- Los Angeles -

It was more than obvious that Ty was not feeling very comfortable. He was standing behind one of the desks in the library, his hands clenched to fist, every part of his body showing clearly how tensed he was. His dark eyes were darting around the room, carefully checking the faces of the others. At first he had not wanted to join their little group of conspirators, but finally Amelia had convinced him that his help was truly needed - which in fact was not even a lie.

Of course that meant that Livvy was now there too, for she always seemed to know exactly what her twin was about to do. And Ty seemed to feel less uncomfortable when Livvy was around. Now she was sitting on the desk of the table, her feet dangling some inches above the ground. Her face was relaxed, her gaze fixed on Ty's face, as if she was trying to share her calmness with him.

Jules was sitting in one of the armchairs, while Emma had placed herself on one of the armrests. Grayson was standing beside them; his back leaned against the wall, his arms crossed in front of his chest. Amelia knew that the others had not been too pleased about the fact that she wanted Ty and Livvy to join their gathering, but she had insisted. She knew that Ty would never talk about their plans to anyone else, for he barely talked at all, and Livvy - well, she just had to trust her. In fact, she had no other choice. When Grayson had told her and the others about the fairies becoming suspicious, Amelia had feared that all their efforts had been for nothing. With every possibility being taken away from them, soon there would be nothing left they could do. So this had to work - or Mark would be lost forever.

Amelia took a deep breath and said, "Okay, so we're here because Ty's got something to tell us." She looked at Ty and he nodded. "I've been doing some research. About fairies and the Wild Hunt."

"As if we wouldn't have done that already," Grayson murmured and Amelia scowled at him. "Oh shut up!"

Grayson raised his eyebrows and she looked back to Ty. "Go on. He's just in a bad mood today."

Ty cleared his throat. "Obviously you didn't like my idea about the battles. And I can understand that; it wasn't my best idea, but given the very little time I had -"

"Ty," Jules interrupted him. "Get to the point!"

Ty gazed at him and for a moment Amelia feared that he would not tell them about his plan anymore, just because he took Jules' words as an insult, but Ty decided to ignore his older brother. Instead, he looked at Livvy, who smiled at him and nodded shortly. He sighed. "Like I said before, I can understand why did not like my first idea. So I decided to look for books about the Faerie; about their rules and laws and stuff like that."

Ty took a thick book and placed it on the table. "And I found something about the Hunt." He opened the book, turned it around and held it up, so that the others could see the pages. "The fairies of the Hunt do not belong to the Seelie or Unseelie Court, which means that they do not follow their rules. In fact, the Hunt does not have that much rules - only one that is known."

Slowly Ty turned another page and Amelia held her breath as she looked at the pictures of wild looking men on huge black dogs and scary looking horses. The men - or the fairies - on the pictures had absolutely nothing in common with Mark. He was nothing like them. In all the years she had known him, he had never been anything else but caring and contemplative - there was no way he would fit in the fairies of the Wild Hunt. The thought of Mark, who had to feel alone and lost wherever he was now, made Amelia shiver. She could not stand looking at the pictures anymore, so she dropped her gaze, while Ty continued, "We know that whoever joins the Hunt is not allowed to leave it, except he is given the permission to. And that can only do one fairy."

He pointed his finger on one of the figures on the picture; a tall, thin man with wild eyes and an unrelenting look on his face; his mismatched eyes piercing - even on the paper. Again, Amelia felt the cold rushing through her body.

Ty let his slender finger rest on the picture. "This is Gwyn ap Nudd - the leader of the Hunt."

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the picture. Ty looked at the others and said, "He is the only one who is able to give Mark back to us. He is the one who has to give his permission."

Grayson frowned. "Don't get me wrong, Ty - but in how far does that help us?"

"I was not ready, Grayson!" Ty's voice was a mixture of annoyance and eagerness. "So, Gwyn is the one we would have to negotiate with."

