The Institute – Alyssa's Spare Room

Alyssa was standing in front of an easel, drawing in a large sketchbook mounted on the easel with a stick of charcoal. She was singing softly along to the lyrics of the song she was playing from her phone which was connected to a Bluetooth speaker in the room.

She didn't seem to notice it but she was in a trance. One where she wasn't aware of what she was drawing. It wasn't the first image she'd drawn in the last two hours. She had just finished drawing when the door opened, bringing her out of the trance and making her look up to see who it was. It was Izzy.

"I was pretty sure I locked that door when I entered." Alyssa remarked, moving away from the easel to turn the music off. Izzy just waved her stele at her as a way to explain how she got in. "Ah, right. The ever trusty stele of every Shadowhunter." Alyssa said with a smile as she sat on the bed.

"Funny. Anyway, get cleaned up, you're coming with me to visit the Iron sisters." Alyssa raised an eyebrow at her.

"You've been cleared for mission?"

"Yes."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you have a demon wound on your shoulder that was yet to heal?"

"I'm all healed up now and Aldertree confirmed it before clearing me for the mission." Alyssa donned a skeptical expression.

"I see. And just to be clear, who else is joining you on this 'oh so wonderful field trip' to the Adamant Citadel?"

"You." Izzy replied.

"And…"

"And Clary. She wanted to come so she could distract herself and find something to do."

"Yeah, I don't think it'll be a good idea for me to tag along. Not because of Clary." Alyssa pointed out before Izzy could say anything. "I have other reasons. Besides, I kinda wanted to be with Jace today. We haven't really spent any time together ever since he came back. Ever since he returned, there's always been something getting in the way and messing things up."

"And since today seems like an uneventful day, you want to take advantage of it." Izzy added with a smile.

"Yeah. I know you would have loved for me to go to see the Iron Sisters with you today but I can't. Not today, not when I'm still angry at one of them."

"What?" Izzy was confused.

"I know some of the Iron Sisters. One of them is my aunt. Her name is Cleophas and I'm not quite ready to see her. She and her sister did something to my dad years ago after he became a werewolf, and I haven't quite forgiven them for that." Izzy nodded in understanding.

"I understand."

"Yeah. Although, if you do see Sister Magdalena, extend my regards and tell her she owes me a rematch."

"A rematch?" Izzy asked, confused. Then it dawned on her. "Oh my God. You trained with the Iron Sisters."

"Yeah. It was when I was just beginning my training and before I shifted for the first time. Aunt Cleophas told my dad to let her train me. That was before I learned what she had done. Both she and Sister Magdalena trained me before I got sent to one of the Institutes to avoid complications.

I still used to go back occasionally like once a month until I had my first shift. My aunt immediately ended my training with her when she found out and that's when my dad finally told me everything. Luckily for me, Sister Magdalena didn't seem to care that I was part werewolf. She continued to train and spar with me."

"Wow, I can't believe you were trained by not just one, but two Iron sisters." Izzy gushed.

"Yeah but how about we keep that on a DL."

"Of course, but wow. No wonder I could never defeat you whenever we sparred."

"Yeah. Anyway, you gotta get going if you're going to the Citadel."

"Yeah, and you need to go find your man." Izzy replied, getting up off the bed.

"I will after I speak to our brother about why he has been avoiding Magnus."

"Good luck with that," Izzy said with a playful grimace.

"Thanks." Alyssa replied sarcastically. Izzy only chuckled then left the room. Alyssa chuckled as well then got up from the bed. She put her art materials away then left the room, leaving her sketchbook open on the last image she'd drawn which was of a woman stand over the fallen body of another with a circle rune on the base of her neck.

Hallway

Alyssa had just changed out of her previous clothing and was going out of the room when she saw Alec coming down the hallway.

"Ah, just the person I was looking for." Alyssa said.

"If you're looking for Jace, he's in the training room." Alec said.

