"Ow, Alec lay off, will you?"
The shadowhunter squirmed under his fingers as he tried to change their bandage, making Alec sigh in frustration.
"I will if you want this wound to get infected. Stay still, it needs to be cleaned properly."
He was trying to be gentle, but he had so much else to do that morning and he couldn't afford to waste time just cause because Clarke couldn't handle a little pain.
"Where's Isabelle? She always does it differently, and it never hurts when she does it."
Alec rolled his eyes, clenching his teeth as he went back to cleaning the stab wound on the whiner's leg.
"Izzy has more important things to do than sit here and listen to you complain. I am sorry that it hurts but I have to clean it."
Clarke finally lay back down on the bed and stayed quiet. He had a point about Isabelle, this was her job and she was good at it. She really enjoyed her time in the infirmary and even more so in her lab, but she had her own issues to deal with and Alec was all that was left.
So many people had been injured in the battle, and so many had died and lost loved ones, that there were only a handful of shadowhunters able to help. And Alec may have been a hard ass, almost constantly annoyed with very little patience, but he couldn't force injured people to help without running the risk of prolonging the damage, and the grieving would be so distracted they wouldn't be able to get anything done.
He finished with Clarke and ran through the very long list of things to get finished, in his head. He'd been to the Clave meetings already, and by the angel that was exhausting. He'd gotten through most of his paperwork before another pile had been dumped on his desk, needing reports and details about structural and property damage and what was needed to fix it. He had used several stamina runes that morning and felt them fading faster each time, and leaving him more drained, the more he used them. But it's not like he had a choice.
He'd forgotten to eat breakfast, and instead checked in on Clary and Simon, who were having just a wonderful time doing god knows what. And since it was now lunch time, he had to meet with some downworlders and negotiate terms for the accords.
Magnus, being the high warlock of Brooklyn and keenly aware of what actually happened with the soul sword, had spoken to all his warlock's and kept them in line. So, today's meeting was time with the warewolves.
He'd already had an altercation with a few of them over the deaths of their pack mates. He'd been blamed, or the Clave had, and they wanted vengeance, so he knew he had to be careful with them today.
Thankfully Luke was there and knew Alec and the situation well, but not all of his cubs liked to stay in line.
He met them in their restaurant, not a wise move but one that they wouldn't negotiate on.
He knew there may be conflict so he'd brought his stele and sword, but those didn't really do much when you're tackled as soon as you enter.
A large body slammed into him from the side, knocking him to the ground and smacking his head against the hard floor. His mind went fuzzy but his training kept him alive, as he threw a punch, and kicked the werewolf off him.
He could hear Luke giving orders, and a room full of growls but all he could see was the swirling ceiling above him. He groaned and tried to stand, his clumsy limbs sliding on the floor underneath him. He was so god damn dizzy he could do little but slump against the wall. Luke came over and placed a hand on his shoulder, voice low and concerned.
"Alec, I'm sorry about him he's still grieving his little sister's death. Are you okay?"
Alec shoved Luke away from him and burned another stamina rune into his skin, along with an iratze. He could feel the rush of energy as his vision cleared some, but he knew that his overuse of the stamina was making the effects weaker.
He got shakily to his feet and nodded at the werewolf.
"I'm fine, but until you can control your pack, we'll have to reschedule."
Luke stepped back and let Alec get to his feet, frowning at the way the shadowhunter stumbled. He kept his voice low, his concern clear in his tone.
"You shouldn't be using so many of those, you'll burn out and crash."
Alec waved him away and attempted to stand up straight, his hand coming to wrap around his chest as his ribs screamed in protest. Apparently that werewolf had also broken a few bones when it jumped him, but Alec needed to appear strong in front of them.
"I'll be fine, worry about keeping your pups in line." Luke frowned, surprised by the unusually rude words from Alec and the shadowhunter sighed, looking at the floor in shame.
"Sorry, it's been a long week. I'll call you about another meeting when everything has settled down. I am sorry about the people you lost."
Luke nodded, knowing the stress the young boy was under, and placed a hand on Alec's shoulder.
"It's okay, kid. You take care of yourself."
