Chapter 3

The early morning light streaming through the windows is what wakes Alec up. Groaning the young man brings his hands to his face to wipe the sleep out of his eyes before sitting up. Looking around his surroundings Alec realizes that he is not in his room at the Institute.

What happened last night, where am I? Alec thinks. Hearing a small noise between a moan and a groan Alec turns to his right and sees Magnus turning over. In his sleep Magnus looks peaceful and vulnerable, and more human than Alec has ever seen. Even with his make-up being smeared.

Then images from last night flash through his head. Giving Magnus is strength, moving Luke and cleaning Magnus' couch, Magnus going into heat, his sweet smell filling the air, Alec wanting to leave before anything happened, Magnus kissing him then a blur of hands, skin, and secret, warm touches and. . . .

That's it. All Alec can do is hope that he didn't mark or knot Magnus or both. It's not that Alec doesn't want a mate or children, he does, but the Clave will never allow his mate to be a man much less a Downworlder and his children being half-Shadowhunter and half-whatever-type-of-Downworlder his mate is.

In a panic Alec gets out of bed and starts putting on his clothes and shoes before leaving the bedroom and shutting the door quietly, not wanting to wake Magnus. As he goes past the kitchen to get to the front door Alec briefly considers leaving Magnus a note, telling him that he left for the Institute and that last night probably shouldn't have happened.

But he doesn't. Because leaving a note would mean that he feels something for the Warlock and he doesn't. He can't. He has feelings fro Jace. Jace his Parabatai and brother. Alec has to have feelings for him because then no one will ever find out that he's gay.

And he can't have people finding out he's gay. Not the Clave, not Jace, not his parents----especially his parents. His parents have always said that liking the same gender (in the romantic sense) is an abomination and the person should never consider themselves a person, much less a Shadowhunter.

So he leaves. He leaves Magnus' loft and heads home hoping to forget that last night didn't happen, that he and Magnus can be purely professional if they ever cross paths again. Because last night, as fun as it had been (and more pleasurable than Alec has ever imagined) should have never occurred.

It's been four months since Alec has slept with Magnus and during that time Jace, Izzy, the annoying red-head and her mundane-turned-Vampire friend have been going to Magnus for more numerous things and during which Alec has refused to go.

He can't see Magnus, he doesn't have the nerve too. Every time Alec thinks of Magnus his mind goes back to that night in-vivid-fucking-detail. And he-does-not-like-it! And he's a hundred percent positive that seeing Magnus will only make memories of that night worse.

At least for him. After all Magnus has had numerous partners before Alec, and chances are that he has found another a week or two after they had sex. Besides it's not like he and Magnus are mates and expecting a child.

Of course during the last few months that Alec hasn't seen Magnus Izzy has made Alec look up how long it takes for a pregnant Omega and Beta to show, why? Alec doesn't know. He hopes that someone hasn't knotted his because if they have Alec has no issue roughing the guy up. Not if it's Meliorn, or Raphael, the newly appointed Head of the Vampire clan, or the mundane-turned-Vampire guy. He doesn't care.

Also during the last few months Alec's been promoted to Head of the Institute, after dealing with two envoys from the Clave, Lydia Branwell and Victor Aldertree. He nearly married Lydia, but on the day of his wedding they were interrupted by demons and Lydia has been hurt and after she got medical attention and was fully awake Lydia and he called off the wedding, both agreeing that it isn't what Alec (or his family) needed at the moment.

Leaving his office to go and check on the Shadowhunters roaming the Institute for big missions (Jace, Izzy, Clary, and Simon) and minor ones (everyone else) when he sees him. He's still in his very flamboyant and colorful clothes, kohl and dark eyeshadow and eyeliner aligning his eyes. His nails a dark color.

Alec knows who he is looking at. Magnus Bane.