"I know that and I'm going to see him, but first I wanted to talk to you." Alec furrowed his eyebrow, wondering why she wanted to talk to him. "Why have you been avoiding Magnus?"

"What? I'm not…" Alec went to deny but stopped when he saw the look on her face. He let out a sigh. "He spoke to you?"

"No, he didn't and he doesn't have to. The way you act every time I ask about you and him is enough. Look, I know it's none of my business, especially when I have my own relationship to work on, but I care about you two. Ever since we got Jace back, you've barely been to see Magnus, and he doesn't need to say anything for me to know that it's bothering him. It's like you only ever see him when you need something."

"That's not…"

"I know it's not, but that's the impression you're giving off. Relationships don't work like that." Alec's phone buzzed then with a message from Magnus.

"Speak of the devil. Magnus just asked me to come over. Said it's an emergency." Alec said. Alyssa, knowing Magnus as well as she did, just smiled and motioned for him to go.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Go!"

"Wait, you're not coming?" Alec asked, confused.

"I have a feeling if he wanted me there, he'd have sent me a message as well. I'm pretty sure this is the kind of emergency only you can handle. Besides, I have to go find my certain husband and have him take me out so we can spend time together doing something other than sparring." Alec couldn't help but chuckle.

"I don't think I've ever seen him do anything other than that. And I still can't wrap my head around the fact that you guys are married."

"Well, you better believe it." Jace's voice said as he walked towards them with his shirt off and sweat all over his upper body. Reaching them, he leaned down and placed a kiss on Alyssa's lips. "Hey, beautiful."

"Hey, handsome," Alyssa replied with a smile, looking up at him.

"And for the record, Alec, contrary to what everyone thinks, I don't spend all of my time training." Jace said to Alec. Alec snorted lightly at what he said.

"Yeah, I'll believe that when I see it." Jace sent him a mock glare.

"Didn't you have an emergency to attend to at your beloved's place, big brother?" Alyssa said.

"Alright, I can take a hint." Alec said with a playful glare at her. He kissed her temple then walked away. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do." He threw over his shoulder to the couple behind him.

"No promises." The couple responded. Alyssa giggled when she saw him shaking his head as he walked away.

"Hey, let me take a shower then we'll go out and have a bite." Jace said to his wife. Alyssa smirked and ran a finger over his chest, trailing up and down and across.

"Mmhmm, too bad I just had one or I would have joined you…you know, to save water." She said, looking up at him seductively. Jace grabbed her by the waist and pulled her flush against his body.

"There's nothing wrong with showering twice." Jace replied in a low, husky voice that sent shivers down her spine. Then he leaned down to capture her lips in a deep, heated, and passionate kiss. Pulling back from the kiss after a while, Alyssa smiled mischievously and pulled away from him.

"Not today, handsome." Jace threw his head back and groaned, making her giggle at him. "But thanks to you, now I need to change my top," she said, dragging him inside the room and pushing him towards the bathroom.

"You're a big tease, you know that."

"I know but think of it this way, the longer you wait, the better it will be when we get down to it." Jace groaned again at this and entered the bathroom, closing the door behind him and blocking out Alyssa's giggles at his antics.

She pulled off her jacket and top, throwing the jacket on the bed and the top into the laundry basket. She picked out another top, a different color of the same top from before, and put it on. She picked up her jacket from the bed and went to knock on the bathroom door.

"Hey, babe." She called through the door. She heard Jace turn down the shower so he could hear her. "I'm gonna go to the kitchen to get some water."

"Ok, I'll meet you down in Ops."

"Alright."

Hunter's Moon Bar

Jace and Alyssa were seated at a booth in the bar, eating and having a chat. At the moment, Alyssa was laughing at something Jace had said.

"I'm sorry, I just can't believe that Maryse, prim and proper Maryse, would do something like that. It's hard to imagine." Alyssa said, breaking into another fit of giggles.

