Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

As the minutes trickled by, Magnus couldn’t stop pacing around his apartment. He knew that Alec would go straight home, with maybe just a stop for dinner. That meant he would be home by six, six thirty at the latest. Presuming that it took him an hour to hash things out with his mother – and Magnus frankly had trouble seeing how it would take him longer than five minutes – then he should have called Magnus at least an hour previous. It was almost nine, and Magnus was growing more certain that something was wrong.

He had tried calling Alec’s phone twice, but it had gone to voice mail both times. A text message had gotten no response.

Had Maryse talked Alec into breaking up with Magnus? Into not speaking to him anymore? Magnus supposed that it was possible, but he kept thinking back to Alec that afternoon, to how firm and confident he had been. “She can’t make me stop seeing you,” he had said, and Magnus had believed him. Alec had his issues, it couldn’t be denied, but he had made such amazing progress in the past six months.

Which was why the text Magnus received at quarter past nine invoked not heartbreak, but rage. ‘Can’t see you anymore,’ it read. ‘Don’t know what I ever saw in you.’

It couldn’t be from Maryse any more obviously than if she had signed it. Magnus was halfway down to his car before he regained control of his temper. She had obviously taken Alec’s phone, probably sent him to his room as if he were a child. But she can’t keep him under house arrest. There was at least a fifty percent chance Alec would go out his window. He needed to calm down, take some deep breaths, and if Alec didn’t turn up tonight, he would go see him at work the next day.

Even with that planned, he tossed and turned. It was silly to worry for Alec, he reminded himself. Maryse couldn’t bury him in a shallow grave; the disappearance of a senator’s son would not go unnoticed. Alec was probably just letting her cool down, letting her think she had won.

He was up with the sun, and got dressed in one of his more flamboyant suits, in case he ran into Maryse. He knew that Alec usually got to the office by eight, but forced himself to wait until eight thirty. He picked them both up a coffee and headed up in the elevator, giving the door a quick knock before heading into his office. “Hello, Julia, isn’t it?” he asked, smiling at the secretary. “I’m here to see Alec.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Mr. Bane, but Mr. Lightwood isn’t in today,” Julia said. Magnus felt something in his stomach tighten. “Mrs. Lightwood told me he’d come down with a nasty virus – he might not be in for a few days. Can I take a message for him?”

“No, thank you.” Magnus mustered up a smile. “That’s quite all right.”

He headed for Maryse’s office, rage and fear warring for dominance. Maryse’s secretary, Charlotte, looked more than a little nervous when he walked in. “Mrs. Lightwood is in a meeting,” she said.

“I’ll wait.” Magnus sat down. Minutes trickled by. At nine o’clock, he stood up and said, “That’s enough waiting. Thank you, Charlotte.” He walked past her, into Maryse’s office. As he had expected, it was empty except for her. “Good morning, Mrs. Lightwood,” he said, closing the door behind himself. “I hear Alec isn’t feeling well. I hope it isn’t food poisoning. The restaurant we were at was excellent.”

Maryse gave him a triumphant smile. “Alec doesn’t want to see you anymore. I believe he told you that.”

Magnus studied her for a long moment, thinking about how best to proceed. “You don’t know your son at all, do you.”

Maryse’s mouth tightened. “I don’t see what you’re getting at.”

“Alec is a lot of things, Mrs. Lightwood, but he is not a coward. He would not break up with someone by text message. He would have at the very least called me on the phone, or more likely done it in person. The fact that he didn’t assures me that he is not the one who wrote this message, which means that you did.”

“You’re welcome to your opinion,” Maryse said. “Now if you don’t mind, I have work to do. Charlotte will show you out.”

“Where is your son, Maryse?” Magnus asked.

Maryse picked up her phone. “Charlotte, call security.”

Magnus turned and walked away without another word. He obviously wasn’t going to get anywhere with her, and if he wound up arrested, it wouldn’t help anybody. There was more than one way to skin a cat, or find his boyfriend.

On the street outside, he called Izzy. She picked up cheerfully, and he ruined her day. “Have you heard from Alec in the past twenty-four hours?”

“No, why?” she asked.

“Maryse found out we were dating and threw some sort of fit,” Magnus said. “Alec sent me a text message breaking up with me – or I should say, Alec’s phone sent me that message. I very highly doubt Alec sent it himself. His secretary told me he’s out sick with a bad virus, and Maryse called security on me when I tried to talk to her about it.”

“Jesus Christ,” Izzy said. “You want me to try to call him?”

“I doubt it would do much good. Do you still have a key to your parents’ house?”

“As it happens, I do,” Izzy said. “I’m at the shop. Pick me up?”

“I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

When Magnus got to the shop, Izzy was pacing back and forth out of worry. While they drove out to the suburbs, he explained what he knew about the day before. Izzy listened in silence, chewing at her lower lip. Magnus wanted to tell her that Alec was an omega – he thought it might clear some things up – but it wasn’t his secret to tell.

Izzy let them into the house through a side door and called out, “Hello? Anybody home?” Nobody answered, which didn’t entirely surprise Magnus. At this time of day, Robert would be at work and Max at school. But it also meant that Alec hadn’t answered either, which he didn’t like.

He had never been to Alec’s house for obvious reasons, despite the occasional temptation to sneak through his window and debauch Alec in his own bed, so he let Izzy lead the way. Alec’s room was empty and looked normal. His laptop bag was sitting on his desk with his laptop still in it. “I don’t like this,” Izzy said, giving a sudden shiver.

“Let’s see if his car is here,” Magnus said, and Izzy nodded. They headed to the garage and there it was.

“I don’t like this at all,” Izzy repeated.

They went back to Alec’s room. Magnus turned on his laptop to see if he could figure out whether or not Alec had been using it that morning. The browser history showed the last thing he had accessed had been at work the day before. The most recent e-mails were from the same time. “I don’t think he used it at all after getting home last night.”

“This is weird,” Izzy said, from the bathroom. “It does look like a few things are missing. I don’t see his comb, razor, deodorant, toothbrush – I think he might have packed a bag.”

Magnus looked around. Alec’s clothes were frankly too drab to tell whether or not he had packed any – he owed eight copies of the same three shirts – but he noticed something else. “No shoes, either. You know Alec only has that one damn pair of dress shoes he wears. I don’t see them anywhere. Maryse shipped him off somewhere.”

“And Alec just let himself be shipped?” Izzy asked, skeptical. “I mean, my brother’s not exactly an MMA fighter, but he’s got six inches on our mom.”

“I’m not sure of the details either, but it looks more and more like that’s what happened.”  Magnus shook his head, trying to ignore the knots twisting in his stomach as he imagined the possibilities. “We need to get into your mother’s phone or computer. If she made any sort of arrangements, we might be able to find them there.”

“That’s a great idea, but I don’t know how we’ll do it,” Izzy said. “I mean, I’ve seen the TV shows where you can just walk up next to someone and clone their phone, but it’s not something I know how to do.”

“Me neither. I think it’s time we called in a professional. Come on, let’s get out of here before we get caught.”

They got back in the car and drove a few blocks away. Magnus got on his phone, scrolled through his list of contacts, and then dialed. A young man picked up a few moments later. “Raphael, how are you?”

“I hate it when you ask me that,” Raphael replied.

“I need some help with something,” Magnus said. “I’ll pay twice your going rate to drop whatever else you’ve got on your plate and handle this.”

“Now that, I don’t hate,” Raphael said. “What’s the situation?”

“Do you know who Alexander Lightwood is?”

“Son of Senator Lightwood, just got outed on Twitter? On your Twitter, to be precise? Yeah, I got an inkling.”

“Well, his mother wasn’t very happy with his lifestyle choices, and now he’s missing. I can’t get in touch with him. He’s not home and his secretary has been instructed to tell clients that he’s ill and could be out for some time. It looks like he might have packed a bag, but I can’t be sure. His car is still at the Lightwood home.”

“When was the last time you spoke with him?”

“About two thirty yesterday. He called me after his mother confronted him over the picture, reassured me that he wasn’t going to break up with me over this, and told me he’d call me after he got home. On normal days that would have been around six thirty. Instead, he texted me, or someone using his phone texted me, to break up with me. That was a little after nine.”

Raphael snorted. “Well, Maryse Lightwood is a lot of things, but subtle isn’t one of them. Think she shipped him off to the Hamptons or somewhere while she does damage control?”

“That’s my best guess. Find him for me, Raphael, and there’s a generous bonus in it for you.”

“I don’t swing your way, Magnus.”

“Que lastima,” Magnus replied.

Raphael laughed. “Hasta luego,” he said, and hung up.

Izzy was waiting, a bit impatiently. “So, Raphael is . . .”

“He’s a fixer,” Magnus said. “The law firm I use on the rare occasion that I need one recommended him to me about two years ago, where there were some . . . entanglements . . . with immigration and one of my best models. He’s very, very good at what he does. If anyone can find Alec, it’s going to be him.”

Izzy nodded and rubbed her hands over her face. “Okay. But why do I feel like there’s more to this than you’re telling me?”

Magnus shrugged a little.

“Look, Mom doesn’t like you, obviously. Finding out that Alec was dating you was going to piss her off. But stashing Alec in a closet somewhere isn’t going to fix that problem. She ends up with a scandal on her hands either way. With the attitude towards homosexuality shifting in the country, both her career and Dad’s would be better served by telling everyone they love and support their gay son. She can work on his choice in men later.”

“Mm,” Magnus said. He saw the look on Izzy’s face and said, “I’m sorry, Isabelle. There are things Alexander has told me, in confidence. Yes, they would explain the situation, but I’m not going to betray his trust.”

Izzy sighed. “I appreciate that about you, but you have to admit you’d be frustrated in my shoes.”

“I would be, yes.”

“And Alec’s just been so much happier since he’s been seeing you, so much more at ease and confident with himself, even though mom doesn’t like you, I would think she could see that. And you’re an alpha, so at least she can’t complain about you like she did about Meliorn – two alphas can date and get married, it’s a little more rare but there’s no reason why it won’t work – ” Izzy stopped talking abruptly.

“Isabelle?” Magnus prompted.

“Oh . . . oh my God,” Izzy said. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it. I can’t believe I didn’t realize my big brother is an omega.”

Magnus winced a little, and said nothing.

“Oh, Jesus, so many things make sense now – how he would never date or even go out to parties or go out clubbing with me – why he got so upset about the whole Meliorn thing – and definitely why Mom might have lost her shit.” Izzy looked at Magnus, who was sitting in silence, and sighed. “Let me guess: you can neither confirm nor deny.”

Magnus shook his head a little. “You’ve clearly figured it out, and I don’t think Alec would blame that on me.”

Now it was Izzy who was quiet for a moment. “When did you find out?”

“Not long after I met him. He’d put off being with an alpha for so long, trying to manage it with drugs, that he lost control. I took care of him – not sexually, before you ask.”

Izzy pinched the bridge of her nose. “That’s why all your dates were over skype for the first few months. You know, I had wondered about that, but I thought Alec was just being paranoid about being seen in public with you.”

“If we’d been more paranoid, this might not have happened,” Magnus said, feeling his throat tighten.

Izzy reached out and squeezed his hand. “This isn’t your fault, Magnus. We’ll figure out what my mom did, and we’ll fix it. She probably drove him up to stay with one of her fancy friends and keep a lid on him until she’s decided how she wants to spin it. And to keep him away from you before the paparazzi get in on the action.”

“Admittedly, I was a little surprised they weren’t parked outside my apartment this morning.” Magnus sighed. “They must not have figured out who the person in the photo was. If they’d realized it was an up-until-yesterday closeted senator’s son, they would have been in my living room.”

“Yeah.” Izzy sighed. “Well, we can’t just sit around here. Might as well go get some lunch while we wait.”

“All right. And I have to call some people and delegate some responsibilities, clear some time off my schedule so I can handle this. Mind coming to my offices? There’s an excellent Chinese place right across the street.”

“Sounds good.”

They had barely reached Magnus’ office, and he was two minutes into a meeting with his personal assistant, when his phone rang. He saw it was Raphael and his stomach clenched again. That had been quick, and he wasn’t sure that was a good thing. “Yes,” he picked up.

“Do you want the good news or the bad news?” Raphael asked.

“Just tell me.”

“Maryse Lightwood obtained guardianship over her son yesterday.”

“She what?” Magnus spit out, but he quickly saw how it would have happened. Maryse undoubtedly has judges she was friendly with, who could benefit from political or legal favors. Obtaining guardianship over her omega son probably hadn’t been that difficult. “I hope that was the bad news.”

“Yeah, but I lied, there is no good news. Not yet, anyway. Got a meeting with Maryse in an hour. I’ll see what I can get from her, or more likely, what my pal posing as IT can get from her computer.”

“Thank you, Raphael,” Magnus said, and hung up. He looked at Izzy’s anxious face and tried to settle his nerves. It was going to be a long day.

~ ~ ~ ~

“So I don’t know for sure, but I think I know where your boyfriend has been stashed,” Raphael greeted Magnus at five thirty, over drinks at a bar down the street from Magnus’ office. “Maryse’s search history was very illuminating. She spent a solid hour yesterday researching different ‘therapeutic facilities’ for omegas.”

Magnus felt the panic build in his stomach. This was what he had been afraid of, ever since he had realized Alec was well and truly gone. Conversion therapy, brainwashing – Alec was strong, but that sort of thing could break anyone. “And?”

“And as soon as I get her bank records, I’ll figure out where she made the deposit.” Raphael signaled the bartender, who refilled his glass.

“Isn’t that something you could be doing right now?” Izzy asked, her voice tight with worry.

Raphael just smiled at her. “No. I don’t do my own dirty work. I have a friend at the bank who’s looking it up for me. Should get a text any minute. And then we’ll know how bad the damage is.”

“Meaning?” Magnus asked, trying to keep his temper.

“Have a drink, Magnus,” Raphael said, taking the bottle of Scotch from the bartender and handing him a fifty dollar bill. He poured a shot into a glass and Magnus gulped it down, feeling like Raphael was right and he could use it. “Depending on how much money Maryse dropped, this place could be anything between a summer camp and a maximum security penitentiary.”

“What do they do there?” Izzy asked.

“Things you’d be happier not thinking about,” Raphael said, but saw the look on Izzy’s face and sighed. “There’s two types of these facilities, right? The first centers around what’s called aversion therapy. Suppress the hormones, way higher doses than what’s normally taken, and condition the omega to associate the touch of an alpha with pain. That’s what you do if you want the omega to be able to live a semi-normal life afterwards, and never go near an alpha again. Not that it lasts – most of them break after a few years and then have to be ‘re-conditioned’. That or they commit suicide.”

“And the second kind?” Magnus asked, although he wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

“Alpha-dependent therapy.” Raphael knocked his drink back and poured Magnus a second one. “Break the omega and make them truly subservient. Associate the alpha with control, so the omega won’t do as much as sneeze without an alpha’s permission. Then they’re hooked up with an alpha that the controlling party finds appropriate, and . . . kept. Would probably be the best word for it. That’s not something you come back from.”

Magnus and Izzy exchanged a look. “She’ll go for the first,” Magnus said, trying to keep his breath evening. “If she doesn’t want scandal, she’ll want to continue to hide what Alec is, and that’s how to do it.”

“I don’t know.” Izzy’s voice cracked. “I just don’t know, Magnus. I don’t think she’ll believe that’s possible. And if it’s not – the second would be better from her point of view. Not allowing Alec any independence is safer for her. He can’t ever embarrass her that way.”

