Chapter Five

They were all exhausted by the time the sun was about to rise and had moved from the kitchen to Alec’s much more comfortable living room. Magnus was still passed out cold on the couch. Clary and Jace shared one of the chairs while Izzy had curled up in the other. Alec had dropped onto the couch where he’d been sitting earlier. Sometime during the night, Magnus had scooted close enough that his head was pressed against Alec’s hip. Alec couldn’t stop himself from carding his hand through his partner’s hair as he read. He only hoped his siblings hadn’t noticed him doing it or they’d never let him live it down. 

 

He’d gotten a text from Luke asking for his address about fifteen minutes before so the knock on his door really didn’t come as a surprise. Jace pushed himself out of the chair without being asked and peeked through the peephole, opening the door only once he was satisfied it was actually the Alpha werewolf on the other side. 

 

Luke took in the scene before him, his eyes eventually falling on where Alec and Magnus were sharing the couch. Magnus’ eyes had started to flicker open with the new disruption in the room. “How is he?”

 

“Exhausted,” Alec replied, trying to give Magnus a little bit of space as he began to wake. “It took about an hour before he got the silver out. His fever broke a few hours ago. He’s pretty much been sleeping all night.”

 

Luke knelt down next to Magnus. “Hey, kid. Try to wake up. Let me get a look at you. You’ve had me worried sick all night.”

 

“I’m fine,” Magnus mumbled as he rubbed the remaining sleep out of his eyes. “But I hurt everywhere.”

 

“Yeah, I can only imagine. Yours is the first case of silver poisoning we’ve seen like that. We’re going to have to keep an eye on that and make sure there are no long-term side effects. In the meantime, I brought you your bag. I thought you might want a chance to change,” he said, placing the duffle Magnus had packed the previous day onto the couch next to him.

 

“You can take a shower too if you want — the same bathroom we used the night before,” Alec added, nodding his head toward the master bedroom. Alec waited until Magnus had padded into the other room and the sound of the shower started up before he turned back to Luke. “The hunters?” He asked, wanting to make sure the rest of the pack was okay lest he needed to prepare Magnus for even more bad news. 

 

“Made an awful racket but were ultimately pretty poor at their jobs. Maia got grazed by some buckshot but we all have at some point in our lives. She’s probably already healed.”

 

Maia wasn’t a name that Alec was familiar with — it certainly wasn’t one of the handful of wolves that worked at the Institute. “Do I know a Maia?”

 

Luke just gave him a slow grin. “There’s a lot you still don’t know, Lightwood. We may have revealed ourselves to the world but we do still have our secrets. Thank you for keeping him safe when I could not,” he said and Alec recognized the rapid change of topic for what it was.

 

“I don’t know how much I actually did but we did start looking into Dr. Holland. Did you or any of the others in the pack receive a second vaccination?”

 

“Just the standard ones. I would have warned them if I knew something was coming up. Did Magnus say what it was?”

 

Alec shook his head. “Just that it was new. We also found out that Dr. Holland is part of the Citizens of a Bright Future. Did you know that?”

 

Luke sighed. “No, but it definitely doesn’t surprise me based on my interactions with him.” He glanced down at the table, noticing for the first day, all the photos and documents their research the previous night had turned up. “Where did you get this?”

 

“Simon found it in the archives,” Izzy said from across the room, trying to stifle a yawn as she did. “Dr. Holland’s graduating class. He apparently knew our parents…they’re not exactly great people either. Hodge is in there too. We haven’t been able to turn up identities on any of the others.”

 

“Well,” Luke said slowly, his eyes fixated on the photo he was holding. “I’ve been around awhile so I can probably help you with some of the names but there’s one that stands out immediately.” He tapped the image of the grinning man in the dead center of the photo. “That is Valentine Morgenstern. He started what would eventually become the Citizens group right after wolves announced themselves to the world and he is Clary’s biological father.”

 

If it was possible for the nearly silent room to become quieter, Alec would swear it did. The only other sound was the running water from the master bathroom where Magnus was showering. 

 

“What?”

 

“It’s a long story…and it’s not a pretty one. Let’s wait for Magnus to finish so we only have to go through this once. Then we need to come up with a plan of attack because if Valentine is somehow involved in Magnus being poisoned and the Runecarver case then we have something much, much bigger on our hands.”

 

The room fell into a near deafening silence as they waited for the werewolf to reappear. When he finally did, he looked much more like himself albeit without the styled hair, the makeup, and the jewelry. Alec, however, had started to know Magnus well enough to see the smaller tells that he wasn’t quite back to normal. The way he held himself was stiff and painful even if he was trying to hide it and the bags under his eyes suggested he still hadn’t had nearly enough rest despite having slept all night. 

 

Magnus must have sensed all eyes on him and raised an eyebrow. “Do I want to know what’s going on?”

 

Luke shook his head. “No, but you need to. We may have connected some of the dots and we were just waiting for you so we could share what we know. Take a seat.”

 

Magnus looked at the seating available in the room before he slipped into the empty space between Alec and Luke on the couch. He was closer to his partner than he was to his Alpha and as Magnus’ knee brushed Alec’s he couldn’t help but blush. 

 

“We’ve all come to the conclusion that if Dr. Holland was likely directly responsible for your silver poisoning, given he’s the only way you could have been injected with something before you joined us for the Hunt. Alec and his siblings took the liberty of starting to dig into Holland’s past to see if they could find a reason, any reason, that he would want to poison you when they stumbled across this photo of his graduating class at the Academy,” Luke started, handing Magnus the photo of the group knowing that he was the only one in the room who had yet to see it.

 

Alec leaned closer to him and tapped the image. “That’s Dr. Holland,” he said, pointing the man out before sliding his fingers across the page. “And those are my parents…and this would be Hodge.”

