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, boot worship, spanking, nipple clamps, temperature play, sex toys, masturbation, explicit intercourse, anal, oral, rimming, knotting, double penetration, 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 20: The Little Witch
Spending a day out with just his friends was nice. Having friends outside the Institute was nice. That was one thing he hadn't expected to come out of his mission. But tonight, he had gone out for cocktails with Grace and Phoebe, whom he had befriended at the club, as well as Simon's sister Rebecca – she had said she wanted to get drinks with him some time. The four of them had gone to the Hunter's Moon for drinks, where Maia served them, amused. Clary joined them, having been there to distract her girlfriend from her work (so Maia was glad to have her distracted with them).
"Your fashion-sense is fabulous, Gracie", declared Rebecca with a bright laugh.
She was wearing Grace's hat, twirling in front of them to face them and walk backward. Part of the idea had been to familiarize Rebecca with the Downworld more. Meet more than just Simon and Raphael. Apparently, she had had a lot of fun. Grace giggled where she hung off Jace's arm for support, the vampire having had a few too many plasma-shots. Phoebe and Clary were flanking them from either side, talking behind Grace and Jace about something.
Suddenly, Jace froze up. He had heard something from the alley, felt it. His hand shot out to grab Rebecca and pull her behind himself. Clary immediately read his body language and grabbed for her own Seraph-blade, exchanging a look with her brother. Jace quietly motioned to her, letting her know to stay back and keep an eye on the girls, make sure they stayed safe. With his own blade at the ready, he carefully made his way into the alley. Sounds in alleys weren't unusual – stray dogs or cats, homeless people, drunk people hooking up – but there had been a quick glow. Purple.
"Someone here?", called Jace out. "Someone hurt?"
If there was a distressed warlock, there was no reason to distress them more by threatening them. Rounding the corner of a dumpster, he nearly dropped his blade. A child. A small child, age-wise somewhere between Max and Madzie. Her skin was purple, snake-like scales. When she looked up, her eyes were an intense yellow, reminding Jace of Magnus', but more snake than cat.
"Hey there, kiddo", whispered Jace, gently. "Are you safe? Is there someone else?"
She shook her head violently and Jace quickly put his blade away after scanning the area himself for a moment. No danger. Just... a child, hiding behind a dumpster. Carefully, he knelt down in front of her, tried to see if she was injured or alright. Mainly, she just looked scared.
"What happened to you? Did you get separated from your parents?", asked Jace.
Again, she shook her head violently. Not helpful. Sighing softly, Jace got up again. What was he supposed to do now...? Clary was peeking around the corner to check in on him.
"You can bring the others home", called Jace. "I'm fine! I'll text you later."
"Wha—at, no—o. Come with us, Jay-Jay!", whined Phoebe. "We wanted to go dancing! Your boyfriend owns the hottest club in the city! C'mo—on."
"Go without me. First round is on me, just tell the bartender", assured Jace amused.
Phoebe narrowed her eyes at him but then she nodded and obediently followed Clary, who only threw a last concerned glance over her shoulder. He quickly waved her off to reassure her. Once again, he crouched down in front of the little girl, trying for a reassuring smile.
"Let's try this again. Hi. I'm Jace. What's your name, kid?"
"...Belinda", whispered the girl warily, peeking up at him.
"Kay. Good start. Now. Your parents? Are they around here anywhere?", asked Jace.
"They're dead", growled Belinda, narrowing her eyes at him.
"Okay, so... how about you come with me? I know someone who could help you out."
"Doubt it. Shadowhunter", grumbled Belinda, hunching closer.
"Re—eally?", asked Jace teasingly. "Because I know the magnificent Magnus Bane, personally."
She perked up a bit at that. Magnus always did the trick with the warlocks; they knew they could trust him, because he had built personal connections to them all. Slowly, she got up, wiggling her nose at him. Once she stood, she straightened her dress. It was frilly and dark-purple.
"That's a cute dress. Twilight Sparkle?", asked Jace, smiling again.
Now, she really looked wary. "She's the best pony. How do you know her?"
"I know another little warlock who likes that show a lot, been watching it sometimes with her when I babysit her. Her favorite is Fluttershy, because she's so kind and gentle", offered Jace.
