Hey :) So. This year has already felt as though it's lasted a century and we're only two and half months in. Shiiiiiiiiit. I hope you're all okay and have support and love and care surrounding you. I love you all.

Everything was quiet.

Abnormally quiet.

The sort of quiet that made your stomach twist over, knowing that something horrible had just happened.

There was ash floating in the air around them, drifting down from the trees and branches that were blackened with the fire that had scorched.

Jace pushed off the ground, getting shakily to his feet and taking a moment to take in a deep breath. He was naked and his body was streaked with dirt, blood and soot. There wasn't an ounce of self-consciousness running through him, though, because there were so many bigger things to worry about right now. He looked down at his hands, taking in a few more deep breaths as he re-accustomed himself with being in a human form once again, turning his hands over and looking at the dirty backs of his hands before clenching them. He still didn't quite understand what had happened and what had prompted the change back, but right now that wasn't his concern.

He could already feel that Max, Isabelle and Alec had made it out of the range of the explosion, although he could feel that they were nervous. Max was still unconscious, and Alec was keeping his sister calm, which was good, because he had enough to worry about without them running back into the mess around him.

Jace's eyes quickly went over everyone around him—all of his pack were alive, although they were all shaken and off balance. Magnus was helping Maia to her feet and Jem was getting up, blinking rapidly, trying to get rid of the dust and soot that had settled there. Helen's heart beat was more panicked than the others, and Jace realized why when he turned around and saw that Aline was a few feet behind him, closer to the explosion than Jace was. Helen's eyes fell on her girlfriend and she stumbled over, but Aline had already dragged herself to her feet and had turned around to look toward where Clary had been.

The ashes and the broken, half burnt branches and the incinerated grass, leaves and shrubbery that was falling apart with every gentle breeze that blew just became more concentrated the closer to where Clary and Valentine had been.

Jace tried to listen for breathing or for a heart beat or something but he couldn't hear anything. His feet unsteadily moved, one foot in front of the other as he got closer to the thick rubble, and then he froze when he saw a shift in the rubble. It was only light, and it could have just been a heavy flurry of air, but he didn't feel a shift in the wind. Aline hadn't moved forward anymore, waiting for Jace, looking back over her shoulder at him, her whole body tense.

Jace could feel the rest of his pack—minus the Lightwoods—gathering behind him, and he stepped closer again before coming to another stop.

There was something.

Something alive.

He hoped it was Clary, but he was cautious that it could be Valentine.

He had no idea what had just happened and he didn't know if it was something that could have been survived, but Clary was damn powerful. If anyone could have survived it, it would have been her, although Jace still wasn't a hundred percent certain about the stretch of Valentines powers.

He saw the movement again—they all did—and then Magnus was rushing forward, careful not to overstep Jace's boundaries and walk past him, but it was obvious that the strain was real, that he was desperate to get to his friend. But he seemed to have enough respect for Jace as the Alpha that he didn't rush past him. Maia was the one that surprised him, close at Jace's other side, and he could smell the anxiousness coming off her in waves. Jace swallowed hard and took a few more steps forward, his feet sinking through the ashes surrounding him.

The ash and the burnt branches were so thick where Clary had been that Jace felt worry gathering in his stomach, twisting so tight that he felt as though he might throw up.

But then something caught his eye.

There was movement again, but this time, he caught a shimmer of purple.

That same purple as Clary's eyes.

The whole place smelt of that sharp, bitter smell of lightning, the smell that Jace associated with Clary, it was so strong that it filled Jace's nostrils and almost burned them, nearly overpowering every other scent around them.

That was how he missed it.

The faint smell of Clary.

Jace's stomach unclenched just a little bit and he took another step forward, and then another. Maia and Magnus were close at his back, Aline, Helen and Jem only a few steps behind them, and that was when they realized why the ash appeared so thick.

As it shifted, the ash and the smoky debris and burnt leaves and twists started sliding, as though gliding off a smooth surface.

A glimmering purple surface.

Jace launched himself forward and his pack was right there with him. They covered the rest of the ground between themselves and the purple gleaming force field became stronger, the purple glowing so bright that it was almost blinding. The debris was almost completely gone, the ash and soot sliding away, and then just as Jace reached it, it began fading again, and underneath, it revealed Clary.

Jace felt tears spring to his eyes.

His chest was so tight it felt as though he couldn't breathe.

He didn't think he had ever been so relieved in his life—and that was saying a lot, given everything that he had his pack had just gone through, and also everything that he had only just recently found out about his early childhood.

Magnus let out a cry and he pushed past the Alpha, falling to his knees beside Clary. She was hunched forward, her legs pulled up to her chest and her body curled forward over them. She was covered in ash and soot and her hair was in tangles down her back and it was obvious from what they could see that her clothes had pretty much been incinerated. There was a scrap of a sleeve hanging off one shoulder, but her back was almost completely bare and she looked as though she was shaking.

But she was breathing.

She was breathing, and she was alive.

That was all that mattered right now.

Maia and Aline joined Magnus, brushing the dirt and ash from Clary's body and wrapping their arms around her. They were touching her carefully but lovingly, trying to make her feel better. Jace could feel Clary's fear, but the main feeling that he could feel was exhaustion.

