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"I swear I didn't kill him! I was just taking a walk in the park, and next thing I know I- I'm waking up next to a body. I'm covered in blood. I-" The werewolf looked at Luke with tears in his eyes, threatening to fall. His breath was growing shallow and ragged. "I would never kill someone! Luke, come on, you know me. I would never do this."
Luke sat across the table in the holding cell at the Institute, arms crossed. "I've always known you to be good, but the mundane's injuries match your teeth. Their blood was under your nails."
"Luke, please! I didn't do anything wrong. I would never, never-"
"How did you feel when you woke up?" Alec spoke up for the first time since the interrogation began.
"What?" The werewolf seemed confused by the change in questioning.
"Physically, how did you feel?"
"Kind of like, hungover, I guess?" The confusion gave way to panic once again. "But I swear I wasn't drinking!"
Alec nodded to himself. "I'm going to send someone in here to take some samples. Tell Luke everything you remember." Alec left Luke to handle the rest and called Izzy.
Alec wanted to believe in the werewolf's innocence. He was intimately familiar with the possibility that someone's body could commit a crime without their consent. And just because that happened, doesn't mean that person is to blame - or so everyone kept telling him.
What would have happened if Alec had been possessed outside of the Institute, away from all those cameras? Would everyone have believed that it wasn't his fault? Would anyone have been so quick to forgive him?
The Clave would be all too pleased to accuse this werewolf of lying. If Alec didn't help him, it was likely no one would.
So Alec hoped that Izzy could find something in the lab to support his suspicions, if he couldn't find it himself.
Luke swapped places with Izzy and joined Alec outside of the cell when he was finished. "What are you thinking?"
"Maybe he's telling the truth. He killed the mundane, but maybe he didn't kill the mundane."
"Are you talking about possession? Like the one in the Institute…" Luke trailed off. It probably wasn't a good idea to bring that memory back up. For either of them.
"He doesn't deserve to be locked up if someone, or something else, was responsible for the killing. Living with that guilt alone will be hard enough; we don't need to punish him on top of that."
Luke didn't address Alec's accidental admission that he still beat himself up over Jocelyn's death. He stuck to the business at hand, "So what's the plan?"
"We scan the area. Anywhere he may have gone between what he remembers and the murder. Check for sulfur, heat signatures, anything out of the ordinary."
"Anything that can clear his name," Luke clarified. "I'll meet you on Bow Bridge; it's the last place he remembers. From there, we can spread out and cover more ground. I'll bring Maia along too."
An hour of searching passed with nothing to show for it. Alec didn't particularly mind working through The Ramble, even if his search was unproductive. He was at least offered some peace and quiet on the walk.
He was alone as he walked through the skeletal trees; most of the park's natural inhabitants were avoiding the cold bite of winter. It was rare that Alec got to be alone these days - between dating Magnus, looking after Clary and his ever reckless siblings, and working with his subordinates and superiors alike as Head of the Institute - not that he was complaining. Still, it was nice to not be watched, inspected, judged, even if just for a little while.
Except, he was being watched. A second pair of careful footsteps reached his ears, as if they were stalking him.
He turned.
"Maia?" She didn't answer. She just stared, unmoving. "Did you find something?"
A sinking feeling grew in the pit of Alec's stomach. Something wasn't right. "Maia…are you okay?"
A spark of green flashed in her eyes.
"Fuck."
Maia's limbs twisted. She barely flinched as her bones snapped into the shape of a wolf. Alec pulled his bow and smoothly nocked an arrow as he backed away.
"Maia, I don't want to hurt you. It's Alec. We're in Central Park with Luke. We're searching for evidenc-"
She leapt straight toward him without a hint of concern for the half drawn weapon in his hands. He dodged to the side, ducking behind a tree for cover. As soon as he heard her claws sink into the bark, he ran.
Luke was somewhere toward the east, but Alec had no idea exactly where he would be by now. He just hoped like hell he could find him.
"Luke!"
He could hear Maia's heavy paws hit the ground over his shouting. He couldn't outrun a hunting werewolf for long.
"Luke!"
If it came to a fight, it would be to the death. He wasn't sure whose death, and he didn't want to find out.
There was only one other option.
