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J. R. Ward

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Darius (The Black Dagger Brotherhood series) Kindle Edition

by J.R. Ward (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.7 2,230 ratings

Related to: The Black Dagger Brotherhood

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#1 New York Times bestseller J.R. Ward shares the powerful star-crossed love story of reader favorite, and original member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, Darius.

Darius, son of Marklon, isn’t looking for love the night destiny comes to claim him. He’s also not interested in crashing his new car. But when a human woman runs out into the road and he must swerve to avoid killing her...everything goes off course.

Disillusioned by his King’s lack of leadership and the losses in the war against the Lessening Society, Darius finds purpose in protecting a woman he cannot make his own. Love finds a way, however—until the truth of what he is comes out and she leaves him in horror.

Unbeknownst to them both, Anne is carrying his young, a female who is destined to be Queen—and after a tragic reunion, he vows to protect their daughter. Resigned to perpetual sadness, he is determined to serve the memory of his beloved no matter the cost...unless by some miracle, fate sees fit to once again bring them together.

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"Full of drama, intrigue, and steamy restraint, Darius will be a satisfying deep dive for series fans and will pique interest about the brotherhood for new readers." --Booklist

About the Author

J.R. Ward is the author of more than sixty novels, including those in her #1 New York Times bestselling Black Dagger Brotherhood series. There are more than twenty million copies of her novels in print worldwide, and they have been published in twenty-seven different countries. She lives in the south with her family.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter One CHAPTER ONE
May 1981

Caldwell, NY

Darius, begotten son of Tehrror, forsaken son of Marklon, decided to drive into town the night his destiny came to claim him. Two weeks before, he had directed his trusted, elderly doggen, Fritz Perlmutter, to go to the BMW of Caldwell dealership and accept delivery of a brand-new 735i. The car had been ordered about six months before, and although vampires did not celebrate the human Christmas holiday, as its arrival date drew nearer, Darius knew all about sugarplums dancing in the head.

The sweet anticipation had been an antidote to so much dread and duty in his life, and the wait had been interminable. There had even been a delay or two, the production in Germany hitting a snag, and then the cross-Atlantic shipping taking longer than scheduled. But then, finally, the call had come in, and when Darius had returned home after a weekend away of fighting, covered in black blood that smelled like baby powder, with a gunshot wound through the meat of his upper left arm, Fritz had whipped open the back door and proclaimed that “she is being prepared and is ready to be gathered tomorrow afternoon!”

Darius had stood there on the kitchen stoop like a big dummy, his sluggish, exhausted brain failing to process whatever news had made his butler light up like a streetlamp. And then it had sunk in. Talk about your second wind.

As a doggen, Fritz could go out into the spring sunlight, and given that he was the most faithful servant on the planet, he had been as excited as his master when he’d headed off twelve hours later to pick up the new car. The last sixty minutes or so of patience had been a slog of centuries-long duration, and Darius had churned through the time pacing in his subterranean bedroom, circling his desk, his bed, his seating area. The hearth. The bath. Rinse and repeat.

Fritz had come down to report she was safely on the premises as soon as he’d gotten home, but given that the gracious Federal mansion had a detached garage, there had been no way to go see the car until the sun was under the horizon. That it was spring in upstate New York meant there had been another forever-wait, and Darius had wished, even though the nicer weather was more enjoyable, that the calendar had been closer to December 21.

Hell, in winter, he could have gone to the dealership himself.

And then it was time.

Bursting out of the back door, he had all but skipped across the asphalt court. Fritz had deliberately closed up the garage bay, and Darius had twitched through the final thirty seconds as his butler had scooted in and hit the opener.

The panels rising and revealing the BMW, inch by inch, had been like opening a present, and there had been no disappointment. The bronze metallic paint had gleamed, and those four headlights had stared back at him as if the thing were alive. Initial shock and awe over, Darius had prowled around the sedan, trailing fingertips on the cool steel, on the smooth glass, on the hood, the roof, the boot.

And it drove like a dream.

Which was why a vampire like him, who could dematerialize anywhere he wanted, chose to take the long way home sometimes…

As he passed through a part of town congested by newly constructed developments of mid-market apartment buildings, he turned up the volume on the stereo so Supertramp could tell him more about lonely days and lonely nights. He didn’t need the primer. Sure, he had no wife at home, but he did feel like a piece of furniture in his own life: When he was fighting lessers, those pale, soulless killers who hunted vampires, he was as animated as they came; inside of himself, though, he had become an inanimate object. He’d noticed this fossilization about a year ago, and ever since then, he’d been trying to figure out exactly what his problem was. A rereading of his diaries, whereupon he’d probed the fact patterns of his life as if he were a disinterested third party instead of the main character, had yielded nothing of note.

And endless, contemporaneously penned entries detailing the fact that he was rereading his diaries hadn’t gotten him any further.

Then again, maybe it was because he already knew what ailed him and he just didn’t want to look at all that he couldn’t see ever changing.