"Oh, she did. Trust me, she isn't always strict and stern. She also has her moments where she's like every other mom." Jace said chuckling along with her. "So anyway, tell me…"

"Hey, Jace." The couple looked up to see a woman coming to stand at their booth, ignoring Alyssa's presence. Looking closer, Alyssa noticed some markings along her face, ones she recognized. The woman was a Seelie, and searching through Jace's memories, she realized the woman was also one of Jace's past flings.

"Kaelie, hi." Jace said, a nervous and awkward tone in his voice. He had no idea how to react to seeing one of his past flings when he was out with Alyssa.

Alyssa bit her lip in amusement, watching Jace panic slightly. Seeing that Jace was preoccupied, she took out her phone and set it to video record Jace, leaning it against the napkin stand on the table and making sure it was getting a good shot of the whole scene.

"Haven't seen you in a while. I've missed you. You don't call or text." Kaelie said, placing her hand on his shoulder and rubbing it.

"Yeah…um…there's a reason for that." Jace said nervously, taking Kaelie's hand away from his shoulder, but the woman didn't take the hint. She brought her hand to him again, running it through his hair. Alyssa was barely holding back her laughter at Jace's obvious discomfort and nervousness.

"Since you're here and I'm here, why don't we catch up? Or we could go to my place and catch up and have some fun? Hmm? Remember all the fun we used to have? We could go back to that." Jace took her hand away again, shifting out of reach and cleared his throat, trying to compose himself.

Alyssa lost it at this moment and began to giggle hysterically. This finally drew Kaelie's attention to her while Jace was confused as to why she was laughing. He'd expected her to be annoyed or furious.

"Wow, Jace, I don't think I've ever seen you this flustered before, and all because of a past fling." Alyssa said, in between giggles. Irritated at being referred to as a common fling, Kaelie glared at the dark-haired girl who was still giggling.

"Excuse me, but who are you?" Kaelie said.

"The woman enjoying the show in front of her," Alyssa said, now smirking. Kaelie then looked to Jace for an answer. Jace, realizing that Alyssa was in no way annoyed at him, relaxed, though he still shifted from Kaelie's reach.

"Kaelie, this is Alyssa Fairchild," Alyssa's smirk still remained as she gave a sarcastic wave of her hand. "My wife." Kaelie's eyes widened as she looked towards Alyssa then settled into a glare which she also directed at Jace.

"Nice to meet you, Kaelie. Jace has told me so much about you, or rather, his memories told me a lot about you. I know about your brief dalliance with him before I came around. If you're expecting me to be annoyed or jealous, I'm not. Trust me, this is nothing but amusing to me. Seeing how flustered Jace got when you approached him was just nothing short of entertaining." Alyssa said, beginning to giggle at Jace's expense again.

Jace narrowed his eyes at her in a mock glare and he pulled her to him, causing her to laugh harder, both of them forgetting about Kaelie's presence as Jace began to poke and tickle her in retaliation. Kaelie huffed and walked away from the couple, leaving the bar entirely.

After a while, Alyssa noticed that the Seelie was no longer there. "Oh, she's gone. That's too bad, I was thinking of inviting her to sit with us just so I can see you get more flustered and nervous." Alyssa teased, giggling again when Jace shook his head and nudged her.

"You know most women would have gotten irritated or at least jealous to see someone, especially a past fling, flirting with their husbands. But my wife just found it amusing to see her flirting with me." Alyssa just picked at a fry and popped it into her mouth.

"Oh please, why would I be jealous? It's no secret that you're handsome and many girls, including past flings, want a piece of you and they probably always will but I also know that you would not stray. Not just because you're not like that or because you know that you are mine and I am yours but also because you know what I'd do to you if you ever did stray. Besides, I could see how much you were uncomfortable with her flirt, though I wonder if that was because I was around. But it was definitely worth it to see you so nervous. And…" She picked her phone up from the table, turning off the video.