 

“The rest of the class you probably don’t know,” Luke added. “A few died in the line of duty. Some simply quit and moved to other careers. Nicodemus Proudfoot went to wetworks and neither of you probably have had a lot of, if any, contact with him since he’s mostly working overseas, sometimes for months at a time. There is someone else in that photo, though, I think we need to focus on. As I was telling the others when you were in the shower, the man in the center is named Valentine Morgenstern and he’s Clary’s biological father.”

 

Luke sighed and rubbed a hand over his eyes and Alec could tell that this conversation wasn’t easy for him. “We need to start at the beginning. I’d joined the Institute years before werewolves made themselves known to the world and it was getting to the point where I’d have to quit and move on with my life lest they realized that I really didn’t age when we did announce our presence. The world erupted into chaos — no one really knew what to do or how exactly to handle the situation. Eventually, though it took a while, reactions started to level out. There were always people who hated us and their opinions won’t ever change but when people started to realize their neighbors had been wolves this entire time and had been just normal people, they started to give us a chance.”

 

“The Institute, of course, were one of the first to realize that someone who was slightly more than human could possibly be useful to their cause. They put out a call for any wolves willing to join them and at that point, I was faced with a decision. I hadn’t planned on being one of the first to come out but I did love my job and I truly thought that if I didn’t have to hide, I would be able to help people more. So…that’s what I did. Jia wasn’t in charge at the time, a man named Malakai was, but I marched myself right down to his office and told him my secret.”

 

“I’m not sure anyone expected one of their own to already be the thing that they were looking for. They weren’t really sure what to do with me, at first. I was pulled off of active duty for a while. Rules and regulations were written. Test after test after test was done. I was almost starting to regret my decision to tell them what I was when they finally declared me fit for the field. It was, coincidentally, right as the newest class was graduating from the Academy. They figured who better to spearhead a new program than one of the freshest and most promising faces.”

 

“Let me guess, they chose Valentine?” Jace asked bitterly. 

 

Luke nodded in confirmation. “They did and at the beginning, everything was fine. I had the experience of having previously been on active duty for the Institute and he was a lot like you, Alec. He showed promise — they believed that he could go straight to the top. Together, we really were the best the Institute had to offer. We had the highest close rate of any other team. They used us as an example of what this program could, and should, be…but then things changed.”

 

Magnus scooted closer to Alec and dipped his head as Luke grew more tense and he couldn’t help but furrow his brow. Was Magnus picking up on his Alpha’s change in mood? “What changed?” He asked, using the question to bump his knee into his partner’s once more to remind him that he was there. 

 

“Valentine had always been an intense person but that intenseness almost seemed to turn into obsession overnight. To this day, we’re not entirely sure what happened — if his previous actions had all been a ruse or if something changed overnight. He became darker and more willing to take risks. More manipulative. He started preaching a better world — one where the wolves could return to their normal lives and one where the humans didn’t have to live in fear. And some of those that he was close to in the Academy started to believe what he said — your parents and Hodge included.”

 

“Clary’s mother Jocelyn was in the class that graduated after him, but she and Valentine had grown close and as I was his partner, the three of us became good friends. When Valentine started to change, I noticed that Jocelyn started to shy away. By that point, they’d been together for a while now. Val had proposed and they were engaged but no date had been set for the wedding yet. One day I came in early — we were working a double homicide of werewolves that seemed like it may be related to some sort of up-and-coming cult called the Circle. He called me and said there was another lead. I met him in the carport, he handed me a coffee and we started to head out to the scene. That’s the last thing I remember.”

 

“By the time I woke up, I was back in the Infirmary at the Institute. Everything that happened next I learned from Jocelyn — she’d found journals about how he intended to purge the world of all ‘demon-blooded creatures’ unless he could control them. The world would be a better place if the wolves were just obedient followers. The double homicide that we were investigating was an early attempt by Valentine to create a serum to do just that. Unable to get his hands on another wolf, I was his next attempt. She managed to contact the Institute in time for them to track us. She saved my life — and managed to get in contact with another wolf in the pack, Catarina who revealed herself and her medical degree to the Institute in order to help save my life from the Wolfsbane that he poisoned me with.”

 

This time, the Alpha werewolf sighed. “There’s so much more that happened but we really don’t have the time needed to cover it. Valentine was arrested and we assumed that was the end of the Circle but he disappeared without a trace before his trial. We believe someone helped him escape but no one was ever able to find out who. He’s never resurfaced and despite our best efforts, we’ve found not a single clue about his whereabouts. Further research into his journals found that he was also planning on experimenting to see if there was a way to give someone the best parts, in his opinion, of being a werewolf — the super strength, the enhanced senses, the healing factor, the longer life — without the beastly transformation. Jocelyn had just found out she was pregnant. Valentine believed that a child would be more susceptible to his work.”

 

Clary looked horrified and Luke tried to muster a smile. “Don’t worry, kid. He wasn’t able to try anything, we’re sure of that. We’ve had you checked time and time again. You’re one hundred percent normal.”

 

“What happened to the Circle? And to my parents?” Isabelle asked, voicing the question that the Lightwood children all wanted to know. 

 

“Thankfully, those who believed in Valentine’s early messages quickly realized that their leader had gone a little bit too far. They broke off and formed their own little group. I’m not saying the Citizens are good people, their beliefs are still discriminatory, but they are a far cry from what the Circle was. They’re not shouting from the rooftops and calling for our deaths, they just want to wrap everything up with more rules and regulations. As for the Circle, they’ve never reappeared after Valentine escaped and we never found out exactly who else worked with him. The Institute tried to interrogate those who were in his graduating class but they never found any proof that any of those people were his accomplices.”

