“You ruined my pie, asshole.” She gave him a roundhouse kick, knocking him into the car the next stall over and to the ground as the alarm went off.

One of them cracked her in the back of the head with a blackjack. Which is why at first when she heard the roar she wasn’t sure if it was real or something she imagined.

She nearly fell over at the wave of white-hot pain. But the blood that had been spilled kept her focus, so she reached out, spooling her power up through the concrete, the air around her crackling with it. Faine, his beast anyway, bounded over and knocked one of them down, landing on him with an oof of expelled breath and what she figured was also a broken rib or two given Faine’s size and the way he’d jumped on the guy.

Her vision had stopped doubling enough for her to open her palm and blow a ball of energy right before she pulled her fist back and gifted him with a one-two punch of magic and fist right to his stupid pie-ruining bigot face. His eyes rolled up and he crumpled to the ground.

“Call the cops,” she called out to the manager, who’d rushed to the door to see what the commotion was. “And you be sure your little pal Nancy doesn’t leave.”

“What?”

She turned and the nausea rose quickly. She had to breathe through her nose for a moment. She probably would have a concussion, but her mother could help with that.

“These guys knew what I was. How on earth would some random passersby know that? Someone told them. And that someone is very likely our little white-sheeted friend Nancy.”

She pulled her phone out. “Never mind, I’ll call.”

One of the guys on the ground groaned and started to move and she kicked him—hard—before she spelled him to sleep.

The cops arrived quickly—three cars’ worth—and of course pulled weapons on Faine, who was still in his beast’s skin.

She spoke calmly, but loudly enough that they could hear her over the whimpering of the guy Faine stood on. “Nope. Wrong as usual. These three pieces of filth yanked me from the car and began to attack me. One of them hit me in the back of the head with that blackjack over there near the curb.”

“I’ll tell you when we need your story.” The cop kept his weapon trained on Faine.

She sighed heavily. “I spent the last months making excuses for you all. But I’m done with that now. You will get your damned weapon off him. I told you, they attacked us. I quit your fucking jurisdiction if you’re only going to apply the law to certain people. I’m not weak and I will not allow you to play this game. So you can collect your scum but you will get your damned guns out of my face.”

The group of police there seemed divided. Some lowered weapons, while others ranged between rage and confusion, but kept guns trained on her or Faine.

The officer spoke again. “Or what? Only one of us has a gun. How about we take this little convo down to the station?”

She was so totally done. If this asshole wanted to bring it, she’d give it to him. “If you think you can do it, give it a try.” She flexed her power and blew just a small bit of heat his way. Enough that he should understand she wasn’t defenseless.

“I think a better question to ask is whether or not you really want to push me. All I wanted was to buy a pie to take to my mom’s house for dinner where I was going to announce my engagement. A normal thing. I came to the same market I’ve come to my entire life and had some bitch give me lip about not serving my kind. This after a senator called for my imprisonment and or death on the news. I come out here and three thugs come up out of the blue and assault me, and then you people show up on the scene and give me more shit? I am done. Test me, Officer, but only do it if you’re sure you can handle what happens.”

She saw the fear finally visit his features and she narrowed her gaze. Yes, that’s right monkey boy, I got skills and I will blow your butt off this pavement. I am PMSing and annoyed and covered in pie.

Faine tensed and a low, really scary growl trickled from him. She got herself back under control because the last thing they needed was for Faine’s beast to get any more pissed off.

The manager spoke up. “Um, Officer? We have video camera footage of the outside of the store. You can look at it and verify her story. I can verify the rest about how she was treated by one of my employees.”

“We saw it all.” The guy who’d been behind them in line spoke up. “I came out right behind them. It was my call you got first. Those three guys grabbed her, pulled her out of the car and started beating on her. The wolf guy, he only attacked after they jumped her.”

“Stand down, Officer.” One of the other cops who’d arrived spoke up. “Our apologies,” he said to Helena. “Been quite a day. We got a bulletin from the special Federal Task Force guys to be on alert.” He holstered his weapon. “Get these assholes cuffed and loaded up. Make sure they get looked at so we don’t get blamed for police brutality.” He looked back to Helena. “The PURITY folks’ newest thing is to get into altercations with Others, and then if we arrest them, to claim we dinged ’em up.”

“Makes you wish you’d have really done it, huh?”

His smile told her exactly that.

The manager came out with an ice pack and handed it her way. “Here, put this on your head.”

“Miss? Can you, um, get him to back off so we can take the guy into custody?” The cop motioned toward Faine, who continued to bristle as he growled low and scary when anyone tried to get close.

She stepped to him, placing her face against his, breathing in the loam and fur of him and letting him take her magick in as well. “It’s okay. I’m all right. They’re going to arrest them all. Please step back so they can do that.”

He growled, but it was annoyance and not rage like he’d done to the humans. She wrestled back a smile. “You don’t scare me, big guy.”

He snorted, but stepped back, leaning against her. She needed the support, as her head felt like crap.

“He’s big. Even for a werewolf.”

“Yes, he’s an overachiever that way.” Her fingers threaded through his fur and held on; he pressed against her body and a wave of warmth hit. She knew it was his. Knew he’d take care of her no matter what. But she knew, also, that he was probably on his very last nerve with the entire situation, so she wanted to get things moving.

“Can I get my statement taken so we can leave? My parents are expecting us for dinner and they’re going to be worried.”

Faine transformed and stood taller, totally naked. The cops looked up and then up some more. He was just as forbidding in his skin as a man, really. “And she needs to have her head seen to.”

But back to the naked thing. She stepped in front of him and he pulled her against his body. But not to shield his nakedness. He didn’t care about that. And why should he when he looked so good?

He wanted to comfort her and it did calm her just to have him there.

“We can probably get a blanket for you. You know, to cover up.” The cop, Officer Patterson, offered helpfully.

“I have a spare change of clothes in the trunk. If I may?”

The words were those of a question, but it really wasn’t a request and they all knew it. But they allowed it anyway and he got changed rather quickly and he never got farther than a foot away from her.

She knew he was angry. The barely leashed fury from his beast throbbed from him in hot waves. She wondered if the cops could feel it, or if they only sensed it and that was why they kept a wary eye on him.

Then again it could have been because he was a massive beast under his skin, the likes of which they’d never seen.

“Can you please call my parents and let them know we’re going to be held up? Don’t go into too much detail, they’ll only worry. But we’ll be there as soon as we can.”