Kyrian hissed, baring his fangs at her, then back-flipped away from her, and started for the kitchen. He slid to a halt in the doorway as he saw the sunlight streaming through the room. There was no place to go in there that wouldn't kill him.
Something hard and sharp bit into his shoulder. Growling, he turned to see Tabitha with a long dagger. She drew back to stab him again.
Kyrian caught her wrist at the same time her two friends rushed him. The four of them stumbled back. Kyrian slung one of them off and broke free. He tried to run back to the living room, but Tabitha somehow managed to get in front of him.
Hatred burned in Tabitha's eyes as she swung the dagger in a way meant to slice open his stomach.
Kyrian jumped back into a ray of light. Pain lacerated his back. Hissing again, he dodged her and ran for the living room, trying to stay in the shadows.
They rushed him at the door, slamming him against it. Desiderius's words rang in his ears as they tackled him to the floor.
"They'll take you down like a pack of wild dogs."
Tabitha sat on his chest, her hand on his throat as her two friends grabbed his arms and held them down. Had they attacked him like this yesterday, he would have gone mad with panic. But today he felt a strange lucidity as he remembered Amanda restraining him last night.
"What did you do to my sister?" Tabitha demanded.
"Nothing."
"Don't you lie to me! I saw the blood in the trash can."
Trying his best not to hurt her, Kyrian brought his legs up and wrapped them around Tabitha's upper body and pulled her away as the dagger slashed, barely missing his throat.
He caught the man on his right in the stomach with his fist, then sent the woman flying over them, onto the couch. He cursed as Tabitha sank her teeth into his thigh.
Kyrian pulled the knife from Tabitha's hand and embedded it deep into the hardwood floor. "Listen to me."
"No!" she shrieked, squirming and punching.
Kyrian rolled over with her, pinning her to the floor. Instinct demanded he knock her unconscious, but as he caught sight of the face so close to Amanda's he realized he could never hit her.
That moment of hesitation cost him as her friends grabbed him again. Kyrian rolled with them, rising to his feet at the same time the door opened, spilling more light into the room.
Cursing, he barely made it into a corner.
Amanda's shrill tone rang out. "Stop!"
The humans froze when they heard Amanda's voice, while Kyrian tried to catch his breath. His new wounds throbbed as blood oozed down his back. Amanda rushed to his side and slid her hands over him to inspect the damage.
Tabitha pulled the dagger from the floor. She approached him with a determined stride, her angry eyes never leaving him. "Out of my way, Mandy. I'm going to kill a vampire."
"Wrong," Esmeralda inserted, closing the door and moving to stand between him and Tabitha. "You're about to kill your twin sister's boyfriend."
Tabitha gaped and paused mid-stride. She looked from Kyrian to Amanda. "Excuse me?"
Amanda ignored her. "Are you all right?"
He rubbed his hand over his bleeding arm. "Never better."
"Him?" Tabitha asked in disbelief. "What about me and the guys? I don't see you asking about us. He almost tore our heads off."
Amanda glared at her sister. "I don't see any of you bleeding. Believe me, if he had really wanted you hurt, none of you would be standing."
Tabitha raked them with a disgusted sneer. "You're defending a vampire?"
"I'm defending Kyrian," she said emphatically.
Curling her lip even more, Tabitha looked back and forth at them. "What are you? Insane? You want a boyfriend who drinks blood, lives forever, kills for fun, and can't go outside in the daylight? Why, Mandy, I do believe you've finally found the King of the Losers. Congrats. I didn't think anyone could top Cliff's loserness."