Jace's eyes widened in comic horror when he realized she'd captured the whole incident. "…I am so glad I got it all on camera." She said, putting the phone inside her jacket pocket.

"You're going to delete that." Alyssa grinned and shook her head at him.

"No."

"Yes, you will." Jace reached for the phone, but Alyssa kept it out of reach from him, giggling as she did so.

"Nope, gonna show Izzy and Alec. And it'll probably make a great story for the kids in the future." The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. Silence ensued between them for a moment.

"You've thought about having kids with me?" Jace asked, a smile playing on his lips. Seeing this, Alyssa relaxed and inched closer to him, placing her hand on his cheek.

"Well, you are my husband, who else am I going to have kids with? But yeah, I have thought about it. Maybe not now but somewhere in the future, when things have cooled down enough. And I know you're going to be a wonderful dad to our kids if and when we have them."

"And you would be a great mom."

"I don't know about that but I'll take your word for it." Jace grinned and leaned down to capture her lips in a sweet kiss. Alyssa smiled into the kiss and allowed in entry when he nipped her lower lip as they began to make out.

The moment was broken when Jace's phone pinged with a message. Reluctantly pulling away from the kiss, Jace took out the phone to look at the message, his face contorting a look of obvious displeasure.

"It's Aldertree. He wants to see me back at the Institute." Alyssa also groaned with displeasure at having her time with Jace interrupted.

"Well, well, would you look at that?" The couple looked up to see Alec and Magnus. "I'm impressed. Jace actually did take you out." Alec said. Alyssa playfully rolled her eyes at him.

"Very funny, Alec." Jace said, getting up. He took out some money and placed it on the table. Just then, Simon and Maia entered the bar and, spotting Alyssa, headed over.

"Oh thank God, we found you." Simon said. Alyssa threw her hands up and rolled her eyes again.

"Looks like we were going to be interrupted anyway." Alyssa said to Jace. Seeing the look on Magnus and Alec's faces, she assured. "Don't worry, it wasn't you guys. Aldertree asked to see Jace before you two came over." Jace nodded in agreement, then leaned down to give her a kiss.

"I'll see you later, babe." He said, kissing her cheek and left the bar.

"Let me guess, you finally convinced Alec to stop being so serious and go out with you on a date." Alyssa said to Magnus. Alec donned a look of mock offense.

"How do you know I didn't ask him out?"

"Because I know you, big brother and up until Magnus texted you, you were kind of avoiding him so…" Magnus snickered at this. "Anyway, you two should go ahead and enjoy your date. It seems I'm about to be called in for a search party." Alyssa said, gesturing towards Simon and Maia at the last statement. Magnus and Alec nodded and smiled at her before walking away. "Have fun." She then turned to the other two.

"We need to talk."

"Still haven't heard from my dad, and now you're looking for him?" Alyssa asked, though it was more of a statement. "And you want my help to find him."

"Yes, how did you know?" Simon asked, surprised.

"Because, Simon, you have no other reason to call me or seek my help unless it has to do with Clary, who I know is currently at the Adamant Citadel with Izzy. And neither does Maia since she hasn't exactly been on my good side since the stunt she pulled the night Jace escaped from Valentine.

But I know that she'd brave my anger at her to ask for my help if it has to do with my dad. Not to mention I know for a fact that he's been missing since Jocelyn died and no one in the pack, except Maia of course, cares enough to look for him, especially that jackass, Alaric. If they did, they'd have called me by now."

"If you know he's been missing, why haven't you tried looking for him?" Maia asked, drawing Alyssa's ire to her.

"Because I've been too busy dealing with the fact that the demon that killed the woman he loved used me to do that." This silenced Maia and made her look down. "Besides, I already know where he could be and I know why he's been missing." Alyssa said, getting up and walking out of the booth.

