.”
“Whatever, did the the shadowhunters get rid of the demon?” asked Raphael.
“Yes, and speaking of shadowhunters, I need you and Ragnor to get me all the
information you can on Alexander Lightwood. Likes, dislikes, schedule, I want
everything” said Magnus, “And make sure you get me his phone number. I’m sure
he was just playing hard to get.” Raphael turned to look at Ragnor with a
questioning look. In the decades since Magnus had saved him, Magnus had never
shown this level of interest in anybody. Ragnor shook his head in reply.
“There’s a club here full of Downworlders who would throw themselves at you,
and you want to do all that to get in the pants of a shadowhunter?” asked
Raphael, exasperated. “There are easier ways to get laid Magnus. Ways that
don’t involve me stalking your latest fling.”
“Who said anything about a fling?” asked Magnus. “I want him as my mate.”
Ragnor’s eyes went impossibly wide while Raphael choked on air.
“You..mate..what? Please tell me you’re joking,” said Raphael.
“I’m dead serious. I want Alexander Lightwood as my mate and I intend to make
him mine,” replied Magnus, “Ragnor, you were just lecturing me not 20 minutes
ago about taking a mate. Problem solved.”
“And 20 minutes ago you swore you didn’t want one.,” spluttered Ragnor, “And I
didn’t mean a Nephilim. I thought maybe Cat or Tessa, you know, someone you
already know you can tolerate for the rest of eternity. You were with Camille
for decades and never once mentioned mating with her!”
“She wasn’t worthy,” said Magnus, “By the way, Cat and Tessa are like sisters
to me. That’s just gross.”
“But a nephilim that you barely know?” asked Ragnor.
“And how do you know the shadowhunter is worthy? You’ve barely had one
conversation with him!” exclaimed Raphael.
“I just know,” said Magnus.
“You do realize that the bond is permanent right? You can’t undo it once you
tire of him,” said Ragnor. “Not only would you be sharing your immortality with
him, you’d literally be tying your magic to him. It’s not something you can
change your mind on.”
“I won’t change my mind,” insisted Magnus, “He’s mine.”
“Good luck with that. Or have you forgotten that he’s a shadowhunter?” asked
Raphael, “And you said he’s a Lightwood? That makes him the son of Maryse and
Robert right? You know they’re former circle members. They probably taught
their son to hate all downworlders. There’s no way he’d agree to bond with
you.”
“I’ll wear him down,” said Magnus, “And plus, I know he’s attracted to me. He
was blushing when we spoke earlier.”
“I hate to break it to you Magnus, but you don’t have time to woo a
shadowhunter,” said Raphael, “You almost killed Elias earlier today for talking
back to you. You need to listen to Ragnor and ground your magic now.”
“I won’t have anyone else, Alexander is mine. He’s the only one that I will
bond with,” said Magnus.
Ragnor shook his head, knowing that Magnus wouldn’t change his mind now. He had
chosen a bad night to put the idea of a mate into Magnus’ head. There was no
way Magnus would look at anyone else now that he had decided on the nephilim.
Ragnor wouldn’t have a problem with Magnus going after a Shadowhunter if it
weren’t for the fact that time wasn’t on their side.
“I know this won’t change your mind, but you don’t have time to court a
nephilim. You need someone to ground your magic in the next few weeks or you’re
going to end up seriously hurting someone. So far we’ve been able to talk sense
into you when you have one of your episodes, but it won’t work forever. That
dark magic you used to fight Asmodeus all those centuries ago is catching up
with you. I know you’re falling for this Alec person, but the Clave will never
let you…wait a second, you still have that blood contract right? From the
Uprising?” asked Ragnor.
“Yes, why are you…you’re a genius Ragnor! I’ll go to the Clave and demand that
they give me Alexander,” said Magnus.
“This isn’t going to blow up in your face at all,” said Raphael,”The boy will
hate you.”
“Maybe, but I won’t have anyone else and I can’t delay taking a mate anymore.
As much as I care about my own happiness, I won’t let my people suffer for it,”
said Magnus. “It’s a compromise.”
“And plus, we’ve been waiting for the Clave to stab us in the back since the
Uprising. With all the rumors of Valentine being back, there’s no telling what
they will do. You know they do stupid things when they panic,” said Ragnor.
“You mean like making blood contracts with warlocks?” asked Magnus dryly.
“Exactly. But if you’re bonded with one of their own, then they’d have to take
him into account before doing anything stupid,” said Ragnor.
“So we’ll kill three birds with one stone: ground my magic, get me Alexander,
and keep the Clave off of our backs. Now we just have to convince the Clave to
honor their contract,” said Magnus.
“Valentine’s back. They won’t have a choice,” said Raphael, smirking at the
plan, “If they want your help, they’re going to have to clear their previous
debt.”
 
***
 
“My son will not be your whore,” spat Maryse, “I’ll kill him myself before he
becomes a warlock’s play thing.”
Magnus let his glamour slip as he stalked towards Maryse. Using his magic, he
pinned Maryse to the wall with a chokehold. Tightening the grip on his magic,
he snarled, “Don’t you dare lay a hand on Alexander. According to this blood
contract, he’s mine now. And as I already said, I’ll be making him my mate, not
some whore.” The Consul’s desk began to shake and objects began falling to the
ground as Magnus’s anger caused the ground to quake. Robert attempted to run to
his wife’s defense, but with a flick of his free hand, Magnus sent Robert
crashing to the ground.
“Magnus, please release Maryse. I’m sure she doesn’t mean Alec any harm,” said
Imogen, warily looking around the office. The Clave knew that the High Warlock
of Brooklyn was powerful, but it was becoming obvious that they had
underestimated him. When Magnus releases Maryse, Imogen continued, “You
understand this is a difficult request. What if we pay you in jewels and rare
artifacts instead?”
“I already told you that I have no interest in money. And it wasn’t a request,”
said Magnus, holding up the contract, “The contract clearly states that I can
get anything I want as compensation for my services rendered and I want
Alexander. If you don’t want to settle up, that’s fine by me. Just know that
until this debt is paid, I won’t lift a finger to help you with Valentine. And
since the Clave doesn’t know how to honor their debts, warlocks will no longer
be performing services of any kind for you.”
“You can’t do that, the Accords -“ said Malachi, before he was cut off.
“The Accords don’t get to dictate how my people do their business. There’s
nothing in the damn thing that says we have to help you nephilim. The Law of
the Covenant grants Downworlders the right to conduct our internal business
privately and to self police. That means that if I want to tell my warlocks to
shut down their businesses, I can,” said Magnus.
Picking himself up from the ground, Robert whispered, “Why are you doing this?”
Seeing that Magnus wasn’t going to answer, Ragnor replied, “Magnus needs a mate
and he needs one soon. As he’s grown stronger, his magic has become steadily
more volatile in the past decade. He needs a mate to help ground his magic.
With the war that Valentine is likely bringing to both Idris and the Downworld,
Magnus is going to need full control of his magic.”
“But why Alec?” asked Maryse, still trying to catch her breath. “You’ve never
even met him! Why not another Downworlder?”
Not bothering to dignify Maryse’s question with a response, Magnus turned
toward Imogen and Malachi, “So, what will it be? Am I telling my warlocks to
pull their protection or is Ragnor going to be making preparations for a
bonding ceremony?”
Closing her eyes, Imogen took a deep breath before opening her eyes again and
replied, “That’s not a choice and you know it. I’ll send people with Maryse and
Robert to collect Alec. You can do the bonding tomorrow morning.” “No! Imogen,
you can’t just hand my son over to this Warlock,” screamed Maryse.
 The Inquisitor gave the Lightwoods a chilling look. “It will do the two of you
good to remember that you are still on thin ice with the Clave. Knowing people
in high places might’ve gotten you a lighter sentence, but many of us will
never forget your betrayal. Let’s face it, you didn’t surrender years ago
because you suddenly saw Downworlders in a new light. You surrendered to save
your own skin. With Valentine returning, there’s no guarantee that you won’t go
back to your old ways and rejoin the Circle. But if your son is bonded to Bane,
you won’t have a choice but to stand with us. And mark my words Maryse, if you
harm the boy in anyway, I will end the Lightwoods.”
***
 
Alec was training with his parabatai when his parents and a dozen Clave
representatives walked into the Institute. He instantly knew something was
wrong when he saw his parents’ face. Before he could ask however, the Clave
soldiers surrounded him and Jace.
“What’s the meaning of this Maryse?” asked Jace, moving to stand back to back
with Alec, seraph blade trained at the solder in front of him.
“Put down the blade Jace, they’re not here for you. They’re here for Alec,”
shouted Robert, not wanting the situation to escalate.
“That’s even more of a reason for me to fight. I’m not letting them take my
brother,” said Jace, anger clear in his voice. “Alec hasn’t done anything. Why
are they trying to arrest him?”
“They’re not arresting him. They just need him in Idris. Alec, put your bow
down and go with them,” demanded Maryse.
Alec gripped his bow harder as his parents’ attention shifted to him. He was
confused as to what to do. He had never disobeyed the Clave before and couldn’t
understand why they would send so many people to escort him to Idris, a place
he hadn’t been to since he was but a toddler. In his peripheral, he saw Izzy
holding her whip, ready to fight. Not wanting his siblings to be injured, he
put his bow and quiver on the ground and let one of the Clave representatives
handcuff him. As he was being escorted out, his parents had to hold Izzy and
Jace back as they tried in vain to save him.
When Alec was gone, Izzy shoved her mother off of her and demanded, “Why did
you let them take Alec? What did he do wrong?”
“It’s Bane! It has to be him. I knew we shouldn’t have believed him when he
said he wouldn’t report us to the Clave,” said Jace hotly.
“So Alec has met Magnus Bane after all. And what do you mean report you to the
Clave?” asked Robert.
“You don’t know? This is about last night isn’t it?” asked Izzy. Seeing her
parents’ confusion, she continued, “We tracked an Eidolon demon to Pandemonium
last night. It had already killed a dozen mundanes, so we didn’t have time to
follow protocol and notify Bane before going inside.”
“He said he didn’t mind. He even thanked us for getting rid of that demon,”
said Clary.
“If the Clave wants to hold somebody responsible for this, it should be me. I
was the one who insisted we go inside and broke the rules. I was the one to
kill the demon on Bane’s territory,” said Jace.
“And I was the one to lure the demon into that storage room,” added Izzy.
Maryse and Robert looked at each other, not knowing what to say. Not having the
patience to deal with her parents’ crypticness, Izzy lashed out and screamed at
her parents. “Tell us what is going on!”
“As you all know, Jocelyn tipped off the Clave about Valentines’ ambush of the
Accords meeting. But with only an hour to prepare for the attack, the Clave
didn’t have enough power to defeat Valentine. So they enlisted the help of
Magnus Bane’s army of warlocks and he agreed on the condition of a blood
contract, a blood contract that bound the Clave to give him anything he wanted.
In the 14 years since the Uprising, Bane has never once mentioned using the
blood contract, but he just used it in exchange for your brother,” explained
Maryse.
Remembering how the warlock flirted with his parabatai, his eyes narrowed as he
asked, “What do you mean in exchange for Alec?”
“Bane needs a mate to ground his magic and he’s decided that it’s going to be
Alec,” replied Robert.
“You can’t just let the Clave hand Alec over to that warlock like he’s
some..some pet,” cried Izzy, “What kind of parents are you -“ Before Izzy could
finish her sentence, Maryse slapped her across the face.
“Don’t blame this on us. You and Jace are the reason Bane met Alec. If you wish
to put the blame on someone, put it on yourselves,” said Maryse, “We were only
following the Clave’s orders. Alec should’ve stopped the two of you and since
he didn’t, he’s going to have to live with the consequences of putting himself
on Bane’s radar. The law is hard but it is the law.”
“Don’t kid yourself Maryse, this has nothing to do with last night’s mission.
The Clave probably doesn’t even know about it. I never said anything before
because you’ve taken me in while my mom is in Idris, but I won’t keep your
secret anymore,” said Clary before turning to Jace and Izzy, “They’re former
Circle members and were at the Uprising. Why do you think you live here instead
of Idris? Your parents were exiled here as part of their punishment and I bet
the only reason the Clave’s not fighting Bane on the blood contract is because
they want Alec bound to a Downworlder. They want to make sure your parents
won’t rejoin Valentine.”
Izzy stared at her parents in shock. They had never been the most caring of
parents but she never thought that they would let her brother pay for their
sins. Grabbing Jace and Clary by the wrists, they left the Institute.
***
“Iz slow down!” exclaimed Jace, “Where are we going?”
“To save Alec,” replied Izzy, “We can’t just leave him in the hands of Bane.”
“How are we even going to find him? We can’t get to Idris without a portal and
there’s no way a warlock would help us. They all work for Bane,” said Jace.
“Bane is the High Warlock of Brooklyn isn’t he? He must have a place in New
York,” said Izzy.
“You want to march into the lair of the most powerful Warlock to have ever
lived?” asked Clary.
“Alec would do the same for any of us,” said Izzy, “But if you don’t want to
come, I understand.”
“That’s not what I meant; I just don’t want to walk into this blindly. That
won’t help Alec,” said Clary.
“What about your faerie knight? Bane basically runs the Downworld these days,
wouldn’t your boyfriend know where Bane lives?” ask Jace.
“You’re a genius, Jace!” exclaimed Izzy, hugging her brother.
***
 
“Is everything ready for tomorrow?” asked Magnus.
“Yes, I’ve notified all the Downworld leaders in the area to witness the
bonding,” replied Ragnor. “And Tessa’s agreed to do the ceremony for you.”
“Really? I thought she’d be against this,” said Raphael. Tessa was part
shadowhunter after all.
“Well she knows that Magnus needs a mate to ground his magic. And while she’s
not exactly happy about the situation, she knows that she’s the only one with
enough power to do the ceremony for Magnus,” replied Ragnor. “That or she wants
to be there to stop Magnus from killing Imogen when the Clave goes back on
their word, because personally, I don’t think the Clave is going to deliver.”
Just as Magnus was going to reply, someone began pounding on the door and
ringing the doorbell simultaneously. Instantly, Raphael blurred to the door,
ready to fight. No downworlder would have the nerve to do something like this.
Only a shadowhunter would show Magnus such disrespect.
“ WHO DARES DISTURB THE HIGH WARLOCK?” roared Magnus. Motioning for Raphael to
step aside, Magnus spelled the door open. He immediately recognized the three
shadowhunters as the ones that were accompanying his Alexander the previous
night.
“Well, if it isn’t my soon-to-be in-laws,” said Magnus, grinning like a
cheshire cat. “Jack, was it? Put that silly blade away before you hurt
yourself. I’d hate to have to tell my dear Alexander that his brother injured
himself in my lair.”
“He’s not yours!” exclaimed Jace, “And my name is Jace.”
“Not yet, but come tomorrow morning, he will be,” said Magnus.
“Where are you keeping my brother, Bane? I swear to Raziel that if you’ve hurt
him in any way, I’ll kill you. I don’t care how powerful you are, I won’t stop
until you die,” said Izzy.
“He’s probably in Idris by now,” said Magnus, as if he was talking about the
weather and not the kidnapping of someone’s brother, “My dear Isabelle, I have
no intention of harming Alexander. I intend to love and treasure him, not hurt
him.”
“You’re using a damn blood contract to force him to be your mate. How can you
say you’re not going to harm him?” asked Izzy, angry tears streaming down her
usually flawless face.
“Do you think he’d be better off with your parents? With the Clave? If they
cared about him at all, they would’ve fought for him. They barely put up a
fight when I made my demands. Do you want to know what your mother said when I
asked for Alexander? She said that she’d kill him before she’d hand him over.
What kind of mother does that make her? Alexander deserves to be cherished and
protected and I intend to do just that. You might not see it right now, but I’m
what’s best for him,” said Magnus.
Izzy didn’t know what to say. She knew her mother was bad, but even in her
worse nightmare she never thought her mother capable of threatening the life of
her own son. She turned to Jace, who was just as speechless.
Seeing that her friends were too distraught to speak, Clary stepped forward, “I
know we can’t stop you no matter how hard we try. But please, let us see Alec
before the ceremony. They dragged him off without explaining anything to him.
He must be so scared right now.”
Magnus’ heart broke slightly when Clary said that Alexander was likely scared.
He had requested that his shadowhunter be removed from the Institute to protect
him from his mother, but neglected to think about how confused the nephilim
must be. He knew he’d have to hurt Alexander to protect him, but maybe Magnus
could give his shadowhunter some level of comfort before he tore his world
apart.
Sighing dramatically, Magnus began opening a portal to Idris, “I’ll send a fire
message to Malachi to allow you to stay with Alexander until the ceremony
tomorrow. But don’t try anything stupid. There’s nowhere for you to run.
There’s a reason they call me the Prince of Hell, even if I hate the name.”
 
***
 
Alec looked up when he heard the locks to the door being opened. The soldiers
that had arrested him had removed his handcuffs and thrown him into a guest
room of the Consul’s house and locked him in. It had been hours and all of his
screaming had been in vain. Alec had pounded on the door until his hands were
bloody, but they had refused to say a single word to him. After hours of
thinking, the only infraction he could think of was the demon from the previous
night. The warlock must’ve filed a complaint with the Clave. The only thing
that confused Alec was the fact that he was in a guest room and not a cell.
When the doors finally opened, Jace, Izzy, and Clary were shoved inside.
“No!” screamed Alec, running towards the door that was already being locked
again, “Leave them out of this. I’ll take responsibility for last night’s
mission. I’ll apologize to the warlock! Let them go!”
“Alec!” exclaimed Izzy, hugging her brother. Jace and Clary followed and the
four clung onto each other for a moment before separating. “They haven’t told
you anything have they?”
Alec shook his head. He didn’t understand why the Clave was doing this. An
unsanctioned mission wasn’t worth all of this.
“This isn’t about the mission Alec,” whispered Izzy, not sure how to break the
news to her brother. “Not in the way you’re thinking anyways.”
“Then why are we here? We haven’t done anything else to warrant the Clave’s
attention,” said Alec.
“It’s not the Clave’s attention you have,” said Jace, “It’s Magnus Bane’s.”
“I don’t understand, you said this didn’t have to do with the mission,” said
Alec.
“It’s not about killing a demon on Bane’s territory. It’s about Bane himself.
You remember how he was flirting with you last night?” asked Izzy.
“Flirting? He wasn’t flirting with me. He was just being friendly,” said Alec.
“He wasn’t being friendly, he was hitting on you. And instead of asking you out
like a normal person, he’s demanded that the Clave hand you over to be his
mate,” said Jace. Izzy glared at the blonde for his lack of tact and Clary
punched him on the arm.
Alec stared at his parabatai for a moment before collapsing to the ground in
shock. “Wh..what? I don’t..I don’t understand.”
Izzy hugged her brother tightly as she answered him, “I’m so sorry big brother.
You remember how Hodge told us about Bane’s army of warlocks saving the day
during the Uprising? Well it turns out that the help came with a price in the
form of a blood contract that let Bane ask for anything he wanted. And for some
reason he’s decided that you’re what he wants, so he’s cashed in the contract
with the Clave. They’re holding the bonding ceremony first thing tomorrow
morning.”
“Why me?” sobbed Alec, no longer able to hold back the tears. “Why is he doing
this to me?”
“We don’t know, Alec. We tried to talk him out of it, but he was dead set on
going through with the ceremony. We only managed to convince him to let us see
you,” said Jace.
