Chapter II

THE SWEETNESS OF DESIRE

Magnus was bored at the Council meeting. How could he not be? Lately, the business around the Downworld was concerning itself around stealings from one another. Magnus was sick of the feud between the werewolves and the vampires.

"Aren't you going to say something, Magnus?" Raphael Santiago asked.

Raphael was the current, unofficial leader of the New York clan. He took the position after Camille Belcourt, one of Magnus's exes, disappeared for over ten years. It was a wonderful time if you'd ask him. Camille had broken the accords with shadowhunters after she attacked Consul Malachi Dieudonne and the Head of the New York Institute, Robert Lightwood. What a fight it was! Camille charged at the Institute, wanting to destroy it, he guessed. What for? He had no idea. It was just five years after he, Camille, Marcus and the Seelie Queen had signed the accords on the behalf of the whole downworld.

In one hand, Magnus wouldn't blame her. Despite the accords, the downworlders were still treated like a dirt, monsters that don't deserve to live and breathe the same air the shadowhunters did. Magnus often wondered, why did they agree to sign them. Oh yes, at the time, it seemed a good idea to create some kind of alliance in the brand new world, after the end of the Circle. On the other hand, attacking a place full of children and taking a hostage one of the children wasn't a great move. In fact, when Magnus found out she had taken the little, six-year-old child of Lightwoods, Bane was the first one to lead the Clave towards her.

She had never forgiven him, even though, he pledged her case to the Inquisitor and asked for her exile instead of killing her off. They were lucky that Camille hadn't had hurt the girl, the child was only scared when Magnus and her father had rescued her.

"Magnus?" he heard his name being said again. He shook himself off the brief memory and looked at Raphael and Luke.

"Look, this is getting too ridiculous. I'm the High Warlock of Brooklyn. I have more important tasks to do than be a judge in your stupid little feud." He explained, getting up from Raphael's white plush couch. "Just kiss and makeup."

"I'd like to remind you," Luke started, growling slightly. "That you're the Alpha and the Great Consul of this Council, Magnus. It is your job to judge."

Bane rolled his eyes and growled at two alphas before him.

"Fine. So this is my order," Magnus looked between the two before he used his Alpha voice on them. "From now on, if one of your packs steals from another, the guilty one will have his hand cut off. I miss the Middle-age punishments. I think it is a time we bring them back."

Both, the werewolf and the vampire were looking at him shocked with their mouths agape. Raphael's fangs retracted and Luke's golden eyes turned themselves back into their mundane dark brown color.

"Are...are you sure?" Raphael asked, blinking in a disbelief at his older friend.

"Sounds ridiculous, right?" They nodded to his statement. "Same as your petty problems. Call me when one of yours will kill the other or something like that. This stupid stealing feud is not my concern. I'm leaving, I have an important business to attend."

Magnus opened the portal straight to his loft. As soon as he stepped out of it in his living room, he relaxed. Sometimes, being the main Alpha in the New York Downworld was giving him the biggest headaches. He loved and cared for his people, but from time to time he wanted to relax and be just Magnus Bane.

The warlock snapped his fingers and conjured himself more party outfit. The deep steel suit and burgundy dress shirt half opened to expose his glittered chest. Deciding that he has no more time to pamper himself manually, he magicked up a makeup, simple smokey eyes, and glitter on the eyelids and cheekbones. His colorful hair put up in their usual spikes. Magnus grabbed his long, black coat and left his loft, calling a cab on his way out.

Twenty minutes later, he was walking inside the Pandemonium. Seeing as it was the popular club among the downworlders, Magnus slipped inside without waiting in the line. Perks of being both the Alpha and the High Warlock. As soon as he and the manager crossed their eyes, the other man ordered his employee to prepare the VIP section for Bane.

"It's good to see you, Magnus." Victor Loughlin said.

Victor was one of the oldest friends of Magnus. Not a best friend, but Magnus liked him especially for his wisdom and a snarling attitude towards everyone who couldn't benefit him. Victor started to work in Pandemonium, only a year after Magnus had opened the place. Fifteen years later, Bane still was the owner, but he didn't mingle in the business too much, leaving it to the vampire.

