Alec froze completely, every muscle in his body able to become perfectly still and hold that position for however long he required. He was not in the least bit ready to face everyone, and suddenly being confronted by Jace, Izzy and Magnus was just too much. They all looked agitated, and just as confused as Alec felt.
"Alec what the hell? What are you doing here of all places? And I'm just going to pretend that whatever we saw you doing with Raphael did not happen."
Simon would have laughed at the similar reactions between the two brothers, if he wasn't in complete freak out mode. Simon then realised the strangest thing about Jace's words; he hadn't seemed to have noticed that Alec was a vampire. Magnus on the other hand, definitely had. His eyes were tracing over Alec's body and taking every detail in, but not for the usual reason.
"Your runes," Magnus whispered, too softly for the shadow hunters to hear, but Alec looked up at the warlock, meeting his gaze for the first time. Alec himself may have changed drastically, but his deep blue eyes still had the same effect on Magnus, making him want to reach out and hold the younger man. Izzy and Jace finally seemed to have caught onto what Magnus was referring to, and Jace suddenly rushed forward to inspect his brother. Alec remained perfectly still, his eyes silently observing every one of his movements.
"Alec you're…No…" Jace's placed his hands on Alec's chest, an action that perhaps he might have once craved, but now the newborn vampire felt like pushing those hands away.
"You don't have a heart beat, and you're so cold…" Jace observed out loud, not realising he was even speaking. His hands then went to Alec's throat, to feel for a pulse there, when Raphael re-entered the room. The older vampire quickly took in the scene; a shadow hunter with his hands around his progeny's throat, and took action. In a moment Jace, who was too distracted to notice the new presence in the room, was thrown against the far wall. Alec was the only one who immediately understood what had happened, but still he didn't move. Izzy then stepped forward, her whip in hand.
"What did you do to my brother?" She demanded, and no one was quite sure which sibling she was talking about.
"Put your weapon down Nephilim, you are in my home, you shall behave by my rules."
Raphael's calm demeanor remained in tact, even as he saw how complicated the situation was. Izzy took another step forward, gripping her whip tighter, looking as if she were about to attack. After years of training with his siblings Alec understood their actions, and now that he could see everything more clearly it was almost as if Izzy's attack started in slow motion, and he easily intercepted her lunge towards Raphael. In ten seconds he had Izzy pinned to the floor, and was standing over her, looking at her curiously, as if he wasn't able to comprehend what he had just done.
"Alec, what are you doing?" Jace asked.
He had recovered and was now rushing towards Izzy, who was already cautiously standing back up again. Raphael couldn't keep the slight smirk off of his face over Alec's actions. He really was adjusting well.
"You should not have threatened him," Alec said in a soft, but strong voice. He was amazed at his composure, but he still refused to look at any of the newcomers properly. He was already too aware of Magnus' presence, and the temptation to get down on his knees and beg for the warlock's forgiveness would not leave his mind.
"Are you suddenly Raphael's knight in shining armour?" Jace yelled at Alec.
Raphael's smirk suddenly disappeared, but Alec had no reaction.
"He is the leader of the New York clan, and he is my sire," he replied flatly.
"Don't say that Alec!" Izzy said, her voice thick with emotion.
"Don't say what? The truth? I am a vampire, he turned me," Alec said, his cold façade finally starting to crack.
"You bastard, you killed my brother!" Izzy said as she went to attack Raphael again, and yet again, Alec blocked her, with just as much ease. Her actions were extremely obvious due to her distracted state, and she was even easier for Alec to stop than Raphael.
"I did no such thing. If not for me your brother would actually be dead," Raphael said coolly, ignoring the sudden glance from Simon. If there were any time for him to reiterate the point of him being Alec's sire rather than Simon, it was now.
"What are you on about blood sucker?" Jace demanded, stepping forward threateningly.
"I found Alexander bleeding out in an abandoned subway tunnel, you wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" The last part of Raphael's statement was addressed directly at Magnus, who had paled as he realised what had happened.
"No, I…" He started, but the warlock's voice faded out.
"You left Alexander with a certain murderous abnormally talented vampire with no way to defend himself. You should all count yourselves as extremely lucky that I found him."
Alec was slightly annoyed at how defenseless the statement made him sound, but he had been helpless against Maureen, so he didn't protest. Everyone else also remained silent for a long time, absorbing everything that Raphael had said. Simon seemed content with what Raphael had said, as he didn't particularly want Izzy to know that he had turned Alec. Nor was he sure that Alec even knew, he was pretty out of it when Simon had saved him, and if he was going off of what Raphael was telling him…
"So you're the reason my brother is dead?" Izzy asked, her earlier aggression replaced by defeat as she directed her words towards Magnus.
"Would you stop talking about me as if I was gone? I am right here, I may not technically be 'alive', but I'm not dead and gone either."
Alec was once again finding it hard to control his turbulent emotions, and the smell of fresh blood radiating from Izzy and Jace was also starting to affect him.
"It was Maureen who killed him," Simon added, but no one paid him much attention.
"Alec, are you okay?" Magnus asked softly, and Jace mentally chided himself for not asking that first. All of them had been obsessing over Alec's state, but no one had wondered if he was actually dealing with it all.
Alec slowly shifted his gaze and focused on Magnus, taking in his appearance. Alec had only ever seen Magnus only wear black after Max had died, and after a moment he remembered the fate Camille had met.