 

No one in the room said anything for a few moments and Alec could tell that they were all still processing what Luke had said. Alec knew he needed to be the one to break the ice but he really couldn’t find the words. Finally, he groaned and leaned his head back onto the couch cushion. “So what you’re telling me is the answer to all of this has been right in front of our faces the entire time and easily could have been solved much sooner if I called up my estranged parents and said ‘Hi Mom and Dad - do you want to tell me about that time you almost joined a cult hellbent on murder and human experimentation in the name of ‘a better future’?”

 

“Not in so many words,” Luke answered. “And your parents probably don’t know as much as you hope. They were some of the first to break off of Valentine’s little group, realizing quickly that their booming careers would be affected by some of his more outrageous ideals.”

 

“So where does that leave us? What can we say we know for sure?” It was Magnus who spoke, bringing them all back to reality before they could continue to get upset.

 

Alec sighed and reached into the end table to grab a pad of paper and a pen. He began to write, speaking the words out loud as he did. “One — we know that Dr. Holland called Magnus in for a follow-up shot that none of the other members of the pack had to get. This shot contained silver of some sort as far as we’re aware.”

 

“I’d love to get my hands on it and run it through a centrifuge…see if we can figure out just what was in it and what the intentions were,” Isabelle muttered.

 

“We still might have a chance,” Alec pointed out. “Keep that thought on the back burner and maybe we can arrange it.” He looked back at the pad of paper. “Two — the hunters that arrived in the forest could only have been there for Magnus. They mentioned being hired and someone’s experiments. As I don’t believe in coincidences, this can only refer to Dr. Holland.”

 

“The poison was different but I wonder if Holland helped Valentine create the Wolfsbane serum too.”

 

“It’s likely,” Isabelle answered. “Unless he was an expert in chemical compounds himself.”

 

“Not that I know of — though Clary’s mother could probably confirm.”

 

“Other than weird timing, how do we know that what happened to Magnus is at all related to the case the two of you are working?” Jace had a point and Alec had been replaying everything in his head trying to find the last link that would spell everything out.

 

Alec turned to Luke. “Are there any similarities between the cases you worked on and what we know of the Runecarver?”

 

Luke thought for a moment and then shook his head. “Not that I remember though it’s been a while. It would be easy enough for me to pull the boxes out of the Archive though — a little trip down memory lane I could say. No one would bat an eye.”

 

“Where does that leave the rest of us in the meantime?” Jace asked.

 

“Someone was clearly not expecting Magnus to be in today,” Alec started slowly, the wheels already turning in his head. “So…I say we go in, business as usual. See what sort of responses we can get from people. If anyone looks startled then we might have another direction to do some digging.”

 

The Alpha grinned. “Not to mention, Magnus should be able to pick up if anyone’s lying.”

 

“If the timeline is right, your next murder victim should be found sometime tomorrow,” Isabelle added. “Plenty of reasons for you to be seen in full force in the Institute.”

 

“I forgot about that,” Alec groaned. “God, we’re still no closer to finding out where or who the victim will be.”

 

“Let Isabelle and I worry about that. We’ll spend the day in Simon’s lab and see if any of his thousands upon thousands of dollars of government issued technology can turn anything up with the new leads we have.”

 

A flash of red caught Alec’s attention and he realized it was Clary moving from her seat. She’d been quiet this entire time and he could only imagine being in her shoes and finding out so much about the man who was technically her father. She was a good friend to him and he considered her family with how long she and Jace had been dating but he could tell she just needed some time and space to process. “I think I need to have a conversation with my mother,” she said as she began to gather her things. “I’ll let you know if she has any useful information, however. And let me know if there are any specific questions that you would like me to ask.”

 

She was out the door before any of them could say another word. Luke sighed. “I’ll go after her…and then I need to be getting to the Institute. You both have my number. Text me if there’s anything that you need from me or the pack.”

 

Once the door had closed behind him, it didn’t take Alec long to realize that Clary wasn’t the only one who had been mostly silent through Luke’s story. “Magnus? Are you alright?”

 

Jace and Izzy had dispersed to the kitchen to give them some space. Magnus said nothing for a moment before nodding slowly. “Yes, I am fine…or I will be. It’s a lot to take in. Valentine might not be my biological father like he is Clary’s but Luke and Jocelyn are nearly like parents for me after Luke found me on the street. I can’t imagine what they went through back then…and, trust me, I know a thing or two about having a truly evil father.”

 

“Hey,” Alec said softly, giving Magnus’ arm a gentle squeeze. “We’ll figure it out, alright? All of it. The Runecarver, Dr. Holland, Valentine…”

 

“I know,” Magnus replied. “Trust me, I do.”

 

Isabelle chose that moment to appear from the kitchen. “If you two are done being soft, I think Magnus would probably prefer to face the world today looking like his normal, fantastic self. I’ve got make-up with me. What do you say?”

 

A grin spread across Magnus’ face at the mere mention of the word. “Isabelle, you truly are a lifesaver.”

 

His sister laughed. “Come on, let’s get you sorted. I don’t trust Alec to know the difference between eyeshadow and mascara.”

 

----------

 

Magnus was still exhausted and achy by the time he and Alec were pulling into the garage at the Institute. He and Alec had discussed their plan and the story in detail to make sure they wouldn’t be tripping over each other. Magnus doubted anyone would question them that hard as most people simply didn’t care about the comings and goings of their werewolf coworkers but it was good to be prepared either way.

 

Isabelle had managed to get him put mostly together, but without the rest of his jewelry, he felt nearly naked. If they could make it inside the building without too much fuss, he was hoping to stop by the Den and grab at least a few of his necklaces and rings. He needed the rest of his armor if he was going to carry through with what they had planned for the rest of the day. 

 

Blissfully, both the garage and the halls were empty when they arrived and they were able to slip inside the Den without much fuss. 

 

“Magnus Bane,” Catarina’s voice came from the kitchen, and Magnus felt himself wincing at her tone. “Where the hell have you been? We have been worried sick. Luke would only tell us that you were safe. What the hell happened? Why weren’t you at the Hunt?”

