Jimonael || Shadowhunters || Malace || The Primal Instinct || Malace || Shadowhunters || Jimonael
Title: The Alphas of Jace Herondale – The Primal Instinct
Fandom: Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments
Disclaimer: All rights to the Shadowhunters show reserved to Ed Decter, the books the show is based off and its characters belong to Cassandra Clare. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.
Warnings: polyamory (m/m/m/m/m), alpha/beta/omega dynamics, hurt/comfort, fluff, courting, wingfic, wing kink, praise kink, BDSM, non sexual submission, bondage/shibari, kneeling, collar/leash, pet-play, spanking, nipple clamps, sex toys, masturbation, explicit intercourse, anal, oral, rimming, knotting, f/f, m/f
Main Pairing: Magnus/Alec/Jace & Raphael/Simon/Jace (at the same time, in a consensual poly relationship)
Side Pairings: Lydia/Isabelle, Maia/Clary, Aline/Helen, Underhill/Lorenzo, Luke/Catarina
Shadowhunters Characters: Jonathan Christopher 'Jace' Herondale, Magnus Bane, Alexander 'Alec' Lightwood, Simon Lewis, Raphael Santiago, Lily Chen, Lydia Branwell, Isabelle 'Izzy' Lightwood, Helen Blackthorn, Aline Penhallow, Clarissa 'Clary' Fray, Maia Roberts, Bartholomew 'Bat' Velasquez, Maxwell 'Max' Lightwood, Imogen Herondale, Luke Garroway, Catarina Loss, Madzie Loss, Lorenzo Rey, Andrew Underhill, Rebecca Lewis, Elaine Lewis
Summary: The Primal Instinct is a club owned by Raphael Santiago, where alphas and omegas can tap into their second nature, on a consensual, non-sexual level. However, lately omega regulars have been disappearing. Jace goes undercover and learns a lot about himself.
The Primal Instinct
The Alphas of Jace Herondale
Chapter 17: Omega Lost
When Jace came to it, his head was pounding. He blinked, having trouble opening one eye. Crusted over with blood, most likely. He remembered that feeling. Reminded him of good old dad. Not what he wanted to be thinking about right now. He needed to focus, he needed to be on guard. He needed to remember what exactly had happened. Dinner, Elaine teasing Simon. They left. He went to... the club. And he had – Anna. He had watched Anna Morgan go with Tobias McKay. And then...
"Ah. Sleeping Beauty finally awakens. I started to think we did some serious damage."
Frowning, Jace watched Anna Morgan approach him. She smiled delighted as she knelt down next to him. She was holding a washcloth and humming cheerfully to herself as she started to clean off the blood from his face. For now, he let it happen. He needed to see what was going on here. What he was dealing with. What behavior from him would be the most useful to get him out of here alive and intact. Always play nice with the captors, for as long as he can.
"It's okay, Anna. We could get out of this together", whispered Jace gently. "Whatever he's threatening you with, I can protect you from it. From him."
"Protect me?", huffed Anna amused. "I'm in this entirely for the money. You know how much you're worth? That pretty face of yours, mh, those lips alone, how much alphas will pay for that."
"H... How can you do that? You're an omega yourself", argued Jace, gritting his teeth.
"I'm nothing like you", snarled Anna, slapping Jace hard in the face. "You – you all – are so pathetic. Licking alphas' boots, putting yourself below them. You want to be property? Fine by me, I can make a good buck off of that then."
She sneered at him in disgust. Oh. So that was it? She thought that omegas who submitted willingly deserved this? What a gross, twisted mind. Jace squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath. He needed to gather his strength. He was still unfocused, dizzy. In no fighting condition. Gathering his strength and then figuring out the weak spots here. The best escape route.
It was silly, but the last thing he thought of before passing out again was that his alphas were going to be so mad at him for getting abducted and he had promised Alec, after the Morning Star, that he would never put his parabatai through that pain again...
/break\
"What do you mean he was taken?"
Alec's voice was a deep, angry growl as he bared his teeth at Raphael. Taking a deep breath himself, Magnus grasped his mate's hand, slowly pulling him away from Raphael, who was baring his own fangs – much more effective than Alec, considering he was a vampire.
"Alexander, you know Raphael didn't mean for Jace to be taken", whispered Magnus gently.