“What is he going to..Is he going to make me..” asked Alec, not quite able to
get the horrifying words out. Jace and Izzy looked at each other, not sure how
to reply to their brother. They knew what Magnus likely had planned, but they
couldn’t bring themselves to say it aloud to their brother. So they hugged
their brother until he cried himself to sleep.
 
***
When morning came, a warlock with blue skin entered the room with a tray of
food and a garment bag draped over her arm. Placing the tray on a table, she
removed a gold tuxedo from the garment bag and laid it out on the bed. The four
shadowhunters who had woken from where they had been sleeping on the floor
looked warily at her.
“My name is Catarina Loss. Magnus sent me to check on you and to deliver your
clothes for the ceremony,” said Catarina. When she spotted Alec’s blood hands,
she tried to walk over to him. Jace, Izzy, and Clary instantly stood up,
creating a wall between their brother and the warlock. “Peace, I’m a healer. I
just want to take a look at his hands. Magnus is going to be furious when he
finds out that Alec was injured while under the Clave’s watch. The point of
sending him here last night was to protect him.”
Having had a night to process the situation, Alec spoke up from behind his
siblings, “What does he care? I’m just a play thing for him. He’s not going to
care what condition my hands are in as long as I can spread my legs.”
“Alec, that’s not true. Magnus cares a great deal about you. This may not
be…conventional, but Magnus has his reasons. Let me heal your hands, Magnus
will explain it to you later,” said Catarina.
Not wanting to see her brother in pain, Izzy stepped aside to let Catarina
through. On his sibling’s encouragement, Alec held out his hands. As Catarina
worked to heal Alec’s hands, she thought about the situation. She understood
why Magnus was going through with the ceremony, but she felt pity for Alec. If
Magnus’s magic wasn’t so out of control, he’d have time to start a real
relationship with the shadowhunter, instead of forcing him into one. She had
thought about speaking to Magnus but after hearing about Elias, she knew that
Magnus didn’t have a choice.
“Look, Magnus probably won’t want me to tell you this, but I think you should
know. I don’t know how much you know about Magnus so I’ll start from the
beginning. Magnus isn’t a normal warlock. He’s the son of Asmodeus, a greater
demon who is a fallen angel. That alone gives him more power than an average
warlock. Magnus figured out that Asmodeus was his father when he was about four
centuries old. Asmodeus has many children but Magnus is the only one who has
managed to stay alive because Asmodeus uses their immortality and lives to fuel
his realm, Edom. Asmodeus tried to claim Magnus too, but he underestimated his
son and wasn’t able to kill him. So he tried to go after other warlocks and
downworlders, but Magnus refused to let his father win. The two fought for a
few centuries on and off before Magnus banished Asmodeus to Edom. During that
time, Magnus had to resort to dark magic to stay ahead of Asmodeus and has
become the de facto leader of the Downworld. But even though they stopped
fighting over a century ago, the damage has been done. As Magnus grows more
powerful each day, so does the dark magic and demon in him. The only way to
stop his demon half from taking over is for him to take a mate to help ground
his magic. Unfortunately, Magnus is stubborn and has refused to bond with
someone he doesn’t have feelings for. Yesterday, he almost killed one of his
assistants for talking back to him. I know you think Magnus is evil, but he’s
not. The dark magic is messing with his mind, making him rash and possessive.
Ragnor was pushing for him to bond with someone after yesterday’s incident
right before he met you. Somehow, he fell for you in the few short minutes he
spoke with you. He went to the Clave because he doesn’t have the time to have a
real relationship with you first. His magic is turning on him, and he needs
today’s ceremony.”
When Catarina finished, the group of shadowhunters stared at her in shock, not
sure what to say. Jace was the first to recover. “So basically you’re telling
us that my parabatai is about to be bonded to an unhinged warlock who can be
angered at the drop of a hat. How comforting.”
“Jace!” exclaimed Clary, “She’s trying to help.”
“By telling us that Bane is basically bipolar?” asked Izzy.
“I’m not going to sugarcoat it. Right now, Magnus’ mood is unpredictable and
dangerous. But after the bond is consummated, he will be fine. He’ll be back to
his old self and won’t have anymore episodes,” said Catarina. “His magic is
making him act a little off right now, but it will get better.” Having said her
piece, Catarina left the room so that Alec could eat and change. He would need
time to process the new information.
They considered a hunger strike but with so little time left and Jace’s
grumbling stomach, they gave in and ate the food that Catarina had brought.
After eating, Alec reluctantly put on the gold tuxedo. Jace wanted to make a
comment about the color, but Izzy and Clary’s glares shut him up. When it was
time for the ceremony, Catarina and a green warlock with horns returned to take
them to the Accords Hall.
***
Magnus stood at the altar waiting for his shadowhunter to arrive. When Ragnor
and Catarina walked in with the shadowhunters, Ragnor led his finance down the
aisle while Catarina took the rest of the group to their seats next to their
parents. Alexander was stunning in the gold tuxedo and Magnus couldn’t stop
himself from staring. When Alexander reached his side, Tessa began the
ceremony.
“Magnus Bane, do you take this man to be your mate, to have and to hold, from
this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in
sickness and in health, till death do you part?” asked Tessa.
“I do,” replied Magnus.
“Alexander Lightwood, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband,
to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer
or for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?”
Alec looked into the crowd full of shadowhunters and downworlders. He spotted
his siblings in the front row, next to his parents. His mother was glaring at
him, as if daring him to disobey the Clave. Even if he refused, he was sure
that Magnus would still continue the ceremony. Knowing that he didn’t have
another choice, he took a deep breath and said, “I do.”
Nodding her head, Tessa began chanting and weaving a complicated spell. Magnus
began glowing blue and Alec gasped when he felt Magnus’ magic engulf him. A few
moments later, the glow disappeared and Magnus felt the bond start to form.
 “Magnus and Alexander, you have declared your consent before the Clave. May
Raziel in his goodness, strengthen you consent and fill you both with his
blessings,” said Tessa. “You may now kiss your groom.”
 Magnus gave Alec a bright smile as he stepped forward, wrapped an arm around
Alec’s neck and kissed him. Not knowing what to do, Alec stood there, letting
Magnus deepen the kiss. When Magnus finally ended the kiss and stepped back,
Alec was sure his face was bright red.
 “Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to present to you, for the first
time, Magnus and Alexander Bane,” announced Tessa.
 As the crowd moved towards the reception, Tessa motioned for Alec and Magnus
to follow her to the back of the room, away from the crowd. Humoring his
friend, Magnus guided Alec towards the back.
 “Magnus, you’re one of my oldest and dearest friends and I know you need a
mate to settle your magic. Make no mistake that that’s the only reason I agreed
to do this ceremony for you today. I don’t agree with using a blood contract to
force somebody into a relationship. But I know I won’t change your mind, so
I’ll leave you with a warning. Alec is Cecily’s great-great-great-grandson,
which mean’s he’s Will’s family. If I find out that you’ve mistreated the boy,
I will find a way to end you. Prince of Hell be damned,” said Tessa.
 Magnus nodded at his friend. He had expected the lecture. He knew when he
asked Tessa to cast the bonding spell for him that she would disapprove. He
also knew deep down that what he was doing was wrong, but he wanted Alexander
too much to care. Thanking his friend, he led his mate back to the reception.
***
 The newly-bonded pair stepped out of the portal and into Magnus’ loft. He felt
Alec shake next to him as he led the shadowhunter towards his bedroom. By the
time Alec was guided to sit on the bed, he was crying silently.
 “Shh, don’t cry my love,” whispered Magnus, holding Alec tightly.
 “Please..don’t. I’ve..never,” cried Alec.
 “Calm down, I’ll be gentle,” said Magnus, “But we have to do this for the bond
to fully settle.”
 Magnus quickly removed his shirt and pants before laying Alec on the bed. Alec
stayed still while Magnus removed his shirt and pants. But when Magnus got to
his boxers, Alec panicked and shoved Magnus off of him, scratching the
warlock’s chest in the process. Magnus touched the bleeding wound and looked at
the blood on his fingers before looking back at the now terrified shadowhunter.
 Magnus’ expression remained calm, but his eyes were yellow and cold. It was
like a switch had flipped. Magnus flicked his wrist and Alec’s hands were tied
to the bedpost. “Nobody has ever denied me before. And nobody has tried to
attack me since the last time I fought my father and forced him to stay in his
little realm.”
 “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to scratch you,” said Alec, trembling. He really
hadn’t meant to scratch the warlock. He had panicked and acted on reflex and
was now regretting it. Pissing off a powerful warlock right before said warlock
fucks him was definitely not what he had intended.
 “Why are you trembling Alexander? Do you think me a monster?” asked Magnus,
his voice falsely sweet.
 “N..no. Of course not,” replied Alec, even as he tried to get out of the rope
that was tying his hands to the bed.
 “Since you and your precious Clave already think that I’m a monster, maybe I
should play my part. Show you what a real monster I am,” said Magnus, as he
flicked his wrist again, flipping Alec on his stomach, hands still tied to the
bedposts. Magnus let his hands wander all over Alec’s trembling back. When he
grabbed Alec’s ass, said shadowhunter’s previously silent tears became full on
sobbing.
 “Stop crying before I give you something to really cry about!” hissed Magnus,
“You know, I had this all planned out. I was going to take things slow and make
you feel good, but you had to go and attack me. So maybe I should just take
what’s mine and not even bother with prepping you. Then I’ll hand you over to
some of my friends when I’m finished with you. I’m sure they’ll enjoy fucking a
shadowhunter.”
 Alec started thrashing on the bed. Magnus was one thing, he was already bonded
to the man with no way out. But Alec wouldn’t be able to handle being passed
around. “No! Please Magnus, I’ll do whatever you want!” screamed Alec. “Just
please don’t give me to your friends.”
 And with that, Magnus snapped out of it. He looked down at his trembling mate
and felt his heart break. He had caused his mate to fear him after promising
not to hurt him. With a snap of his fingers, Alec was released from the ropes.
Alec scrambled off the bed and sat in a corner, knees curled up, rocking
himself as he cried.
 “I’m so sorry, Alexander,” whispered Magnus as he walked out of the room,
locking it behind him. He quickly created a portal to the DuMort where he knew
Raphael and Ragnor would be.
***
 “For Lilith’s sake, put some clothes on,” said Magnus, as he stepped out of
the portal and into Raphael’s bedroom.
 “Dios!” screamed Raphael as he quickly wrapped a blanket around himself.
Ragnor spelled his own clothes back on before handing Raphael’s pants to him.
 “Magnus, what on earth are you doing here? It’s your wedding night!” exclaimed
Ragnor.
 “I hurt him,” said Magnus, guilt clear in his voice, as he slid to the ground.
 “What do you mean you hurt him?” asked Raphael cautiously, afraid to set
Magnus off.
 “I don’t know what came over me. One second everything was fine. But then
Alexander panicked and shoved me off of him, scratching me. Next thing I know,
I had him tied up and I was threatening him. I didn’t snap out of it until
Alexander started crying and begging me not to hurt him,” said Magnus.
 “What exactly did you do or say to him?” asked Ragnor, placing a hand on his
friend’s shoulder.
 Magnus closed his eyes in shame, “I told him that since shadowhunters thought
of warlocks as monsters, I was going to play my part. I told him I was going to
take him dry and then let my friends take turns with him. He was so scared,
begging and apologizing.”
 “Magnus! How could you?”asked Raphael, clearly disgusted with his friend.
“Please tell me you didn’t follow through with any of that.”
 “Of course not! I snapped out of it when he started sobbing and begging me. I
untied him and came straight to the hotel,” said Magnus.
 “You have to go back,” said Ragnor, “You have to consummate the bond as soon
as possible.”
 “What? Ragnor! Magnus shouldn’t be near that boy right now. I’ve never been
one to care for shadowhunters, but this is insane. Think of what could’ve
happened if Magnus hadn’t snapped out of it.”
 “That’s exactly what I’m thinking of. Two episodes in two days is bad. He
needs the bond to be completed in order for his magic to settle. The sooner he
has sex with the shadowhunter, the sooner his magic gets back under control.”
 “I can’t. What if I lose control again?” asked Magnus.
 “We’ll go with you. If it sounds like something is wrong, we’ll come in and
stop you,” said Ragnor.
***
 When Magnus opened the door, he had expected to find his Alexander where he
had left him. Instead, he was sleeping on the bed, curled underneath the
blankets. He was sleeping so deeply that even the door opening hadn’t waken him
up. Magnus could see the tear tracks on the shadowhunter’s face and knew that
he had likely cried himself to sleep. Placing a hand on Alec’s shoulder, he
gently shook the sleeping nephilim.
 Alec’s eyes widened in fear when he saw that the warlock had returned. His
first instinct was to get off of the bed, but he knew that it would only make
things worse for himself. So he forced himself to stay on the bed.
 “It’s okay, Alexander, I promise I won’t hurt you,” said Magnus. Seeing doubt
in Alec’s eyes, Magnus continued, “I know you have no reason to trust me after
what happened, but I really won’t hurt you. And I’m sorry about before, I
didn’t mean for that to happen. Sit up, I’ll explain everything to you.” Not
knowing what else he could do, Alec let Magnus help him sit up, making sure to
keep the blanket tightly wrapped around himself.
 “I know Catarina told you about my history with my father. Everything she said
is true. I don’t regret resorting to dark magic because my people needed me.
But the dark magic I used against my father has caused my power to grow
exponentially to the point where I don’t have a firm grasp of it anymore. I
don’t want to make excuses for myself, but the magic imbalance causes my temper
to flare up and my sensibilities to leave without warning. According to Ragnor,
consummating our bond will help a great deal and once the bond has had time to
settle, I won’t have anymore problems with losing control. I’m very sorry about
what happened and please know that it won’t happen again. I hope you can
forgive me someday,” said Magnus
 Alec wanted to believe Magnus. He wanted to believe that he wasn’t bonded to a
monster. But his mind kept replaying the threats and the groping.
 “Alexander, I hate to ask, especially after what happened, but do you think
you’re up for finishing the bond? If there was any other way, I would wait. But
that’s now two episodes in just as many days. I can’t risk leaving our bond
open and me possibly hurting you. I promise I’ll be gentle.”
 Alec stared at his hands, not sure what to say. “I understand, but what if I
do something to anger you or you…” Alec trailed off.
 “Alexander, look at me,” Magnus said softly, lifting Alec’s chin. “I won’t
hurt you. Ragnor and Raphael are right outside. They will come in and stop me
if need be. Nothing like that will happen again. I promise you that.”
 “Okay,” said Alec. Magnus leaned down and kissed Alec gently, pulling the
blankets back. Magnus used his magic to remove their clothes this time, hoping
to avoid any scratches. Alec looked to the side, refusing to look at Magnus
when said warlock spread his legs apart.
 Magnus grabbed the lube from the bedside table and coated his fingers with it.
Carefully sliding one slick finger inside of Alec, Magnus began stretching him.
After a while, he added a second finger, slowly making scissor motions. When
Magnus added a third finger, it brushed against Alec’s prostate and the
shadowhunter moaned in pleasure. Deeming Alec prepared enough, Magnus lifted
Alec’s legs up and guided himself to his hole, stopping at the entrance.
 “This may be painful at first, but I’ll go slow. If you need me to stop, let
me know,” said Magnus.
 Magnus looked directly into Alec’s eyes, waiting for any signs of protests.
When there weren’t any, he slowly pushed himself in, stopping when he was at
the hilt.
 Tears leaked from Alec’s eyes as he bit his lips to stop from screaming in
pain. It hurt and the fullness felt uncomfortable.
 “I’m sorry, Alexander,” said Magnus, wiping Alec’s tears with his thumb.
Magnus leaned down to lay kisses along his mate’s neck, trying to distract him
while he adjusted to the warlock’s size.
 When Alec no longer looked to be in pain, Magnus pulled out almost all the way
before slowly pushing back inside, hitting his prostate. The shadowhunter
moaned, grabbing Magnus’ shoulders to pull him closer. Magnus began to thrust
in and out and after a few moments, Alec moved his hips with Magnus’, creating
a rhythm. Alec’s eyes rolled back in pleasure as Magnus continued to hit his
prostate. Engulfing Alec’s mouth in a kiss, Magnus began thrusting faster as he
felt himself getting close.
 The bond grew tight as Magnus’ magic surrounded both of them. Alec felt
pressure building inside of him as Magnus’ thrusts grew frantic. He felt his
body shudder as Magnus quickly followed, cumming deep inside him. The bond
snapped into place and Alec instantly felt the low humming of the magic
settling around them. Magnus collapsed on top of Alec and took a few moments to
catch his breath before slowly pulling out of Alec.
 “Are you alright, Alexander?” asked Magnus breathlessly.
 Alec nodded his head, not able to give a verbal response. Magnus summoned a
warm wet cloth with his magic and gently wiped away the mess on Alec first,
before cleaning himself off. Not wanting to leave Alec, Magnus sent a quick
fire message to Ragnor before laying down next to Alec. Pulling the covers
back, he pulled the shadowhunter into his arms, smiling when Alec didn’t pull
away from him.
***
 Alec opened his eyes and blinked at the strange room for a moment before the
events of the previous night came flooding back. He quickly looked over to the
sleeping warlock, hoping with every fiber of his being that the bond had fixed
his magic. The previous night had been intense, both emotionally and physically
for Alec.
 When Alec tried to push himself off the bed, he immediately yelped in pain.
Magnus shot up, looking around the room, thinking he was under attack before
finally noticing his mate next to him.
 “Alexander? What’s wrong?” asked Magnus, concern clear in his voice, “Are you
hurt? I hurt you didn’t I?”
 “No, you didn’t. You were very gentle, I’m just a little sore,” replied Alec
shyly.
 “Do you need me to call Catarina?” asked Magnus.
 “No!” exclaimed Alec, face getting red from embarrassment, “I’m fine and I
really don’t need anyone else seeing me like this.”
 “Why don’t you go grab a quick shower and we can talk over breakfast. We have
a lot to talk about,” said Magnus, pointing to the bathroom, “You can borrow
some of my clothes for now. We’ll go to the Institute later today to grab your
things.”
 Magnus had summoned an impressive breakfast spread by the time Alec finished
his shower. Motioning for his mate to take a seat, Magnus took a deep breath
before beginning the undoubtedly awkward conversation.
 “Are you okay?” asked Magnus, instantly wanting to hit himself for asking such
a stupid question. Who would be okay after being forced into a bonding,
threatened with gang rape, molested, and then being coerced into losing their
virginity.
 “I’m fine,” mumbled Alec, busying himself with cutting a bagel.
 “You don’t have to pretend, Alexander. You can’t possibly be fine after
yesterday,” said Magnus, “You should be traumatized after I molested you,
threatened you, and then forced you to have sex with me.”
 Putting the knife down, Alec looked up at Magnus, “What do you want me to say
Magnus? That I’m terrified of what could of happened last night? That I’m
scared you’ll lose your temper again? Because I AM scared. But it won’t change
anything.”
 “Alexander,” whispered Magnus, “I’m sure my words mean nothing to you, but I
promise you that it won’t happen again. The bond is complete and my head is the
clearest it’s been in the last decade. I can guarantee that I won’t lose
control again.”
 “I don’t’ know if I can just take your word for it. I let myself believe that
you wouldn’t hurt me when we walked in here last night and you went broke your
word not three minutes later.”
