INDIANA GASPED AS another wave pushed her under. Jace was torn away and that made Indiana hold on to the wolf tighter. Indiana frantically searched her body for her stele.
Finding it, she activated two runes, breathing underwater and stamina. She needed to get to shore or the wolf would die.
Indiana saw the beach in the distance and began swimming as fast as she could, holding the werewolf in her arms. Reaching the shore Indiana saw someone. Abandoning the wolf Indiana punched the person in the face and stole their phone before running back to the wolf.
Dialling the number it didn't take long for it to be answered.
"Hello-" Indiana cut off whoever was speaking.
"Is this the Jade Wolf Pack?" She asked putting pressure on the wolf's wound.
There was no reply.
"Please, I've got a wolf stabbed, her pulse is weak and she's lost a lot of blood. I need help!" She shouted down the phone.
"Where are you?" The man asked.
"On the beach. She needs more than medics will handle. Try to get a warlock." Indiana demands.
"We're on our way." The man states before hanging up.
Indiana rips the bottom of her top off and places it against the wolf's wound. It didn't take too long before a group of people began running on to the beach.
"Gretel!" One of them shouted as the warlock pushed her way to the front.
Everyone was silent for a moment as the warlocks magic wavered over the wolf before she stopped out of breath.
"She'll live. Only just, another minute and she'd have been dead." She announced.
Indiana slumped back and sighed in relief.
The wolves crowded around Gretel but they all looked at Indiana.
"Where was she?" A burly man asked.
"We were on Valentines ship. A circle member thought she was responsible for the death of his father."she explained and the wolves growled.
"You're a circle member too. If you were also on that ship." He shouted.
Before a curly haired woman stepped forward.
"Don't be stupid, this is Indiana Morgenstern." She pointed out and now it was Indianas turn to snarl.
"I go by Indiana." She informed them.
"Come back to the Jade Wolf and we can discuss what else happened." She offered and Indiana nodded.
"Before any of you leave I want my payment." The warlock demands.
"What do you want?" The gruff man asked.
"I want some of the Shadowhunters hair." She asked. Indiana brought her blade up to her hair and sheared a piece off, handing it to the warlock, missing the confused and awed looks from the wolves.
Gretel is picked up and Indiana stands to follow the wolves before stumbling.
The curly haired wolf comes to her aid.
"You okay?" She asked.
"I had to use multiple stamina runes to get to shore quick enough for Gretel to live. It's great at the time but when you crash after, you crash hard." Indiana grunts as her knees hit the floor and black spots appear in her vision.
She vaguely feels her body being picked up before she loses consciousness.
It's only an hour or so later when Indiana begins to wake. Her entire body aches all over and she's surprised to find herself lying on a table at what looks to be the Jade Wolf.
Indiana grabs her head as she sits up and her vision blurs. Almost instantly a wolf is beside her with a glass of water and some Advil.
"Thanks." She croaks out taking the pills.
"No. It's me that should be thanking you." Gretel appears in front of her.
"Gretel are you okay?" Indiana asks.
"I am, thanks to you." She replies with a small smile.
"I'm glad." Indiana returns the smile.
"Has anybody seen my-"
"Magic wand." The curly haired wolf smirks before passing her, her stele.
"Thanks." She replies before tracing her iratze, healing rune.
"I'm Maia." The wolf introduces.
"Indiana." She replies holding her arm out for a shake. The wolf grabs on to it and shakes it firmly.
"Gretel was just telling us here how you risked your life and escape to save her." The gruff man spoke.
"I did what anyone would have done." Indiana replies and Gretel steps forward.
"No. You did what an Downworlder would have done. Any other Shadowhunter would have let me die." She insisted.
"It was the right thing to do." Indiana spoke.
One of the wolves then sniffed the air.
"Are you bleeding?" He asked and Indiana tenderly reached out and touched her back, hissing when she made contact.
"Fuck. My welts have reopened."
"Welts?" Maia asked.
"Curtesy of Valentine and Co." Indiana said gesturing to her back.
