A night out in the city turned out to be exactly what both Clary and Simon needed, checking in to a hotel room that Simon easily cleaned out with his magic so that it didn't smell like a hundred other people and cheap cleaning products that would just grind at Clary's wolf. They got drunk and Simon let his magic play with their drinks a bit so that they got drunker, and they ate good food, and they went to bars that Clary had only been able to get in with a fake ID before she had moved to the city, and they found a dumpling house that was still open at three in the morning and selling good dumplings, that made Simon experience something religious as he moaned and nearly fell to his knees on the sticky tiled floors.
"I can't believe how long it's been since we've had a night out like that," Clary laughed as she indicated to pull her mothers car into the driveway, the two on their way back to Luke's pack house after their night out. It was almost midday, since they had gone out to breakfast after sleeping in, and taken their time looking around a couple of shops as well, since apparently it had been years since Simon had been in the Los Angeles area.
"Well, you're usually not up for it," Simon pointed out. "But it's not like you need my magic to make you feel better anymore. Jace is all the healing drug you need," he sung it out playfully and Clary just rolled her eyes at him. They were about halfway up the long driveway, and Simon was singing along to Khalid on the radio—horribly off key even though he actually had a decent singing voice when he actually tried—when a different scent reached Clary's nose, and her shoulders tensed a little. Simon reached over to turn the radio down the moment he noticed the shift in her demeanor, but he didn't say anything as they drove up the rest of the way to the house, Clary parking the car next to the unfamiliar silver Corvette and getting out.
"It smells like Jace's pack," Clary noted as she paused by the car. "Actually, I think I've seen her with Jace before." Simon followed after her, just half a step behind as they walked up the wooden steps and into the house, Clary leading them toward where she could hear talking coming from. On the back porch of the house, Jocelyn and Catarina were talking to Isabelle, who Clary recognized from when she had seen Jace at the markets, all three women looking up as Clary and Simon approached them. "Hi," Clary's voice came out carefully as she glanced between them, clearly trying not to tense up. Isabelle's eyes flickered quickly between Jocelyn and Clary before she stepped forward with a small but warm smile on her face.
"Hey, Clary. Um, we didn't meet properly last time," Isabelle said, and there was a way that she was ducking her head slightly that showed that she wasn't trying to be any type of threat that made Clary's wolf calm down inside her ribs. "I'm Isabelle—Izzy."
"Hi," Clary repeated again, and then took in a deep breath, inhaling Isabelle's scent and once again being able to settle her wolf with the fact that Isabelle wasn't trying to confront her or intimidate her in any kind of way. "I'm Clary," she said, a little unnecessarily, but reached out her hand toward Isabelle. Isabelle smiled widely at her, obviously happy that Clary wasn't shutting down her greeting, and she took her hand, gripping firmly but not squeezing her fingers too tight.
"And I'm Simon," Simon piped up from behind Clary, jostling her shoulder a little as she reached past her to thrust his hand forward. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you as well," Isabelle grinned as she took Simon's hand and shook it as well, her eyes twinkling, and Clary felt herself relax more. The other werewolf seemed genuine, a lot softer than her older brother, that was for sure, maybe a lot more like her younger brother, who Clary had really enjoyed meeting. "Um, Clary? I was hoping that maybe we could go for a run together?" Clary felt her shoulders tense again, and her eyes slid over to her mother and Catarina, both who were giving her encouraging, warm looks, clearly wanting to her to take up Isabelle's offer.
"I'll—I'm just going to get changed first," she said, and it wasn't just to buy herself some time, she didn't really want to run in the skin tight jeans she was wearing right now. But a breather and a moment away from this situation to get herself ready for whatever was coming next would be good as well.
"Great! I'll wait for you out front?" Isabelle suggested and Clary realized that Isabelle was already wearing leggings and loose singlet.
"Sounds good," Clary replied before she turned and headed back into the house. She purposefully didn't try to listen in on any of the conversation downstairs, and once she got up to her childhood bedroom, she took her time changing, wondering what was going to happen. Things with Isabelle seemed less intense than both Alec and Maia, a lot more like Max, who were the only ones that she could compare the dark haired girl with in Jace's pack since they were all that she had really met. She changed into a pair of shorts and sports bra with a loose shirt and tied on a pair of sneakers before heading back down. Simon was just walking into the kitchen, reaching up to get himself a glass and he paused to look back at her with a knowing look.
"Be nice," he said airily.
"I'm always nice," Clary grumbled, and then couldn't help but lean in to give him a quick hug and breathe in his comforting scent, and she felt his magic play over her skin in a soothing way before she pulled back. He tugged at her ponytail before she was walking out the front door to where Isabelle was waiting. The dark haired girl was quickly threading her hair into a braid and she flashed a smile as Clary joined her.
