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Chapter Text

I lounged in the booth, my black boots propped up on the table. I picked at my nails, pretending to be busy. In reality I was taking in the diner. Coast Diner wasn't just any retro-styled diner a hundred miles from the sea. No, it catered to Downworlders. None of which were paying any attention to me.

There were about a dozen, counting in the faerie cook back in the kitchen. Vampires, werewolves and faeries, all living in harmony or some crap like that. That's something that Finn had said at one point. I hadn't been listening, not really. I had been more focused on his lips than the words coming out of them.

The door jangled open. Finally, I thought. The entire ensemble was here, the regulars for a weekday night at the diner. My boots slammed on the floor as I stood from my booth. And by my booth I mean my booth. I'd etched my name underneath the table years ago.

I walked towards the door like I was leaving but then I stopped and turned the lock on the door. I turned and saw that now everyone was staring at me, my runes clearly seen in the diner light. I felt the seraph blade in my jacket but I knew that I wouldn't need it. "Nobody leaves until someone tells me where Brady is."

One of the vampires threw his head back in laughter, his fangs catching the light. "You think we're going to give up one of our own?" His red hair matched the red stain of blood around his mouth. Probably lamb's blood. Probably.

"Brady isn't one of you, he hasn't been for a long time." Years ago I remember that he had. He was one of the regular customers at Coast Diner. Blood-lust changed all that.

"The fact remains that you aren't either," the red-headed vampire pointed out. "Nephilim." He stat the word with such hatred that he barred his fangs at me.

I just stared at him. "I don't get it. Are you trying to scare me? You look more like a chihuahua than a vampire."

The vampire let out a growl as a stood up from his booth. "You'll regret that." He was on me in vampire speed. But I was ready for him. My hand was around his throat faster than he could even show his teeth. My nails dug into his skin. That wasn't something I'd learnt from anything Shadowhunter.

"You really want to do this, Dylan? Again? Last time I beat your ass I heard you went and cried to Maverick, like he would do anything to me." I pushed Dylan away with such force that he landed on the ground.

Dylan rose up on his elbows, growling at me again. "The hotel on 12th street," someone from the other side of the room finally spoke.

The vampire whipped his head around and glared at him. "Seth!"

The old man shrugged. He wasn't actually a downworlder. Was just a mundane, a mundane with the Sight. Instead of being scared of the things he saw in the dark he embraced them. "Why do you care about Brady? He's been a pain in our neck for ages. It's about time someone takes care of him."

"I don't care about Brady, I care about her," Dylan spat. "She's Nephilim, our enemy and you're all just so ready to let her walk all over you like she owns the place."

I unlocked the door, but I looked behind me before I left. "Thanks, Seth." The old man always came through for me. He always came through for everyone. He was the downworlders' personal grandpa. I stared the walk out the door and then stopped. "By the way, Dylan- I acted like I owned the place long before I even got my first rune. And I still kicked your ass then."

No one stopped me as I left the diner. I found my motorcycle where I had left it, in the same spot that it always was. I put on my helmet out of habit. I didn't really need one, given my blood and runes I'd probably walk away from an accident but I'd worn one since I was a kid so it was second nature.

I pulled off down the old road that hadn't been paved in ten or so years. The area looked like where you would find drug dens and murderers. That wasn't exactly far from the truth.

As I drove I considered calling for backup. It wasn't that late but I instantly decided against it. Brady was mine.

When I pulled into the alley behind the hotel I realized that I didn't have the room number Brady was in. I shrugged, it shouldn't be to hard to follow the blood and carnage. I quickly runed and glamoured myself, not wanting to deal with mundanes.

I walked through the hotel, unseen. The lobby was normal, the reception and bell hoppers unaware of what was going on upstairs.

I took the stairwell, checking each floor for the scent of blood and death. Finally, on the tenth floor I heard loud music banging in the suite. Taking the stake out of my jacket I knew this was the room.

I kicked the door open, unwilling to wait for someone to open it. Unwilling to let Brady make it seem like this was just a normal party.

No, I found him sitting on the couch, an innocent girl in his grasp. He was sucking the life out of her. "Sydney!" He exclaimed tearing his fangs from her neck. Fear was in his eyes, he knew he had been caught. He wiped the blood from his face with his sleeve and stood up. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" he tried.

"Condolences for the cell in hell you're going to rot in." Before I was even done speaking the stake was flying through the air, impaling Brady in the chest. I was done being lienant.

Glancing at the girl, now unconscious, I knew she'd be fine. Brady never drank enough to kill, except when he went off the rails, like two weeks prior.

I pressed the emergency button on the hotel phone and let it hang before walking out of the room. Glamoured, I walked out of the hotel unseen and I only deglamoured myself when I hopped on my motorcycle. The last thing this city needed was to see a motorcycle riding itself.

