Читать онлайн «Lover Unbound»
Автор Дж. Р. Уорд
J. R. Ward
Lover Unbound
The fifth book in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series, 2007
Dedicated to:
I got you wrong in the beginning and you have my apologies.
It's just so like you that you stepped in anyway, and saved not only him, but also me in this endeavor
With immense gratitude to the readers of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, and a shout-out to the Cellies!
I'm not even going to bring up the couch. I can't count that high.
Thank you so very much:
Karen Solem, Kara Cesare, Claire Zion, Kara Welsh.
Thank you, Dorine and Angie, for taking such very good care of me-and thanks also to S-Byte and Venture for everything you do out of the goodness of your hearts!
As always with gratitude to my executive committee:
Sue Grafton, Dr. Jessica Andersen, Betsey Vaughan, and my Partner.
And with much respect to the incomparable Suzanne Brockmann.
To DLB-guess what? ya mummy still love ya xxx
To NTM-as always, with love and gratitude. As you well know.
And I have to say, none of this would be possible without: my loving husband, who sticks by me always; my wonderful mother, who's been with me since… well, hey, the very beginning; my family (both those of blood and those by choice); and my dearest friends.
Glossary of Terms and Proper Nouns
Black Dagger Brotherhood (pr. n). Highly trained vampire warriors who protect their species against the Lessening Society. As a result of selective breeding within the race, Brothers possess immense physical and mental strength as weir as rapid healing capabilities.
They are not siblings for the most part, and are inducted into the Brotherhood upon nomination by the Brothers. Aggressive, self-reliant, and secretive by nature, they exist apart from civilians, having little contact with members of the other classes except when they need to feed. They are the subjects of legend and the objects of reverence within the vampire world. They may be killed by only the most serious of wounds, e. g. , a gunshot or stab to the heart, etc.the Chosen (pr. n. ) Female vampires who have been bred to serve the Scribe Virgin. They are considered members of the aristocracy, though they are spiritually rather than temporally focused. They have little or no interaction with males, but can be mated to Brothers at the Scribe Virgin's direction to propagate their class. They have the ability to prognosticate. In the past, they were used to meet the blood needs of unmated members of the Brotherhood, but that practice has been abandoned by the Brothers.