“But how could she possibly explain it?” Magnus asked.

“Lie, amigo,” Raphael said. “Lie until her nose grows. Tell everyone that Alec had an accident – car accident, maybe near drowning – something that would come with brain damage. Lock him away somewhere, throw away the key, and who’s going to be the wiser?”

Magnus poured himself another drink. He was keenly aware of the minutes passing by. Alec had been gone almost twenty-four hours now. “How long – ” He nearly choked on the words. “What sort of time frame are we looking at?”

“Aversion therapy takes a couple weeks to get under your skin,” Raphael said. “Alpha-dependent therapy’s a lot quicker. Two, three days to break the subject. Then another two or three to make them dependent on the alpha.”

Magnus wanted to know how it was done, but wasn’t sure if it would make him feel better or worse. He silently poured himself another drink. “I never should have let him go home last night,” he mumbled. “Should have just – gone to his office to pick him up, never let him near that bitch again.”

Izzy squeezed his hand. “You couldn’t know, Magnus – I mean, even with everything else she’s done, this – ”

Raphael’s phone chimed, and both Izzy and Magnus jumped. He glanced down at it, then opened his laptop and started typing. “Payment was made to a doctor Hodge Starkweather,” he said. “His facility’s about an hour north of the city.”

“So what are we looking at?” Magnus asked.

“It’s not good, though I’ve seen worse,” Raphael said, his eyes flicking over the screen. “Good security. We won’t be able to just walk in and take him. An important thing to remember here is that as of now, Maryse has the law on her side. The guardianship order might be shady, but it’s legal. Which means that she has the legal right to commit Alec to this institution for treatment. So unless we can get a court order for his release, we’re up shit creek.”

“We can’t smuggle him out somehow?” Magnus asked, trying to keep the panic at bay.

Raphael sighed. “Magnus, this ain’t The Great Escape. Even if you managed to get past the fence, the guard, the electronic security system, the nurses, the locks – Maryse is gonna know damn well you had a hand in it and you’re going to end up in jail. Alec will be sent back to the facility and we’ll be right back where we started. We gotta do this the legal way, which mean overturning the guardianship.”

“But there isn’t time for that!” Izzy protested. She swallowed and added, “Does it say – which type of therapy Starkweather practices?”

“He’s got both listed on the website. No way to know which Maryse paid for.” Raphael shut the laptop. “Look, guys, we got two options here. The first is the legal, above board way. We convince a judge that the guardianship order was granted without cause. The second is the semi-legal, quick and dirty way.” He glanced at Izzy. “You seeing anyone?”

“What? Yes. Why?”

“How do you feel about fidelity?”

“I don’t even want to know why you’re asking me that question.”

Raphael poured himself another shot. “Herondale was the issuing judge. Herondale’s husband is running for Congress next year. Which means that Maryse bribed her with a guaranteed endorsement from the senator. Right?”

“Right,” Magnus said warily. “So we need to top that?”

“Yeah. And the easiest, fastest way to do that is to honeytrap her husband and then blackmail the shit out of him.”

Izzy blinked. “Oh. Oh. Well – Meliorn would understand, I think, but – ”

“No need, Isabelle.” Magnus already had his phone out. “I’m sure Alec would be touched by your sacrifice, but I work with beautiful women for a living. I can think of at least half a dozen who wouldn’t be at all bothered by this proposition.” He glanced up at Raphael. “Does he have a type?”

“Tall and dark, like Izzy here.” Raphael rolled his eyes and bit and added, “He likes to think he’s getting some strange, like New York City is populated entirely by white people.”

Magnus let out a snort despite himself. “I’ll have someone at his doorstep in an hour.”

“Look, I know you’re worried about your boy, but you gotta slowplay it at least a little, or he’s going to see the trap coming.” Raphael shook his head. “Today’s Thursday. Herondale’s gonna be home on his sofa. But someone running for office is gonna have events this weekend. It’ll work better if your honey approaches him at one of those.”

“Yes, but – ”

“You called me because I’m the best at what I do, Magnus,” Raphael said. “Let me call the shots. If you tip him off, we’ll be out of options that don’t take weeks. Give your model friend my number, tell her to do what I say, when I say it. Don’t jump the gun on this. I can get Alec out of there, but you gotta let me do my job.”

Magnus closed his eyes and forced himself to take a deep breath. “Yes. All right. But if you won’t need me personally, I’m going to sit on Starkweather’s doorstep so I can get Alec out of there the instant the paperwork comes through.”

“Have a blast. Just don’t trespass and get your ass put in jail.” Raphael knocks back his last shot. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get to work.”

Magnus hesitated, then said, “Wait. I have to know. I’m sorry. Izzy, you might not want to – but I have to know. Why is alpha-dependent therapy different? How does it work so fast?”

Raphael set down his glass and sighed. “Aversion therapy is punishment, right? Associate the alpha with pain. What works faster and better than punishment? Reward. Instead of suppressing the hormones, they load the omega up with them. Scramble his brain. Leave him twelve hours ‘til he’s so desperate for an alpha’s dick that he’d do anything for it. Then you give him exactly what he wants, and then you tell him how weak he is for needing it. Rinse and repeat. Two, three cycles, that’s all it takes. By the end of that, they’ll do anything a god damned alpha tells them to do.”

Izzy had a hand over her mouth. She looked at Magnus and said faintly, “I’m going to be sick,” before she pushed back from the bar and ran towards the bathroom.

Raphael watched her go, waited until she was out of earshot before he spoke again. “I won’t lie, Magnus. It’s brutal. And it’s gonna happen. Izzy’s right. That’s what Maryse will go for. No way will she risk putting Alec back out onto the streets in any capacity where he can embarrass her.”

“Alec – ” Magnus’ voice cracked slightly. “Alec has practice fighting off his impulses, though. He didn’t – indulge them – for a long time.”

“Not like this. We’re talking three, four times the hormone levels of the most desperate, horniest omega you’ve ever met. Nobody can fight that off. Then the alpha comes in and makes it all better.”

“He’s already been gone for twenty-four hours,” Magnus said. “Raphael, we have to – ”

“We have to handle this my way,” Raphael said, but saw the look on Magnus’ face and sighed. “Look, Magnus. You’ve done me a solid or two and I appreciate that, and believe me, I will get your boy. But you need to prepare yourself for the possibility that we aren’t going to get to him in time. At least if they’ve broken him, you can take care of him afterwards. You’re an alpha – you’re his alpha. I’ve never seen someone come back from it, but I guess that doesn’t mean nobody can. Just that nobody’s ever tried to bring anyone back. All right?” He checked his watch. “I’ve gotta go. Let me do what I do.”

Magnus sat at the bar in silence. The bottle of Scotch was nearly gone, and he was starting to feel numb. Izzy came back out from the bathroom and said, “I’m gonna call us a taxi. I don’t think either of us should be driving.”

“I can’t – ” Magnus forced himself to stop and take a deep breath. “No. You’re right.”

Izzy gave him a cautious look. “Am I gonna have to sit on you all night so you don’t drive up to the facility and get yourself arrested?”

“As much as I’d like to – no. Raphael is right. Breaking and entering isn’t really my skillset. I’ll drive up in the morning and see if I can talk my way in. It probably won’t work, but it’s better than doing nothing.”

~ ~ ~ ~

Chapter Text

The Starkweather Rehabilitation Facility looks like something from a real estate catalog. It’s on a beautiful estate, lots of grass and trees, a white building barely visible behind the wrought-iron gate. There’s a guardstation there, but that’s not difficult to get past during the day. Magnus just told the man that he was there in a legal capacity, representing the Lightwood family. The guard cared enough to check his credentials, but not enough to call Maryse and ask who her lawyer was.

Once he was inside, however, things got much more difficult. The lobby of the building was beautifully appointed, open and spacious with hardwood floors and large windows that let in plenty of light. Magnus checked in at the desk and said he was there to see Mr. Lightwood. He figured that even if he couldn’t get Alec out of the facility right this instant, he could at least let him know that he was working on it, that he wouldn’t be there long.

The woman behind the desk got on her phone, and a minute later she hung up and told Magnus that he had to leave. Magnus played stupid, reiterating that he was there in a legal capacity and needed to meet with his client. “If he’s in a therapy session right now, might I speak with his doctor?” Magnus tried, and when she said no, he asked, “Well, could you check with your supervisor?”

He went around and around with her and then someone she called a ‘clinical manager’. He remained calm and polite, knowing that losing his temper was guaranteed to get him thrown out. Once the clinical manager showed up, he started using legal jargon in the hopes that it would confuse her into letting him past.

That both did and didn’t work. It did confuse her, enough that she called Dr. Starkweather, whereupon she was informed of exactly who Magnus was and why he was under no circumstances to be allowed to see Alec.

After two hours of arguing, Magnus gave up. He wasn’t going to win and he knew it. At least he had managed to confirm that Alec actually was there, which would cut down on problems later. He went back out to his car and checked his messages. Raphael had called, stating that the judge’s husband had a fundraiser on Saturday night. Raphael had already talked to two of Magnus’ friends and they had come up with a plan. Raphael was confident that they would have the guardianship order rescinded by noon on Sunday.

That was forty-eight hours away. Magnus knew he couldn’t sit in his car outside the facility the entire time, but having been inside, he could see that Raphael was right. There was no way he could get past the security and get to Alec. They couldn’t call the police and say Alec was being held against his will, because the law was on Maryse’s side as long as that guardianship order was in effect. And as much as Magnus might have liked to go online and hire a team of commandos to break Alec out, he didn’t actually know how to find professionals, and amateurs would only make the situation worse.

He sat in his car for almost another hour, thinking everything over, before he called Raphael. “Why don’t we go to the press?”

Raphael sighed. “Magnus. Seriously?”

“I am serious! Maryse doesn’t want a scandal, she – ”

“Okay, let me lay it out for you,” Raphael said. “You go to the press, and yeah, there are some reporters who would jump on this story. Senator’s son forced into omega therapy against his will. But it’s your word against Maryse’s, Magnus. She’ll say that you seduced her innocent, vulnerable omega son, that you messed with his head, and she had to send him to therapy to get him away from you. And yeah, you’re more respectable than you used to be, but you aren’t a white male senator and you sure as hell aren’t a white male senator’s wife. She’ll play the grieving mother card, talk about how much she loves her son and how worried she is about him and how she hates that you forced her into this corner. Way too many people believe the whole alpha/omega relationship bullshit for that to work, and even if they don’t, you’re still not white, you’re queer, you were a stripper and a lot of people think you were a whore. Maryse has a guardianship order. Nobody’s going to want to believe the courts are corrupt. They’ll assume that if she got it, it’s because Alec needed it, and she’ll make that about protecting him from you. You’d destroy your career and your company and none of it would get Alec out of that facility any faster.”

Magnus took a deep breath and slowly let it out. “All right.”

“Don’t do anything stupid, Magnus. I’ve got the ball rolling. Just lay low for forty-eight hours, okay? That’s all I’m asking.”

“All right,” Magnus said again, and hung up.

It was, without a doubt, the longest two days of Magnus’ life. It was almost impossible to focus on anything. He tried, because the alternative was staring at a wall and wishing desperately for his boyfriend to be back in his arms, but concentrating took more effort than he could muster. When he did actually manage to distract himself for a few minutes, he would jerk back to the present situation with a guilty start.

He wasn’t in the mood to sleep Friday night, but he knew he was going to be up most of the night on Saturday, so he went to the club long enough to find someone who could get him some Ambien and collapsed into bed. He slept well, but woke up feeling foggy and with a headache.

Come Saturday evening, he was pacing around his apartment, clutching his phone. Raphael texted him occasionally to give him an update. The good judge’s husband fell straight into the honeytrap. Pictures were obtained. Raphael planned to wake up the judge with the photographs at seven AM - take her off guard at the last minute she was expecting it.

Magnus managed to doze off for a little while in the wee hours of the night, but he was up at six AM and on his way to the facility. Raphael texted him at seven thirty to let him know that Judge Herondale, though rightfully pissed off at her husband - “you couldn’t keep it in your pants even when you’re running for office?” - had conceded to his demands. She was on her way to the office, where Raphael was going to meet her.

“When will Maryse know?” Magnus texted.

“Herondale will notify her, so, soon.”

Magnus was glad to be parked right outside the facility, because he wanted to have Alec out of there before Maryse could show up and throw a wrench in things. If it was her word against Magnus’ about whether or not Alec’s institutionalization was voluntary, things could get messy.

“Done,” Raphael texted him at eight thirty. “Faxing a copy of the order to the facility.”

Magnus went up to the gate and got inside on the same pretext as he had on Friday. It was much quieter at this time of day. The secretary gave him the definite side eye, and he was glad that he had dressed conservatively. “Hello, I’m here on behalf of my client, Alexander Lightwood.”

The secretary cleared her throat. “Mr. Bane, we know that you aren’t - ”

“Check your fax machine. Maryse Lightwood’s guardianship over her son has been rescinded, so as of now he is back in control of his own life, and as I am his attorney in other matters, I have the legal right to presume I am representing him in the matter of his involuntary commitment until he notifies me that my services are no longer needed.”

She stared at him with her jaw ajar for a moment before she turned around and pulled a few papers off their fax machine. She studied them for a long moment before saying, “Let me get the manager on duty.”

“Do that,” he said.

Two minutes later, he was facing the same clinical manager from the day before. She had obviously done some heavy damage control in those intervening two minutes, and she looked very unhappy. “Well. Dr. Starkweather has to do the formal paperwork, so he’ll make the final decision about whether or not Alec can be discharged at this time.”

“Mm hm,” Magnus said. “How long that will be?”

“I’m not sure. He’s with patients right now. It could be several hours.”

“I see.” Magnus got on his phone. He walked several feet away from the desk to give the illusion of being courteous, while still knowing they would hear every word he said, and dialed Raphael. “There’s going to be a problem.”

“Why am I not surprised?” Raphael sounded put upon.

“They’re attempting to tell me that Dr. Starkweather is going to decide whether or not he can be discharged, and that it might be several hours before he can make it here.”

“Yeah, they’ll try to say that his commitment was voluntary and keep you from seeing him. Saw that one coming. I got an officer of the law heading your way. Should speed things up. Name’s Luke Garroway. Used to be NYPD but moved up to the suburbs a few years ago. I don’t like him, personally, but he’s got that sort of authority to him to help things along. Got an omega daughter, so he sees things our way.”

“Thank you, Raphael. I’ll wait with baited breath.”

Magnus sat back down in the lobby. Since Raphael had foreseen the facility’s move, Detective Garroway was there before Dr. Starkweather. Magnus introduced himself and liked him immediately. He had a firm handshake and immediately started things off on the right foot by going to the secretary, showing her his badge, and saying, “I understand you’re holding a man against his will. In my line of work, that’s called unlawful imprisonment, and it’s a felony.”

The secretary cringed, the clinical manager sputtered, and they both reiterated that Starkweather was on his way.

“Get him here now,” Luke said. “He’s got five minutes before I get a search warrant for this entire facility, and I really don’t think he wants that.”

Three minutes later, Dr. Starkweather hurried out of the back, wearing a suit and a white lab coat to give himself the look of an authority figure. “Mr. Bane, Detective Garroway,” he said, gesturing. “Please, follow me.”

