As she turned away, her gaze snagged on a scene across the row of stalls.

A greasy, middle-aged man was leaning heavily against a young girl, his hand wandering uncomfortably low on her waist. The girl looked petrified, her face pale, but she seemed frozen, unable to find her voice.

Kira moved before she had consciously decided to, and shoved herself between the man and the girl.

"Hey! Get your hands off her!" Kira snapped.

The man, red-faced and smelling of cheap alcohol, sneered at her. "Mind your own business, little girl. She’s enjoying it."

"She’s clearly not. Leave her alone or I’ll make you," Kira hissed.

The drunk man laughed, raising an eyebrow. "You will make me?" His smile turned lewd as his eyes rake across Kira’s posture.

He reached towards her face, but Kira slapped his hand away. "Don’t touch me with your filthy hands!"

His expression curdled. He released the girl and took a step towards Kira instead, his arm swinging up with a sloppy aggression. "You and what army, you little—"

His hand never landed, as it was snatched up mid-air. The man turned slowly, to see Derek who was standing beside him like a storm. He tried to yank his arm back, his face contorting.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" the drunkard yelled and tried to throw a punch with his free hand, but Derek twisted his arm slowly.

The man groaned in agony, but Derek didn’t stop until the man went down onto one knee with a sharp sound of pain.

"Apologise," Derek said quietly. "To my wife. And to that young woman."

"You’re out of your mind, mate, let go of my—"

Derek twisted further.

"I’m sorry!" the man gasped. "I’m sorry, alright?"

"To her," Derek said, nodding at the young girl, who had pressed herself against the stall and was watching with wide eyes.

"I’m sorry," the man repeated, looking at the girl. "I’m sorry."

"Now say it properly," Derek said. "You will never touch a woman without her consent and you are not entitled to a woman’s body. Say it."

"What?"

The arm moved again.

"I’ll never touch a woman without her consent and I’m not entitled to a woman’s body!" the man yelped. "I’m not, alright? I’m not!"

A small crowd had gathered. Someone started clapping and the others joined. Derek looked at the man for a moment, then released him and stepped back.

As the man scrambled to his feet, Derek’s foot connected with his backside and sent him stumbling forward at speed, scattering back into the crowd and disappearing with considerably less dignity than he had arrived with.

More clapping.

Kira felt her heart melt completely. She joined the crowd in clapping, a huge smile spreading across her face. He held out his hand. She slid hers into it without a word and they walked away.

"Thank you," she whispered. "For standing up for me. And her."

"You are my wife," he said. "It is my duty."

"I think you enjoyed that," she teased, bumping her shoulder against him again. "This is exactly what you should be using all that terrifying energy for. Men like him."

He looked away, and she was almost certain, almost, that the tips of his ears had gone slightly red.

"Next time, stay by my side," he muttered. "I asked you to stay by my side. Do not wander off."

They turned into a narrow, dimly lit alleyway that served as a shortcut to the noodle shop. The noise of the market faded into a hum.

Suddenly, two men stepped out from behind a dumpster, holding heavy wooden clubs.

Derek’s hand tightened around hers instantly, his entire body going still. Leo rared his head, sharp and alert, ready to tear.

"Let’s go," Kira murmured, leaning close to him. "They’re drunk humans. It’s not worth it."

She turned, pulling him with her, but three more men stepped out from the shadows behind them, blocking their exit.

Then, from the side, the man Derek had just humiliated stepped forward, flanked by two more thugs. He was nursing his arm, a mocking, ugly grin on his face.

"Now then," the man sneered, spitting on the ground. "Who has the upper hand now, big man? Think you’re tough because you can twist an arm? Let’s see how tough you are when we beat the life out of you and share your whore around between us."

Derek went deathly still. It was the stillness of a storm about to break. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"It’s not worth it," Kira said quickly, gripping his hand.

His fingers began to twitch, and a low, vibrating growl started deep in his throat.

"Derek. Look at me. It’s not worth it."

Kira looked at the men, her voice cold. "If you value your lives, you’ll turn around and walk away right now. You have no idea what you’re dealing with."

The men laughed. One of them, a thick-set man with a scar across his nose, lunged forward with his club raised.

Derek let go of her hand, caught the man’s throat in one hand and his waist in the other, lifting him off the ground as if he weighed nothing. With a grunt of effort, he flung the man across the alley.

The man hit the brick wall on the far side of the alley and slid to the ground and did not get back up.

The other men paused, their eyes widening. But they were too drunk and too many to be truly afraid. As they started to edge forward, Derek’s eyes flared bright gold. Dark fur sprouted along his knuckles, his claws lengthening.

Kira saw it and knew where this was going. If he stayed, there would be blood everywhere. The night would end in a massacre.

"Derek," she said firmly.

The remaining men were coming closer and closer. Derek growled, about to charge.

Kira grabbed his hand. "Run!"

She yanked him toward a small gap between two buildings, the only escape path, too narrow for all the men to follow at once.

The shouts of the men echoed behind them as the chase began.