"Yes, Alexander", growled Raphael, narrowing his eyes. "I thought he was safe. I didn't – I couldn't... There is nothing I could have done. I..."
"Raph. Hey. It's okay. It's not your fault", assured Simon quickly, gently cupping Raphael's face.
"For now, we should focus on saving our omega", declared Magnus pointedly.
"Yes", growled Alec tensely, gripping Magnus' hand hard. "How do we do that?"
"Well, he was in the club, right? So he must have worn our collar", pointed Simon out. "We put a tracker into the collar, for exactly this occasion. Alec, gather some backup."
Alec clearly didn't like being told what to do by Simon, but he still obeyed and left the room to go gather Isabelle and the others, while Simon got his phone out to try and track Jace.
"I tried that. That was the first thing I did after I called you, amor", sighed Raphael. "But he was out of range. Wherever they took him, it was too far away."
"They. Who. Let's start there then", offered Magnus calmly. "One step at a time."
Alec tuned out of the conversation there, his hand slipping down to his hip as he tried to concentrate on his parabatai. If technology failed them, the parabatai-bond should do the trick. He sat down, eyes closed and all his concentration on Jace. It was faint, a too faint echo.
"No, no, no, not again", growled Alec frustrated, hitting the arm-rest of the couch.
"My love?", asked Magnus carefully, sitting down next to his husband.
"I can't feel him! He's out of range! Just like the Morning Star—", growled Alec out, tears of frustration gathering in the corners of his eyes. "Someone took my parabatai again and my bond with him can't help me find him again. I can't... I can't be useless again."
"Hey", interrupted Simon. "C'mon. We're gonna find our omega together. You did it before too, right? Parabatai gone, bond not helpful, but you got him back, didn't you?"
"I... I mean, he... escaped, with Clary's help", whispered Alec unsure. "I risked my life to try and track him, but in the end it was... completely useless."
"Well then, we rely on our omega being self-reliant once more", offered Raphael. "We will do everything we can on our end and we will trust Jace to do... everything he can on his end."
Alec took a shaky breath and nodded slowly. He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to calm down. Magnus next to him helped sooth him a bit, but the knowledge that Jace was somewhere, being hurt—Alec shook his head again. No. He needed to focus on a solution, not the problem.
"Tobias McKay", stated Magnus after a moment. "That was the last name he gave me. The last time I got a name out of him. The man... unsettled him, but Jace wasn't sure, he just... had a bad feeling."
"A bad feeling isn't much, but it's better than nothing", sighed Raphael. "Tobias. I'll go back to the club, check the tapes to see if he was there, if he was with Jace."
"I'll come with you, corazon", declared Simon, taking Raphael's hand.
"We're going to contact you if we find anything", offered Magnus with a nod. "We'll go to the Institute, inform the others. Gather the troops."
"Sounds like a plan", confirmed Raphael, locking eyes with Magnus for a second.
/break\
Jace snarled and spat blood on the floor. The method of 'break the captive' seemed still very much a favorite of people abducting him. Great. He glared at Tobias, who clearly relished in this all. So Jace was right. An abuser, who enjoyed his power... but also the abductor.
"You need more training, but oh, you will fetch a hefty price", declared Tobias pleased.
Jace glared up at the vampire, before he closed his eyes. Alec. Alec had to feel him, Alec had to find him. He saw that his collar from the club was missing – and so were his clothes. He was dressed in loose, simple, white pants and a shirt. The tracker won't save him. But Alec will.
"Praying to your precious Angel?", asked Tobias amused, grasping Jace's chin.
He forced Jace's head up to look at him. Jace sneered and spat some more blood – this time into Tobias' face. The vampire looked displeased as he wiped his face, before he backhanded Jace hard. Jace's head flew back, everything spinning around him. Worth it.
"Or are you praying for your precious parabatai?", wondered Tobias, pulling Jace's shirt up. "Oh, I know about that. I saw the rune. It's why I always take the merchandise to the backroom first, you see. Check for mate-bites or other such bothers. This one? Well, Anna has ways to mask it and once you're sold and we have our money, I don't quite care who finds you... or doesn't find you."
Jace closed his eyes tightly. No. His parabatai, and his alphas, they were going to find him.