"Fluttershy is good too", nodded Belinda. "But Twi is best pony."
Smiling bemused, Jace offered her a hand, which Belinda reluctantly took. He hadn't thought paying attention to Madzie's silly pony show would actually pay off beyond making Madzie smile every time he remembered a name, but here they were.
/break\
Today was Alec and Magnus' date night. They knew they had been centering their relationship very much around Jace – first, because they were actively competing with Raphael and Simon for the omega's affection, then, it had kind of just become... like that. The three of them fit together so perfectly that it felt nearly natural to want the both of them with him. And whenever Jace was with Raphael and Simon, Alec and Magnus found themselves busy enough with work too. Alec had an Institute to run, Magnus was the High Warlock; there was always work left on their desks. That was entirely on them, that they had prioritized their work when it wasn't about courting their omega.
The two had a romantic candlelight dinner at an actual restaurant – because another thing was that they had been staying in far too often, summoning or cooking themselves. As nice and domestic as that was, they deserved to treat themselves to something nice too. The food had been lovely, so had been talking to just Alec. Granted, the conversation drifted to Jace every now and again – but that was inevitable, he was part of both their lives, their relationship.
"I had a wonderful evening, Magnus", whispered Alec softly, smiling to himself.
The two were holding hands as they reached the loft again, having walked there from the restaurant. Magnus offered him one of those incredibly soft looks of his, before he grasped Alec by the neck and pulled him into a loving kiss. When they parted, he unlocked the door with a flick of his wrist and let them both in. What neither was expecting was the blonde sitting on the couch.
"Jace-", started Alec confused and a bit concerned.
"Sh. She finally fell asleep", whispered Jace, pressing a finger against his lips.
He motioned at the little girl curled up right next to him. Magnus heaved a tired sigh and closed the door behind himself. Of course did Jace bring work home with him. Not work for himself though, no he had to bring work for Magnus. With a snap of his fingers did he summon a guest-room.
"Who is your friend there?", asked Alec with a frown, approaching.
Jace got up, pulling both his alphas aside. Magnus paused for a moment at the scent. Jace smelt... soothing. He had been subconsciously soothing the upset pup who was currently sleeping on the couch, which would also be explaining why she was asleep. It was one of the perks of being an omega – they naturally made young, unpresented pups feel safe, through scents. Magnus doubted that Jace was even aware of that; it happened very instinctual.
"Belinda", offered Magnus before Jace could.
"So you do know her. I had hoped so. She wasn't very... talkative", sighed Jace. "I found her in an alley around the corner of Hunter's Moon... She was hiding behind a dumpster."
"Who is she?", asked Alec, arms crossed as he looked between Jace and Magnus.
"She was one of the children you rescued from Iris Rouse", replied Magnus, keeping his voice low. "But... not all children took to their change in situation as well as Madzie. Belinda... did not. She's been with six different foster parents' since you got her out there. Either she misbehaves to the point of despair for the adults, or she keeps running away until they give up. It appears... she chose to run away once more. The problem is she lacks trust. Her mother actually had died, Iris had taken her in. Learning that Iris had been deceiving her fundamentally broke her trust toward adults. She keeps expecting the other ones who take her in to be after something they can gain from it."
"I... never really thought about that", muttered Alec. "I mean, what happened to all the other children. I just assumed... like Madzie, they found good homes."
"Sadly, it didn't work out for everyone, especially in the beginning. I mean, we had about a dozen children all of a sudden, that was an entirely new, unexpected situation that none of us were prepared for. Many had a big, open heart to offer the kids shelter, but most of them weren't really prepared to have a child", offered Magnus with a serious frown.
"...So what will happen to her now?", asked Jace as he looked out toward the living room.
"I... honestly don't know", sighed Magnus tired, running a hand over his face. "I'll contact the couple she's currently staying with first, but... I have a feeling how that conversation is going."
"And then?", wanted Jace to know, glare etched into his face.