I took off into the night.

Chapter Text

The morning after I killed Brady I woke up in my dimly lit room. A huge tree stood in front of my window, shading my room. I chose it for that reason. I preferred the darkness.

Rising from my bed I wondered how long it would take before someone came bitching at me for killing Brady alone, with no back up. I had quietly left the report on the Institute head's desk late last night; I hadn't told anyone directly.

My favorite black jacket was hanging in my bathroom where I had left it the previous night after cleaning it. In the heat of the moment of killing Brady I hadn't noticed the blood that splattered onto it. I threw it on along with a tank top, jeans and boots before making my way out of my room. I'd have to face the music sometime.

Breakfast was the most important meal of the day but I didn't feel like sitting around a table of Shadowhunters so I elected to go to the training room. Besides, I had plans for brunch.

And it was there, in front of the training room door that I had my first altercation of the morning. "What the hell?!" Aiden Bloodrose blocked my path. His fiery hair matched his personality, destructive. "You were supposed to call us when you found Brady, not attempt to take him on by yourself!"

"As I recall I didn't attempt anything." I pushed past him into the training room. "I did kill him." I shrugged. "I didn't want to risk losing him, so I went for it."

"What if you got hurt? He's a hundred year old vampire! He's not some simple fledgling that's easy to pick off." Aiden followed me and I rolled my eyes when he wasn't looking.

"I can handle myself," I told him. I'd always been able to handle myself. I shoved my hands into my gloves, preparing to swing at the punching bag.

Aiden caught my wrist before I could impact. "Famous last words. You've been a shadowhunter for like five minutes so I can understand why you're so cocky. But that's going to get you killed."

I ripped my arm from his grasp. "I've been a shadowhunter my entire life. Do you think you're so much better than me?" He wasn't, I knew he wasn't. I could wipe that smirk off his face before he had a chance to blink.

"Because I am," he said. "I've trained my entire life for this unlike you. It's only been what three and a half-"

I swept his feed out from under him before he could say another word. There was a loud THUMP on the training room floor as Aiden hit it. Unfortunately he didn't face plant it. "Three and a half years is enough to do that."

He stood and glared at me, not saying a word. His pride was obviously wounded. I didn't even look as the red head left the room, turning my attention to the punching bag in front of me. I may had only trained as a shadowhunter for less than four years but that didn't mean I hadn't been capable beforehand, not that Aiden needed to know.

"I really wish you wouldn't do that." I physically jumped as a figure landed on the floor next to me, leaping from the overhead beams. "He's a pain to deal with when he's riled up like that." Eli Ravenhallow spilled his hands into his pockets.

"Can you please stop doing that?" I asked him. He had the habit of appearing from the shadows, scaring everyone out of their wits. He was the only one here who ever surprised me.

"I'll stop when you quit infuriating my Parabatai," Eli told me. "Do you know how long it takes me to calm him down when he's in one of this moods?"

I turned away from him and went back to the punching bag. "Your Parabatai, your problem."

Eli was suddenly right in front of my face. How had he moved so fast? "And what problems do you have, Sydney?" I gave him a cold stare as he stared at me. We were nearly the same height so our eyes were on the same level. He was always like this, redirecting a conversation to learn something. It was hard enough throwing him off my scent.

I stepped back from him and ignored his question. "Tell Aiden to stop being a dick and I'll stop humiliating him."

Eli groaned. "Can you two stop playing this stupid game?" I stared at him blankly so he continued. "Just kiss and get it over with. This whole 'I secretly love you but I still hate you' thing is getting old."

"I don't love Aiden," I told him. There was only one person I would ever love. "I don't even like him. And if he likes me I suggest he gets over it before I smash his heart."

"Oh no," Eli said. "Please don't do that. I'd be a horror to clean up that mess."

"Then tell Aiden to leave me alone," I said to him, ripping off my gloves. It appeared I wasn't going to get any training in anyway. "It's not like I want anything to do with him anyway."

"Where are you going?" He called me to me as I made my way out of the room.

"Out!" Was all I shouted back. Eli Ravenhallow didn't need to know where I was going

I drove down a familiar street, not that far away from Coast Diner. Junked houses and old cars lined the streets. Cracks in the pavement showed how long it had been since it was paved. I expertly avoided each pot hole I came across.

I rolled up to Duke's Repair and parked my bike in front next to another one. Shaking my hair from my helmet I noticed one of the garages was open; I smiled softly to myself.

As I strode inside I saw thick brown boots sticking out from the only car in the garage. "I'll be with you in one second, ma'am," came from the man underneath.

