Chapter Text
Three seconds.
Three seconds of total silence pulls Alec Lightwood out of the present and plunges him into the past. Time stretches out and stands still and all he can hear is the sobs of Sneaky Pete. All he can feel is his own terror threatening to pull him under, stealing the air from his lungs. His vision tunnels but there's no light at the end just a cold, lonely darkness and when he scents his own overwhelming fear, it's as if somebody has thrown a bucket of icy water over him.
"Fuck!"
Fuck!
It snaps him back to present where he stands surrounded by the push of sweaty bodies. To the boom of the bass pouring into the club. To the happy grins and wolf whistle's of the crowd as Bat, the resident DJ at Pandemonium, blasts Everybody's Free by Rozalla, through the speakers.
The song was one of Alec's favourites but he didn't feel like dancing anymore. Everybody's free but me, he thinks to himself, pushing through the crowd of Seelies, Warlocks, Vampires and Werewolves to get to the bar.
Alec ordered a double scotch, neat and knocked it back in two gulps then ordered another, again, throwing it back, as if he could swallow his misery right along with it.
Alec was on his third double when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He grabbed the hand and twisted his entire body around with a dagger in his hand before he could even think about what he was doing. He already had it pressed into the soft neck of his attacker before he realized, there was no attack.
Alec quickly sheathed the dagger at his waist and twisted back in his chair to finish his drink, silently cursing himself for his automatic response to the perceived danger as his best friend, his parabatai, slid into the seat next to him.
"Sorry Clary," Alec mumbled under his breath, knowing she could hear him thanks to the audio rune she had carved into the side of her neck, just below her right ear.
"It's okay I'm used to it. It happened again, didn't it?" Clary whispered back.
Alec stared silently down at his hands. He heard her just as clearly with the rune she had put on him before they had left for their night out. No matter where a Shadowhunter goes, they're always prepared.
They were celebrating her mating to Jace Herondale after she had presented as a beta two weeks ago and had chosen to come to the hottest club the downworld had to offer.
"There's a really cute guy staring at you," Clary giggled into Alec's ear. "He's been watching you for the past hour."
"Not interested," Alec said without even glancing up. He was well into his sixth drink when she grabbed his hand and dragged him out onto the dance floor.
"What are you doing?" Alec hissed at her when she started dancing in circles around him.
"Nothing," Clary replied with an innocent smile on her face before spinning away into the crowd to find her Alpha.
Alec turned around, muttering under his breath, to go back to the bar and finish drowning his sorrows ... And walked straight into a body. An elegant hand glittering with silver rings reached out to steady him, grabbing his shoulder the way Clary had before, but for some reason, his body doesn't automatically act to defend itself...
It reacts in a completely different way altogether.
Alec's breath caught in his chest. His heart started beating as if he has just come out of battle, almost stuttering in its ferocity. His nostrils flared as he inhaled the delicious Alpha scent that reached out to him, caressing his entire body, wrapping around him like a comforting blanket.
Alec actually felt his pupils dilate as the tunnel vision returned. There was no darkness this time. It was almost as if the entire world lit up just as everything else seemed to fall away and for the first time in his entire life, for some inexplicable reason, he felt... Safe! Capital S.
Without his permission, Alec's gaze glided up the from the hand on his shoulder, up the black velvet brocaded sleeve of a blazer, past the black shirt, open at the collar, up past the most kissable lips he had ever laid eyes on and straight into the most beautiful pair of golden green eyes he had ever seen! The pupils vertical, like a cat.
Alec's heart stopped. He almost forgot to breathe. It was like exploring the universe and coming home all at once. Like every fear, worry, regret and painful memory evaporated, just lifted from his shoulders all in one go and embarrassingly, he felt one silent, solitary tear fall from his eye and roll down his cheek.
Alec watched the beautiful elegant hand reach out, the man catching it with one perfectly polished finger, wiping it away as if he wanted to wipe away every tear Alec had ever shed. He stared at the man's lips when they parted.
"Hi, I'm Magnus, Magnus Bane. The new High Warlock of Brooklyn," Magnus said, his eyes boring into the most spectacular pair of eyes he had ever seen, the light's in the club bouncing off the sapphire blue irises that he knew would haunt his every waking thought.