Magnus reached out to cup the blonde's cheek, redirect his attention back toward Magnus and away from the living room and the sleeping child. "I don't know, sweetheart. I'm running out of warlocks willing to foster children. Many have lost a lot during this war and are focused on their own recovery one way or the other, they don't have the physical or mental space to take care of a child."
"But that's not her fault-", argued Jace upset.
"Sweetheart", interrupted Magnus gently. "I know. For tonight, she'll stay here. We'll look at everything else tomorrow, mh? It's already late. Will you bring her to the guest-room, Jace? I prepared one. I'll just be... one phone call and then I'll come to bed too, okay?"
Jace nodded sharply and walked over to the couch, carefully scooping Belinda up and carrying her toward the guest-room. Both Alec and Magnus watched him. His husband turned to look at him pointedly, clearly confused and not entirely delighted. Much like Magnus himself.
"What just happened?", asked Alec slowly. "I feel like I missed something."
"I think that Jace relates to Belinda. Her parents were dead and she was taken in by a crazy person who liked experiments. She's a... helpless child", sighed Magnus. "I feel like that's awakening some instincts in Jace too – perhaps because we have been talking about the future, about children, before. He seems not very... conscious of it though."
Alec grunted before shaking his head. "Let's just go to bed for today. I'll see you in a minute?"
Magnus nodded and smiled before kissing Alec and then getting his phone out.
/break\
When Alec woke up, he was alone in bed. Not even alone with Magnus, no, entirely alone. Which was very suspicious considering that both of his lovers liked sleeping in. Getting up, he went to investigate where his loves were. They were easy enough to locate once Alec was out in the hall, because he could hear voices from the kitchen. How very unusual. Ruffling his hair, he followed the voices and then rounded the corner into the kitchen. He paused at the doorway and simply watched. Jace stood at the hearth, making pancakes. The little girl was standing next to him, on a stool, to help. Or rather, to steal the blueberries that Jace wanted to put into the pancakes. They were talking about... horses? Magnus was sitting at the table, holding a coffee and watching Jace and the girl with a soft smile on his lips. Here Magnus was talking big about how the child was awakening some parental instincts in Jace, while Magnus himself looked utterly smitten watching Jace be domestic with a kid. Sappy alpha. Smiling to himself, Alec approached Magnus and kissed his cheek softly, gaining his husband's attention. The warlock returned his smile gently.
"Good morning, darling", whispered Magnus pleased.
"Morning, gorgeous", hummed Alec, leaning in for one more kiss. "What are you doing up early?"
"I was worried about Belinda", admitted Magnus. "Wanted to make sure she hadn't immediately run away again. But when I got to the living room, I found Jace and Belinda watching My Little Pony."
Alec hummed curiously and then sat down next to Magnus to watch their omega be... very sweet and domestic. Domestic Jace had always been Alec's favorite. Yes, nothing was more arousing than battle Jace, kicking demon ass. But this Jace? The one with the gentle smiles and open expression, the one who was so soft when talking to kids. Even back in the day, Jace and Max playing together, seeing Jace so open with the pup. It was a whole different side of Jace, one he rarely allowed to show, which only made Alec feel more privileged to get to see it.
"Who's this?"
Alec startled as he was suddenly being hissed at. Belinda flashed golden eyes at him, though it was the only warlock mark she was showing right now – yesterday, Alec had seen the purple scales. Today, she appeared like a normal, little Indian girl, with brown skin and black, shoulder-long hair. The golden eyes faded back to dark-brown, nearly black. She wiggled her nose at him.
"That is my husband", stated Magnus amused. "Alec. You don't have to be so wary about him."
"He's tall", declared Belinda, narrowing her eyes at him. "I don't trust tall people."
Jace laughed and knelt down behind Belinda before nodding very seriously. "That's very fair."
"Hey", grunted Alec grumpily, though also a little amused. "It's not my fault I'm tall. And you're still young, you may grow to be even taller than me, you know."
Belinda was still squinting at him, before nodding. "Very good argument. Okay, he can stay."
"...Thank you?", offered Alec very confused, looking at Magnus.
"Accept the win", mouthed Magnus.
"Alec, you can be useful and make some orange juice happen", ordered Jace.