"Negotiate? With the Hunt?" Emma snorted impatiently. "And how do we manage that? It's not like we can send them a letter and let them know that there is something we need to discuss about."

"I'm not saying that," Ty countered, letting the book drop to the table. "I know we cannot go the Hunt just like that. But there might be someone who can arrange a meeting with Gwyn."

"And who would that be?" Jules asked quietly and Ty grimaced. "I don't think you're going to like the answer …"

- The Faerie -

Mark was standing besides one of the mighty trees, close to a small clearing in the wood. The sunlight had made its way through the thick roof of leaves above him, painting sparkling patterns on the grass-covered ground. The wood was like a painting, almost drowning in shades of green, yellow and brown. The air was still a little bit cold, since it was still early in the morning, and the grass was covered with tiny drops of water, left over by the mist that had been creeping through the trees at night. Mark felt comfortable here, it was calm and peaceful and made him almost forget, where he really was. When he closed his eyes, he could here the sound of the nature, the cracking of the trees and the whispers of the wind.

"What are you waiting for, Mark? We're not here to meditate. Shoot!"

Kieran's voice was just a soft whisper. Mark had almost forgotten that the other hunter was around. He opened his eyes and turned his head. Kieran was standing beside him, his own bow strapped onto his bag, his gaze fixed on the deer in front of him. Kieran looked like a hunter, tensed, focused and relaxed at the same time. As if he was able to sense Mark's gaze, Kieran turned his head and their eyes met. There was something in his gaze that made Mark shiver. Something wild, promising and tempting, he just did not understand. Quickly he cleared his throat and whispered, "It's too far. My arrow won't reach it."

Kieran smiled. "Have faith in your abilities, Mark. You are strong enough. Try."

Mark turned his head to the deer, raised his bow and took a deep breath. With all his strength, he pulled the bowstring and tried to focus on his prey. But no matter how hard he was trying; his arms could not stand the tension. His hands began to shake; there was no way he would be able to shoot the deer. Just when he was about to drop the bow, he felt Kieran's hands on his arms. Without Mark having noticed it, Kieran had moved closer, so that he now was standing behind him.

For a split second, Mark did not know what to do. He had never been so close to another man before, except for his father and brothers of course, and the lack of distance between their two bodies made him feel uncomfortable in some way. He thought about taking a step forward to bring some space between them, but something made him stay where he was.

"Relax your bow arm. You try too hard, Mark." Kieran's voice was barely audible, a soft whisper close to Mark's ear. Mark could feel Kieran's breath on his neck, soft and warm, and his hands on his skin, holding his wrists, carefully stabilizing his arms. Kieran's touch felt soothing, comforting and somehow alluring.

Mark felt his heart beat quicken. His whole body was tensed, but not in a bad way. Being touched felt good, especially being touched the way Kieran did. But it also felt confusing, not really wrong, but unfamiliar. To his own surprise, Mark felt his body reacting to Kieran's touch. His skins was getting warmer where Kieran's fingers had touched him, his own breathing was completely synchronous with Kieran's. Mark wondered if the other hunter could feel his confusion, just as he could feel Kieran's attraction.

Again, Kieran spoke. "See? Your hands have stopped shaking. You have found your balance. Now aim and shoot." Slowly he pulled back his arms, letting his fingers sweep across Mark's skin. Mark was not able to move, he was not even able to think. He could not focus on the deer or the bow in his hands, there was only Kieran and the sweet touch of his fingers.

Kieran raised his eyebrows and whispered, "Do you need an extra invitation, Shadowhunter?"

"Don't call me like that," Mark countered, his voice a little bit louder. Suddenly the deer raised its head and looked in the direction where Mark and Kieran were hiding behind the trees. Both hunters were holding their breath until the deer relaxed again and continued to graze.

Kieran sighed quietly. "You almost scared it off."