/break\
The troops were rallied rather quickly and chaos followed. Lydia, Isabelle, Aline, Helen, Clary, Max and Andrew were there and ready to help them. However, they had no lead yet. Raphael hadn't called with news just yet, they were just... standing around, pacing nervously. Magnus had sent a fire-message to Catarina to let her and Luke know what was going on.
"What do we do? How do we save my brother?", asked Clary, staring Magnus down.
"We will. Raphael and Simon are tracing back Jace's steps right now and they'll let us know as soon as they find anything, okay? We just need to be ready", assured Magnus.
He hugged her to calm her down, feeling her relax in his arms. They all worried about Jace, of course they did. He meant something to them all, though different things. Magnus, he was holding his breath because his omega, his future mate, his boyfriend, he was just... gone. And it gave him flashbacks to how it had been the last time. He had been as helpless and lost when Jace had been abducted last. Only that Magnus all too vividly remembered the outcome of that. All the bruises, the nightmares, the trauma. And Jace was working so hard on getting better... This couldn't be a set-back for Jace, they needed to find the blonde fast. Closing his eyes, he buried his face in Clary's curls, breathing deeply and trying to calm himself down too.
/break\
Jace was hungry. And thirsty. He had been spoiled in the past months... well, years. But still, even when his father had last abducted him, Jace had been wary around him, had survived on that. The past months in particular had spoiled Jace more than the ten years with the Lightwoods had. He had his four alphas doting on him, courting him, bringing him food, comfort, shelter, safety. He had softened up, opened up – he had been working so hard on getting better and being in tune with his feelings. Turned out this kind of softness was not necessarily beneficial when one was kidnapped and being tortured. Walls for protection were what he needed, not... weak-minded longing.
Longing for the safety of Alec's wings, for the warmth of Magnus' magic, for the gentle but firm fingers of Raphael, for the soft nuzzling of Simon against his neck. He longed for them.
His father would call him weak for it. Weak for relying on others. And with every hour that passed, he started to doubt himself, to wonder if perhaps he was weak. He had come to view his reliance as strength in its own right – relying on others, on their strength, strengthened him. But right here, right now? Stuck here, with broken ribs, hungry, thirsty, dirty, dizzy, alone...
He closed his eyes, ready to succumb to sleep, just to open them again quickly. This place was not safe to sleep. Anna or Tobias could come back any time, could do more harm. He needed to stay awake. And he couldn't lose hope. His alphas – his friends and family – they were going to find him. They were out there, looking for him, and what he had to do was to get back to them.
/break\
They had split up once they found a lead. According to the video cameras and the security, Jace had gone out following Anna Morgan... and Tobias McKay. Two people. They had to investigate what had happened to Anna – if maybe, Jace had been able to save her.
Magnus and Raphael went to Anna Morgan's apartment, with Isabelle and Helen as back-up.
Simon took Alec, as well as Clary and Aline, to look for any leads at Tobias' place.
Lydia remained back at the Institute, to contact Imogen and let her know what happened, while Andrew held down the ford, in case Jace managed to contact them somehow.
"This is Tobias' suit", informed Lily as she unlocked the door with the master-key.
"Did he ever act... suspicious?", asked Alec as she led them in.
"I mean, he's a creep", shrugged Lily, frowning. "I never spent much time with him. He was close to Camille, once upon a time, but he didn't side with her over Raphael when Raphael took over."
"Might be an opportunist", offered Aline. "Laying low, where it's safe."
Alec grunted in agreement. The four of them got to work. Turning everything upside down, looking for any clue as to where Tobias might have taken Jace. Simon knew it wasn't going to be that easy, there wasn't going to be a folder labeled 'heinous omega abduction plans' with a map with a giant red x on it. Still, anything – any clue at all. Simon was anxious for that, he needed to find Jace. Once before, Jace had come to save Simon's life, had nearly died doing so – Simon had to find Jace now, he had to. The thought of losing Jace broke his heart...
"Do you... Do you think Jace is fine? I mean, of course he's not fine, he's-"
"Yes", interrupted Alec roughly, glaring at Simon – not badly, but desperately. "I have to believe that Jace is fine. I have to trust my parabatai. He left me once and he promised he will never again."
Simon bit his tongue. Not dying wasn't something Jace could promise, but Simon was not going to argue that with Alec – they all needed their hope to cling onto right now.