 

By some miracle, Cat was the only one in the Den at the moment, apart from Alec and him, and he was glad that he’d only have to get the lecture from her at the moment. “Cat, I’m okay. I promise. There was a small case of silver poisoning and Luke sent me home to recover. I’m tired and my bones hurt from not being able to shift yesterday but I’ll live. Alec took very good care of me.”

 

Catarina’s eye twitched as she very carefully set her coffee cup to the side so that she didn’t drop it. “Silver poisoning?! Magnus, how —”

 

Magnus held up his hand. “See for yourself if you want but I’m no worse for wear.” He knew that she wouldn’t be satisfied until she confirmed herself that he was in no danger of keeling over any time soon. She grabbed his chin with her hand and tilted his head slightly to the side, looking for any sign of the blown pupils he knew he had the night before. Finding nothing, she pulled him into a hug, using the action to tuck her nose into his neck to try and figure out if there was anything off with his scent. Magnus held still and let her do her thing. When she was finally satisfied, she stepped back and turned to Alec. 

 

“Thank you for taking care of him,” she said, giving the agent a smile. “But Magnus, what in the Moon’s name happened?”

 

“It’s kind of a long story,” he replied with a sigh. “But we think the additional supposed vaccine Dr. Holland gave me before Alec dropped me off yesterday was laced with silver. It seemed to activate when I went to shift. If Alec hadn’t turned around due to a hunch that something was wrong, I’m not sure what would have happened. I was literally sweating silver. Luke couldn’t even touch me.”

 

Catarina growled an inhuman noise. “I knew I hated that man. If you’ve heard some of the things he’s said to me...”

 

“He didn’t mention the hunters,” Alec chimed in and Magnus couldn’t help but wince. He was hoping that he wouldn’t have to explain that until much, much later and the danger had passed. 

 

The other wolf snorted. “Oh trust me, I know about the hunters. Maia wasn’t much of a fan of taking buckshot to the ass.”

 

“I’m sure,” Magnus responded. “I think I still have the scars from when it happened to me.”

 

“Wait,” Alec said, holding up a hand. “You’ve been shot?”

 

Magnus rolled his eyes. “Of course, Alexander. People are more 'shoot first, ask questions later' when they see a wolf running about. I’m fine, though, as you can see. No need to worry your pretty little head about it.”

 

Alec looked like he wanted to argue so Magnus changed the subject. His partner had already brought up the hunters so he might as well dive right in. “Apparently, I was their target. They wanted to kidnap me and do terrible, terrible things from what Alec overheard.”

 

“We don’t exactly know what they wanted to do to you but it couldn’t have been good,” Alec replied. “And we think that somehow this is all linked to the Runecarver case. I don’t believe in coincidences.”

 

“Nor do I. Magnus, you need to be careful. First a serial killer, then a possible demon summoning, and now silver poisoning and an attempted kidnapping?”

 

“Catarina, my darling, I assure you, Alec and I are taking every precaution from here on out. In fact, we have a plan to see if we can suss out the culprit.”

 

Catarina narrowed her eyes. “I thought you said it was Dr. Holland.”

 

“That’s what we believe,” Alec answered. “But we don’t think he’s working alone.”

 

They spent the next ten minutes updating Catarina on all their theories. When they were done, Magnus watched as she took her phone out and sent a quick text to Ragnor and Raphael. “You just let us know if you need anything, and I mean anything, from the rest of the pack and keep us updated. We’ll keep our ears and noses to the ground and we’ll let you know if we hear anything of interest.”

 

With that settled and his jewelry now procured, it was finally time to get on with their plan. 

 

“Where to first?” He asked Alec as they started back down the hallway. 

 

“Well, Hodge or Dr. Holland are probably our best bet. Out of the people in that photo, they're the only ones I know who are still employed here. My parents work out of the DC office and Nicodemus is apparently in Peru right now.”

 

Magnus considered the options with a hum. “Dr. Holland, then. I can’t wait to see his reaction when he sees me all bright eyed and bushy tailed.”

 

The corner of Alec’s mouth ticked up. “Not so bushy tailed right now. Are you sure you’re going to be okay with not being able to shift last night?”

 

“I’ll be fine, Alexander. It’s not pleasant, mind you, but it won’t be the end of the world. Think of it more like an itch that can not be scratched. I’ll have to deal with the feeling until the next full moon and everything sort of rights itself but I’ll give it a couple of days just to make sure all the silver is gone and then I’ll ask Luke to go out on a run with me and that will help alleviate the feeling.”

 

Alec opened his mouth to speak when someone rounded the corner and nearly took the two of them out. “Alec?” The blond man asked, his eyes wide as he looked between them. “What are you doing here? I didn’t expect to see you today.”

 

Out of the corner of his eye, Magnus noticed Alec frowning. “Why wouldn’t I be? We’ve still got an active investigation and if the timeline stays on track, there will be a new body found tomorrow.”

 

It was then that Magnus’ nose picked up on the new man’s scent and he nearly froze. He knew that scent — it had been all over the first crime scene he and Alec had worked together. He’d been out of his mind with fear at the time, but now Magnus remembered that he had picked it up when they’d found the hellhounds as well. Whoever this was was undoubtedly involved in the Runecarver case. Magnus cleared his throat and forced a friendly smile to his face. “I don’t believe we’ve met,” he said, holding out his hand for the new man to shake. “I’m Magnus Bane.”

 

Alec looked baffled for a moment but quickly regained his composure. “Oh, I didn’t realize you two hadn’t met. Magnus, this is my boss, Hodge. Hodge, my new partner Magnus Bane but I’m guessing you already knew that since you were the one who assigned us together.”

 

Hodge’s scent turned sour but he took Magnus’ offered hand regardless. “Mr. Bane. It’s a pleasure to officially meet you. I must admit, I didn’t expect to see you here today either.”

