He swallowed. "Wyverns are different." Ancient blood, ancient power . "We don't age. Every time we transform, it renews us, almost as if we're regenerating." Adam hesitated. Tricky part.
"Don't get me wrong, we can die." They could also heal, fast. "But-"
"But like the L10s, you're just tough to kill," she finished, her gaze sliding over him.
Yeah, that was pretty much the case. Because when he was in dragon form, well, he usually just toasted his enemies.
Burned them to ash .
"So how come you're not the big bad bastards that everyone whispers about? If Wyvers-"
"Wyverns," he corrected, jaw clenched.
"Whatever. If you're so bad, then I should have known your kind was still out there. Everyone should."
Well, some did know about him. That was why Cammie had been taken.
As for everyone knowing-that was not what he wanted. Adam didn't want to spend his days killing fools who came to prove how powerful they were by going up against a dragon. "Let's just say that when I change, I don't exactly leave witnesses around to spread the word about me."
Maya huffed out a hard breath. "I want to believe you. I really do, but-hell, can't you do something? Breathe some fire. Grow some scales, something?"
Yeah, he could do something. He paced toward her. Held out his hand, palm up. "I can't change fully here, the room is too small." And, honestly, he didn't want her to see him in his true form. Not exactly sexy.
He didn't just get sharper teeth like she did. His eyes didn't go all smoky and black and his nails didn't sharpen.
He went primal.
The monster inside roared free. His entire body transformed in a maelstrom of rage and fire.
Not a very pretty sight.
He wanted Maya to keep thinking of him as a man. A man she wanted. Not some disgusting, fire-breathing beast who smelled of death.
"Uh, yeah, I see your arm." Vague impatience filled her tone.
He almost rolled his eyes. The woman just couldn't wait for anything. "Give me a second." He lowered his lashes. Looked inside the fire dwelling in his soul.
Not letting you out of the cage. Just need a sample.
"Well, damn." A little breathless.
His eyes opened. He stared down at his arm. An arm that was covered in dark green scales.
Impenetrable scales that could cut through skin and bone.
Maya lifted her hand, her fingers hesitating over him.
"No, don't-"
Too late. She touched him and blood trickled from her fingertips.
She never cried out. Just kept her bloody fingers pressed against his scales.
He found her gaze. Held it.
A slow smile curved her lips. "You feel warm."
She had no idea.
"All right, dragon." Her hand lifted.
The scales vanished. Flesh and hair returned.
"I believe you." Still holding his gaze, she murmured, "And the way I figure it, this is sure as hell gonna change up our battle plans."
Their plans? Adam blinked. The woman already had new plans worked out? "You're accepting this rather well." Better than he'd expected. Much better than anyone else.
A little shrug. "Well, not like I can really judge, now can I? I mean, I'm a vampire and I'm a killer. I figure that pretty much makes us even."
Not even close.
"Besides, as long as you don't get all Wyver hungry-"
" Wyvern ."
"-and try to eat me, I figure things will be fine."
His gaze automatically dropped to her thighs and he licked his lips. So tempting.
"The girl, Cammie-she's like you, huh?"
A nod.
"I felt different after I took your blood," she said, her voice thoughtful. "Stronger. I healed faster." Her lips twisted for a moment, not into a real smile, but rather a quirking of her mouth. "I didn't realize my new power came from dragon's blood."
"My blood, Wyvern blood, is very, very strong." Strong enough to heal a near-dead vampire.
Strong enough to restore all the Born Master's powers. "My kind was hunted to near extinction in the 1500s because the vampires wanted our blood to enhance their powers."
Because his blood was twenty times more powerful than a human's.
"So if you're a vampire who was nearly staked and beheaded and you'd spent the last five years in the ground with the worms and the ants, the surefire way to get you back to normal would be-"
"To drain the blood of a dragon."
"But a big guy like you-you'd put up a fight." She turned away, began to pace the room in fast strides. "If the vamps were lucky enough to stumble onto a child of your kind…" She gave a hollow laugh. "They'd think they hit the mother-lode."
Pretty much his thoughts.
She stopped, freezing near the foot of the bed. "That's why the woman's arm was burned. Not from the candles. From little Cammie. "
If the girl had been older, nothing would have been left of the woman, but he nodded.
"Got her uncle's temper, does she?"
Perhaps. For her sake, he hoped not.
"What-was her mom or her dad like you?"
"Her father."
She grunted. "You told me he was dead. Did the vampires get him, too? Jeez, no wonder you're not overly fond of my kind."
His head snapped up at that. "They're not your kind." They were nothing like her. "You aren't one of them."
"Uh, hate to break this to you, but as you've pointed out, I've got the fangs, the claws, the blood hunger. I am most definitely one of them."
Why did her words sound like a warning? He swallowed back the angry words that rose to his lips. "Her father-killed himself after her mother died."
He expected her sympathy. Instead, he got-
"What the hell? You mean the guy just kissed his life good-bye and left the kid on her own?"
She didn't wait for his answer. Just started pacing again, muttering about selfish bastards under her breath.
Anger began to boil in his gut. Jon had loved Ada. Loved her with every fiber of his being.
Loved her so much he'd chosen death.
And left his infant daughter behind.
"You don't know what you're talking about, Maya." She had no idea.
"Yeah, I do." Her fists clenched at her sides. "I know it's damn selfish and weak to take the easy way out and leave someone who can't even protect herself all alone in this shit-hole of a world."
Selfish and weak.
"You've never loved, have you?"
A short laugh. "No, Slick, I've never loved anyone enough to kill myself for 'em." Her gaze was hard. "And I never will. Dying is too easy. I know-been there, done that. It's the living, the making it every day when you see the pain all around you-that's the hard part. And if I'd had a child,"-a flash of pain lit her now black eyes-"then I'd sure as hell fight with everything in me to protect her as long as I could. I wouldn't just leave her alone in the dark."