"Ma'am?" I asked. "Are you saying I look old?" I was amused, knowing full well he couldn't smell from with all the grease.

The man rolled out from under the car and his green eyes lit up. "Sydney-" As he stood up I grasped his wrist, drawing him closer to me. I didn't waste any time as I pressed my lips against his, taking comfort in the familiar shape and feel of them. "I missed you," he said to me.

"Finn, I saw you two days ago." I wiped a smudge of grease off his cheek. "And we texted until four in the morning last night."

"I know," Finn said. "But we have lost time to make up for remember?"

I was about to tell him we had the rest of our lives, that we'd be together forever when a large man stepping out of the back office stopped my thoughts before I could voice them. "M-Maverick!" I jumped apart from Finn, not because I was ashamed to be seen that close to him. No, I was afraid of the hell I was about to pay and didn't want Finn to get caught in the cross hairs.

Maverick the Alpha stared long and hard at me for a moment before finally breaking out in a grin. "The last time I saw that face was when the two of you destroyed the kitchen trying to cook dinner." I remembered the moment well, Finn had been ten and I had been eight. Maverick left us alone one night and we tried to make Mac'n'Cheese. Something went horribly wrong. I hadn't tried to cook anything since. "Why didn't you just tell me you were going after Brady? Hell, I'd have set you up with a team if I knew you were gonna kill him."

"You're...you're not mad?" I had been so afraid that Maverick would have my head for killing Brady.

"Why would I be mad?" the Alpha asked. "Brady has been a pain in our ass for years. I'm just glad the Clave had him on their radar. The politics of killing him would have been messy if we did it." He put a hand on my shoulder, suddenly becoming more serious. "But don't do that again; don't go alone. Whether it's with the pack or the Nephilim, take someone with you."

I nodded, understanding. Maverick knew I could handle myself. He was the one who taught me after all. He was just looking out for me, like he had done since I was a child.

"Sir!" Another man ran out from the office. He had a shaved head and was wearing a ripped denim jacket. Travis, Maverick's third. He whispered something hushly in the Alpha's ear, too quiet to pick up.

Maverick nodded. "I have to go take care of something. Finn, you're in charge of the shop." My green-eyes boy nodded to his father.

As the Alpha and Cain left I turned back to Finn, smacking him on the arm. "Why didn't you tell me he wasn't mad!"

Finn smirked. "Because I wanted to see that look on your face."

"I hate you," I grumbled as he closed he distance between us.

"No you don't," he whispered as he kissed me again. My fingers went into his hair and I instantly leapt back, finding grease coating my hands.

"You have grease in your hair," I pointed out wiping my hands on his jumpsuit.

He touched his dark brown hair lightly. "Huh, so I do. Be right back." He padded off to the back of the shop and I made myself busy washing my hands in the sink nearby.

Finn reappeared a moment later his mechanic suit gone and replaced by a flannel shirt and jeans. A beanie covered up his greasy hair. "Ready to go?"

"Maverick won't mind you leaving the shop? I mean he did leave you in charge." We had a brunch date planned but I didn't want to get Finn in trouble with his father.

"It's close enough to lunch time," Finn pointed out. It was 10:00AM. "Besides, as long as I'm with you Dad'll let me get away with murder." He grinned, obviously making light of me killing Brady. Another memory threatened to force itself into my head but I pushed it down.

"Funny, come on, I'm driving," I told him as he locked up the garage.

"Fine, but I'm buying," Finn said to me. I rolled my eyes at him. He always tried to be the gentleman, picking up the bill.

He grabbed his helmet from his bike while I put my own on. I climbed on and revved it on, always feeling exhilarating when I heard the sound. I felt his arms snake around my waist, holding on.

In all reality, Coast Diner was within walking distance. There wasn't really a point to us driving. But Finn and I loved it. We took whatever chance we could to ride. It was the closest thing to running with the wolves.

Chapter Text

Coast Diner was a bustle of activity just like it always was on Saturday morning, or any time for that matter. Never in my life had I stepped into the diner when it was empty. In this city there was always downworlders looking for a place to relax.

The same booth I was sitting in yesterday was empty so Finn and I took our seats, on on each side. Since we were children we had sat in this booth. No one seemed inclined to take it from Maverick's family.

I was almost surprised to see that no one batted an eye at my entrance. It seemed that no one really had cared about Brady in the first place. My thoughts were confirmed when a faerie set down two glassed on our table: root beer for Finn and coffee for me. "Whatever you two would like is on the house," our server, Elvia said. "As a thanks to Sydney for taking care of Brady. He wasn't exactly inclined to paying his bill."

"Thanks, Elvia," I said. "I'll just have my usual." I didn't even need to look at the menu to know what was on it. It hadn't changed in the past ten or so years. And it was rare anyway that I got anything different from eggs, ham and hashbrowns.

