—BAD DAY FOR TAKE-OUT—
●♤♤●
Me, Alec and Izzy watched as Maryse showed Lydia around the Institute. I hope Alec still didn't know the plan. One hell of a surprise it'd be if he doesn't.
"I'm not a fan." Izzy said as she glared a little at Lydia. Neither was I, but Lydia had improved my opinion from preppy bitch to bitch. A big upgrade, if you ask me.
"Jealous?" Alec joked, and Izzy scoffed.
"No." She denied, but i knew that a part of her was. "Maybe." She admitted. "How the hell did she catch that arrow?" I saw out the corner of my eye Alec looking on his phone. With a wary expression, he beckoned for me and Iz to follow him as he walked to Maryse and Lydia.
"I have something you need to see." He announced, pointing at the monitor - which had whatever was Alec's phone. I took a closer look and gulped. "Something attacked the Jade Wolf."
"The werewolves' headquarters? Where did you-"
"Where did you get these?" Lydia interrupted, and i rolled my eyes. Woman doesn't have a lick of patience on her.
"Leader of the New York wolf pack." He answered, and Lydia frowned.
"You're friends with Lucian Graymark? An ex-Circle member?"
"How about we sent Isabelle, Verena and Alec to investigate? I'm sure this is linked to-"
"Valentine." Lydia cut Maryse off...again. "I need to see it for myself." She began walking away, but stopped and turned to me, Alec and Izzy. "Are you coming or what?"
Only me and Alec followed the envoy.
~
Outside the Jade Wolf, we were about to go inside, but Lydia spoke up before.
"I can see why all the girls in Idris are clamoring to meet you." She said to Alec, and i frowned at her. Jealousy was not my thing.
"What do you mean?" Alec asked, not liking what she was saying - i hope.
"Rumor has it, you're looking to settle down...get married." She sent me a subtle wink, and i got it now.
"Damn it." Alec spat, sending me an apologetic look.
"Let me guess. Not your idea?"
"Not even close." Alec sighed, and Lydia seemed to have a sympathetic look to her.
"My parents tried to set me up, too." She announced, and i listened a little.
"And how'd that work out?"
"Not well for them. I made my own path. Married the love of my life... John Monteverde. Together we were going to run the Lisbon Institute. And then John was killed. Everything was ripped away. My love, my dream job... Piece of advice... In this line of work, the only thing worth falling in love with is the work itself." Alec looked to me and shook his head.
"You're wrong." He said and she looked to me before nodding. Taking it as the cue to go, we walked into the Jade Wolf.
"It's got some characteristics of a Forsaken. It was human. It was runed." Lydia informed us her and Luke examined the dead Forsaken. Which, believe it or not, was a human that got runed. They survived, but went crazy.
"I don't know." Luke said skeptically. "It was more focused, more determined. It attacked like it had a plan. Plus, a normal Forsaken wouldn't have been so hard to kill. It took five wolves to take that thing down. Never seen anything like it."
"We'll take the body back to the Institute. Do a full autopsy." Lydia pronounced, and Luke frowned.
"Oh, hold up." He argued. "I get that i called you...actually, i called Alec. But what i didn't want is someone to come down here and just take over."
"Yeah, that's kind of her thing." Alec said, and i chuckled a little.
"Look, i know i can come across...abrasive." She said in acknowledgement of how she makes herself appear to others. "But we're all on the same side here. Can we agree on that? The Institute has the resources to find out what this thing is."
"We have an expert forensic pathologist." Alec announced. "Highly trained in all the creatures of the Shadow World."
"Do you have one here?" Lydia asked Luke. "In this, uh, Chinese restaurant?"
"Fine." He huffed, not happy about the situation. I knew that much. "You win. Just let me know what you find."
"You think Valentine was behind this?" Lydia questioned, and Luke was quick to reply.
"No question. It's definitely his work."
"What do you think he's after?" Alec asked, and i was questioning why i was there.
"Honestly? Me." Luke answered, and i frowned.
"Why?"
"So you think Valentine's going after ex-Circle members?" Lydia asked, making my one worded question go unheard.
"I don't know. It might be kind of personal. We have a complicated past. But of course, he could be going after the old crew. I'm sure Valentine has a grudge against anybody who turned against him."
"We'll put extra wards on the Institute." Lydia said, and Alec nodded.
"Right, for Hodge."
"And your parents." I looked to Alec, shocked that he kept it from me. But by his alerted expression, he didn't know either. "Did they conceal that from you?"
~
"We need to make sure no magic was used to make this. I'm calling the nearest High Warlock to come in to consult." Lydia told us, and i bounced on my feet.
"Magnus Bane? He can come to the Institute?" I excitedly asked.
"Yes, is there a problem?"
"No. Not at all. Magnus is, um... quite magical. He's, uh, very... very good at magic." Alec stammered, trying to keep me from knocking something over with how excited i was. I couldn't wait to see Mags again. Oh, it feels like forever!
"Do you know him well?"
"I do." I answered before Alec could.
"I actually can't wait to meet him. Did you know that my great ancestor, Henry Branwell, who was the last of the Branwells to run an Institute, and Magnus Bane invented the Portal?"
"No." Alec bitterly responded, clutching my hand in his. I squeezed it, to let him know i was there for him. "Just add that to the list of things i didn't know." Alec dragged me out the Autopsy room, Lydia following.
"Alec. I'm sorry. You shouldn't have had to find out your parents were ex-Circle members. Not like that." She apologised, and Alec sort of sneered at her.
"You mean from you? You shouldn't have been the one I found out from."
"You know there's been a ban about talking about the Circle till now." Lydia said, as if that were an excuse.
"Well, how convenient is that for Maryse and Robert?" I spat, and Lydia sighed, looking back at Alec.
"This doesn't change how I feel about the Lightwoods. Your family has always had a strong alliance with mine. They've been a powerful force in the Shadow World and praised for their devotion."
"Devotion? My parents were in league with Valentine!" Alec exclaimed, and i squeezed his hand again.
"People make mistakes." Lydia tried, but failed, in giving Alec a reason to forgive his parents.
"Yeah, but this one...it's unforgivable."
~
Me and Alec boxed against each other. He had taken his shirt off after i had beat him for about five times.
"Magnus." Alec said, stopping our boxing match. I looked to my father-figure and smiled.
"Okay, i'm back." Alec grabbed his vest, and i chuckled. "Oh, you don't have to get dressed up for me." But Alec had already put his vest back on. "Fine. But I liked what I saw. I have the preliminary autopsy findings." He handed Alec the report, and i smiled a bit. I knew Mags game.
"Why are you giving these to me? They should go to the head of the Institute."
"And it is." I said to Alec softly, and Magnus pointed at me.
"I'm not. And I never will be. Magnus, it's like... it's like my whole life... has been a lie. Now everything I've ever known is..." Alec trailed off, and i sighed.
"It's not what you thought."
"I've done everything for my parents... for the Clave and... I've done everything that they've asked."
"Maybe you should start living for yourself. Do what's in your heart." Magnus advised, giving me a wink. I chuckled and rolled my eyes playfully.
"I can't believe I'm saying this. I think you're right."
Alec dragged me from the room and pulled me to an quiet area.
"I am so sorry, Rena." He apologised, grabbing both my hands. "I need to propose to Lydia. To make the Lightwood's-"
"I get it, Alec. And it's fine." I smiled. The plan was working. "Just...promise we'll stay together?"
"I can't believe you thought i couldn't be with you." He chuckled, almost in tears.
"Alexander Lightwood, i love you, and i know you're going to do what's best for your family."
Sorry for the shorter chapter. How was it?