/break\
"I know her", whispered Magnus softly, frowning to himself.
"What did you say, Magnus?", asked Isabelle next to him.
They were in Anna Morgan's study, Isabelle sitting at the table and going through the woman's computer, while Magnus was looking through the shelves. There even was a picture of them, Magnus and Anna, in the 1920s in San Francisco. It was where they had first met.
"I know her, knew her once", repeated Magnus louder. "And I... don't..."
"I'm sorry, Magnus", whispered Isabelle, turning toward her.
The things she had found on Anna's computer were tell-tales. She clearly had never expected to be found out. Transactions. Correspondence with Tobias McKay. She was guilty. They both were.
"It doesn't matter", sighed Magnus and shook his head, voice growing firmer. "I... What matters now is that we find Jace, that we return my beloved to my side."
"Your beloved", echoed Isabelle with a fond look on her face. "You know, I... I admit, I really thought at first that you were only doing this for Alec's sake. Because you love Alec and you know Alec will always love Jace too. But... you really, truly do love Jace."
"I do", confirmed Magnus, eyes flashing golden. "And I will make them pay for harming him."
"It's not going to be so easy. There is a lot of data here that I need to seep through", warned Isabelle.
/break\
Jace had a beautiful dream. A dream of warm sunlight dancing over his skin as he laid curled together against Simon and Magnus, the sun rising over New York and warming them, just as the door opened and Alec and Raphael carried in trays of delicious looking breakfast.
Dreaming meant sleeping. Sleeping left him vulnerable. He was pulled out of his dream by a punch to the gut and opened his eyes to the sneer of Tobias' face. Truly, the man was determined to break Jace down. He didn't like the defiance. Thought a more obedient one would sell better.
"I admit, I will not be able to break you fully", sighed Tobias irritated. "Alas, I can... soften you up a little bit, mh. And then you'll be the problem of the highest bidder."
Jace gritted his teeth. He had run out of snarky comments yesterday. Or, well, what he assumed to be yesterday. He was good at counting time. He had hoped he'd get better, but Tobias kept adding new injuries. It only made him feel more desperate. Exhaustion got to him, on top of the injuries. He had no escape options; his father used to let him loose in his attempts to break him, but Tobias and Anna kept him safely chained up. And Jace had no means to escape those chains. The helplessness was what was getting to him the most, he hated feeling so helpless.
"Not long anymore. Tonight's the night and we'll be rid of you", assured Tobias.
It seemed the man had no idea that Jace had worked undercover though. Which was at least something. They could still take Tobias and Anna down. Hopefully his alphas could follow his leads. Now he regretted playing it so close to his chest. He should have shared more details...
/break\
"We know where to go. With Anna Morgan's data, we could narrow down places where she frequently went. There are a couple of empty spaces", declared Isabelle loudly.
They were updating everyone on what they had put together. It had been well-over twenty-four hours now and everyone was growing antsy. They were exhausted, but rest just... didn't work. Well, the vampires thankfully didn't necessarily need rest. Magnus had forced his Alexander to rest, at least some. A nap. Not very effective, but at least Alec had closed his eyes for a little while.
"We're going there, split into two groups – to come from the back and the front. We need to be careful, to surprise them. Morgan is a very powerful warlock, you have to be careful."
"Worry not, I invited some backup on that front", offered Magnus lightly.
Catarina and Lorenzo were flanking him from either side, nodding their greeting. Magnus turned toward his husband and took his hand, squeezing tightly. His eyes however found Raphael on the other side of the room, who was trying to comfort his own mate.
"It's been nearly two days now", muttered Alec frustrated. "I..."
"We'll get him back, my love", promised Magnus, gently kissing Alec's cheek.
"I know, Mag", sighed Alec. "We will, together, but... I worry about how he will be."
/break\
"Hold still, this is going to be a bigger mess if you don't", warned Anna annoyed.
In Jace's experience, it was never great when someone came at him with a large needle. Anna held him with her magic, leaving him unable to to move, as Tobias drove the needle into his arm.
"Sh, relax", said Tobias in a mocking voice. "Just a little something to make you more... docile, before we bring you to your new owners."