"Me too," Finn said. In all my life I had never seen him eating anything else than country fried steak and mashed potatoes when we were at this diner.

"Coming up." Elvia smiled at us as she walked to the back counter.

Finn reached out across the table and took my right hand, caressing the voyance rune on it. "It's been two months since you came back but I don't think I'll ever get used to these runes on you." I understood him, sometimes I still surprised myself when looking in the mirror.

"Be glad all you have to do is look that them," I told him. "Drawing them is a pain, pun intended." I hated etching the runes into my skin with my stele. If I could help it I wouldn't draw runes at all. It didn't help that I was horrible at them either. I messed up on a regular basis and had to start from scratch.

"More or less than getting stabbed with a silver dagger?" Finn's eyes showed amusement.

"That was an accident and you know it!" He chuckled at my exclamation. Years ago I had been playing with my dagger. Somehow I lost control of it and stabbed Finn in the arm with it. It wound wasn't deep or bad but it had been fun trying to cover it up and keep it from Maverick.

"When do you have to be back tonight?" He asked me when his laughter died down.

"Not until this evening, there's a mission briefing," I explained. When I saw the look on his face I instantly rememebered. "The moon meeting!" I cursed silently. "I can't go, I'm sorry." Twice a month the entire pack would gather to go over politics and whatnot.

Finn shrugged but I wasn't blind to his obvious disappointment. "I survived going by myself for three years," he started. "I can handle another meeting. I'm just going to miss my partner in crime."

"I'll try to come to the next one," I told him. I was careful not to promise him anything. Vows and promises were dangerous in this city. They were binding. Even though I knew that Finn wouldn't be mad if I broke it I couldn't bring myself to.

Finn nodded and opened his mouth to say something else when a werewolf boy suddenly ran into the diner, slamming the door open. "There's a Nephilim sniffing around outside!" No one pointed out that I, a Nephilim, was sitting right there in a booth.

I shared a glance with Finn before the both of us rushed outside. Shadowhunters, of course, weren't banned from anywhere in the city, that would break the Accords. However, it was unusual that one would venture this far into downworlder territory on their own. Except for me.

I regonized the familiar figure of the dark haired shadowhunter immediately. "Eli?"

He swung around looking at me first before his eyes wandered to Finn. "So this is where you get off to, Sydney. What are you doing at a downworlder Diner?"

"Where do you think I get my intel?" I had prepared for this. I knew that at some point someone was going to find out about my interactions with the pack. It didn't take my long to fabricate a lie in case anyone asked. And good lies always had a shred of truth as this one did. I mean, I did get my intel from here after all.

Eli jerked his chin at Finn. "Who's the werewolf?" He always had a knack for recognizing a downworlder even when they looked completely mundane.

"My primary informant," I said at the same time that Finn answered with his name, "Finnick Croy." I sent him a look. Eli didn't need to know who he was.

Something sparked in my fellow shadowhunter's eyes. "Ah, you're Maverick's kid."

"He's the Alpha to you," Finn nearly growled. He was fiercely protective of his father and respectful of his rank.

Eli practically rolled his eyes. "Right, because like I care about that he's this big powerful Alpha."

Finn stepped forward, this time actually growling. I put my hand on his chest to stop him. The rumbling subsided.

"Oh so scary, wolfy," Eli said sarcastically. My hand was the only thing stopping Finn from attacking the Shadowhunter. I could practically feel the rage coming off of him.

"What are you doing here?" I snapped at Eli. He shrugged, sticking his hands into his jeans pockets.

"I wanted to see where you got up to," he said. "Now I know. I also know where to find your body when one of these demons kills you." He was jabbing again, trying to illicit a reaction. I wasn't going to take the bait.

"Go home, Eli," I told him.

Eli put his hands up in defeat. "Fine, don't piss anyone off. Aiden'll be depressed for weeks if you get murdered." He walked off, almost disappearing into the shadows until he was out of sight.

"What about Aiden?" Finn asked. He knew about everyone at the Institute, of course, I had told him. I hadn't had time however to tell him about Eli's ridiculous assumption that Aiden had a crush on me.

"Later," I said to him leading us back towards the Diner doors. Everyone looked at us as we entered.

"He's gone; I took care of it," I announced so as to get everyone to leave us alone.

"This is your fault!" A red-headed vampire hissed. "Now the Nephilim know where we are!" I hadn't realized Dylan entered the Diner. It had a back entrance connected to the sewers and the windows were spelled so it was a vampire-haven during the day.

I sighed as I sat down in my booth again. "Newsflash, Dylan, the Nephilim already knew this place existed." Before building the Institute the first thing the Shadowhunters had done was canvas the city, marking all the downworlder hotspots. Coast Diner and Maverick's bike shop were already on the map when I arrived.

