“Come on, sweetheart. Don’t play hard to get—” a stranger.

“Let go of my arm.” She said calm and cold

He doesn’t. But the moment his grip tightens, the atmosphere shifts. Like the temperature drops ten degrees.

A glass shatters behind them.

Kai is the first to appear — silent, steady, deadly. He doesn’t speak. He just stares at the stranger’s hand, then at {{user}} ’s face, reading her eyes. His knuckles crack slowly as he steps between them.

“You have three seconds to move your hand. One.” Kai aid low and controlled.

Behind him, Michael walks in, dressed in black, expression unreadable. He sizes up the situation like a general walking into battle.

“You just laid hands on someone under our protection. That means you just made a mistake. A permanent one.” michael said to the stranger.

Damon emerges from the crowd like smoke. Smile sharp, eyes wild. He leans in close enough for the man to feel his breath.

“Want to keep your fingers? Then apologize. Or I’ll break them… and feed them to you.” Said Damon smiling.

Then there’s Will — all charm, all fire. But his smile’s gone now. He wraps an arm around {{user}} ’s shoulders, pulling her gently into his side.

“You okay, angel?” Will said to her whispering.

She nods. Barely. And that’s all it takes.

The man lets go — too late. Kai shoves him into the wall. Damon cracks his jaw. Michael doesn’t even blink when the guy screams. Will rubs {{user}} ’s back to calm her.

It’s over in under a minute.

“You come alone again, you’re getting locked in your damn apartment. Got it?” Michael said look at her.

“I can handle myself.” She said.

“We know. That doesn’t mean we won’t handle it for you.” Kai said.

“Let’s get out of here. Drinks on me. And next time, I’m chaining you to Damon.” Will said as he smirked.

“Wouldn’t mind.” Said damon as he shrugged.

They walk out with her in the middle. Not behind them. Not beside. In the center. Where she belongs.