 

Magnus raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Why not? As my partner said, we do still have an active investigation to sort out and a serial killer on the loose. Plus, there’s that pesky matter of having discovered actual demons recently. Wild horses couldn’t keep me away, as they say.”

 

“I was under the impression that werewolves were given the day after the full moon off to rest and recover.”

 

“Ah, yes, that. We’re given the option to take the day off if we want as a courtesy but it’s not a requirement. We’ve finally got some real leads in the Runecarver case. I’d much rather spend a day hunting those down than lounging around and letting Alexander do all of the work.”

 

With Magnus’ senses hyper-fixated on Alec’s boss, it was nearly impossible for him to miss the sound of the older man’s heart starting to beat at a more rapid-fire pace. He tried his hardest not to let on that he noticed anything had changed. He could update Alec on what he’d learned when the two of them were finally alone. 

 

Magnus’ admission that they had leads seemed to startle the man. It was something he and Alec hadn’t discussed prior to his statement but Magnus had taken a chance with his words and he had a feeling that the risk would ultimately pay off. “Oh?” Hodge asked as he raised his eyebrows. “The last I spoke with Alec, he said the two of you weren’t any closer to finding the culprit.”

 

Alec looked like he was having a hard time following where Magnus was trying to lead them so the werewolf continued. “It was really the hellhounds that connected all the dots. We had a theory that the Runecarver was trying to summon a demon based on what little information we could find about the symbols in the circles. However, the one book we found that could really help explain what we were looking at seemed to be missing pages. But of course, demons weren’t real at the time so it was a rather far-fetched theory. There was something at that last scene, however, that didn’t quite sit right with me. My nose was trying to tell me something that first day but until I came snout to snout with the hellhounds, I wasn’t entirely certain what it was.”

 

“I don’t have all day, Mr. Bane. Please enlighten me on your discoveries.”

 

“Obviously, the Runecarver, and their accomplice because my nose told me there were two people at that last summoning circle, were successful.”

 

Hodge gave him a blank stare. “Obviously. Then what makes you so certain that he will try again?”

 

Magnus felt a grin spread across his face. The pounding of Hodge’s heart was practically ringing in his ears. “Because if a mere hellhound was all they wanted, we wouldn’t have found them so easily. They were hoping for something much bigger. And I don’t profess to be an expert in the occult but there are some things the movies did get right. Werewolves and silver, for example,” he explained, unable to stop himself from dropping that mention, secretly hoping for some sort of reaction.”

 

The other man gave him a long, slow blink. “Do you have a point?”

 

“The point, sir, is that in the stories, a lot of rituals are done around the full moon. We found no evidence of an attempt last night. If they were hoping for greater success, they will try again tonight, before the moon fully starts to wane. And another thing that the stories always get right? Those hungry for power never find their appetite sated.”

 

Magnus was practically growling by the time he finished speaking. He hadn’t noticed that Alec had grabbed his elbow, his grip on Magnus’ arm tight enough that it would have bruised an average human. He and the older man continued to lock eyes and the tension in the room was suddenly thick enough that it could be cut with a knife. Magnus could feel his wolf push a little of his power forward and he was certain his eyes would have a hint of wolf gold when he finally looked away.

 

Finally, Hodge broke eye contact, disguising the action as a glance at his watch for the time. “Mr. Lightwood, I suggest you keep a leash on your partner lest you get written up for insubordination and Magnus get removed from the program. I expected better of you. Come find me when you have a real lead and for your sake, I pray you find one quickly. Taking you off the case is still up in the air.”

 

Now that he had the last word, he turned quickly on his heel, and back down the hallway in the direction he’d already come from. Alec waited until he was out of sight before he pulled Magnus into the closest supply closet. “What the hell was that?” He hissed once the door was shut behind them. 

 

“He was at the scene, Alec. That second scent I picked up at the scene? The one that I also noticed in the hallway afterward? That was him. I didn’t realize until just now that it was also one of the scents from the abandoned church.”

 

Alec blinked and Magnus knew that was definitely not what he had expected Magnus to say. “Hodge?” He asked quietly. “Hodge is the Runecarver?”

 

“No,” Magnus replied quickly. “I don’t think Hodge is the Runecarver. Remember I told you that true evil has a scent? I don’t get that with him. I do, however, fully believe that Hodge is involved. Besides his scent, he was worried. I could hear how quickly his heart was beating and his scent soured. He wasn’t at all happy with what I had to say. We can’t forget that Hodge was one of the ones in that photo. We’d suspected he could be involved anyway.”

 

“Shit,” Alec muttered under his breath as he ran a hand through his hair nervously. “Shit, shit, shit. Hodge was practically like a father to me. I was hoping that he wouldn’t be involved.”

 

“I’m sorry, Alexander. I know it can’t be easy when someone you care for reveals their true colors.”

 

His partner sighed. “I guess that explains a lot. He’s been acting strange lately. I thought it was just the pressure from the higher-ups to solve the case that was getting to him but I guess not.”

 

“Strange how?” Magnus asked. 

 

“Darker, in a way. Not at all like the man who taught me how to ride a bike and would take us to the park to feed the ducks. That comment he said about keeping you on a leash, some of the other things he said when I asked him to waive the regulations regarding you needing permission to leave…it just didn’t sit right with me.” Alec sighed and Magnus watched as he tried to compartmentalize all the new information. “We need to tell Jace and Izzy. Luke too, probably. We’ll have to keep an eye on Hodge without him realizing what we’re doing.”