Jace snarled. If he could move, he'd have kicked the man, bit him, anything. The two left, according to Anna so they could 'get ready' and the longer Jace stayed alone, the more the drugs kicked in. Everything got hazy – very hazy. His body felt like pudding. At least the pain wasn't really there anymore, now that he was all... floaty and distracted.
The problem were the hallucinations that came next. Raphael and Alec, running in, all brave and heroic. Jace smiled softly as he tilted his head. He had been thinking about them saving him for so many hours now... But this was okay, he was desperate...
"Jace, parabatai", whispered Alec as he cradled Jace close. "Are you with me? Raphael-"
"I am already on it, no need to rush me, Lightwood", growled Raphael irritated.
He was undoing the chains, lowering Jace fully into his parabatai's arms. Jace sighed contently. This hallucination was good. It even smelt all right. He nuzzled into Alec's neck.
"Jace? Jace, talk to me, please", asked Alec desperately.
Raphael frowned concerned, resting a hand on Alec's shoulder. "He's... been drugged. I can smell the chemicals on him. We need to bring him to the Institute."
He knelt down next to Alec, to cup Jace's cheek. The blonde looked at him with glassy eyes.
"Hey, solecito", whispered Raphael gently. "We'll bring you home again, okay?"
"Mh... pretty hallucination", mumbled Jace, closing his eyes.
He leaned into Raphael's hand, nuzzling it affectionately. Somehow, that worried Raphael only more. Yes, Jace was affectionate with them, but not like this. Especially not while he had been in captivity like that. He'd be guarded. And all those injuries – all the blood everywhere, Raphael could smell it, it was completely intoxicating. The only thing keeping Raphael grounded was the fact that his omega was currently hurting, that the blood came from Jace being injured.
"C'mon, Jace, we'll get you out of here", whispered Alec, gathering Jace up in his arms.
"Stro—ong alpha", hummed Jace pleased, resting his head against Alec's chest. "Look, Raph."
"Yes. Your parabatai is strong indeed", agreed Raphael, faintly amused. "You carry him, I'll guard you both in case there is anyone else here, ready to attack."
Alec nodded in gratitude, though he knew this was more for Jace's benefit than Alec's – Jace was Raphael's chosen omega too, he wanted, needed, to keep the blonde safe as much as Alec did. They left through the back, reaching some of their comrades.
"Where is Magnus?", asked Raphael immediately. "We need a portal and... a healing warlock."
"Is he okay?", asked Helen concerned. "Magnus is with the others ahead. We got lucky on the timing. The... potential buyers had already gathered. We're a bit in over our heads."
"Then what are you doing here?", asked Alec irritated.
"Checking to see that no one escaped", replied Helen clipped, glaring the other alpha down. "And looking for you. To see if you found Jace. I am a medic."
Alec closed his eyes and breathed deeply. "I'm sorry. I'm..."
"Tense, your omega is hurt, yes", sighed Helen. "Let me look at him."
"I'll go and get Magnus and Simon", grunted Raphael.
"No—o", drawled Jace with a pout, reaching weakly for Raphael. "Don't leave me."
"Wow. He's... really very drugged", noted Helen surprised.
Raphael smiled faintly, lifting Jace's hand up to kiss it. "I'll be right back and I will bring your Magnus and your Simon with me, mh? Wouldn't you like that?"
"Mh... that sounds nice. Yes", nodded Jace, looking more content at that promise.
Raphael hurried – he wanted to return to his omega as quickly as possible too. With vampire speed, he reached his mate fast, guided by his nose. He grasped Simon and pulled him close, before spotting Magnus. The warlock's attention was immediately on him.
"We have him. Come with me", stated Raphael, quickly leading the way.
Jace was curled together on Alec's lap, very reluctantly letting Helen check him through. She had applied some basic healing runes, though all the bruises and cuts were still visible. Not yet healing. There was too much that needed to be healed. Simon flinched as he saw the bruised, bleeding face.
"Oh, sweet little puppy", whispered Magnus in a broken voice. "Let me look at you."
"Ma—ag. Raph brought me my Mag", hummed Jace, tugging on Alec's sleeve. "Look! Our Mag."
"My dear, you seem very out of it", noted Magnus, gently cupping Jace's face.
"Bring us home, please", requested Alec, voice wavering.