"Ready?" She asked.
"Ready," Clary nodded, her wolf feeling a bit skittish behind her ribs as she slowly walked down the last few steps onto the ground and flexed her toes in the sneakers that she was wearing. There seemed to some kind of understanding between the wolves, and Isabelle tilted her head to the side, a sign of respect by allowing Clary to start the run. Clary nodded at her again before she started running, picking out one of the tracks that she had been running on in the mornings, one that had been clearly run a lot by the wolves of Luke's pack given how much it smelt like all of them. Isabelle was clearly fast and had good stamina, Clary could pick that up within a few seconds of running with her, and her wolf was nervous, not too sure what exactly it was that the dark haired girl wanted, but she pushed herself to keep running, always half a step in front of Isabelle as they followed the overgrown track further into the forest that surrounded the house.
There was a faint sheen of sweat on both women's foreheads when they slowed down as they got to a creek, taking time to kneel down and splash water on their faces and drink from their hands, their wolves happy with for the reprieve, and then they were running again, no words exchanged. Isabelle didn't know these forests as well as Clary did, although it wasn't as though Clary knew them the best either, things were a bit different from when she had grown up here, although the underlying smell was the same and she knew she would be able to find her way if she needed to. While Isabelle was unfamiliar with the land, she was agile and a quick learner, and she forced Clary to always be paying attention to where she was going so that she could keep her lead. Isabelle wasn't necessarily competing for the lead, but she was definitely making Clary work to keep it.
It was a while before they stopped running, and it was Isabelle who stopped them when they did, the taller werewolf slowing to a jog and then finally stopping and waiting for Clary to circle back to her slowly. Isabelle was panting slightly, but her breathing returned to normal quickly and Clary eyed her warily.
"So," she prompted, taking the lead since she knew Isabelle wanted something. She hadn't just come here to run, and Clary knew that.
"So..." Isabelle bit down on the corner of her bottom lip and then shrugged. "You know that Jace is my cousin as well as my Alpha, right?" Clary nodded as Isabelle sat down on a large fallen log. The wood was sturdy, Clary could see that just by glancing it over, and it would hold both of their weight, but she waited, keeping distance between them and scenting the air out of habit. Isabelle didn't present a threat, but she was definitely guarded, although that was understandable. "Then...I mean, you would know that I know, especially about all the pain that he's been through over the years...Since he met you." Isabelle pursed her lips together as she met Clary's eyes, obviously leaving the ball in her court since the comment she had just made could definitely be seen as...Passive aggressive.
"Is this the shovel talk?" Clary asked bluntly, and her wolf was starting to paw at the pit of her stomach, feeling the hackles rise down the back of her neck. Isabelle met her gaze and the two werewolves stared at each other for a long, tense moment, Clary's vision beginning to flicker between normal and a slight golden sheen, when Isabelle swallowed hard and looked away. There was something small, in the way she ducked her head and bared the side of her throat subtly, that made Clary wonder if it was out of respect, or if it was instinct, but either way, she was satisfied.
"No, not quite," Isabelle shrugged a shoulder, bit down on her bottom lip and then pointedly patted the log next to her. Clary hesitated for a moment but then moved over to sit down on the fallen tree, not as close to Isabelle as the other werewolf seemed to want, but not far. "You've caused him a lot of pain, but I know that you've been through a lot as well. At the end of the day...I just want to meet you," the smile that Isabelle gave Clary was genuine, and there was something pure in her scent that made Clary settle surprisingly easily. "I mean, I saw you at the beach, the other day, but I didn't really get to meet you, and I've heard a lot about you—from your mum and Luke, and from Jace," she added Jace's name easily, not like an insult or something that Clary should feel guilty about, and Clary couldn't help the way the corners of her lips began to turn upward. "And you're going to be part of our pack, so I just wanted to meet you." Her and her younger brother were quite similar. And she smelt like fresh apples, which was refreshing and sweet.
"Yeah, eventually," Clary nodded slowly and Isabelle nodded in response, no hesitation or question.
"Maybe I could tell you a little bit about our pack?" Isabelle offered and Clary blinked, her wolf heavy with the weight of the offer. So far, she had only briefly met Alec, Maia and Max, and now Isabelle, and Jace's pack—well, Isabelle was right, it was going to be her pack one day. And while Clary said eventually now, she didn't actually know how long she meant. Especially with the way her wolf was warming so quickly to Isabelle.
"Yeah," Clary said, and she let herself get a little bit closer on the damp log. "Yeah, I'd like that." Isabelle's smile got wider and the dark haired girl nodded.
Clary expected Isabelle to start with Jace, but maybe she decided that she didn't need to because Clary already knew him, so she started with Alec, and she kept her profiles surprisingly brief and factual, but the expression on her face gave away all her fond feelings for those in her pack.
