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Have you ever felt like the world is against you? Anything you do, good or bad, turns into something awful. You feel like your world is spiraling out of control and no amount of grounding exercises help. Well if that's the case, then you know exactly how I feel.

Firstly, I run into two guys covered in tattoos - magical tattoos that give them immense power. Then, it turns out I'm their soulmate. Now, normally when you think of soulmates, you think of someone made for you, where they whisk you away from your hardships and you live happily ever after. Well, at least that's what I thought.

While Jace and Alec are the best things that happened to me, they don't come without their own baggage.

Throw in a jealous sister, a murderous rogue Shadowhunter, and a powerful mother that died in a not-so-mysterious fire and you have a recipe for chaos.

My life used to not be this chaotic. There was a time when I was happy, before the accident that happened with my mother. Don't get me wrong, I'm very grateful for Jocelyn. She showed me love when no one else did. But she could never compare to my mother.

But life has a funny way of saying fuck you because here I am in the back of a curser with my hands cuffed staring dagger at the side of the driver's face.

He doesn't even flinch at my heated gaze but I can tell his partner is getting annoyed with me by the way he keeps turning around in his seat.

I can see Simon out of the corner of my eye fiddling with the cuffs around his wrist as he glances around, probably trying to find a way out. I'm surprised he hasn't started speaking, something I've noticed quite frequently the Lewis boy doing when he's uncomfortable.

Clary just leans her head against the window, her eyes glazed over looking close to tears. I have to bite my tongue to keep the comment I want to say to her to myself. I mean, how can she just sit idly by while we drive further out of town?

The city buildings slowly start to disappear, changing into abandoned buildings. I can almost picture in my mind when they were operational. Now, they are just a hollowed shell of what it once was.

The abandoned buildings start to thin out, being replaced by a large lake. Finally, we pull into the parking lot of a building right off the water. 

"Where are we? This isn't the police station?" Clary bites out. Glancing around the place, it's somewhere I've never been before and the name of the restaurant is in Chinese so it's really no help.

"Just cooperate and everything will be fine," Alaric says getting out of the car. "Get out," his partner bites, his heated gaze locked on us, more specifically me.

My eyes narrow at him, wishing he would try something. I'm already pissed that I got kidnapped again so these guys are already on the top of my hate list right behind Camille.

The guy's eyes flash a dangerous yellow as he takes a step closer to me. But that's impossible, people's eyes don't flash yellow. Must be the lighting.

"Leave her," Alaric barks, lightly shoving me behind him.

"We didn't do anything wrong," Simon speaks up, trying to defuse the tension. Way to go, Simon, you just made angry guy angrier. "Be quiet or you're gonna make this worse for yourself."

"Hey, you're not a cop!" Clary gets in front of Simon as she glares daggers at the man before us. That's one thing my sister and I have in common. This guy isn't our friend.

Suddenly, Alaric's phone starts to ring pulling the angry guy's attention away from us. "Alaric who is this guy?" Clary asks, glancing at Alaric from the corner of her eye.

"Luke's calling," he says, ignoring Clary's question. The angry man huffs before roughly grabbing my arm and pulling me toward the building. "Ignore it. That's an order," he throws over his shoulder.

"Are you guys with Luke? Did he send you?" I can hear by Clary's traveling voice that she's getting pulled by Alaric into the building behind me. "None of your business," the man pulling me states.

The angry man throws me into a booth, my shoulder roughly hitting the wall. A hiss escapes my mouth as pain explodes over my shoulder. I glare at the man as he walks away, my hand rubbing over the spot where I collided already knowing it's going to form a bruise.

Alaric leads Clary and Simon to the same booth, having both of them squeeze in next to me. Alaric and the angry man sit across from us. "Why do I keep getting kidnapped?" Simon asks.

I roll my eyes at his question but Clary answers for him. "Not to be self-centered, but I think it's me they're after." Alaric smiles and nods his head. "You and her," he finishes, pointing at me.

My eyes narrow slightly at his comment. "You've made a mistake kidnapping us. My mates will come and kill all of you for kidnapping me."

The angry man growls at me, his voice deep and eyes flashing that yellow color again. So maybe it wasn't the light playing tricks on me.

