Finished up with the second chapter. Drama ensues, but we all know that this whole series is about family dramas.

It was dawn when they arrived at the Institute. Clary was asking about everything she could all throughout the way and having some kind of chemistry with this Jace guy. Though Stella knew the look in his eyes as half of the guys looked at her best friend the same way. Like they want to fuck her fast and hard. Of course she wanted to say something, but who was she to stop Clary if she wanted to get laid?

"You have been giving him the eye" Clary said as they were left in front of some church for a few moments.

"Because he looks at you like he wants to fuck you? I mean he does look hot so I wouldn't blame you for being tempted if we weren't looking for your mom. So please Clary, stay on task," Stella said as she folded her arms and rolled her eyes.

"You're right, we must stay on task" she nodded in agreement as Jace called them into the Institute.

"Clary Fairchild, Stella Benedict" he said as he led them to his friends from the nightclub. "This is Isabelle and Alec Lightwood" he introduced them to each other.

Stella looked at them. The girl appeared to be their age, despite her best efforts to come off as some hooker in a fancy bar. And when she looked at the boy, Stella's gaydar activated. Because after all, only two types of men existed. The ones who liked Clary and the ones who are gay. And from the way he looked at her best friend, he must be the latter.

"Clary is a Shadowhunter and Stella is a Warlock. They're new to the shadow world" Jace said, trying to get the conversation going somewhere.

"There's no such thing as new Shadowhunters and Warlocks" Alec stated sternly as he gazed at both of them.

"There are now," Stella retorted with a casual shrug. "I mean, it's fun and everything to get to know a new world from some fancy young adult book, but we're here for answers, not to make new friends." She then sighed and glanced at Alec, her brow furrowing. "She's gazing longingly at Jace, isn't she?"

"You're the responsible one if I have to guess," he answered, smiling. For the surprise of his sister.

"My life is saying: Clary, no! on repeat" Stella said, her fingers running through her dark brown locks.

"I know the feeling. All I get to say is: Jace, no!"

"Is that?" Isabelle looked at Alec surprised. "My brother likes someone? That's new" she chuckled.

"You don't have many friends if I have to guess" Stella smiled at Alec. He seemed like a nice, but reserved guy. "But I must say, taking care of idiots is a demanding task."

Alec nodded, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips. "Tell me about it. Keeping Jace in line is a full-time job."

Martha sprinted toward Luke, her face etched with worry, though that wasn't unusual. Martha was always fretting over something.

"Luke!" she called out breathlessly, catching his attention as she approached. Her anxiety seemed heightened today. "Stella isn't answering her phone," she said, her voice trembling slightly as she scrolled through her contacts with a frustrated swipe. "I tried calling Clary too, but it keeps going straight to voicemail." Her eyes darted back to her phone, as if willing it to ring.

Luke sighed heavily, sensing the gravity of the situation. He gently took Martha's arm and led her into one of the empty corridors, away from the bustling crowd that was just beginning to arrive for their morning shifts. The hallway was quiet, the perfect place for a conversation they didn't want others overhearing.

"Listen…" Luke began, his tone serious as he glanced around to make sure they were alone. "The Circle is back. They're after the Mortal Cup, Jocelyn, and Clary. And if they've found out about Clary, then Stella might be in danger too. You know how close those two are. Stella could have easily been caught up in all of this."

Martha's face paled as she started to pace back and forth, her mind racing. The situation was spiraling out of control at the worst possible time. "No, no, no! This can't be happening now of all times" she whispered, frustration evident in her voice. Everything was unraveling too quickly, and she felt powerless to stop it.

"You need to calm down," Luke said firmly, stepping in front of her to halt her frantic pacing. He gripped her shoulders, forcing her to focus. "Not many people in the Shadow world know about you, so Stella could easily be mistaken for just another Warlock. No one would ever guess the truth about her heritage, it's too unbelievable."

Martha's eyes were wide with fear. "But what if she does have magic? What if they find out?" Her voice quivered with a mixture of fear and guilt. She had kept Stella's true identity hidden for so long, but now it felt like everything was slipping through her fingers.

Luke shook his head gently. "If she had magic, we would have seen signs by now," he reassured her. "Martha, you can't keep denying her who she really is. You've protected her for as long as you could, but it's time to let her claim her birthright."

"What kind of birthright is a world that wants to destroy her?" Martha's voice broke, the weight of her fears pressing down on her.

"The kind that will make her the strongest," Luke replied, his voice softening as he pulled out his phone and began scrolling through his contacts. He paused, then looked up at her. "Did you try calling Simon?"

Martha shook her head, her thoughts scattered. "Not yet…"

"Then let's start there," Luke said decisively. "If anyone knows what's going on, it'll be Simon. We'll get to the bottom of this together." He pressed the call button, and they both waited, hoping for an answer that would ease their fears, but bracing themselves for the worst.