"It's good to see you too, Vic," he replied, taking the drink prepared for him by the Seelie bartender. He turned to the girl behind the bar. "I hope you didn't improve it by your dust, darling. I'm not up for running naked around the streets of New York."

"If I would, I'd be punished, High Warlock. I know the law." Magnus nodded to that and moved to sit on the leather couch in the VIP section. Soon he was joined by the dancers of the club.

Magnus was enjoying his fifth martini when something unexpected caught his eye. A familiar red hair and green eyes he had seen a few times in his long life. He cursed under his breath and got up. He walked to the balcony to observe the girl from afar.

She was moving around the club with a mundane boy with glasses and bad hair. Magnus could easily tell he wasn't a fan of such clubs. Maybe she wasn't as well. The boy shouted something at her and moved towards the bar. The girl was looking around, trying to find something perhaps. However, from his place, Magnus couldn't really see what did she try to find in the Pandemonium. As much as he was curious, he wouldn't dare to approach her like that. Not, when she could somehow recognize him. After all, he had seen her a few years back. She'd be in need of a meeting soon if her mother still wanted to pursue their deal. Magnus needed to contact her soon.

He didn't even know when he lost the girl from his sight. He unglamoured his cat eyes and ran downstairs in hopes to find her before she'll get into troubles. If any, Magnus was sure, she'll be as many troubles as her mother used to be.

However, before he had a chance to stop her, Magnus heard her screaming at the top of her lungs. Alerted by the screams he and Victor decided to check the reason. However, Magnus wouldn't expect to see three shadowhunters killing a demon in the club.

Bane spotted two shadowhunter males, one blonde and the other with black hair and blue eyes and a girl with a white hair and short white dress. Magnus could swear he knew her. However, he could not recall the name of the female shadowhunter.

Magnus was walking towards them involuntarily. When he was closer, he smelled it. The sweet scent filled the path, drawing him subconsciously. The scent was overwhelming, warming him from the inside. Magnus growled, clenching fists. He felt his Alpha nature taking control of him, as he started to breathe heavily.

"Are you ok, Magnus?" Victor asked him with a voice full of a concern. The vampire placed his hand on his shoulder and squeezed it lightly. "Magnus?"

"What is it?" he breathed out. The scent was too sweet for him. Magnus could feel himself getting on high from it. "Can you smell it?"

"Smell what?"

"By Lilith…" Magnus wetted his lips, feeling himself getting hot and bothered. "I want…"

"Magnus?"

Magnus kept growling lowly, as the desire was overpowering him slowly.

Bane had no idea what was happening to him. He never felt like this before. He wanted to satisfy this strange desire that awakened in him, but he didn't know how. He didn't know what had awakened it. Where did the sweet scent was coming from? Suddenly the scent became even sweeter. Magnus's heart started to race, his lungs filled with something, making it difficult to breathe. His body became heavy, forcing him to drop down his knees and grab the nearest thing to hold himself.

"Magnus!"

Bane could feel Victor's cold and strong arms picking him up from the floor and dragging back. He tried to fight it, even thought of burning the vampire just so he could follow the sweet scent. However, Victor blocked his hands to stop him from casting spells.

Magnus was still in a haze when Victor pushed him out in the cold air of the night. His body was freezing, as he dropped his jacket somewhere in the club. His head was buzzing, his heart racing and still could smell the faint scent of incredible sweetness, swirling around his warlock growled loudly, trying to escape Victor's embrace and get back to the mystical source of this heaven.

"Snap out of it!" Victor pushed him on the nearest wall as hard as he could. Magnus was sure that if he wouldn't be immortal, his spine would be broken in two and his head would have a serious injury. "Magnus? Oh fuck, did I kill you?"

"I'm...fine…" he grumbled from the cold ground, as he tried to get up. However, he stumbled from the slight concussion. He'd have to prepare himself a potion for that later. Before he knew, Victor was holding him in his arms again. "I should burn you for this."

"I apologize, but I needed to get you out of this...whatever it was."