 

“Luckily for you, it’s fairly difficult to truly escape the nose and ears of a wolf once we’ve got you in our sight. Timing wise, we couldn’t be luckier. I’m sure the others are taking advantage of their government given day off and wouldn’t mind a little low-key reconnaissance. We can mention it to Luke when we tell him what we’ve learned.” Magnus replied, taking out his phone and sending a quick text to his Alpha. “I asked him to meet us in Simon’s office. I think it will look a bit strange if people start noticing a big group coming and going from the Den. We obviously can’t have a conversation in the War Room without people overhearing. Simon seems like the adorably paranoid sort to sweep his office for bugs on a regular basis. Besides, if we don’t extract ourselves from this supply closet fairly soon, people will start to talk, Mr. Lightwood.”

 

The blush that rose to Alec’s cheeks practically had Magnus cooing but he retained his professionalism as he opened the door and let them back out into the hall. By some miracle, the walkway was empty so there was no one around to start rumors but knowing the Institute, some security guard was watching them on a CCTV camera somewhere.

 

Simon’s office was located in the farthest reaches of the Institute which Magnus was fairly certain had been a conscious choice on his part. No one could bother him with unnecessary requests if they couldn’t even find him in the first place. He knocked three times but when there was no immediate answer, Magnus let himself inside.

 

The room was dark, darker than any normal human was likely comfortable with, and the walls were lined with movie posters and various pop culture figures. The man himself was sitting in front of a wall of monitors, one of which was definitely some sort of video game and had nothing to do with work. Between the headphones over his ears and his focus on the game, Simon had yet to realize that he was no longer alone in his office. 

 

In that case, there was no reason to not have a little fun.

 

Magnus held a finger up to his lips so Alec didn’t give them away before he was ready. His partner gave him an amused grin but let Magnus do his thing. Alec lingered by the door while Magnus quietly made his way across the room. Simon showed no sign that he realized he was about to be ambushed. When Magnus was right behind him, he leaned in close to the other man’s ear. “Boo,” he whispered. 

 

The sound that Simon let out was somewhere between a scream and a whimper and Magnus couldn’t help but laugh as Simon jumped and fell out of his chair, his headphones clattering loudly to the ground in the process. The tech’s hand went to his heart, no doubt trying to calm himself down as he glanced between Magnus and Alec and back again. “Magnus? What the hell? You scared me half to death! In fact, I’m still not entirely convinced I haven’t died and it’s my ghost sitting here talking to you.”

 

Magnus rolled his eyes as the other man rambled but extended a hand to help him off the ground. “I’m sorry, Stewart. You left yourself wide open for that one. What would you have done if it was anyone other than Alec and I who snuck in on you? What would your boss say about how you're currently utilizing company resources?”

 

“Look, man. Lily doesn’t care as long as I get my job done,” he explained, reaching over and hitting a couple of screens, changing the display on all screens to a rolling wall of code and flickering CCTV monitors. “It just so happens I automated the process to make my life a little bit easier. Work smarter not harder, that’s what I always say.”

 

By this point, Alec had joined them in front of the screens. “What are we even looking at here? This looks like absolute chaos.”

 

“That, my friend, is the proof of my unparalleled genius, let me talk you through my baby,” Simon said excitedly, his eyes lighting up as he spoke. Alec rolled his eyes and Magnus gave him a knowing smile in return. “This is the city of New York,” he started, tapping a few more keys until the screens zoomed out on a very intricate map of the city. “And these are all the CCTV cameras in the city that we have access to…and some we don’t. You probably shouldn’t ask about those. It’s best if you don’t know.”

 

Alec gave Magnus a questioning look out of the corner of his eye and Magnus just shrugged. Simon was right about one thing, he probably didn’t want to know. 

 

“Izzy stopped by this morning and filled me in. I pulled the most updated photos we have of everyone from that graduating class and taught them to the program I wrote. It’s currently using facial recognition to check all those CCTV cameras to see if we possibly get lucky and get a match.”

 

Alec crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. “And what’s the point of it doing that?”

 

Simon’s face fell for a moment like he wasn’t happy that his praises weren’t immediately being sung. “Well, you don’t know where the next site is, right? Not only is this looking for familiar faces, it’s looking for anything unusual. Places that have been abandoned suddenly getting traffic where there’s been none before. Plus, I may have called in a whole bunch of favors. My buddy works with NASA and they have all those satellites. He may be keeping an eye out for unusual heat signatures in the city today. I figured…demons, hellfire…something like that is bound to show up on the radar somewhere. I just thought…maybe we could get ahead?”

 

The man was practically bursting with the need to be helpful and while Alec still looked unenthused, Magnus decided to put him out of his misery. “That’s amazing, Simon. And I’m sure you’ll let us know as soon as you find anything?”

 

“Oh yeah, of course! You two will be the first ones I call. Anyway, what are you two doing here besides giving me a heart attack? Shouldn’t you be out there trying to find the bad guys and prevent any more bodies from being found?”

 

Alec looked like he was about to say something when the door opened again, revealing Alec’s siblings and Luke. “Well, now that everyone is here,” Magnus found himself saying. “With impeccable timing, I might add. Let’s get started, shall we? Sorry to barge in on you like this Simon, but it would look odd if so many people were coming and going from the Den. We couldn’t exactly have this conversation in the War Room, either, and this was the first secure place I could think of. As it turns out, we do have an update. Certainly more quickly than I expected.”

 

He looked to Alec and the agent took over where Magnus had left off. “We were on our way to pay Dr. Holland a visit when we ran into Hodge. I didn’t realize that Magnus and Hodge hadn’t met face-to-face before. Magnus said he’s definitely been at the last crime scene and the church where we found the hellhounds.”

 

“Right you are, Alexander. Hodge’s scent was one of the two recent ones I picked up around the summoning circle that didn’t belong to either the people working the case or the boys who had found the body. I didn’t realize it belonged to him at the time. I picked it up yet again in a hallway here at the Institute but didn’t think too much of it at the time. People come and go constantly. While I wasn’t at my best at the church, meeting Hodge in person was enough to jog my memory. He had been there and if you recall, Luke had picked me up before Hodge and Jia even arrived.”