"You are pretty calm, for someone who just got into 'a fancy young adult novel' as you said" Alec said as he helped Stella cleaning and wrapping up her wounds in the infirmary. Without runes they could draw on her, this was their only option to treat her.

"Because freaking out would be better?" Stella scoffed as she lifted up her eyebrow. "I can if you want. Screaming like a little girl and running away."

Alec smirked slightly as he continued to bandage Stella's wounds. "No, I suppose not. But most mundanes – or anyone new to our world – don't handle this so well."

Stella shrugged, wincing as he tightened the bandage around her arm. "I've always been good at keeping my cool when things get weird. Plus, someone has to stay level-headed for Clary. Because she is the one who is genuinely freaking out, which I totally get. Her mom was just kidnapped, her apartment got trashed and now… this."

"But still. You shouldn't make your whole life about her" he said as he finished. In some regards he saw himself in her.

"Clary and my mother are all I have. She's like a sister to me, I've known her since birth" Stella explained as she stood up with a sigh. She often got the same critique from her mother too. But it was hard to part from the only person who didn't see her as a freak.

Alec wanted to say something back but the ringing of Stella's phone cut him off. She then quickly fished out her broken phone and accepted Simon's call.

"Your mom and Luke called and said that you and Clary are gone!" came Simon's frantic voice from the speaker. "I have been calling Clary for an hour now and the Find My Friend app says that both of you are in this abandoned church… What the hell is going on?"

"Shit!" Stella cursed suddenly, realizing that it was dawn now. Of course her mom was looking for her! "Yesterday was not really how we planned. I can't explain everything right now, but… Where are you?"

"In front of that stupid church," Simon replied, his tone a mix of relief and frustration. He was probably pacing outside, waiting for any sign of them.

Stella sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Stay there, Simon. I'm coming out to get you. But listen, things are complicated right now, so just… brace yourself, okay?"

"Complicated? Do you two have an addiction problem we have to talk about?"

"I wish we would only have addiction problems" she sighed as she shook her head. "But I'm here in a minute." Then she ended the call.

"So another idiot is here?" Alec asked as he frowned deeply and Stella just nodded with the same energy as him.

"Yeah. Simon is one of those guys who just doesn't get it. He's got this obsession with Clary that he's been nursing since forever. You know the type – he's convinced that if he just sticks around long enough, she'll suddenly realize she's in love with him. He is a nerd and I love him like a brother, but he's just so dense sometimes" she explained with a sigh as they made their way downstairs. "Anyway, he would find out one way or another so it's better if we comfort him now."

"Great start to a great day" he said, massaging his temple tiredly as they walked out of the Institute.

Noticing Simon, Stella waved. He looked worried as he scrolled on his phone but he was always when Clary was in danger. And now with Clary having chemistry with that Jace, this will be everything but saving poor Jocelyn.

"So, where's Clary?" ha asked as he looked behind Stella, as if waiting for Clary to trail after her.

"She's safe given that her mom was kidnapped yesterday" she said, rolling her eyes. Inside it always hurt her a bit that after all the years they had been together as friends, Simon never worried about her. Never once asked: Are you okay, Stella? That's how she knows he's only here to get out of the friendzone he's been stuck in like forever.

"Jocelyn was kidnapped? By who and why and…"

"I know it's super confusing and I'm also new to all of this fantasy stuff, but Alec here can…" she said, pointing at Alec, only to be interrupted.

"Alec, who? I see no one" furrowed Simon his eyebrows confused as Stella looked at him, rolling her eyes.

"Are you kidding me?" she asked him as Alec shrugged his shoulders amused. "Can you like deglamourise or something?"

"Sorry, force of habit" he said as he waved his wand thing over one of his many tattoos. "It's a stele. We use it to draw our runes" he lifted up almost the same paperweight Clary got.

"Nice, but we have stuff to do and places to be" Stella said as she ran her fingers through her dark brown locks.

"I was thinking the same" Alec nodded as he and Stella looked at Simon then at each other. "Will it be long to explain this to him?"

"God, I hope not."

"Circle? Who the fuck calls an evil cult Circle?" Stella later asked as Jace explained who must be behind Jocelyn's kidnapping. "Oh, and let me guess, they're plotting world domination, aren't they?"

"Yeah, you can say they weren't really creative when it came to naming themselves" Jace smirked at her but Stella just rolled her eyes.

"Shame. You can sell anything with a good branding these days" Stella shook her head as Clary cleared her throat while standing next to Simon who looked like a fish on the shore, confused about everything coming out of anyone's mouth. Funny, when he was the one playing D&D for like two years.