They followed him into an office. Magnus’ gaze took in the certificates on the wall, clearly meant to impress bigoted parents who wanted their omega children hidden away. “Dr. Starkweather, let’s get one thing out of the way right now. Do not try to convince me that Alec submitted to this commitment voluntarily. I am one hundred percent sure that if you produced the paperwork from his admission, his mother’s signature will be on everything.”

“Which means that, by our facility’s policies, her signature must also be on the discharge paperwork - ”

“Apparently your facility’s policies don’t take into account the possibility of a rescinded guardianship,” Magnus said. “It is not necessary to involve Maryse Lightwood in anything that happens here today, or with her son’s life in general, ever again. Alec is an adult man who can make his own decisions, and I insist on seeing him at once.”

Starkweather cleared his throat. “Unfortunately, that won’t be possible. He’s on medical hold.”

Magnus sat back and exchanged a look with Luke. “Meaning what, exactly?”

“He’s been judged a danger to himself and others, and needs to be hospitalized for his own safety.”

“And I assume you have legal paperwork to this effect?”

“Not exactly, but as his doctor - ”

“You are not his doctor. Not anymore. You’re not a medical doctor at all; you have a PhD in psychology and that is not the same thing. I will have him evaluated by a qualified physician and if they feel hospitalization is necessary, we will follow their recommendations at an actual hospital.”

“I’m afraid that - ”

“Yes, you are afraid,” Luke interrupted. “I’d like to know why. Every minute you keep Alec behind these walls and don’t allow us in to see him, I’m more tempted to charge you with unlawful imprisonment, and I have a feeling I’m going to be adding more charges. What sort of shape is Alec in, that you won’t let us see him?”

Starkweather sighed and threw in the towel. “He had a bad reaction to the drugs. He became violent and combative. He assaulted one of the orderlies and put him in the hospital with a broken jaw and a concussion.”

“I see.” Luke stared Starkweather down. “How about you start at the beginning and explain to me exactly what sort of drugs and ‘therapy’ led to this happening?”

“That’s confidential information. Alec would have to sign a release stating we could discuss his medical treatment with you, and he’s in no frame of mind to do so - ”

Luke shook his head. “Okay, that’s enough. Stand up, put your hands behind your back. You’re under arrest for unlawful imprisonment. In an hour I’ll have a search warrant for this facility and I’ll - ”

“Wait, wait!” Starkweather cleared his throat. “That’s not necessary, detective.”

“Let me see if I can fill in some of the gaps for you,” Magnus said. “Was Alec receiving aversion therapy or alpha-dependent therapy?”

Starkweather gave him a wary look, clearly surprised that Magnus knew the terminology. “Alpha-dependent.”

Magnus’ stomach clenched. He wasn’t surprised, but hearing about what Alec must have gone through made him want to be sick. “So you gave him hormones to make him pliable and desperate and then had an alpha - to be delicate - meet his needs?”

“Well - ”

“Excuse me?” Magnus might have known what the therapy entailed, but Luke clearly hadn’t. He looked between the two men. “The extent of this therapy is that you drug your patients and then rape them?”

“It - That is a deliberately inflammatory way of putting it,” Starkweather said, trying to keep his calm. “Their sexual needs are met, it’s therapeutic - ”

“Therapeutic rape? I really don’t think that’s a thing that exists.”

“It’s to introduce them to the concept that they can’t control their impulses - ”

“When heavily drugged? Yeah, that’s a shock.”

“ - and need to submit to an alpha.”

Luke held up a hand. “Stop talking. I haven’t read you your rights yet and I really want to make sure I do that before I charge you with literally every damn thing.”

“The residents know what the therapy entails, and they sign a waiver, so - ” Starkweather saw the look on Luke’s face and hastily added, “And it’s irrelevant in this case because that’s not what happened with Mr. Lightwood. Yes, he was given the hormonal therapy, but he refused an alpha’s care.”

“Refused?” Magnus felt a glimmer of hope for the first time in days. “Meaning?”

Starkweather sighed. “After the patient has received the hormonal therapy, they’re left in sensory deprivation for eight hours. That’s to allow time for them to become appropriately distressed. When the alpha comes in to care for them, the patient is required to acknowledge that they’re in need of care.”

It looked like Luke might question the terminology, but Magnus was already talking. “That can’t be for liability reasons, if they’ve already signed a waiver, which means that you bastards make them beg to convince them of how weak they are.”

“Having them acknowledge their needs emphasizes the reality of their condition,” Starkweather said. He saw that the look in Magnus’ eyes was quickly shifting from furious to homicidal, and continued, “Alec refused to do so. So, he was given another dose of hormonal therapy and then again left alone.”

Magnus let out a breath and took another one in, slowly. “How long did this go on?”

“Forty-eight hours. I’ve never seen an omega do that, to be honest with you. Sometimes it takes a second dose, but before Alec, I had never seen anyone require a third - let alone a fourth, fifth, and sixth.”

“And then?”

“He wasn’t responding, so we increased the dose.”

“Jesus Christ,” Luke muttered, rubbing a hand over his face.

“Twice,” Starkweather added weakly.

Magnus took another calming breath. “And then?”

“The alpha who was - responsible for him - realized that he had become nonverbal. He saw something he interpreted as a request, and proceeded to care for Alec as instructed. Or at least he attempted to. That was when Alec became violent.”

“So let me get this straight,” Luke said. “This man has been in your custody for over seventy-two hours. In that time frame he’s been drugged repeatedly, held in solitary confinement, and sexually assaulted. His response to the latter was to defend himself with force, and you’re trying to tell me that this makes him ‘a danger to himself and others’? Yeah, I don’t think so. Take us to him, right now.”

“Regardless of whether or not he’s a danger to himself, he’s certainly not able to care for himself,” Starkweather said. “It will take several days for the drugs to wear off, and until then - ”

“Until then, he will be in the care of someone who will actually provide care,” Magnus said. “We’ll involve medical professionals if we have to, but that’s a decision we can’t make until we’ve seen his current condition. Where is he?”

“He’s back in sensory deprivation.”

Magnus felt his nails dig into his palms and ground out, “Why?”

“We thought it might be calming.”

“And again I say, take us to him, right now,” Luke said.

Starkweather gave in, rising from his desk. “Follow me. I think you might understand better once you’ve seen him.”

“Oh, now you think that?” Luke’s voice was heavy with sarcasm.

Starkweather didn’t rise to the bait. “This way.”

They headed down a set of clean, sterile hallways and stopped outside one with a solid metal door with a keypad beside it. Rather than opening it, Starkweather turns to a computer opposite the door and turns it on, although the monitor stays entirely black. “What you see might shock you,” he said, back in the mode of damage control. “But I want you to understand that these techniques are grounded in science and have been proven very effective. Most omegas respond quite well - ”

Magnus could barely keep his voice under control. “Open this God damned door right now.”

“Let’s start by turning on the lights,” Starkweather said, hitting a few keys on the computer. “They’re programmed to come up slowly. At this point he’s been in complete darkness for quite some time, and we don’t want to startle him.”

“Yes, what is ‘quite some time’?” Luke asked. “When did this assault occur? And don’t lie, because if your employee was hospitalized there will be records.”

Starkweather cleared his throat. “Yesterday at about four PM.”

“And he’s been in sensory deprivation ever since.” Luke checked his watch. “Coming up on eighteen hours.”

“Yes.”

“So in addition to being drugged, he’s also likely dehydrated.”

“There is an interior window through which we provide nourishment, and actually he’s drunk quite a bit although he’s refused to eat. However, he probably is somewhat sleep-deprived. The drugs make it difficult to sleep.”

“I’ll bet.”

Magnus allowed this exchange to go on without him, staring at the monitor as the lights began to come up, desperate for a glimpse of Alec. At first, all he could really see was movement. Alec was pacing back and forth restlessly. Magnus watched him, trying to discern some detail. It came through a little at a time. Alec was naked, gaunt, like he had dropped ten pounds since Magnus had saw him last. His fists were bloody and there were welts on his arms and legs. While Magnus watched, he started scratching new ones into his skin.

“Jesus,” Luke said. “Real effective techniques, sure.”

Magnus took a deep breath and fought for something rational and coherent to say. What came out was, “I’m going to burn this place to the ground and salt the earth, do you understand that? You had best get your affairs in order because by the time I’m done with you, this entire place is going to be a smoking crater in the ground. They’re going to write books on how thoroughly I destroy you. Now open. This. Fucking. Door.”

Starkweather lifted his hands in surrender and said, “Okay, but when he puts you through a wall, don’t come crying to me.” He punched in the code and the lock clicked.

As soon as Magnus stepped into the cell, Alec’s head jerked around. Magnus knew he had to be hypersensitive to an alpha’s presence, so he stayed just inside the door, not approaching him as he paced back and forth on the opposite side of the room. “Alexander,” he said, keeping his voice gentle. “It’s Magnus. Can you understand me?”

Alec stared at him, his fists clenching and unclenching. There was no sign of comprehension or recognition on his face.

“I know you must be hurting right now,” Magnus said. “To be honest, I don’t know if touching you would make it worse or better. So I’m just going to stay right here, all right? And if you want me, you can come over any time. I’ll be right here.”

Alec began to pace again. He slammed his fists into the wall, his entire body shaking.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t get here sooner.” Magnus made sure to keep his voice calm and even, despite how badly he wanted to scream. “There were some complications. But I hope you never thought for an instant that I wasn’t going to come for you. Whatever they might have told you about me, they were lying. I don’t know what it was, but I’m sure it wasn’t true.”

At this, Alec had gone still. He was staring at Magnus, face raw with anguish and need, his entire body trembling.

“I hope you know that I would walk to the ends of the earth for you,” Magnus said, and he couldn’t keep his voice from shaking. “I would give up the stars in the sky and runways of Milan without a second thought. I love you so much. You are the world to me.” His voice broke, and he steadied it. “I’m right here, Alec. I’m not going anywhere. Just come to me when you’re ready. Take as long as you need.”

There were shreds of comprehension in Alec’s gaze now, the world coming back into some sort of order for him. “Mmm.” He coughed and then managed a hoarse whisper. “Magnus.”

“Yes, darling. It’s me. I’m right here.”

Alec began to tremble. He turned away and slammed both fists into the wall. “Hurts,” he moaned. “Magnus. It hurts.”

“I know. I can only imagine the pain. I’m going to inflict it on the people who did this to you tenfold.” Magnus redirected himself, because his need for revenge was his need, and it wasn’t what Alec needed. “Don’t worry, my love. I’ll take care of you. You need rest, and I’ll see that you get it, that you get everything you need.”

“You won’t - ” Alec choked. “Won’t touch me.”

“Not until you want me to, Alexander,” Magnus said. “Not ever until then.”

Alec nodded. He paced back and forth a few more times, but he was starting to stumble, as his body relaxed just enough for the exhaustion to creep in. He finally stopped, keeping a few feet of distance between them but looking at him with longing. Magnus offered a hand, holding it out in front of himself but not getting too close. Hesitantly, Alec reached out. Magnus forced himself to stay still as Alec’s bloody fingers touched his. Just that one point of contact sent goosebumps crawling up his skin. He couldn’t even imagine what it felt like to Alec.

“Magnus,” Alec murmured, and slid his hand the rest of the way into Magnus’, palm to palm. He let out a long, slow sigh, and then collapsed like a marionette with cut strings. His eyes rolled back in his head and his knees buckled and he went down hard. Magnus only barely managed to grab him before his head could hit the concrete.

Luke came into the room and said, “Do you think I should call an ambulance?”

“I don’t think so. He finally just relaxed enough to sleep, that’s all.” Magnus checked Alec’s pulse and found it reassuringly steady. “I have a friend who’s a doctor - an actual medical doctor,” he added, just loudly enough for Starkweather to hear. “I’ll call her to come take a look at him.”

“Okay. Let me help you get him.”

“No, I have him. You go arrest Starkweather before he sneaks out the back. I want these people to pay for what they’ve done.”

Luke nodded and squeezed Magnus’ shoulder before leaving the room. Magnus took a moment to breathe, smoothing Alec’s tangled hair out of his face. Even in his sleep, he whimpered when Magnus touched him. “Come on, my love, let’s get you to a safe place.”

~ ~ ~ ~

Chapter Text

Magnus made two calls from his car. He wanted to take Alec back to his place, but then decided against it. Magnus’ apartment was, well. They’d had a lot of sex there. He didn’t want Alec to be reminded of that right now. He wanted to bring Alec somewhere new, somewhere clean. They were north of the city, not far from his friend Ragnor’s. That would do.

The second call was to Catarina Loss. They had met while she was stripping to put herself through medical school. This wasn’t her specialty, but she had enough medical knowledge to at least make sure that Alec didn’t need a hospital, and she would know who to call if they needed an expert opinion. He explained the situation, and she said she would get what she needed and head up to meet them.

Alec slept the entire drive. Magnus got him into Ragnor’s, grateful that Ragnor himself had agreed to make himself scarce. He laid Alec down on the bed in the spare room and began to clean the blood off his hands. Alec twitched and moaned, and Magnus winced. His hands were badly bruised, fingers possibly even broken, and he had to be in pain, but at least he was sleeping.

Catarina showed up and checked Alec’s pulse, his blood pressure, his temperature. “He’s a bit feverish, but that doesn’t surprise me if his hormone levels are as high as you say. Did you get his medical records from the facility? It would help to know what they gave him, and how much.”

“Here.” Magnus produced the file, a cornucopia of horrors that Luke had bullied out of them.

Catarina looked down the medication list and said, “Lord Almighty. I’d ask what they were trying to do, but . . . that seems quite clear.” She carefully examined Alec’s hands and proclaimed that his fingers weren’t broken. “Let’s get an IV in him. Despite what Starkweather said, he is pretty dehydrated, and of course he hasn’t eaten for days. A saline/glucose drip will help get him back on his feet. Does he have any medication allergies?”

“Not that I know of.”

“Some codeine for the pain, then.” Catarina busied herself for several minutes, then produced another vial of medication. “I don’t like using this sort of thing, but I think it would be best to try to suppress his hormone levels back down. Let’s get him back to zero and then we can wean him off them slowly. I’m afraid that feeling the slightest bit of desire would be . . . traumatic for him.”

“I agree,” Magnus said.

“This is the strong stuff, the kind doctors aren’t supposed to use but we will, particularly in abused omegas - or alphas, for that matter. Once he’s awake and coherent, we can put him back on the oral suppressants that he was using before.”

“Okay.” Magnus thought about it. “Do you have any of the suppressants for alphas?”

“I do. Why?”

“I just thought - even if he’s suppressed, maybe it would be better for him if I was, too. That way we could just be - two people. You know?”

Catarina nodded. “That makes sense. You should be okay on a pretty low dose, just to keep him from being able to sense your pheromones.” She looked through her bag and then produced a bottle and a pad of paper. “I’ll leave dosing instructions for both of you, and for Alec’s painkillers, too. He’ll probably sleep for at least ten or twelve hours, so don’t panic, and he’ll be pretty woozy when he wakes up. These codeine doses are not for the faint of heart. No alcohol, by the way.” Catarina finished writing. “Let me show you how to change out the IV bag. Eight hours on the drip should do it.”

“Thanks,” Magnus said. She walked him through it and went over all the medication instructions with him.

“That should take care of everything. Call me if you have any questions.”

“I will. Thank you again, Catarina. I’m glad I didn’t have to take him to a hospital. I feel like he’ll be more comfortable here.”

“Yeah, I agree on that score.” Catarina kissed his cheek before departing, and Magnus sank into a chair with a deep sigh.

