Jace accepted the glass of water that Luke handed him and took a drink. "Did you know?"

"No. As far as I knew you were Jace Wayland, Michael Wayland's son and that Michael had been killed by Valentine. By the time all of this took place I had been ostracized by the clave and the circle both because of the lycanthropy."

He nodded and leaned against Luke when he sat down beside of him. "I have no idea what all of this is going to mean for me in the future. If the clave will still allow me to be a hunter? If they will want to start doing experiments on me? If I will be treated any better then I was when they thought I had demon blood running through me?" He ran his hands through his hair with a sigh, "The one thing I do know is that no matter what happens I want to continue to hunt with you. If I have to leave this life I don't want to be treated any different in our lives."

Luke put his arm around his shoulders, "The won't make you give up being a hunter Jace but I do fear they will try to work you so hard and demand so much that you will lose who you are in the process. I promise I will do all in my power to prevent that from happening."

He smiled at that and leaned into the hug. "You're the only one who has ever believed in me."

"No," he shook his head. "Lots of people believe in you and always have. I just had," he searched for the right words, "faith that you were a good kid."

"And now you have a son who is part angel," he smirked. "Damn smart move on your part wolfie. Now when you brag to your friends that your boy is an Angel you can really mean it!"

"Wolfie?" he arched a brow and looked at him.

"Mutt?" Luke growled and Jace reached over and scratched him on the stomach.

"What are you doing?" he asked perplexed.

"Seeing if your foot would start thumping on the floor," he burst into laughter.

Luke reached behind him and grabbed a pillow whacking the blonde in the head with it causing him to laugh harder as he fell back on the bed causing Luke to chuckle as well. "What am I going to do with you?"

As much as he tried Jace couldn't sleep just tossed and turned as the days events played out in his head. Kicking the covers off he got out of bed deciding to go for a walk. It had been a while since he'd been at the institute and while he missed his friends being close he realized just how institutional it really was. It didn't have the feel of a home any more at all. He was remembering a time when he and Alec broke a vase running in the hallway when he noticed a light on in the library and went to investigate. At first he didn't see anyone but something caught his eye.

"And what are you doing up?"

Max's eyes got wide when Jace stepped around the sofa. He dropped the comic he was reading and jumped up to give him a hug. "Jace!"

He laughed and mussed the boys hair, hugging him and pulling him down to sit on the sofa again. "You should be sleeping," he smiled with no convection at all. Picking up the comic and putting his arm around him. "What are we reading tonight?"

"Angel Sanctuary," he beamed. "Are you back for good?"

"No buddy I'm afraid I don't live here any more. I live with Luke now."

"Oh," his face saddened.

"No frowns, it's a good thing Maxie," he laughed. "I'm happy there."

"Oh."

"Hey," he put the comic down and pulled Max into his lap. "You can come and visit me, maybe even spend the night some?"

"I could?" he got excited. "You would want me to? I mean I'm a little kid and all," he bit his lip.

Jace laughed, "Of course and I bet your mom and dad would let you too. You will love the place we live! It's a hotel and we have the entire top floor as a house and my room has this awesome wall that is a wood carving." They talked animatedly and made plans for Max's visit until the small boy fell asleep. Jace carried him down the hall to his room and put him to bed. When he walked back into the hallway Clary was standing there.

"Hi," she said lamely.

"Hi," he nodded and started to walk away.

"Jace, wait." He stopped but kept his back to her. "We need to talk."

"No we don't. You said how you felt and I have accepted it. Right now there are bigger and more important things going on then us, or what used to be us."

"But," she tried again but he had already walked away. What had she done? Why was he so upset with her?

The next morning when Valentine was brought into the room you could see bleeding wounds on his wrists and neck where he had tried to escape throughout the night and Jace knew that he understood how bad the situation was for himself. He would be lying if he said it didn't make him happy that Valentine was finally as terrified as he had made others over the years but he also knew that it made the man even more dangerous because he had nothing left to lose.

Phillip called the meeting to order and Valentine's questioning began. Downworlders, Clave members, former circle members and the inquisitor asked him questions from current issues to unresolved crimes from the days of the circle. This went on for hours when finally the questions became about Jonathon.