"Well you're a magnet for more Nephilim activity! You're brining them here!" Dylan was grasping at straws and it was getting on my last nerve.

"So what if they come? It's not like you're breaking the Accords. You can't be arrested for having breakfast." I heard the vampire grumble but he didn't say anything else. Half the Diner was still staring at me. "Well? Does anybody else want to voice their concerns?"

As the last eyes left me I looked across the table at Finn. He was staring intently at the food that had sometime been delivered. He was still fuming.

"Hey," I told him touching his hand with mine. He softened. "Eli's an ass. Don't let him get to you."

Finn looked at me, the anger disappearing from his eyes. "Yeah...okay. But how did he find you?"

I shrugged, savoring the delicious brunch in front of me. "He's Eli Ravenhallow, I stopped asking questions a long time ago." The dark-haired Nephilim was an oddity, one I had never cared enough to solve. "Now, hurry up and eat. I could eat a horse but your food looks just as appetizing."

Finn picked up a large portion of his steak on his fork when his phone suddenly chimed. His face paled as he looked at the text message. "We have to go, now. It's my father."

***

On the way back to the bike shop Finn was uncharacteristically stiff as he held on to my waist so I knew something was wrong. Something more than Maverick getting mad at his son for leaving the shop for brunch.

Finn practically leapt off the bike as I slowed to a stop in front of the shop. Throwing off my helmet, I hurriedly followed him into the garage.

I couldn't contain my gasp when I saw the three werewolves. Travis was there, his shirt slashed and the unmistakable tint of blood on them. Another man was wrapping a wound on his Alpha's upper arm. Cain, Maverick's second. Finn took the bandage from him, finishing the wrap so that Cain could tend to his own wound on his head.

"What happened?" I finally found my voice. I hadn't seen anybody in the pack get hurt like that in a while. Especially the Alpha and his second and third in commands.

"I heard of some rouge wolves in the territory," Cain started to explain. I could see the remorse in his eyes. He blamed himself that his Alpha had gotten hurt. "I asked Maverick and Travis to come help me."

"They weren't rouge werewolves," Maverick nearly growled. "They were from Jasper's pack." I shared a glance with Finn. Jasper's pack? We hadn't had confrontation with them in years. They were the neighboring pack and they used to always fight us for territory. But, one night changed all that. "They attacked us. We left them on the border as an example to Jasper but-" he shook his head before pulling something out of his pocket. "They found a body. I don't know what Jasper will do next." He held out his hand showing the familiar necklace.

I froze, my eyes wide. Then, I forced myself to remain calm, to even my heartbeats. I willed Finn to do the same. Because the necklace belonged to Dimitri, Jasper's son. The first downworlder I had murdered.

Chapter Text

I was only half focused on my task as I rifled through Institute documents

I was only half focused on my task as I rifled through Institute documents. The other half of my mind was focused on Dimitri's body, on the way his glossy eyes stared at Finn and I as we dropped him into the grave and buried him.

I clutched the edge of the table with my hand. How had we been so stupid? We had been naive to think that no one would ever find his body. Why hadn't we come clean to Maverick when it happened? Why had we tried to hide it?

Still, there was no reason for Maverick to suspect Finn and I. In order to get out of there, to not lose control of my emotions, I said I'd look into the Institute documents, see if anything pointed to Dimitri's killer. I knew it wouldn't though, the Institute hadn't even existed when I killed him.

Even still, I was hoping for some undated document about a werewolf killing that I could use to throw Maverick off our trail if the case ever lead to us.

As I reached for one paper I suddenly hissed as I cut myself.

"Oh, that sounded like it hurt. Do you need an iritze for that?" Came Eli's familiar voice from somewhere in the library. I found him lounging in the arched window across the room, a book in his hand. When had he gotten there? There had been no one in the room when I entered two hours ago.

I ignored him, turning back to the documents. I was silently cursing the head of the Institute for making everything so detailed.

"Can't imagine why you're in here looking through old Institute papers." Eli was suddenly besides me. I was beginning to question if he was a vampire rather than a Shadowhunter.

I shuffled the papers back together into their folder. "Fuck off, Eli." I was not in the mood to deal with him.

"No, I don't think I will." Eli was staring rather intently at his fingernails. He finally looked up at me. "I'm not whipped like wolf boy. Tell me, did you pet his head and give him a treat when he didn't attack me today?"

I finally looked at Eli, hate shining in my eyes. But I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of me going off on him. I turned on my heel and started to walk from the room.

"What'd you do to get a werewolf boyfriend? The son of the Alpha, no less." His words stopped me in my tracks.