"I don't know what happened to me… Maybe she did spike my drink after all." Magnus concluded. "I think I'll go home. I'll open a portal…"

"I'll walk you back," Victor suggested, throwing Magnus's arm around his shoulder. "You're too fucked to walk."

Magnus had barely remembered the way to his loft in Brooklyn. He didn't recall walking inside the building, nor how Victor led him into his bedroom and pushed down on the bed. He still was in the slight haze of the overwhelming scent.

It took him a moment more before he slowly was getting back to himself. His heart slowed down, his body temperature dropped and he could feel his senses again. Magnus breathed slowly, in and out, calming his body.

"You ok?" Victor asked, looking into his cat eyes with concern. "I'm sorry that I threw you on the wall, but I didn't know what to do." Magnus waved it off before he conjured himself a healing potion. Better safe than sorry. "Will you be ok on your own? Or should I alert Raphael that something is…"

"I don't need a babysitter, especially Raphael." Magnus glared his vampire friend. He didn't need Santiago to see his at this low point. "I'll be fine on my own."

"Ok," replied, patting him on his shoulder. "So, I'll see you next week at your party. Bye."

Party? Party!

Suddenly Magnus remembered that he had a party to plan for next Friday night. A downworlder party he decided last week to throw in, for his cat's birthday.

"Meow." Speaking of the devil. The little, white, fluffy ball of fur jumped on his silky yellow sheets and rubbed its' head on Magnus's thigh, demanding scratches. Ah, the greedy little thing. Magnus took the cat in his hands and looked him in his yellow eyes. "Meow."

"Indeed, Chairman, next week we're going to have guests over. It's your birthday, Mister!"

...

On the morning of the party, Magnus was woken up by the rapid knocking on his door. Covering himself with his silk robe, he went to open it and found a very disturbed Luke Garroway, with his arms crossed.

"What? Don't you have a clock? It's like…" Magnus looked at the clock in his hallway. "It's ten a.m., normal people are sleeping at this hour. It better be important."

"I think the Circle is gathering again." Bane quickly dragged him inside and shut the door loudly. "I swear, I saw Blackwell today, wandering through the Manhattan."

"I think you're overreacting." Magnus tried to reason. "The Circle had been untied after Valentine's death. The Clave put all of its members into the Gard with the exception of Lightwoods and Starkweather, for their help in ending it. Valentine died in that fire, along with their son. You have nothing to worry about."

"But what…" the werewolf wanted to say something, but the warlock cut him off.

"But, as the leader, I will take a look at it. Tonight I'm hosting a party for downworlders. I will try to snoop around." Luke seemed to be content with this answer. He apologized to Magnus for waking him and moved towards the door. "I'll come by Jade Wolf tomorrow and we'll talk."

When Magnus was left alone again, he poured himself a glass of scotch. As he took a sip of his drink, he thought about Garroway's words. There was no possibility of the Circle raising itself again. However, Magnus was smart enough to not ignore such concern. He will look into it. Maybe even arrange a meeting with the Head of the local Institute to talk about the possibilities. After all, shadowhunters would be the first ones to know about the Circle.

A memory popped into his mind, from seventeen years ago, when he was a prosecutor in the Circle's members trial. He was the official Downworld envoy along with Camille Belcourt, Marcus Stevenson, and the Seelie Queen. Knowing the laws in both Shadow and Downworld, Magnus was able to be open-minded in the whole trial.

"Those remained alive should be killed for those they have killed," Camille stated, baring her fangs on the Consul Dieudonne. "Hundreds of downworlders have died! I request the justice in the name of the Accords!"

"Miss Belcourt, many shadowhunters have died in this battle as well. The Circle members have killed our own as well." The Consul tried to reason with all downworlders. "I know that those actions of the Circle were horrendous for both sides…"

"Oh please," Marcus cut in, flashing his golden eyes. "How do you imagine us to believe that the Circle acted without your knowledge? I know your rules so well. You hate us and omegas in your kind. Admit it, Consul Malachi, you don't want to sentence them with an immediate death, only because you want to use them again."

"These are a false accusation, Alpha Stevenson." He defended himself and looked at Magnus. "You do not believe this nonsense, do you, High Warlock?"