"You should not have provoked me," Mark said and Kieran frowned. "That was no provocation. It was a fact. You are a Shadowhunter, aren't you?"

Mark hesitated, before he shook his head. "No, I'm not. Not anymore." His voice got quieter. "Maybe I actually never really was."

For a moment, none of them moved or spoke. It was the first time Mark admitted what he secretly had been thinking almost all his life. Maybe he had never been a Shadowhunter and that was the reason why nobody had come for him. He had tried to hold on to hope - especially since he had found the sign - but he had been disappointed.

Nothing had happened. Days had passed - maybe weeks - and there was no sign, no trace - nothing. Mark had gone to the tree whenever he had the chance to, hoping to find something there. He had been so sure that the sign had to mean something, but now he began to doubt. He had tried to be patient, but slowly he was loosing hope. The enthusiasm he had felt when he had found out what the sign on the tree was about, had left and had been replaced by sadness and disappointment.

Mark had tried for so long and now he was tired - tired of being here, tired of pretending to be someone he was not and most of all he was tired of hoping. Hope had been the only thing left, but it had turned out to be nothing but an illusion.

Maybe it was time to accept his new life and maybe it was time to turn to those who actually seemed to care about him, instead of forgetting him.

Kieran was still so close that Mark could sense the warmth of his body through the fabric of his shirt. His arms began to ache from the struggle of holding the bow. Just when he was about to release the arrow he heard Kieran's voice. "If you truly aren't a Shadowhunter anymore, prove it."

Before Mark could say something, he felt Kieran's lips on his neck. It was not a kiss, but only a soft touch, like a breeze, but it made Mark's body shiver with an intensity he had never felt before.

Completely surprised Mark let go of the arrow, which flew across the clearing, gouging into one of the trees. Alarmed the deer raised its head, turned around and vanished into the thicket. For a brief moment, Mark wanted to do the same, to run away, without looking back. But yet there was something holding him back. He heard Kieran's quiet laughter close to his ear. "Nice shot, Mark. Are you distracted?"

Mark wanted to answer, but his throat felt too tight. Again he felt Kieran's lips, this time a little more intensive on the back of his neck, and again he did not know whether he liked it or not. Kieran let his hands slip under Mark's shirt, softly caressing the warm skin of his stomach.

Mark felt his knees getting weak. He closed his eyes and leaned back against Kieran's body, afraid not to be able to stand on his two feet anymore. There was a longing inside his chest, a burning desire. He had felt so lonely for so long that Kieran's caresses lit a fire in him, he had only felt once before.

Kieran wrapped his arms tighter around Mark's body, pressing his body against Mark's back. Mark soughed and put back his head, so that it rested on Kieran's shoulder. He could feel Kieran's lips, tracing a way across his neck, his breath on his skin and his hands on his body. His head was completely empty, his mind a swirling mess of longing and desire.

Mark did not want to think, he just wanted to feel - he wanted to feel loved and wanted. He wanted exactly what Kieran was giving him and the fact that he had never been kissed by a boy before did not bother him.

With one quick movement, Kieran turned Mark around, so that they were now face to face. He placed his hand on Mark's cheek, leaned forward and kissed Mark on the lips.

Mark was paralyzed. He closed his eyes and opened his lips, letting Kieran take the action. His kiss felt weird, different from kissing Mia.

The thought of her brought Mark back to reality. How could he kiss someone else, when there was Mia waiting for him? Suddenly guilt came washing over him. He raised his hands, placed them on Kieran's chest and pushed him away harshly.

"Let go of me!"

Kieran drew back, his gaze bewildered. Mark scowled at him and hissed, "Don't you ever do that again!"

Kieran shook his head. "Don't pretend you did not enjoy it, Mark Blackthorn."

"I don't want it", Mark yelled and the other hunter laughed bitterly. "Maybe it's about time to think about what you want. It's time to stop pretending, Shadowhunter."

With that, Kieran turned around and left Mark alone.