"How do you…"

"He's my dad, Simon. I know him and he's told me once where to possibly find him if a situation like this ever happened." She then began to walk towards the entrance. "Are you two coming or not?"

Night – Woods

Following Alyssa's directions, Simon drove the three of them to the woods, then parking, the three of them got out of the car and walked into the woods, with Simon holding a flashlight.

"You're a vampire and you need a flashlight to see in the dark?" Alyssa asked, walking ahead of them.

"I guess I'm still used to the things I used to do as a human." Simon said almost defensively.

"Calm down, Simon. I'm not judging you. Sorry if it came off that way. I'm just annoyed that Aldertree interrupted my date with Jace."

"Still can't believe you're dating him." Maia said.

"I'm not dating him, Maia. He's my husband." Maia and Simon looked at her in surprise and shock.

"I did not know that. I mean, I knew about your soul bond but…" Hearing about the soul bond, Maia's eyes widened further.

"Yeah, that soul bond also married us."

"Wow, no wonder you were ready to bite our heads off that night we almost killed him." Maia said.

"Yeah there was that, and then there was also the fact that if you'd killed him you'd have killed me too." Alyssa said casually, shocking Maia. "If you had, you'd have spilt innocent blood, and then that code you're so fond of, would have been turned against you and your posse. So think of it as me not only saving my husband's ass but yours as well."

"I didn't know."

"Of course, you didn't. Even my dad didn't or he'd have stopped you guys when you'd told him you were going after him. So don't worry, I don't hold that against you. Speaking of my dad, this way." Alyssa said, leading then in a direction.

After some time of walking in silence, Maia spoke up, breaking the silence.

"Full disclosure, I'd rather be hunting in the woods of Far Cry 3." She said. Alyssa let out a chuckle at that.

"Really? I just never would have pegged you for a gamer." Simon said.

"When I first turned, I'd spend hours playing video games. Just me and endless bags of potato chips. I was terrified to go out. Afraid to hurt someone. That I wouldn't be able to control myself." Maia disclosed.

"Well, you seem very in control now. At least as far as I can tell." Simon remarked.

"Yeah, well you can thank Luke for that." Alyssa let out a chuckle at that. "But I guess princess over here never had to worry about losing control with him as her dad."

"Yeah, I wouldn't be too sure about that. You should ask him how many times I tore into him, especially on full moon nights. And it was harder for me since I have never been able to fully shift so my wolf could never come out."

"I didn't know that." Maia said.

"There's a lot about me you don't know, Maia. But never let it get into your head that I've had it easy, especially when it comes to my wolf half. And don't call me princess." Alyssa said then stopped abruptly. "You two smell that?"

"Blood." Maia said. They follow the smell and see the body of a deer, lying dead. It looked like it had been attacked.

"Oh no. Are—are those…"

"Claw marks." Maia and Alyssa finished.

"We gotta find him now. People, mundanes, go camping in these woods and if he finds any, he's gonna kill them." Alyssa said urgently.

Further in the woods, a couple were in a tent making out, unaware of the danger outside it. Luke was outside, transforming. Just as he finished transforming, he growled and lunged towards the tent but two figures came into his path and stopped him. It was Alyssa and Simon.

"Luke, no! Don't do it." Simon pleaded. Maia walked closer.

"Simon."

"Stay back."

"Who's out there?" A woman's voice said from inside the tent.

"Stay in the tent." Simon ordered.

"Dad, hey. Don't do this. Dad, it's me, it's me, Lyssa." Alyssa said, glowing her eyes at the wolf form of Luke. The wolf calmed down ever so slightly. "It's me, daddy. Your baby girl. Come back to me, daddy. You said you'd always be there for me and that no matter what, you'd always love me. I know you're going through a lot of pain right now, after Jocelyn but daddy, you're not alone. Simon's here for you and Maia, Clary and me. We're here for you, daddy and we know that you care about each of us. We need you, dad. I need you. I need my dad.

