Blessed by Night

86  He Is Not The Same

Currently, Mal and Lamont were in an alley behind Anna's music store.

The dark angel was as infuriating as ever and seemed to be blissfully unaware of just how bad Malachi wanted to tear his head off. "She's a real cutie, huh? And as thick as cold peanut butter-"

"Why the hell are you here?" Mal asked. Lamont glanced at Malachi and finally noticed something strange about him. Outwardly Mal appeared to be very calm, almost like he had no emotions, but his eyes were smoldering. It was as if he was envisioning roasting him alive.

"You seem different, buddy boy. Mad that I interrupted your steamy conversation? I promise you can get right back to the little goth girl after-"

"You're really starting to piss me off."

This time, Lamont did not miss the sight of Mal's pointed teeth flashing as he spoke, and he realized that things were becoming dangerous.

"Alright... I'll get to the point then, buzzkill." He muttered as he rummaged into his jacket pocket. "If you pull out another card, I'm gonna torch that shit."

"Aww come on, not you too!"

Lamont finally threw his arms up in the air and let out a heavy sigh.

"Whatever, I'm just here to tell you that the boss finally has time in their schedule to meet you, so I'm here to bring you to them. Now." Malachi's brow twitched as he tried his very best to keep his composure. "You've really got some shit timing. I'm kind of in the middle of something."

"You're the most famous man in the world, Mal. There will always be some girl or another whose trying to spread her legs for you but you have to be-"

In the blink of an eye, Malachi lashed out and grabbed the chatty man by the neck. He didn't like the way Lamont had showed up and demanded that he go with him like he was some kind of errand boy. And he especially didn't like how he spoke about Anna like she was some kind of cheap woman. With Lamont at only 5'10 and Malachi at 6'5, the sight of him being held up in the air was rather comical.

"Kugh! M-Mal, buddy, why're you being like this?" Lamont stammered as he tried to catch his breath. "I thought we really got along before, you know?  Bros before hoe-" Malachi suddenly tightened his grip on Lamont's neck, and dark black claws burst from his fingertips. "You're quiet all of a sudden. Why is that?" Mal asked calmly. 'What the hell is wrong with him?! Is it even possible for a person to change so much??' Lamont didn't know that Mal's new disposition stemmed from his most recent conversation with Nyx and his transformation inside the gate. The reason Nyx warned him not to enter that state too many times was because his body was literally becoming darkness. Cold, unfeeling, darkness. Entering that state just once had taken something from him, and he was no longer as polite or patient as before. The only reason why none of the girls had noticed anything different, was because they were precious existences to him and he would treat them as such. But no one else in the world had the luxury of his kindness as there simply wasn't enough to go around. Not anymore. "T-Take it easy, Mal! You want to add another murder under your belt?! Urk!"

Baddump.

Malachi froze when he heard the sound of a heartbeat coming from behind him.

His expression immediately softened, and he dropped Lamont to the ground before turning around and finding Anna, her head peeking around the corner and a shocked expression on her face. "Lamont... go wait out front, I'll be right there." The dark angel rubbed his sore throat as he picked himself up off the ground. He wanted to tell Mal to hurry up as his boss wasn't exactly the kind of person who liked to be kept waiting but... he was honestly terrified. His blessing from Papa Legba didn't come with any offensive benefits... against someone like Mal he was at a clear and sore disadvantage. 'I thought he would be easy to control, but now it doesn't seem like it... The lady will need to move things forward at a greater speed than anticipated. '

After Lamont left, Anna shakily came from behind the wall, the sound of her heartbeat echoing in both of their ears. Mal didn't know what to say, and he was afraid to make any sudden moves and risk terrifying her further. "Anna..." "Did you... really murder someone...?" "...Yes." Anna was not expecting him to give her such a straightforward and honest answer, and her anxiety over this situation only got worse. 'No... don't make that same mistake, Annalise.'

"W-What happened?" She asked shakily. Mal wasn't really expecting her to ask for details, and he inadvertently raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"I know you, or at least I think I do... I don't think you're the kind of person to just kill someone for no reason so... I want to hear your side of the story." Anna explained.

Ever since Anna met Mal, she had judged him based on her own preconceived notions and she had been wrong at every turn. So until she heard him say from his very own lips why he did it... she would not make any judgments.