 “Give me a chance, Alexander. I’ll prove myself to you,” said Magnus, “I’ll do
whatever necessary to earn your trust.”
 “Even if it means letting me go back to the Institute?” asked Alec.
 “I can’t ask you to stay,” said Magnus, “Not after everything that’s happened.
If you want to leave, I won’t stop you. But know that I will do everything
possible to win you back.”
 “You never had me,” said Alec, getting up from the table and walking towards
the door.
***** Chapter 2 *****
Chapter Notes
     Hope you guys enjoy this!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
 “You never had me,” said Alec, getting up from the table and walking towards
the door.
 “Alexander, wait,” said Magnus, following Alec towards the entryway.
 Alec froze, thinking that he should have known better than to think that
Magnus would just let him leave. Turning around slowly to face his mate, he
waited with bated breath. Seeing the scared expression on Alec’s face, Magnus
stopped where he was and gave him a sad smile.
 “I’m not going to stop you from leaving and I’m not going to touch you without
your permission. I’ll give you the space you need. I was only going to suggest
that I portal you back to the Institute. You don’t have any of your weapons
with you, I’d feel better knowing you weren’t wandering the streets of New York
defenseless,” said Magnus.
 “Oh,” said Alec sheepishly, feeling a little guilty for doubting the man.
 “And I’d like it if you checked in with me every day. Just to let me know
you’re okay,” said Magnus. Seeing Alec’s doubtful look, he added, “I know she’s
your mother, but I don’t trust her. She’s already threatened to kill you once.”
 Not having another choice, Alec nodded his head and Magnus created the portal.
 ***
 When Alec stepped out of the portal, everyone stopped what they were doing to
stare at him. Not seeing his siblings or his parents, he walked to the training
room, ignoring everyone else.
 “Alec!” exclaimed Izzy when she spotted him. Throwing her staff to the ground,
she ran to hug her brother, closely followed by Jace.
 “Jace and Izzy have been up all night worried about you, are you alright?”
asked Clary. She stood a few steps away from the hugging siblings, giving them
space.
 “I’m fine,” mumbled Alec, not wanting to let go of his siblings.
 “Are you here to get your things?” asked Jace, “Maryse packed your bags last
night. She was going to have Raj drop them off if you didn’t come by to pick it
up.”
 Alec shook his head. His mother really had written him off. “Guess you’re
going to have to help me unpack then.”
 “Wait, what?” asked Izzy, “You’re staying?!”
 “Yeah, Magnus says I can stay here,” replied Alec, not wanting to get into too
much detail.
 Izzy and Jace looked at each other, confused. Just yesterday the warlock had
refused to budge on mating with their brother. Why would such a possessive man
let his mate out of his sight?
 “Big brother, I’m glad you’re back, but what are you not telling us? We met
Bane, there’s no way he would let you go,” said Izzy.
 Alec sighed. He should’ve known that he wouldn’t be able to keep a secret from
his siblings. They were too nosy for their own good.
 “Not here,” said Alec, looking at the open training room, “Let’s go to my
room.”
 When they reached his room, Alec saw that it had been completely stripped
bare. His mom must have wanted all traces of her failure of a son gone.
 “Before I tell you guys, I need you to promise not to freak out and do
something rash,” said Alec.
 “Because that’s a great way to start a conversation,” said Jace, rolling his
eyes, “But whatever, I promise. Just tell us!”
 “The bond had to be..uh..consummated in order for Magnus’ magic to settle. So
when we got back to his lair, he started..taking off my clothes. But I panicked
and somehow managed to scratch him. You remember how Catarina told us that
Magnus could be set off really easily?” asked Alec, “She wasn’t kidding. He got
really mad and tied me up. He started grabbing at me and threatening me.”
 “Threaten you how?” asked Jace, eyes angry and dangerous.
 “He..it doesn’t matter,” said Alec, staring at the ground.
 “It does matter! If you won’t tell us, we’ll just go hunt down the warlock and
ask him,” said Izzy.
 “No Izzy. I need you and Jace to stay away from him. He’s too dangerous,” said
Alec. Seeing his sister’s determined expression, he gave in, “Fine. He told
me..that he..he would take me..dry..and then..share me with..with his..his
friends.” He was barely holding back his tears when he was finished.
 “WHAT?!” roared Jace, “I’m going to kill him. I don’t care if he’s the Prince
of Hell or the High Warlock of Brooklyn, or whatever the fuck he calls himself.
I will end him.”
 “Jace, go get your seraph blade and I’ll go get my whip. Meet me at the
entrance in 5 minutes,” said Izzy, walking towards the door. “Are you coming
Clary?”
 “Wait! He didn’t actually do anything. He snapped out of it,” said Alec,
grabbing his siblings to stop them from murdering his mate.
 “I don’t care, Alec. He threatened you in the most disgusting way possible.
How dare he!” screamed Jace.
 “I don’t think he could’ve helped it. He wasn’t in control; it was the demon
inside him,” said Alec.
 “That’s not an excuse!” yelled Izzy angrily. “What happened afterwards? He
just let you leave?”
 “Not exactly. He kind of freaked out and went to go see his friends. His
friends convinced him to come back to complete the bond. Said it was too
dangerous to leave it open anymore. So we uh..completed the bond. He felt
really bad about it this morning and let me leave.”
 “What you’re saying is that after he threatened you with rape and probably
scared the hell out of you, he left you alone, and then came back and made you
have sex with him to save himself? That selfish fucker!” said Jace, voice
getting louder with each word.
 “Jace! Calm down,” said Alec. “He didn’t have a choice and like I said, he
felt really bad afterwards. Why do you think he let me come back? I’m pretty
sure if he wasn’t feeling so guilty, he wouldn’t have let me out of his sight.
As it is, I’m worried he’ll change his mind and force me to go back.”
 “I can’t be calm, Alec. That warlock hurt you. You’re my parabatai,” said
Jace, “How can you tell me to stay calm? And don’t worry about him, if he comes
for you, we’ll stop him.”
 “You can’t stop him Jace. He’s too powerful. Even with his magic grounded he’s
dangerous. And I’m calm because at least he stopped, okay?” said Alec, tears
threatening to fall, “It could’ve been a lot worse. But even though he said all
those things, he didn’t actually do any of it.”
 “Saying it is already pretty bad. Don’t tell me you’re forgiving him,” said
Izzy, eyes narrowing at her brother.
 “I didn’t say that. I’m not going to lie, he scares me. A lot. And I don’t
trust him. Why do you think I came back? I couldn’t be in the same room as
him,” said Alec, “I need you and Jace to promise me that you won’t go looking
for him. I don’t want him to hurt you guys.”
 “How long is he letting you stay?” asked Izzy.
 “We didn’t say. Indefinitely, I presume,” replied Alec, “Although he did say
he was going to try to win me back, so I don’t know. For all I know, he
could’ve changed his mind already and be on his way right now.”
 “We won’t let him take you this time big brother,” said Izzy, wrapping his
brother in a hug. “And if you want to talk about -
 “I highly doubt he wants to talk about his disaster of a wedding night with
his little sister Iz,” snarked Jace, “You can talk to me.”
 “I won’t be talking to either of you,” said Alec. “I’m fine.”
 Just as Izzy was going to say something, the door swung open, revealing Maryse
and Robert. Alec stared at his parents, expressionless. He hadn’t wanted to
believe what Magnus had said about his mother, but seeing his empty room had
confirmed his parent’s disappointment with him. Wanting him dead wasn’t too far
of a stretch.
 “Alec, what are you doing back here?” asked Maryse, lips pursed. “Where’s
Bane?”
 “At his loft. He agreed to let me come back,” said Alec, “But I can see that
I’m not welcome anymore. How long did you wait before packing up my stuff?”
 Ignoring Alec’s comment about his room, Maryse said, “Have you not dishonored
the Lightwood name enough? The Clave ordered you to bond with Magnus Bane. You
need to stay with him. I can’t have him complaining to the Clave that you asked
to come back here after one day.”
 “I’m dishonoring the Lightwood name? You’re former Circle members. The
Lightwood name has no honor!” screamed Alec. “Don’t blame this on me. There’s
no way the Clave would have let Magnus have me if you hadn’t already pissed
them off.”
 Furious, Izzy stalked over to her mother, shoving her brother behind her. “You
call yourself our mother? Do you even care about Alec? What he went through
last night?”
 “We don’t need to know what that lothario does as long as Alec does his duty,”
said Robert curtly.
 “Duty? You call letting that warlock rape him his duty?” yelled Jace.
 Alec stared at his parents. He knew his parents weren’t affectionate but he
never thought his parents would go so far. He had left Magnus’ loft because he
couldn’t trust him, but it was looking like the Institute wouldn’t be much
safer.
 “This was a mistake,” said Alec, grabbing his suitcase and walking into the
hallway.
 “Alec! Where are you going?” asked Izzy, chasing after her brother.
 Maryse grabbed Izzy’s arm, “Let him go. He needs to go back to Bane. He
doesn’t belong here anymore.”
 Izzy twisted out of her mother’s grip and glared at her. “He’s the acting head
of this Institute. He does belong here.”
 “Not anymore,” hissed Maryse, “Magnus Bane’s whore can’t run an Institute.”
 Having heard enough, Alec made his way out of the Institute. Desperately
wanting a drink, he went to the one bar he knew would serve him. Everyone in
Hunter’s Moon stopped talking when Alec walked in. Sitting down at the bar,
Alec ordered a beer.
 Pete placed a beer in front of Alec and asked, “What’s with the luggage?”
 Ignoring the werewolf, Alec started gulping down the beer. While Alec was
downing his beer, Pete whispered to Bat to call Luke. He had instantly
recognized Alec even though they had never met, as Raphael had already circled
Alec’s description to the entire Downworld. Raphael had been very clear that
the boy was to be unharmed and protected. Judging from the suitcase, it looked
like the boy was running. And if the nephilim really was running away from
Magnus and they didn’t stop him, there would be hell to pay. Their pack
couldn’t afford to lose Magnus’ protection.
 When Alec finished his beer, Pete placed another one in front of him, biding
time for Luke to find Magnus. Alec was just finishing his fifth beer when
Magnus walked through the doors.
 “Alexander,” said Magnus softly, looking at his mate with sadness. Alec was a
mess.
 “Magnus?” asked Alec, feeling more than slightly tipsy as he tried to get up.
Magnus stopped him from tripping and guided him back onto the stool.
 “What happened? You should be at the Institute,” said Magnus, eyeing the
luggage.
 “Got kicked out,” said Alec, “Apparently, since I’m your whore now, I can’t be
run the Institute. I’m not even sure they consider me a shadowhunter anymore.
Have no where to go.”
 “Alexander, listen to me. You’re not my whore. You are my mate. I know you
don’t believe me, but I care about you and it breaks my heart to hear you refer
to yourself with such a derogatory term.”
 “Tell that to my father. According to him, the only duty I have now is to
spread my legs on command.”
 Magnus was furious. If this had happened before he had full control of his
magic, he would’ve burned the Institute and Idris to the ground by now. As it
is, he was resisting the urge to have Maryse and Robert brought to him so he
could tear them apart limb from limb.
 “I will speak to them Alexander,” said Magnus, pulling Alec into his arms. “We
will fix this, I promise you. For now, let’s go home.”
 “No!” shouted Alec, “You promised I could leave.”
 “Alexander, that was before your parents kicked you out. Where are you going
to stay?” asked Magnus, trying to be patient, “It’s too dangerous for you to be
out here by yourself. There are a lot of people who will think they can get to
me through you. You’re lucky I know the pack leader of this bar.”
 “I don’t care, I won’t go back with you,” screamed Alec, trying and failing to
get out of Magnus’ arms. “I was fine drinking by myself. I would’ve found a
hotel or something afterwards..”
 “Alexander, you are causing a scene,” said Magnus, taking deep breaths to stay
calm, “And you shouldn’t be drinking at all. We’re going home right now.” The
werewolves around them were staring at the warlock and his shadowhunter mate,
amused. Not wanting to appear weak in front of other downworlders, Magnus used
one hand to grab Alec’s wrist and the other one to create a portal. Tossing
Alec’s suitcase into the portal, he dragged Alec through, thanking Pete before
disappearing
***
 While Alec was at the Institute
 
 “How is he?” asked Ragnor, as he stepped into Magnus’ loft.
 “Traumatized, probably,” said Raphael, glaring at Magnus.
 “Don’t give me that look Raphael. I didn’t mean for it to happen,” snapped
Magnus.
 “Tell that to the shadowhunter,” said Raphael, “Where is he by the way?”
 “Back at the Institute,” replied Magnus.
 “You mean to pack his things?” asked Raphael, shocked that Magnus would let
his little shadowhunter out of his sight.
 “No. He’s staying at the Institute for now,” said Magnus, “I felt too guilty
this morning to say no to him when he asked.”
 Raphael narrowed his eyes at Magnus. “I know your magic is grounded and all
now, but I know for a fact that you’re still a possessive bastard. Why would
you let him go?”
 “I don’t know,” said Magnus, “I felt really bad about what happened last
night, so when he asked, I agreed. I thought it would help me gain his trust.”
 “I think Magnus made the right decision,” said Ragnor, “The poor boy needs
some space right now.”
 “I didn’t say it wasn’t a good idea, I’m just shocked that our fearless leader
would let his little mate out of his sight,” said Raphael, “He’s possessive
when he’s in a normal relationship. I figured he’d keep his mate under lock and
key.”
 “Trust me, I want to. But I promised to make it up to Alexander and if it’s
space he wants, I’m going to try to give it to him,” said Magnus. “For now, I
asked him to call me everyday to let me know he’s okay.”
 “There’s the Magnus I know and hate,” said Raphael, smirking at his friend.
 “If you didn’t help me last night, I would be throwing fire at you right now,”
said Magnus.
 “Speaking of, let’s hear about it,” said Raphael, ducking behind Ragnor.
 “Ugh, Raphael! We heard enough last night,” said Ragnor, “I for one do not
want any details.”
 “True. There probably isn’t much to tell anyways, it was over pretty fast. I
thought you’d last longer Bane,” jested Raphael.
 “You’re just dying to see sunlight today aren’t you? And for your information,
I didn’t think drawing it out would be a good idea. Alexander was terrified and
not ready for sex so I did what I had to to settle the bond. That’s it,” said
Magnus, daring Raphael to say anything.
 “It’s for the best. You have eternity together. You can court him properly and
then have all the hot and heavy sex you want later. Hell, knowing you, you’ll
have a dozen mini-Magnus’ and mini-Alec’s running around within a century or
so,” said Ragnor.
 Magnus stared at his friend, “What did you say?”
 “What? About the kids? Come on Magnus, you’ve always wanted kids,” said
Ragnor.
 “I forgot that I could have children with my mate,” said Magnus, mortified.
 “Wait a second, don’t tell me you didn’t use a contraception spell,” said
Ragnor, “Magnus! You know warlock mates can get pregnant if the warlock is
powerful enough. And you’re the definition of a powerful warlock!”
 “I didn’t think…damn it I didn’t think,” said Magnus, distressed.
 “Oh you were thinking alright, just not with the right head,” snickered
Raphael.
 “This is no laughing matter Raphael,” scolded Ragnor, “Alec is very likely
pregnant already.”
 “Damn it! I shouldn’t have let him go to the Institute this morning,” said
Magnus.
 “Well you’re going to have to tell him, sooner rather than later,” said
Ragnor.
 *Knock* *Knock* “Magnus! You in there?” yelled Luke.
 Furrowing his brow, Magnus spelled the door open. He gave the werewolf alpha a
confused look. “Did something happen Luke?”
 “Yeah, I just got a call from Bat. The Lightwood boy is currently getting
drunk at Hunter’s Moon. Pete said he had a large suitcase with him and thinks
he’s running from you. I don’t agree with what you did to get him to bond with
you, but I don’t think it’s a good idea for him to be getting drunk in
Downworlder bars either,” said Luke.
 “Damn it!” shouted Magnus, “Thank you Luke, I will go fetch Alexander.” Magnus
started creating a portal, but Luke grabbed his arm.
 “Magnus, he’s just a kid. Remember that please,” said Luke, hoping he hadn’t
made a mistake by telling Magnus where the boy was hiding.
 Magnus rolled his eyes, “He’s not running from me Luke. He was supposed to be
at the Institute. If he has luggage with him, then he’ running from his
parents, not me.” Pushing Luke out of the way, he created a portal for the
alley behind Hunter’s Moon.
 ***
 Alec opened his eyes and looked around confused. The last thing he remembered
was drinking at Hunter’s Moon and then Magnus…Of course it was his mate. Magnus
had dragged him through the portal and he had promptly collapsed into his arms.
Alec didn’t recognize the room and began getting out of the bed when he
realized he wasn’t alone.
 “You’re awake!” said Simon excitedly, blurring to his bedside, “I don’t know
if you remember-“
 “I know who you are, you’re Clary’s mundie friend.”
 “I’m not even a mundane anymore! Why do you and Jace still call me that?”
 Ignoring Simon’s question, Alec asked, “Where am I?”
 “Hotel DuMort.”
 “The vampire headquarters? Wh..Why? Where’s Magnus?” asked Alec, panicking.
Magnus had been angry at him at the bar, but he wouldn’t leave him with a bunch
of vampires would he? Thinking about the warlock’s threats from the previous
night, Alec shuddered. No, Alec told himself, Magnus’ magic was grounded now.
He wouldn’t…
 “He’s speaking with Raphael in his office. Raphael told me to watch over you,”
said Simon, breaking Alec’s train of thought.
 “I’m leaving,” said Alec, getting up from the bed. Simon ran to the door and
stood there with a determined look on his face.
 “Sorry Alec, I can’t let you leave. Raphael barely tolerates me as it is, I
can’t defy a direct order,” said Simon.
 “Don’t make me hurt you Simon,” said Alec stalking towards the fledgling.
 “With what? You don’t have any weapons!” said Simon triumphantly.
 “It’s cute you think I need any to take you down,” said Alec, smirking.
 Before either of them could do or say anything else, the door opened. Magnus
ran to check on Alec while Raphael stood to the side, glaring at his fledgling.
“I thought I told you to keep the nephilim on the bed?”
 “Alexander what are you doing out of bed?” asked Magnus, placing a hand on the
small of Alec’s back and guiding him back towards the bed. Alec twisted out of
his hold to glare at his mate.
 “Why did you bring me here?” demanded Alec.
 “You said you didn’t want to go back to my loft,” said Magnus, “And I couldn’t
let you wander the streets of New York. I figured staying here was a
compromise. You said you were going to get a hotel.”
 “How the hell is this a compromise?” asked Alec. “And I meant a mundane hotel.
Not one filled with vampires! I can’t stay here.”
 “Raphael, could you and Steven give us a moment. Alexander and I need to
talk,” said Magnus. Raphael nodded, and grabbed his fledgling by the shoulder
to drag him out.
 “Alexander, please sit down. You’re causing yourself stress and it’s not
healthy for you,” said Magnus. “I need to tell you something and you’ll
understand why I want you at the DuMort instead of a mundane hotel when I’m
done.”
 “Fine,” said Alec, sitting down on the edge of the bed.
 “First of all, I want you to know that I didn’t intend for this to happen. Too
much happened last night and it slipped my mind. How much do you know about
warlock mates?” asked Magnus.
 Alec shrugged his shoulders, “Before yesterday? Not much. I just know it’s
permanent.”
