Marry Me

 Mckenna had ignored her since for only one reason - he had a much bigger problem than hers. One hundred bad years had been spent by him in the mortal world with no signs of that soul and his scythe, and no little help of getting back, not even from their authority in the afterlife.

Mckenna's face was grim when he felt her hold on his suit. 'This human,' he thought, the nerve of her to have followed him here.

"Wow, Mckenna, she is fierce," Anthony mused, ignoring Mckenna's glare.

Mckenna pressed his hand on Anthony's throat - the reaper was of no use to him after all. He suspected Anthony was only here to watch him, but damn if he needed him for that. He had to return; the mortal world was not his home.

Anthony smiled, and this only fueled Mckenna's anger. He had sensed his presence for years but had failed to catch him because his powers were diminishing; he couldn't sense death and shadows as before.

The only reason he had caught him was that he was in his human form - usually, a grim reaper that is not in his situation can only become human for a few hours if they were on an assignment. But what would the reaper's presence do to help him? None of them could, except his scythe and soul were found.

Mckenna ignored the human girl; she was the least of his problems. He even disregarded her firm hold on his newly ironed suit as he continued to press Anthony's throat.

Anthony coughed, causing Mary to take action. She punched McKenna on his back with all her strength, then stepped back, panting after realizing what she had done.

Mckenna, who didn't flinch a bit from her punch, turned to her, leaving Anthony but watching him with the corner of his eyes in case he disappeared. "You made a fuss back at the club and I let that slide," he began walking towards her, his beautiful dark eyes narrowed at her. "Then you followed me all the way to the cemetery."

Fear crept into Marybeth; she was usually the fearless type, fearing nothing and finding solutions for dire situations. But something about him made her skin prickle, perhaps because she had not seen anyone as beautiful like him before.

Her gaze shifted to the blonde man; his look was filled with amusement, as if he had not almost died. "I can't stand it when you had almost killed him," she said, then turned back to Mckenna, gulping under his intimidating gaze.

"Why have you followed me?" Mckenna reached her, bending his head to meet her gaze.

The night wind blew her red hair, covering one part of her amber eye. "Hmm, little red riding hood," he remarked, earning a chuckle from Anthony.

Mary's eyes flared. "I am not little red riding hood; I have a name," she snapped, keeping her gaze locked on him.

"Okay, you have a name..." Mckenna began, but was interrupted by Marybeth's glare as she stated firmly, "Marybeth! That is my name."

Both Mckenna and Anthony were taken aback, but Mckenna quickly recovered and frowned at her.

His hand reached her face, patting away the red hair that obstructed his view of her sharp amber eyes. "Strange," he murmured.

Mary stiffened, unable to remove his hand from her face. What had happened at the club was on impulse; she had only been close to save herself. However, what was happening now was far from it. He was touching her, and she couldn't even stop him. Mary inhaled sharply, her mouth twisted as she found herself lost for words.

Mckenna trailed his hand towards her eyes, captivated by her fiery red gaze. He had never seen anyone with such fierce eyes, as fierce as hers. "I saved you at the club, but you still followed me here. Why, Miss Marybeth?" he drawled lazily, his gaze unwavering.

Mary felt him so close that she didn't even notice his cold hand on her skin; all she felt was its effect on her, making her feel warm despite the biting cold of the night. "What I did was unforgivable. I have not only tarnished my name but yours," she said, breathing heavily.

He shrugged, clearly unbothered.

"And I have come to say sorry and request something more," she added. A sharp breath escaped her lips when his finger found its way to the tip of her ear.

"Apology accepted, for I can't stand the face of that old man. It would be bad luck for you to marry him," Mckenna remarked.

Mary nodded in agreement.

"What is your request?" he whispered into her ear, causing Mary to almost wobble with its effect. She managed to hold onto his suit sleeve.

Mckenna smiled, finding amusement in this girl above all else in his one hundred years here. Human life was tedious to him, with its routine of waking up, going to work, returning to sleep, and then repeating the cycle.