"I'm not worried about your soulmates, girl. Let them come, you'll be long dead by the time they get here," he threatens. To say I'm not a little scared would be an understatement. This guy oozes power and control and I know his threat is real. Now to figure out how to get out of here alive.

"Okay, what is going on? Alaric, did you arrest us for trespassing or something, because, news flash, I was in my own apartment." Clary states, leaning back in her seat. The angry guy whose name I still don't know finally turns his attention away from me to look at my older sister.

"We're just having a little conversation, that's all." 

"Uh-huh. Last time I checked, you don't make death threats to people you make conversation with," I say. 

"You're on your last life, girl. I would advise you to shut your mouth," he snarls. I promptly close my mouth, fear flickering through my body.

"Look, I know you're scared of Luke. He's trying to find you, I can keep you safe. All of you," Alaric states, shooting a glance at me before glaring at the angry guy. He just huffs, turning away from the conversation. "You just need to tell us where the Mortal Cup is."

Clary sighs, her face tense with anger as she tries to control herself. "Everyone thinks I can find this Cup, but I don't know where it is!" 

Alaric doesn't look too happy with her answer. "Think, Clary. I'm trying to give you a chance."

"I can't help you. I'm sorry. Now, will you please let us go?" I squeak lightly, pulling my hands away from the fork that was stabbed into the table mere inches from my hands.

"Playtime's over." The angry man snarls. I gulp the lump in my throat, hating the look he's giving me. Now I know what a rabbit feels like staring into the eyes of a hungry wolf.

"Theo, just let me talk some sense into them," Alaric bargains. Theo shakes his head. "No, we did it your way. Now, we're gonna try it my way."

"What?" Simon gulps, visibly shrinking back out of fear. I'm right there with you, Simon.

Theo waves over another guy before grabbing me harshly by the arm and dragging me into the back room. "Hey, let me go!" I shout, twisting in his hold.

Theo growls, his arm tightening on my arm. "Hey, hey-" By the sound of Simon's panicking voice, I know that the other guy grabbed him by the arm.

"Don't move. Tell us where the Cup is or your sister and friend die."

Clary hesitates, her green eyes flickering between the two of us. "Please, please... please, don't hurt them, okay? I promise you, I swear to you, I do not know where this Cup is."

Theo smiles a crazy look flashing behind his eyes. "That's too bad. Get rid of him." The man holding Simon starts walking toward the back of the restaurant. "What? Hey, let go of me!"

"Simon!" Clary says, taking a few steps toward us. Alaric grabs her arm, keeping her stationary. "Please, wait. Don't hurt him!"

Simon disappears into the kitchen at the back of the restaurant. "Please, tell me Simon's okay." I plead. Theo growls again and I'm starting to think they are werewolves. I mean, with all the growling and vampires being real, it wouldn't surprise me.

"You don't get to talk." I huff under my breath but keep my mouth close. Even I know when to listen when my life is on the line.

"He's alive... for now," Theo states, looking at Clary. "Thank God," she mumbles under her breath.

"You can thank whoever you want. But if you don't tell us where the Cup is we're gonna introduce Gretel here to your friend." Suddenly a wolf appears next to Theo. She's huge, her head reaching just under Theo's chest. Her fur is a deep brown and her eyes are a striking yellow. She's snarling at Clary and I angle my body behind Theo's hiding from the massive creature.

So I was right.

"She's one of our fiercest warriors. She'll rip him to shreds." Clary visibly gulps, taking a few steps back as it finally clicks in her mind who we are facing. "You're werewolves."

Theo rolls his eyes like it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Obviously. And your friend is dog meat if you don't give us the Cup."

"Okay! Okay... you win. I'll tell you where the Cup is, just... just please, let Simon go." Clary pleads. I glare at her, wiggling my arm to remind her that I am still trapped. 

Her eyes lock with mine. "And Valerie." She adds

"I'll consider it," Theo says, his grip loosening slightly on my arm. 

"It's uh... it's in the loft where you found me. There's a loose floorboard in the bedroom. My mom didn't know I knew, but she hid it there." I slightly nod at my sister. While it might be a lie, it's a damn good one that might buy us some time to escape.

