Since it’s late already, I change into my pajamas and go back to the main room. Tonia is already there, in a bathrobe, inspecting her wounds. She has a black eye, a cut on her lower lip, several ecchymoses, a sprained ankle, and I would guess a couple of broken ribs. I quickly fetch the first aid kit from my bathroom and come back to help her take care of it.
“This is pathetic,” she growls as I put some cream around her eye.
“It would have been better if you hadn’t insisted on stepping between them and me,” I scold her.
“For the reminder, protecting you is my job, baby girl.”
I roll my eyes, but don’t argue back. I don’t feel like getting into this endless discussion now. Bobo comes back from his sister’s room, too, wearing jeans. I’m glad he’s back to his human form. Aside from a few bruises, he seems fine. He joins us and looks at Tonia, frowning.
“It’s been a while since you’ve been in such a bad—”
“Don’t say it,” growls Tonia. “It’s embarrassing enough as it is.”
Bobo sighs and goes to sit on one of the kitchen stools. He looks exhausted, with his dreadlocks in a mess. He rests his arms on the bar and closes his eyes. Right, it’s past midnight now. I hear something vibrating, and he raises his head to take out his phone. He reads a text and smiles. Tonia sees it, too.
“I really want to smash you right now. Stop smiling. You do know the boss is going to kill you, right?”
“Apparently, it was worth it,” he whispers with an enigmatic smile.
“You left Nora alone, you selfish brat!”
“It’s okay, Tonia, I really don’t mind. I did okay by myself, and Bobo did protect me afterward.”
“No, he was supposed to protect you, not that blondie!”
Bobo ignores her, and so do I. This can go on for a while with Tonia. So, I just take care of her wounds while Bobo closes his eyes and pretends to rest next to us. I honestly don’t mind, though I am a bit curious to know what happened back there. Then again, I trust him. He probably had his own reasons.
A few minutes later, I’m done treating Tonia as much as I can, though I think she should go to the hospital. A couple of X-rays may be useful, but she refuses, saying she will be healed in a few hours. So instead, I decide to cook some late dinner, since the fight basically left everyone tired and famished. I grab whatever I find in the fridge to make up a pile of sandwiches. Liam warns me through the mind-link that he and Damian are coming up.
“What about Nathaniel?”
“He’s still there, taking care of the aftermath. I think it’s more about his girl, though. Who knows?”
“...Elena?”
“Yeah.”
The door to the apartment opens, and they walk in. The two of them picked black t-shirts and jeans, and, as Liam predicted, they both look unharmed and fine. Liam runs to the table to grab some sandwiches and starts eating before he even sits up. I can’t blame him; I’m starving, too, and I’m not sure the twenty sandwiches I made are going to be enough to feed all the wolves in the room. Even Damian picks one before coming to sit next to me.
I was a bit afraid of getting into another argument with him, but he gives me a quick kiss on the forehead and sighs. “Sorry for earlier. I was a bit on edge... You did great, Nora.”
“Hell yeah, she did. She couldn’t even shapeshift one month ago, and now she’s fighting vampires like a warrior,” adds Liam, his mouth full.
I smile. Indeed, I’m quite surprised with myself in a good way. It seems like my instincts did their job tonight...
For a few minutes, everyone enjoys the silence and my sandwiches. It’s been a crazy night, for sure. First, my birthday surprise, then an attack on the harbor, and now I’m having a tuna sandwich at 1 am. I think about the things that I left on the boat. I hope I can retrieve those later; I left my necklace and earrings there...
“There was something weird about this attack,” suddenly says Tonia.
Damian nods. “It’s like they just wanted to get inside the city no matter what. And I’ve never seen such a big group of vampires.”
“Could it be they had a commander?” Mutters Bobo.
“You’re thinking about the witch?” I ask.
“Maybe. It’s not the first time a witch would have taken control of vampires. They do partner up sometimes,” says his sister, taking a new bite of her sandwich.
“...I think they were targeting Nora.”