After a long moment with his eyes closed, he called Izzy. He had texted her several times that morning, including after leaving the facility with Alec, but he knew that she would be anxious for news. “How is he?” she demanded as soon as she answered.

“He’s sleeping right now,” Magnus said. “The doctor I called has given him some painkillers and hormone suppressants. She said he’ll most likely sleep for quite some time, given the prolonged sleep deprivation.”

“Give me your address, I’m on my way.”

Magnus wanted to protest that Alec wouldn’t want anyone to see him like this, but the fact remained that he had barely slept two hours and he wasn’t going to be able to monitor Alec’s condition all day. “I’ll text it to you. We’re at a friend’s house in New Rochelle. I thought it might be better for him if it was some place he didn’t have . . . expectations attached to.”

“Yeah,” Izzy said softly. “Have you eaten? Should I bring you anything?”

Magnus realized that he hadn’t. He’d had plenty of coffee, but no food. “Actually, I haven’t, if you wanted to bring a pizza or some such I’d be most grateful.”

“Okay. I’ll be there in an hour.”

~ ~ ~ ~

Izzy greeted him with pizza, a kiss on the cheek, and the words, “You look awful. Did you sleep last night?”

“I dozed a bit, but not really. You?”

“After Raphael texted to let me know Herondale had fallen into the honey trap, yeah. I got maybe six hours, so I’m in better shape than you. Where’s Alec?”

“I’ll show you. But if you think I look terrible, you had better prepare yourself for someone who looks worse.”

Izzy’s jaw set angrily, but she nodded and followed Magnus to the spare room, where Alec was sleeping. She saw his face, the cracked and bitten lips and the dark circles under his eyes, and his bandaged hands, and she blanched a little. “Oh, Alec,” she murmured, sitting down next to him. She reached out and brushed his bangs out of his face. “What happened to his hands?”

“As far as I can tell, the high hormone levels drove him to injure himself repeatedly in an attempt to alleviate the . . .” Magnus searched for a word. “Discomfort.”

“So it was the alpha-dependent therapy?” Izzy asked, wiping her eyes.

“Yes, but apparently he responded to it very poorly,” Magnus said. “Actually beat the shit out of the alpha they sent in.”

Izzy laughed quietly. “That’s my big brother.” She looked Magnus up and down and said, “I’ll stay with him. You go, get something to eat, get some sleep. I won’t leave his side for an instant. I promise.”

“All right.” Magnus had to admit that his eyes were burning and his body aching from exhaustion. He ate half a pizza in ten minutes and then crawled into Ragnor’s bed.

He slept for about four hours and woke feeling fairly well-rested. He checked briefly on Izzy and Alec – no change, she said – and ducked into the shower. Ragnor’s clothes didn’t fit him, but he hadn’t thought to bring spares. He put on a T-shirt and held the pants up with a belt. Izzy burst into giggles when she saw him. “Now that is fashion.”

“I dread the thought of being seen in public like this,” Magnus said, with a dramatic sigh. “But I thought I’d make Alec some soup for when he wakes up, so I’m going to run to the store and hope nobody recognizes me. You’ll be all right?”

“We’ll be fine. I’m a little surprised you’re willing to leave him.”

“I can’t . . .” Magnus let out a breath. “I can’t touch him, not without causing either physical or emotional pain, until the hormone suppressants kick in. Which will take about twenty-four hours. So it’s you he’s going to need, more than me. Besides, I’ll only be gone about half an hour, and Catarina said he would sleep most of the day.”

Even so, it took effort not to rush at the grocery store. He grabbed what he needed for the soup, then some junk food. Ice cream wasn’t exactly a cure-all, but it could hardly hurt. When he got back to the house, everything was still the same. Izzy looked up as he came in and said, “By the way, Mom’s called me eighteen times. I’m letting it go to voice mail, but she isn’t leaving a message.”

“Mm. She’s called me repeatedly as well.” Magnus shrugged. “I’m sure she’s been notified that Alec is out of the facility, but beyond that I couldn’t care less what she thinks.”

He went into the kitchen and started cooking. Old fashioned chicken soup was just what Alec needed right now. Magnus had bought a whole chicken, and put it in the pot of water with the vegetables to make the stock. Then whenever Alec woke up, he could just quickly throw the rest of the soup together.

It was several hours later, and he was working on his laptop, when he heard a thud and a crash, and Izzy saying, “Alec, it’s okay, it’s me – ”

Magnus practically tripped over himself, rushing into the other room. Alec must have woken suddenly, because he was on the other side of the room, in the corner. He had yanked out the IV and knocked over the pole. His gaze flickered to Magnus as soon as he came in, and he let out a low groan. “Oh God – Magnus – I’m sorry, I can’t – ”

“You don’t need to apologize,” Magnus said smoothly. “I’m going to stay right here. Izzy will help you lie down.”

Izzy nodded and cautiously walked over to him. To their relief, Alec let her get an arm around him and guide him back over to the bed. When she tried to lay him down, he clung to her, so she sat down and let him rest his head in her lap, smoothing down his hair. “How are you feeling?”

Alec took in a hitching breath. “Like – I’ve been set on fire over and over again.”

“Are you thirsty?” Magnus asked. “I could make you some tea.”

Alec nodded, then shook his head. A little hesitantly, he whispered, “Something cold? Please?”

“Darling, you have only to ask. I’ll be right back.” Magnus went into the kitchen and checked Ragnor’s refrigerator. There were several bottles of beer, but Magnus remembered Catarina saying no alcohol, so he got a can of soda instead, pouring it into a glass and taking it into the room. Izzy had gotten Alec sitting up, and she held the cup to his lips, letting him take small sips.

“Where are we?” he asked, looking around. “What – ” His voice trembled. “What happened?”

“As to where we are, we’re at a friend’s house,” Magnus said. “It was closer, and I didn’t want to take the time to drive all the way back into the city.” He didn’t like lying to Alec, but he didn’t want to upset him, didn’t want to even remind him that sex was a thing that existed. “As to what happened – it might be better if you told us how much you remembered.”

“Oh . . .” Alec’s jaw tightened, and he swallowed convulsively.

“Do you remember talking to me on the phone?” Magnus asked, before Alec’s anxiety could take over. “After your mother saw the photograph?”

“Y-Yeah.” Alec took another sip and his breathing steadied a little. “I went home that evening. There – there was some doctor there. Mom told me she had gotten g-guardianship over me and they were going to take me there for therapy. I refused to go. She said she had the legal right to force me and I, I tried to get away but he.” Alec swallowed again. “I think they drugged me. It’s fuzzy. I don’t know.”

“That’s fine, Alec,” Izzy said soothingly. “It’s fine if you don’t remember.”

“Sorry,” Alec mumbled into her shoulder. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Magnus said.

Alec had to take a minute to breathe while Izzy rubbed his back. “Don’t remember much after that. Just pain. I couldn’t sleep. Couldn’t stop moving. I wanted to, to crawl out of my own skin. Or maybe just scrape it all off.” He looked down at the welts on his arms, and his voice choked a little. “I don’t remember.”

“That’s fine,” Magnus assured him. “Probably better, to be honest.”

Alec tried to smile. He didn’t come anywhere close, but at least it was an effort. “What about you? How did you find me?”

“Well, our story isn’t exactly exciting,” Magnus said. “We hired a private investigator to find out where you were and get you released.”

“Aw, it was a little exciting,” Izzy said. “I mean, we honeytrapped and blackmailed a congressional candidate.”

Alec’s eyes went wide, and then he let out a weak little laugh. “That sounds like something you guys would do.”

Izzy started regaling him with the story, adding a lot of detail that she must have gotten from Raphael, since she certainly hadn’t heard it from Magnus. She was just moving on to the confrontation with the judge when Magnus’ phone rang. He looked down to see an unfamiliar number, and was about to let it go to voice mail when he decided that he had better answer it, given the situation. “Hello?”

“Mr. Bane? This is Detective Garroway.”

“Oh, hello, detective,” Magnus said. “What can I do for you?”

“How’s Alec doing? He recovering okay?”

“He seems to be feeling better, yes,” Magnus said, leaving the room so Izzy can continue to tell the story. “He’s still in a great deal of pain, but he’s conscious and coherent.”

“Do you think he’s up to giving a statement?”

Magnus paused. “I dread to ask why you want to know that.”

Luke sighed. “As you might expect, Maryse Lightwood is very unhappy with the events of the past twelve hours. She’s apparently decided to take a page out of our book and has called the police to report that you’re holding her son against his will.”

“Oh, please,” Magnus said, unable to help it. “Since she doesn’t have guardianship over him, she’s welcome to think whatever she likes.”

“Well, she’s also a senator’s wife, and she has enough money and powerful friends that she’s gotten the chief of the NYPD to reassure her that we’ll look into it. It would make things a lot easier in the long run if I could just get a quick statement from Alec stating that he was committed involuntarily and is staying with you of his own free will. It would smooth some ruffled feathers.”

“I couldn’t care less about Maryse’s feathers,” Magnus said, “but fine, if it’ll make her stop calling me.”

“It would also be helpful if I could talk to that doctor you called for him. Just to document that he was seen by a medical professional.”

“No, I think I’m going to draw the line there,” Magnus said. “Maryse has no right to her son’s medical records at this point. Get back to me when you have a warrant.”

Luke sighed. “Can you text me your address?”

“Certainly. I’ll see you soon, detective.” Magnus hung up and went into the bedroom. “Alec, do you feeling up to giving a quick statement to the police?”

“Uh . . . why?” Alec asked.

“Your mother is attempting to say that I’m holding you against your will.”

Izzy rolled her eyes, but Alec looked lost, heartbroken. “She . . . she wants to put me back in there? I thought – tried to tell myself – maybe she didn’t know. How bad it would be. But she.” His voice choked up, and Izzy pulled him into an embrace, squeezing him tightly as tears started to run down his cheeks. “She wants to put me back in there.”

“That is never going to happen,” Magnus said quietly. “We are never going to let that happen.”

“I know, but I – ” Alec let out a hoarse little sob. “I just can’t believe she would do that.”

Magnus could, but it was clear that Alec didn’t want to hear it. Izzy continued to hold him, rocking him back and forth. Magnus distracted himself from his grief by thinking about all the different crimes Maryse was going to be charged with.

By the time Luke arrived, Alec had calmed down a little and was eating ice cream straight from the pint. Alec greeted him politely but wouldn’t shake his hand even though he was a beta. “This will only take a minute,” Luke said. “How are you feeling?”

“A little shaky,” Alec said. “But okay other than that.”

“I have to ask if you remember assaulting a staff member at Starkweather’s.”

Alec cringed a little. “I, um. Yes. I remember that, at least a little. It’s kind of fuzzy. I think I thought he was going to hurt me.”

“Just to clarify – Magnus is your . . .”

“Boyfriend.”

“And you’re not being held against your will?”

“No. There’s nowhere I’d rather be than with him.” Alec managed a wan smile at Magnus, and Magnus smiled back. “What’s going to happen to the facility?”

Luke sat back in his chair. “Starkweather has been arrested. There were about half a dozen other omegas there, none of whom were in very good shape. It’s turning into a legal nightmare. Either way, he’s out of business.”

“That’s good,” Alec said, still trying to smile. “If you, uh, if you need any details from me on what happened there, I could give a statement on that. Just. Maybe not today.”

“That’s fine, Alec.” Luke stood up and shook Magnus’ hand. “I’ll be in touch.”

“Thank you, detective.” Magnus walked him out, then went back to the bedroom. The smile was gone from Alec’s face, and he was trembling, clearly trying not to cry. Izzy was holding him and gently rocking him back and forth. Magnus ached to go to him, but he knew he couldn’t, not yet. He told himself that it would only be another day. Instead, he picked up the half-empty pint of ice cream to return to the freezer. “Why don’t you get some rest, my love? You look tired.”

Alec nodded and pressed his face into Izzy’s shoulder. Magnus forced himself to walk away.

Once he was in the kitchen, he dialed Raphael. “Starkweather’s arrested, I have Alec saying he’s not being held against his will on video and a police officer who witnessed it,” he said. “Now can we go to the press?”

He could practically hear Raphael grinning on the other end of the phone. “I’ll have Maxine at the Times give you a call. She loves destroying political careers.”

“Good,” Magnus said, “because I’m really in the mood for some destruction.”

~ ~ ~ ~

The next morning was better. Alec was up and around, and when Magnus proposed they watch a movie, Alec sat down next to him on the sofa and gingerly curled up next to him, resting his head against Magnus’ shoulder. The simple contact made a shudder go through both of them, but it was emotional, not hormonal. Magnus combed his fingers through Alec’s hair and pressed a kiss into the top of his head.

They spent most of the day on the sofa. Magnus rented a handful of feel-good movies to keep them occupied. He was on his laptop off and on, e-mailing back and forth with half a dozen people who were writing stories on what had happened to Alec. It was turning into a bloodbath. ‘Omega therapy’ was suddenly in the spotlight, and every attempt to justify it only made it sound worse. Starkweather was under arrest and his facility had been closed down, with the remaining omegas transferred to nearby hospitals until they could be assessed and arrangements could be made for them. A dozen other facilities were suddenly under intense scrutiny.

But the damage to them was nothing compared to what it was doing to the Lightwoods, and Magnus was reveling in Maryse’s destruction. They were being crucified absolutely everywhere on the internet. Reporters were camped outside their house no matter how many ‘no comments’ were given. Luke had initiated a welfare check for Max, and there were rumors that he might be taken from his parents, if only temporarily.

Izzy left in the evening, saying that she wanted to check in with Meliorn, who’d had a show she had missed the previous night. She promised she would be back in the morning. Magnus made Alec dinner and tried to keep the conversation to light, unimportant things while they ate. “Do you want to try to get some sleep?” he asked, around ten.

Alec nodded, and Magnus shepherded him into the bedroom. He sat down on the edge of the bed and knotted his hands together in his lap. “What’s going to happen now?”

Magnus sat next to him. “Nobody’s going to rush you into anything, Alec. There are things we’re going to need to think about, decisions to make – when you’re going to go back to work, whether or not you’re going to want to sue the pants off everyone involved in this – but they can wait. For now, just take as much time as you need to rest and recover. But I did figure we would go back to the city tomorrow. I’ve eaten almost everything in Ragnor’s kitchen and I really don’t fit in his clothes.”

Alec was silent for a long minute, staring at his hands. “I can’t,” he finally said.

“Can’t what, darling?”

“I can’t . . . go back to the city with you.” Alec wouldn’t look up. “I can’t be with you.”

Magnus went very still, afraid to move. He forced his voice to stay calm. “What do you mean?”

“I just can’t. I’m sorry. It’s not – I can’t look at you without thinking about what happened. It hurts.” Alec folded his arms over his stomach and hunched in tightly. “I’m so sorry, Magnus. I love you, but I can’t be with you anymore.”

Magnus couldn’t speak for a long moment. His throat was tight and his chest ached. He didn’t think he had ever hurt so much in his entire life. “I understand,” he finally said. “I’ll call Izzy to take you back to her place. I’m sure she’d be glad to have you.” He stood up. “I’m so sorry this happened to you, Alec. I never should have pushed you so hard. I never meant for anything like this to happen, but I understand why you don’t want to be with me.”