 “It’s a lot more complicated that that. Mates with strong bonds can speak to
each other through their bonds. The bond also allows the warlock to share his
immortality. One aspect of the bond that you may not know is that a warlock’s
mate can get pregnant if the warlock is powerful enough, regardless if the mate
is male or female. The more powerful the warlock, the higher the likelihood of
impregnation.”
 Alec stared at Magnus in shock, “Men can’t get pregnant.”
 “Warlock mates can. It’s actually common for warlocks. We just have a tendency
to use glamours to not draw attention from the Clave,” explained Magnus.
 “Why are you tell…No. I can’t be,” said Alec, in denial.
 “I’m sorry Alec, I wasn’t thinking last night and forgot we needed a
contraception charm,” said Magnus.
 “I can’t be pregnant, I would know if I were! I haven’t felt anything!”
exclaimed Alec, starting to hyperventilate.
 “You need to breathe darling, the stress isn’t good for the baby,” said
Magnus, “Cat checked on you while you were sleeping off the alcohol, she
confirmed that you’re pregnant.
 Alec wrapped an arm around his stomach, “Oh angel, I was drinking. I probably
killed it. That’s why I collapsed right? It’s dead.”
 “Shh, it’s okay Alexander, the baby is okay. She says that as long as you
don’t drink anymore, he or she will be fine. You collapsed because you drank
too much and was exhausted.”
 “I’m really pregnant aren’t I?” asked Alec, staring at his stomach.
 “You are. And while I’m sorry I forgot that we needed contraception, I’m not
sorry about the baby. I promise that I will take care of you and the baby,”
said Magnus.
 “This still doesn’t explain why you brought me here,” said Alec.
 “Your parents kicked you out of the Institute and you refused to stay at my
loft. This was the next best option,” said Magnus.
 “How is a vampire clan even an option? I’ll just get my own place,” said Alec.
 “Absolutely not Alexander. Maybe if you weren’t pregnant, but it’s too
dangerous for you to stay by yourself. I have many enemies that would want to
attack you to get to me,” said Magnus, “Once word gets out that you’re
pregnant, people will come after you.”
 “I’m pregnant, not crippled,” said Alec, “I can protect myself.”
 “You can’t fight as well when you’re pregnant Alexander,” said Magnus. “I
won’t endanger you or my child. Either you stay at my loft or you stay here at
the DuMort.”
 “How is making me stay with a bunch of vampires keeping me safe?” asked Alec.
 “Raphael and his clan are very loyal to me,” said Magnus, “They will not let
anything happen to you.”
 “You promised that you would give me space Magnus!” exclaimed Alec, “Forcing
me to choose between your loft and your buddy’s hotel isn’t giving me space.”
Magnus was infuriating Alec with his attitude. The warlock couldn’t seem to
understand why Alec was upset.
 “That was before you were kicked out of the Institute. And I didn’t know you
were pregnant at the time,” said Magnus, “This changes things. Alexander, I am
trying to be understanding. I really am. But this is not negotiable. Either you
stay with Raphael or you come home with me. Having your own place is not an
option.”
 “So what? Everything you said this morning doesn’t count anymore because I’m
pregnant with your baby?” asked Alec. “You’re doing a great job at ‘winning me
back.’”
 “I didn’t say that Alexander. If you don’t want to stay with me at my loft,
you can stay here and take all the time you need. Or if you want, I can give
you your own room at the loft. Either way, I won’t touch you without your
permission,” said Magnus.
 Alec took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. He wanted to punch his
stubborn mate but knew that he couldn’t. Even with his magic grounded, Magnus
was proving to be a dangerous person. Alec didn’t want to put his baby in
danger, even if he wasn’t sure how he felt about it. Shaking his head in
defeat, he made a decision.
 “You’re sure it’s safe here? For the baby?” asked Alec.
 “Yes. The clan will not harm you or the baby. Raphael has already assigned Sam
to be your bodyguard. He’s a fledgling, but he’s loyal to a fault and you
already know him,” said Magnus.
 “Magnus, I don’t need a bodyguard. I’m a shadowhunter,” said Alec, “And plus,
he can’t even go out during the day.”
 “Even protectors need protecting sometimes,” replied Magnus, “If you need to
go out during the day, Maia, a girl from Luke’s pack, will follow you.”
 “I don’t need people to follow me around!” exclaimed Alec, “I’ll stay here for
now, but I won’t be followed around like some criminal.”
 “Alexander, please, it’s for my peace of mind. I know you can protect
yourself, but even you need help sometimes,” said Magnus.
 “I’ll bring Jace and Izzy if I need anything,” said Alec.
 “Actually, I would prefer it if you didn’t,” said Magnus, “At least until I’ve
sorted this thing out with the Clave and your parents. I don’t know who’s side
they’re on.”
 “They’re my siblings damn it. I know they’re on my side and you can’t keep
them from me,” said Alec, practically yelling.
 “Then why didn’t they help you yesterday? They let you run out of that
Institute and didn’t follow you. They didn’t even bother to see if you got
home,” said Magnus, “You could have been in serious danger yesterday. Can’t you
see that? You were very lucky the bartender recognized you and notified his
alpha.”
 “My parents must’ve stopped them. They care about me, I know they do. They
tried to take you on when I was taken by the Clave. There’s no way they would
abandon me,” said Alec.
 “Okay, they can visit you here. But I don’t want you traipsing across town
hunting demons with them,” said Magnus.
 “So basically this room is my jail cell,” said Alec, flopping down on the bed.
 “This is only temporary Alexander, I promise,” said Magnus.
 “Can I at least call Izzy to let her know I’m okay? I know you don’t believe
me, but she must be worried,” said Alec.
 “Of course darling, I’m not trying to cut you off from them. I just want to
make sure it’s safe for you first,” said Magnus, “I know you’re upset with me,
but I’m just worried about you.” Leaving Alec to talk to his sister in private,
Magnus made his way back to Raphael’s office.
***
 “You have a serious problem, you know that right?” asked Raphael.
 “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” said Magnus, purposefully evading
the question.
 “I’m talking about your incessant need to be in control all the time. And your
border-line stalkerish tendency to be possessive,” said Raphael.
 “I just want to make sure they’re safe,” said Magnus, “What’s wrong with
that?”
 “Nothing. But you’re taking this too far,” said Raphael. “Let the boy get his
own place. If you want, we can station people all over the place to make sure
he’s safe. Forcing him to choose between here and your loft is going to
suffocate him.”
 “No, not yet anyways. Maybe in a few months when Alec is pass his first
trimester. Warlock pregnancies are rough and the first trimester is especially
dangerous. I’m doing this for his own good,” said Magnus.
 “Does he know that?” asked Raphael.
 “I’ve told him, I’m just not sure he understands,” said Magnus.
 
 
Chapter End Notes
     Don't forget to leave a comment, I love hearing from everybody!
***** Chapter 3 *****
Chapter Notes
     I hope you like the direction this is going.
See the end of the chapter for more notes
“Alec!” exclaimed Izzy when she picked up the phone, “Where have you been?
We’ve been calling you for hours.”
“I’m fine Izzy,” said Alec, secretly happy that he was right about his siblings
and that Magnus was wrong.
“We’re on our way to Bane’s right now,” said Izzy, not believing that her
brother was actually okay.
“I’m not at Magnus’ loft,” said Alec, “I couldn’t go back there.”
“Where did you go? A hotel? Which one are you at?” asked Izzy urgently.
“Umm, I’m at the Hotel DuMort,” said Alec, waiting for the inevitable outburst.
“Ok, we’re on our..wait, did you just say DuMort? As in the headquarters of
Raphael Santiago’s clan? I’m going to kill Bane!” screamed Izzy, immediately
assuming the worst.
“No! Izzy, I’m fine. I promise. I need you, Jace, and Clary to come over here.
I need to tell you something in person,” said Alec.
“We’ll be right over big brother,” said Izzy.
He had briefly entertained the idea of not telling his siblings, but knew that
it wasn’t practical. There was no way he could avoid his siblings for 9 months
and even if he could, he’d have to explain the baby.
The baby. What in the name of Raziel was he going to do with a baby? He didn’t
know the first thing about raising a baby. And he certainly wasn’t ready to
raise one with Magnus Bane. Despite knowing that Magnus wasn’t evil, he was
still having a hard time being alone with the warlock. Every time he was near
the warlock, his brain seemed to automatically provide him with images of the
previous night: the fight, the threats, and the sex; making it difficult for
Alec to know how to act around his mate. He was scared of what the powerful
warlock could do. And he couldn’t stop thinking about the sex. While Magnus had
been gentle, Alec wasn’t ready for it again and he was deathly afraid that
Magnus’ patience would run out and start demanding it.
When the trio of shadowhunters arrived at the DuMort, they stood at the
entrance, not sure what to do. Alec hadn’t sounded like he was in distress, so
they technically weren’t allowed on the premises without an express invitation
from the clan leader. If they went in with seraph blades, they could
accidentally start a war. Suddenly the double doors to the hotel opened,
showing Raphael on the other side.
“Nephilim,” said Raphael, “Come in.”
“You’re letting us in?” asked Jace, surprised.
“It was Magnus’ idea not mine. However, you will leave all of your weapons in
this hallway,” said Raphael, gesturing to an empty table. When the three
nephilim started protesting, Raphael put his hand up, silencing the group. “I
won’t endanger my clan. Either put your weapons down, or leave. As long as you
don’t try to harm any of my people, no harm will come to you. You won’t need
those weapons.” Wanting to see Alec, they reluctantly put their weapons down
and followed Raphael deep into the hotel.
“Clary!” exclaimed Simon, when the group reached a door that Simon was
guarding.
“Simon, what is going on? Why is Alec here?” asked Clary.
Before Simon could reply, Alec opened the door. “Izzy! Jace! Clary!” exclaimed
Alec, pulling his siblings and friend into the room. Alec quickly thanked the
two vampires before shutting the door.
Jace looked around the room, confused by the bright lights and decorations.
While the rest of the hotel seemed to be dark and unkept, this room looked like
it belonged in an actual hotel. Turning to look at his parabatai, he frowned
when he noticed that Alec was pacing.
“What’s going on Alec?” asked Jace, “Why are you staying here?”
“I’m pregnant,” Alec blurted out, avoiding the gazes of his fellow
shadowhunters.
Being the first to recover, Izzy reached out to place a hand on her brother’s
shoulder, “Alec, men can’t get pregnant. Are you okay?”
“Izzy, I’m not crazy. I really am pregnant. Apparently, warlock mates can get
pregnant regardless of gender. It’s just not common knowledge to non-warlocks,”
said Alec.
“Even if you could get pregnant, you only had sex last night. You can’t
possibly know already!” exclaimed Clary.
“I didn’t think so either, but warlock pregnancies are different. The more
powerful the warlock, the more likely his mate can get pregnant. Catarina’s
already confirmed it,” said Alce.
“Oh Alec,” whispered Izzy, hugging her brother tightly.
“That still doesn’t explain why you’re here,” said Jace, causing Alec to smile.
He had said the exact same thing to Magnus.
“After I left the Institute, I went to Hunter’s Moon to drink. Unfortunately,
the bartender recognized me and notified Magnus who came to pick me up. I
refused to go with him, so this was his compromise. It was either here or his
loft, I picked here,” explained Alec.
“That warlock sure has an interesting definition of the word compromise,” said
Clary.
“At least he decorated the room,” said Izzy, admiring the spacious room.
“That’s not the point Iz!” exclaimed Jace.
“You’re right,” said Izzy, refocusing her attention to her brother, “Alec, why
are you so calm?”
“I’m not. I freaked out when Magnus told me and I had a mini panic attack
before you got here,” said Alec. “I’m as far from okay as one could be.”
“I’m so sorry big brother,” said Izzy teary eyed, “We’ll get through this
together.”
“Don’t worry Alec, we will be here for you. If you need anything at all, call
us and we’ll be here,” said Jace.
“Even if I wanted ice cream and pickles at 3 a.m.?” asked Alec, smiling at his
parabatai.
Jace gave Alec a disgusted look, “Gross! Can’t I just take you to Taki’s or
something? I bet they’d be able to satisfy all your strange pregnancy
cravings,” said Jace, “Speaking of, I’m starving, let’s go right now.”
“Sure,” said Alec, opening his door to find Simon still standing outside,
“We’re going to Taki’s.”
“You sure that’s a good idea dude? Magnus said..” started Simon.
“Magnus said not to go hunting demons with my siblings. They’re taking me to
get dinner to feed his baby,” said Alec, smirking when Simon grudgingly agreed.
“Ok, but I’m coming with you. I’m not supposed to let you out of my sight if
you leave the hotel,” said Simon, following the group towards the entrance,
ignoring Alec’s protests.
***
“We don’t usually get stared at when we eat here do we? Or have I just been
extremely unobservant?” asked Clary, looking at all the weird looks their table
was getting.
“In their defense, we do make an odd group,” said Simon, pointing to each one
of them, “Shadowhunter, shadowhunter, Valentine’s daughter, Magnus Bane’s mate,
and a vampire. We sound like one of those bad mundane jokes,” said Simon,
before looking back down at his food when Jace glared at him.
“So, Simon, why are you not allowed to leave Alec out of your sight?” asked
Izzy.
“Raphael. Although I’m pretty sure those orders came from Magnus. I’m supposed
to be Alec’s bodyguard,” said Simon. He reached over and grabbed one of Clary’s
french fries to throw at Jace when the blonde shadowhunter bursted out
laughing.
“You? Guarding Alec? Putting aside that my brother doesn’t need a bodyguard,
what can you do?” asked Jace, smirking at his girlfriend’s best friend, “How
did you become a vampire again? Oh that’s right, you got kidnapped. I can’t
believe Magnus is leaving Alec’s life in your hands.”
“Jace!” exclaimed Clary, hitting Jace in the arm.
“For your information, I’ve been training with Raphael,” said Simon heatedly,
“I’m not that defenseless mundane anymore.”
“Sure,” scoffed Jace, not believing a word Simon was saying.
***
“Your fledgling was supposed to be watching him Raphael, not letting him run
all over town with his siblings,” exclaimed Magnus.
“According to Simon’s text, your shadowhunter is just getting dinner. Let them
be Magnus,” said Raphael, attempting to stop his friend from going to Taki’s.
“None of the downworlders there are going to have the nerve to touch your mate.
“It’s not them I’m worried about. It’s his siblings,” said Magnus.
“His siblings put their weapons down in order to see him to see him. If they
didn’t care about him, they wouldn’t have taken that risk,” said Raphael,
“You’re blowing this out of proportion.”
“Am I?” asked Magnus, “His own mother threatened to kill him and then kicked
him out. His father told him his only duty was to spread his legs for me. We
don’t know that his sibling won’t side with their parents.”
“I don’t think they will, but you need to talk to the Clave,” said Raphael,
“Demand an explanation.”
Nodding, Magnus immediately created a portal to Alicante. Not wanting to be
left behind, Raphael stepped in before Magnus. When they arrived in the Gard,
they were met with shocked looks. Portals shouldn’t be able to be opened in
Alicante without explicit permission.
“Bane, what are you doing here? And how did you open that portal without our
permission?” asked Malachi.
Magnus smiled brightly at the Consul, “Who do you think set those wards when
portals were invented? They can’t keep me out.”
“You have no right to come barging in here!” exclaimed Imogen.
“I thought we were allies Imogen,” said Magnus, shaking his head.
“Is that what this is about?” asked Malachi, “Has there been an attack?”
“Not an attack. But this is about out alliance. You agreed to let me bond with
Alexander in exchange for my help, agreed?” asked Magnus.
“Yes, and we followed through. You had your ceremony yesterday,” said Malachi,
confused.
“The boy hasn’t run has he? Although I wouldn’t be surprised, Lightwoods aren’t
good at following orders,” said Imogen. “We can send soldiers to find him and
bring him back to you.”
Magnus rolled his eyes at the Inquisitor, “He didn’t run, Imogen. I let him go
back to the New York Institute. I didn’t want to overwhelm him.”
“Then what’s the problem?” asked Imogen, exasperated with the cryptic warlock.
“The problem, Imogen, is that his parents kicked him out as soon as he got
there. Maryse told him that he was no longer the acting head of the Institute
and Robert said that Alexander’s only duty was to spread his legs for me. Now
where do you think they got that idea from?” asked Magnus, eyes glowing yellow
in anger, “Alexander doesn’t think you consider him a shadowhunter anymore. Is
that what’s going on here? Are you going to de-rune my mate for being bonded to
me on your orders?”
“We didn’t tell the Lightwoods anything!” exclaimed Malachi, “The Lightwood boy
has always been a good soldier. While we didn’t think you’d let him return to
the Institute, we certainly haven’t considered stripping him of his runes.”
“You were there when I specifically ordered Maryse not to harm the boy. Why
would we do anything to jeopardize our alliance?” asked Imogen.
“So Alexander is still the acting head of the Institute when his parents are
here?” asked Magnus.
Imogen and Malachi looked at each other, as if having a silent conversation.
Imogen nodded her head and said, “If you don’t mind your mate spending so much
time at the Institute, yes.”
“I don’t mind at all. Alexander will be happy to hear it. That still leaves the
problem of his parents’ treatment of him. I can’t imagine them being happy with
me going over them to speak with you.”
“I think it’s time we reconsidered Maryse and Robert Lightwood’s exile. They
haven’t exactly been doing a good job of running that Institute anyways,” said
Imogen.
“I agree. We can’t have people who threaten such an important alliance be heads
of the New York Institute. I will send soldiers immediately to bring them back
to Alicante,” said Malachi.
“Who’s going to run the New York Institute if not the Lightwoods? And what are
you going to do with Maryse and Robert?” asked Magnus.
“Alec is already the acting head. We’ll officially instate him as the head of
the Institute, effective immediately. As for his parents, we will keep them
locked up until we can figure out what to do with them,” replied Malachi.
“The other Lightwood children will remain unharmed?” asked Magnus. He knew his
mate cared more about those siblings of his than himself.
“Of course, they have done nothing wrong. Is that all?” asked Imogen, motioning
to the portal.
“Almost. There’s one more thing you need to know. He is pregnant with my child.
Know that I will do anything to protect the two of them. If it means I have to
burn Idris to the ground, I will do it,” said Magnus, giving the Consul a
challenging look, “You know I have the resources to do so.”
“What do you mean he’s pregnant?” asked Imogen, shocked. It wasn’t that she
didn’t know warlock mates could get pregnant, most high-level Clave members
knew. She just didn’t think the Warlock would risk it in the middle of a war
with Valentine.
“I mean exactly what I said. I just need you to tell me that it won’t interfere
his career,” said Magnus.
“I don’t know Bane. How are we going to explain this to the rest of the Clave?”
asked Malachi.
“Tell them that you had to insure my eternal loyalty and alliance. You need me,
Malachi. I police the Downworld so that you don’t have to do it. I provide you
with the numbers you don’t have. Leave Alexander and my child alone, and you
will always have my support,” said Magnus.
“Fine. He can still run the Institute. And we will leave your child alone,”
said Imogen, “Now can you leave?”
“But of course,” said Magnus, stepping back into the portal.
***
“Damn it Magnus,” exclaimed Raphael when he realized that they had portaled to
the alley behind Taki’s instead of the DuMort.
“Peace, my friend. I just want to tell Alexander the good news,” said Magnus,
making his way into the restaurant.