Alec nodded and left, trying not to curl in on himself with the pack watching so closely. Once outside, he fell to his knees, making his ribs scream out once more, before throwing up the little food he'd managed to eat.
His eyes watered from the pain and he clenched his shaking hands. He'd used too many stamina runes and he knew it. His body couldn't take the stress the constant flow of adrenaline caused, and it was wearing out. The more he used the runes, the weaker he became. But there was still so much left to do.
He stayed on the ground for a moment, collecting himself and regaining his breath, before slowly attempting to stand. His vision blurred and he grew so dizzy he had to clench his eyes shut. But he swallowed his nausea and opened his eyes, taking deep breaths as he walked back to the institute. He was determined to finish his work.
He had just walked in when Raj found him, face panicked and tablet in hand.
"Alec, there's been an attack on a mundane. A vampire lost her mate to the soul sword and she's on a rampage."
By the angel, he could never catch a fucking break. Alec brought a hand up to massage his temples.
"So, send someone out to stop her."
Raj looked almost scared to reply.
"There's no one available. Everyone's out repairing things or helping in the infirmary and you said not to bother anyone injured or grieving so…"
Alec sighed, his headache worsening. His voice came out as a growl and Raj took a step back.
"I'll deal with it then." Raj nodded and backed away, Alec's jaw clenched as he marched over to the weapons room to fetch his bow and arrow.
He felt as if he could scream, he was so stressed out. There was something else to deal with every five minutes and he couldn't finish any of his tasks let alone everyone else's. He was overusing his runes and overtired and now he was injured and yet he still had to deal with everything by himself.
He knew he shouldn't be going on a hunt by himself but who else was he going to call in for help? He wished he had Jace, but he couldn't bring himself to call him. He was dealing with so much, finding out Valentine wasn't his father, and that he had no sister. That Jocelyn wasn't his mother and that, in fact, he had no clue who his true family was. And not only that, but he was an experiment with pure angel blood that had activated the soul sword and killed dozens of downworlders.
No, he couldn't ask Jace for anything right now.
His phone started ringing and he sat against the weapons table as he answered, voice tired.
"Hello?"
"Alexander, darling you said you'd call and I was getting worried. You sound so tired; do you want me to come and help with anything? Maybe you should just come and get some rest."
Alec pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to put some energy into his voice. He didn't want Magnus worrying about him.
"No, I'm okay. Sorry I didn't call, it's been really busy today."
Magnus' voice always had a calming effect on the shadowhunter and he felt a little better just hearing it.
"When are you coming home? You really should rest, you can't be overworking yourself."
With everything so chaotic and with no one to help him, Alec had felt alone and overwhelmed, so it was nice to hear someone caring about him, even if he had to ignore their advice.
"I have to go on a hunt but I promise I'll come home straight after and rest. I can finish the other stuff tomorrow. It's just one vamp so it shouldn't take long."
Magnus sounded unsure about it but agreed. "Okay, be safe. I love you."
Alec smiled, never tired of hearing those beautiful words from his beautiful warlock.
"I love you too. See you in a bit."
A single vampire would usually be classed as a fairly easy hunt, especially since he was going when the sun was still up. But his current condition meant it was difficult to do the simplest things.
Alec took his bow and arrow from the rack, lighting up the arrow shafts with his stele, but his hands were shaking and he couldn't concentrate.
His last stamina rune was already wearing off from his walk back and he clenched his hands into fists, pressing them against the weapons table.
He knew that another stamina rune at this point would only cause damage, but he needed to stop this vamp and he couldn't do that in his current state. He knew it was stupid but he lifted his shirt and burned another rune into his skin, twisting to light up the iratze as well.
The stamina no longer felt like a jolt of energy, it was more like a slap to the face; enough to keep your eyes open but not enough to chase away the exhaustion. The iratze was weaker too, barely taking away his headache, but he took his bow and left anyway. He could crash after this hunt was done.
…
Jace hadn't done much the past few days, needing space and time to figure out everything he'd learnt. So, he was staying in another one of Magnus' apartments. Apparently, the warlock had a few to choose from and offered the shadowhunter some privacy in his stressful situation.
