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Table of Contents
Father Mine
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ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
Epilogue
The Brotherhood Dossiers
His Royal Highness Wrath, Son of Wrath
Rhage, Son of Tohrture
Zsadist, Son of Ahgony
Dhestroyer, Descended of Wrath, Son of Wrath
Vishous, Son of the Bloodletter
Phury, Son of Ahgony
For Writers
Advice and FAQs
The Black Dagger Brotherhood Proposal
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The Black Dagger Brotherhood Proposal
Deleted Scenes
Deleted Scenes
Kicks and Giggles
Kicks and Giggles
Dark Lover
Lover Eternal
Lover Awakened
Lover Revealed
Lover Unbound
Lover Enshrined
The Brothers on the Board
Brothers on the Board
Slices of Life from the Board
Slices of Life
Movie Night
Wrath and the Letter Opener
In the Nature of Phury
The Interview That Never Happened
Question and Answer with J.R
Q and A with the Warden
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Time Line of the Brotherhood
Black Dagger Brotherhood Time Line
Table of Abbreviations
The Old Language
The Brothers Interview J.R.
The Brotherhood’s Interview
In Memoriam
In Memoriam
Excerpt from Lover Avenged
Lover Avenged
PRAISE FOR THE NOVELS OF THE
BLACK DAGGER BROTHERHOOD
Lover Unbound
Winner of theRomantic Times2007 Reviewers’ Choice Award
for Best Vampire Romance
“The newest in Ward’s ferociously popular Black Dagger Brotherhood series bears all
the marks of a
polished storyteller at home in her world. . . . This fix will give Brotherhood addicts a
powerful rush.”—
Publishers Weekly
“Loss, sacrifice, and darkness continue to be major themes as one of Ward’s most
damaged heroes gets
his story. Sex and violence make this tale of emotional redemption unusually graphic
and powerful. Ward
pulls no punches and delivers an extraordinary paranormal drama.”—Romantic
Times(Top Pick, 4½
stars)
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Lover Revealed
“[T]hese erotic paranormals are well worth it, and frighteningly addictive. . . . It all
works to great,
page-turning effect. . . . In just two years, the . . . series [has] earned Ward an Anne
Rice-style following,
deservedly so.”—Publishers Weekly
“It’s tough to keep raising the bar in a series, but the phenomenal Ward manages to do
just that! . . . The
world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood continues to grow and become more layered,
ramping up the
tension, risk and passion. . . . Awesome stuff.”—Romantic Times(Top Pick, 4½ stars)
Lover Awakened
Winner of theRomantic Times2006 Reviewers’ Choice Award
for Best Vampire Romance
“Best new series I’ve read in years! Tautly written, wickedly sexy, and just plain
fun.”—Lisa Gardner,
New York Times bestselling author ofHide
“Lover Awakenedis utterly absorbing and deliciously erotic. I found myself turning
pages faster and
faster—and then I wished I hadn’t, because there was no more to read! The
Brotherhood is the hottest
collection of studs in romance, and I can’t wait for the next one!”
—Angela Knight,USA Today bestselling author ofMaster of Dragons
“Ward pulls no punches in this dark, dangerous, and at times tragic series. Waiting for
successive
installments is getting harder and harder.”
—Romantic Times(Top Pick, 4½ stars)
Lover Eternal
“Ward wields a commanding voice perfect for the genre, and readers new to the world
of the Black
Dagger Brotherhood should hold on tight for an intriguing, adrenaline-pumping ride
featuring a race of
warrior vampires who fill enemies with terror and women with desire. Like any good
thrill ride, the pace
changes with a tender story of survival and hope and leaves readers begging for more.
Fans of L. A.
Banks, Laurell K. Hamilton, and Sherrilyn Kenyon will add Ward to their must-read
list.”—Booklist
“[An] extremely intense and emotionally powerful tale. . . . Ward’s paranormal world is,
among other
things, colorful, dangerous, and richly conceived. . . . Intricate plots and believable
characters.”—
Romantic Times(Top Pick, 4½ stars)
Dark Lover
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“It’s not easy to find a new twist on the vampire myth, but Ward succeeds beautifully.