Jace spotted Magnus as soon as he stepped into the building. Instantly on
alert, he got up to stand in front of his parabatai. Izzy, meanwhile, had her
whip ready. Alec sent Simon a dirty look, knowing that the vampire had informed
Magnus of where they were. Seeing the shadowhunters prepare to fight their
leader, the other downworlders in the restaurant all got up.
“Can everybody please just relax? I’m only here to deliver some good news. I
will leave afterwards,” said Magnus, motioning for his people to sit back down.
He was going to have to spread the word that his mate’s family was off limits
as well as his mate. He knew Alexander would never forgive him if one of his
downworlders managed to harm Izzy or Jace.
“Are you letting me get my own place?” asked Alec cheekily, knowing the warlock
would say no.
“No. But I promise you’ll like what you hear,” said Magnus, sitting down, “Your
parents are being taking back to Idris as we speak. You’ve officially been
named the head of the New York Institute.”
“What?” asked Jace, “Why would the Clave do that?”
“Because I asked them to. I informed Malachi and Imogen of the way your parents
treated my Alexander and they decided that your parents were no longer fit to
run the Institute.”
“But what about, you know,” said Alec, hoping Magnus got the hint about the
baby.
“I’ve informed them of that as well. They will leave you alone as long as you
do a good job of running the Institute,” said Magnus.
“Does this mean I don’t have to stay at the hotel anymore?” asked Alec.
Magnus sighed. He would prefer his mate to stay with people he trusted but he
knew the shadowhunter wouldn’t like it, “It would be impractical for you to
stay with Raphael now that you are head of the Institute. If you wish, I will
have your things moved back to the Institute tonight.”
“Really?” asked Alec, eyes full of hope.
“Yes, but no shadowhunting,” said Magnus, “I still want you to text me every
day to let me know you’re okay. And Shannon and Maia go with you if you leave
the Institute,” said Magnus.
“Fine,” said Alec, knowing there was no point in arguing with the warlock.
“Wait, what about Max?” asked Izzy, “Is he going back to Idris too?”
“Not unless you want him to,” said Magnus, “Well, I’ve said my piece, good
night Alexander.” Magnus got out of his seat and walked out the door, Raphael
following silently behind him.
When they were outside, Raphael said, “In terms of grand gestures go, I think
giving somebody an Institute is pretty high on a shadowhunter’s list. You’re
going to have a hard time topping this. Maybe you should’ve started small, like
flowers or something.”
***
When Alec returned to the Institute that night, his room had been restored to
the way it was. Feeling tired and nauseous, Alec laid down on his bed, thinking
about the past day. He was so confused that he no longer knew how to feel. On
one hand, Magnus had threatened and terrified him. The warlock had also tried
to keep him from his siblings. On the other hand, the same warlock had gone to
the Clave and gotten him his Institute back. His mate was so full of
contradictions that it was getting hard for Alec to keep up.
*Knock* “Alec? Can I come in?” asked Jace.
“Sure,” replied Alec. Jace walked in and closed the door behind him.
“How you feeling buddy?” asked Jace, sitting on an armchair. He looked at Alec
worriedly, the dark-haired shadowhunter hadn’t bothered to get off the bed when
he had walked in.
“I’m fine,” said Alec, “Just a little tired.”
“I know what you’re thinking, don’t,” said Jace.
Alec gave Jace a questioning look. “Can you read my mind through the parabatai
bond now?”
“You’re thinking about Bane and how he helped you get this place back. You want
to forgive him,” said Jace, daring Alec to prove him wrong.
“No. Not the second part anyways,” said Alec, “Yes, I was thinking about what
he did for me, but I wasn’t thinking about forgiving him. I already have.”
“Alec!” exclaimed Jace, jumping out of the chair.
“Wait, let me explain. I forgive him for losing control of his magic and
lashing out on me. It wasn’t his fault and you know it. He managed to reign it
in before anything could happen and for that I’m thankful,” said Alec, “But it
doesn’t mean I will forget what happened. I understand that what happened
wasn’t his fault, but he still scares me. And the fact that he used a blood
contract to force me into bonding with him is not something I can comprehend.
So you don’t have to worry, I won’t be jumping into his arms like you seem to
think I will.”
“And the baby?” asked Jace, “You can’t just avoid him forever. By the sounds of
it, he’s going to be trying to insert himself into your life every chance he
gets.”
“I don’t know Jace,” whispered Alec, “I really don’t.”
“But you’re keeping it?” asked Jace, “Because he can’t force you to have it if
you don’t want to. There has to be a way to terminate it if it’s what you want.
And if Bane’s blue friend won’t do it, the Silent Brothers will know what to
do.”
“I..think so?” said Alec hesitantly, “Even though it wasn’t expected, I don’t
know if I can just get rid of it.”
“Whatever you decide on, I’ll support you. Max and Izzy will too,” said Jace.
“Thanks, I’m going to try to get some sleep. I don’t feel so well,” said Alec,
already closing his eyes.
***
Magnus woke to the sound of his cellphone ringing continuously. Annoyed by the
nerve of the caller, he picked up his phone, fully intending to curse out
whoever was on the other line.
“Who dares disturb my sleep?” snarled Magnus.
“Bane? This is Jace Herondale, Alec’s parabatai,” said Jace, a sense of urgency
in his tone.
“Blondie? What are you doing calling me at…4 in the morning? Is Alexander
okay?” asked Magnus.
“I’m not sure. I woke up to him screaming an hour ago. I think he was having
nightmares. When I woke him up, he puked. He fell back asleep, but now he’s
thrashing around again,” said Jace, “I don’t know if the nightmares are from
his time with you or if it’s the baby, but you need to get over here with your
healer friend.”
“Damn it! I’ll be right over, stay with him,” said Magnus, quickly changing his
clothes and sending a fire message to Catarina.
Magnus stepped out of the portal with Catarina, having picked her up at her
apartment. Izzy was waiting for him and led them to Alec’s bedroom. As he grew
closer, he began to feel his mate’s distress through the bond. If their bond
had been stronger, he would’ve woken up when Alec started having the
nightmares, but with their separation and the situation, he hadn’t felt
anything until now.
“Alexander,” said Magnus, shaking Alec’s shoulder lightly to wake him.
“No!” shouted Alec when Magnus touched him, “Let me go! Please!”
Magnus shut his eyes, heart breaking at the sight of his distressed mate. He
didn’t need Catarina to tell him that he was the source of Alec’s nightmares
and not the baby. Alec was obviously reliving the previous night.
“Magnus, let me handle it. Why don’t you and Jace wait outside?” asked
Catarina. Magnus nodded his head and dragged the reluctant shadowhunter out of
the room. Catarina gently patted Alec’s arm to wake him. This time, Alec opened
his eyes groggily.
“Catarina? What are you doing here? Where’s Jace?” asked Alec, trying to rub
the sleep from his eyes. He had had a nightmare and Jace had promised to sit
with him while he slept.
“You were experiencing bad nightmares and throwing up when you were awake, so
Jace called Magnus. They’re waiting outside,” replied Catarina.
“He didn’t have to. I’m fine,” insisted Alec.
“Can I assume that you’ve never had nightmares like this prior to bonding with
Magnus?” asked Catarina. When Alec nodded his head, she continued, “And you
didn’t have any nightmares last night when you were next to Magnus? Or earlier
today when you were at the DuMort?”
Alec stared at the Warlock. She was right, he had slept fine when he was with
Magnus the previous night. Despite what had happened, he hadn’t had any
nightmares.
Correctly translating Alec’s silence, Catarina called Jace and Magnus back into
the room. “You, Magnus Bane, are an idiot.”
“Cat?” asked Magnus, confused as to what he could’ve done. He had given Alec
the space he asked for. What did he do wrong?
“Your bond is only a day old and he’s pregnant. Of course he’s having
nightmares and getting sick! The bond is going haywire right now because it
thinks you’ve abandoned them,” said Catarina, exasperated with her friend.
“I haven’t abandoned them,” snarled Magnus, indignant that his friend would
accuse him of such a thing, “I was simply giving Alexander the space he
requested.”
“Alec doesn’t know better, you should,” said Catarina.
“I didn’t think it would effect him since the bond is so new,” said Magnus,
“And why didn’t you say anything earlier at the DuMort?”
“I thought you took him there because he was drunk. How was I supposed to know
you’d let him stay elsewhere? You’ve been so damn possessive, I thought you’d
take him home with you as soon as he woke up,” said Catarina, “The bond being
new is why this is happening. Add the fact that he’s pregnant, it’s only going
to get worse. That baby needs your magic nearby to grow. Without you close by,
the pregnancy is going to be especially draining on Alec’s energy levels. And
the strain on the bond is going to continue manifesting itself into nightmares
of whatever Alec fears most. I know in this case it’s probably contradictory,
but the bond is hoping that the distress you feel on your end of the bond will
bring you back to Alec.”
“I won’t repeat myself again Cat, I did not abandon Alexander and my child,”
said Magnus through gritted teeth. Magnus would never abandon his child. He
would love him or her unconditionally.
“I know that, but the bond doesn’t,” said Catarina.
“So you’re saying the bond will make me sick if I’m not sleeping with him?”
asked Alec, mortified.
“Not exactly. If you stay apart, eventually, the nightmares will subside. But
it would take weeks if not months and it would get worse before getting better.
If you weren’t pregnant, I’d say you could try, but the stress isn’t good for
the baby. The baby is half warlock, so it needs Magnus’ magic nearby. Without
it, the baby might not be able to survive. Look, it doesn’t have to be the same
bed, just relatively close living quarters. The room next door would be better
than having a river between the two of you,” said Catarina, glaring at Magnus
for knowing better. What was Magnus thinking, letting his mate live in
Manhattan while he stayed in Brooklyn?
“I see. Thank you Catarina, I’ll handle it,” said Magnus, turning to Jace,
“Herondale, can you walk Catarina out? I need to talk with Alexander alone.”
“Alexander, may I sit?” asked Magnus, gesturing to the arm chair by the window.
When Alec nodded, he sat down and looked at his mate. Alec was pale and his
hair was covered in sweat. “I’m very sorry darling, I didn’t think the bond
would have such an effect on you. I’ve heard of these things happening before,
but this usually only happens when one mate dies after being bonded for years.
With what happened and it being so new, I thought space would be better for
you. Obviously, I was wrong.”
“You didn’t know. You were only trying to respect my wishes, which I
appreciate,” said Alec, “So does this mean I have to move back in with you?
Frankly, I’m getting tired of moving. It’ll be what? My fifth move in two
days?”
“It’s either that or I move in here and I really don’t think the Clave would
approve. I’ve pushed them enough in the past few days to last a couple
decades,” said Magnus, “I’ll set up a room for you at my loft. My promise still
stands, I won’t touch you without your explicit permission. It’ll be like we’re
roommates.”
Alec bit his lip, not sure what to say. He understood the situation but he
still didn’t want to move back in with Magnus. He had been fighting all day to
stay away from the warlock and here his choice was once again being taken from
him.
“Can we do all of that tomorrow? I’m exhausted right now,” said Alec, his eyes
barely managing to stay open. Now that Magnus was next to him, the bond was
finally allowing him to rest.
“Of course. Sleep sayang, I’ll stay right here in this chair,” said Magnus.
Too tired to argue, Alec agreed before nodding off. Magnus watched his mate
sleep, elated that the shadowhunter trusted him enough to let him stay in the
room instead of kicking him out. He knew it was likely Alec’s exhaustion that
caused him to let his guard down, but it was enough to let Magnus fall asleep
with a smile on his lips.
***
“You’re secretly celebrating in your mind aren’t you?” said Raphael, smirking
at his boss. They were congregated in his hotel while the shadowhunters were
helping Alec move back into Magnus’ loft. Magnus could’ve used magic to
complete the task, but Alec had insisted on spending more time with his
siblings.
“Why would I celebrate my mate’s suffering?” asked Magnus.
“You got what you want, your little shadowhunter under your roof again,” said
Raphael.
“I would never..fine, you’re right, I am happy that Alexander has agreed to
stay with me. I was going crazy not being near him, even if it was only a day.
Of course, now I know that it was probably the bond reacting to the distance,”
said Magnus.
Raphael rolled his eyes. “You’re not seriously blaming the bond are you?
Everyone in this room knows you’re a possessive bastard. Regardless of the
bond, you would want your mate close to you,” said Raphael, “Or did you not
have me order my fledgling to spy on your mate for you?” He ducked behind
Catarina as Magnus half-heartedly threw a blue fireball at him, missing his
head by a foot.
“You’re right, I do want him close to me. But I’m not spying on him; I just
want him and the baby to be safe,” said Magnus.
“What do you call having Simon text you anytime Alec leaves his room?” asked
Raphael.
“Magnus, you need to stop being so possessive. It’s going to drive him away,”
said Catarina, “In case you haven’t figured it out yet, your mate is a very
independent shadowhunter. He doesn’t want to be coddled.”
“Says the woman who lectured me for giving my mate space and letting him live
at the Institute,” said Magnus, rolling his eyes.
“I’m not talking about your living situation. I’m talking about your possessive
tendencies like spying on him and having him check in with you,” replied
Catarina.
“I’m trying, but I can’t help myself,” said Magnus, “I just want them to be
safe.”
Chapter End Notes
     Feel free to leave your comments with ideas on what Magnus can do to
     win Alec back. =)
     P.S. I've decided to post the original second half of Chapter 1. A
     few of you have been asking for a darker Magnus and have expressed
     interest in reading what would've happened had Magnus not snapped out
     of it. I wrote it first and decided it was too heavy so I changed it.
     If you think it's something you'll find interesting, check it out.
     Warning: extremely dubious consent. Read at your own risk.
***** Chapter 4 *****
Chapter Notes
     Enjoy!
See the end of the chapter for more notes
Two months after Alec moved in with Magnus, the warlock was starting to go
crazy. He had thought he’d have a chance to properly get to know his mate, but
he had barely seen the shadowhunter at all. His mate seemed to have perfect the
art of avoiding him. He left for the Institute before Magnus was even up and
wouldn’t return to the loft until late. Magnus had only managed to have
breakfast with his mate a handful of times and dinner twice.
“Good morning Alexander,” said Magnus, walking into his kitchen and breathing a
sigh of relief that he had managed to catch his mate this morning.
“Good morning,” mumbled Alec.
“How are you feeling? Cat said your morning sickness has been getting worse,”
said Magnus.
“I’m fine. Just a little nauseous in the mornings,” replied Alec. Just as Alec
was going to make an excuse to leave, his phone rang, “Hey Iz! I’ll be heading
to the Institute.. What? Damn it! Is everyone okay? I’ll be over right away.
Keep him in my office for now.” Alec hung up the phone and started walking
towards the door before Magnus stopped him.
“What’s wrong?” asked Magnus.
“It’s Max. He uh set the library on fire,” said Alec.
“Who knew the littlest Lightwood had it in him. Come, I’ll make a portal and go
with you,” said Magnus as he started creating a portal.
“Oh, you don’t have to. I can..” said Alec.
“It’ll take you over half an hour to get there by subway. And if there’s a fire
at the Institute, I want to be there to make sure nothing gets out of hand.
Come on,” said Magnus, extending his hand to Alec as he began stepping into the
portal.
When they arrived at the Institute, the ops center was in chaos. Magnus saw
shadowhunters running everywhere. “Alec!” exclaimed Izzy, running over covered
in soot.
“Izzy! By the angel, are you okay?” asked Alec, “Has the fire been put out?
“I’m fine, everyone is fine. We put the fire out already. Jace has Max waiting
in your office,” said Izzy.
“What happened?” asked Alec, as they made their way to his office.
“I’m not entirely sure. Raj was giving Max his rune studies lesson when Max set
fire to the table with his stele,” said Izzy.
“Of course he did,” said Alec, shaking his head at his little brother’s antics.
The nine-year-old had been a handful since their parents had been arrested. Not
that Alec could blame him, while his parents hadn’t been affectionate to him or
Izzy, they had kept Max close to them. Opening the door to his office, he saw
Max sitting in a chair next to Jace while Raj glowered at the two.
“Raj, you should go clean up,” said Alec, gesturing at the shadowhunter’s
singed clothes. Nodding his head, Raj walked out of the room after giving Max
one last glare.
“Max,” said Alec, kneeling in front of his brother, “Why did you try to set the
library on fire? You or someone else could have been seriously injured.”
“It wasn’t my fault!” exclaimed Max, “I was hungry and wanted to draw the
nutrition rune.”
“Those two runes look nothing alike Max,” scolded Alec, shaking his head,
resisting the urge to smile. It wouldn’t do for Max to know think that setting
objects on fire was amusing.
“They do to me,” said Max, giving Alec his best puppy dog eyes.
Alec sighed, “I’m not Jace, that’s not going to work on me. Why did you really
draw the heat rune on that table? Don’t lie to me please.”
“Raj was boring. So I started drawing runes on the table,” said Max, looking at
his lap, “I didn’t mean to set it on fire.”
“Max, rune studies isn’t supposed to be interesting,” said Jace, “But it is
important if you want to be a full shadowhunter.”
“I know, but he was going on and on about the history of runes. I wanted to get
back to my books,” said Max. “Mystical creatures and fairy tales are more fun
to learn about.
“Well the good news is you won’t have to worry about Raj boring you anymore. I
doubt he’ll agree to teach you again,” said Izzy smiling at her brother.
“The bad news is you still have to learn your runes,” said Jace.
“I know,” said Max, “But can you at least get me a teacher that’s interesting?”
“After that stunt? We’re going to be hard pressed to find anybody,” said Alec.
Magnus, who had been watching the Lightwood siblings’ exchange in silence,
decided it was time to chime in. “I can do it.” When the four shadowhunters all
turned to stare at him, he continued, “Just because I’m not a shadowhunter
doesn’t mean I don’t know all the runes. I do own a copy of the Gray Book after
all. And I have never been called boring before.”
“Magnus, I appreciate it, but you don’t have to. I’m sure you have more
important things to do than to tutor a nine-year-old,” said Alec, looking at
Magnus in surprise. Why would the leader of the Downworld waste his time
tutoring Alec’s little brother?
“Your brother is important to you and therefore important to me,” said Magnus,
“What do you say Maxwell?”
“You’ll really be my teacher?” asked Max, “Will you tell me stories about magic
and demons?”
Seeing Alec’s face, Magnus replied, “If your brother is okay with it, of
course.”
“I don’t think the Clave will like this very much,” said Alec.
“The Clave can’t stop me from spending time with my brother-in-law now can
they?” asked Magnus, “Don’t worry so much Alexander, your brother is in good
hands with me.”
Jace and Izzy looked at each other. They barely trusted the warlock with their
eldest brother and now he would be spending time with the youngest one? “Thanks
for the offer, but I think I can teach Max myself,” said Jace, “No need for you
to rearrange your schedule. I’m sure you have clients to cater to or
downworlders to police.”
Magnus refrained from rolling his eyes. The blonde shadowhunter was an eternal
pain in his ass. Had Magnus not proved himself in the past few months? “My
schedule is already free. Perks of being at the top of the food chain.”
“Izzy, Jace, why don’t you take Max back to his room. I’m sure he could use a
shower after all that smoke,” said Alec, hoping his siblings would take the
hint that he needed to talk to his mate alone.
“I really appreciate your offer Magnus, but teaching Max is going to be a lot
harder than you think. He’s been acting out since my parents were taken back to
Idris,” said Alec.
“Alexander, he’s nine and a lot has changed in the last two months. I’d be more
surprised if he didn’t rebel a little,” replied Magnus, “I promise to get him
to learn the runes while making it fun enough that he won’t try to set our home
on fire.”