"He's not-" I started to say, but he cut me off.

"You've got a tell you know." I turned to face him. "Whenever you lie, you clench your left hand." My eyes went to my hand that was currently bundled up in a fist. Panic started to spread through me; what if Maverick knew? "I bet the entire Institute would love to hear about Wolfy."

"Go ahead," I told him, forcing my emotions down again. "Tell them." It wasn't like relationships with downworlders were against the law, they were just frowned upon.

Eli shrugged. "Of course then I'll have to explain your relationship with the pack, how they raised you, how you're a practical werewolf princess." I was unable to form words. How did he know? I had been so meticulous trying to hide it- "You should have doubled checked to see if you killed Brady. He was more than happy to tell me everything when I said I'd let him live. That was a lie, of course."

The color drained from my face. "You can't tell anyone."

"Can't I?" Eli walked closer to me. "The Nephilim should know where you came from, that everything you told them was a lie."

"Eli please," I hated myself as I begged. The Clave could never know about my past because if they did they'd kill Maverick.

He stared at me, his dark eyes betraying nothing. Then, his lips broke out in a grin. "I never thought I'd see Sydney Nightway beg."

"What do you want?" I managed to grit out. I hated selling my soul to Eli but if it protected Maverick...

"There's a few gaps I need you to fill in," Eli said. "First of all, what happened to your parents? And, another related question: what about your supposed foster parents? Oh, and don't try lying. Clenching your fist isn't your only tell."

I sighed, angrily. Apparently there was no way I was going to get out of this without telling Eli everything he wanted to know. "I never knew my parents," I told him. "They died when I was a baby. My father was a shadowhunter and my mother was a mundane." I had found records when I arrived at Idris. "The Clave didn't know about their relationship, they didn't know my mother was pregnant. My father was killed on a mission and upon packing up his belongings afterwards they found a declaration to have his marks removed that he never sent to the Clave. It was then they found my mother, or found her grave, rather. She died giving birth and I was sent into the system. The Clave wasn't able to find me, at least for fourteen years."

"Interesting." Eli was sitting on the table across from me now, legs crisscrossed. His elbows were on his knees, his head resting on his hands clasped together. He was staring at me intently like I was a puzzle. "So your father wanted to become lesser to have a family. Pity your parents died."

I wasn't sure if Eli was actually showing remorse or not so I continued with his next question. "When I was three my foster parents died in a car accident right outside Maverick's shop. Miraculously, I survived and that was when Maverick decided to raise me."

"He knew what you were." It wasn't a question.

"Yes-" I paused, attempting to rephrase my words. "No, I mean, not right away. But it didn't take him long to realize I was Nephilim. Maverick didn't tell me though, not until the Shadowhunters showed up at my school."

Eli leaned back slightly. "You weren't mad he didn't tell you what you were?"

"Of course I was." I could still remember my anger when he told me the truth. "But he did it to protect me. It would have put me in more danger than not. And besides, I didn't have time to be mad at him when I was taken away to Idris."

"I wonder what the Clave would do if they knew Maverick had been knowing harboring a Nephilim for over ten years," he mused.

"Eli." I attempted to say his name with more force but it came out as a plea.

The raven-haired boy laughed. "I'm only kidding. Sheesh, if I really wanted to turn you and Maverick into the Clave I would have done it already. It would have been much more amusing to hear your testimony over the Mortal Sword."

I glared at him. "Are we done here?"

"Nope." Eli's boots banged on the hardwood floor as he stood. "Tell me what happened when you came back. I can't imagine the pack accepting you back without any opposition. Especially the entire community."

"What are you expecting happened?" I asked him. I could still remember the knots in my stomach that Sunday when I returned. But it was Finn who had found me when I arrived at the train station. "I was Maverick's family, he wasn't going to turn me away because of marks on my skin. Sure, a few subordinates weren't happy with my arrival but they wouldn't dare go against the Alpha."

"And the vampires? Warlocks? Faeries? They didn't care that a Nephilim was transpassing through their territory?"

I stared at Eli and it suddenly became abundantly clear that he didn't know. Even with his wit and cleverness he hadn't realized it. My lips twisted and I laughed. "Maverick isn't just the Alpha of the werewolves, he's the the Alpha of the entire downworlder community." I savored the look on Eli's face.

There was a knock at the library door andwI glanced up to see Madeline Pontmercy standing in the doorway. "Sydney, Eli, it's time for the meeting." I hadn't realized how late it had gotten.

I hopped off the table. "Yeah, right. I'm coming." I followed her towards the Head's office where we would be convening. Eli went off to find his brainless parabatai who wouldn't remember we had a meeting even if a note was taped to his face.