Jonathon was put into the binding circle with his father and questioned about several murders, attempted murders, conjurings, dark magic and demon worship that he had been involved in at the behest of his father. He professed his love for Valentine and said he did it all because he wanted to. He wanted to be like his father.

Jace shook his head sadly. "Please place the mortal sword in Jonathon's hand."

"I do not fear the truth boy, like you do," he sneered at Jace. "I will be truthful with out the disgusting piece of angel magic." Phillip stepped forward to force the sword into his hand but he grabbed it, "I will do it your way if it's what I have to do to make you believe that YOU were the failed experiment not me."

"I spent my childhood with a man I believed to be both my father and Michael Wayland. A man who abused me, tortured me and brain washed me into believing everything he did to me he did to make me a better person, a stronger person and the perfect Nephilim. In my heart I knew the things this man did to me were not right and that something was wrong with him but I was a child and could not remove myself from the situation. Were you, Jonathon Morgenstern, abused as well?"

"N...n.." he tried to say no but the damn sword would not let him lie. "He hit me on occasion when I messed up."

"Messed up how?"

"Not listening, back talking, screwing up. What are you getting at here?" he asked angrily?

"If you had a choice would you do good instead of evil?"

"No," he laughed. "I'm not the weak one remember?"

"When you projected your image as a werewolf and killed the werewolf packs of Henry and Emily why did you do it?"

"Because they are downworlders and deserve to die!"

"Because your father," he spat the word like it left a bad taste in his mouth, "told you they should die?"

"No, killing them was my idea as was telling you and Clary that you were brother and sister and him coming back to fuck you again before we killed you, though in hindsight that last part was a bad idea as we got caught," he said as an after thought.

Luke snarled, his skin crawling at the words and he felt Jace's hand on his arm to calm him. He tried to focus on his voice as he spoke. "Jonathan if we offered you help would you be willing to take it?"

"Help with what? Being like you? I'd rather die first!"

"We have heard enough," the inquisitor said. "I think we have all the answers we seek."

"Wait!" the doors swung open and Jocelyn walked in. "I wish to make a plea for my son."

"What?" Jace and Luke said in unison.

"He is my child and I want to give him a chance to prove himself, to try to get to know him and be his mother."

Jace wanted to scream that she never wanted to give him a chance when she thought he was her son and he was evil but Jonathan has demon blood in him and she wants to save him?

"You were willing to end his life when he was a child because you knew he was pure evil. You were even thankful when you thought he'd perished in a fire. What makes you think you could do anything to change him now," Ina asked?

"Because he was raised by a monster."

"So was I but you condemned me for it," Jace added though he didn't actually intend to say it out loud. He lowered his gaze, his cheeks flushing at what he felt was a sign of weakness.

"He's not you," she snapped. "He's not trying to date my daughter."

"This matter needs farther consideration," Ina interrupted. "We will not yet pass our judgment on Jonathon Morgenstern." Everyone nodded in agreement.

Jocelyn reached over to Jonathon and inadvertently broke the binding circle. Valentine lunged grabbing at her with his cuffed hands. Jace, no longer having the subduing rune, was at his full strength and leapt over the table tackling him to the ground before he could get a hold of her. Jonathon took the opportunity to swing the mortal sword and strike Jace across the back leaving a long gaping cut. Thankfully his swing was hindered by the cuffs binding his hands and he didn't hit with full force.

Everyone was scrambling but things were happening so fast that it was like they were in slow motion. Luke came across the table and knocked the sword from Jonathon's grasp, before he could grab it himself Valentine wrapped his cuffed hands around Luke's throat and was trying to use the chain to break his neck.

Jace looked up and saw Luke turning blue and blood spurting from his neck in time with his heartbeat where the cuffs had bitten deeply into his skin and watched in horror as Luke fell limply to his knees. He grabbed the Nephilim blade he had put in his belt that morning and shouted "ITHURIEL!" The sword blazed to life it's blue blade arching through the air before it came into contact with Valentine's neck.

"NO!" Jonathon screamed as his father's head was detached from his body both hitting the ground in opposite directions.