He'd done nothing but train and try to organize the memories of his childhood in his head. Rearranging them into a picture of what actually happened. His father was nothing more than a psycho with a stolen child he used as an experiment. His real parents unknown, his purpose…unimportant. Everything that he thought he was had been destroyed, and all that was left was a broken boy that desperately wanted to be whole.
He needed to talk to someone about it all and he desperately wanted that person to be Alec but the look on his parabatai's face when he saw what Jace had done…he would never forget that. Alec had thought Magnus was dead, and that it had been Jace's doing. Jace felt that pain and added it to the pile.
Magnus had told him, later, that Alec didn't blame him, but Jace blamed himself and that was enough. He hadn't seen Alec since then, knowing that he would be busy putting the institute back together and didn't want to bother him, but something was wrong.
Every few hours, his Parabatai rune would spike, Alec's energy dipping and growing too fast to be anything other than rune power. And it was happening too often. There was also an ache, deep and slow, that meant Alec was in pain, both physically and mentally. And Jace was worried.
He had been planning to call him about it but ended up calling Magnus instead, knowing that Alec would never admit to being hurt or needing help.
The phone rang as Jace tried to put on his pants, one handed, the warlock finally picking up as he got his leg in.
"Jace, how are you doing?"
The blonde, struggled with his clothes, waving away Magnus' concern.
"That doesn't matter. What's wrong with Alec?"
Magnus paused for a second, sounding confused.
"He's been stressed out lately, and working himself too hard but he was mostly okay, I just talked to him. Why? Do you feel something?"
Jace pulled a shirt on and grabbed his seraph blade as he answered.
"I think he's using stamina runes to stay awake, and they're draining him. And I can feel his pain through the bond, it isn't bad but if he isn't taking care of himself properly he could be in trouble."
Jace could hear Magnus grabbing things and rushing around, his voice slightly panicked and out of breath.
"He just said he's going out to hunt a vampire."
Jace swore. Alec felt shaky and strung out through their bond, he could not go on a hunt right now and expect to win.
"Magnus, we have to find him."
The warlock agreed. "You find him, I'll track you and meet you there."
Jace confirmed the plan and hung up, leaving the apartment as quickly as he could in search of his Parabatai. He may not have a biological family but Alec was his brother and he always be there to save him.
…
Alec blinked rapidly as he crept down the alley to the rogue vampire's hideout. His headache had upgraded to migraine and his arms could barely hold up his bow, but he could deal with that once he'd arrested the vampire.
"Irene, I know you're here. Surrender to the Clave and come quietly." He knew she wouldn't because nothing went his way these days, but he was trying to draw her out and give her an opportunity to pick the easy route.
A shaky laugh echoed against the walls and Alec spun, trying to find the source.
"You think I want to spend the rest of eternity locked away or being tortured by some bastard Shadowhunter?"
Alec squinted, searching the shadows for her form, but his vision was blurry and he couldn't get his tired eyes to focus.
"I think you'd prefer it to being burnt alive right here in the street."
That cold laugh came again, devoid of humour and filled with more sadness than mirth.
"My love is gone, burnt away by the soul sword while I am doomed to remain here, alone and grieving. I'd rather die than obey the shadowhunters that killed her."
Alec spun in another slow circle, trying to pinpoint where her voice was coming from. But his feet were starting to trip over themselves and his arm was shaking with the weight of his bow.
"She didn't die because of us, she was killed by Valentine. Just give up, you can't leave here till the sun goes down and I'll find you before then."
Because nothing ever went right for Alec, the clouds came heavy, shrouding the sun, and leaving everything dim. Irene stepped out into the now shadowed street and smiled, pointed teeth dripping red.
"Valentine is a shadowhunter, he's one of you. So now that the suns gone, I think I'll avenge my love and kill you. She always liked the taste of angel."
Alexander Lightwood was a skilled hunter, everyone knew that. But he didn't usually do his hunts alone, or with so little energy. His vision blurred as his rune weakened, and his arms shook so badly he could no longer pull back his bow string enough to notch an arrow.
So when Irene came towards him, fangs extended and mouth open, Alec barely had time to feel those teeth sink into his neck before he blacked out.