“Ok,” said Alec, “Wait, you want to teach him in your loft?”
“I didn’t think the others would want me here so often,” said Magnus, “Your
other siblings don’t care much for me.”
“They’re just overprotective,” said Alec, “But I don’t think it’s a good idea
for Max to be in your loft. There are too many things he could get his hands
on.”
“That’s fine, I can portal here with you in the mornings and teach him for
say…an hour on weekdays?” asked Magnus, mentally congratulating himself for
managing to subtly insert himself into his mate’s everyday life. His mate
wouldn’t be able to avoid him by leaving early anymore.
“That works. Thank you,” replied Alec, giving Magnus the biggest smile since
they’d met.
***
“Do you think Alexander would mind if I moved his brother’s lessons to a more
reasonable hour? Like after 12 at the very earliest?” asked Magnus, putting his
head on Catarina’s shoulder and shutting his eyes.
“He won’t, but then you wouldn’t get to portal in to the Institute with him
every morning,” said Catarina, “Or was that not the plan?”
“It was precisely the reason I suggested it. But after a month of waking up at
the crack of dawn, I’m starting to regret it,” said Magnus, “I need my beauty
rest.”
“You can’t have things both ways Magnus,” said Ragnor, “At least this way you
seem to be making progress with Alec.”
“That I am. Alec cares a lot for his siblings so he appreciates that I’m
teaching Maxwell,” said Magnus.
“Is the brat at least manageable?” asked Raphael, “I still can’t believe you
volunteered to teach a mini-shadowhunter.”
“Maxwell is delightful,” said Magnus.
“I’m sure that’s why you offered,” said Raphael sarcastically.
“I’ll admit, I offered in the beginning because I thought it would help get on
Alexander’s good side,” said Magnus, “However, I have enjoyed teaching young
Maxwell. He likes hearing stories about Downworlders.”
“You know what else would help? If you stopped having people report to you
about his whereabouts,” said Catarina, “Raphael says you still have his
fledgling and that girl in Luke’s pack following him when he leaves the
Institute.”
“I just want to make sure that Alexander and my child are safe,” said Magnus.
“Maybe you should stop asking them for reports?” suggested Ragnor, “Let them
guard Alec without spying. It might help them earn Alec’s trust too.”
Magnus sighed. This was a topic that they had gone over multiple times since he
bonded with Alec. Every one seemed to disagree with Magnus’ overprotectiveness
but Magnus hadn’t been able to relent.
“Ok, fine. But, I want to add more people to guard duty,” said Magnus. Before
his friends could protest, he continued, “Just as backup. Alexander doesn’t
need to know they’re there. If I can’t know where he is, then I want at least
three of my people ready to step in if anything happens.”
“Was that supposed to be a compromise?” scoffed Raphael, “Because I think your
nephilim would prefer having only one jailer instead of four.”
“Alexander won’t know. Pick a couple of our best fighters and just have them on
stand by in the area near the Institute. If Alexander leaves, they can follow
from a distance,” said Magnus.
***
“So you really are banned from Peru?” asked Max, “What did you do?”
“That is a story for another day Maxwell. If you get everything right on
tomorrow’s runes quiz, I’ll tell you,” said Magnus, “Come, I’ll walk you back
to your room.”
After taking Max to his room, Magnus made his way to the ops center, making a
point of taking a detour through the hallway where Alec’s office was located.
As he approached, he heard loud voices coming from the office. Standing just
around the corner, Magnus hid and listened.
“You shouldn’t go Alec,” said Jace, “You know Seelies aren’t trustworthy.”
“That’s not true Jace!” said Izzy hotly, “Meliorn says that the Seelie Queen
just wants a quick meeting with the new head of the Institute. You’re making it
sound like I’m asking Alec to put himself in danger.”
“That’s exactly what you’re doing Iz,” said Jace, “You’re letting that faerie
knight of yours cloud your judgment. Alec is Bane’s mate and pregnant.”
“So Alec will be fine. Bane is their leader, they won’t harm his mate. With the
upcoming war, I’m sure the Seelie Queen just wants to get the introductions out
of the way,” said Izzy.
“No. Out of all the species, the Seelies are the least loyal to Bane. The
Seelie Queen will stab Bane in the back if she has the chance. You can’t
deliver our brother to him because your boyfriend suggested it,” said Jace.
“Stop making it sound like I’m betraying Alec. Meliorn helped us out a few
months ago and now his queen wants to meet Alec. It’s not that big of a deal,”
said Izzy.
“Meliorn helped us out by giving us Bane’s address knowing we are going there
with seraph blades blazing,” said Jace.
“Enough!” exclaimed Alec, “Stop fighting. I can make my own decisions. I know
you mean well Jace, but I don’t see the harm in a quick meet. We’ll go tomorrow
morning.”
“This is a bad idea, but I’ll go with you. But you should consider telling Bane
where you will be, just in case,” said Jace.
“No way, Magnus won’t let me go,” said Alec.
“How are you going to get around Simon?” asked Izzy, “He’s gotten pretty good
at trailing you.”
“I’ll tell him I’m busy doing paper work and then we can sneak out,” said Alec.
Magnus remained silent as he heard the shadowhunters move out of the office and
towards the ops center. He was furious at his mate. They had agreed that Alec
wouldn’t go anywhere without Simon. And going to the Seelie Court was just
plain stupid. Knowing that he couldn’t confront his mate in front of his
subordinates, he took several breaths to calm himself down before following
Alec. He walked by Alec and gave the shadowhunter a tight smile before making a
portal, ignoring Alec’s confused look.
When Alec returned to the loft that night, Magnus was in his study attempting
to brew a potion. Of course he had been so focused on thinking about his mate
that he hadn’t gotten very far with the potion. Clearing his cauldron with a
snap of his fingers, Magnus walked towards the kitchen. He nodded at his mate
as he began conjuring dinner.
“Magnus?” said Alec hesitantly.
“Yes Alexander?” replied Magnus, without looking up from he table.
“Is something wrong?” asked Alex, “You’ve been kind of strange since Max’s
lesson this morning.”
“I don’t know Alexander, is something wrong?” asked Magnus, finally looking up
at Alec.
“I don’t know what you mean,” said Alec, shifting awkwardly. There was no way
Magnus knew about his plans for tomorrow right?
“I heard everything Alexander,” said Magnus. Seeing Alec’s confused expression,
Magnus elaborated, “About the Seelie Court.”
“Oh. It’s not a big deal. The Seelie Queen just wanted to meet me,” said Alec,
trying to downplay the situation.
“Then why did you find it necessary to plan to ditch Simon?” asked Magnus.
“I knew you wouldn’t like it if you knew. You’ve been so damn overprotective, I
thought it would be easier if I just went and returned without you knowing,”
said Alec.
“Easier? Alexander, we had an agreement. Simon goes with you anytime you leave
the Institute for your protection,” said Magnus, “It wasn’t negotiable.”
“I know, but I also told you I didn’t need protection. Stop trying to control
me. I can handle the Seelie Queen,” said Alec.
“I’m not trying to control you Alexander. I’m trying to look out for you,” said
Magnus, “Can you really handle the Seelie Queen? Do you even know what she’s
capable of? The Seelie Queen is a sneaky, vindictive woman who has been jealous
of me from the moment I became the leader of the Downworld and I can guarantee
you she won’t hesitate to use you against me.”
“Her issues with you don’t have any bearing on me. She wants to meet with the
head of the Institute and by protocol, I can’t turn her down simply because I
think she may hold a grudge against you,” said Alec.
“So you’d rather follow the Clave’s protocols and put both you and my child in
danger?” asked Magnus.
“Your child?” asked Alec angrily, clutching at his stomach, “This is just as
much my child as it is yours. It took two of us to make this baby. Hell, I’m
the one carrying it!”
“My apologies Alexander, you know I meant our child,” said Magnus, attempting
to calm Alec down. He hadn’t meant to make it seem like Alec was
inconsequential.
“Don’t patronize me Magnus, you meant what you said. Because that’s what I am
to you. Just someone to ground your magic and to incubate your baby right?!,”
screamed Alec. Magnus placed a hand on Alec’s arm, in an attempt to calm the
shadowhunter. Not wanting to be placated, Alec flung Magnus’ hand away from
him.
“Alexander, that’s not true. I love the both of you. I’ve told you this before
and I’ll keep telling you until you believe me, I fell for you the moment I saw
you at Pandemonium. I bonded with you because you’re the only person I want to
spend eternity with. You are not an incubator for me,” said Magnus, “The baby
was a surprise. A surprise that I cherish. I just want what’s best for the both
of you.”
“No. You don’t give a damn about me. Every conversation we have revolves around
the baby. You have your people report to you on everything I do. I’ve caught
Maia texting you my lunch plans. What do you think I’m going to do? Poison the
baby?” asked Alec.
“Of course not, I was just worried you weren’t eating as often as you should.
You tend to forget when you get caught up in work,” said Magnus.
“So you think I’m starving your baby now?” asked Alec, tears forming in his
eyes.
“Alexander,” said Magnus, not sure what else to say. This was getting out of
hand quickly and Magnus had no idea what to do. All of his previous anger at
Alec for trying to lie about the Seelie Queen had disappeared. He hadn’t
realized that his methods of protecting his mate had actually made the
shadowhunter feel worse about himself. He should’ve listened to his friends
instead of suffocating his mate with his overbearing behavior.
“I can’t keep doing this Magnus. I’m tired. If you can’t trust me enough to let
me leave the Institute without supervision or to provide nutrition for our
baby, then maybe you should just keep me here under lock and key. All this fake
freedom is getting tiresome,” said Alec, “It’s what you want isn’t it? Me bare
foot and pregnant. Or do you only need me to spread my legs on command? It’s
what everyone in Idris is saying about me anyways. Might as well turn it into
the truth.”
“I’m sorry, sayang,” whispered Magnus. For the first time in Magnus’ eight
centuries, he was completely lost for words. He knew Alec had been struggling
with their bond and the pregnancy but he had neglected to think about just how
much of a toll it was taking on the shadowhunter.
“You’re not sorry. You used a blood contract to force me to bond with you. Then
you all but made me sleep with you. You knew exactly what you were doing,”
screamed Alec, tears streaming down his face, “And as if that wasn’t enough,
you got me pregnant.” Magnus stepped forward to try to hug Alec, but Alec
ducked out of his grasp. Grabbing the nearest dish, a chicken casserole, Alec
hurled it at Magnus’ head. Magnus barely avoided the dish before another one
was thrown at him.
“Alexander, we can talk about this. Please, just calm down, the stress isn’t
good for the baby,” said Magnus, ducking from the silverware Alec was now
throwing at him. Seeing that Alec had worked himself up into a breakdown,
Magnus used his magic to clear the dining room.
“See? You only care about the baby,” shouted Alec, storming towards the door.
“That’s not true. I’m worried for the both of you,” said Magnus. Taking a
chance, he wrapped an arm around Alec and guided the struggling shadowhunter to
the couch. “I didn’t realize I was hurting you with my actions. I was only
trying to protect the two of you. I didn’t have Simon and Maia report to me
because I didn’t trust you. It’s the rest of the world I don’t trust. Come sit
down, we’ll talk through this.”
Magnus held on to Alec as the shadowhunter continued to sob against his chest.
Magnus’ heart clenched when he looked at the crying nephilim. Not knowing what
else to do, Magnus just held on to Alec tightly while the shadowhunter let out
his emotions from the past months. When Alec tired himself out from the crying
and finally stopped, Magnus lifted Alec’s chin to look him in the eyes.
“Alexander, I’m very sorry. I don’t know what I can do or say to fix this, but
I am trying. For centuries I have been the leader of the Downworld, meaning
that I have always gotten what I want. I know it’s made me self-absorbed and
possessive. Since we bonded, I have been trying to keep that part of me under
control. I thought I was compromising, but obviously I was wrong. I care very
deeply for both you and our baby, never doubt that,” said Magnus, “I know we
had a rough start and that this wasn’t something you would’ve picked for
yourself. But for better or worse, we’re bonded for eternity with a baby on the
way. Give me a chance and I promise you won’t regret it.”
In a perfect world, Alec could avoid Magnus for eternity. But this wasn’t a
perfect world. This was a world where he got pregnant after a forced marriage.
As much as he hated to admit it, he knew Magnus was right. Even Izzy had been
asking him if he had made any progress with Magnus. Taking a deep breath, Alec
made up his mind.
“Ok,” said Alec softly.
“Ok?” asked Magnus, shocked that Alec would agree.
“I’ll give this a try,” said Alec, “But you need to lay off all the
overprotective stuff.”
“I’m working on it. I really am. But It’s hard not to be protective when one is
bonded to a Shadowhunter. I need you to meet me half way on this,” said Magnus.
Seeing Magnus’ point, Alec nodded. “I’ll try not to do anything crazy without
at least telling you about it first.”
“And the Seelie Court?” asked Magnus. He knew he shouldn’t ask, since it was
what had set off Alec’s meltdown. But he really did need Alec to reject the
Seelie Queen’s invitation.
“I’ll tell Jace to go in my place,” said Alec. Seeing Magnus’ triumphant look,
Alec continued, “For the record, I’m not not going because you’re telling me
not to. I’m not going because I had my reservations about her as well. I just
didn’t want to seem like a weak head of the Institute. But since she’s
apparently an enemy of yours, I’ll avoid her for the baby’s sake. If I wasn’t
pregnant, I would go.”
Magnus shook his head. Shadowhunters had no self preservation whatsoever. But
he would worry about that later. For now, he was going to celebrate the
progress he had made with his mate.
“Hey Magnus,” said Alec, “Do you think you could get us dinner again?”
“Only if you promise not to throw it at me,” said Magnus teasingly.
Chapter End Notes
     Don't forget to leave a comment! =)
***** Chapter 5 *****
Chapter Notes
     Hey everyone!
     This chapter was hard to write, but I hope you like it.
     Several of you have asked me about this, so here goes:
     I forgot that I put it this a note for Takdir but not for this story.
     I work full time in the day and go to law school at night so my plate
     is pretty full. I absolutely love writing fanfiction and do it
     anytime I have a spare moment. This means if I have a paper (I have
     one due on the 11th, so this will likely be my last update till then)
     or if the semester is just rough in general, I might not update as
     often. It's not that I don't want to, it's just hard to be creative
     when my mind is overwhelmed with school stuff. BUT, I promise, I will
     not abandon any of my stories. Please just be patient with me. I love
     you guys and thanks for reading! <3
See the end of the chapter for more notes
“A casserole?” asked Jace, trying to hide his smile, “You threw a casserole at
him? Did it hit him at least?”
“Jace!” exclaimed Clary, punching her boyfriend in the arm.
“Keep going. What happened afterwards?” asked Izzy, glaring at Jace.
“He asked for a chance to prove himself and I agreed. I can’t very well avoid
him for eternity, two months has been hard enough,” said Alec, avoiding his
sibling’s eyes.
“Alec! After everything he did to you, you’re going to what? Let it slide? I
know he’s been trying to ‘make it up’ to you, but tutoring our little brother
doesn’t wipe out all the other shit he pulled when his magic wasn’t grounded.”
“Jace, I’m sure Alec knows what he’s doing,” said Izzy, “As much as I don’t
like it, Alec’s bonded to the man for eternity. Not to mention the fact that
he’s pregnant. And plus, Magnus has been trying very hard to redeem himself. At
least give him some credit.”
“Jace, I appreciate the concern, but it’s misplaced. I’m not automatically
falling into Magnus’ arms. I’m only giving him a chance by not avoiding him at
every possible turn,” said Alec.
“But - “ started Jace.
“I made up my mind,” said Alec. Looking at Izzy, he said, “Are you mad that I
won’t be going to the Seelie Court?”
“Of course not! Now that I know she’s actually plotting against Magnus, I
wouldn’t let you near her! She’ll have to settle for Jace. And I will be giving
Meliorn a piece of my mind for trying to set up my brother,” said Izzy.
“Gee Iz, really feeling the love over here. What if she decides to make a move
against Bane’s ‘brother-in-law’ instead?” asked Jace.
“Please, those kinds of plans only work if the other person cares. Magnus
wouldn’t blink if the Seelie Queen killed you and she knows it. She’s not going
to waste her time,” said Izzy.
“Stop teasing him Izzy,” said Alec, smiling at his siblings’ antics, “We should
head to the Ops Center, that Clave representative is supposed to get here
today.”
“I still don’t get why they’re even sending one,” said Jace, “We’ve been doing
perfectly fine on our own.”
“You know how the Clave is, Jace. They can’t not meddle,” said Izzy.
Walking towards the Ops Center, the siblings continued to joke with each other.
Just as they stepped into the room, the double doors opened, a serious looking
man walking in. Alec walked up to him to introduce himself.
“Mr. Lightwood, excuse me, Mr. Bane,” said the representative, giving Alec a
lewd smile, “My name is Victor Aldertree.”
Holding up a hand to keep Jace from attacking the man and getting arrested,
Alec said, “Victor, welcome to the New York Institute.”
“The pleasure is all mine,” replied Victor.
“Shall we take this to my office?” asked Alec. When Victor nodded, Alec began
leading the way. Maia, who had been standing in the shadows, moved to stand
beside Alec, ready to attack Aldertree if necessary.
“What is this werewolf doing inside the Institute?” demanded Aldertree, looking
at Maia in disgust.
“She’s my guest,” replied Alec. He didn’t think letting him know that she was
his bodyguard would go over well with the Clave representative.
“This is precisely the reason I am here. This Institute is out of control,”
said Aldertree, “You can’t let Downworlders in here, Lightwood.”
Continuing to ignore his siblings, Alec said, “Are you really trying to tell me
that the Clave sent you here because I let Downworlders in here?”
“Is that not a good enough reason for you? You’re breaking centuries of
tradition,” spat Aldertree.
Alec narrowed his eyes at Aldertree. Realizing that something was wrong, Alec
subtly motioned for his siblings to be on alert. While Aldertree’s attention
was on Alec, Maia sent Magnus a quick text. “You know, I thought it was strange
when I got the memo about this visit directly from you. Now it makes sense. The
Clave doesn’t know you’re here,” said Alec, smirking at Aldertree’s indignant
look.
“You dare accuse me-“
“I dare, because the Consul and Inquisitor aren’t dumb enough to piss off my
Downworlder mate. You know, the one known as the Prince of Hell,” said Alec,
“They know that his people come in and out of this Institute regurlarly.
There’s no way they’d send somebody here to reprimand me about it. They’re the
ones who signed the damn blood contract. Why are you really here?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” spluttered Aldertree, “The Clave sent
me to inspect this Institute. If you know what’s good for you, you will stand
down.”
“Bull shit. Who sent you? Valentine?” asked Jace, slowly reaching for his
seraph blade.
Realizing that he had been caught, Aldertree grabbed Alec towards him to use as
a shield. Pressing a dagger against Alec’s neck, he slowly walked backwards,
towards the exit. Alec made eye contact with Jace who nodded back discreetly.
The two parabatais worked in sync as Alec elbowed Aldertree and ducked out of
the way of the dagger while Jace moved forwards to duel with Aldertree. Jace
had just knocked Aldertree to the ground when Magnus portaled in with a small
army of Downworlders. Letting his people take care of the fight, Magnus ran
towards his mate.
“Alexander!” exclaimed Magnus, “Are you alright? I got Maia’s text about a
suspicious shadowhunter and was so worried.”
