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Title: Demon On Your Shoulder – The Split Soul's Soulmates

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.

Tags: polyamory (m/m/m), alpha/beta/omega dynamics, soulmate AU, daemons, past child abuse, hurt/comfort, angst, explicit intercourse, anal, oral, f/f, m/f

Main Pairing: Magnus/Alec/Jace

Side Pairings: Lydia/Izzy, Simon/Clary, Luke/Catarina

Shadowhunters Characters: Jonathan 'Jace' Herondale, Magnus Bane, Alexander 'Alec' Lightwood, Isabelle Lightwood, Clarissa 'Clary' Fray, Simon Lewis, Lydia Branwell, Madzie, Catarina Loss, Luke Garroway, Raphael Santiago, Maxwell Lightwood, Imogen Herondale, Valentine Morgenstern

Daemons: Aurea (Jace's Golden Retriever), Celestina (Jace's barn owl), Shyama (Magnus' panther), Minerva (Alec's snow owl), Dolios (Max's raccoon), Nagendra (Izzy's cobra), Timon (Lydia's lynx), Seraphina (Clary's robin), Adina (Simon's rat), Ares (Andrew's dog), Piedad (Raph's bat), Menelaus (Cat's lion), Regulus (Madzie's bunny), Lupercalia (Luke's wolf), Cornelius (Imogen's horned owl)

Summary: Every person had a daemon, an animal-shaped manifestation of their own soul, and bore a picture of their soulmate's daemon on their body. Everyone, aside from Jace. Because Valentine split his soul, giving him two daemons – and took the one on his soulmate's marks. So even when he meets them and recognizes them by their daemons, his daemon doesn't match.

Demon On Your Shoulder

The Split Soul's Soulmates

Prologue: To Split a Soul

Every person was born with a shapeshifting daemon, a physical manifestation of their soul. At age ten, a person's soul settled. That showed in two ways. For one, their daemon chose their final form and the person would present as either alpha, beta or omega. And the moment their soul settled, an image of their daemon appeared somewhere on their soulmate's body.

That last part was like a beacon of hope to one Jonathan Wayland. There had been a mark on his body all his life already, which suggested that his soulmate was at least a decade older than him, having turned ten even before Jonathan was ever born. On his right upper thigh sat a beautiful, elegant and majestic black panther with the most intense golden eyes.

Even his father seemed pleased with that. And it was quite hard to please Michael Wayland. But a panther was a strong and powerful animal, for Jace to have a soulmate whose soul manifested in such an impressive animal surely would be a good match to elevate their family.

For Jonathan, his beautiful panther represented a hope for the future. There was someone out there meant to be his and his alone. Someone who was going to love him unconditionally. Someone who wouldn't hurt him. On the darkest and most painful days, when he was struggling most to put up with his father's strict nature and harsh punishments, he'd rest a hand on his thigh, clinging onto his soul-mark. Telling himself that he would get through this, that he would have to get through this to meet his soulmate. One day, he would lay in the comforting arms of someone who loved him.

One thing that Jonathan never questioned was what he'd present as. Alpha. That was the only choice there was. Betas were foot-soldiers and a Wayland ought to be more than a foot-soldier. Omega was completely out of the question, male omegas were very rare and freaks of nature, as his father said. So all his childhood, he never quite worried about that. He always assumed he'd be an alpha.

The one thing he couldn't wait for was his daemon's final form. Aurea was his best and only friend. He had never interacted with any other children before and his father always sent him to his room whenever he had colleagues over. But his daemon was always at his side.

"What do you think you'll be once you settle?" asked Jonathan thoughtfully.

He was laying on his back, with Aurea running wild around him. Every few seconds, she'd change her shape. From a sly fox to a cute kitten and then there was a hawk flying over his head. Soon, Jonathan would turn ten and she would have to pick a final shape. Something that would represent his very soul. What would his soul look like, he wondered? What kind of animal would adore his soulmates' skin? Would it be as impressive as the ones he bore?

Because about two years ago, his black panther had been joined by a second soul-mark. On his other thigh, he now had a beautiful, mighty snow owl. The bird of prey seemed nearly intimidating with its glower, but it was gorgeous in its white and black colors. Though his father had not been much of a fan of it; triads were not unheard of but they were quite rare. Michael was skeptical of what this could mean. It'd all depend on whether or not his soulmates would be useful to elevate the Wayland name. Not that Jonathan cared much about that personally. All he cared about was finally meeting them and being loved by them and getting to love them in return, without having to fear a punishment for that love. That was all he ever wanted.