Alec was twenty-six, a year older than Jace, three years older than Isabelle—which made Isabelle Clary's age—and Isabelle said that even though he acted like the world most emotional teenager, apparently this was actually happy Alec, because he'd met his mate over a year ago. Alec was second to Jace, along with Maia, and Clary felt Isabelle side eye her when she mentioned that, but Clary didn't say anything. Magnus Bane was Alec's mate and he was a warlock, he and Catarina actually knew each other and had for several centuries, although he was younger than Catarina but still incredibly powerful. Isabelle's face was full of smiles when talking about Magnus, and she assured Clary that she would love him as long as she appreciated glitter. Clary mentioned that she had nothing against glitter, and Isabelle laughed.
Then there was Maia, who was twenty-four, the other second in the pack, and Isabelle said that she could be a little intense sometimes, but she always meant well. She had a quick temper, but she got over it even quicker, which was a typical trait among werewolves, and she wasn't to be messed with when the claws were out, which made sense, given her position in the pack. Jordan Kyle was her mate, one of the only two humans in their pack, and he lived with them at the big house as well. They'd known each other since high school, and it sounded as though Maia had had a rough time growing up—Isabelle didn't go into details, which Clary respected and didn't ask about it—and Jordan had been with her through it all, had found out she was a werewolf then and stood by her when she had found Jace and wanted to become part of his pack.
Will was Jace's uncle, ten years older than him and full of unhelpful comments and sarcastic remarks, although there was clear fondness in Isabelle's tone. Apparently he wasn't very present around the house or in pack meetings, but every now and then he would really come through for them. Then there was Max, who Clary had met already, who technically didn't live at the big, pack house with Jace and some of the others, he lived with Robert and Maryse, their parents. Robert and Maryse were part of the pack as well, they lived about a fifteen minute drive away, both of them with law degrees that they often used to help supernatural beings, although they operated under the guise of a normal, husband-and-wife law firm.
Imogen Herondale was the eldest member of the pack, other than Magnus, well over a hundred and Jace's paternal grandmother. Isabelle sounded a little in awe, a little scared when talking about her, and Clary couldn't help but feel a squeeze of nervousness at the idea of meeting the woman. Isabelle seemed to note this and she bumped Clary's shoulder with her own. Her health was dwindling and her eye sight was going, old age catching up to the werewolf, and about a year ago, Jace had looked for someone to help her around home, which brought them to someone who apparently wasn't a member of the pack, but was around a lot. Kaelie Whitewillow was a werecoyote, and she was Imogen's part-time carer, and she spent a lot of time with the pack but Jace hadn't asked her to be a part of it officially and she also hadn't asked, which made sense, since coyotes were generally more solitary, but there was something about Kaelie that Isabelle wasn't saying, because Clary heard the uptick of nerves in her heartbeat, but she didn't comment on it.
The last ones in the pack were Helen Penhallow-Blackthorn, her human wife and mate, Aline Penhallow, and their daughter, Alessa Penhallow, who was their youngest pack member. Even though Aline was human, her mother hadn't been, and she had grown up close with the Lightwoods and also Jace, and she had always been aware of werewolves and the supernatural elements in the world. She'd met Helen a couple of years ago, and they'd married within eighteen months. Their daughter Alessa had been born last year, she was almost nine months old now, and her eyes had recently started flashing gold, a sign that she was presenting as a werewolf. Clary couldn't help the way her heart felt as though it was melting just the tiniest bit at the prospect of a baby in the pack.
Their pack.
Her pack?
"We all get together for dinner at least once a week," Isabelle continued. "We're getting together tonight, up at the house—you know, just carry on up the driveway past the barn house that Jace is working on—and I think it would be really great if you came."
"Um," Clary blinked at Isabelle and for the first time in a while, since she had settled next to Isabelle on the fallen tree, she felt a bit uncomfortable again.
"You can bring your friend," Isabelle quickly offered. "The warlock? From back at the house?" She jerked her head over her shoulder, indicating back toward the Greymark house.
"Yeah, Simon," Clary nodded, feeling a bit shaky at the prospect of facing the entire pack all at once, even though she knew that she was going to need to. "Yeah," she nodded firmly, forcing herself not to chew down on her bottom lip, looking ahead and hoping that her scent hadn't soured too much with nerves. "Yes," she reiterated. "We'll come."
"Cool," Isabelle smiled widely at her, and her fingers twitched at her side, as though she wanted to reach out and touch Clary, but she didn't. They just sat there for a bit longer, until the tension left the atmosphere again, and then they ran back to the house, more alongside each other this time than apart.
Hey, guys. Hope you enjoyed the update. Be kind and well.