Theo looks at some of the men around the room. "Bring me the Cup." He turns his attention back to Clary. "If you're lying... I'm not just gonna kill your friend... I'm gonna make you watch as Gretel rips him to shreds."

"Now, time to deal with you," Theo says, before dragging me into the kitchen. "Hey, you said you would let them go!" Clary shouts, Alaric dragging her behind us.

"I said I would consider it, sweetheart. When I have the Cup, I will let you all go. Maybe." He smiles before hanging me on a meat hook. I hiss under my breath when the sharp hook grazes my palms, warm blood trickling down my arm.

The men walk out as Clary comes over to me. "I'm sorry I got you kidnapped again, Valerie." 

I roll my eyes, my body twisting on the meat hook. "I wish I would have pushed Alec to take me with him. I hate being kidnapped."

"Let me try to get you down," Clary says. "And how do you plan to do that with your hands cuffed?" I ask. She smirks before grabbing my legs and pulling me up. The meat hook grazes the wounds, causing them to open more.

"Ow, ow, ow. Stop, your hurting me," I whimper as she releases me. She turns me around before her eyes bulge. "Shit, sorry, Val."

"It's okay. I've sustained worse," I mumble under my breath, and by the wince from Clary, I can tell she heard me.

Just then Simon gasps awake, causing me to jump and Clary to scream a bit. "Oh my God, Simon. Are you okay?" Clary asks, rushing over to her best friend that's hanging upside down on a chain.

His eyes are frantic as they look around. With one hard tug, the binds holding him break off, causing him to tumble to the ground. "Damn, Simon. Think you could break my chains too?" I playfully ask.

What I don't expect is for him to actually do it. And for him to make it look so easy too.

"Shit, Val. What happened to your palms?" Simon asks. Glancing down, my palms are all cut up, blood pouring out of them. A grimace forms on my face as the pain slowly fades as adrenaline pumps through my veins.

"Here, pull my stele from my pocket and active my healing wound," I instruct Clary, who follows my directions. Once my wounds are healed, Simon goes toward the bars on the windows, trying to break them.

When he can't he taps his pockets. He quickly pulls out a lighter and his phone. "Who do I... wait. Who do I call?"

"Give me that," I say, snatching the phone from his hand and dialing Clary's number, hoping that it's still in her bag. 

"Hello?" The voice of my younger mate says on the other line after a few seconds. "Oh, thank God."

"Valerie!" His voice is frantic and I can hear Alec in the background. "Are you okay? Where are you?"

"I'm fine, but I don't know where we are. Some Chinese restaurant, I think. This cop Alaric arrested us, but it was a total fake-out. He and his buddy took us to their hangout and then told Clary that they'll kill me if they don't find the cup," I explain.

"Fuck. Okay, okay. What do you see?" Jace asks, his voice jumpy as if he's pacing around. 

My eyebrows furrow as I glance out the window. "Okay. Uh.. we are definitely on a pier. There's a ton of water. Uh... I see lockers and... Shit."

Claw marks are scratched into the walls. Blood, some fresh and some old splattered everywhere. I take a few steps back, my voice lodged in my throat and all the confidence I felt before faded in a matter of seconds.

"Val? Valerie!" Jace screams, but his voice doesn't register. Simon snatches the phone from me as Clary rests a supportive hand on my shoulder. 

"It looks like some sort of torture chamber. There's claw marks all over the wall," Simon says. A few seconds pass as he glances over at me. My eyes lock with his as he sends me a soft smile, whispering everything will be okay.

"Yeah, she's fine. Just a bit freaked out."

A few more seconds pass as Simon walks around. He groans under his breath. "There's nothing else that can help-" he starts but stops when he spots a menu.

"Wait! We're at the Jade Wolf Chinese Restaurant on the pier at Greene St." Simon, concludes. 

I can barely make out what Jace is saying on the other line. Something about a distraction? "How? All I have are clothes and a lighter."

"Start a fire, Simon," Clary says, walking over to him. I nod my head in agreement, walking over to them.

"That never works! Have you guys ever seen action movies!?" I roll my eyes at my best friend. "What other choice do we have?"

Just as Simon hangs up with Jace and is about to pull his lighter out of his pocket, heavy footsteps sound on the ground, getting closer.