"Alec Lightwood," Alec managed to get out, staring at the man before him, he couldn't do anything else, the guy was breathtaking.
"Alec, is that short for Alexander?" Magnus asked, a grin playing at the corner of his lips when Alec just stood there nodding. "Can I buy you a drink, Alexander?" he asked.
Without waiting for a reply Magnus reached down to take hold of Alec's hand and pulled him away from the crowd towards the bar, ordering two sex on the beach cocktails. He all but dragged Alec to the back corner of the room where two leather sofas surrounded a low stainless steel table.
"So, what is a beautiful shadowhunter like you doing in a bar full of downworlders?" Magnus asked, his curiosity getting the better of him. He wanted to know everything about the beautiful Shadowhunter, his eyes sweeping over the dark hair and leather clothes Alec was dressed in.
"How did you know? that I'm a shadowhunter?" Alec asked, nonplussed that the Warlock had guessed his secret.
"I can see your runes, Alexander. Don't worry I'm the only one who can see them. Everyone else here sees a group of mundanes but I'm not the High Warlock for nothing" Magnus said with a wink.
"How exactly Have you managed to make a glamour so strong that it can fool an entire club full of downworlders though?" Magnus asked curiosity practically dripping off of him.
"My parabatai is... extremely gifted when it comes to runes. Hers are very powerful," Alec said, spilling his guts without any regard for the consequences of his words.
"Indeed," Magnus replied, pretty sure Alec had just made the understatement of the century, it was an extremely powerful glamour.
"Your parabatai is the little red headed biscuit that was dancing around you as if to display the grand prize on a game show?" Magnus enquired,
Alec watched the corner of Magnus' lip quirk up to the side in an almost smile that made him want to kiss the Warlock, so much so that he felt his dick stir in his pants. That smile looked like a prayer and a sin all in one breath.
"Yes, Clary Morgenstern," Alec said. "She presented as a Beta two weeks ago and after the proper courting rituals, she and my sister's parabatai, Jace Herondale, where mated to each other yesterday. We all came out to celebrate."
Alec gulped down his entire drink in one long pull, unsure of why he was telling all of this to a perfect stranger. Why was he spilling everything to this beautiful, confusing man? he wondered to himself.
And why did he feel this innate trust?
It was strange, Alec wasn't usually a man of many words. His mother had thoroughly beaten it into him to only speak when spoken to, resulting in him being reserved and appearing almost sullen to anybody but his closest friends, his Circle.
And yet, Alec felt as if he had known Magnus forever. Like he could tell this beautiful Alpha anything and know he wouldn't be judged for it. Almost as if his opinion would be worth something to the Alpha.
Alec wasn't used to feeling valued or important. And he certainly wasn't used to feeling so comfortable with anyone but his parabatai. Clary was his best friend, he trusted her with his life. She knew everything there was to know about him. She was the first person to realise he was gay.
Instead of reporting Alec to her father Valentine, the sadistic Head of the New York Institute, she had asked him to be her parabatai and had sworn to protect him with her life.
She had also helped Alec tell their group of friends his secret.
Alec shuddered, remembering the bone-crushing fear he had felt when he had told them all, stuttering and stumbling over the words, all the while clutching onto her tiny hand as if he could hide behind it.
Almost as though that hand would protect Alec from any and every threat that would most certainly end him if any of the older generations from the Institute ever found out. He only needed to think of sneaky Pete to see what fate awaited him for being a gay shadowhunter.
Alec had sworn to himself years ago that he would never act on his impulses, that he would spend his life alone. That the Circle would be enough for him.
And yet this man. This perfect, gorgeous stranger called to Alec on a Level so primal it was almost as if he were his mate. Which was ridiculous.
Alec hadn't even presented with his second gender yet. So it wasn't possible that Magnus could be his mate. Only an omega would know their mate without presenting first and since there hadn't been a male omega born for over two hundred years, it was just wasn't possible, was it?
Alec snapped out of his reverie, looking up into those amazing eyes again, he saw the Alpha watching him with that quirky lopsided smile that made his heart flutter and his dick hard and got that urge to kiss it right off his face.
Maybe it was the alcohol, Alec had certainly had enough of it, or maybe he was just tired of being afraid all the time, being so rigid and in control, constantly checking his behaviour and monitoring his actions. Or maybe he just couldn't stop himself. Whatever it was he realized he was fighting a losing battle.