"I know it's a lot to ask but could someone wrap my back for me?" She asked quietly. The wolves shared a look for a second before nodding.
Indiana eased her top off and heard gasps.
"Yeah, I know it ain't the prettiest." She laughed bitterly.
The soft hand of Gretel made contact with her back, tracing one of the scared welts.
"All of these of from Valentine?" She asked.
"Only the newer ones. The ones that have scared over were from a wolf." She told them and Gretel hand pulled back.
"It's okay. I don't blame you." She looked at Gretel softly as a wolf began wrapping the bandage around her back.
"Why? Most would." Gretel stated.
"I don't want to be seen as all Shadowhunters. There are some good ones who I'm proud to share my species with but some, most, I don't agree with. I don't want to be associated with them." She paused.
"It's not your blood that makes you evil or good, it's your outlook." She finished.
"Indiana, you are not like most Shadowhunters." She stated and Indiana smiled.
"Thank you."
"Here." Gretel tossed her a fresh top.
"I'd say we're the same size."
"I know this won't mean much to any of you but I'm going to change this world. I'm gonna make the Shadow World a fairer place. Where Shadowhunters and Werewolves and Vampires and all of the Downworld are equal. It won't be soon but I'll be damned if I stand by and watch the Clave damn you guys and delude themselves into thinking they are superior." Indiana speaks quietly.
"It won't mean much but you have someone on your side." She finished.
"If that came from anyone else I'd call bullshit." Gretel says and Indiana nods in thanks.
"Kid, anytime you wanna escape your Shadowhunters, you're welcome here." The gruff man, who's name she really needs to learn, speaks up.
"Thank you." She says meaningfully.
"I have to go, everyone thinks I'm missing. I'm glad you're okay Gretel and I'm going to take you guys up on that invitation sometime alright." Indiana smiled as she headed to door.
"Please do." Gretel smiled back.
Indiana left and thankfully the walk back to the institute wasn't too long. Bursting through the doors and began walking down the corridor. Raj stepped in front of her blocking her path
"Hey! Hey, no. No. You can't go in there..." he trailed off. Indiana ignored him, she wasn't in the mood.
"Where's Alec?" She asked.
"I'm getting Aldertree." Raj stated before walking away.
"Indi, are you okay?" Her mother asked appearing next to her.
"I'm fine. Just... I need to see Alec." Indiana admitted.
She'd had a hard time and she was tired and in pain and she just wanted a hug from her Beta.
"Indi, wait." Her mom instructed.
"No." Indiana chirped sharply.
"What happened? Where have you been?" Jocelyn questioned.
"We're all curious. Bring a change of clothes and a hot cup of tea to my office. Indiana and I are gonna have a little chat." Aldertree instructed appearing behind her.
"Fine, whatever... Please, let me see Alec." She begged.
"Alec's unreachable Indi. He was trying to help me find you, and something went wrong. He's in a bad way." Jocelyn explained.
"Where?" Indiana growled.
"Five minutes." Aldertree allows, knowing better than to challenge the near feral woman.
Indiana slammed the door open and nearly fell to her knees at the sight in front of her. There was Alec, her Beta, lying in bed a sickly pa,e colour, sweating buckets.
Indiana chocked out a sob as she ran forward kneeling beside the bed. She grabbed his hand gently. Two pairs of arms circled around her as she collapsed on to the ground.
"Shhh, kitten. It'll be alright." Magnus cooed into her ear. Indiana stayed silent, there was nothing she could say.
After a few minutes she rose on shaky legs.
"Aldertree demanded I speak with him, I just... I had to see him first." Indiana whispered before turning round and exciting the room.
Indiana did as instructed, quickly changing and heading to Aldertree's office.
He passed her a cup of tea before taking the seat opposite her.
"It appears you've had quite the harrowing experience. Jocelyn tells me you were abducted by Dorothea Rollins, a warlock under Valentine's control." He states, just wanting confirmation.
"Yeah, that's right." Indiana said.
"Did she Portal you to a tanker ship in the East River?" Aldertree asked.
