Chapter 1 – The Moment

Nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to encounter. I saw her eyes widen in fear as the monstrous beast stood over her, licking its bloodstained lips. Her hand drew up to somehow protect herself from it. How was she going to accomplish that with a simple hand? I do not know, but I drew my sword and pierced it through the beasts back, making it convulse and explode, sending shreds of clothing into the air. I heard a piercing scream, making me remember the reason why I was there. I ran to the girl that was crouched in the corner of the alley. She kept screaming a blood curdling scream, sending shivers down my arm. That caught me by surprise. I was never one to get bothered by these like this. All I knew was that I needed to get to her. It was an impulse I didn't even know existed within me. As I got closer, she backed away from me. I stopped in my tracks, reading pure horror on her face.

"It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." I tried to reassure her. "I really need you to stop screaming."

"Why?" she yelled. "So no one can hear you kill me and call the cops on you?"

I snickered at that. "The cops? Trust me; cops won't stop me from killing something."

I realized what I said right after I said it. I saw her face turn back to horror and knew instantly what she was going to do. I grabbed for her right as she stood up and turned to run towards the back of the alley. She screamed when I grabbed her by the arms and in that instant, a jolt, an electric feel ran up my arms and I let go right away. I knew she felt the same thing by the way she turned to me with an awe look in her face. I must have had the same expression because her posture changed, relaxed.

"What was that?" she asked. Her breath started to slow and she looked me in the eyes. A sure sign of a mundane trusting you. But she was not just a human. I can tell by the way she was able to see me and also about the way my breath hitched when I looked at her. My name is Jace Wayland, and I am a Shadowhunter. And in that moment, my life changed.

I stared back at her and before I knew it, she collapsed. I tried to reach for her but knew that it was no use. She was unconscious right when I grasped her. Her body was so tiny; it felt frail in my strong arms. I looked at her closed eyes, her eyelashes sending long shadows down her cheeks, her cheeks full of freckles all the way to her nose, slightly curving downwards towards her full, pink lips. I couldn't keep my eyes away from her. I heard noise at the end of the alley opening and my head snapped up, reflexively hiding the girl behind me.

"What are you doing?" a familiar girls voice came to my ears. As she reached the area where I was crouched, protectively holding the girl, she came to a sudden halt. "What have you done, Jace?"

"Isabelle! We have to get her to the Institute. She was getting attacked by a demon and out of nowhere, she collapsed" I explained to her as I picked up the girl in my arms.

"WHAT!? A demon? Where?" Isabelle exclaimed, as she frantically looked around, slowly uncurling her whip. Her baby, as she called it. It was a lethal weapon, made only out of Shadowhunter gold electrum wire. It was given to her for her 10th birthday by her father. Well, our father. He isn't biologically mine, but he's been there for me as he was there for Isabelle and Alec, Isabelle's brother.

"Don't worry, I killed it right before he finished her off." I grunted, as I tried to shift the girl's weight around in my arms.

"Jace, why do you get yourself in these situations?" Isabelle scoffed. "Let's go to the Institute. Maybe Hodge can help."

We walked in silence, once in a while, Isabelle helping me hold the girl up.

"What where you doing in that alleyway, by the way?" Isabelle asked, halfway there.

I ignored her question for as long as I could, trying to bid my time from explaining to her how I saw her coming out of the movie theaters when I was on my daily routine of catching demons out in the Brooklyn streets, how I watched her hug and wave goodbye to a guy in glasses, how I watched them walk opposite ways and how I saw the demon slowly following her.

"Well?" she insisted.

"I was just doing my daily routine. You know how it is." I turned my head to hide the red slowly creeping on my face. You can never hide things like these with Isabelle, so I knew I didn't fool her with that story when I felt her eyes on me. I turned to sneak a peek but she was looking straight ahead, I hard look on her face. She stopped asking her questions, for now. And I was relieved.

We got to the Institute fairly fast, hurrying to take the girl to the infirmary. Right when we walked into the institute, Alec came bounding down the stairs.

"Well, what did you catch now, brother?" his smile stopped midway once he saw what we were holding, or who we were holding. "What's this? What have you done, Jace?"

"Why do you automatically think this was all me?" I asked, feigning an incredulous and appalled look.

"Cause you always get into tricky situations." He scolded me as he followed us up the stairs. "And this looks like a big time tricky situation."

Isabelle smirked. "Told 'ya"

I smiled back. Leave it for Isabelle to make intense situations a little bit more relaxed. We got the infirmary and we heaved the girl into one of the beds.

"I'll go get Hodge." Isabelle insisted. I watched her leave and automatically turned to look at the girl on the bed. She looked so peaceful; she made me feel peaceful and full. A smile crept onto my face. I felt eyes on me and before I could put on my hard face, Alec grabs me and pulls me to my feet.

"What is she doing here? She's a pure mundane, and you bring her to the heart of all our existence?" he yells. "What were you thinking on bringing her here?"

I pulled away from his grip, anger creeping on my voice. "She was being attacked. I couldn't leave her to die!"

"Jace, you've helped humans live without bringing them here. What's it to you if she was okay or not?" Alec glared at me.

"Because I HAD to help her! There's just something about her!" I yelled.

Alec's eyes widened in surprise and I saw him glance behind me, towards the door. Before I could turn, I heard her voice, full of hurt and jealousy?

"Baby?"

I turned around, and my girlfriend, Allison Sandfell, stood in the doorway with a hurt and confused look on her face, glancing between me and the girl that lay on the bed next to me.