"I'm sorry for your loss," he said, and for a moment Magnus thought Alec was referring to himself. "Camille, you know she's dead, right?"
"Yes. That's not what all of this is about," Magnus said, gesturing to his clothes.
Alec nodded, understanding that Magnus must have been referring to the end of their relationship.
"I'm sorry for that too," he mumbled, and he felt Raphael take a step closer to him.
"If that is all the destruction you wish to cause, then perhaps you should all consider leaving now."
"We are not leaving Alec here with you," Jace said stepping towards Alec defensively.
"That is not your decision to make."
Surprisingly it was Alec who spoke, not Raphael, and everyone looked at him in shock.
"No, it is not, I'm sure the Clave would have something to say about all this," Magnus said, cringing at his use of shadow hunter politics.
"Is that a threat, hojo de Lillith?" Raphael snarled, accidentally falling back into speaking Spanish.
"Only if you keep Alexander here."
"What if he chooses to stay?" Raphael asked as he purposely stepped closer to Alec.
"He is not in his right mind to make that decision," Magnus said, also taking a step closer.
Alec suddenly felt as if he was in the middle of a struggle between the two, and he could not see this ending with him having his way.
"Then perhaps it would be best for him to be with his sire, the person who is meant to take care of him," Raphael replied with obviously fake politeness.
"Supposed to? That is exactly what I'm worried about. How can you take care of someone you don't know?" Magnus said, a small smile paying on his lips as he felt he had won the argument.
"Because you were doing such a brilliant job of taking of Alexander," Raphael replied, a look of amusement forming across his features as he watched Magnus' face fall.
"Still, I'm sure you're clan doesn't know anything about Alec even existing," Magnus quickly rebutted.
"True, nor will they need to know anything, if you four do not draw any attention to this situation just yet."
Raphael's voice was now tenser as a real threat was immanent.
"So you want us to not inform the Clave or your clan about Alec…and we want Alec to stay with us…" Jace said. "I see an easy solution. Also, the Clave will notice one of its members missing, so you will need to hide Alec."
"Oh and hiding him in an Institute, what a brilliant idea, the Clave will never think of that."
The sarcasm in Raphael's voice struck Alec as strange, and it indicated to him that Raphael was actually worried.
"Well, there I can help," Magnus said. "Where better to stay hidden than in an apartment with possibly the most complex wards in the world?"
Raphael scoffed quietly at the remark, and Alec was sure he was the only one who heard it.
"He is my progeny," he eventually said, a weak argument that showed his defeat.
"You can still keep tabs on him," Simon offered, but he was once again ignored.
"I feel I am not being given a choice. Remember, I am not a good enemy to make," Raphael said, his usual power returning even though he was admitting that he was going to let Alec go.
"You owe me a favour Raphael, and if you remember correctly, I am pretty good at taking care of newborns," Magnus said, giving Raphael a knowing look, which the vampire bowed his head to, seeming to give in.
"I will speak to Alexander alone before I allow him to go with you," Raphael said in response.
"No that's fine, nobody ask what I want to do," Alec muttered as he followed Raphael out of the room.
Once they were alone Raphael looked at him apologetically.
"It is true what Bane said about the Clave, they will search for you, and I cannot hide you from them. As you know, you must remain hidden for the time being…" Raphael sighed as he thought everything over. "Your family are very annoying, they have complicated everything."
"It's okay, I'll stay with Magnus, if it helps," Alec said.
"Thank you," Raphael said finally, and Alec didn't know how to respond. He hadn't heard the vampire say anything of the sort before. "At least you will be staying with a down worlder, even if he is one you have a complex relationship with at the moment. I shall check on you, and try to orchestrate things here so you can return as quickly as possible."
Raphael sounded distracted, and Alec noticed that there was some other conflict going on.
"Is there another reason you want me to go?"
Raphael paused, mulling over his answer. Perhaps the other most obvious reason was what they had been caught doing…He pushed that thought away. It was a single fleeting moment.
"Maureen. She is powerful, and if she finds out you have been turned she may be interested in finding out more. She will know that this will be the first place to search for you. For all of his faults, Bane is a talented warlock, and he can keep you protected until we have her under control."
"Under control?"
"Dead. Completely 'dead and gone', as you put it."
Before Alec could respond he heard footsteps in the hallway, and he could make out the light click of Magnus' boots, the heavier step of the shadow hunter boots, and the lighter footsteps of another vampire.
"Your acquaintances should really learn patience."
"Tell me about it, I've been trying to teach them that for years."
Raphael gave a small chuckle, and then refocused his attention.
"I shall visit as soon as night falls. If anything happens, you know where to find me. Do not underestimate your strength, or your thirst. You should stay away from your siblings for the moment, until you have fed again, and do not stay alone with them. You may love them, but your vampiric instincts are stronger than that bond at the moment."
Alec nodded, absorbing the advice as the door behind the two opened.
"You ready to go?" Magnus asked, trying to make eye contact with Alec, who refused to look at him properly.
"Yes, but they can't come," Alec gestured to Izzy and Jace as he spoke.
Magnus looked surprised, but eagerly agreed, wanting to have Alec alone to make sure he was okay, and obviously to discuss what had happened in the tunnels. There was nothing like a sudden death to bring people together, and almost losing Alec, due to his own stupid actions, was really making Magnus reconsider what he had said that night.