“It’s not – ” Alec nearly chokes. “It’s not like that. It’s not your fault, I don’t blame you. It’s not that I don’t still love you or that I’m not, not grateful for what you tried to do for me. It’s just that I – I can’t, Magnus. Not after what happened. You don’t – don’t know, don’t understand – ”

After a moment, Magnus forced himself to put aside his own pain and really think about what Alec was saying. He sat back down. “Alexander,” he said, putting his thoughts in order. “Please tell me what’s wrong. I know that I can never fully comprehend what you went through, but there’s something – something I’m missing, something you’re not telling me. I won’t force you to – I would never force you – but I want to help you. Whatever it is that’s still hurting you, please, let me help you.”

Alec shuddered, pressing both hands against his face and rocking himself back and forth. “After what happened – you won’t – won’t want – ”

His voice broke off. Magnus gave him a minute to compose himself before he repeated quietly, “Please tell me what’s wrong.”

“I lied,” Alec choked out. “I remember. Almost all of it. It’s so clear. Like I was – was hyperfocused. Time seemed to slow down. I remember all of it. I fought, Magnus. I fought. I didn’t give in. I knew what they were doing, what they wanted from me. How they would make me beg for an alpha, then use that as proof that I couldn’t control myself. I didn’t want ‘an alpha’. I only want you. That’s why it hurts so much. I fought and fought and they just kept, kept pushing me back under. I hurt so badly I thought I would die. I wanted to die. And then he – he came in and he – I still wouldn’t ask, wouldn’t beg, I wouldn’t give in, I wouldn’t, but I – he touched me and I – I did. I just came apart. I didn’t want to but I did. I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Magnus. I’m so sorry. I never wanted to – never would have wanted to betray you like that, I know you won’t want to – won’t want me – God, I’m so sorry – ”

“Oh, Alec,” Magnus whispered, as he realized what Alec meant. He knelt on the floor in front of him, drawing Alec against him, letting Alec cry into his shoulder. He cried so hard that it seemed like he might break.

After a long time, his sobs trailed off into shudders. Magnus smoothed down his hair and continued to hold him, didn’t let go until Alec pulled away. Then he reached up and thumbed the tears off Alec’s cheeks. “You know how in the movies, when people want to be dramatic, they say ‘now listen up because I’m only going to say this once’?”

Alec tried to smile. “Yeah.”

“Well. Listen up, my darling, because I’m going to say this once, twice, ten times, every hour every day for as long as you need me to. This was not your fault.”

Alec looked away. “I – ”

Magnus gently took Alec’s face in his hands. “No. This was not your fault. The fact that your mother and a stranger assaulted you was not your fault. The fact that they imprisoned you, drugged you, and tortured you was not your fault. The fact that someone sexually assaulted you was not your fault and the fact that you couldn’t stop your body from responding to that violation was not your fault. Look at me, Alec,” he said, when Alec tried to pull away, and Alec’s gaze flicked back up to him, holding so much pain and grief but a tiny glimmer of hope. “You have absolutely nothing to apologize for. What happened to you does not make me love you any less. It does not make me respect you any less. And it certainly doesn’t count as any sort of infidelity. You have nothing to apologize for because none of this was your fault.”

Alec stared at him for a long moment, tears running down his cheeks. He choked out, “He made me feel so good. I didn’t want to but I just – I couldn’t help it.”

“No, you couldn’t, of course you couldn’t,” Magnus said, still holding Alec’s face in his hands. “Do you know what that piece of shit fake doctor told me? That he had never seen an omega hold out as long as you had. That nobody else had ever needed more than two doses. God, Alec, they had you on so many drugs it was a miracle you were still conscious. They jacked your hormone levels up to eight, ten times what they would normally be and you still withstood it mentally. You just couldn’t do it physically. Nothing about the way your body responded to that alpha was your fault. Please believe that, Alec. Please.”

“I want to,” Alec whispered.

“That’ll do for now.” Magnus kissed him on the forehead. “But if you’re saying you can’t go back to New York with me because you expected me to blame you, to think less of you, if you expected me not to want to be with you once I found out – that’s not going to happen. You are the strongest, bravest person I have ever met.”

“I don’t feel brave at all,” Alec murmured, but he folded into Magnus’ embrace. Magnus pulled him down onto the floor and held him as tightly as he could. Alec burrowed into his arms. “He didn’t – ” He practically choked on the words. “He didn’t even have to – ”

Alec clearly couldn’t finish the sentence. Magnus smoothed down his hair. “You don’t have to talk about it if you’re not ready.”

“He just – ” Alec swallowed hard. “Just touched me. Like my first time with you. I hated that it reminded me of that. And then he asked if I felt better.” He frowned slightly. “That, uh, that’s when I hit him.”

“You beat the stuffing out of him, or so I’ve been told,” Magnus said, trying to lighten the mood a little. “And good for you. Of course, now I’m going to utterly ruin him.”

Alec managed a smile. “Yeah?”

“Oh, yes, absolutely. Him, Starkweather, and the whole sorry lot of them. They’re going to wish they had never even heard of omega therapy when I’m done with them.”

“Okay.” Alec leaned into Magnus’ embrace. “I do want to go to New York with you. Is that okay?”

“It’s more than okay,” Magnus replied.

“I want to be with you. And this wasn’t your fault, either.” Alec sniffled a little, but was back in control of himself. “Please don’t blame yourself. You just wanted me to be happy.”

“I did. And still do.” Magnus ran his hand over Alec’s hair and the back of his neck. “I want that more than anything else in the world, and I will never stop fighting for it.”

Alec relaxed against him. “Let’s get some sleep first.”

“That sounds like an excellent idea, my love.”

~ ~ ~ ~

Chapter Text

They didn’t talk about it the next morning. They headed back into the city, and Izzy and Meliorn met them at Magnus’ place for lunch. Izzy had been shopping, and brought over bags of new clothes and toiletries for Alec. “I’m working on getting your phone and your laptop,” she said, as they ate. “Is there anything else you want from the house, or the office?”

“Some of my books, maybe?” Alec asked, and then frowned. “How are you . . .”

“I’ve been on the phone with Dad,” she said. Her jaw tightened a little and said, “I’m not sure if it’s damage control or if it’s genuine, but he doesn’t seem happy about what Mom did. He says he didn’t know, that when he came home Wednesday night, she told him you’re an omega but said you had gone into treatment voluntarily. Anyway, he’s filing for divorce and petitioning to get sole custody of Max.”

“Savvy politically, if nothing else,” Magnus said, nodding.

“Yeah, like I said, he could just be trying to save his own career. I’ll feel him out a little more. But either way, he offered to get anything you wanted from the house, so I told him you would want your laptop and your phone. I’ll mention the books to him, too.”

“Thanks.”

“He asked about seeing you,” Izzy added, and watched Alec’s muscles tighten. “I told him I’d have to ask you. He said it was fine if you weren’t ready. Just let me know, okay?”

“Yeah,” Alec mumbled. “Okay.”

Magnus took the opportunity to change the subject. “Well, I for one am quite disappointed in all this shopping you did,” he said. “I had the opportunity to get Alec an entire new wardrobe from scratch, and you pre-empted me.”

Izzy giggled and Alec managed a smile. “It’s just the basics,” she said. “I’m sure you can buy him some more clothes later.”

“Speaking of people who want to talk to you, Alec,” Magnus added, “I have approximately eighteen reporters who are desperate for a statement. All of them have been told that they’ll have one when you’re ready.”

“How much of a statement does it have to be?” Alec asked. “Can I just say ‘omega therapy is bad, Starkweather is the devil’ and have that fly?”

“Well, it would certainly do for a start,” Magnus said with a snort. “I’m sure ninety percent of them would ask all sorts of inappropriate questions if given even half a chance, so an interview is out of the question for now. But if you wanted to write something down, I could send it out to them, get them to leave us alone for a bit.”

Alec nodded. “I’ll think about that.”

Izzy and Meliorn left after lunch, and Magnus proposed another movie. “Don’t you have actual work to do?” Alec asked.

“Not at the moment. I mean, I could certainly find work to do, if I needed to, but one of the benefits of having a small empire is that there are plenty of people to delegate day-to-day nonsense to. I probably will want to stop by the office soon, if only briefly, but for today I’m all yours.”

“I guess I don’t have a job anymore,” Alec said, and sighed. “But then again, that was something I always knew I’d lose.”

“Well, you do and you don’t,” Magnus said. “While I assume you’re no longer employed at your mother’s firm – I would frankly be surprised if your mother still has a firm at the end of the week with all the rats jumping ship – you are still a licensed attorney. And through Raphael, the fixer I mentioned, several of your clients have contacted me to let me know that they would still like you to handle their case, should you be up to it. Fortunately, none of them seem urgent.”

“Oh.” Alec looked surprised. “Oh, yeah, I . . . I would like that. If only to finish the ones I started.”

“I’ll text Izzy and see if her father can get you those case files, then.” Magnus leaned over and kissed him on the cheek before getting out his phone.

Alec studied him for a minute before asking, “How is it that you can touch me without me being all . . .”

“Hormone suppressants,” Magnus said. “Similar to the ones you’re on.”

“You’re taking hormone suppressants?”

“Mm hm.”

“You shouldn’t have to,” Alec said.

Magnus shrugged. “I don’t mind for a little while.”

Alec fiddled, twisting his hands into knots. “How long are you . . . are we . . . going to be taking them?”

Magnus glanced up and then put his phone away. “Catarina gave me enough for both of us to be one them for one week, then an additional week of a tapering dose. Why do you ask?”

“I just . . .” Alec let out a breath. “Right now the thought of sex makes me feel kind of queasy. And I. I don’t know.” He swallowed convulsively. “I don’t know how long it’s going to take for that to go away.”

“That’s completely normal, Alec.” Magnus reached out and squeezed his hands. “What happened to you was not a small thing. You need to take time to heal from it, and you don’t need to rush yourself into being ready for anything.”

“I know, really, and thank you, but I just, once I’m off the hormones I’ll want to even when I don’t want to.” Alec sighed. “And what I felt, when that alpha . . . it was like my first time with you. And to be honest, the thought of feeling that again makes me want to puke. I just thought, maybe it would be better to stay on the suppressants for a while, so when I’m ready, we can . . . you know . . . without the alpha/omega hormones playing in.”

Magnus nodded and caressed his cheek. “When you’re ready,” he reiterated.

“But I can’t, I can’t tell you to stay on hormone suppressants for weeks or months just to cater to me . . .”

“My darling, that is a sacrifice so small it barely registers. I was ready to topple my own kingdom for you. A few months of celibacy is not a problem. I’ll text Catarina and ask her where to get more of the pills.”

“Okay.” Alec leaned against him. “Thanks.”

~ ~ ~ ~

Magnus could tell that Alec was really starting to recover the next evening when he started fussing over Magnus, rather than the reverse. “Really, when was the last time you slept? For more than two hours? You look terrible. I mean, inasmuch as it’s possible for you to look terrible, by which I mean you look gorgeous, but also like you’ve spent the last week inside a washing machine on spin cycle.”

“Oh dear,” Magnus replied, laughing despite himself. He allowed Alec to usher him into the bedroom, find pajamas for him (even though he normally slept naked and Alec was quite well aware of this) and then tuck him into bed. “I’ll be up in a few hours to check on you,” Magnus murmured, and then promptly slept for nine hours straight. He wasn’t sure if he slept through his alarm or if Alec turned it off after he had fallen asleep.

He yawned and stretched, then got out of bed and went in search of coffee. There was a fresh pot on the counter, and a box of pastries. Magnus picked one up and followed the sound of Alec’s voice. He had set himself up in Magnus’ home office. “So the hearing is set up for ten AM on the fourteenth . . . no, it shouldn’t be any problem. I’ve already spoken to Judge MacPherson about it . . . hm? Oh, yeah, I’ll definitely be back on my feet by then. Which reminds me that I wanted to thank you for sticking with me . . . that’s very kind of you, ma’m. Okay, I’ll see you on the fourteenth.” He glanced up as Magnus came in, said goodbye, and hung up. “Good morning. Feeling better?”

“I am, thank you. I see that you are, too.”

“Izzy brought by my laptop and my case files, and . . . it was nice to get back to work,” Alec said.

“Did she bring the pastries?”

“I called the concierge and asked if he could have someone pick something up. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Mind being woken up with turnovers and fresh coffee? Hardly.” Magnus dropped a kiss on the top of Alec’s head.

“More like, ‘mind that I went into your wallet and took out some cash to tip the delivery guy’,” Alec said. He frowned and added, “I don’t have my own wallet. It wasn’t in what Izzy delivered and I have a feeling it might actually still be at that facility. Mom took my phone at the house, but they probably didn’t take my wallet until they took my clothes and stuff.”

“I’ll make a call and see about where it might have gotten off to,” Magnus said. He checked his e-mail and then surreptitiously grimaced. He looked at Alec, who had already gone back to typing, and bit the bullet. “Will you be all right on your own for a while, darling? I have a few matters of business I have to attend to.”

“I’ll be fine.” Alec looked over and managed a smile. “You can’t put your whole life on hold for me.”

“I beg your pardon; I both can and will,” Magnus said, and kissed the crown of his head again. “But I’d rather not if it’s not necessary. I’ll be back by three?”

“It’s fine if it’s not until five,” Alec said. “I’m sure you have a lot to do. I’ll be safe as houses here.”

Magnus felt somewhat uneasy, but he also knew that trying to babysit Alec when he said he was all right was only going to stifle his recovery. “All right. But call me if you need me – do you promise? Even if you think it’s silly?”

“Yeah, okay. I promise.” Alec leaned up for a kiss on the mouth, brief but heartfelt. “I’ll see you later.”

Magnus headed down to his offices and was immediately immersed in work. Design was still his favorite part of the job, but there’s a lot of other things he needed to attend to now, contracts and venues and press. He loved what he did, and it was a relief to jump back into it even though he would have rather been somewhere quiet with his sketchbook or feeling new fabrics.

But he had barely been there an hour before his phone rang and he looked down to see that it was Alec. A pang of anxiety hit him, and he tapped the screen to accept the call. “Hello, darling, is everything all right?”

“I’m fine, I just – ” Alec’s voice was a little higher-pitched than usual. “It’s really stupid, but Mom keeps calling me.”

Magnus’ jaw twitches. “Saying what?”

“Nothing. I mean, I’m not answering, and she’s not leaving messages. I guess Dad had to get my phone from her, so she knows I have it. And it started right after you left – do you think she has someone watching your place? That would be like her. What if she comes over?”

“She will not get within five hundred feet of you,” Magnus said, keeping his voice calm despite the fact that he wanted to fly into a rage. “I’ve already told the concierge and the doorman that she might try something like this, and the building security is quite good. They’ll alert the police if she refuses to leave. But don’t worry, I can be home in a half hour – ”

“No, I – ” Alec let out a breath. “I can handle it as long as we’re sure she can’t get in here. But I might turn my phone off, so don’t worry if you call or text and I don’t answer.”

“Oh, that – that’s fine, I – all right, who am I kidding, darling, I hate the idea of not being able to get in touch with you if my own nerves need soothing.”

Alec chuckled despite himself. “Yeah, I, uh, I get that. I just. I don’t know. I know I shouldn’t answer it, but I want to know what she wants.”

“Well, how about I call her and find out?” Magnus asked.

“You just want to pick a fight with her.”

“That I do, darling.”

Alec laughed again. “Maybe not the best idea. But maybe just – I know I told you it was okay if you worked until five, and you don’t have to drop everything you’re in the middle of, but maybe – sooner rather than later?”