What is Magnus doing here? He vaguely recalls his mother saying that she's going to have someone come in and reinforce the wards, Alec just didn't think that it would be Magnus. Which is crazy on his part as Magnus is the one who created the wards surrounding the Institute in the first place.

After not seeing Magnus in months Alec looks him over and the only thing different about Magnus since the last time Alec saw him is that he has a stomach bump. Magnus has never seemed like the kind of person to----what's the term mundanes use? Let himself go? Alec isn't sure but either way Magnus has always seemed fit so why does he have a little stomach bump?

Then he feels it. A small tug that seems strong enough to get Alec to gravitate towards Magnus. Recalling his pregnancy research Alec knows it takes newly impregnated Omegas and Betas twelve-to-sixteen weeks to show, even earlier if they were previously pregnant. Magnus is pregnant. But with who's child? It can't be Alec because they didn't even----

Magnus stretches his neck side-to-side when Alec spots it. A dark mark on his pulse point. Magnus is mated. Even without knowing for sure who Magnus' mate is, Alec can feel who is the father (well, one of the father's) of Magnus' child is. Him.

Alec is so fixated on Magnus that he doesn't notice when Magnus is done with the wards. That is until Magnus turns around and looks at him, his soft gentle brown eyes turn from happiness and warmth to an anger with a deadly fire that can burn down an entire army.

Magnus has every reason to, too. Alec is the one who walked away the morning after they had sex. Alec is the one who didn't have a note, he's the one who has been avoiding Magnus the last four months.

"Is there something I can help you with, Shadowhunter?" Magnus spits out Shadowhunter as if it is causes an acid-like taste in his mouth.

"C-can we talk?" Really? Alec has grown a bit more comfortable with himself recently and has gotten over his stuttering, so why is Magnus bringing this effect back out of him?

"Why and where?" Magnus' voice is so void of emotion that it brings an icy cold wave over Alec.

The raven-hair man takes the older one into his office. "Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant?" the words spill out of Alec's mouth before he can even think about what to say.

"Why does it matter? It's not like you're the father anyway."

Alec flinches. Okay, he does deserve the jab for walking away months ago but the point is that he didn't know. Just because he walked away from Magnus doesn't mean he was walking away from his child, a child he didn't even know about until today.

"That's it though: I know I'm the father." Magnus raises an eyebrow. "When I saw you I felt this pull and if I'm wrong and my Alpha senses are all  wrong then I'm the father."

"Even so, why do you want to bother now?"

"I get it. I left months ago without saying anything, not even writing a note, but you shouldn't have kept the fact that I'm going to be a dad away from me." Alec takes a deep breath. "When----when I walked away from you I didn't know I was walking away from my child too. I understand that it may take some time for me to gain your trust, but please, please, let me be there for the rest of the doctor's appointments, let me be there to witness the birth of my child. Just let me be there for my child over all."

Magnus looks him over, his eyes looking for any sign of dishonesty, any sign that Alec will betray the very little trust he's going to place in Alec if he chooses to let Alec be a part of their child's life.

What should feel like minutes feels like hours under Magnus' watchful gaze. "Fine." the Warlock says after a few minutes. "I'll let you be a part of our child's life, only because our child deserves to know both parents. Do not mistake this for me forgiving you, one false move and you are out of our child's life, understood?"

Alec nods, body relaxing, his heart pounding with joy. "Yes, thank you." He wants to hug Magnus but he isn't sure if he's allowed to at the moment. "So, uh, do you know the sex of our child? Boy? Girl?"

Magnus shakes his head. "My next appointment is in two weeks, if you want to go it'll be at my loft and I'll find out then."

The older man makes his way to the door to leave when Alec grabs his arm. Magnus turns to look at him, eyebrow raised. "Just so you know, I wasn't lying, when we-uh-mated. I do like your eyes. Your real eyes."

Magnus rolls his eyes. "As I've said, Alec, be careful on what you say or do." Magnus warns again, letting the threat hand in the air.

To be continued...