 

“Hodge and Valentine were practically joined at the hip back then. I can’t say that would surprise me,” Luke responded. 

 

“Ah, well, that’s good to know but there’s more. Hodge started to question us about the updates on the case and we answered enough of his questions that I could get more of a read on him. My nose noticed that his scent soured — he wasn’t at all happy to find out what we learned. Not only that, his heart was practically beating out of his chest. Even though it wasn’t outwardly apparent to anyone without werewolf senses, he was worried.”

 

“And if you think about it, it does make sense, even if it disgusts me to know someone so close to us is involved in something like this. How else can they make sure they’re always one step ahead? By being an inside source — they know exactly where our investigation is going,” Isabelle added. 

 

“Then why pair Magnus and Alec together?” Simon asked, not wanting to be left out of the conversation. “I mean, they’re sort of like the dream team, am I right?”

 

“The attempted kidnapping.” It was Jace who decided to speak up this time. “Hodge knows Alec. He knows that Alec would do anything for his family and that would extend to his partner as well. Even with a serial killer on the loose, Alec wouldn’t have been able to stop himself from looking for Magnus first. He may have had ulterior motives with kidnapping Magnus — that ‘serum’ or whatever they mentioned but the fact of the matter is that it would have killed two birds with one stone. They take Magnus for whatever nefarious purposes they had in mind and they distract the rest of the team.”

 

Suddenly, it was all making alarming sense. “Hodge never wanted us to solve the case,” Alec groaned, voicing the words right as Magnus was thinking them.

 

“I believe you are correct in that assumption, Alexander,” Magnus added. “Why put us on it at all in that case? Why assign it when he could have left it for someone else?”

 

“Pressure from the higher-ups?” Luke suggested. “They were going to have to assign the case to someone. This is the sort of case that can make or break someone’s career. It would make sense to give it to their rising star.”

 

“That’s not, I’m not…” Alec started to stammer. 

 

It was adorable but Magnus knew he should put Alec out of his misery. “We all know it, Alec. Your name is the one the new recruits whisper in the halls. Why me then?” Magnus mused, trying to take some of the pressure off of his partner before his face turned an even brighter shade of red.

 

“They wanted the case solved quickly. It didn’t surprise me when Hodge approached me and asked who on the team would be available. I was the one who suggested you and I think that’s the answer that he was hoping to hear.” Luke explained, glancing over at Alec. “I figured you and Magnus would get along the best. I’m sure you would have been fine with Ragnor or Catarina too but Raphael is a lot to get used to sometimes. He doesn’t play nice with others all of the time — especially those outside of the pack.”

 

Magnus tried to imagine Ragnor by Alec’s side at the crime scene and snickered. “Maybe Cat. I think Ragnor would be too concerned with getting his paws dirty and what possible diseases he could pick up in an abandoned warehouse. He would be begging and pleading to do all the research-related tasks, safe in the comfort of the Den while the rest of us went out into the field.”

 

Luke snorted. “Maybe that’s true but he went through the same training the rest of us did. He’s more than capable of handling himself in the field.”

 

“Okay, so let’s make sure we are all on the same page here,” Isabelle started as she held up a single finger. “One — Alec was assigned to the case, likely from pressure higher up. Knowing this, Hodge may have started to get worried. Out of all the agents who work for the Institute it would be Alec, Jace, and I who know him best. Two — This works in two ways. Hodge also knows Alec. He knows how Alec would work when partnered with Magus.”

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Alec muttered and Isabelle rolled her eyes. 

 

“Please,” She replied with a snort. “Keep fooling yourself if you want. Now, maybe the hellhounds were unexpected. What do you do with actual demons that are somewhat uncontrollable? Especially if you were hoping for something a little more worth all the effort that you were going to. Your next window to try this summoning is quickly approaching. You don’t have time to deal with the demons that you barely managed to recapture so you hide them. You use the site of an abandoned church hoping that the hallowed ground would help you control them.”

 

“Not really that hallowed anymore with the murders,” Simon added helpfully. 

 

Magnus grinned. “Exactly. Point to Simon.”

 

The other man practically preened under the compliment. 

 

“Us finding those hellhounds based on that 9-1-1 was both a stroke of good luck for us and bad luck for them. I don’t think we were supposed to find them and now that I think about it, Hodge didn’t act thrilled with the discovery. I just thought that he wasn’t pleased that he wasn’t the one who made the discovery,” Alec said and Magnus could tell he was trying to replay the afternoon in his head. “Or that I went straight to Jia with the discovery instead of calling him first.”

 

“I wonder if Raphael noticed anything out of the ordinary and just didn’t know Hodge well enough to know if it was his baseline or not,” Magnus mused as he took off his phone and fired off a quick text to the other wolf. “I’ll ask.”

 

“Now, Hodge knows the full moon is coming up and that it’s supposed to happen before the next time they try to summon whatever it is they’re trying to summon. He knows that the pack goes on a hunt every full moon and that they all tend to ride together,” Isabelle started again and Magnus could practically see the wheels turning in her head. “If he needed you out of the picture in a place that was easy to take you, nothing says creepy kidnapping attempt like the middle of the woods at midnight.”

 

“Then all that paperwork he had us fill out before you could leave was intentionally thrown at us to make you late. I like paperwork and I’m good at paperwork but even that was a bit too much for me.” Alec looked frustrated, his scent dark and stormy like a heavy rain at the beach. He could sense his partner’s anger and frustration at the fact that they’d all been played like a fiddle by one of their own.

 

“Making me late would be a good way to get me alone,” Magnus mused. “Though he didn’t count on Luke sending the rest of the pack ahead and hanging back to wait for me. He’s not the sort to leave one of his own behind even if I would have been perfectly capable of tracking them deeper into the forest.”

 

“And I’m glad I did,” Luke growled. “Even gladder that Alec’s gut had him turn around and get you. I don’t know what I would have done if he didn’t show up.”