"I believe that the members of the Circle need to be punished. I request them to be put in the Gard until they'll die, or the Council of the Downworlders will take care of them." Magnus stated firmly watching Maryse Lightwood from afar. The young woman was visibly pregnant, clutching strongly the hand of her husband. Despite them being shadowhunters, Magnus felt pity for her. She shouldn't raise children in the prison, no matter her race. "However, I believe in fair sentences. Those that helped bring the Circle down should be punished with a lower sentence."

"I can agree with this." Malachi expanded his hand to Bane. "I believe we've reached the agreement."

"We're far from it." Magnus quickly corrected him with a smirk. "We will sign the new Accords. And we'll be creating them. Either say yes or I'll let the Vampires and werewolves to be vengeful on your kind."

"I believe we can discuss it after the trial will be done."

Even though they were promised the new Accords, created by the downworld, Shadowhunters were rarely acting according to them. Of course, through the last two decades, the Shadowhunters became very sneaky around the Accords. They never broke them, however, they bent them as much as they could. They provoked them but never killed if not attacked first, according to the states in the Accords.

None of the races shall kill the other if not attacked first. The unwarranted killings will be punished with the immediate imprisonment with no access to the defense.

And so the shadowhunters lowered their attacks on the downworlders, however, the insults have remained. Magnus had heard himself being called the monster, dirt, demon, through all the years of his life. Yet, he didn't let it bother him too much. He was too strong for it.

Magnus shook himself out of the memory and looked at his empty glass. Frowning, he poured himself another drink and walked back towards his bedroom. It was a time to pick an outfit for his party. As he was looking through his closet, a fire message materialized itself before his eyes.

Her Highness invites you, High Warlock, for a dinner in the Seelie Court. This night, when the sun comes down.

Sincerely,

Meliron, her Highness' Knight.

Magnus growled at this note. He wasn't in the mood for a meeting with the Queen. He never liked Seelies. Despite their innocent, almost angelic looks they were very vicious creatures. Not being able to lie, they have learned to be very sneaky in their words, leading you on with their natural charm. Bane wanted to refuse the invitation. However, as the main Alpha in the Downworld, he couldn't refuse the rightful queen. He may be the first and foremost Alpha and the Great Consul in the Downworld Council, but she was the Queen. She was the most powerful ally in the entire downworld, despite her being an Omega. In fact, it was her advantage. She lured the poor Alphas in their sins same as Lucifer used to do. She wasn't like any other omega, she used her second nature to her advantage. No matter how strong you were, you always fall for her doings.

Magnus grabbed his cellphone and picked the number of his friend.

"It better be important or I'll drain you."

"It's always nice to hear you, my dear Raphael." The vampire groaned at his friend. "I have a small favor to ask."

"Oh, I'm intrigued. What do I get from this favor?"

"I think we'll manage to establish that," Magnus stated, picking out a suit for the dinner. Simple dark charcoal suit and silver shirt. Subtle, yet shiny. Perfect for such occasion. "I must go to the Seelie Court. I was invited to a dinner tonight by the Queen. It looks like an official meeting, so I must go. But, I'm hosting a party for Chairman tonight and I need you to keep my guest entertained for a while. I'll be back as soon as it's possible."

"Can't you just call off the party?" the vampire asked.

"Have you met me? I've never called a party off. What would people think of me?!" Magnus couldn't understand how Raphael could even suggest such a thing. He was Magnus Bane, the epitome of the party. Even an Armageddon couldn't stop him from throwing a great party. Magnus was seriously disappointed in Raphael for having such thoughts about him. "Please, can you do it?"

"Fine. But, if any of them pisses me, I'll drain them." With that, Raphael hung up.

Magnus sent him details of his party via text and informed Luke about the dinner in the Seelie Court. As expected, the werewolf leader demanded the information afterward.

When the sun came down, Magnus went towards the Turtle Pond and quickly jumped through the portal.