"Shit, someone's coming. Quick, act like you're cuffed again so he doesn't get suspicious," I say, quickly picking on my broken handcuff and wrapping them around my wrists, careful to leave my marks untouched.

Clary and Simon follow suit just as the man walks in. He gives us puzzling looks before he shakes his head. He must not have known Simon was dangling upside down when he was first brought in here.

"Come with me," the man says, grabbing Clary and me by the arm before dragging us out of the room. Once we round the corner, I watch in amusement as Theo paces around the dining area, mumbling incoherent words under his breath.

"I've brought them," the man holding us says. Theo finally looks up, his eyes flashing with anger. He quickly snatches me, his grip extremely tight around my arm. I gasp in pain, trying to free my captured arm.

"Why is it taking them so long? Answer me or she dies!" Theo snarls, grabbing my throat and squeezing. The breath is knocked out of my lungs as my throat closes due to the pressure. I start choking and Clary visibly shrinks, fear etching every part of her face.

"I don't know why it's taking so long!"

Something seems to of snapped in Theo, but before he can do anything to me, the fire alarm rings. "It's a fire! Find it! I'll take care of them."

Theo grabs Clary and releases my neck. Violent coughs rip from my throat as he once again grabs my arm, pulling us out of the building.

"Would you let us go? Valerie is already hurt." Theo just pushes Clary and me into a container. "Keep your mouth shut or I swear I will kill your sister." He threatens. Why does everyone threaten me?

Theo quickly shuts the door, shrouding us in darkness. I can barely make out the silhouette of Clary as she pulls out her stele to draw a rune on a container. Light illuminates the area as Clary comes over toward me. "Are you okay, Valerie?"

"Never been better," I reply, sarcasm dripping from my voice. It's not my sister's fault that I got kidnapped and I shouldn't really take it out on her but at this point, I could care less.

Suddenly, the container opens as Luke walks in. I back up a few steps, taking Clary with me. "I finally found you guys."

"Clary, Valerie!" Luke tries again to get closer to us, but we back further into the container. My sister grabs my arm dragging me behind her. 

"You stay away from us!" Clary shouts. Luke sighs. "Don't be afraid. I traced Alaric's car to the pier when he didn't return my calls. I'm here to help you."

I narrow my eyes at him, not believing a word that comes out of his mouth. Not after what we heard at the police station a few days ago.

"Oh really? I heard what you said at the precinct. You told those creeps the last 18 years of your life were a lie." Apparently, Clary is having the same train of thought as I am.

"Those were Valentine's people. I lied to them to protect you," Luke states, taking another step closer to us. "Don't come any closer. You want the Mortal Cup, just like everyone else."

Clary points the sharp edge of her stele at Luke and if I wasn't scared shitless, I would have laughed at her attempt at being threatening. She's just about as threatening as Simon.

Luke's stance relaxes a bit, his eyebrows raise as he stares at the end of her stele. "You know you can't cast spells with that thing?"

Clary shrugs. "Yeah, but I already stabbed one demon with it. I'm sure it hurts a lot worse on a man."

I squeak, jumping back in fright as Luke stands in front of us in just two quick strides. His hands reach out faster than my eyes can focus and the stele in Clary's hand is now in Luke's.

"You need more training. And we gotta go. Now!" Luke is quick to pick up me, throwing me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. 

"What? Hey! Where are you taking me?" I shout, hitting Luke's back. He appears unfazed as he walks out of the container, grabbing Clary's arm to make sure she doesn't try to run off.

"Someplace safe. These people aren't messing around. They will kill you," he says. "I got that, but why am I slung over your shoulder?" I question, propping my head up on the back of his neck.

He shrugs, his movement causing me to bounce up and down. My stomach twists with the movement and I can already feel a cramp starting to come on. "Please, put me down. This is hurting." I whimper, my stomach aching.

Just then Jace and Alec appear. Both of my mates narrow their eyes at the older man. Alec arches his bow, knocking back an arrow as he aims it at Luke.

"Put her down!" Jace shouts, disappearing behind Luke to kick the back of his knees. He quickly falls, dropping me in the process. Jace catches me his eyes softening as he walks away from the fallen man. "Are you okay?" I simply nod my head, laying it on his chest glad to be back in his arms.

"Come on, we need to find Simon."