He motioned toward fresh oranges. Mh, so Belinda was getting the VIP treatment. Smiling, Alec did as he was ordered and started squeezing orange juice for them all. After a moment, Magnus started setting the table for the four of them. It felt different than it normally did, when the three of them would prepare breakfast together. Belinda kept talking enthusiastically about ponies, keeping the room oddly light and warm as Magnus and Jace readily engaged in the conversation. Admittedly, Alec had not been paying much attention to Madzie's pony-show, even when he watched with her.
"Do... you want to tell us why you ran away this time?", asked Magnus when they all sat.
"Mh... Nope", replied Belinda, popping the 'p'.
"We can talk about all of that later. For now, there's pancakes", interrupted Jace.
He glared at Magnus, which started Alec a little bit. Okay, Magnus was definitely right.
/break\
It was on day four of Belinda staying with them that Alec decided they needed to talk to Simon and Raphael too. The first night had been a given, because it had been late and Belinda had been asleep already. The second night, because the girl had just run away and Magnus couldn't shake new foster parents out of his sleeve. So it turned into a third night. And a fourth. And now, looking at Belinda watching cartoons with both Jace and Magnus, Alec realized something his boyfriends may not have realized just yet. There was no way Belinda was leaving again, unless she ran away. Because both Jace and Magnus had latched onto her. Seeing Magnus teach her magic, teach her how to glamour her warlock-mark – a flash-off of golden eyes, like peek-a-boo between adorable warlocks. He looked so proud to be teaching her, he was so gentle with her. He had taken her onto a shopping trip yesterday, to buy her all the cute, fancy little dresses she wanted. Alec wasn't going to accuse Magnus of wanting a little human to play dress-up with, but Magnus loved clothes and fashion and little girls tended to love playing dress-up so it was a match made in heaven.
That afternoon, Alec arranged for Cat and Luke to babysit Belinda – Belinda and Madzie were already friends, knowing each other from their stay with Iris and both girls were excited to see each other again. So Alec called Simon and Raphael and invited them over for dinner. Something Jace was very happy about, because he was always the happiest when he could have all his boyfriends.
"What are we having dinner over?", asked Simon curiously.
He got himself a kiss from Jace, smiling happily at the blonde. It was strange, how that no longer made Alec want to tear Simon's head off. Because even the primal part of his brain didn't perceive Simon as a threat anymore – he was no longer competition. He wasn't going to take Jace away from Alec; instead, he was additional protection and love for Jace.
"Jace and Magnus acquired a child", offered Alec, not beating around the bush.
"Really now", huffed Magnus. "Belinda is just staying with us until I find suited foster parents."
"Magnus", sighed Alec, leveling a pointed look at Magnus. "I love you, I love you very much. You don't want to let the kid go. You dote on her. That 'guest room' you summoned her the first night has gotten more and more personalized and homey with every day. You're wearing a Twilight Sparkle pin in your hair right now, love. It clashes with your clothes."
Magnus made a little noise, hand reaching up to gently trace the pin in his hair. With Magnus quiet and contemplating what Alec had said, it was now on Jace to protest, glaring at his parabatai.
"I didn't acquire a child and you know that, Alec", chided Jace before turning toward Simon and Raphael. "When I was out with Becky and the girls last weekend, I found a warlock child behind a dumpster. She ran away from her foster parents, so I brought her to Magnus."
The bemused smile on Raphael's lips showed that the vampire knew exactly that Alec's words were true. Magnus and Jace had acquired a child. And, if Alec was being honest, he was growing attached to the kid too. Not as quickly as Magnus and Jace, because he didn't have that personal attachment right away. For Magnus, it was that he now had a young warlock to train, one with rather similar eyes than him at that, and he had wanted children for so long now, at that. Jace, he saw a lot of himself in Belinda – half the nights so far, Alec had found him in Belinda's room, uncomfortably crouching next to her bed, asleep sitting there, after she had another nightmare about her mother's death, he would sooth her and then promise her to stay until she was asleep again.
"Jace, you need a chiropractor if you keep sleeping sitting against her nightstand to watch over her so she can sleep properly", argued Alec gently. "You didn't just bring her here and move on."