"Mh. I don't know," Aurea tilted her head – a bunny, right now. "There are so many that feel comfortable. Feel like home and... right. Is there something you want me to be?"

Now Jonathan tilted his head thoughtfully. "No, not really. I just... hope you won't become an animal that one of my soulmates doesn't like? Other than that, I want you to be happy."

Aurea made a small noise and bumped her head against his cheek. Soon, he'd present. And Aurea would take her final form, a form that would then appear on his soulmates' bodies. Once that happened, Jace stood a real chance of finding them. Or rather of them finding him.

/break\

"I've never seen you that happy before."

Magnus Bane smiled softly to himself as he carried two glasses out onto the balcony to his friend. Catarina was absolutely right; he had never been this happy before. For many centuries, Magnus had lived life without a soul-mark. It wasn't rare for the immortal to wait a long, long time to receive their soul-marks. At first, he had still been patient about it. The longer it took, the more hopeless he felt. At one point, he even started to give up. Perhaps there was no one for him. No soulmate meant to be Magnus', no one whose he was meant to be.

And then it had happened, a couple of months ago. On the back of his hand, at first just a swirl of blue sparkles and then they settled into the picture of a majestic snow owl. It was the singularly most beautiful thing Magnus had ever seen. Magnus Bane had a soulmate.

"I can't help it, Catarina," Magnus laughed softly to himself, as though the giddiness was too much to be contained within his body. "They're out there, somewhere. I have a soulmate."

Catarina returned his smile as she accepted one of the glasses. Her free hand was gently tracing the soul-mark on her own lower arm. It was fairly new too, for an immortal – three decades. A beautiful light-brown wolf with piercing green eyes. While she hadn't met her soulmate yet, she knew he was out there somewhere and it gave her solace of mind. Finally, Magnus got to experience this too.

"What do you think they're like?" asked Catarina. "An owl, generally associated with wisdom."

"Agility, strength. A bird of prey, so a predator. A fighter," offered Magnus with a gentle expression on his face. "I can't wait to meet them. Well. I of course can, because it would be weird to meet a ten year old child right now, knowing they're my soulmate. I just hope... I hope they're safe and happy, wherever they are. Loved by their family."

"You'll meet them when you're meant to," Catarina rested a hand on his, stroking the soul-mark.

Their daemons were laying in the corner, grooming each other. Catarina's Menelaus was a large lion with golden-brown fur, while Magnus' Shyama was a black panther with the same golden eyes as Magnus' warlock-mark. Much like their humans, the two daemons were close friends.

"I know, I know, it's just that I've already waited so lo-" Magnus cut off suddenly.

He dropped his glass as the back of his hand started sparkling a dark red. Swirls danced over his hand before they settled into an image. A dog, a Golden Retriever to be more specific, with its head tilted as it looked up at Magnus. The warlock was too stunned to react, he just blinked repeatedly. He brought both his hands up, to look at them side by side. His snow owl was still there, but now there was a second mark, on his other hand. A soft-looking puppy-dog.

"C.. Catarina," whispered Magnus, his voice breaking. "Is this... real?"

"Huh," Catarina blinked a couple of times. "It seems the Fates are trying to make up for lost time. You're blessed with two soulmates, Magnus."

She smiled warmly at him and kissed his cheek. Two soulmates. Magnus' heart felt so full and warm. He had two soulmates, two people meant to be his. So long, he had waited for so long. He tried to blink the tears away that were building up in his eyes.

"Hello, puppy," whispered Magnus softly, tracing the outlines of the dog. "I can't wait to meet you. I hope you're safe and happy too, wherever you are. Until we meet."

/break\

"A mud?" Michael's voice was so angry, vicious. "Of course you'd turn out to be an omega with such a useless, soft daemon. You were supposed to be an alpha, Jonathan! Strong! Not weak."

Aurea whimpered as she got kicked and Jonathan flinched away, curling in on himself. He'd finally presented. As an omega. And Aurea had presented as a Golden Retriever. She looked so beautiful. For about five minutes, he got to be happy about it, ruffling her fur and wondering what the soul-marks on his soulmates would look like. Until Michael came storming in. Honestly, Jonathan hadn't even thought about being an omega yet, he'd been so focused on his daemon.

"We'll fix this," declared Michael. "It's still young. It can be fixed."

He stormed out of the room, carrying Aurea by the fur at the back of her neck, and locked it behind himself. It wasn't healthy to be separated physically from their daemons. With wide, panicked eyes did Jonathan run up to the door, banging against it, begging his father to return her. Or at least he did until a searing pain started to spread from his chest all over his body. He crumbled onto the floor, curling in as tight as he possibly could. He whimpered in pain as he passed out.