“I’ve never been good at the art of compromise,” Magnus said, smiling. “But all right. In all honesty, without going into a frenzy, I can be home in about two hours. I’ll come in the back so she doesn’t know I’m there. Until then, just ignore your phone, and if anyone knocks at the door, call the concierge to send security up.”

“Okay. Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. I’m glad you called me. I did make you promise, you might recall.”

“Yeah.”

Magnus said his goodbyes and got back to work. He forced himself not to rush, but did a little more delegating than he had originally planned, rather than handling everything himself. He promised multiple people that he would be back in the office the next day, thinking that he could bring Alec with him if it looked like it might be a problem. Once that was done, he called Alec’s favorite restaurant close to the apartment, an amazing Greek place, and arranged for them to deliver the food to the concierge instead of bringing it up to the apartment.

By the time he got back to the apartment building, the food was there. He picked it up at the desk, and the concierge assured him that they’d been keeping a keen eye out for Maryse and nobody unusual had been in or out. Magnus took the elevator up to the apartment feeling more nervous than he wanted to admit.

He was immediately relieved when he walked in and saw Alec sitting on the sofa, watching television. The relief lasted ten seconds before Alec’s phone rang. “She just won’t give up,” he said, sighing.

“Do you want to talk to her before or after we eat?” Magnus asked, holding up the bag.

Alec perked up. “Is that from Green Corner? Did you get dolmades?”

“Yes and yes,” Magnus said.

The phone rang again. Alec gave it a dirty look. “Guess we’ll do this first, because I won’t enjoy the food if it’s ringing the whole time.” He took a deep breath as Magnus sat down on the sofa next to him. “Okay. I can do this.”

“You can do this,” Magnus said, privately thinking about what he was going to do to Maryse if Alec ended up too upset to enjoy his lunch.

Alec hit ‘accept’ and then immediately put the call on speaker before saying, “What do you want?”

“Oh, Alec, thank goodness you finally picked up,” Maryse said, and Magnus saw Alec’s face twist with both anger and grief. “I’ve been trying to get in touch with you for days, but nobody would let me talk to you. I’ve been so worried, not knowing whether or not you were okay or where you were or anything. Where can I meet you, honey? I’ll drive as far as I need to, to pick you up and make sure you’re okay.”

Alec was silent for so long that Magnus thought he might just hang up without saying anything, but then he finally said, “Are you done?”

“Done?” Maryse sounded a little confused, a little offended. “Done what?”

“Done pretending you care about me so I let my guard down. Done lying to me about how worried you are. Done talking like you actually want to help me, rather than yourself.”

“Alexander!” Now there was anger in Maryse’s voice. “I understand you’re upset, but that’s no excuse to speak to your mother that way.”

“Okay,” Alec said. “If I get one, I’ll be sure to be more respectful. Because you’re a lot of things, Mrs. Lightwood, but you’re not my mother. I refuse to call you that, ever again. Not after what you did to me. Why the hell would I want to meet you? So you can find some new torture chamber to throw me into?”

“What I did was for your own good.”

“Was it? Explain how.”

“I beg your pardon!”

“I’m not granting it. I want you to explain to me, right now, how drugging me to the point where I was in agony, leaving me naked in a sensory deprivation chamber for hours, and paying someone to sexually assault me, was for my own good.” Alec’s voice was trembling, and he was gripping hard at Magnus’ hand, but he wasn’t backing down. “Do you think I’m a complete idiot? Well, maybe you do. But I know what the point of that place was. I know that the goal was to break me down so I would accept an alpha’s control, so you could tell everyone I had been in an accident and then tuck me away somewhere that nobody would ever find me. I know that the reason you put me in that place was to help you, and that it had nothing to do with helping me.”

“Listen to me, Alexander. The methods – I’ll admit that the methods can seem a little barbaric. But the end goal is still to help you. To bring you about to acceptance of what you are as an omega. It’s to prevent you from having your heart broken later when you realize your dreams are just a fantasy.”

“Is that what it was for?” Alec laughed bitterly. “Well, it failed on all counts, then. Because my heart’s pretty much broken and my dreams got crushed by you a long time ago. So I’m going to ask you one more time – what do you want? Why are you calling me?”

“We need to talk about . . . certain things that are being said in the media. You haven’t talked to the press yet yourself, so you have a chance to set the record straight.”

“Okay.” Alec squeezed Magnus’ hand even harder. It was starting to ache, but Magnus didn’t interrupt. “And exactly what do you want me to say?”

“Honey, I just want you to say that you understand why I did what I did.”

“Oh, that’s easy,” Alec said, “because I do understand. I understand that your career is more important to you than I am. That you’ve never genuinely respected me or cared about me a day in your life. That at the first sign I might someday not do exactly as you said, you had me tortured with the intent of preventing me from ever being truly happy. Which part of that should I tell the press?”

“For God’s sake, Alec, that’s enough melodrama – ”

“And you know what the best part is?” Alec asked. “I actually wasn’t going to say anything to the press about what you did. I was going to talk about the facility, yeah, and why I think omega therapy is misguided at best and sadistic at worst, but if anyone had asked about you, I was just going to say I didn’t have a comment about that. Let people draw their own conclusions. But you just had to fucking push, didn’t you. You couldn’t just leave me the fuck alone. So how about this, Mrs. Lightwood – I’ll tell the press anything I damn well please. Sue me for libel if you don’t like the results. I have a really good lawyer. He’s kicked your ass in court before and I’m sure he’d be happy to do it again. So don’t you ever – ” His voice cracked, then steadied. “Don’t you ever attempt to contact me in any way from this moment on. Is that clear?”

 “You’re making a mistake, Alec.”

“Is that fucking clear?” Alec choked out.

Through gritted teeth, Maryse said, “It’s clear.”

“Good.” Alec hung up and threw the phone across the room. He folded inward, his body trembling and hands pressed over his face. Magnus pulled him into an embrace, rocked him back and forth, held him as tightly as he could.

“Remember,” he murmured, when Alec’s tears began to trail off, “that it isn’t you, my love. It isn’t your fault. Her inability to love you is not your fault.”

Alec nodded and choked back a sob. “God, Magnus – it hurts so much – ”

“I know, darling.” Magnus continued to rock him, pressing kisses into his hair. “I know.”

With a final shudder, Alec relaxed. He pulled away and wiped his eyes. “Thanks. For . . . just for everything. Literally every moment since the day we met.”

“You’re welcome.” Magnus kissed on him the forehead. “Are you still hungry? Because if the answer’s no, I’m going to take one of these dolmades, drive across town, and cram it up Maryse’s nose.”

Alec laughed, startled. “Yeah, I . . . I could eat, I think. I’m just going to go wash my face.”

“All right. I’ll get us some drinks.” Magnus stood up and went into the kitchen. He laid the food out on the table and got them both a glass of water with lemon in it. Alec came back out a minute later, and he did look better. He was quiet as he ate, although Magnus kept up a steady stream of chatter about what he had been doing at the office, to avoid an awkward silence or three.

When Alec finished eating, he looked out the window, studying the city skyline. “I wonder what . . . never mind. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. What do you wonder?”

“Just . . . what would have happened if Mom had found out I was an omega and I hadn’t been with you.” Alec wouldn’t look at him. “Because I think that was part of it. That she was more convinced I would embarrass her because I already had, in her mind, when I dated you.”

Magnus grimaced a little. “I suppose it’s possible you’re right. If she had just stumbled across your pills before you started to defy her, she might have come to the conclusion that you really did have it under control. At the least, she might have gone for the marginally less sadistic aversion therapy, rather than the alpha-dependent therapy.”

“I’m not saying I regret it,” Alec said. “Because . . . I know that I’m super messed up right now and I’m probably going to need like a decade of therapy, but I feel like someday I might actually be happy. And before, that was something I was never going to have. I just . . .”

“Wish things could have been different,” Magnus said quietly.

“Yeah. I don’t want to have never met you, or not be with you. I just wish that it hadn’t resulted in this. Because right now.” Alec swallowed a little, his voice trembling. “I feel like this, this is always going to be tainted by what she did. I love you, but being with you is part of the reason she hurt me. I hate that.”

“It won’t always be like that,” Magnus said, reaching across the table to squeeze his hand. “Like any other wound, it takes time to heal. But for now, just – it’s okay that you feel that way. It’s okay to be angry and hurt and feel like this will never be the same. Maybe it never will be. But that doesn’t mean that it won’t be something good. Something that makes you happy.”

After a moment, Alec nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. Thanks, Magnus. You always know what to say.”

“Well, hearing that is a relief. You have no idea how often I feel like I’m making stuff up.”

Alec managed a smile. “Even if you are, it’s good stuff.”

“I’ll take that as a win, my darling. Now, how about some fresh air? We’ll go down to the park and feed the ducks.”

“Okay. That sounds good.”

~ ~ ~ ~

Chapter Text

Two of Alec’s cases got settled within the next few weeks, and he managed to get a third dismissed. The fourth looked like it was going to turn into a lengthy court case, and after some soul-searching, Alec decided to pass it off to a former colleague. He wanted to take it on himself, but the two times he’d had to go to court had been difficult for him. He kept having panic attacks about the possibility of running into his mother there.

“Raj was always a good guy, and he’s starting his own firm, so he could use the business,” was all Alec said when Magnus tried to gently inquire about him resigning from the case.

The Lightwood firm still technically existed, and had plenty of clients, but it was no longer Maryse’s firm. She had been forced by the board to resign, the day after the first of the criminal charges had been filed. They’re extensive – fraud, bribery, assault, false imprisonment. She’s looking at decades in jail, although Magnus doesn’t think she’ll end up with such a long sentence. Alec had been questioned by the police repeatedly, and the drama over Starkweather’s facility had continued to grow.

Magnus would have been happier if Alec had simply put all of that behind him, but he either couldn’t or wouldn’t. If anything, he appeared to be growing somewhat obsessed with monitoring the developments. Magnus constantly caught him reading articles about it on his laptop. He didn’t want to tell Alec to stop - didn’t want to tell him what to do at all - but he took to gently redirecting him. Alec accepted that, never arguing, but a few hours later Magnus would find him back at his laptop, reading up not just on the current events, but omega therapy in general. It was like a scab he couldn’t stop picking at.

“He has to understand it,” Izzy said, when Magnus talked to her about it. “It’s like . . . he still feels like it’s his fault sometimes. No matter how many times we tell him it isn’t. He keeps going back to it, looking at the evidence that it wasn’t his fault. Just . . . let him get it out of his system.”

Magnus wanted to, but he was worried. Alec seemed to be sliding further and further into depression, and he didn’t know how to help.

Part of the problem was that Alec suddenly had more free time than he knew what to do with. He had lived such a structured life; being basically out of a job and needing to occupy himself was something completely new for him. He read a lot, and worked out at the gym at Magnus’ office for at least an hour every day. But a lot of the time he seemed adrift, restless and bored at the same time. Magnus tried to find things that interested him, teaching him how to cook and hinting that several wealthy people in their building had dogs who could always use walking. He thought about giving Alec some work to do from his own business, but decided against it. It would look like pity, and Alec would never accept pity.

He took Alec out as often as he could, going to movies or the theater, to new restaurants they hadn’t tried yet, to the park or the beach. And sometimes Alec would seem fine. He would enjoy what they were doing and smile and hold Magnus’ hand in public. But other times he was tense and distracted, or worse, resisted Magnus’ attempts to get him out and about and stayed slouched at his desk. He wasn’t very interested in eating, and he wasn’t sleeping well, although Magnus could certainly understand why he was having nightmares. And of course, their sex life was nonexistent, which he was fine with for the time being but just wasn’t sure how to handle in the long run.

“I just don’t know what else I can do,” he said to Ragnor over drinks, trying not to tear his own hair out. Izzy had claimed Alec for the evening, saying that Magnus needed a break anyway. It was true and he knew it. He spent ninety-eight percent of his waking time focused on Alec lately, and the strain was starting to show. “God, I want more than anything to just be able to help, but nothing I do seems to make a difference.”

Ragnor sighed. “Have you considered the possibility that you just have to give him time?”

“Yes, of course, yes, but he - he’s getting worse.” Magnus rubbed at the bridge of his nose. “I can’t get him off that damned laptop at least half the time. He’s torturing himself, and the press is not helping. Every time the slightest bit of new information is released, of course they have to rehash everything.”

“Maybe that’s his way of healing,” Ragnor said.

“If that was the case, you’d think he would be feeling better by now.” Magnus slumped back in his chair. “I sometimes think that Alec drastically overestimated what an emotional genius I am. I got him through his hang-ups over being an omega, only for this to happen to him, and now I - I’m floundering. And God, Ragnor, I’m terrified that he’s going to end up hating me. Every time I push him, to get off his laptop and get some fresh air or watch a movie, I watch him, waiting for the resentment. It’s not there - not yet - but what if someday it is? I don’t know that I can handle that. I just wish he would let it go!”

Ragnor sipped his beer for a long minute, watching Magnus. “Yeah. Yeah, you do. But that’s not what he wants to do. He doesn’t want to let it go. Have you thought about asking him why?”

Magnus blinked. “Well - no, I don’t know that I - I think I just assumed - ” He sighed. “I assumed it was some backwards sort of coping mechanism.”

“And maybe it is,” Ragnor said. “But like you said, if it was, it would probably be helping.” He shook his head. “Magnus, you’ve got to stop beating yourself up about what happened to him. You tell him eighteen times a day that it wasn’t his fault - how often do you tell yourself that it wasn’t yours?”

“I know that it, it wasn’t entirely, but if I had just left well enough alone - ”

“He’d be a different kind of miserable. You told me a couple weeks ago that he said he was still glad he had met you. You have to believe him, Magnus. Alec’s a lot of things, but he’s not a liar. What Maryse did to him is on her head and hers alone. You can’t take it on, Magnus.”

Magnus let out a shuddering breath. “I’ll try to remember that, but it doesn’t help me figure out what to do about Alec.”

“You’re trying to force your coping mechanisms onto him,” Ragnor said. “When you broke up with Camille, you wanted to forget she existed. I remember watching you burn her letters, delete every trace of her from your phone. You went sideways - Camille had closed doors for you, so you went through different ones, got yourself enrolled in law school, and pretended you’d never met her. But Alec’s not like that. For some reason, he’s still re-opening those wounds every damned chance you give him. I don’t know why. And neither will you, until you ask him.”

“Just walk up behind him when he’s torturing himself and ask what he’s doing?”

Ragnor signaled the bartender for another beer. “The answer you get might surprise you.”

That was all well and good, but Magnus found it a lot more difficult to put into practice. Ragnor was right, in a way - Magnus thought about the articles Alec was digging up on omega therapy and he cringed. He didn’t want to read them, didn’t want to know, so he assumed that Alec didn’t. That clearly wasn’t true.

He couldn’t dodge it forever, but he decided to take a slightly different path - just leave Alec to his own devices for a few days, rather than periodically trying to drag him away. He brought him tea, and gave him a shoulder rub, but otherwise left him alone. He was surprised when Alec voluntarily left the laptop at about six PM, looking for dinner and then pulling Magnus down onto the sofa with him to watch a movie.

It wasn’t until the next night, when they were lying in bed together - Magnus was shirtless but Alec had taken to wearing a T-shirt and boxers - that Alec finally said, “Did you know that omegas who have gone through aversion therapy have nine times the suicide rates as omegas who haven’t?”