Many professed love and claimed they couldn't live without their partner, but he scoffed at the irony. He had witnessed countless humans end their lives because they couldn't bear to be apart from their lover, and any mortal who committed suicide became a lost soul in the afterlife.

He groaned as he realized where he was and what had brought him here - reminiscing about his days as a reaper, the scent of death, the journey of guiding souls.

"Marry me," said Mary.

Mckenna froze in his thoughts, as well as his hand that had been playing with her ear. He stared at her, his eyes darkened. "Why?" he asked thunderously, causing Mary to freeze, unable to look away under his piercing gaze.

"Sigh, I feel like I am watching a show at a theatre," Anthony scoffed from behind, but neither of them spared him a glance.

"Do you know what you are asking of?" Mckenna's voice thundered as he inched away from her, only to come back again and hold her shoulder. "Do you even know who I am?"

Mary half-smiled, finding it hard to believe there could be anything wrong with a man this handsome. "You are far better than the old peer," she remarked.

Mckenna snapped, "Shut up!" growling lazily.

They stood there in the lone cemetery, with Anthony as their only guest. However, an eerie howling sound echoed, causing Mary to stiffen as her eyes left him and wandered about the graveyard. Oh God! How had she forgotten that she was in a graveyard?

Mckenna frowned. Being a grim reaper, those sounds did little to faze him. However, he noticed a shadow around her.

It was the first time since that incident that he began to sense death, and now he felt it around her. It was a sensation he would typically feel on a mortal about to die, but there was more to it; he sensed a surge of power, like an electric current, coursing through him. He stepped back, his eyes widening as he stared at her.

Anthony noticed Mckenna's reaction and reached out to him. "What is it?" he asked, observing Mckenna's confused expression. Following his gaze to the girl, Anthony too froze as he saw the dark shadow hovering around her.

Marybeth mistook their confusion for her request and continued, "I am sorry I brought this upon you, Mckenna." Now that she knew his name, it was difficult for it to leave her lips. "But it is the only way to save our face."

Her eyes stung with tears, causing both Mckenna and Anthony to blink in response.

She sniffed them back, but they kept pouring. Marybeth was not usually the emotional type, but now there seemed to be no other choice. She would kneel if necessary. "I cannot return home. The old peer must have gone to my father and told him what has happened, and I am very certain he would still insist on marrying me," she explained, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand.

"Why must you marry the old lad," Anthony asked, as McKenna's gaze remained fixed on the dark shadows around her.

"My father's business is in a very dire situation and only the old peer could save it, but he insists on marrying me. I cannot," Mary gasped, still finding her situation unbelievable.

"Ah," Anthony, who had found their earlier interaction amusing, said, "McKenna is wealthy enough to save your father's business. He is the perfect match."

"No!" scowled McKenna, "Go home."

"Please," Marybeth fell to her knees, not minding the muddy ground staining her maroon dress, "I cannot go back home without a husband. I am no prostitute. Tomorrow the news would spread..."

"You brought this upon yourself," he said uninterestedly, staring at the shadows one last time before walking away.

"Please!" Mary begged, pain surging inside of her. God, no, not this opportunity. This was her only chance. "We can divorce after a year. We do not even have to sleep together."

This caused McKenna to pause in his step. He turned back to her, "What couple doesn't sleep together?"

This almost made Anthony laugh, but the seriousness of the situation made him bite his lip. "Get up, Miss," he jovially held her arm, beginning to raise her up.

McKenna sighed, then his gaze turned to Anthony. "You. Come with me."

Mary held Anthony's sleeve as if he was her only support. "Help me," she whispered.

"It's okay," he smiled warmly, patting her shoulder. "I will talk with him. Give me your home address."

And Mary obediently told him, finding hope again. "The wedding is tomorrow. Please, I cannot marry..."

"I know," Anthony flashed her a smile before racing after McKenna, who was already walking away. "Do not marry that old peer no matter what, Marybeth," he yelled back, then catching up with McKenna.

Mary dried the tears from her eyes. The fear of being in the cemetery did nothing to scare her; it was the fear of what tomorrow holds that caused her toes to curl.