Do you remember what you said to me when I was learning control? You told me that it wouldn't be easy. That there'd be days when it's too much but even then I shouldn't give in to it. That I have to fight to be in control and those who care about me…they would fight with me. We're here for you, daddy. Don't give into to it. Fight with us. I need you to fight for me and with me, dad."

All the fight went out of the wolf and he calmed down. He moved towards Alyssa who had tears falling down her face. She dropped to her knees and hugged him, sobbing into his fur as the wolf nuzzled her.

Jade Wolf - Inside

Simon and Maia were sitting at a table in the main area, having a conversation while Alyssa and Luke, who was now back in his human form, were in the kitchen, having their own conversation.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, baby. I heard Jocelyn was dead and everything just went black for me. All I remember was the pain."

"Yeah, I know the feeling. It's okay, Dad. I get how you were feeling. It's why I didn't come look for you before." Alyssa said, looking down. Luke looked at her with furrowed eyebrows. "I felt guilty. I felt so guilty that I didn't think I could face you without you thinking about how I killed Jocelyn. I thought you'd blame me and…"

"And you've been carrying this all this time, since Jocelyn died. Oh baby, you know I don't blame you for what happened. You didn't kill Jocelyn. I know those around you have probably been telling you this, but it hasn't yet sunk in."

"You know me so well." Alyssa said with a weak chuckle, still looking down. Luke put his finger under her chin and tilted her head up to look at him then placed his hands on the sides of her face, pushing her hair back.

"Baby, I want you to listen to me when I say it wasn't your fault. You have nothing to be guilty about. I know Jocelyn wasn't your favorite person but I also know that you're not capable of killing her. I know you wouldn't wish death on her no matter how much you despised her. It's not your fault, baby. Ok? I don't want you to blame yourself anymore for something that was out of your control and out of your hands. Alright?" Alyssa nodded, letting a few tears fall then hugged Luke.

"Ok, daddy." Luke smiled and hugged her back, kissing the top of her head. Their moment was broken a few minutes later when Alyssa's phone buzzed with a call. She pulled back from the hug and took the phone from her pocket. She checked the ID to see that it was Magnus and answered. "Hey Magnus, what's…" Luke watched as her expression morphed from one of shock to an angry one. "I'll be there soon." She said then hung up.

"What is it?" Luke asked.

"Aldertree threw Jace out of the Institute. Magnus told me he showed up at his apartment and asked for a place to stay. First, he benched Jace, and now he's thrown him out on the stupid basis that he doesn't trust Jace." Alyssa closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, then let it out, calming herself down before reopening her eyes. "Dad, can I get the key to your place so Jace and I can spend the night there? Then tomorrow, we'll see if we can get an apartment."

"You do realize you still have your apartment, right? The one Magnus and I helped you buy when you turned 18, even though you eventually moved back into Magnus' place after a year and a half."

"How? I thought my lease would be up by now. That it would be rented out by now."

"Magnus and I may have bought it out entirely, in case you ever needed it again. Besides, it was too good of an apartment to let go of. Magnus and I pooled our resources together and we were able to buy the place from the owner. It's in your name and Magnus placed a spell on the place so it wouldn't get dirty and so none of the furniture would be ruined."

"So basically everything is in good condition and it's habitable for us to live in." Luke nodded causing a wide smile to split across her lips. "Thanks, Dad. I love you." She said, hugging Luke who returned it before she pulled back.

"You're welcome, and I love you too, baby. The keys are back at my place. You can head there in the morning." Alyssa smiled, kissed his cheek, thanked him, then bid him goodbye before leaving to Magnus'.

Magnus' Apartment

Alyssa arrived to see Magnus seated on his couch, sipping a cocktail. He looked up at her and pointed towards where her room was.

"Thanks. I'm guessing your date with Alec went well?"

"What gave me away?"