His cycles of days and nights were always the same: Fighting. Eating. Sleeping. Feeding in a chaste way from a Chosen. Doing it again. And again. And again. As the pinwheel of time continued to spin, and humans went in and out of different fashions, fads, and presidents, he was the trudging same. Not even the noble purpose of his existence—saving the vampire race from the Lessening Society and protecting the King who refused to lead—was enough to relieve the rote detachment that blanked him like anesthesia.

And this was why he not only needed a nice new car, but had to drive the thing.

Running his hand over the top of the steering wheel, he breathed in deep. He didn’t require a vampire nose to appreciate the rich perfume of hand-tooled leather, that delicious new-car smell—

As he rounded a turn in the road, the movement came at him from the left, the streak the kind of thing that his peripheral vision caught and his hair-trigger instincts reacted to without any conscious thought on his part. In quick coordination, he punched the brake pedal and yanked the wheel to the right. The tires did their best to find purchase, squealing in their slow-down efforts, but there was too much mass, too much acceleration. A sickening jolt of impact registered, and then the BMW veered off the four-lane road and jumped the curb.

The tree in his headlights was enormous.

The biggest arboreal anything he had ever seen.

Then again, when you were about to crash your brand-new BMW, that did lend a certain distortion to things—

Boom!

Like a bomb going off, the impact was loud and had shock waves. As his ears rang, he was thrown forward and the steering wheel punched back, defending its territory with the stiff arm of its column. A flop of the head later and he was close as his own nose to the windshield before a boomerang effect snapped him back into his seat.

At which point he smelled gas, heard hissing, and started cursing.

As his eyes focused, he found that the trunk of the maple was just about centered between those two sets of headlights, like the blue-and-white hood ornament was a target. And what do you know, that badge was now halfway up into the engine block.

With a deflation characteristic of people who find themselves in the crosshairs of chaos theory, he opened his door. The damage had not extended back far enough to affect its release, hinges, or panel, and glancing into the interior as he got out, he closed his lids against how pristine everything remained in the cockpit, the dash and seating still so fresh and new. When he was ready, he turned to—

The fact that mid-pivot he caught sight of the unused seat belt seemed like a tap on the shoulder from Fate, a little reminder that this time—this time—he’d gotten away with it, but in the next accident, his head was going right through that safety glass.

Maybe he should buckle up in the future—

Freezing in his tracks, he caught the scent of fresh blood, and as he ripped his head around, he saw the human woman lying in the center of the four-lane street on the yellow line. She was tucked into a ball, crumpled as if by a fist, and he had an instant impression of a blue skirt that was the color of a morning glory, and a white blouse that was untucked. A red sweater was tied around her waist. The shoes were brown with no heels. No stockings.

She wasn’t moving.

Oh, God, he’d hit someone. That was what the jolt had been.

Darius bolted across the two lanes he’d been traveling on. As he knelt down, he touched her shoulder. “Madam?”

No response. Then again, he’d felt the impact even inside the car, had heard the terrible sound.

“Madam, I’m going to roll you over.”

With gentle hands, he unfurled her tight contraction, and as she flopped half onto her back, he didn’t like the way her head was so loose on the top of her spine. The moan was good, though. It meant she was alive.

“We need to get you medical treatment.” He glanced back to his car, which turned out to be at the tree line of a park-like area. “And I have no transport to offer—”

“Help…” she whispered. “He’s going to hurt me…”

A cold rush hit Darius on the crown of his head, and he bared his fangs. “What did you say?”

When she just mumbled, he looked across the other two lanes. A short-stack, inter-connected collection of apartment buildings was set back from the street on a rise, with a stretch of grass separating them from the road. There were lights on inside almost all of the units, but no one was out on any of the balconies, and there were privacy blinds drawn across every window—

Another flash of movement.

In the breezeway of one of the building blocks, a figure ran out of the shadows—and then jumped back into the darkness as if they didn’t want to be seen. Given the shape, it was clearly a male, and Darius flared his nostrils, scenting the air.

“Please, don’t let him get me,” the woman said in a reedy voice. “He’s going to kill me.”
--This text refers to the hardcover edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BWZ2FN43
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Gallery Books (September 5, 2023)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 5, 2023
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2391 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 317 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0349438633

Best Sellers Rank: #31,797 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #541 in Paranormal Vampire Romance
- #685 in Vampire Romances
- #1,665 in Fantasy Romance eBooks

Customer Reviews:
4.7 2,230 ratings

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J. R. Ward

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J. R. Ward lives in the South with her incredibly supportive husband and her beloved golden retriever. After graduating from law school, she began working in health care in Boston and spent many years as chief of staff for one of the premier academic medical centres in the nation. She is the author of the Black Dagger Brotherhood and Fallen Angels series.

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4.7 out of 5

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EAB

The one we all needed...

Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2024

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If you are a BDB lover...this was the story we needed from the very beginning... No spoilers, no hints...just know that it was perfect, and love is a great thing to find...

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Mary Beman

I'm not crying you are.

Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2024

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J. R. Ward's writing is at once hauntingly beautiful with a dash of sarcasm and white. I felt as though I was right there living beside her characters. I cried as I laughed till the end when I completely lost it. Make sure to have plenty of tissues on hand because when I tell you you'll need them I mean it wholeheartedly.

Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2024

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I'm glad J.R. Ward gave us Darius and Anne's story. And I appreciate the closure she gave Beth in the end.

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A. Cornell

Loved loved this book, waited for years to read Darius story but so many questions left open

Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2023

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Darius (autographed hardcover, & Kindle), 295 pgs **** 9/7/23

4 stars. I have waited for Darius’ book for so many years and I was no disappointed. The only problem is…I want him back in the BDB, I want him to be Beth’s daddy and LW’s granddaddy and back with his brothers. Maybe Lassiter can help with that? and bring Anne back with him. I want that so badly, JR Ward! Having some back history of Darius and how dedicated he was to his brothers was so comforting. His meeting Anne was fate, especially the way it happened. I just wish we had more of his story, this was a short book for BDB and I just didn’t get enough of them. There wasn’t enough time with their love and their life together. My big questions is, what happens to John Matthew now? I mean, he was created as Darius alias, right? Is he still Beth’s brother? Can he talk now that Darius is gone? So many things could go on now that everything is out in the open, with us at least. Too bad the BDB doesn’t know. All the left open questions is why I gave a 4 star instead of 5 stars. I feel I am still in the dark with Darius, Anne and John Matthew. I can only hope we will have another book with these awesome characters to answer all of my questions. I did love this book though and am so glad to have it.

11 people found this helpful

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Diana Cartmell

Must read

Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2024

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If you are into the Brotherhood stories. This book is for you. Answered questions of Queen Beth's parents. A must for your collection.

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jean

Another great read, but shorter

Reviewed in the United States on April 4, 2024

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Rather short for a JR Ward novel but loved every bit of it. Seemed like it was a rushed work that could have had much more, but, still enjoying every BDB and off shoot series she writes. May her novels never end…

Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2024

Verified Purchase

Loved this. Wow that made me cry. It's definitely a must read. I know I'll be rereading it again. I love all the Black Dagger Brotherhood series.

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Amazon Customer TM

A must-read for BDB fans

Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2023

Verified Purchase

I couldn't wait to get my hands on this title! This print release was very much anticipated by this reader as a long-time BDB fan. Darius's story is the one we've all been waiting for. I'll admit I had to re-read Dark Lover the minute I finished Darius's story, because I just needed a little more!

Disillusioned by the war between the vampires and lessers and Wrath's refusal to rule, Darius finds solace in fast cars. When he crashes his newly owned vehicle, he realizes that there was a woman in the road. He stays with her even though it's risky for him and gets her to the hospital. Anne has her own problems as she is running from an abusive boyfriend. She finds Darius to be kind, friendly and quite attractive.

There's a definite spark between these two, with Darius becoming protective of her from the start. They start a lovely affair until it all crashes and burns when she finds out in the worst way just how different Darius is from the other humans she knows. My heart broke for Darius here more than once as he is rejected by the woman he believes to be his mate.

And then she splits without them knowing that she's carrying Darius's child and the future Queen.

There's so much about this book that I absolutely loved. It reminded me of when I first found this series -- the focus is on the love story between these two characters. While the lessers do have a role to play and make an appearance, the story is rich with the emotions of love, and the heartbreak of love lost. I needed a few tissues while reading this. Darius is a wonderful male of worth and I'm forever grateful to J.R.Ward for giving us his story. It's absolutely lovely and a perfect reminder of why this series gets so much love from readers.

I adored every word of this book. It's a quick read because you won't want to put this down. It's also perfectly timed to give us Darius's story as another closure to this wonderful series as readers wait for the "next generation." Darius is a "must-read" for existing fans and readers of this series, and a great way to start this wonderful series if you haven't read it.

16 people found this helpful

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Cindy L

Perfect!

Reviewed in Canada on March 15, 2024

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Love J.R. Wards writing and finding out Darius' back story is amazing.

Book Lover M

Darius

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 4, 2023

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I've wanted a follow-up story for Darius throughout the series and this book was a perfect conclusion. It brought tears to my eyes at the perfect ending.

One person found this helpful

fiona stephenson

Back to the beginning

Reviewed in Australia on January 12, 2024

Verified Purchase

I really enjoyed this it was the writing of the JR Ward I fell in love with. I feel this has rounded out an filled in a lot of gaps with original series

One person found this helpful

Chrystal-foxx

Wow!

Reviewed in Canada on March 1, 2024

Verified Purchase

This was such an amazing read, I couldn't put it down....as usual, J.R. Ward has do e it again, I LOVE LOVE LOVE this book series!

hazel lindsay

Captivating and absorbing

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 23, 2024

Verified Purchase

I've read every black dagger book of J. R. Ward and been lost in its world of vampires.I have enjoyed following there lives. Darius does not dissapoint.I hope there will be many more adventures for the vampire family.

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Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

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J. R. Ward

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