Chapter 77

Crow, in his apartment literally right next door, heard Melyssa BELLOWING and RAGING and sort of came running, banging on the door. It opened on its own, he stepped in, realizing she had been in the process of opening it and kicking Ash out. Well, he had always thought the idea of them was weird and it had never set right with him, he was a bit sorry that they were fighting.

"Fuck OFF Armbrust." No, SHE was fighting, he was trying to make sense of what had just happened. "She doesn't need you protecting her from ME!"

"I think you may need protection from her if you don't get the Gehenna out."

That was the damn truth because she was LIVID and, if steam could pour out of one's ears, it would've been at that moment. She was standing there, still in the lingerie she had bought, the candles still lit all around the apartment and Ash was COVERED in spaghetti from the plate she flung at him. Tears poured down her cheeks and she punched him as hard as she could when he went to grab her, right in his mouth.

"Get. Out. I NEVER want to see you again besides at work." Her voice was deceptively calm and low, her teal eyes hard and cold while staring at the man she had given literally everything to. And he didn't care. HE DIDN'T CARE! "You can go play with yourself or, better yet, find someone else who will put up with your sex addiction because I AM DONE!"

Sex addiction? Wow. Crow kept his mouth shut. He was all for sex, all the time, every day, whenever and wherever, but… that was every man's dream. The reality was: it would be exhausting and chafing was a real thing, not to mention dehydration. Damn it, there was other stuff out there that needed to get done! Though, now it explained why Melyssa had seemed so tired lately. He raised one eyebrow at his friend, who was holding his mouth, spaghetti sliding down his tomato stained face.

"Out."

Ash shook his head and turned, shaking himself just to purposefully fling spaghetti everywhere before leaving. He made sure to slam the door shut behind him, his last 'say' as it were. Crow immediately went to Melyssa, catching her before she fell and held her up, his hands beneath her armpits. He simply stared down at her, sorrow filling his red eyes as she cried even harder. This was the last person she wanted to know what was going on between her and Ash. Now that her body was 'exposed' for the most part, because of how revealing the lingerie was, Crow could see the bruises she hid beneath clothing.

Thighs, upper arms, hips and if he saw her butt…it looked like Ash had beaten and abused her. She also had bite marks on various parts of her body as well. Melyssa couldn't help crying her heart out against Crow, her face buried in his chest and felt his arms wrap tightly around her. It wasn't until an hour later, she finally spoke in a low, raspy voice, both now sitting on the couch with the lights on and the candles blown out.

"Today was our three-month anniversary…and I wanted to do something nice for him because we've been fighting a lot lately. He walked through that door, took one look at everything and asked what it was, and ordered me to take the lingerie off I bought specifically for him. All he cares about is bending me over and screwing me, Crow. I can't…I can't do it anymore…I physically can't handle it anymore and I've tried telling him, but all he kept telling me was I'd get used to it because of my virginal mindset." She snorted, wiping her nose with the tissue Crow handed her while talking to him. "I thought I loved him, but I'm starting to realize the spell is what drew me to be with him. After that spell broke, I didn't feel the same way I did about him…and I know his sex addiction didn't help matters. Still, I did everything I could to make this work because I didn't want to believe that damn spell could…influence my feelings for someone. I do feel love for him, but…" She started crying again, burying her face in her hands. "I'm starting to realize I was never IN LOVE with him…and I tried making this work out of guilt because I'm the one who told him I loved him first. I never should've started anything with him in the first place! I don't know what I was thinking!"

It made sense, about the spell. It had brought out the negative things she was feeling and thinking, it had drawn her towards negative things as well and, from what he could see, and what he now knew, Ash had been a very, very negative thing. It was so strange because they had seemed to of been the best of friends prior to getting together. He had told her right out the gate he hadn't liked the idea of them and he hadn't even known why, maybe because of this.

"Do you need to see a doctor?" He asked, trying not to stare, but it was hard. She was in next to nothing and looked like she had had her ass beaten.

"W-What?!" That had snapped her right out of her despair and she stared at him wide-eyed, suddenly realizing why he was asking that question. "Hand me a blanket, please. And no, I don't. It was all consensual, he didn't…hurt me that way or anything."

Ash DID hurt her, but more on an emotional and mental level. Granted, her vagina was thanking Aidios and the Goddess for not being pounded into oblivion, but that was something she would keep to herself. Crow wrapped the blanket around her and she looked up at him with fresh tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry about what I said that day. It was the spell, Crow, I hope you know that. I would never say something like that to you just because you voiced your concern about me and him. You were right."

"Yeah I know, but that's my curse, usually being right and others ignoring me." He joked, getting why she wouldn't want to be seen, not if it was consensual.

Crow was well aware that there were people out there who had some interesting kinks in the bedroom. Though, he was guessing Melyssa did not share Ash's. It seemed like she had tried, but… some people just didn't like being abused during sex, or bent over all the time.

"Why don't you get a shower and I'll clean this mess up?" His tone made it clear he wasn't leaving her, not tonight.

Crow didn't trust Ash to not come back, which felt weird because, for two years, Ash had been his almost best friend.

Knowing better than to argue with him, she nodded and stood up from the couch at the same time he did, reaching up to hug him. "Thank you." She whispered in his ear before sniffling on her way to the bathroom, knowing her carpeting would be ruined because of the spaghetti sauce.

Oh well, she didn't care and it wasn't her apartment anyway, technically. Leaving the blanket behind, Melyssa closed the door behind her and her scream was muffled by a hand over her mouth and her back was pressed against a rock-hard chest. Just the smell alone told her exactly who was in her bathroom and it also told her the witch's warding had failed. After the horrible night she had with Ash, this was the LAST thing she needed.

