Hello everybody! I apologize for not updating, I was on vacation and only had time to upload a little Malec one-shot for the story simply called "Short Stories". There will be more of those too, so follow that story if you would like. Thank you all for the support you have given me, it really inspires me to keep writing. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Agony, pain, exhaustion, those were the first things that Alec felt when he woke up. He was also disoriented. He tried to sit up and get a good look at what was around him before a searing pain jolted through his ribs and he landed back down against the fluffy mattress. He wasn't in any room that he had ever seen before, but Izzy and Jace were here, so it was probably safe. There was gauze wrapped around his now bare chest and his shoulder, and he could also feel the material wrapped around his leg.
He sat up again, much slower this time, stretching out his limbs and spikes experimentally. Wait, spikes? Alec turned around, looking at his shoulder and back, trying to get a good view from the awkward angle. Bony spikes covered in a thin black webbing that occasionally glinted different shades of blue were jutting out of his back and shoulders, one large one against his back and two on each shoulder. A wave of pain rolled through his chest, making him jerk around so that he was facing forward and not twisting around to see the spikes.
The one on his back ached, the same ache as having a broken bone healing. The skin around the area almost made him writhe in agony, the pain threatening to consume him. He moved on the bed slowly, his side hurting horribly as well as sparks of pain flying across his chest in different places. He did his best to ignore his skin around the spikes, trying to forget the feeling of agony that laced through the area. His leg threatened to give out under him as he stood, and he clutched his arm with the injured shoulder to his chest.
He limped out of the room, moving his spikes occasionally, testing out the new parts of his body which he hoped would go away soon. He settled on having them flat against his back and shoulders, not sticking out dangerously and threateningly, finding that it soothed the pain around the ribboned flesh. He walked into the living room, finding it oddly familiar. Had he been here before?
"Nice to see someone finally awake." A voice announced loudly, causing Alec to jump and then regret the motion as pain flared up in his body. He was in Magnus' apartment. It looked different without the flashing lights and drunk downworleders all over the place. Magnus was stirring a cup of coffee, looking at him with tired cat eyes, glittery gold makeup smudged around his eyes.
"Uh, hello. Why exactly are we here?" Alec asked, pain unintentionally lacing his voice. He didn't remember much of what happened last night. He remembered pain and fighting, but he couldn't remember who he had been fighting, he only remembered feeling the surge of energy in his veins and his excitement towards the attack.
"Oh, you're only here because you chased your siblings all through New York in a murderous pursuit to spill their blood." Magnus said casually, taking a sip of the coffee. Alec looked at him, a confused and shocked look on his face before blurry memories started clearing. Punching Jace, hitting Izzy, chasing them through the streets, blood and pain...
"By the Angel." he murmured, horror lacing his voice as he recalled the events of last night. Magnus looked at him, most of the humor that was normally dancing in his animated eyes had seemed to die out.
"Oh don't worry, I healed them both, but you have been causing me some trouble. I also had to heal Jace when he was sleeping because golden boy refused to let me help when he was conscious." He said, taking another sip. Alec felt a small weight lift off his shoulders as he was given the information that his siblings were okay.
"So, about my back and shoulders..." Alec said, not wanting to finish the sentence. He wanted to know what was happening, but he didn't want to be given news that he was dying or something along the lines of that.
"Ah yes, your... fins. So, after a night full of research, I have discovered that you are the new leader of the mermaids here in New York. Which is why you have a mark of an alpha."
Alec froze. Leader of the mermaids in New York? He was going to have to attend Clave meetings, he would have to show up when people requested his help as the leader of the New York mermaids. The clave would find out about him, about what a disgrace to the shadowhunter name he was.
He felt like he couldn't get enough breath, he felt like so many things were being piled on him that his body couldn't handle the pressure anymore. He didn't even feel when his knees gave out under him, just felt himself slide to the floor, wrapping his arms around himself in an attempt not to panic, don't panic, it was okay, you'll be fine. Pain shot through his leg as he hit the ground.
"Alec?" A voice said, the owner of the voice looking down at him with worried green and gold cat eyes.
"I-I'm fine," Alec said, trying to come back to reality. "I just need to get my siblings and get back to the Institute." He said, standing up cautiously with Magnus' help before the warlock spoke up.
"Actually, I need to check up on your tail to make sure that your as healed as I can get you. We can go wherever you want to transform, but I need to check." Magnus said, his voice soft and his eyes sparkling with a kind light, like someone trying not to scare away a startled animal.
"I can just change here if you want." Alec replied, even though he wasn't quite willing to transform. The only people who had ever seen his tail were his parents and the silent brothers, and that was years ago.
"How about somewhere slightly more comfortable, like the couch." Magnus replied, gesturing to the soft looking pink couch. Alec nodded, walking on unsteady legs, Magnus guiding him to the couch. He sat down, trying to get as comfortable as possible in this frightening situation.
Magnus watched him with expectant yet patient eyes, waiting for him to change. Alec focused all of his own magic into transforming from his two legs to his tail, a more natural form for him. It wasn't painful to transform into a tail, unlike forming legs, which resulted in horrible pain. His legs and skin shifted into the darkly colored scales that shined blue. The long tail stretched across the surface of the couch, scales glistening. His torn pants and the gauze that had wrapped his leg had disappeared in the process, as well as much of his strength. He wasn't sure if he would be able to turn back. He still had the bandage around his shoulder and chest.
He struggled a bit to breath with his gills, but quickly adjusted to the air. The air in the water was so much cleaner, clearer. The air out here felt toxic. After a few gasping breaths he was able to steady his breathing. There were still what appeared to be stab wounds, but they were now on his tail, causing agony to lance through the sensitive scales. That must have been what had caused his leg to hurt so much. He struggled not to tear up.
Magnus' eyes gazed over his tail, a look of silent appreciation for the lovely scales causing his eyes to glow slightly. Alec blushed, his black scales shifting to a dark blue color.
Thank you for reading this chapter! I have a quick question, would you all like me to make the chapters longer? Please leave a review or send a me a PM with your answer. Thank you!