When Madeline and I arrived we found the Head of the Institute, Lillian Crossweather, and her twin brother, Leith, already there. Eli and Aiden arrived moments later, the former dragging the red-head by his ear. And now, the entire Insitute was here. It was just a small branch of the Clave.

"Alright, since we're all here we can begin," Lillian said as she rose from her desk. From her desk computer she projected a map of the city on the wall.

Bay City Institute was the newest Institute, only being formed a few years prior. Ideally, the Institute was to house Ascended shadowhunters, with the Institute being modernized. Lillian was made Head; she and her brother had been among the first batch of Ascended.

The idea slowly fell away with Ascended shadowhunters coming and going and now any Shadowhunters were sent here.

"We've got two problems that need to be dealt with," Lillian began. "First, there's been some recent demon attacks in the south side of town. Leith and Madeline will handle that." She handed her brother a folder, detailing the mission. "Next, there's a warlock avoiding capture. I want you three on it." She was looking straight at Eli, Aiden and I. "The last report we have of him is that he was at his apartment three days ago. Leith attempted to arrest him and found he was missing."

"Why are we trying to capture him in the first place?" I asked. I hadn't heard anything about a rouge warlock.

"He was wanted in Los Angeles and we recently found evidence that he moved here. This mission is coming from them," Lillian explained. I pressed my lips together, not liking this. "Is that a problem, Sydney?"

"Yeah, is that a problem, Sydney?" Eli repeated in my direction. I wanted to stab him in the eye with my stele.

"No, it's no problem," I replied. It was a huge problem. Maverick allowed safe haven and passage for downworlders in his territory so long as that they didn't commit any crimes in it. He was not going to be happy we were hunting down a warlock to kill under his protection.

"Good." Lillian handed Eli a file. "The address and all we know of him is in there. Get to it."

I mumbled to the boys I was going to get my gear on and left them in Lillian's office. I wasn't exactly sure what we'd were going to walk into tonight and I wanted to be prepared.

In my room, after I had changed, I went through my weapons cache. Killing warlocks was difficult, not impossible. As I reached down to grab a seraph blade I uncovered a small silver dagger sitting at the bottom of the cache. I stared at it for a minute remembering it drenched in blood. I shook my head and closed the chest. Grabbing the rest of my gear, I left my room.

"Isn't this interesting?" Eli questioned as I met them in the entryway. "Seems our little warlock looks familiar."

Eli handed the folder to me and I realized that I did indeed recognize the warlock. He had been the one to come out and yell that Eli was outside this morning.

"What are you guys talking about?" Aiden questioned. Apparently Eli hadn't told him about the diner.

"We'll tell you on the way," Eli told him. "And off we go to the Coast Diner!"

Chapter Text

"So how exactly do you have these connections and deals with the downworlders?" Aiden questioned as we began walking to Coast Diner. "I just mean you've been here what four months? Eli and I've been here over a year and still don't have their trust."

"Maybe it's the fact you visibly carry a seraph blade around everywhere you go," I pointed out. "Or they just want a pretty face." I looked at Eli. "I'm sorry, did I wound your feelings?"

"Don't need beauty if you got brains."

"You said it," I told him. I was wondering how this was going to go. I was hoping Finn had got the warlock, who's name I now knew as Varic, out. I had sent him a hurried text when the Parabatai pair weren't looking. I knew he had the pack meeting but if he could slip out for a moment-

"So is your deal going to crumble down if we go in their guns blazing?" Aiden asked.

"It's a possibility so that's why you're not," I told him. "The downworlders know me, they respect our deal. If I go in there with you two they'll be expecting me to break it. So, I'm going on alone. You guys can wait across the street, out of sight. I'll find the information about Varic and be out of there."

"I'm not being ordered around by somebody who been a shadowhunter for five seconds," Aiden said. "We're all going in there."

"Do you want this to work?" I decided to brush off his comment about my lack of experience. It wasn't true but we didn't have time for fight about it. "If we all go in there, there will be a fight, that's for sure. And who knows maybe we'll get the information out of somebody but it's also just as likely we won't. If I go in alone , I can get the information."

Eli rested his hand on Aiden's shoulder. "You should listen to her, Aiden," he said. "She really knows her downworlders."

I decided to ignore both boys now. Both were getting on my nerves, for separate reasons. I was beginning to see why they were shipped from Institute to Institute. Nobody could stand them.

As we reached Coast Diner I turned and looked at the two of them. "Stay here, out of sight. I'll be back in a minute." I walked across the street before Aiden tried to argue again.

Entering the diner, I found no one payed the slightest bit of attention to me, that was good. I also noticed Varic wasn't here, that was good as well.

"Sydney!" Elvia was behind the counter as I approached. "You almost look terrifying in those clothes."