Jace bit his lips at that, glowering a little as he turned toward his vampires to justify himself. "The... Circle killed her mom. She was hiding in a closet and saw it. When we arrested Iris Rouse, it brought back memories and she's been having nightmares about it. It's why she ran away from two of the foster homes she was with so far. In one, they had a biological child who got frightened by Belinda's nightmares and Belinda didn't feel like she belonged. The other, the couple didn't... they didn't understand what to do or how to help, they were in over their heads."
"Is that why you haven't stayed over this entire week?", asked Simon surprised. "I kind of thought that Becky told you evil stories about me that kept you away!"
"...Babe, my sister has been your best friend since diapers. How do you figure that I don't already know all of the worst stories about you?", teased Jace with a small, amused grin.
"Why didn't you say something, angelito?", inquired Raphael curiously.
"There's nothing to say. I found a scared warlock child and brought her to the High Warlock, who's gonna figure out what to do with her, end of story. I don't tell you about every little mission I have either", argued Jace, looking genuinely confused about this.
"Parabatai. You want to keep the child", pointed Alec out in a gentle voice. "Just admit it."
A couple times, Jace opened and closed his mouth. Sighing, he ran his fingers through his hair.
"Look. I'm not saying we should sign any adoption papers right away. But I think we should let her know that, if she wants to, she can stay here for a while, instead of making her believe that every day now, she could be taken to the next foster parents. But... if you foster a child, I figured that your other future mates should know about that too", elaborated Alec patiently.
That part, Jace couldn't argue either. He just looked sheepishly at Raphael and Simon.
/break\
Saying that they wanted children with Jace at one point and only weeks later being faced with a very wary little warlock, who had clearly grown attached to Jace already? There was a difference. Raphael had the perk of being older, more experienced with life's curve-balls. It was still unexpected, however he couldn't deny how beautiful Jace looked with the child. Baking cookies with her, reading with her. It was precious and made Raphael feel very happy.
It also made Raphael happy to see Magnus with the girl though. He knew Magnus had always wanted a child – beyond Raphael; yes, Magnus had come to be a father to him, but Raphael hadn't been an actual child when Magnus took him in. the child-like wonder, the glee and excitement, getting to teach her things for the first time. It filled Magnus with so much pride and seeing his papá so happy in return made Raphael happy, because Magnus deserved the happiness.
The most bemusing thing was to see both Alec and Simon struggle with it. Alec tended to watch from the shadows, unsure about sharing childish activities but being very tender and warm toward the child. Meanwhile, Simon was very enthusiastic about the fun and games, because he was a child at heart, but he was clearly unsure about parenting. It was entertaining to see them both despair but in different ways. Not that Raphael was doing perfect either though; he had no experience at all with children. He had tried reading to her, but she kept falling asleep because the books he chose seemed not very entertaining for children. Yet in the end, he found the perfect approach.
"You are an excellent rider!", praised Raphael pleased.
He had gotten Belinda a pony. After all, she kept talking about them so excitedly. The colorful cartoon ones, however Raphael had asked her a few days ago if she ever met a real pony. Her entire face had lit up when he suggested to take her riding. She looked so happy on top of the pony as she rode after Raphael, who was riding a proper horse.
"Thank you!", exclaimed Belinda excitedly. "Where did you learn to ride?"
"My... My mother taught me, when I was a little boy", replied Raphael, swallowing hard.
"That's so—o cool!", yelped Belinda. "And mom always said I couldn't even have a puppy!"
Raphael smiled to himself as he led the way through the clearing and toward where Simon and Jace were waiting with a picnic for them all. It... It felt like a family outing, in a way Raphael never thought he ever would have again. In broad daylight, with a child and his mates.
"Hey there, you two! Look, I brought special apples for the four-legged company!"
"Thank you, Simon", nodded Belinda pleased as she got off the pony.