“I’m fine Magnus,” said Alexander, even as he began to stumble, “We had it
under con-“
“Alexander!” exclaimed Magnus, catching Alec as he fainted. Turning towards
Raphael who was helping Jace tie up Aldertree, Magnus said, “Call Cat! Tell her
to get here ASAP.”
“I don’t understand, he wasn’t injured,” said Izzy, looking at her brother
worriedly.
“Look!” said Clary, pointing to Alec’s neck, “Aldertree must have nicked his
neck when he held him hostage.”
“That cut is barely an inch long and very shallow. Maybe it’s the baby,” said
Izzy.
Ignoring the shadowhunters, Magnus picked up Alec and took him to the
infirmary. Catarina arrived shortly after and proceeded to kick everyone out of
the room. Magnus was pacing the hallways when he heard his name being called.
The warlock rushed in, followed by his mate’s siblings.
“How is he?” asked Magnus.
“He’s stable for now,” said Catarina.
“For now? What the hell does that mean?” asked Jace.
“Yeah, what’s wrong with Alec?” asked Izzy.
“Was it the wound or the baby?” asked Magnus.
“If you would all stop asking questions, I can explain everything,” said
Catarina, exasperated by all the unnecessary questions. “Alec has been
poisoned. His Shadowhunter strength and his baby’s magic is attempting to fight
it off. I need to examine the dagger.”
“That snake!” snarled Jace as he stalked out to get the dagger.
“Is he going to be okay? When is he going to wake up?” asked Magnus, “And how
is the baby?”
“The poison doesn’t seem to be fast acting so I’m hoping we caught it fast
enough. I think he fainted because his body is using all of it’s strength to
protect the baby. He’ll likely be unconscious until we get all of the poison
out. The baby is fine,” said Catarina.
“Here,” said Jace, returning with the dagger.
“Let me see it,” said Magnus, running his magic over the dagger. His eyes
widened when he realized what was on the dagger. “Fuck! It’s yin fen.”
“Silver powder?” asked Catarina, “But that’s usually used as a drug, not a
poison.”
“Yin fen is made from demon venom. It kills the user slowly but it can be used
to kill quickly if a large dosage is used. That fucker must have dissolved a
large amount in water and soaked the dagger in it for it to have this effect,”
said Magnus. The warlock tried, but was unable to erase images of Jem from his
mind. He whispered, “There’s no cure.”
“There’s no cure for those addicted to yin fen. One tiny dose can be fought
off,” said Catarina.
“Are you sure?” asked Magnus.
“The dagger barely nicked him. Have a little faith in me,” said Catarina, “And
in your Shadowhunter.”
“What about the baby?” asked Izzy, “Alec would be devastated if something
happened to the baby.”
“That baby is the grandson of a Greater Demon, a little demon venom won’t be
able to harm him,” replied Catarina, “Just as it wouldn’t harm Magnus.”
“Who thought I would ever be thankful for being sired by that monster,” said
Magnus, “How long will it take for the yin fen to leave his system?”
“There’s no way to tell for sure. It depends on the person,” said Catarina, “If
he weren’t pregnant, I’d say a few days. But with all of his energy focused on
the baby, it could take months.”
“Should I draw an Iratze?” asked Jace, “It might speed up the process.”
“It won’t help,” replied Magnus.
“So there’s nothing we can do but wait?” asked Izzy.
“Guess we’ll all be camping out here for awhile,” said Jace.
Magnus looked at his mate’s siblings for a moment before turning around and
stalking out the door. Shocked, Jace ran after Magnus, stopping him in the
hallway. “Are you fucking kidding me? You claim to care about Alec and beg for
this second chance that he gives you even though you don’t deserve it. And you
just leave when the going gets rough? You don’t deserve him,” spat Jace.
“Alexander will not be waking anytime soon. While I plan to sit with him every
second I possibly can, I have things to do first,” said Magnus.
“What can possibly be more important than Alec laying in a hospital bed right
now?” asked Jace.
“Finding out who put him there and why is more important. Because I won’t rest
until all threats to him and my child are neutralized,” said Magnus.
“Oh,” said Jace, sheepishly, “Right, I forgot about Aldertree. I’m coming with
you.”
***
“Well if it isn’t Lightwood’s Downworld master. Tell me, is your little whore
dead yet?” asked Aldertree, smirking at Magnus.
“Actually, you failed. He’ll be up and walking in a few days,” lied Magnus.
There was no way he would let the bastard know that Alec was in a coma.
“Impossible!” screamed Aldertree, “I coated that dagger in multiple layers of
silver powder paste. I used nearly half a pound! There’s no way that whore is
still alive.”
“Your plan may have worked if you had stabbed him with it, but you only managed
to nick his neck. That poison barely made it into his system,” said Jace, “And
you should be thanking the angel for your fuck up. The only reason I haven’t
killed you yet is because Alec is alive.”
“Even if he was dead you wouldn’t be able to kill me. You have to hand me over
to the Clave according to the covenant. I get a trial,” said Aldertree, smiling
at Jace.
“Says who?” asked Magnus, “The Clave? Because in case you haven’t noticed, I
don’t answer to the Clave.” Magnus untied Aldertree from the chair and
suspended him in midair with a forcefield of blue fire. Aldertree started
screaming as Magnus added more power to his spell, causing Aldertree to feel as
if his organs were burning.
“You..can’t d..do this,” gasped Aldertree, “The…Acc..ccords.”
“And who’s going to stop me? You?” asked Magnus, “Or do you think Valentine is
going to come in and save you?”
“H..heron..dale! You..have to..help me!” exclaimed Aldertree as he began
sweating from the pain and screaming.
Giving Aldertree an incredulous look, Jace replied, “Are you fucking kidding
me? You tried to kill my parabatai. Magnus can skin you alive for all I care.”
“You wo..uld rather stand b..by a filthy Down..worlder?” asked Aldertree.
“This warlock has more honor than you ever will. At least I know that he would
battle me fairly and not try to stab me with a poison blade,” said Jace, “What
does it matter if he’s a Downworlder?”
“Downworlder..all..de..deserve to…d..d.die! The pur..ity of the blood..lines of
..Idris must be..preserved,” said Aldertree, voice slowly fading.
“Thank you for telling me that Valentine sent you without me having to even
ask,” said Magnus, ending the spell and chaining an unconscious Aldertree back
onto the chair. Without saying another word, Magnus walked out of the room.
Jace threw one last glare at Aldertree before following the warlock.
***
“It’s Valentine, I know it is,” said Magnus, as he and Jace entered Alec’s
office. Sitting down in his mate’s chair, Magnus took out his phone. “Raphael,
you’re on speaker with Herondale. I want you to notify all of our troops to be
ready for war. We just questioned Aldertree and he wouldn’t admit it but he was
spouting a lot of Circle bullshit. He even quoted that ridiculous Circle oath.
He has to be working for Valentine.”
“Do you think it’s payback for allying with the Clave?” asked Raphael.
“Maybe. But Alec also happens to be the son of Circle defectors. Who knows what
justification Valentine came up with,” said Magnus, shaking his head.
“I know you have the numbers and power, but why does Valentine care you joined
us? He’s campaigning for the destruction of all Downworlders. He would’ve had
to go to war against you eventually,” said Jace.
“The key word is eventually. He didn’t want to fight a two front war. He wanted
to pick us off one by one,” said Magnus.
“So what are we going to do?” asked Jace.
“We’re going on the offensive. I know the Clave likes to play defense, but I’m
taking Valentine down before he hurts my family anymore,” said Magnus, “Rafa, I
want you to spread the word to every Downworlder that Valentine is public enemy
number one. I want to know about any sightings of him or any Circle members.
Have our troops patrol the streets and frequent haunts of our people. Anybody
not capable of fighting should lay low or travel in groups. Now that he’s made
the first move, I have no doubt he’s going to try to kill any Downworlder he
can get his hands on.”
“I don’t think the Clave is going to like that you’re mobilizing your troops
without notifying them first,” said Raphael.
“Don’t talk to me about the damn Clave; they let Aldertree infiltrate them.
Have Ragnor contact Malachi to express my displeasure about the situation. I
warned them against going after my mate and child,” said Magnus.
“Technically they had no idea about this. Aldertree was acting on his own,”
said Jace.
“Aldertree walked in here as a Clave representative, so I’m holding the Clave
responsible for his actions,” said Magnus.
“Still, the Clave is going to be very upset that you…questioned Aldertree
first,” said Jace,
Magnus rolled his eyes when he heard Raphael laugh. “He poisoned my mate and
child which puts him strictly in my jurisdiction,” said Magnus.
“Actually, he’s still a shadowhunter Magnus. I’m pretty sure that means he was
supposed to be sent to the Silent Brothers for a trial first,” said Raphael,
“Although I guess as long as you send him back, they can’t be too mad.”
“Yeah, send them a tortured, unconscious, high ranking Clave member. That will
appease the Clave,” said Jace sarcastically.
“He’s lucky to be alive,” sneered Magnus.
“Are you sure he’s going to stay alive? I’ve never even seen that spell
before!” exclaimed Jace.
“Seen a lot of spells have you Herondale? Anyways, that was a spell of my own
creation during my war with Asmodeus. The forcefield mimics hellfire and causes
the person trapped inside to feel as if his organs are melting slowly,” said
Magnus.
“By the angel! Bane, the Clave is not going to be happy that you melted the
organs of one of their officials, traitor or not,” said Jace.
“I said feel Herondale. His organs are fine! It was all in his head,” said
Magnus.
“So it was a fancy parlor trick?” asked Jace.
“Call it whatever you want Herondale, but I’ve seen people break under that
spell in less than a minute,” said Raphael, “Don’t underestimate Magnus.”
“Or get on the bad side of him apparently. I’m glad your magic is grounded
now,” said Jace.
“So am I,” whispered Magnus, thoughts back on his unconscious mate.
***
“When was the last time you went back to your loft?” asked Tessa, starling
Magnus from his nap. When Magnus wasn’t planning attacks against Valentine, he
was sitting at Alec’s bedside. Even Catarina’s threats hand’t been enough to
make him go home.
“Since the day Alexander was poisoned, so nine days,” said Magnus, “What are
you doing here Tessa?”
“Ragnor sent me a fire message this morning,” replied Tessa.
“He shouldn’t have. There’s a reason I didn’t contact you when this happened,”
said Magnus.
“Because you were afraid this would remind me of Jem? It does hurt still, but I
want to be here for you Magnus,” said Tessa, “I brought all of my research on
yin fen. Maybe it will help Alec wake up.”
“Thank you my dear, I appreciate it,” said Magnus, placing the books and notes
on a table.
“What has Cat said?” asked Tessa.
“She’s been drawing his blood everyday and having Isabelle run it. The levels
of yin fen are diluting, just at a very slow rate,” said Magnus.
“How long does Cat think it will take?”
“She doesn’t know for sure, could take months,” said Magnus.
“Angel, how much was he exposed to?”
“Aldertree said he melted nearly half a pound of the powder into a small amount
of water until he got a paste. He then coated the dagger with multiple layers
of the paste. Luckily, Cat thinks that the wound was small and shallow enough
that only a few grams went into Alexander’s bloodstream,” said Magnus.
“A few grams? Why hasn’t he woken up yet then?”asked Tessa.
“It’s the pregnancy,” said Magnus, “His energy is focused on protecting the
baby so he’s likely going to stay unconscious until all of the venom is gone.”
“Hang in there Magnus, you’ll get him back,” said Tessa. The unlike me was left
unsaid.
“Thank you, Tessa,” said Magnus.
“Don’t thank me yet. My mission today is to drag you back to your loft,” said
Tessa, grabbing Magnus’ arm, “Look, you’re not going to do anybody any good if
you get sick from exhaustion. Come with us to dinner. Then go back to your loft
to sleep and come back tomorrow morning.”
“Tessa…,” started Magnus.
“He’s not going to wake up between now and tomorrow. You need to rest. Or do
you think Valentine is going to defeat himself?” asked Tessa, cutting Magnus
off.
“Fine, but only because I don’t want the Chairman to think I’ve abandoned him,”
sad Magnus.
***
“Magnus!” exclaimed Izzy when Tessa and Magnus stepped into the Ops Center.
“Tessa’s always had an uncanny ability to talk sense into me,” said Magnus.
“That’s impressive Tessa. We’ve been trying for days,” said Jace.
“Yes well, Tessa is a smart person so I tend to listen to her. Unfortunately,
that gene seems to have skipped a generation,” said Magnus.
“Magnus!” scolded Tessa, even as she tried to hide a smile.
“Hey!” exclaimed Jace, “I am smart.”
“What about that time you—mhm mmhm” said Izzy before Jace covered her mouth.
“I thought we were going to dinner!” said Jace.
“Let’s go then. I don’t want to be away for too long,” said Magnus as he
created a portal.
“You know, we could just walk. Taki’s isn’t that far from here,” said Izzy.
“We took out six Circle members yesterday and nine last week. Valentine is
going to be out for blood. Traveling by portal is our safest bet right now,”
said Magnus, motioning for them to step in.
When they stepped into Taki’s, everyone stopped talking. Magnus hadn’t been
seen since Alec had been attacked and everyone knew Alec was in a coma. They
had been getting their orders from Raphael or Ragnor.
“Magnus!” exclaimed Clancy, “It’s good to see you. Did your mate wake up?”
“Not yet,” said Magnus.
“Sorry,” mumbled Clancy.
“It’s fine Clancy, I appreciate the concern,” said Magnus, “What are you doing
here? You shouldn’t be working with the increased Circle activity.”
“I may not have magic, but I’m not exactly defenseless,” said Clancy, showing
off his talons.
“Those aren’t going to do you much good if one of Valentine’s Forsakens get in
here,” said Magnus.
“Should I be insulted that you’re doubting my ability to protect our people?”
asked Raphael, appearing behind Magnus, “I have a team of people watching this
place. Everyone knows that this diner is a favorite of not just Downworlders,
but also Shadowhunters. Your shadowhunters to be specific. Nice to finally see
you outside of the Institute.”
“I didn’t have a choice. Ragnor really pulled out the big guns,” said Magnus,
nodding at Tessa, “And for the record, they’re Alexander’s Shadowhunters, not
mine.”
The group followed their faerie waitress to a table and ordered their food.
Magnus wasn’t particularly hungry but ordered a burger on the insistence of his
friends.
“Do we have anymore leads on Valentine?” asked Magnus.
“No, but we’re getting close. We’ve taken out dozens of his closest followers
and have injured more,” said Raphael.
“That’s great and all, but that also means he’s getting desperate,” said Jace,
“He’ll be even more dangerous.”
“Between my army and the Clave’s, we’ll be ready,” said Magnus.
“Good. Valentine needs to pay for what he did to Alec,” said Izzy.
“Don’t worry Isabelle, I plan on making him regret what he did,” said Magnus.
“I don’t doubt that,” said Jace, thinking about Aldertree.
As if reading Jace’s mind, Magnus said, “How isAldertree? Has the Clave
sentenced him yet?”
“He’s been sentenced to life imprisonment in the City of Bones,” said Jace.
“Good, I hope he gets lots of nightmares,” said Izzy.
“Oh he will. I’m pretty sure he’ll be dreaming of Magnus’ Hellfire spell for
the rest of his life,” said Jace.
“You used the Hellfire spell on a Clave representative?” asked Tessa, staring
at Magnus.
“Desperate times call for desperate measures Tessa,” said Magnus, “Don’t worry
my dear, I made sure that he wouldn’t be able to tell anyone about it.”
“Of course you did,” said Tessa.
“If everyone is done eating, I’m going to go home. I have to go make sure my
cat hasn’t forgotten who I am,” said Magnus.
***
“Magnus!” yelled Izzy, running into Alec’s office. Magnus had laid claim to the
office since Alec had been unconscious. If he wasn’t in the infirmary, he was
in his office with his generals strategizing the next attack on Valentine.
“What is it my dear Isabelle?” asked Magnus. He had gotten closer to his mate’s
siblings in the past three weeks since Alec had been attacked. Izzy had started
warming up to him when she realized he wasn’t going to leave her brother’s side
even when he was unconscious. It had taken longer for Jace, but the blonde
shadowhunter had eventually grudgingly admitted that Magnus genuinely cared for
Alec.
“It’s Alec! I just finished testing this morning’s blood sample. The poison is
gone!” exclaimed Izzy.
Magnus immediately ran towards the infirmary, while Izzy went to notify
everyone else. When he reached Alec’s bedside, he saw that Cat was examining
the still unconscious shadowhunter. Not wanting to interrupt, Magnus took a few
steps back. Izzy, Jace, Clary, and Simon joined him shortly afterwards, waiting
with bated breath.
“It’s official, the poison is out of his system,” said Catarina, after
finishing her scans.
“When is he going to wake up?” asked Magnus, walking over and holding Alec’s
hand in his.
“Theoretically, any moment now,” said Catarina.
“What do you mean theoretically?” asked Jace.
“His energy was focused on protecting the baby so it rendered him unconscious
instead of fighting off the poison. Now that the poison has finally diluted on
its own, he should be waking up. But I have no way of knowing when that will
be,” explained Catarina.
“But he will wake up, right?” whispered Izzy, terrified of Catarina’s answer.
“I don’t know,” replied Catarina, “I mean, he should wake up. There’s no
medical reason for him to be unconscious anymore. He just needs to have the
will to wake up.”
Leaning down towards Alec, Magnus whispered, “It's time to wakeup, Alexander.
You have to fight. I can’t lose the two of you. Please, Alexander.”
Jace placed a hand on Magnus’ shoulder. “He’ll wake up Magnus. Alec is strong.”
“Yeah, Alec will fight. I know he won’t just give up,” said Izzy.
“What if he’s given up the will to live? I forced him into bonding with me and
got him pregnant. He didn’t even know he could get pregnant. What if he thinks
it’s better to stay in a coma?” asked Magnus, feeling more vulnerable than he
had ever felt before. It had been easier to convince himself that Alec would be
okay when the poison was still in his system. Now that Alec had no reason to be
unconscious, it was hard for Magnus to stay positive.
“Don’t think like that. While he may not care for you like you do for him, he
does care about that baby. He will fight for the baby,” said Izzy.
Chapter End Notes
     Don't shoot me! =)
***** Chapter 6 *****
Chapter Notes
     I'm back! Sorry it took so long. I won't get into the details, but it
     was a rough semester. I tried to find time to right, but all the
     stress just gave me a serious case of writer's block. Hopefully,
     y'all enjoy this chapter. I wrote it 5 times.
Magnus was sitting at Alec’s side once again when Izzy ran into the infirmary.
“What’s wrong, Isabelle? Has Valentine done something?” asked Magnus, getting
up.
“No. It’s my mom. She’s back!” exclaimed Izzy.
“Impossible. She should be in Idris. Malachi assured me of her arrest,” said
Magnus, furrowing his brow.
“I don’t know how she did it, but she’s convinced the Clave to release her.
She’s about to make an announcement in Ops,” replied Izzy.
“I can hazard a guess as to what she’s going to say, let’s go. Raphael, stay
here with Alec,” said Magnus, quickly making his way to the Ops Center.
“Maryse!” exclaimed Magnus, with a fake smile on his face, “What brings you
back to New York?”
“Bane!” spat Maryse, “You’re still here? Get out of my Institute.”
“You Institute?” asked Magnus, raising his eyebrows. “Last I checked you were
removed for incompetency. Alexander is the current Head of the Institute.”
