Alec came into the infirmary, holding a laundry basket full of fresh sheets so he could remake the beds. “Hey, Jace, could you help me with…?” he trailed off when he saw the new werewolf girl growling—literally, growling—at Jace, who was cradling his poor cheek where a beautiful bruise was forming.
Alec sighed, dropping the laundry basket and crossing the room in three long strides to get to the two who seemed to be in an intense stare down with no indication of either of them backing down.
“What is going on here?” Alec asked, only mildly annoyed at the moment, but could easily become very agitated very quickly.
“She hit me!” Jace cried, pointing an accusing finger at the werewolf girl.
“Because you were telling me this bullshit story!” the girl said, throwing her hands up in anger. “Did you honestly expect me to believe you when you told me I’m a werewolf?”
“I was telling you the truth!” Jace said desperately. “I don’t lie!”
“Fuck you!” the girl cried, flipping him off.
Now Alec was very agitated. “Alright, enough!” he cried, stepping in between them and pushing them both apart. “You,” he said, pointing at the werewolf. “Sit down, right now. And you,” he said, pointing at Jace. “Go get Luke. He just arrived with Clary.”
Jace nodded, giving the werewolf girl a sour look before leaving.
The girl didn’t do as Alec said and continued to stand, her arms crossed over to her chest and her hip cocked. Alec took that moment to study her. She was small—well, smaller than him and that really wasn’t saying anything. From the youthful look on her face, she didn’t look any older than Isabelle. Her hair was a tangled mess and there were large bags under her eyes. Her shoulders weren’t really that wide and she was rather thin…so how did she survive that attack? She’s so tiny.
Alec sighed; if she wasn’t going to sit, he was. He could tell this was going to be an interesting conversation. They sat in an awkward silence for a moment, the werewolf girl just staring down at him, giving him this deadly look. Well, Alec figured that he should probably ask what her name was first of all, so he wouldn’t keep calling her “werewolf girl.”
“What’s your name?” Alec asked.
“Selene,” she said, not missing a beat and not relaxing from her stance.
Alec pursed his lips and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and letting his hands dangle between his legs. “Alright, Selene, what’s the problem?”
“You were in the diner too?” Selene asked, ignoring Alec’s question. “When the wolf attacked me?”
“That was a werewolf,” Alec corrected. “And yes, I was. We were unable to save you and for that, I am deeply sorry.”
Selene raked her fingers through her hair and began to pace. “But you did save me, I’m alive, aren’t I? I may have a scar from the bite, but that doesn’t matter!” She sounded desperate, like she wanted Alec to say, “Gotcha!” and tell her it was all just a prank; that it never happened.
But Alec shook his head. “Selene…you were attacked by a werewolf,” was all he said, looking her straight in the eye, no barriers.
Selene staggered back, as if she had been struck. “No!” she yelled. “No, that’s not true! Werewolves don’t exist! They…they just don’t! They are…” Her voice became weaker and weaker the more she spoke. She shook her head, trying to shake the thoughts from her mind. “They don’t…” she whispered to herself.
