𝑶𝑭 𝑩𝑳𝑶𝑶𝑫 𝑨𝑵𝑫 𝑩𝑬𝑻𝑹𝑨𝒀𝑨𝑳

MᏋᏘ MᏘXIMᏘ ᏨULᎮᏘ

Jade Wolf - Outside

It's been a week since the events of the Soul-Sword being activated. A week since Alyssa had been told she'd lost her baby when she took the dagger meant for Clary. A baby she'd had no knowledge about until she'd been told it was dead. She didn't know how to feel. And it didn't help that Jace kept tiptoeing about her to avoid upsetting her.

She was currently standing outside the Jade Wolf on the pier, waiting for her dad.

In light of everything that had happened, she'd decided to let bygones be bygones and started talking to Luke again. She hadn't told him yet about the baby. He only knew that she'd taken a poisoned dagger to the stomach and that she was fine now with no life-threatening injuries.

"Alyssa." She looked to the side and saw Luke walking towards her. She smiled and let him pull her into a one-armed hug when he reached her.

"Hey, Dad."

"Hey, baby. You okay?" Alyssa shrugged.

"I've been better." The two began walking along the pier.

"What's going on? Did something happen with you and Jace again, or...?"

"No, no. Jace and I are fine, as a couple anyway. It's individually that I'm not so sure about."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm worried about Jace. It's been a week since what happened at the Institute. I can feel he's still hurting and feeling guilty about what happened, but every time I try to bring it up, he changes the topic like he'd rather not deal with it."

"Sounds like someone else I know." Luke teased, nudging her slightly.

"I'm not that bad."

"Mm, keep telling yourself that. You two are very much alike. But give him time. If he's anything like you, and he is, he'll talk when he's ready. Just gotta be ready to listen when he does." Alyssa nodded.

"Ok."

"Good, now let's talk about you and what's going on with you."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. And before you deny it, let's not forget, I know you, baby girl. I know when you've got something weighing down on something, something that you're not sure how to deal with."

Alyssa looked down, biting her lip. The two had stopped walking and were now facing each other.

"Lys, I know I haven't been the best dad of late, but you can talk to me. No matter what you're my daughter and if there's something wrong, you can tell me. I may not be able to fix it but I can help you deal with it however I can."

Alyssa remained silent for a bit then took in a deep breath and released it before speaking. "You remember when Jace told you that I took a dagger meant for Clary that night at the Institute."

"Yeah, the poisoned one. He said they'd been able to get the poison out of you before it could do any real damage."

"Yeah. We didn't exactly tell you the whole truth." Worry took over Luke's expression. "The truth is, they did get to the poison in time before it could do any damage to me but only after it had done damage to something else in me."

"What do you mean?" Alyssa drew in a shaky breath.

"I was pregnant when that dagger hit me. I didn't know it at the time. It was only when I woke up that I found out."

"Was?"

"The poison from the dagger killed the baby when it pierced my stomach. The medic said only Jace pulling out the dagger saved my womb from being damaged by the poison. They got to me in time to prevent that, but it was already too late for the baby."