Alec realized that the bridge to the Seelie realm was just up ahead. He never thought he would consider entering the Queen's realm uninvited to be a safe haven, but here he was.
The bridge was within reach. Maia was so close he could hear her labored breaths mix with his own.
He had no other choice.
He jumped.
A wave of relief washed over him as soon as he cleared the railing.
Until a large body slammed into him, smashing him into the wall of the concrete river bed with a crack, knocking the wind out of his lungs and decorating his vision with black spots. Before he could refill his lungs with air, he was plunged into the breathtakingly cold water, held down with sharp claws and the weight of a werewolf.
On instinct, Alec ripped his arms free and grabbed hold of the snapping jaws. He could barely manage to keep them an inch from his face, but if he didn't get his head above water soon, it wouldn't matter.
It was a race against the water and the werewolf to kill Alec Lightwood.
Maia lifted her head out of the water to take the breath Alec so desperately wished he could have. Her claws continued to dig into his chest and thighs, offering no chance of escape. Her jaws dove right back into the water, doing their best to separate his head from his body.
And she was winning. Alec's strength was dwindling. Darkness crowded his vision. He hoped the water would kill him before he felt his flesh torn to pieces.
The last thing he heard was a growl and the weight was lifted from his chest.
Alec was ripped violently from the peace and quiet. Everything hurt. There was still a huge weight on his chest, but this time it landed like a jackhammer, up and down, breaking through his ribs. On the next push, water rushed the wrong way through his throat and nostrils with a complete disregard for the additional pain it caused. The hammering on his chest stopped and new violent tremors came from inside him now.
Someone rolled him onto his side as his body was racked with coughs, desperately pushing the water out to be replaced by air, each one causing a new wave of agony. When Alec finally felt like he was on the right side of death, he cracked open an eye and was greeted by the sight of a very naked Luke.
About time Luke found him.
"Alec? Where's your stele?" Luke searched through Alec's tattered clothing until he found it. He pushed it into Alec's hand. "You need to heal yourself and send a message for help. Your phone was destroyed and mine is back with my clothes."
Alec's limp hand made no real effort to direct the stele. Instead, Luke wrapped Alec's hand around it and held tightly. He directed both their hands toward Alec's iratze.
"Come on, Alec. Stay with me."
Together, they managed to activate the rune. Alec groaned as it took effect.
"Good. Can you send a fire message?"
Alec managed a small nod. Though the thought of stringing together a coherent sentence felt monumental.
And, as it turned out, unnecessary.
The call for help had already been sent through the parabatai bond, and it was answered when Jace came stumbling out of a portal, clutching at his hip. Magnus followed and ran over to Alec, hands already lit with magic, the tendrils seeking Alec. Jace dropped to his knees next to them less than gracefully.
"I resuscitated him after he drowned." Luke supplied. Then, carefully, "He…was also attacked by a wolf."
"I'm so sorry," a new voice came from a few yards away, gasping between panicked breaths. Maia sat curled up against a tree, hugging herself, shivering from equal parts cold and fear. "I don't know what happened. I-"
"She was possessed."
Magnus used the information to refocus his efforts on helping Alec breathe. Jace activated several runes and wrapped his own jacket around his nearly hypothermic parabatai. When Alec regained enough strength, he grabbed Magnus' hand to get his attention. "Check on her."
Magnus hesitated for a moment, but relented, knowing Jace would continue to monitor Alec. He checked Maia for injuries and confirmed she had been possessed, then magicked Luke and Maia's clothing back to them and returned to Alec's side as quickly as possible.
"You're coming home and resting. No more work tonight." Alec didn't even try to argue with Magnus.
"I'll fill Jace in. We'll take care of everything back at the Institute," Luke offered.
Magnus and Jace pulled Alec into something resembling a standing position. Alec nodded his thanks toward Luke, but thought better of it and managed a "thank you" between coughs.
"And thank you, for not…" Luke couldn't bring himself to say it, but they all knew that had it been any other Shadowhunter, they wouldn't have hesitated to kill Maia in self defense.
Alec settled for a nod this time. He allowed Magnus to arrange their bodies so that much of Alec's weight was carried by Magnus. They made their way through the waiting portal toward their warm, dry bed. For tonight, he would be happy to be watched over.