 

“Ah yes, he’s my true knight in shining armor.” Magnus batted his eyes playfully at his partner and pretended to swoon. Alec nearly choked at the sight.

 

“If you two are done,” Jace said flatly before Magnus could say anything further. “We’re still working through this. Another body will turn up tonight if we don’t make some sort of plan.”

 

Alec started to protest but Isabelle spoke over him. “If the next site is anything like the last, we can expect Hodge will be there with Valentine. All of this,” she pointed to Simon’s monitors over her shoulder. “Isn’t really necessary. We follow Hodge, we find Valentine. Does he have any idea you suspect him?”

 

Magnus shook his head but it was Alec who answered. “No, I don’t believe so. He and Magnus had a bit of a…I don’t know if I’d call it a disagreement. A bit of a thing, I suppose. He knows we’ve got some leads but I don’t think he realizes that he’s the lead.”

 

“I’d have to agree with Alexander. He definitely seemed more worried to see me there and not in the trunk of a car or something as he expected.”

 

“So we follow Hodge and let him lead us right to Valentine. We just need to not give ourselves or our plan away in the process.”

 

Simon looked a little upset that his contribution was no longer needed until another thought seemed to cross his mind. “Wait! I have something for that. Entirely a prototype that I’ve been dabbling with in my spare time but it should work well enough for what you need!” He started frantically digging through a drawer in his desk as he spoke. 

 

“Define well enough,” Alec asked with a bored and slightly frustrated tone. 

 

“I mean, it will work, I just hadn’t really decided on how I wanted the final one to look. There’s also an occasional bug where it throws your coordinates seemingly in the middle of the Bermuda triangle but I really think I’ve finally gotten that one fixed,” the tech explained as he held out his hand with a quarter-sized piece of brushed metal. 

 

“Oh, new toys!” Isabelle exclaimed as she picked up the small device and held it up toward the only light that was currently on in Simon’s dark office. “What is it?”

 

“Just another tracking bug but this one is supposed to be a lot more low-key and a lot more accurate. I noticed the signals on the ones we have here were dropping like hotcakes and thus really weren’t that useful in the long run and I thought that maybe I could do a little bit better. I’m no like…Q, mind you, but I do know my way around some tech and I’m stubbornly determined when I want to be. It’s been one of my little projects over the past few months for when work is slow or it’s a World of Warcraft server maintenance day.” He glanced sideways at Luke. “Not that I’m playing video games with company resources on company time or anything like that. I would never.”

 

Luke raised an eyebrow. “Son, you grew up with Clary, I know you better than you think. Besides,” he tapped a finger against his nose. “I’m a werewolf. You can’t lie to a werewolf. You should know this by now. Remember when the two of you tried to convince me that you were just going to a poetry reading and instead went to that metal concert?”

 

Simon cleared his throat, his face reddening at the memory. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

 

“Another lie,” Magnus replied in a sing-song voice. 

 

“Anyway,” Simon continued, realizing that he was quickly digging himself into a bigger and bigger hole. “Pop this thing somewhere on him or his vehicle and I can track him from here. We’ll have his accurate coordinates down to about ten or fifteen feet. It’ll probably be easier for you to get it in his car rather than his person and then of course, you’d be on your own if he, say, parked and decided to take a scenic one-mile hike by the river but it’s at least more than we would have had otherwise.”

 

Alec took the tracking device from his sister and studied it closely. “You know, Simon, this might just work. I knew we’d have to follow him but I didn’t quite know how we were going to do it without losing him and him realizing that we were in fact tailing him. If you can keep us on the path when we’ve lost sight of the vehicle, then we might have ourselves a plan.”

 

“Tailing him is fine and all but what do we plan to do when we get there?” Jace asked as he crossed his arms. “Just rock up to the building, knock on the front door and say ‘Surprise! We heard you were about to complete a ritual sacrifice and that’s not cool so we’re here to stop you. By the way, you’re under arrest. I hope you enjoy spending time in a 6 by 8 concrete and steel room because that’s all you’ll be seeing for a very long time.”

 

Alec rubbed his eyes and Magnus could see just how tense his partner was. “No, of course not. Magnus and I will take Point. You and Izzy will follow. Luke, if you and the pack are up to it, I’d like at least two of you on back up too. I’d like to take more with us but right now, it’s hard to know who to trust.” He thought about it for a moment. “Maybe Andrew and his partner. They have no direct contact with Hodge and neither are from a family that was involved in the Institute before. Fresh blood, if you will. I have a hard time believing either of them are involved in any of this. I’ll tell Jia that we’re following up on a lead and to be prepared for a phone call just in case. I don’t risk telling her any more than that in case she’s involved as well. I want as few people to know our plan as possible. 

 

Alec held the button out to Jace. “Jace, can you take care of getting this on Hodge’s car? And see if you can find a way to tell Andrew to get ready to go without giving too much away? We have no way of knowing who may be listening. While you're in the garage, can you move my stuff from the Charger to my car? Hodge knows what a standard-issue Institute Charger looks like and I’d like to keep him on his feet.”

 

The agent turned to his sister. “Iz - see if you can pull some extra gear for us without anyone noticing. Luke —” 

 

“I know, I’ll get the pack ready. I think I’ll bring Catarina if that’s alright. You never know when having a nurse may come in handy.”

 

“Simon, get whatever you need to track his vehicle ready here. Can you also scrounge up some comm devices for us? It’ll take too long if we go through the proper channels and we’ll need a way to talk to each other while we’re out there.”

 

A grin spread across Simon’s face. “Of course! Give me about an hour and I’ll have you all set up. Just stop back here on your way out and I’ll be ready.”

 

Alec nodded to him. “In that case, everyone has their assignments. Let’s get moving. We’re losing daylight and someone out there is about to lose their life as well.”