"I... have a sister..." Mal began. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

He took a few minutes to explain everything that Aubrey had went through, in as little detail as possible so as not to darken the conversation beyond what was necessary. He told her about the day where Aubrey was hurt, and even about the time where Rowan showed up at Sei's restaurant with the goal of hiring him as a hitman. In the end he told her bout how he freed Arthur from a maximum security penitentiary, just to rip him apart with his teeth in a national forest on the other side of the country. When Mal was done explaining, Anna remained motionless for a few seconds and he thought that he might have broken her. 'Should I have not told her the full story? Would it have been better to gloss over some of the more gory details?'

Suddenly, a horrible thought crossed his mind. 'Is she... afraid of m-' "Oh thank god!" Anna suddenly squatted down on the ground as she tried to calm the nauseous feeling in her stomach. Malachi felt like his brain had endured a hard reset.

"...Wut?"

"I know I said that I wouldn't judge you, b-but I honestly thought that you were about to tell me you killed some rude Karen or maybe a homeless guy but it was just some lowlife rapist!"

"...Que?"

"I'm really relieved and I'm sorry but I guess I was kind of expecting something to be wrong with you? I mean so far you've seemed like my dream guy but something like that can't be realistic right?"

"...Huh?"

"But I guess it is because not only are you super kind, generous, and sexy but you're also really protective over your family and that's really attractive too and I kind of...."

By now, Anna had realized that she had been rambling away like a maniac and her cheeks quickly turned red with embarrassment. 'Don't look up, don't look up, don't look up!'

Despite her inner monologue, she couldn't help but glance up from the ground to check on Mal's expression, and she immediately wished that she hadn't. Malachi was standing in his same position as before, with his hands in his pockets and wearing an amused smile on his face. "Go on, I'm listening."

"S-Shut up!"

'She's so cute.' Malachi couldn't help like he was discovering more and more sides to Annalise with every interaction. "A-Anyway! Who was that weird guy you were with and what was this boss you're supposed to be meeting?"

Mal suddenly lost his smile as he ran his fingers through his dreads. "He's with the dark angels... they found out I killed Arthur and now they are making me work for them."

Anna's face went from being red with embarrassment to red with anger. "What?! They can't do that, it's blackmail! Who gives a shit if you turned some creep into chicken fingers!?"

"It was more like tartare."

"Whatever, smartass. My point remains the same." Anna said as she rolled her eyes. Malachi suddenly squatted down so that he was eye level with Anna. "Wow you must really like me, huh? Why else would you be this upset on my behalf?" "Don't make me go get my bat."

"Hahaha!" Malachi suddenly stood up and began walking towards the street while waiving Anna goodbye. "I gotta go but I'll see you tomorrow, alright? I'm sorry our time got cut short today."

"I-It's cool... are you going to be okay... with them?"

"What do you want, Uncle Pete?"

18:19

Malachi smirked as if he already had some kind of plan in mind. "You don't need to worry about me. I won't be with these assholes for long." He didn't elaborate, and she did not press him for answers, Annalise watched his back disappear around the corner, and once he was gone she finally let out an embarrassed sigh. "What is wrong with me... why did I tell him all of that stuff..?"

She was usually a much more reserved and standoffish person, and she couldn't recall the last time she'd confessed to someone first. 'Come to think of it... I don't think I've ever-'

Ring!

Anna's phone suddenly vibrated, and she fished it out of her back pocket. Once she saw the contact flashing across her phone, she knew that she was in for an even worse headache. "What do you want, Uncle Pete?"

Immediately, the sound of her uncle's blaring voice nearly defeated her.

 "AG, WAS THAT REALLY MALACHI SAINT IN MY SHOP!?! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU KNEW HIM!?!"

Anna knew immediately that her uncle had been watching the store cameras again, and yet he didn't even bother to ask if she was okay from that asshole grabbing her earlier.

But then again, if he called to ask her if she was okay every time she had to hit a handsy customer, his phone bill would suffer the consequences. "You didn't exactly ask." Anna said.

"WHO WOULD THINK TO ASK SOMETHING LIKE THAT!?!"

*Sigh..*

My mom has been at my house for all of 5 minutes and she has already kidnapped my baby girl. 

She just walked right past me!

I was here first, why is she suddenly trying to replace me?!

AnathaShesha

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