"Don't make a sound or I will burn this entire apartment building to the ground, Melyssa." He threatened in a very low voice, hearing the sink running in the kitchen, and smirked wickedly. "You thought you were slick, didn't you? Having that old hag witch cast a spell on this place to ward out intruders. Luckily for you, I know how to break through such spells, which is why I can now come and go as I please, precious." His hand moved up to wrap around her throat, squeezing ever so gently. "I must admit, I wasn't overly pleased with the idea of you and Carbide." The bruises on her body, the stuff he had overheard, those two were over, but not before Ash had gotten more than his fill of her. "If I would've known you were into the darker side of life…"

Her body went stiff as a board at his words as Melyssa calmed her breathing down, knowing exerting herself would not be in her best interest. "I'm not, and I don't care if you approved of me and Carbide. I'll be with whoever I want, asshole." She kept her voice low, gritting her teeth, and gasped when he began to squeeze her throat to slowly cut her air supply off. Struggling would only accelerate the inevitable, so Melyssa did everything in her power to stay perfectly still and calm against him. "W-What's…the matter…McBurn? Jealous?"

"Of a little slut giving out her favors?" McBurn snorted, shaking his head.

Obviously, Melyssa enjoyed this sort of thing because she was intent on provoking him to violence. He wasn't one of the most dangerous entities in Ouroboros, in the COUNTRY, for nothing. Violence, brains… fire, he was deadly and had remained alive for a reason when he was one of the most infamous men alive.

"And now you've finally grown a spine." The hand not around her throat moved to said spine, running a slow finger up it, feeling her shiver. "And kicked Carbide to the curb… all because he didn't appreciate your little slut show… well, my dear," He buried his face in her neck. "I appreciate it."

Panicking would take away more oxygen and she had to conserve as much of it as possible since he was currently cutting hers off. The teal fire in her eyes, however, told him everything he needed to know or he could assume all he wanted. The fact of the matter was McBurn didn't have her the way he wanted her. She had grown considerably strong while training to become an Enforcer of Ouroboros and now she was one – just like him. He was not an Anguis, just an Enforcer just like her. They were on equal footing, as far as the Grandmaster was concerned.

Didn't the Grandmaster demand McBurn to leave her alone? Had he gone rogue? That wouldn't have surprised her since McBurn had been against her becoming an Enforcer in the first place instead of his sex toy. Ironic how he was the one to point her out to the Grandmaster for her 'potential' and, yet, he hadn't gotten what he wanted in the end.

"Then why…are you here?" She managed to ask, coughing a little when he let her breathe, just as she began to see spots before her eyes. Oh Aidios, it hurt to feel the oxygen RUSHING back into her body and his hand remained on her throat, but he wasn't squeezing to cut her air supply off anymore. At least I'm not yours…and I never will be, no matter what you do, asshole!

"Oh, checking in… you do realize nobody trusts you? Not the Grandmaster, who has set you up to fail and you are doing spectacularly, and not your friends. You're only Machias' secretary because he wants to keep you close." The old adage, keep friends close and enemies closer held true. He ran his nose up along her neck to the shell of her ear, inhaling her scent. "I can't wait until you stumble, I'll be waiting to snatch this pert ass," His hand dropped down, squeezing her backside. "Up."

"Keep dreaming. I'll end it before you EVER lay a hand on me."

Was it true what he said? Did nobody trust her? The Grandmaster had given her A LOT of leeways, so she assumed the woman, or whatever she was, did. Machias and…Crow. Melyssa felt a twinge in her heart at the possibility of not having his trust, especially after all they'd been through together.

"I refuse to fall for your mind games, McBurn. I know what you're trying to do and it's not going to work. I know who trusts me, I know who my friends are and I know where I TRULY belong. And something tells me the Grandmaster did NOT give this order for you to come see me. I know she ordered you to stay AWAY from me, as a matter of fact, which tells me you're doing things without her consent. So if you're going to kill me, be done with it already or leave."

"You really are a trusting, naïve, stupid little bitch, aren't you?" He sneered, an undercurrent of humor in his tone. "You think everyone trusts you and you never once have honestly stopped to question why everything just falls in place for you, why people bow to your ideas and whims, even the Grandmaster." Ouroboros was notorious for turning on people, including their own and she thought she was above that, just because she thought she was 'special'. "You're on borrowed time, Melyssa." He kissed her neck before disappearing the same way he had come, she wasn't the only one with friends in magical places.

"Hey, Lyssa," Crow was at the door, knocking. "I thought I heard someone in there, are you-" He blinked when it flew open, taking in the faint red marks around her neck. "What happened?" He was already withdrawing a pistol.

She was naked, completely naked, since she had taken the lingerie off and did not care, feeling incredibly vulnerable. Her weapons were in her bedroom, far away from her, and she had been bombarded in the bathroom, of all places! Crow tossed a towel at her while checking the bathroom, both of his pistols withdrawn, but there was nobody there.

"He's gone." She whispered, not trusting her voice at the moment since it would be scratchy from being throttled by McBurn. She quickly wrapped herself up in the towel and clutched it tightly, tears temporarily blurring her vision.

"Who? Ash?"

No, because Ash had left to go into his apartment and there was no way into this damn bathroom! Not conventionally anyway, it would take a magician, or someone who practiced magic, and Crow's eyebrows drew together as he finally turned to stare down at her. He inhaled deeply, instantly regretting it because he KNEW that distinctive scent.

"McBurn." He growled, his eyes flashing a dangerous, fiery red. McBurn, who had a thing for Melyssa and had for years, that bastard had gotten in past Rosalie's wards. "Come on." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, guiding her out of the bathroom. "We need to get out of here."