"No—o", complained Jace. "Not the loft. Wanna go to my room. Never had all my alphas in my room together. Can I have all my alphas together, please? No fighting?"
"Jace, babe, you can have absolutely anything you want", promised Simon quickly.
"Onion rings", whispered Jace next, confusing them. "And mu shu."
"My sweet, we will feed you anything you want to eat", chuckled Magnus as he understood.
He quickly opened a portal for all of them to go through.
/break\
Jace's head was still aching horribly when he next woke up. He woke up to a loud purring sound. Frowning, he lifted his head to see the source of the sound. Bastet, curled together on his chest in a small, round circle, purring away happily. Smiling weakly, Jace tried to lift a hand to pet his precious little magic kitten. Only that there was a weight on his arm, stopping him. Turning his head – with a wince – he saw that Simon had his head resting on Jace's upper arm. Behind Simon, with his arms around the other vampire and his hand resting on Jace's stomach, was Raphael. Slowly, Jace turned to check his other side, where indeed Magnus and Alec were laying.
"I don't remember my bed being this big", whispered Jace curiously.
"Magic papa did it", declared Bastet in her small little voice before yawning. "They were fighting who got to cuddle with daddy and magic papa did it! He made the bed all big!"
Magic papa. Magic papa was Magnus. Jace smiled softly to himself as he settled down fully again.
"You're awake, parabatai", muttered Alec into his ear. "How do you feel?"
"...Oddly full", noted Jace confused. "I remember feeling starved. And pain, but that's... dull now. I assume Magnus' magic worked its tricks there."
"It did. And my magic also summoned the mu shu and onion rings you were craving", supplied Magnus, leaning over Alec to reach Jace and kiss his cheek. "Welcome home, love."
"So you guys really found me", whispered Jace, swallowing hard.
"Of course. I will always find you, parabatai", promised Alec.
"Well, he had a bit of help", quipped Simon pointedly. "Hey there, gorgeous."
"Gorgeous?", echoed Jace doubtfully. "Considering how many hits in the face I received, I must look really bad. I can still feel most of the bruises actually..."
"Nonsense, you're always breathtaking", declared Simon, carefully kissing Jace's cheek.
"Yeah, right", snorted Jace. "Aren't you cute."
"We were worried sick", countered Simon with a glare. "You. Getting abducted."
"I... I thought Anna was in danger. I wanted to help. I got... careless", sighed Jace, averting his eyes.
"You did what you do best. Be a hero, help people", sighed Alec frustrated. "If only you could be a hero without putting yourself in harm's way, Jace..."
"I mean, where's the fun in that?", asked Jace in a snarky voice.
"There would be more fun in having you be... unharmed, than in finding you chained up, dripping blood all over the place", declared Raphael with fierce eyes.
Jace ducked his head, avoiding the alpha's glare. "I'm sorry I worried you."
"We found you, you're safe now, that's all that matters", assured Simon.
"Not... all. What about McKay and Morgan?", asked Jace worried.
"Izzy is currently interrogating them", assured Alec, gently running his fingers through Jace's hair. "We caught them, we arrested them. And... the potential... buyers."
"Mh... I would be curious how much I'm worth", wondered Jace.
"You are too precious for words", declared Magnus seriously.
"Aw. How cheesy you are", laughed Jace and awkwardly leaned in to kiss Magnus' cheek.
"Jace, I do hope you're aware that you're not going to leave this bed for at least a week."
"...You know, parabatai, I had hoped to hear you say this sentence for so long now, but... never like this", sighed Jace frustrated and leaned back against Simon.
"There'll be good company and good food", offered Simon amused.
He wrapped his arms around Jace's midsection, pulling him closer. Jace relaxed against him and closed his eyes as the alphas adjusted around him to lay closer to him once more. Bed-rest had always been the worst thing someone could threaten him with. He hated being still, being useless. But bed-rest with those four as his company...? That didn't sound half-bad.
"Whatever you need, you tell me and I'll summon it for you", whispered Magnus. "Just... be here, be safe and heal. Your injuries will take a few days to fully heal."
"Right now, all I want is... this", sighed Jace contently. "Just... you."
"And you shall have us, angelito", promised Raphael gently.
Author's note: There you go! Jace is back and safe. Now, next chapter we gotta deal with the aftermath of this abduction!