"I, I don't know." Indiana answered, which was true. She didn't know where the boat was.
"Three hours ago, a large tanker ship was found there, recently abandoned. By the mottoes and the insignia on the boat, it's clear the Circle was on board. If you have any information about Valentine, about Jace... you need to tell me." Aldertree instructed carefully.
"Look, I don't remember anything after a Dot grabbed me. And then I woke up in the water I was nearly run over by the Staten Island Ferry, and then I swam to shore and came here." Indiana lied.
"If you're trying to protect your brother, lying to me is only gonna make it worse. I can guarantee Jace's safety if you help me bring him in. And that's on record." Aldertree insists.
"I would if I could, but I can't tell you what I don't know. Dot must have wiped my memory." Indiana replies.
"You're lying." Aldertree tells her.
"Excuse me." Indiana scoffs.
"Your back is bleeding in lines, signs of a whipping but if I'm correct." He pauses to lift up her shirt.
"You've been bandaged. So that can't all be true." Aldertree infers.
"When I woke up in the water, there was an injured wolf next to me. It took me multiple stamina runes to swim to shore with her on my back. I stole a phone and called her pack, we saved her life but my stamina runes took away from my healing rune and that's why the old welts opened up." Indiana twisted the story slightly.
He dismissed her and Indiana met up with Izzy.
"I can't believe you lied to Aldertree." Izzy whispered.
"I had to prevent him from going after Jace again." Indiana added. She'd just told Izzy the actual story.
"So Dot took down the wards and you three jumped off the ship together?" Izzy double checked.
"Yeah, but as soon as we hit the water, the tide was so strong. We lost Jace... I looked everywhere. I couldn't find him. And I had to help Gretel, she was dying." Indiana explained.
"Wait, if he and Alec are going through the same thing, he wouldn't be able to swim. He could be..." Indiana almost puked at the thought of Jace being dead.
"No. Jace is alive. If he were dead, Alec's parabatai rune would have faded." Izzy explained.
"Okay but what about Alec, how do we, cure, him?" Indiana asks.
"I don't know how much time Alec has left. Jace might be his only hope, and for all we know Valentine and the Circle have already found him." Izzy says sadly.
"Look, Isabelle... Jace is one the strongest people I know. We're gonna find him. And Alec's going to hang on until we do." Indiana promises and hopes that she's right.
"You've already tried tracking him right?" Indiana assumes.
"Aldertree already has people tracking him 24/7. Jace must be using a rune to block it, otherwise somebody would've found him by now." Izzy informs her.
"Has he been in there with Alec the whole time?" Indiana asks about Magnus.
"He's the only reason Alec still has a chance. But his magic can't last forever. Sooner or later, he's gonna burn out." Izzy explains.
"He's only in there cause of you." She adds.
"He's my friend." Indiana states with a smile.
Izzy phone begins to ring.
"Hello?" She asks.
"Jace. Are you okay?" She asks and Indiana sighs with relief.
"She's here. She's safe." Izzy tells Jace before passing Indiana the phone.
"Jace, it's me. We need to get you to Alec." Indiana hurriedly explains.
"What do you mean? Why?" He asks worriedly.
"He tried tracking you with his parabatai rune, but now, it's like he's stuck in some kind of nightmare and can't wake up. He was looking for you, so you're the only one who can help him." Indiana's voice begins to crack.
"Okay. I'll... I'll get there." Jace promises.
"But you can't. The Clave still wants you dead. You come here, they kill you." Indiana tells him.
"Yeah, well, who doesn't? They can get in line." Jace reminds her.
"Meet us at Magnus'. We'll figure out how to get Alec there." Izzy tells him taking the phone back.
"Now we just need to figure out how to get Alec to Magnus'." Indiana panics.
"Not a problem. My parents want to get Alec to Idris. Magnus will create a Portal. We'll take it to Jace instead." Izzy tells her the plan.
Indiana's phone starts to ring.
"Hey, Simon." She greets him.