A small part of Alec's brain registered that he was about to have his first kiss and started screaming at him to stop, to protect himself. But the rest of him couldn't give a flying fuck about the promises he'd made himself all those years ago, especially when he saw the Warlocks pupils dilate and saw his breath hitch in his chest, almost as if Magnus knew what he was about to do.
Before Alec could second guess his own actions and stop himself from doing it, he reached one hand around the back of the Alphas slender neck, fisting his hand in the amazing glittery spikes of black hair and dragged Magnus' head down so it was level with his.
Alec looked into Magnus' eyes, silently asking for permission, and saw the Warlock lick his lips. It was all the answer he needed. He crashed his lips against the Alpha's, marvelling at the fact that he wasn't afraid. At the fact that he had made the first move!
It was Magnus that made the second move.
Magnus grabbed Alec round the waist and dragged him onto his lap, the smaller man straddling him, and deepened the kiss, parting Alec's lips with a flick of his tongue.
Magnus dove into the Shadowhunters mouth as if Alec had all the oxygen in the room and he, was starved of air, teeth clashing sending an unquenchable fire through his veins. He couldn't help but trail hot kisses across Alec's jaw and down the side of his neck where the scent glands would be once Alec presented with his second gender.
Magnus' teeth grazed the soft but supple skin there whilst his hands gripped the firm ass in his lap pushing it down further, as if to hold Alec in place, to anchor the shadowhunter to him.
Alec realized that Magnus' dick was so hard, he couldn't help but feel it against his crack even through the thick denim of his jeans and gave out an involuntary moan, almost a whimper. He ground down on it not giving a fuck about the fact they were in the corner of a public room, probably being watched by the angel knew who.
Speaking of which...
"Ahem," someone cleared their throat two feet away. Resulting in an involuntary demonic sounding growl erupting from the Magnus' chest.
Magnus pulled Alec off his lap and moved to push him behind himself, suddenly feeling protective and, for some reason, extremely possessive of the shadowhunter, almost as if Alec were an omega in need of his Alpha's protection.
The thought brought Magnus up short. Where did that come from? He wondered, he knew better than most that it was impossible, knew it with every fibre of his being. Didn't he?
The someone turned out to be a pretty Beta with long dark hair, amazing thigh high boots and the same gorgeous bright blue eyes as his Alexander. Wait, his Alexander? Huh?
"Hi, I'm Izzy Lightwood Alec's sister. Sorry to break up your... Conversation but we really need to be going," Izzy said, her eyes searching every inch of the man who had been kissing her brother, her stomach turning somersaults that Alec was kissing someone. Finally. The guy was handsome too, she mused.
Magnus apologized to the girl for growling and introduced himself since it was evident Alec was unable to string a sentence together.
"Magnus Bane, the new high warlock of Brooklyn," Magnus said, reaching up to grab Izzy's hand and brushing his lips across her knuckles, wanting to make a good impression on the woman for some reason.
"High warlock of Brooklyn? " Izzy asked. "What happened to Ragnor Fell?"
"He had an accident. Seems he was performing certain kinds of magical services for the wrong people," Magnus replied as calmly as possible.
Izzy didn't miss the shadow that passed across Magnus' face as he was speaking, she was nobody's fool.
"Well it was a pleasure to meet you Magnus but we really must be going. Stop drooling Alec and get your behind up, we need to leave now!" Izzy said before she waltzed off into the crowd.
"So, my little Nephilim, when can I see you again? "Magnus asked a blushing Alec.
"We come here most weekends when we have the time off from training," Alec managed to get out, his voice sounding scratchy and rough with arousal. "We'll be here this weekend," he said after clearing his throat.
"Can't wait," Magnus said to him as he dragged Alec in for one more kiss before regretfully letting go. Against his better judgment, he forced himself to do just that.
Alec floated off through the crowd, for once not schooling his expression, a happy, dopey look on his face. He couldn't ever remember being happy. It was even better than the day he and Clary had become parabatai.
"Two days, just two days," Alec mumbled to himself, walking out of the club to find Clary, Jace, Izzy and her mate Simon Wayland waiting for him.