The Seelie Court was slightly changed from the last time he was here. It was more alive. Green trees were casting their shadow on the lively green grass. The midnight blue crystal surface of the pond was illuminated by the moonlight. Fireflies were illuminating the whole place, making it look magical. As much as beautiful it looked, it was equally dangerous. Everything here was a living creation of the Queen, and she was vengeful towards those who dared to destroy her things.

"High Warlock, welcome to the Seelie Court." Magnus was greeted by Meliron and quickly led towards the Seelie Queen. "Please, take a seat."

As predicted, the meeting was very official. The Queen quickly began to speak about matters concerning the downworld, while she was offering him the food. Magnus was smart enough to decline the food, however, he had agreed on one glass of wine. He could quickly reverse the possible doing of the wine, once he'll be back in his loft.

"I heard rumors among the downworlders that the Circle may be rebirthing these days." She spoke in her velvet voice. Oh, Magnus needed to get a grip on his Alpha side to not fall into her omega charms. "Do you know something about this, Magnus Bane?"

"They are nothing but rumors, my Lady." He reassured her with a confident smile. "However, I will look into it. Tonight, I'm hosting a…meeting that will let me snoop around. I may arrange a meeting with the local Head of the Institute if the rumors will somehow seem to be true. For the time being, do not concern yourself with it, my Queen. I will keep an eye on everything and inform you if the problem arises."

Magnus exchanged a few more pleasantries with the Queen, reassuring her on his acting as the Master Consul and the Alpha in the Downworld. One could think that they should be mated together, however, Magnus wasn't up for mating with any of the Seelies, no matter their political status. Seelies weren't great companions.

As soon as he was back in his world, Magnus portaled himself into his loft, surprising his guests. He walked towards his bedroom to change his outfit for something more proper for a party. He threw on his skinny light jeans and black shirt with dozens of metal clasps. He quickly changed his make-up and hair too. He put the dark blue lipstick on and he put the black eyeliner with glitter on both the eyelids. He put his hair into their usual sparks and looked at himself in the mirror. He looked wonderful and ready to woo himself a companion for a night. He was definitely up to get lucky tonight.

Magnus mingled with his guest and danced to the newest hits playing from his stereo system. He was dancing with a vampire red-haired girl, Jessica when he heard the doorbell. Growling loudly, he apologized to his female companion in hopes to grab her later for a night and went to open the door.

However, the view behind them was nothing he could ever expect. Not even in million years.

Right before him stood four shadowhunters and one mundane. Magnus recognized them from last night in the Pandemonium. The two of them, females were very familiar to Bane. However, the men were quite a mystery. One of them was a beautiful mystery to the warlock.

He was standing behind all of them, looking very uncomfortable. He was watching his blonde friend all the time with slight pain in his incredible blue eyes. Magnus inhaled the air and his nostrils were met with the light sweetness. It was pleasant, probably coming from the perfumes of the ladies.

"Are you Magnus Bane?" The blonde haired asked, moving before two girls.

"Even if so, I don't remember inviting shadowhunters for my party." Magnus moved his eyes back to the blue-eyed beauty.

"I have an invitation." One of the girls said, pulling out a crumpled paper. Magnus recognized the paper immediately, however, he did not recall giving it to her.

"I must have been very drunk then. Ok, come in, just don't kill any of my guests."

As they were passing him, Magnus smelled the sweetness again. It was amazing, hitting into his inner desires. Magnus was almost sure that this sweetness is the same as that from the last night, however now it seemed to be toned down. Alas, he will find out the source of this sweetness tonight, maybe even he'll fulfill his Alpha desires.


Did you like it?
So as you read under the prologue, we're sharing main characters. So this one, from Magnus's pov was written by moi (Intoxic). A fair warning, when there'll be my chapters a.k.a. Magnus's pov, you can expect a lot of retrospections to the past and the way he's the main Alpha in the Downworld. The next two chapters will still contain the same scenes, seeing as we want to show you both sides of their first official meeting after years and we want to show you a bit of their individual lifestyles that lead them to their current positions.
Enough of the blab ;)
We hope you'll like further chapters as well. Thank you for all favorites, follows and reviews, they mean a lot to us.
Review if you feel like to. Till next Wednesday.
Intoxic and Daime Guiral.