"Indi, my mom's missing. She's drinking again. It's all my fault. She's been sober ever since that bender she went on after Dad died, but I found a bottle of vodka in her bedroom, and there hadn't been alcohol in the house for years. Indi, if anything happened to her because of me, I..." He trails off and Indiana pauses.
"Simon, slow down. How long has your mom been gone?" She asks before telling Izzy to get Clary.
"I don't know. I tried calling, but she won't pick up. I don't know where she is. Indi, I need your help." He begs as Clary joins them.
"I've got a crises here so I'm sending Clary to you, I'm giving her the phone okay. I love you. It'll be okay." She tells him before passing Clary her phone.
Izzy and Indi quickly make their way back to the room where Alec is staying.
"Best team. Best team." He mumbles and all three crowd around his bed.
"It's okay, Alec. You hear me? We're gonna get you out of here and bring you back." Magnus mumbles. Indiana knows from izzy that Magnus and Alec had become close friends when she and Jace had gone missing.
"You put in a request to transfer your brother to Idris?" Aldertree said storming in.
"My parents put in the request." Izzy corrects him.
"Alec isn't leaving this institute. I'm sure his warlock friend can figure something out. Here." Aldertree tells them.
"This isn't waking Sleeping Beauty with a kiss. Runic power is deep. It requires magic that can't be accessed in the walls of this institute." Magnus tells the head of the institute.
"I don't know what you're up to, and, ultimately, I don't care. But as far as I'm concerned, your brother is too weak to be Portaled." Aldertree explains.
"You're just using Alec as bait to arrest Jace." Indiana spits out.
"No, I'm working to capture the fugitive who put Alec in this position. I have allowed this warlock into the Institute for the sole purpose of treating your brother. Although, you don't seem to be doing too good a job of it. I'm placing Raj by the door. Do not try this again." Aldertree says sternly and Raj appears by the door.
"I'm just under orders." He mumbles as they return to Alec's side.
"No. It's too late. I..." alec mumbles and Indiana drops by his side.
"Alec?" Magnus asks. When he doesn't move again Magnus' magic knocks some things over.
"You know you're gonna have to clean that up? I feel you, man, but I have direct orders. If you can't help him, then you need to go." Raj states.
"My magic is the only thing keeping Alec from completely slipping away. I won't leave." Magnus states angrily.
"I know you're old, but I didn't realize you were hard of hearing. He's clearly not waking up any time soon, so you can leave now, or I can remove you myself..." raj stares walking into the room. Indiana gets up as Magnus' magic begins choking Raj. Her fist flies out and sends Raj to the floor unconscious.
Izzy walks in and closes the door. Indiana starts dragging Raj towards the bed.
"What are you doing?" Izzy asks.
"Raj glamour into Alec. Alec go to Magnus'." Indiana grunts picking up Raj and placing him on the bed.
Magnus levitates Alec and opens a portal as Izzy nods. Indiana watches as Magnus places Alec down in his home.
"Come back to me Alec. I need you." Indiana whispers on her knees next to Alec with Magnus' arms wrapped around her.
"He can't last much longer." Magnus tells her as Izzy, Clary and Jace enter the apartment.
"Alec." Jace whispers.
"Entreat me not to leave thee... Or to return from following after thee." Jace begins reciting the Parabatai oath as he grabs Alec's hand but Alec wheezes and drops the adamas.
"What's happening?" Izzy panics.
"He's slipping." Magnus whispers.
"Thy people will be my people, thy God will be my God. When thou diest, I will die. And there will I be buried. The Angel do so to me. And more also... If aught but death part thee and me. Please don't leave me, Alec." Jace whispers as Alec goes still. Indiana crashes to her knees as silent tears begin to fall.
"If aught but death part thee and me." Alec whispers. Indiana's head shoots up looking at Alec as he softly raises his head.
"Jace Wayland! You are hereby sentenced to the City of Bones to await trial for the charge of high treason and aiding Valentine in the war against the Clave." Aldertree states entering.
"Wait, what... What the hell is going on?" Alec demands weakly.
"It's all right, Alec. All that matters is you're back." Jace tells him before he's dragged away.