She accepted an apple to offer to the pony, patting its mane. Truly, she looked genuinely happy and Raphael had to admit, there was something particularly warming that filled his inner alpha with pride. Being the leader of a clan was one thing, bringing joy to his mates was another, but for the alpha to care for a pup in need, make the child happy and feel cherish, it... woke fatherly instincts in Raphael, in a way he had never experienced before. Saying yes when Jace had told them that one day he wanted children, it had been more on a vague concept. He had considered that perhaps, he could imagine being a father. Yet this past week alone of trying to gain the little girl's affection and feeling so very fulfilled simply by making her happy? Perhaps he had more fatherly instincts in himself than previously expected. Which was a good thing, because a part of him had remained doubtful; what if he had no fatherly affection to offer, what if he could not get along with a child? What if that would make his mates, who wanted children dearly, unhappy?
"Come now, brujita, there's sandwiches waiting", called Raphael out.
He sat down between Simon and Jace, brushing his nose against Jace's neck and then against Simon's. Once the apple was gone, Belinda came rushing toward them and the sandwiches.
/break\
Simon was laying under a blanket thrown over desk and couch to create a hide-out. They had laid out pillows on the floor for comfort and now Simon and Belinda were laying there together, reading My Little Pony comics in the glow of Simon's phone's flashlight-app. When they closed the comic, they fell silent for a bit. Belinda was hugging a big stuffed toy unicorn – purple and blue and very sparkly and fluffy. She yawned, resting her head on the unicorn.
"Will you tell me one thing, kiddo?", asked Simon curiously.
"Mh... depends on the thing."
"Why do you trust Jace?", wanted Simon to know. "I just... I know you ran away from a lot of homes. And threw a lot of tantrums with them. But... you seem pretty happy. And you cling onto Jace a lot, whether you're with him and Magnus and Alec, or him and me and Raph."
Belinda turned her head to blink up at him with those big, golden-flashing eyes. "He chose me."
"Mh? What's that mean?", asked Simon confused, tilting his head at her.
"Everyone... Everyone who took me in before, they only did it because the High Warlock asked them for a favor. And every warlock wants to do the High Warlock a favor, be on his good side. Some of the ones I stayed with said so. They didn't think I could hear them, but they said so. And even if they were nice, they still didn't agree because they wanted a kid, or because they wanted me, they did it because Magnus asked them to", whispered Belinda in a small voice. "But Jace chose me. He's not a warlock. He doesn't gain anything. He... He doesn't gain from the High Warlock anyway, because the High Warlock is already all wrapped around his little finger! Jace could ask him for his own entire island and Magnus would ask where Jace wants it!"
Simon giggled a little at that, knowing just how true that was, though he refrained from commenting, instead wanting the girl to continue talking. All five of them had been wondering about this – about why Belinda didn't seem as though she would take off any second, despite her past track-record, and was surprisingly well-behaved. Magnus, apparently, had mentally prepared himself for quite the fight when he took her in and proposed that she could stay with them. Which they had, after the five of them had sat down together. Simon and Raphael weren't going to discourage Jace and Magnus on the matter and Alec seemed reluctant but supportive of them too. After all, this wasn't like Jace had just sprang on them that he wanted to adopt right now – it had kind of been a happy accident that Jace had found the child.
"Jace started taking care of me for me, not for the High Warlock", stated Belinda seriously. "Jace is my person now. And Magnus is... nice too. He was nice whenever he tried to find a home for me."
Simon hummed softly. He knew that, if things had been different, Magnus would have taken quite a couple of the kids in himself back then, but they had been in the middle of the war and Magnus had been a key-player – taking in defenseless children meant taking his focus off the war and also painting a target on the kids for Valentine. Magnus had neither the time nor focus to take in kids who had gone through as much a trauma as they had. Not to mention, his relationship with Alec had still been very fresh and he wouldn't have asked that of Alec – he had admitted as much to the other four when they had discussed what to do with Belinda.
"And what about Alec, Raph and me?", asked Simon curiously.
"Mh...", drawled Belinda, looking thoughtful. "You like Jace a lot so you are allowed to stay. And you try to bribe me with sweets and toys and comic books, which I accept."
That made Simon grin a bit. Of course had she noticed that the three of them were trying their best to be liked by her. She was a bright kid, after all. And she was growing on them all, fast.
Author's note: Well, that was enough fluff and cuteness, now back to the real stuff! xD Next chapter, Jace is going to have some fun with his alphas again ;D