"The look in your eyes which I haven't seen your eyes for a while plus you can't stop smiling a certain smile that you have reserved for Alec." Alyssa said, a smirk playing on her lips.

"Is that so?" Magnus said, still smiling as he sipped his drink.

"Yes." Alyssa's lips formed into a soft smile. "I'm happy for both of you, Mags. You're just what Alec needs and he's just what you need."

"Just like you and Jace." Magnus replied knowingly. "Go on. Go and see him. He didn't look fine when he arrived." Alyssa gave him one more smile and nodded at him, turning to leave. "Oh, and I soundproofed the room. I don't need to hear what you two will be getting up to in there."

"Magnus!" Alyssa said, blushing. Magnus just waved her off. Shaking her head at him, she made her way to her room where she saw Jace lounging on the bed, reading one of the books she had. "I see you've made yourself at home." She teased.

"Well, now that you're here, I am home." Jace said with a grin, placing the book on the nightstand and beckoning her over. Alyssa grinned and went over to join him on the bed, straddling his lap and leaned down to kiss him. Jace wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer.

"So you want to tell me what happened when you went to meet Aldertree." Alyssa said, pulling back from the kiss. Jace just groaned and pulled her back closer.

"I could do that…or we could go back to what we were just doing."

"Jace." Jace sighed and threw his head back.

"He first started going on about he not being able to trust me because of the demon blood Valentine injected me with and then asked me what Clary and I were doing studying the Gray Book. Then he placed me on ichor duty. And when I complained, he basically told me to get out unless I'd rather he showed everyone what happened during my trial and what I said."

"And thereby making you a traitor in the eyes of the Clave and every Shadowhunter. He's a manipulative jackass and when I get my hands on him…"

"You'll do nothing, babe. At least for now. We don't need him benching and kicking you out too." Alyssa studied him for a bit.

"Jace, did he say something else?"

"Babe, just leave it. I don't want to think about him right now. I just wanna focus on us right now, ok?" Jace said, pecking her lips. Alyssa reluctantly conceded and kissed back.

"Ok, speaking of us, apparently I still have my apartment from when I turned 18. Magnus and my dad bought it out from the owner and kept it up."

"Are you asking me to move in with you?" Jace asked, the beginnings of a smile on his lips.

"If you want us to. Unless you'd rather be here when Magnus and Alec decide to take things to…"

"Say no more. You had me at Magnus and Alec." Alyssa giggled at the look on his face and at what he said. Jace looked at her with a look of love and tightened his hold of her. Seeing the smoldering look in his eyes, Alyssa's giggles subsided. "You know growing up, Valentine used to tell me love was a weakness. That, to love is to destroy and to be loved is to be the one destroyed. But being with you, having you makes me realize that he's wrong. Love isn't a weakness. It's a strength, one I revel in every single day with you. The love I feel for you is what makes me strong enough to keep going. It's what kept me going when I was with Valentine and when I was in the City of Bones awaiting trial." Tears gathered in Alyssa's eyes as she smiled Jace. "I love you, Alyssa and I will always love you."

"I love you, Jace. There is no part of me that doesn't love you, and I will keep on loving you until the day I die."

"And if there's a life after that?" Jace asked, a smile on his lips, pulling Alyssa close until their foreheads touched.

"I will love you then too. Always and forever."

"Always and forever." Jace echoed. Alyssa smiled at him through her tears and leaned down to kiss him with Jace responding immediately. The kiss which had started off slowly and sweetly, deepened into a passionate and heated one.

As things heated up, they began to pull off each other's clothes till they were down to their underwear. Jace rolled over, bringing Alyssa beneath him.

He looked down at Alyssa, silently asking if she was sure she wanted them to continue, asking for permission. She nodded and smiled gently at him in answer, and to affirm her answer, she reached behind her and unhooked her bra, peeling it off and tossing it onto the pile of clothes on the floor.

With the green light affirmed, things progressed from there as they made love to one another several times throughout the night.