Addicted to you- Alec Lightwood

31-The Ultimate Promise

Meanwhile, Alec was rushing through the Institute, trying to find his parents. He shoved Shadowhunter after Shadowhunter out of the way as he ran down hallways and in and out of rooms, looking for them. Eventually, he found them in the training room, watching the new trainer.

"Alec," Maryse nodded curtly, her voice as cold as ice, "what is it?"

Alec cleared his throat. "I'm... sorry , Mom"

Maryse gestured for Alec to follow her out of the training room. Alec leant against the wall, as Maryse stared him down.

"So you should be. I don't think you've ever spoken to me and your father with so much disrespect before"

Alec nodded, eyes on the floor. "I know, I shouldn't have said it. I didn't mean it, so I don't know why I said it. How can I make up for it?"

Maryse sighed and walked closer to Alec, guiding his face up so he was looking at her. 

"Alec, our reputation is getting trampled into the mud. Our family name no longer has the same prestige as it once did. Therefore, we need a way to restore it" she said, her eyes imploring her son to understand.

Alec gulped. "So, what do you need me to do, Mom?"

Maryse sighed and stepped back slightly. "I need you to get married, Alec. We can't do it without your consent, obviously. But this would help us so much, especially the woman we have in mind"

Alec looked at his mom in shock before recovering. 

"I'll do it. Anything to restore our family name and to bring you respect once again" he said, his smile strained as he tried to supress the torrent of emotions that were going through him at this moment. 

Maryse smiled, and hugged her son tightly. 

"I knew you would understand, my boy. This is what we need"

With another smile, she entered the training room once again, just as Izzy came running up to Alec.

"Alec! Please tell me you're not going through with it!" 

Alec looked guilty, as Izzy gasped and dragged him off to her room, her grip tight and painful round Alec's wrist.

"Ow, Iz, that hurt" Alec grumbled as they entered her room.

"Not as much as this wedding is gonna hurt you, not to mention Ethan" Izzy said, glaring at Alec, folding her arms.

Alec rolled her eyes. 

"There's nothing like that between me and Ethan, Iz, can't you see that?" he lied.

Izzy's glare deepened. "There's always  been something like that between you and Ethan, Alec, can't you  see that ?"

"You don't understand, Izzy-" Alec started to retort, but Izzy interrupted him.

"I do, Alec. You feel like you need to fix every problem in our family, at the expense of your own happiness. But, Alec, this isn't only ruining your happiness temporarily. This is a mistake you have to live with for the rest of your life!"

"I know, Izzy. And that's my burden to bear, not anyone else's" Alec said, moving towards the door. 

Just before he left, Izzy said something that made him stop.

"But Ethan will have to bear this burden too"

She said it so softly, so quietly, that he barely heard her at all. He turned, and saw her face, begging him not to do this.

"You thought you hurt Ethan before, Alec? This will kill him. And, I don't want him to feel that kind of pain. You of all people should know how much it hurts to want someone you can't have" she said, her eyes not leaving him for a second. 

"If you're talking about Jace," he said, coldly, "that was a stupid little crush years ago. I'm over it."

"Yes, but what you have with Ethan isn't some silly teenage crush. Whether you like it or not, Alec, you have feelings. And, whether you like it or not, you have someone else's to consider, aside from Mom's. Because, lets face it, this would never be Dad's idea," Izzy persisted.

"Family is everything, Izzy. I have a duty" Alec said, lamely. To be honest, he was running out of excuses to justify him doing this.

"And I have a duty to protect my parabatai from harm, physically and emotionally. And, at the moment, you are the one damaging him. He just doesn't know it yet" she said, disappointment filling her face, making Alec feel 100 times more guilty.

With these final words, Izzy left.

                                                  .......................................................

As Ethan returned to the Institute the next morning, he was met by a new face. She was a small blonde Shadowhunter, with a very stern looking face that Ethan thought resembled Maryse's slightly.

'Geez, are all Shadowhunter women this intense?' he thought as the blonde made her way over.

"Ah, Ethan Fairchild I presume," the woman said, "Valentine's son..."

Ethan growled. "He's not my dad, he's just some guy I happen to share DNA with"

The women didn't give an inch. "You are his son. I'm Lydia Branwell, envoy for the Clave. I'm finding that the Shadowhunters of this Institute have been on too many unsanctioned missions in the name of you and your sister. You want to tell me why that is?"

Ethan scowled at Lydia, moving closer to her. "Listen here, and listen good. I don't control Clarissa. God knows nobody can. But neither of us have been Shadowhunters for very long, so you can't expect us to know everything about this world. So, instead of being a puppet of the goddamn Clave, maybe get to know us first before assuming you've got me all figured out"

Lydia scoffed, as Alec and Izzy approached from behind. 

"With a temper like that, you are your father's son through and through"

"That's enough, Lydia" Alec's sharp voice rang out as he moved to her side.

Ethan, subconsciously, had curled his hands into tight fists. Izzy moved to her parabatai's side and intertwined her fingers with his, trying to calm him down.

Lydia, seemingly distracted from Ethan for the moment turned to Alec.

"Have you told them, yet?" she asked, looking up at him.

Ethan narrowed his eyes in confusion as Alec caught his eye with a look of pure guilt on his face. After another moment of staring, Alec turned away to focus on Lydia.

"No, not yet" he muttered.

Ethan couldn't contain himself any longer. "What the hell is going on? What haven't you told us?!"

"I was just about to tell you when you arrived before" Izzy whispered.

Lydia looked between Alec and Ethan a few times. Then, her gaze settled on Ethan, and  a flash of sympathy crossed her face, too quick for anyone else to notice.

"Alec and I... are getting married"

Ethan made a noise at the back of his throat. Calmly, he turned away and walked towards the training room to get all of his conflicting feelings beat out of him by the new trainer. He was sure it wouldn't hurt as much as this.

Nothing could hurt as much as this.