He could understand that.

Adrenaline had been running high before, but it felt as though now he knew that his pack was safe—that Clary was safe—he could feel his bones becoming heavy. There was a lot that had happened, and his body had literally transformed into another being and that had undoubtedly taken a lot out of him. Jace's legs actually felt as though they were going to collapse from underneath him, and that was the only thing that kept him still on the spot, rather than joining the rest of his pack by Clary's side. It seemed as though now that he knew she was okay, his body was deciding it had done enough, and was giving over to fatigue. However, there was still one thing worrying him—on top of the fact that Max was unconscious.

"Where's Valentine?" Jace grunted, his voice rough. Maia let her head tip pack, sniffing the air, and Aline twisted her head to look in the direction that the man was standing. Helen moved over and then she jerked her head back as she looked up from a gnarly mess that had looked like a mess of charred branches.

"Dead," Helen announced with a scrunch of her nose. Jace let out a heavy breath. "Very dead."

"Jace?" Jem's voice was quiet at his side, and he didn't say any more, but he leaned his sturdy, lean body against Jace's, and wrapped a tight arm around his waist. Jace was grateful, but he could only manage a small smile. "Magnus," Jace croaked and Magnus looked up from where he and Maia had Clary on her feet, with one of them under each of her arm. "Can you create a portal back to my loft?" Magnus nodded and didn't think twice before stretching out his arm, and there was a flash of green before a portal appeared. Jace took in a deep breath and pulled himself upright, tugging away from Jem slightly. "Maia," Jace twisted his eyes toward Maia, who had her arm wrapped tightly around Clary, who was lifting her head a little more now. "I need you to make sure everyone is safe and okay. Take them to Charlotte's, she needs to look them over. Max has been hurt and—"

"I'll go with them," Magnus offered and Jace nodded. Magnus was powerful. Between Charlotte and Magnus would be able to take care of Max, and the rest of his pack. Normally Jace would never leave his pack at a time like this. But he knew that Alec and Maia had good control of the situation and he knew that Max would be in good hands.

He needed to be alone.

He needed to be with Clary.

"It's okay," Helen said softly, coming over to Jace, standing on the other side of her Alpha. "We've got this. We'll be okay." Jace nodded and he managed to swallow before taking a few more steps. He wasn't sure where he was getting his power from—undoubtedly through his pack bond—and he reached for Clary. Magnus and Maia looked hesitant in handing Clary over to Jace, but they did. Jace took her weight, Clary barely helping as her limp body rested against his. Jace glanced once more at his pack, and he could see the concern on their faces as they looked them over, but they trusted him, and he trusted them to look after each other, and then he stepped through the portal that Magnus had made.

It closed up behind the pair instantly as they almost fell into his loft.

Jace wanted to collapse on the ground, but the pair of them absolutely stunk of fire and singed hair and clothes. They were a mess, and so Jace managed to gather the remaining sliver of strength that he had left in his body and hauled the pair of them down to his bathroom. He turned on the shower, and didn't even bother waiting for it to heat up before stepping under the spray and tugging Clary in after him.

She was practically unconscious on her feet, although her eyes flickered open a few times, and he saw the trust in her eyes.

Jace pulled off the last scraps of her clothes, dumping them on the floor of his shower and not giving them a second thought. Jace washed them both down, Clary lifting her arms without a shred of self consciousness as Jace rubbed his hands down over her body. There was nothing sensual about what was happening between them, they were both far too tired to be thinking about the fact that they were obviously attracted to each other, and that they were naked in a shower together.

After they were clean, Jace wrapped Clary in a towel, and did the same for himself, and then they went to his room.

They barely dried themselves off before they fell into Jace's bed together. Jace was pretty sure his bed had never felt as good as it did right now, and there was the scent of his pack still lingering on his pillow and sheets. He felt a brief moment of guilt as he thought about the fact that he had left his pack, but then he assured himself that he had left them in good hands.

Clary made a mumbling noise under her breath, and then rolled up close to Jace, her naked body pressed to his, and they both fell into a heavy, dreamless sleep.

I hope you guys enjoyed the update :)

My top 10 songs for this week;

1) Kissing Other People - Lennon Stella. 2) No Time To Die - Billie Eilish. 3) Mikrokosmos - BTS. 4) Euphoria - BTS. 5) Is It Just Me? - Emily Burns. 6) Parents - Yungblud. 7) Cherry - Lana Del Rey. 8) In Case You Don't Live Forever - Ben Platt. 9) Hope Is A Dangerous Thing - Lana Del Rey. 10) Homesick - Dua Lipa.

I've only been watching old stuff recently, like Criminal Minds and Hawaii Five-O...My husband has big plans tonight though, and has suggested that we get high and watch Little Mermaid, so that sounds brilliant and like exactly what I need for the end of my week. If you guys have any suggestions for animated movies, send them my way, because we need all the good stuff we can get in the world right now! Ooh, if I can suggest a twitter thread, actually, there's one posted by a user PAYOLETTER which is just...A feel good time about how so many people now have their pets as colleagues now that they're working from home. Making the best of a bad situation. The thread is filled with pictures of animals, if you need fluff, that's where to go!

Love you all x