"So, yeah, the thing is that the Circle was responsible for the Uprising. Many Shadowhunter died back then, including my father."

"Please, tell me that I'm not gonna hear your tragic backstory too?" Stella raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. She didn't like Jace. He was one of many guys who looked and sounded the same as him, while thinking they were oh so special. And it irked something in her. She would never admit but it could be due to them never looking at her the same way as they looked at Clary.

"I guess not everyone's into the tragic hero vibe," he chuckled, clearly trying to hide the fact that it surprised him that his charms weren't really working on her. But she was a warlock after all, so this shouldn't be surprising for him. Jace always found them quite confusing.

"He just doesn't like that his charms are not working" Isabelle appeared behind Stella and whispered this into her ear.

"Sorry, his rizz is just not for me" Stella said back, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly while Clary tried to talk about how she didn't give a shit about the rules these guys had because she had to find her mom. Way to treat the guys who are trying to help. "Cultural appropriation Clary. You know what that means?" Stella cut her off before she could damage the very unstable relationship they had with these guys. "If they are forbidden to hear about the Circle then you should respect it."

A moment later Stella looked into Clary's eyes and she knew she managed to get her off her high horse and see stuff clearer.

"Sorry" she said as she looked at Jace apologetically. "I'm just really worried about mom."

"It happens sometimes. It's great that you have someone to ground you when it does" he replied as he put his hand on her shoulders.

"Yeah, I guess so" she sighed as she gazed at Stella.

"Anyway we do actually have someone who you could talk with…"

As Clary went with Jace into the next room to talk with someone, Stella and Simon were left with Alec and Isabelle.

"I get that Clary has this connection to these guys but what about you? How do you fit into all of this?" Simon suddenly asked, not really understanding Stella's place in all of this. Or why she is so calm about it.

"I don't know" Stella sighed looking into Simon's eyes. "They told me I'm a warlock and that's why I have the Sight like Clary."

"But don't warlocks have.."

"Magic? Yeah, actually there's a subcaste of warlocks called infrits. They have a warlock mark…" there she pointed at her yellow cat-like eyes "but lack the ability to use magic."

"It's like having a lightsaber but not being a force user" Simon replied, his usual nerdiness shining through that made Stella chuckle.

"Yeah, something like that. Though having a lightsaber would be much more fun than these creepy eyes."

"Hey, but let's see the bright side of things. You are actually a demon! Or at least partly" Simon giggled, remembering their friendly banter from yesterday.

"Way to make me feel good, my friend" Stella rolled her eyes.

"Sorry, but you are just taking this all so… calmly. I know, you never were the one to freak out but… all we know has just been turned upside down. Doesn't this concern you in any way?"

"I guess…" she said as she was thinking about yesterday. Of course she wanted to break down but she couldn't. After all these years of being calm to help Clary made her even forget how she was supposed to break down. "Maybe I just… always knew that… there's something wrong with me."

"Yeah. Maybe there was always something wrong with you."

Stella knew he said this because Simon himself tried to make sense of all of this but… goddamn it hurt her.

"I'm making breakfast" Alec suddenly said as he was behind Stella. "You must be hungry, come with me" he stated sternly, taking Stella's arm and pulling her with him towards the kitchens.

"Does he like Stella or something?" Simon asked Isabelle, while looking after her.

"In the way you think? Definitely not" she waved it off. She knew her brother was never really into girls. "I think he just… sees himself in her. The burden."

"You make it sound like Stella didn't have a choice in choosing Clary as her best friend," he said, trying to protect Clary in this scenario.

"Did she? Have a choice, I mean" she asked, tilting her head thoughtfully.

"I don't know… they were already besties when I met them in middle school" he said, remembering how inseparable Clary and Stella were even when he met them that day.

"Friendships, like theirs, are beautiful, but have their costs. What I'm stating is that Alec knows those costs better than anyone" Isabelle sighed. "But I'm glad. He always had difficulty finding friends. He's been a bit of a loner."

"Could say the same about Stella."

Martha and Luke were scouring through the trashed apartment of Jocelyn and Clary in hopes of finding anything that can lead to them.

"Since we called Simon he's gone too" Martha sighed as she put some stuff into a box to help Luke. "This is all a mess," she said as suddenly Dot stepped into the room.

"Where are they?" Luke asked, knowing that she was more likely to know what happened with Clary and Stella.

"I portalled them to the police station yesterday as I stayed behind to help Jocelyn" Dot stated, confused as she was sure that she opened the portal to the right place.

"But they weren't there. We can't find them anywhere."

"Whatever happened we need to find them. Magnus Bane can help" Dot proposed but this just made Marta laugh.

"Magnus? Seriously? You think just because you were one of his many lovers, he will throw himself into the fray for you?"