This dark and
compelling world is filled with enticing romance as well as perilous adventure. With
myriad possibilities to
choose from, the Black Dagger Brotherhood series promises tons of thrills and chills.”
—Romantic Times(Top Pick, 4½ stars)
“A dynamite new vampire series—delicious, erotic, and thrilling! J. R. Ward has
created a wonderful
cast of characters, with a sexy, tormented, to-die-for hero. . . . A fabulous treat for
romance readers!”
—Nicole Jordan,New YorkTimesbestselling author ofTouch Me with Fire
“J. R. Ward has a great style of writing, and she shines. . . . You will lose yourself in
this world; it is
different, creative, dark, violent, and flat-out amazing.”
—All About Romance
“An awesome, instantly addictive debut novel. It’s a midnight whirlwind of dangerous
characters and
mesmerizing erotic romance. The Black Dagger Brotherhood owns me now. Dark
fantasy lovers, you
just got served.”
—Lynn Viehl, author ofTwilight Fall
NOVELS IN THE BLACK DAGGER BROTHERHOOD SERIES BY J . R .WARD
Dark Lover
Lover Eternal
Lover Awakened
Lover Revealed
Lover Unbound
Lover Enshrined
New American Library
Published by New American Library, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto,
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Rosebank,Johannesburg 2196,South Africa
Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand,LondonWC2R 0RL,England
First published by New American Library, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
First Printing, October 2008
Copyright © Jessica Bird, 2008
Excerpts fromDark Lover copyright © Jessica Bird 2005; excerpts fromLover Eternal
copyright © Jessica Bird 2006; excerpts fromLover Awakened copyright © Jessica Bird
2006;
excerpts fromLover Revealed copyright © Jessica Bird 2007; excerpts fromLover
Unbound
copyright © Jessica Bird 2007; excerpts fromLover Enshrined copyright © Jessica Bird
2008.
All rights reserved.
REGISTERED TRADEMARK—MARCA REGISTRADA
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Ward, J. R. (Jessica Bird)
The Black Dagger Brotherhood : an insider’s guide / J. R. Ward.
p. cm.
eISBN : 978-1-436-29147-7
1. Ward, J. R. (Jessica Bird). Black dagger brotherhood. 2. Ward, J. R. (Jessica Bird)—
Authorship. 3. Fantasy fiction—Authorship. I. Title.
PS3623.A73227B55 2008
813’.6—dc22 2008023931
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication
may be
reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form,
or by any means
(electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior
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The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other
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To the Brothers
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
WITH THANKS TO:
Kara Cesare, without whom this whole BDB thing couldn’t possibly
have gone as far as it has. You are the champion and the cheerleader and
the chess master of everything I do—and I’ll stop the gushing there,
otherwise this book will be longer than even Phury’s.
Everyone at New American Library, especially:
Claire Zion, Kara Welsh, and Leslie Gelbman, Craig Burke and Jodi Rosoff,
Lindsay Nouis, the great Anthony, and the wonderful Rachel Granfield,
who deals so graciously with my twenty-pound manuscripts.
Steve Axelrod, who’s the captain of my ship.
Monstrous thanks to The Incomparable Suzanne Brockmann
(I’m getting her a sash with that on it and a sparkly crown), Christine Feehan
(whose obelisk I’m building as we speak) and her amazing family
(Domini, Manda, Denise, and Brian), Sue Grafton, aka Mother Sue,
Linda Francis Lee, Lisa Gardner, andall my other writer friends.
Once again a huge thank-you to the best dental teams in the world:
Scott A. Norton, DMD, MSD, and Kelly Eichler, along with Kim and
Rebecca and Crystal; and David B. Fox, DMD, and Vickie Stein.
D.L.B., who’s the best metal-studded, ass-kicking baby boy in the whole world. xxx
mummy
N.T.M., whose idea this wholeInsider’s Guide was and
who did so much work on it—and whose kind nature is
bested only by his patience and his sense of humor.