Magnus winced. That was exactly the kind of information that he didn’t think was going to help. But Alec wanted to talk, so he just rubbed his thumb over Alec’s forearm and said, “No, but it doesn’t surprise me.”

“It’s hard to get numbers on alpha-dependent therapy. Those people just - just drop off the face of the map, most of the time. Aversion therapy is easier to pin down. I mean, it’s clearly fraud, if nothing else. The proponents are trying to do something that can’t biologically be done.”

“Mm,” Magnus said, letting him talk.

“What really surprised me about aversion therapy was how so many people went into it voluntarily,” Alec said. “I mean, I thought I’d be reading about dozens of people whose parents had them committed, like I was. And that’s probably what happens with alpha-dependent therapy. But over three quarters of people who got through aversion therapy do it on their own steam. They want not to be omegas, and they think this will cure them. There are people who go through it repeatedly, because they always eventually fall off the wagon.”

“Mm hm,” Magnus said.

Alec sat up, pulling his knees to his chest. “I want to help them, Magnus. I know that Starkweather is getting shut down, but he served as a warning to the others and they, they’re all hiding the evidence now. I want to help these people. I’ve been talking to the families of some of the suicide victims.”

Magnus looked at him in surprise, and then he sat up as well. “That’s what you’ve been doing while I’m at work?”

Alec nodded. “I’m organizing a class action lawsuit. So far I have seven facilities and eighteen different doctors involved. Two dozen victims. And there are going to be more. A lot more. I’m only scratching the surface of it. And the alpha-dependent therapists, God, they’re so dirty. Sometimes I’m reading about what they’ve done and it makes me want to throw up. There’s this one place down in Florida that takes kids. Kids, Magnus. Fourteen to seventeen year olds who have just figured out they’re omega, and their parents throw them in one of these places to get drugged and raped and then sold. Because they need an alpha afterwards, right? For control. So there are these alphas who work with the facility, who pay to take the kids afterwards, like an honest to God sex trafficking ring. God, it’s just - just talking about it makes me want to be sick. And it’s all fucking legal, because there’s parental consent and because the age of consent is fourteen for omegas, which, how did that even become a thing? I actually know, I was reading about it yesterday, there was a case in the sixties where a politician got caught screwing a fifteen year old omega - never mind, it doesn’t matter. I have to do something, Magnus. I have to put a stop to this.”

Magnus reached out and kissed him gently, caressing the side of his face. “You never cease to amaze me,” he said. “All this time, I’ve been trying to, to keep you away from this information, thinking it would only hurt you, and you . . .”

“It does hurt me, Magnus. You’re not, not wrong. And I guess that’s why I didn’t argue whenever you pulled me away from it. Sometimes I read about it and it hurts so much that I end up crying. But not knowing it won’t make it not true. I have to . . .” Alec drew a hand over his eyes. “I have to remember that I was a victim, too. It helps remind me that this wasn’t my fault. And, you know, I was thinking about that word and about what it meant and I realized being a victim is a lot like being an omega. People hear that word and make assumptions, that you’re weak, that you can’t do certain things, but it’s not true. I won’t let it be true. Because being a victim doesn’t have to define me any more than being an omega does. I can be both of those things and still be strong and still help other people, still stop the people who hurt me from hurting someone else.”

Magnus kissed him again, soft and sweet. “You are the strongest person I’ve ever met. And I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.” Alec returned the kiss with just a little bit of interest.

“I’m sorry that I didn’t understand. I should have just asked you.”

“I didn’t say anything because I knew you didn’t want to hear about it. You don’t cope with things the same way I do. You don’t need to, to dissect and categorize like me. I don’t think it’s a bad thing. It’s just part of what makes you you and what makes me me. I was going to let you know when I had the lawsuit ready, but the last couple days, you seemed more okay with it, so . . .”

“Mm. I talked to Ragnor about it. He’s always chock full of good advice. Even so. I should have asked.”

“Well, maybe that’s something else important that I learned.” Alec smiled slightly. “Despite all appearances, Magnus Bane isn’t perfect.”

Magnus pressed a hand to his chest and feigned outrage. “Slander! Calumny!”

Alec laughed for the first time since Starkweather’s, and it was the most beautiful thing that Magnus had ever seen.

~ ~ ~ ~

Alec was busy for the next few weeks, to the point where Magnus only saw him for a few hours each day. He was interviewing families, gathering information, even flying to different cities so he could talk to people without making them travel. Izzy went with him on his trips, since Magnus couldn’t.

Magnus had always known that Alec was a good lawyer, but watching him put a case together was an impressive experience. He was thorough and meticulous, making sure every I was dotted and every T was crossed. He found not only people who had gone through omega therapy or people who had lost friends and family to it, but former employees who were willing to talk about their experiences. He read every medical article that could possibly be considered relevant and interviewed half a dozen experts to make sure he understood them.

Two weeks after their first discussion about it, Alec filed seven different lawsuits against various facilities that provided omega therapy. Two of them had already shut down after serious scrutiny from the police about exactly what ‘informed consent’ entailed.

Izzy and Meliorn met them for dinner at a Brazilian steakhouse that Alec wanted to try, and he was smiling more often than not. Magnus watched him and loved him more than ever. They stayed up late, watching movies and eating popcorn, and Magnus had to half-carry Alec to bed.

He slept in the next morning, and woke when Alec’s phone rang. Alec was already awake, although he hadn’t gotten up yet, and grabbed it on the first ring. “Hello? Yes, this is him . . . oh, yes, thank you. . . . uh huh. I see.” His voice tightened up a little, and Magnus was waking up by degrees, sensing that something was wrong. “That would be fine. Okay, I’ll see you then.” He hung up and glanced over at Magnus. “You awake?”

“I am now,” Magnus said, resisting the urge to curl up in Alec’s lap. He sat up instead, yawning and stretching, and caught Alec giving him an appreciative look. He smiled but didn’t say anything that would make him uncomfortable. “Who was that?”

“The prosecutor in my mother’s case. She wants to meet with me to discuss plea bargain possibilities.”

“Ah.” Magnus held back a grimace. He had been wondering if something like this was coming, but hadn’t said anything because he was torn on the issue. He wanted Maryse to suffer, wanted to see her utterly destroyed. But he knew that his thirst for revenge was not Alec’s, and he knew that a lengthy trial would be nightmarish for Alec. Having to testify in detail about what had happened to him, having to be cross-examined by the defense attorney about his relationship with Magnus, about his entire life – ‘traumatic’ was far too weak a word for what that would be like. He wanted to spare Alec that if at all possible. So since his opinions were conflicted, he had kept them to himself while the lawyers hashed it out. “Want to get some breakfast first?”

“Yeah, good idea.” Alec climbed out of bed and stopped halfway into a pair of pants. “Will you – come with me?”

“If you want me to,” Magnus said, keeping his voice carefully neutral.

“Yeah. Thanks.”

Magnus got up as well and pressed a kiss into Alec’s temple before he headed into the bathroom. Half an hour later, they were ready to go. They stopped for a quick breakfast at the coffee shop on corner.

The prosecutor was a somewhat harried looking woman named Cassandra Whitehaven who always seemed to be doing ten things at once. Alec had talked to her before, but Magnus hadn’t, so he introduced him. “So here’s the situation,” Whitehaven said. “Currently, your mother has been charged with fraud, assault, kidnapping, and unlawful imprisonment. Starkweather has been charged with all the same things. The state is more interested in Starkweather than in Mrs. Lightwood. If she is willing to testify against him as to the services he offered, the state would be willing to drop the more serious charges. She would plead guilty to fraud, for the guardianship order she got, and Starkweather alone would face the other charges.”

“Mm hm,” Alec said, his tone painfully noncommittal. Magnus was gripping his hand underneath the table, forcing himself not to offer an opinion.

Whitehaven studied him for a long minute. “I know that what your mother did to you was horrible. But Starkweather has done the same thing not just to you, but to dozens, probably hundreds of others. And he’s profited off of it the entire time. We want to make sure we can secure a lengthy prison sentence for him. We’re working on getting testimony from the other omegas, but . . .”

Alec gave a quiet little shudder. Magnus couldn’t blame him. Thinking of the other people who had been at the facility still haunted both of them.

“But we won’t be able to put them in a courtroom. Let’s just put it that way. Now, you can testify as to what happened at the facility, and of course we have the records, but Maryse’s testimony could be key when it comes to the fact that he was professionally offering those services.”

“Mm hm,” Alec said again.

“I have a meeting with Mrs. Lightwood’s attorney this afternoon,” Whitehaven continued, “and I didn’t want to offer any plea deal until I had spoken about it with you. So what do you think?”

Alec was quiet for a long minute. “You can offer it, but she won’t take it.”

Whitehaven blinked in surprise. “She’d have to be an idiot not to.”

“She’s not an idiot. She’s stubborn and self-righteous. She truly believes that she didn’t do anything wrong, and she’ll go to her grave believing that no matter what sort of sentence the law gives her.” Alec shook his head a little. “She won’t agree to any bargain that involves her pleading guilty to any of the charges, even if it means she’ll avoid a harsher sentence that way.”

Magnus grimaced. He hadn’t thought about it that way, but Alec was right. Avoiding a court case probably wasn’t something they were going to be able to do, even if a plea bargain was offered.

“She won’t testify against Starkweather, either,” Alec continued. “It’s not a matter of loyalty, it’s just – just what she believes. Which is that he offers a valuable service to the parents of omega children who are going to bring shame on their families.” His voice trembled a little, then evened out. “I wouldn’t risk compelling her to testify and putting her on the stand. I don’t think it would end well. If you dig through Starkweather’s records, odds are good you’ll find parents who aren’t quite as satisfied with the results of his so-called treatment, who will agree to testify. Maryse won’t be one of them.”

Whitehaven considered all of this, then nodded. “Okay. I’ll give you a call this afternoon to let you know how the meeting goes.”

“Thanks. If I don’t pick up, you can just leave me a voice mail telling me what happened.”

They shook hands and left the prosecutor’s offices. Magnus had to admit to some curiosity as they made their way down to the street. “Do you plan on not answering your phone today?”

“I just – ” Alec shook his head. “I can’t sit by the phone and wait for someone to call and tell me something that I already know, confirmation of which is just going to upset me. Let’s find – somewhere else to be. Okay?”

“More than okay.” Magnus twined his fingers through Alec’s. “Coney Island? I’ll win you a prize.”

A real smile touched Alec’s face. “Yeah. That sounds fun.”

~ ~ ~ ~

They spent the day on the boardwalk, going on the rides and playing silly games. Magnus did manage to win Alec a stuffed animal, which Alec insisted on carrying with them the rest of the day and taking selfies with like it was a third companion. Magnus knew that part of his cheer was forced, but some of it was genuine, and he was more than willing to take what he could get.

They had hamburgers and milkshakes for dinner, and Alec finally checked his phone for the voice mail Whitehaven had left him. He put it on speaker so Magnus could hear it, and it was brief and to the point. “Hello, Alec, this is Cassandra Whitehaven. As you predicted, Maryse refused any plea bargain. The trial will probably begin in a few months. My office will contact you to set up a meeting to go over your testimony. Call me if you have any questions.”

Alec listened in silence, then tucked his phone away and said, “Want to catch a movie?”

“Sure,” Magnus said, since Alec obviously didn’t want to talk about it, and really, who could blame him?

They ended up seeing two. Alec was yawning by the time they got home, and it was getting late, so he said he was going to take a shower and then go to bed. Magnus usually went to bed around the same time, so they could have some cuddle time, before getting up to continue to work. He changed into a loose pair of pants and sprawled on the bed with a magazine and his sketchbook.

About ten minutes later, the water turned off. Alec came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, hair still damp. He tucked some of it behind his ear, looking nervous. “I, uh . . .”

Magnus looked up. “You all right, darling?”

“Yeah, I, um.” Alec rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. “I kind of need a hand with something,” he added, and dropped the towel. Magnus practically fell off the bed. It wasn’t as if he had forgotten how attractive Alec was, but he was suddenly right there in all his attractiveness, and, well, Magnus hadn’t gotten laid for almost two months at this point.

“Oh,” he said faintly.

“I thought, you know, about just taking care of it myself,” Alec said, “but then I realized I . . . I didn’t want to. I miss you touching me. Making me feel good. I really miss it.”

“If you’re sure,” Magnus managed through his rapidly closing throat. Even without the alpha hormones coming into play, it was difficult not to throw Alec down on the bed and get his hands all over him. “We can take things as slow as you need to.”

Alec got down on the bed with him, leaning over for a kiss. “What I need,” he said, kissing him again, “is for you,” kiss, “to make me,” kiss, “feel good.”

Magnus got an arm around his waist and flipped them over so Alec was lying on his back. He went in for a real kiss, running his hands along Alec’s collarbone and then down his chest. He took his time pressing kisses into Alec’s throat, tracing the definition of Alec’s muscles. Alec sighed quietly, his body relaxing. They kissed for what felt like hours.

It was slower than usual, sweet and soft and gentle. It took time, but Magnus was more than patient, coaxing little noises and shudders out of Alec. He kissed along Alec’s hip bones, wrapping a hand around him. “Do you want me to – ”

“Nn.” Alec panted softly. “Just – what you’re doing. Feels good. Don’t stop.”

“Never,” Magnus murmured into his hip. He stroked Alec slowly, keeping the pace steady, letting things build. He did all the things he knew Alec liked best, letting Alec moan and writhe in his grip. It took a few minutes longer than usual, before Alec came with Magnus’ name on his lips.

Magnus kissed him gently. “How was that?”

“It was . . . different,” Alec mumbled. “Nice. But different.”

“A little less intense than usual,” Magnus agreed. “It’s the hormone suppressants. That’s what it would feel like if you had sex with a beta, or another omega. Like I told you once, I think. Sex can be quite enjoyable that way, but it isn’t exactly the same.”

“Mm. I liked it, though. Thank you.” Alec cupped a hand around the back of Magnus’ neck and drew him in for another kiss. “Thank you.”

“It was my pleasure, darling.”

Alec dropped his head back to the pillow. “I want to return the favor but my arms won’t move.”

“That’s all right.” Magnus had been resisting the urge to move, not wanting to make Alec uncomfortable, but now he hastily yanked his pants down and wrapped a hand around himself. “Just let me watch you bathe in the afterglow, and I’ll be able to take care of this in no time.”

“Mmkay. Always love watching you.”

Magnus shuddered a little. “Yes, saying things like that is very helpful.” He watched Alec watch him, the way his eyes drank in every detail, and thought about all the things that they were going to do now that Alec was feeling better. It took him an embarrassingly short time to get himself off.

They lay in silence for a few minutes, with Magnus’s head resting on Alec’s chest, Alec idly running a hand up and down Magnus’ back. “We should stop the hormone suppressants,” he finally said.

Magnus cuddled closer. “All right. If you’re ready.”

“I am. More than.”

“And while we’re coming off the hormone suppressants, we’ll have to have sex every night. You know, so you can adjust slowly.”

“Obviously,” Alec said, smiling sleepily. “Starting tomorrow night.”

“Your wish is my command.” Magnus leaned over and kissed him, once, twice, and then Alec was asleep.

~ ~ ~ ~

Chapter Text

One year later

It was nearly two o’clock in the morning when Magnus’ phone chimed. He glanced down at it to see a text from Alec that merely read, ‘you up?’

‘For you, always,’ Magnus texted back, opening his laptop to sign onto skype. A few moments later, he was looking at Alec’s face.