"Speaking from experience, huh?" Dot spat back a bit angrily. She never liked the decisions Martha made, but respected them anyway. Well… until now. "You are a cruel woman Martha and have no right to judge Magnus. Not while you are hiding his…"

"Stella is my daughter!" she snapped as she glared at her, hand trembling.

"It's ironic then that she looks like a carbon copy of him, isn't it?" Dot asked, her voice laced with pity as she looked straight into Marta's eyes.

"You think I don't know?!" she yelled, desperately trying to keep her emotions in check. She had to stay calm. For everyone. "But know one thing, Dorothea. Magnus chose the parties, the Pandemonium and the High Warlock life over me. He was selfish, as always, and I was the one left with picking up the pieces after him."

"No, Martha. You just carved a hole into Stella's heart that may never be fixed."

It was quiet as she helped Alec make breakfast. Not that she minded it, it felt so good that she was let alone for a bit. No judging or trying to talk with her. Just letting her help in making the breakfast.

"Is ha always this mean?" she heard Alec ask and stopped what she was doing.

"I don't know," Stella answered, thinking about Simon in general. She thought back to all the times Simon had made similar remarks, how she'd always brushed them off as part of their banter. But now, under Alec's scrutiny, she found herself questioning if it was really just that – banter.

"How can you not know?" Alec frowned slightly, clearly unsatisfied with her answer.

Stella hesitated, then shrugged, her eyes downcast. "I just got used to it. People are usually mean to me," she admitted, her voice quieter than before. It was a truth she rarely voiced, one that she had buried deep under layers of sarcasm and resilience. "My eyes. I was a freak because of them."

"So you learnt to hide the part of yourself you're ashamed of and to act tough so people won't see what you really feel?" He suddenly asked, on point and sounding quite personal. Stella looked up at him with clarity in her eyes.

"So, the Shadowhunters are like conservative christians?" she asked back, shifting the conversation towards him as she knew she was not ready to talk about herself. "That must be hard for you."

"It's… complicated. There's a lot of pressure to be a certain way, to live up to expectations. And when you don't fit the mold…" He trailed off, as if the words were too heavy to fully articulate.

Stella nodded, understanding more than she let on. "It sucks," she said simply, summing up the weight of both their experiences in those two words.

Alec glanced at her, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Yeah, it does."

"But I put five bucks on that Clary and this Jace will come up with some crazy plan when they finish speaking with that guy" Stella giggled, lightening the mood.

"Come on! Don't bet on a sure thing" he shook his head.

"Magnus! Hey." Dot touched his shoulder when she noticed him in the Pandemonium, helping warlocks into a portal. "Why haven't you answered my messages? Jocelyn's missing and I–"

"I've been a little busy protecting our people from certain death" he said, his voice quite serious as he pointed at the portal.

"What are you talking about?" She asked, a bit confused and annoyed.

"Jocelyn's brilliant plan is screwed. Valentine knows a warlock brewed the potion that put her to sleep. He's hunting warlocks down one by one" he explained, then stopped for a second. But just for one. "And you owe me an explanation."

"An explanation? For what? I've been Portaling all over the city looking for Clary and my magic is dangerously low. I need your help."

"It's strange that you are on such good terms with the Fairchilds, yet you failed to ever mention to me Clary's oblivious warlock friend who came up to me yesterday," Manus said.

"You met Stella?" Dot asked back as her eyes widened, as this was a twist even she didn't see coming. Almost ironic even.

"Yes, I met her," Magnus confirmed, his voice laced with both curiosity and frustration. "She walked into my club with Clary, completely unaware of who or what she really is. And you know the strangest part wasn't even that he had no idea of her being a warlock, it was that…"

"She looked exactly like you?" Dot finished his sentence.

Magnus paused, his gaze narrowing as he studied Dot's reaction. "Yes. She has my eyes, my aura… everything. It was like looking into a mirror of my past, except she is a woman. And I just can't wrap my head around it… I met many of my half siblings but she's not like them."

Dot understood his confusion deeply. She was as confused as him when she met them. Stella was someone who should never have been born at all from a warlock, let alone from two. They were all infertile, so she was not surprised at Magnus not knowing even when looking straight at her. But she had to tell him. He was her dearest friend and she can't let him suffer in oblivion.

"Because she is your daughter. I know it sounds stupid, but it's the truth. Her mother is Martha and…"

"This is a cruel joke, Dorothea. I have no daughter" he stated, denying everything, not wanting to even think about it. He was a warlock and this would be impossible. He can't have a daughter even if he wanted to.

"But Magnus!" Dot yelled after him as he walked away, towards the portal he made. "You can't walk away from this!" But he was already gone. The truth was out and now it can't be stopped anymore.