Dr. Jessica Andersen—my CP and confidante and sparring partner.
LeElla Scott—you have too many nicknames at this point to list.
So I’ll just go with the most important one: Bestie.
And Kaylie’s momma—who’s still my Idol.
As always to Mom, Boat, and the Boo.
Father Mine
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ONE
“So, Bella looks good.”
At the counter of the Brotherhood’s kitchen, Zsadist picked up a knife, squeezed a head
of romaine
lettuce together, and started drawing the blade through at one-inch intervals. “Yeah, she
does.”
He liked Doc Jane. Hell, he owed her. But he had to remind himself of his manners: It
would be damn
tacky to bite the head off a female who was not only your brother’sshellan , but who
had saved the love
of your life from bleeding out on the birth table.
“She’s recovered beautifully in the last two months.” Doc Jane watched him from the
table across the
way, herMarcus Welby, M.D., bag beside her ghostly hand. “And Nalla’s thriving. Man,
vampire young
progress so much faster than human babies. Cognitively, it’s like she’s nine months
old.”
“They’re doing great.” He kept slicing, moving his hand down and through, down and
through. On the
far side of the blade, the leaves sprang free in curly green ribbons like they were
clapping at having been
liberated.
“And how are you doing with the whole dad thing—”
“Fuck!”
Dropping the knife, he cursed and brought up the hand that had been on the lettuce. The
cut was deep,
down to the bone, and his blood was red as it welled up and dripped off his skin.
Doc Jane came over to him. “Okay, let’s get you to the sink.”
To her credit, she didn’t touch him on the arm or try to lead him with a push on his
shoulder blade; she
just loomed and pointed the way to Kohlerland.
He still didn’t like anyone but Bella putting their hands on his body, although he had
made some
progress. Now, if the contact was unexpected, his first move wasn’t going for a
concealed weapon and
capping whoever had let their palms do the walking.
When they were in front of the sink, Doc Jane cranked the thing’s throttle over and fired
it back so that
there was a warm rush landing in the deep porcelain belly.
“Under,” she said.
He extended his arm and put his thumb into the hot water. The slice burned like a bitch,
but he didn’t
wince. “Let me guess. Bella asked you to come talk to me just now.”
“Nope.” When he shot her a look, the good doctor shook her head. “I examined her and
the baby. That
was it.”
“Well, good. Because I’m fine.”
“Had a feeling you’d say that.” Doc Jane crossed her arms over her chest and regarded
him with a stare
that made him want to build a brick wall between the two of them. Whether in a solid
state or translucent
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as she was at the moment, it didn’t matter. When you got eyeballed by the female like
this, it was as if
you’d been sandblasted. No wonder she and V got along.
“She did mention you won’t feed from her.”
Z shrugged. “Nalla needs what her body can provide more than I do.”
“It’s not an either-or situation, though. Bella’s young and healthy and she has great
eating habits. And
you’ve let her feed.”
“Of course. Anything for her. Her and her baby.”
There was a long silence. Then, “Maybe you want to talk to Mary?”
“About what.” He shut the water off and shook his palm out over the sink. “Just
because I’m respectful
of the demands on myshellan , you think I need a shrink? What the hell?”
He snapped a paper towel free from the roll mounted under the cabinets and dried his
hand.
“Who’s the salad for, Z?” the doctor asked.
“What?”
“The salad. Who’s it for?”
He pulled out the trash bin and pitched the towel inside. “Bella. It’s for Bella. Look, no
offense, but—”
“And when’s the last time you ate?”
He put his hands up, all “Stop! In the Name of Love.” “Enough. I know you mean well,
but I’m a short
fuse, and the last thing any of us needs is Vishous coming after me because I snapped at
you. I get your
point—”
“Look at your hand.”
He glanced down. Blood was running from the pad of his thumb onto his wrist and his
forearm. If he
hadn’t had a short-sleeved T-shirt on, the shit would have been pooling at his elbow.
Instead, it was
trickling onto the terra-cotta tile.
Doc Jane’s voice was annoyingly level, her logic offensively sound. “You are in a
dangerous line of work