"Are you... Are you alright?"

When Jonathan came to it, it was to a barn owl poking him. She was beautiful and Jace could feel a connection to her, but he could tell at one glance that this was not Aurea. Confused, he scrambled off and backed against the wall. What had happened? What had his father done?

"Who... What... are you...?" asked Jonathan confused.

"I don't know," admitted the barn owl. "I'm a part of you, I know that. But..."

Jonathan covered his mouth, trying to keep from throwing up. He'd done it, his father had really done it. He'd theorized that if a daemon wasn't settled yet, it could be separated from a person and the soul would manifest differently. What... What had Michael done with Aurea? Was she gone? Had he... had he killed her? Tears gathered in Jonathan's eyes.

"There is no need to cry about this, Jonathan," Michael entered the room with heavy steps. "It appears the best we can do is turn you into a beta, but still, that's better than before. This is your new daemon, Celestina. She is worthy of the Wayland name."

A bird of prey, and a majestic one at that. Of course that was more appropriate for the Wayland family than a dog. But she'd been such a pretty dog. Jonathan blinked again. Crying in front of his father would only earn him more of a punishment. Celestina tilted her head as she looked at him. It wasn't her fault either. She too was a part of him. He had... two daemons. Two parts of his soul.

"Y... Yes, father," whispered Jonathan in a shaky voice.

"Speak up," barked Michael. "You're a beta, you will have to work so much harder to compete with the alphas around you. We'll double your training in the morning."

"Yes, father," Jonathan's voice was more steady this time.

His father left the room and Jonathan collapsed back onto the floor, sobbing silently to himself. Celestina came flying up to him, wrapping a gentle wing around him to sooth him.

/break\

Valentine wasn't happy. His experiments on Jonathan Herondale were supposed to make him superior in every sense. And then the boy dared to present as an omega – and with such an unsightly daemon, at that. At least it gave him the chance to perform a ritual he had considered a lot before. The separation from a daemon. In all honesty, he had no idea how that would affect the boy, but he'd get to see so for himself. A daemon could not be destroyed, of course. So Valentine ended up locking the mud up in the basement. Cutting her out was only possible because she had only just settled, too recent to be fully formed just yet. After, it'd be completely impossible. But the energy of Jonathan's soul was still swirling strongly so after the faulty one had been cut off, the pulsing magic formed into a new daemon. A better one. Though Valentine was still disappointed in the boy for being a beta now. It was better than a useless omega, but still a disappointment.

/break\

"This is so cool," whispered Izzy, her mouth in a little o. "You have two soul-marks!"

Alec flushed self-consciously, crossing his arms over his chest. Ever since he'd woken up this morning, she had insisted on him taking his shirt off to show his cool, new soul-mark. All of his life, Alec already had one soul-mark – a really cool-looking black panther on his chest. But this morning, when he'd gone into the bathroom to brush his teeth and shower, he had looked into the mirror and seen a picture on the other side of his chest. A Golden Retriever.

"It's really adorable, right?" asked Alec, tilting his head down to look at the picture.

It wasn't unheard of for someone to have two soul-marks. Triads were rare and seen as a special blessing from the Angel. All recorded triads were of an alpha, a beta and an omega – the perfect balance of all three secondary genders, bound together by fate. He'd wondered all his life what he would present as, until not even a year ago, he turned ten years old and presented as a beta.

"Yeah, it really is," Izzy grinned broadly, her own daemon curled on her head.

Nagendra tended to turn into some form of amphibian or reptilian. Right now, he was some kind of chameleon, peeking at Alec's soul-mark with as much curiosity as Izzy did. New soul-marks were always very exciting, especially for the kids.

"I have a puppy and a kitten," noted Alec as he looked from the Golden Retriever to the black panther. "I do hope they get along well though, not like the saying..."

"But they're soulmates too, right? So of course they will," argued Izzy. "You're meant to be."

Meant to be. Alec's heart felt warm at that. He was meant to be with these two, they were waiting out there somewhere – one of them having waited far, far longer for the both of them. But it was okay, Hodge tended to say that one could not rush soulmates. They'd meet when they were meant to. Not that Alec was very patient in this particular matter. He hoped they'd meet soon.

Author's note: Soulmate Angst is like my favorite sub-genre and my Malace soulmate fics may just be the fics I reread the most often myself, so I figured it is high time for an actual chaptered soulmate angst piece! The problem was just to find a fitting soulmate AU that I haven't worked with for Malace yet. But I am quite pleased with what I came up with and I hope you're going to enjoy the read too ;)

(And no worries, Jace and Aurea WILL be reunited. It'll just... take a bit)