“Alec is in a coma. He can’t lead this Institute from a hospital bed,” said
Maryse.
“You said he couldn’t lead us after he bonded with Magnus, but our mission
success rates skyrocketed after he took over,” said Jace, glaring at his foster
mother.
“Let’s cut the small talk and get to the point. How are you here? You were
exiled to Idris,” said Magnus.
“When I heard about what happened to Alec, I couldn’t just sit back and let the
Institute go without a leader. So I made a proposal to the Clave to take Alec’s
place while he was out of commission,” said Maryse smugly.
“I see,” said Magnus, while imagining various ways to kill Malachi for his
stupidity.
“Don’t get too cozy, mother. Alec will be up soon,” said Izzy.
“According to Jia, the venom cleared from Alec’s system nearly a week ago. If
he was going to wake, he would’ve already done so. Why do you think the Clave
released me?” asked Maryse.
“He’s your son!” screamed Jace, furious at his adoptive mother for being so
crass about the situation. “How can you talk like that?”
“Just because I took advantage of the situation doesn’t mean I don’t love my
son. I will mourn him, but somebody must run this Institute. I can’t let the
Lightwood name suffer,” said Maryse.
“Mourn him? He’s not dead!” yelled Izzy. She tried to charge at her mother, but
Magnus held her back.
“Think what you will of me. I have an Institute to get back on track. Angel
knows what’s happened since I’ve been gone,” said Maryse, walking away. She
turned back around after a few seconds and said, “You weren’t in here when I
made the announcement. But effective immediately, this Institute is closed to
all Downworlders.”
“You can’t do that Maryse,” said Magnus through gritted teeth.
“You’ll find that I can. The Clave is in disarray right now trying to weed out
Valentine’s moles. We don’t have time to sort through Downworlders as well,”
said Maryse. “Raj, escort Warlock Bane and his…people out of here.”
Narrowing his eyes at his “mother-in-law,” Magnus said, “Fine. But I’m taking
Alexander with me.”
“You will not,” insisted Maryse, “He is a Shadowhunter and falls under my
jurisdiction. You’re not taking him anywhere without my approval.”
“Then I’m staying here,” said Magnus, “Alexander is my mate and he’s pregnant
with my child. A part-warlock child. That means he falls under my jurisdiction.
Either I stay or he goes with me, Maryse.”
“Fine. You can stay,” said Maryse, gritting her teeth, “But the others go.”
“No can do. Catarina needs to be here to care for Alexander. Maia and Sheldon
are standing guard. As for Raphael, well, he goes where I go,” said Magnus,
smirking at Maryse, “And there will be others reporting to me of course. I do
still have a Downworld to run after all.”
Not giving Maryse a chance to argue, Magnus turned and walked quickly back to
the infirmary with Jace and Izzy on his heels.
“Cat!” exclaimed Magnus, “Is it safe to portal Alexander out of here?”
“It shouldn’t be a problem, but why?” asked Cat, confused.
“Wait a second Magnus, mom won’t let you just leave,” said Izzy.
“I don’t have much of a choice. She may have agreed to let me stay for now, but
I’m sure she’s already plotting to get rid of me. Mark my words that I will be
taking this up with the Clave, but I can’t do anything without first insuring
Alexander’s safety.”
“I agree with Magnus,” said Jace, “Maryse got herself reinstated because Alec
is unconscious. And unfortunately, that means Maryse needs Alec to stay that
way. I hate to say this Izzy, but there’s no way she has Alec’s best interest
in mind.”
“No, mom wouldn’t hurt Alec. Not even for the Institute,” whispered Izzy, eyes
shining with unshed tears.
“Maybe not. But that doesn’t mean she won’t harm the baby,” said Magnus, “Now
be a dear, Isabelle, and get your little brother,” said Magnus.
“You’re taking Max with you?” asked Izzy, shocked. Magnus had been tutoring Max
and had been caring for him while Alec had been in a coma, but she didn’t think
he would think of the boy in a moment like this.
“I can’t exactly leave him to your mother’s influence can I?” asked Magnus, “If
Alexander were awake, he would want to take him with us.”
“I appreciate what you’re doing for us, I don’t think mom will just let the
three of you leave,” said Izzy.
“Which is why I need you to distract her,” said Magnus.
“I’d do anything to help Alec, but I doubt it would work. Maryse isn’t dumb,”
said Jace, “As a matter of fact, she’s probably on her way over here already.”
“She’s trying to reorganize the Institute and the missions, right? Go tell her
that I’ve recalled all of my troops and that the streets are defenseless right
now,” said Magnus, “She’ll be too busy putting out fires to worry about me.”
“You have an alliance with the Clave. She won’t believe that you’re pulling
your support,” said Izzy.
“Actually, my alliance was contingent on Alexander being the head of the
Institute. I clearly told Malachi that he would have my support as long as he
left Alexander and my child alone. Releasing your bitch of a mother does not
count as leaving me alone,” said Magnus, completely unashamed that he had
called his mother-in-law a bitch. “Raphael, call Ragnor and have him pull all
of our people off the streets.”
“You can’t!” exclaimed Jace, “We’ve spent the last month raging war with
Valentine. If you take your numbers away, we’ll be alone. I know Maryse. She’s
going to send as many soldiers out as she can but it won’t be enough. A lot of
shadowhunters will die.”
“My family comes first,” said Magnus coldly.
“And what exactly are you going to tell Alec when he wakes up?” asked Izzy,
“That you let his people die because you wanted to save him? That you let us
die? Because Jace and I won’t stay behind while our fellow Shadowhunters are
fighting out there.”
“Thank Lilith that Alexander didn’t seem to get the melodramatic gene,” sighed
Magnus, “I’m only planning to be gone long enough to speak with Malachi. Or
threaten rather. This shouldn’t take more than a few hours. It won’t be long
enough for Valentine to do much damage.”
“I don’t like this,” said Jace. The blonde shadowhunter was torn. On one hand,
he wanted his parabatai safe. On the other, he didn’t want to risk other
Shadowhunters to do so.
“Okay, I’ll do it. But please be quick Magnus. Alec won’t be able to bear it if
anyone gets hurt because of him,” said Izzy.
***
Magnus held Alec tightly in his arms as he stepped out of the portal and into
his room. As the others made their way through, Magnus gently placed Alec on
his bed. Once Catarina had confirmed that Alec hadn’t been harmed by the
portal, the group made their way into the living room.
“I can’t believe your “plan” actually worked,” said Raphael, “I thought for
sure we were going to have to fight our way out.”
“You have so little faith in me?” asked Magnus.
“It’s not you I was worried about. It’s your mother-in-law,” said Raphael.
“Rafa!” exclaimed Magnus, covering Max’s ears. Max, for his part, looked
unfazed. While his siblings had tried their best to hide the truth about Alec’s
marriage from him, Max had pieced it together. His mother wouldn’t be getting
any sympathy from him. And after spending the last month watching Magnus worry
for his brother, the young shadowhunter knew that Magnus truly cared. His
parents were the ones who had abandoned Alec.
“It’s okay, Magnus. Mom hasn’t exactly been nice to you,” said Max,
“You are wise beyond your years Maxwell,” said Magnus, “Rafa, get Ragnor to
send over an extreme security team. My wards are solid but I want them here
while I go speak to the Clave.”
“You’re going right now?” asked Catarina.
“As soon as the security team arrives,” said Magnus, “I really don’t want to
risk Valentine catching wind of this. He’d have a field day if he found out we
were fighting amongst ourselves instead of focusing on him.”
***
“Damn it, Bane! You can’t just portal into the Gard whenever you please,”
exclaimed Malachi as he made his way towards Magnus. The other Council members
he had been meeting with slowly filed out of the room to see what the commotion
was about.
“I wouldn’t have to if you used that pea sized brain of yours for once!” hissed
Magnus, eyes glowing yellow in anger.
“What are you talking about?” asked Imogen impatiently.
“Maryse Lightwood,” said Magnus exasperatedly, “You released her and made her
Acting Head of the Institute?”
“We did what needed to be done,” said Malachi, sounding more confidant than he
looked, “The Lightwood boy has been in that coma for a month. Somebody needs to
lead the Institute while he is unable to.”
“And you thought the woman who threatened to kill him would be a good idea,
why?” asked Magnus.
“She’s familiar with the New York Institute. She said, and we agreed, that it
would be an easier transition for the other Shadowhunters,” said Imogen.
“Look, when your mate wakes up, he will be reinstated. There’s no need for all
the dramatics,” said Malachi.
“Oh we’re not going to wait. You’re going to summon Maryse back right now.
Either Isabelle Lightwood or Jace Herondale can fill in for Alexander until he
wakes up,” said Magnus.
“You don’t get to come in here making demands,” said a Council member Magnus
recognized as Jia Penhallow.
Narrowing his eyes, Magnus said, “Ah, Jia Penhallow. The one who’s been giving
Maryse updates on Institute business even though she’s on house arrest.” Jia
looked uncomfortable when Imogen gave her a scathing look.
“We can’t just rescind our order hours after giving it. It will make the Clave
look weak,” insisted Malachi even though he sounded unsure of himself.
“I don’t care what the Clave looks like. First of all, Alexander is in a coma
because you failed to realize one of your top Council members was a spy for
Valentine. Second of all, as of right now, you’re fending off Valentine alone.
I won’t lift a finger to help until you do as I ask,” said Magnus.
“You can’t do that!” exclaimed Malachi, “What happened with Aldertree was an
oversight. We have an alliance!”
“We had an alliance. It was contingent on you leaving my family alone.
Remember?” asked Magnus. “Letting one of your representatives poison my mate
isn’t exactly leaving my family alone now is it?”
“We haven’t broken the alliance or done anything to your family,” said Imogen,
“You can’t hold us responsible for what Aldertree did.”
“Fine, let’s forget about about Aldertree for a second and get back to Maryse.
The first thing Maryse did when she got back was to ban me from the Institute.
Explain to me how separating me from my mate is leaving my family alone,” said
Magnus.
“We most certainly didn’t authorize that,” spluttered Malachi.
“Maybe not, but you can’t tell me you’re surprised a former Circle member is
banning Downworlders from the Institute,” said Magnus, “Every second you waste
arguing with me is one second closer to Valentine finding out how vulnerable
you are right now. I’ve already called back all of my people. Your
shadowhunters are on their own right now. So instead of arguing about the
logistics of how how you fucked up, why don’t you fix the problem instead?”
The gathered Council members were lost for words. Letting Maryse Lightwood
return to the New York Institute had seemed like a good idea when Jia Penhallow
suggested it. The Institute needed a leader while Alec Lightwood was in a coma.
Somehow, nobody had considered Magnus’ reaction or how Maryse would react to
Magnus being in the Institute.
Swallowing his pride, Malachi said, “Fine. We will send a team to retrieve
Maryse right now.” The Consul motioned for someone to send a fire message to
summon the soldiers. When the message had been sent, he looked at Magnus
expectantly.
When Magnus made no move to respond, Imogen said, “Well? What are you waiting
for, warlock? Get your troops back out there.”
Magnus narrowed his eyes at the Inquisitor and said, “Watch your tone, Imogen.
Nobody, not even the Clave, gets to tell me what to do. Especially not after
the crap you’ve pulled today. You broke the alliance, not me. If you want my
help again, I want something in return.” When Malachi began to protest, Magnus
raised his hand to silence the Consul, “I just want a decree that Maryse and
Robert Lightwood won’t be allowed to ever step foot in the New York Institute
ever again.”
“We do this and everything goes back to normal?” asked Imogen warily. She was
getting tired of making deals with the warlock. It seemed every time the Clave
dealt with the man, they had to make concessions for him.
“Of course!” said Magnus, giving Imogen the fakest smile he could muster. “Oh,
I also want to be there when Maryse gets arrested. Send the soldiers after I
get there.”
***
Magnus stepped through the portal that he had opened directly into the middle
of Ops. Maryse immediately marched over to him angrily. “You have some nerve
showing your face here after everything you did.”
“What is it that you think I did exactly, Maryse? Besides protecting my mate of
course,” said Magnus.
“You removed my son from the Institute without my permission. I should have you
arrested!” exclaimed Maryse. At that moment, the doors to the Institute were
thrown open as a group of Clave soldiers made there way in. Maryse looked at
the group in confusion. “What’s going on? Did the Clave send you for backup?”
Magnus smirked as he backed away from Maryse to give the Clave representatives
room.
“Maryse Lightwood?” asked a stern-looking Shadowhunter, “Please come with us.”
“What are you talking about? I’m head of this Institute and I just got here. I
have a million things to do, especially since that warlock broke his word and
took back his support,” said Maryse.
“Effective immediately, you are no longer the head of the New York Institute.
You will continue your house arrest with your husband in Idris and never
return,” said the Clave representative.
“You can’t do that!” hissed Maryse, “Did that warlock put you up to this? This
Institute cannot be run by someone in a coma!”
“Jace Herondale has been named the acting head of the Institute while Alec
Lightwood is unconscious,” said another Clave soldier as he grabbed Maryse by
the arm and began to drag her, ignoring her protests.
Jace looked at Magnus in shock and said, “Did you do this?”
“The dethroning of my mother-in-law? Yes. I’m guessing can thank your
grandmother for the other part. I told them to choose between you and Isabelle.
Nepotism at its finest I guess,” said Magnus, shrugging his shoulders.
“I don’t want it,” said Jace, “It should be Alec, not me.”
Rolling his eyes, Magnus said, “Would you rather it be Maryse? It’s just
temporary. You just need to keep the Institute standing until Alexander wakes
up.”
“Fine,” said Jace petulantly.
“If you’re done acting like a five-year-old, we should get back to my loft to
check on Alexander,” said Magnus.
***
After returning Alexander to the infirmary, Magnus sat down next to his mate.
Despite winning against Maryse earlier that day, he couldn’t but feel like he
was still going to lose Alec. With every passing moment that Alec didn’t wake,
Magnus lost more hope.
“He’s never waking, is he?” asked Magnus.
“We don’t know that, Magnus,” said Catarina, placing a hand on Magnus’
shoulders.
“It’s been days since the poison left his system,” said Magnus.
“It’s only been days. Don’t give up hope. His vitals are great and the baby is
healthy. I have faith in him,” said Catarina.
“He’s a Lightwood. It takes more than yin fen to take us down,” said Izzy.
“Seriously Magnus, have some faith in Alec,” said Jace, trying to be hopeful.
He hadn’t been able to feel Alec through his rune since his parabatai had
fallen into a coma. But he hadn’t mentioned it to Magnus. He was afraid of what
the warlock would do if he found out.
“Magnus, what matters right now is that neither Alec nor the baby are in
danger,” said Clary.
“Cat, do you think the baby is what’s causing him to be in a coma?” asked
Magnus.
“It’s possible. His body may have temporarily shut down to put all it’s energy
into protecting the baby,” replied Cat.
“Wait a second, you’re not thinking of aborting the baby!” exclaimed Izzy.
“You can’t! Alec would hate you for it even if getting rid of the baby does
wake him up,”said Jace.
“What? No! I just want to know if there’s a chance he could wake up in six
months,” said Magnus, shocked that his mate’s siblings would accuse him of such
a thing. They had been getting a long during the past month and he thought that
Izzy and Jace had begun to trust him.
“How do we know you’re not going to turn around and hurt Alec’s baby,” said
Max, moving to stand between Alec and Magnus. Max had a determined look on his
face as he stood in front of his brother. He didn’t care if Magnus was a
powerful warlock or that he hadn’t even gotten his first rune. He wouldn’t let
Magnus hurt his brother or his nephew/niece. Proud of their brother, Izzy and
Jace stood next to the young shadowhunter, forming a wall between Magnus and
Alec.
“Mag..Magnus wouldn’t h..hurt the b..baby,” a voice said weakly from behind
them.
“Alexander!” exclaimed Magnus, pushing everyone out of the way to get to Alec.
“Everyone out!” roared Catarina. Magnus insisted on staying but was eventually
dragged out by Jace and Raphael. After a few minutes, Catarina stepped out of
the infirmary with a smile on her face.
“Congratulations Magnus, he’s awake. He and the baby are going to be just
fine,” said Catarina. Not needing to hear anything else, Magnus ran back to
Alec’s side. The shadowhunter was sitting up when Magnus entered. He looked
tired, but at least he was awake.
“Alexander! You’re really awake,” said Magnus.
“I figured if I didn’t soon, you all were going to kill each other,” said Alec,
laughing weakly.
“Shh, save your strength Alexander. You’ve been in a coma for nearly a month.
And for the record I wouldn’t have hurt your siblings. Or the baby,” said
Magnus.
“I heard everything you said to me in the last month. You care about both me
and the baby. You wouldn’t harm either of us, I know that,” said Alec.
“That’s one good thing I suppose,” said Magnus, smiling.
“Alec!” exclaimed Max, running into the room and hugging his brother.
“Sorry, we tried to give you guys privacy but Max was running out of patience,”
said Jace.
“He wasn’t the only one!” scolded Izzy, “Alec! We’ve all been worried sick.”
“I’m fine now,” said Alec.
“You really scared us, Alec,” said Jace.
“Yeah, sorry about that,” said Alec, sheepishly.
“Hey, what matters is that you’re okay,” said Izzy.
“Cat, you’re sure everything is okay? Him and the baby?” asked Magnus.
“They’re fine. I’d like it if Alec could gain a few pounds, but besides that,
he’s fine,” said Catarina.
“Speaking of food, I’m kind of hungry,” said Alec.
“Of course you are, you’ve been living off of potions for a month. What are you
hungry for?” asked Magnus.
“I’d kill for a bacon burger from Taki’s,” said Alec.
“No problem, I’ll send someone to get you one right now,” said Magnus, taking
out his phone.
“Could you get them to pick up some things for me at the grocery store too? I’m
craving pickles, hot Cheetos, barbecue chips, and espresso chocolate cookie
crumble ice cream. Oh and a thing of chocolate sauce,” said Alec.
Magnus nodded, secretly hoping that Alec just wanted snacks and wasn’t planning
on mixing all of it together.
“We’ll catch up with you later, Alec,” said Izzy as the group left to let Alec
eat.
When the requested items arrive half an hour later, Magnus watched in disgust
as Alec opened the burger and squeezed copious amounts of chocolate sauce onto
the bun. Before putting it back together, Alec put a handful of barbecue chips
into the burger. Alec took a bite of the burger and moaned at the taste.
When Alec noticed that Magnus was staring at him, he asked, “What? I’m hungry!
It’s been a month since I’ve eaten anything.”
“Nothing, sayang. Eat as much as you want. I can send for more if need be,”
said Magnus. Not having eaten in so long, Alec demolished the strange burger in
a matter of minutes. When Alec finished, he asked Magnus for a bowl to put the
ice cream in. Magnus breathed a sigh of relief when Alec poured chocolate sauce
on the ice cream. However, instead of eating it right away, Alec started
putting pickle slices and Cheetos on the ice cream as toppings.
“Do you want some?” asked Alec, noticing that Magnus was staring at his bowl.
“No! I mean, no thank you Alexander,” said Magnus, trying his best to not look
at the “dessert.”
“Are you sure? You’ve been staring at my food,” said Alec.
“It’s just an…odd combination,” said Magnus carefully, afraid that Alec would
be upset.
“It’s not that strange. And it tastes great,” said Alec, shrugging his
shoulders.
“As long as you like it,” said Magnus.
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