“Isn’t it like one AM where you are?” Alec greeted him.

“Nearly two, actually,” Magnus said. “But I’m still more on New York time than I am on Milan time. Are you just getting in for the day?”

Alec nodded and rubbed a hand over his face. “I was in depositions all day and then had a meeting with Raphael afterwards.”

“Sounds horrific. Sometimes I’m glad I’m not a lawyer full-time. The idea of all day depositions makes my skin crawl. How did they go?”

“Not too bad. Opposing counsel is desperately digging for other reasons that my clients might have killed themselves, and is dragging in anyone who might have ever had an opinion on it. One of them did marijuana for a while and suddenly pot increases suicide risk.”

“That lawyer has clearly never done pot in his life,” Magnus said, amused despite himself. “I’ve been stoned a time or two and couldn’t motivate myself to find the remote control. I once watched Blue’s Clues for four solid hours.”

Alec snorted. “Yeah, well, wait until we get to the expert depositions. I’m actually looking forward to that. They’re going to spend eighteen hours trying to find a way that scientific consensus is wrong and aversion therapy is possible.” He yawned. “But enough about that. When are you getting back, Saturday?”

“Not until Sunday, alas,” Magnus said. “And probably late Sunday.”

Alec sighed. “Great. I have to be in Miami on Monday, so I’m flying out Sunday afternoon.”

Magnus grimaced a little. “Miami, hm?”

“Yeah.” Alec brightened a little. “If everything goes according to plan, I’m going to have my subpoena for the Coral Gables Youth Facility’s records. Then I might actually be able to get somewhere with them that isn’t banging my head against a wall. Which is great, but I haven’t seen you in weeks. Now I’m going to miss you again, and I won’t be back in New York until Friday and I’m pretty sure you’re going to be in Hong Kong by then.”

“The perils of dating a fashion maven, my love,” Magnus said. “I’m much too hands-on to let the shows go on without me. It’ll be over soon enough.”

“Yeah, but by the time you’re back again, I’m probably going to be in, in California or something.”

Magnus reached out and touched the monitor. “I miss you too, darling. But we will see each other soon. It’s a promise.”

“Unless it’s tomorrow, it won’t be soon enough,” Alec said, then sighed. “I’m sorry. It was a long day and I just – it’s been way too long since I had your hands on me. You know how edgy I get when you’re gone.”

“I do. But I’ll make it up to you. I – ” Magnus’ phone chimed. He glanced down at it and sighed. “Damn. One of my models just ended up in the hospital after a car accident. I have to go see to her. I’m sorry, Alec, I’ll call you tomorrow?”

“Of course, go,” Alec said. “I’ll talk to you then.”

Magnus blew him a kiss and then closed his laptop. He spent several hours at the hospital, making sure his employee was okay, then had to find a replacement for the day’s show. It wasn’t until past dawn that he managed to grab a few hours of sleep. Once it was a decent hour in New York again, he called his personal assistant. “Did you book Alec’s hotel in Florida?” he asked, and she confirmed that she had. “Excellent. Text me the information, would you? And change my flight on Sunday so I’m landing in Miami rather than New York.”

“Will do,” she replied, and Magnus went about his business feeling better.

Two days later, he was on a flight back to the States. He had never been fond of flying, but over the years had gotten used to it. It was early Monday morning when he got in. Alec would be in court most of the day, and Magnus never slept well on planes, so he went straight to the hotel and went to the front desk. “Hello, I’m – ”

“Magnus Bane!” the clerk said, eyes going wide. “Ohmygosh! Oh my gosh can I have your autograph, I – I’m sorry, this is so unprofessional of me, I’m sorry. How can I help you?”

Magnus smiled despite himself. “Well, I’ll be happy to give you an autograph, my dear, and I hope that you can help me. My husband is staying at this hotel, room 114? And I’d like to surprise him this evening. But to do that, I would need a key to his room.”

“Oh! Oh, well, we’re not really supposed to do that. I’m so sorry, it’s just, it’s a safety issue. Even with married couples. You didn’t check in with him, so . . .” She was cringing, clearly expecting to get yelled at.

“Of course, that makes perfect sense to me,” Magnus said. “I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble. Perhaps you could deliver a note, instead?”

“I could definitely do that,” she said, flushing pink.

“Excellent! And I’ll need a room of my own as well. Somewhere close to his, if possible.” Magnus took out his wallet, then reached into his travel bag, leafing through his sketchbook for an old design. “What’s your name, dear?” he asked, then glanced at her nametag. “Kara, with a K?”

“Oh! Oh, yes, it is – ”

Magnus scribbled ‘best of luck in all your endeavors, Kara’ and then signed the sketch before handing it to her. She looked like she might pass out, but managed to get him checked in and give him a room key. While she was doing that, Magnus took a blank page from his sketchbook and wrote on it, ‘Surprise! I’m in room 119. Excellent hotel security wouldn’t give me a key to yours. XOXOXO’

“Could you leave this on his pillow for me?” he asked, handing it to Kara, who blushed and nodded. He also had her make a second key to his room to leave with the note, which she said was fine since he was there to okay it. “Thank you, Kara.”

Once in the room, he realized how tired he was. He took a hot shower and then went to bed, despite it being mid-morning. He slept for a little over four hours and woke up feeling refreshed and hungry. He ordered some pizza. The room had both a refrigerator and a microwave, so he and Alec could eat the leftovers for dinner.

Since Alec would undoubtedly be busy most of the day, he opened up his laptop to do some of his own work. He loved the fashion season, but his other work always wound up backed up during it. Given the number of businesses he now owned, there was never a shortage of work.

It was nearly seven o’clock before he heard the noise of a keycard in his door, and jolted to his feet. Alec came bursting into the room a moment later, and Magnus tackled him, wrapping his legs around Alec’s waist and covering his face with kisses. Alec laughed, only barely managing to get the door shut behind him before he spilled them both down onto the bed. Magnus was only wearing a silk bathrobe, having been prepared for this, although Alec was still in his full suit, including tie. He didn’t seem to care about that, running his hands up and down Magnus’ chest where the robe had parted to reveal bare skin. Magnus moaned and kissed him again as the robe slid off his shoulders and was cast onto the floor. It always felt impossibly good to be reunited with Alec. Everywhere his hands went, Magnus’ skin tingled.

Alec kicked his shoes off while Magnus made quick work of his tie, but he had to sit up to take his suit jacket off. Magnus wouldn’t let him go for an instant, crawling into his lap and straddling him so they could keep kissing. Alec finally broke away long enough to gasp out, “What are you doing here?”

“I thought that was obvious,” Magnus said, hands moving down the line of shirt buttons. “How could I wait another week to see you? Completely unacceptable.” He pushed the shirt off Alec’s shoulders and peeled off the tank top underneath, then pushed him back down onto the bed. “Think I can get three orgasms out of you before I come?”

Alec groaned and grabbed Magnus’ ass, pulling the other man against him. “No – no way,” he gasped out. “Not after three weeks without seeing each other.”

“Probably true. We’ll have to settle for two, then,” he added, as Alec fumbled at his belt. Magnus reached down to help, and Alec gasped and shivering as he got his hands underneath the fabric. Magnus slid his pants and underwear down and off, watching in satisfaction as Alec threw his head back and gulped for air.

Three weeks was a long time for an omega to go without, so Magnus made the prep go as quickly as possible. Alec groaned and his whole body clenched down as soon as Magnus was inside him, coming almost immediately.

“There’s one,” Magnus said, twining his fingers through Alec’s and holding him steady while he relaxed.

“God, I missed you,” Alec murmured, squeezing his hand.

“Mm,” Magnus agreed, leaning in to mouth at the side of Alec’s neck. Alec shivered a little, freeing his hands so he could run them up and down Magnus’ back. “I’ll never leave you for so long again.”

“Better not.”

“It’s a promise.”

“I – oh!” Alec groaned as Magnus started moving inside him again. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Magnus said, and leaned in for another kiss.

They both fell asleep for a little while afterwards, a pile of tangled limbs and satisfaction. Magnus woke up to the noise of Alec’s stomach growling, and laughed, prodding him awake. “There’s pizza.”

“From New York?” Alec asked blearily.

“Alas, no. I came straight here from Milan.” Magnus walked across the room naked and took the pizza out of the refrigerator. “Want it warmed up?”

“Ugh, yes. How you can eat cold pizza is beyond me.”

“How you can’t is beyond me,” Magnus teased, using a piece of the cardboard box as a makeshift plate so he could put a few pieces in the microwave. “So how did it go today? Did you get your subpoena?”

“Yeah!” A smile touched Alec’s face. “I was going through their records all day. We got the identity of every kid who’s been sent to that place since it opened eight years ago. And we have the financial information from when they were ‘discharged’.”

“Who paid for the privilege of taking them,” Magnus said.

Alec nodded. “Turned it all over to the police.”

“I thought you said these practices were legal?”

“Funny story,” Alec said, as the microwave beeped. “It’s legal until they turn eighteen.”

Magnus blinked. “It’s legal when they’re children, but not adults?”

“Mm hm. Because when they’re kids, their parents are legally allowed to consent to treatment for them. So admitting them to the facility, providing the ‘therapy’ is legal – for now, at least. But when they turn eighteen, their parents can’t do that anymore. And most of these kids were sold after their eighteenth birthday, because the guys running the place would hang onto them and milk the parents as long as possible. So it isn’t exactly proof of human trafficking, but it generates enough suspicion that the police will investigate and take statements from all the victims. I mean, it won’t be as easy as that, since these people are going to be traumatized and brainwashed, so they’re all going to have to have psych evals, et cetera.” Alec stopped talking long enough to cram half a piece of pizza into his mouth, then said with his mouth full, “But it’s a start.”

“Indeed.” Magnus laughed quietly before starting on his own meal. “But I’m glad it’s going well.”

“How long are you going to be here in Miami?” Alec asked.

Magnus grimaced a little. “I figured I would fly back to New York on Wednesday. As you said, I have to be in Hong Kong next week, and I need at least a few days back in New York before I go.”

“So we’re going to have to make every minute count. Got it.” Alec took another huge bite of his pizza. “What were you saying about three orgasms?”

Magnus’ eyes gleamed. “That it would be a good start.”

~ ~ ~ ~

and then . . .

Alec was slumped on Magnus’ amazing sofa when Magnus came in, carrying his laptop and smirking. “Look at this, Alexander, we’ve made Buzzfeed again!”

“My dream come true at last,” Alec said, not looking up from his book.

Magnus sat down next to him, not at all deterred by Alec’s reaction. “Nine times that Magnus and Alec Bane gave us relationship goals,” he read aloud. “Let’s see what they have in here.” A pause. “Mm. That’s beautiful.”

“Okay, fine, what,” Alec grumbled, tossing his book aside and then grabbing Magnus around the waist, smacking a wet kiss against the side of his neck while he laughed and protested. He found himself looking at a wedding picture. “Are you going to say ‘that’s beautiful’ about every picture of our wedding that you see?”

“Absolutely. Because it was. Magical af, as the caption says.” He scrolled down. “Number two: when they tipped their waitress eight hundred dollars so she could afford textbooks.”

“God, those things are highway robbery,” Alec said. “I should sue them, next.”

“I think you’re a little bit busy, darling,” Magnus said, but leaned over to give him a kiss on the cheek. “Speaking of which, number three: when the paparazzi wouldn’t leave Alec alone, so Magnus kept taking his shirt off to distract them.”

“I still can’t believe you did that,” Alec said, laughing despite himself.

“I still can’t believe they fell for it,” Magnus said. “Like I was going to do a striptease in the financial district, for crying out loud.”

Alec hooked his chin on Magnus’ shoulder and reached over him to keep scrolling. “Oh lord, number four, the time I surprised you at your show in Hong Kong and you tried to convince me to model something on the runway.”

“I still say you would have made an excellent model, and that outfit looked fabulous on you,” Magnus said, and sighed wistfully. “I’ll have to settle for the private showing I got later.”

Alec poked him in the ribs, and he laughed and deftly squirmed out of Alec’s grip. “What’s next?”

Magnus scrolled down. “Number five.” He glanced over his shoulder to see if Alec was okay, as they both saw the picture of Maryse Lightwood in the courtroom. Alec didn’t look upset, so he read out loud, “This would be when I testified at Maryse’s sentencing and read the letter you wrote, so you wouldn’t have to go yourself.”

“Yeah, I see it.” Alec hugged him closer for a minute. “Thanks for that, by the way, if I haven’t already said so.”

“Eight hundred times, and each time more unnecessary than the last. But you’re welcome, my love. I wouldn’t have wanted to face her either, in your shoes.” Magnus scrolled down, past the moment, so they didn’t have to dwell on it. The next one was unfortunately just as serious. “Number six: when Alec took his entire portion of the Starkweather settlement and used it to open a counseling center for victims of omega therapy.”

“Ugh, that’s embarrassing,” Alec said, flushing pink. “Anyone would have done that.”

“I quite highly doubt it. It was an amazing thing to do, Alexander, so let them be impressed,” Magnus said, but he kept scrolling without further commentary on the matter. He knew that Alec hadn’t really wanted to get money out of what had happened to him, and they certainly didn’t need it. “Number seven: when they tried to take a vacation incognito and wore ridiculous hats.”

Alec laughed a little. “You know, I told you that the hats were ridiculous.”

“Yes, but they served their purpose. It made it obvious that we were trying not to be recognized, so most people didn’t bother us. Not everyone, of course, but the majority.”

“I still want to take that Alaskan cruise that Clary told us about. I think it might be more lowkey than the Bahamas.”

“Most likely, but Alaska. Brrrr.” Magnus gave a fake shiver. “You know I’m hot-blooded.”

“That I do.” Alec kissed him on the cheek. “Number eight – oh, yeah, I remember this like it was yesterday – when Alec was so tired after winning his first omega therapy case that Magnus brought him dinner and they ate on the courthouse steps.”

“And everyone saw me get marinara sauce on my shirt,” Magnus said, laughing. “Ah, last but not least, of course it would be this. ‘Magnus defending Alec in court. Enough said.’ I could say a bit more about it.”

Alec snorted and shook his head. “You get arrested for sheltering a runaway one time and your husband never lets you forget it.”

“Now, now. I gave you a discount for my services, remember. And I did get you off . . . metaphorically speaking,” Magnus added with a wink. Alec rolled his eyes, but it was clear that he was trying not to laugh. “I wonder how Jenny is doing. Have you talked to her lately?”

“I got an email from her last week. She’s okay, you know, or at least as okay as someone whose parents sold her to a rapist can be.”

“Good, good.” Magnus scrolled down, then back up. “Damn, I look good in that picture,” he said, and Alec started laughing. “I should roll my sleeves up more often.”

“Yes. You should.” Alec leaned in and gave Magnus a quick nip on the ear. “But you know, I could point out that it’s not like I was declared innocent. Getting the charges reduced from felony kidnapping to misdemeanor minor-sheltering isn’t the same thing. Granted, the plea bargain you negotiated was impressive, but you didn’t technically get me off.”

“No?” Magnus smirked and took the obvious opening. “Would you like me to?”

“Pretty much always,” Alec said, smiling, and leaned in for a kiss.

Magnus returned it with interest. “In case I haven’t mentioned it today, you are beautiful, and amazing, and I am the luckiest man alive.”

“Are we going to have that argument again?” Alec asks. “We’re equally lucky. We agreed.”

Magnus laughed. “Yes, we did,” he said, and kissed him again.

~fin~