I had forgotten that I was wearing my gear. "Come on, you know I wouldn't hurt anyone here," I told her. It was the truth, mostly.

"I know. What can I do for you? Your usual?" Elvia questioned.

"No, listen, can we talk?" I glanced around the diner. "In private?" She nodded before taking me to the back storage room.

"What's going on? Finn ran in here early nearly yanking that new warlock off his feet-"

"Oh thank god," I sighed. So Finn had gotten Varic out. "The Nephilim, they want to bring that warlock in, Varic's his name. Apparently he was traced from another city where he committed a crime."

"But that doesn't matter here," Elvia pointed out. "Once you come here, it's a new life. The Alpha isn't going to be happy."

"That's exactly why I don't intent to listen to the Nephilim," I told her. "But I need something. Some bit of information to throw them off his track. Do you know where he was earlier in the day?"

"You're playing a dangerous game, Sydney," she warned me. "But, I think I heard him boasting about going to the casino. He was going to win big or something."

"Thanks, Elvia," I told her before walking out the door.

"Sydney," she caught me. "Be careful."

"I will." I nodded to her.

Jogging across the street I met back up with the pair of boys, who had miraculously stayed hidden. "Apparently he went to the casino earlier. He might still be there," I told them.

"A warlock at a casino," Eli miffed. "How is that not cheating?"

"Just because he's a warlock at a casino doesn't mean he's using magic," I told Eli.

"Why are you defending him?" Aiden questioned accusingly.

"I try to see the best in people," I explained. At least that was the truth. I'd grown up around downworlders and most of them were actually kind and caring, not blood thirsty savages like the Clave made them out to be.

"Downworlders aren't people, they're part demon," Eli pointed out.

"Part being the key word there," I said. "The other part of them is mundane."

"Ah yes, evil and stupid put together, a wonderful combination." He walked on ahead. What on earth was his problem?

***

As we arrived at the casino the three of us applied glamour runes. We weren't exactly kids but none of us were exactly 21 either. And it might be a bit strange to see three young adults walking through the slots with battle gear and weapons.

"We should split up." It was Aiden who suggested it. "This place will take forever to search if we're all together."

As Eli and Aiden went off on their respective ways I pointlessly 'searched' the ground floor. If downworlder information was what you wanted I knew exactly where to go but I wasn't going to let Eli and Aiden know that.

As I was walking past a supply closet an arm suddenly reached out and pulled me inside. As the door closed I was about to judo flip whoever had done it when I realized it was Finn.

"What are you doing here?!" I yelled at him.

"You haven't been answering your phone," he explained. I had turned it off; I didn't want the two boys asking who was texting me. "I got Varic to a safe place."

"Thank you, but you need to go. If Eli sees you here he's going to put two and two together and it's not going to be g-" I stopped myself when I saw the look Finn was giving me.

"Why does Eli know anything?" Finn asked, accusingly.

"Because he saw us together this morning and he's not an idiot that's why," I told him. "He was going to rat me out to the whole Institute if I didn't tell him the truth."

"The truth?"

"The whole truth," I sighed.

"Seriously Sydney?" Finn was mad now, it was easy to tell. "You told the guy who already has no respect for downworlders that you were raised by one? That you're dating a werewolf?"

"I had to!" I defended myself. I knew Finn wasn't going to like what I had done. "Would you have rather everyone known about us?"

"Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea."

"Finn, what on earth is going through your head? It would be a horrible idea!" I didn't know what he was thinking.

"Sure Nephilim relationships with downworlders are frowned upon but they're not forbidden. No one can stop us from being together."

"And how long until people start asking questions, Finn?" I asked. "How long until everyone discovers the truth? If the Clave realizes I was raised by werewolves they could question my loyalty. I could be stripped of my marks."

"Would that really be such a bad thing?" Finn asked. "Maverick was going to turn you when you were eighteen before this whole shadowhunter thing anyway! If you lost your marks, you could still become one of us."

"I thought I was one of you; I thought I was a member of the pack."

"That's..." Finn sighed. "That's not what I meant. Of course you're part of the pack, you always have been, you always will be. But you've never known what it's like to run with the moon. The feel, sense the outdoors in ways no mundane or shadowhunter could ever imagine. Isn't that what you still want?"

Four years ago I wanted nothing more than to be a werewolf like the rest of my pack but now...I wasn't so sure. I had been dreading this conversation with Finn because I wasn't even sure what I really wanted.

My phone suddenly chimed and I looked down at it to see a text from Eli: "Got him. Meet in back."

"I thought you got Varic out," I asked Finn.

"I did," he told me as I showed him the text. "He's at a safe house-"

The door suddenly swung open revealing Eli. "Well, well, what do we have here?"