Description: Praise for the Novels of J. R. Ward "Now here''s a band of brothers who knows how to show a girl a good time." --Lisa Gardner Lover Enshrined "Terrific...explosive...exciting.... Ward has outdone herself." --Publishers Weekly (starred review) Lover Unbound "The newest in Ward''s ferociously popular Black Dagger Brotherhood series bears all the marks of a polished storyteller completely at home in her world.... This fix will give Brother addicts a powerful rush." --Publishers Weekly Lover Revealed "These 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 Lover Awakened "Best new series I''ve read in years! Tautly written, wickedly sexy, and just plain fun." --Lisa Gardner, New York Times bestselling author of Hide "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 hottest collection of studs in romance, and I can''t wait for the next one!" --Angela Knight, USA Today bestselling author of Master of Dragons Lover Eternal "Ward wields a commanding voice perfect for the genre...hold on tight for an intriguing, adrenaline-pumping ride...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) Dark Lover "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) "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 York Times bestselling author of Touch 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, New York Times bestselling author of Shadowlight BY J. R. WARD The Black Dagger Brotherhood: An Insider''s Guide NOVELS IN THE BLACK DAGGER BROTHERHOOD SERIES Dark Lover Lover Eternal Lover Awakened Lover Revealed Lover Unbound Lover Enshrined Lover Avenged COVET A Novel of the Fallen Angels J. R. Ward ACKNOWLEDGMENTS With thanks to: Kara Cesare, Claire Zion, Kara Welsh, Leslie Gelbman, and everyone at NAL. As always. Thank you also to Steven Axelrod, my voice of reason. With love to Team Waud: Dee, LeElla, K, and Nath--without whom none of this would be possible. Thank you also to Jen and Lu and all our Mods and Hall Monitors. And with total gratitude to Doc Jess (aka Jessica Andersen), Sue Grafton, Suz Brockmann, Christine Feehan and her wonderful family, Lisa Gardner, and Linda Francis Lee. And with all love to my husband, my mother, the better half of WriterDog, and my whole family. PROLOGUE CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 CHAPTER 8 CHAPTER 9 CHAPTER 10 CHAPTER 11 CHAPTER 12 CHAPTER 13 CHAPTER 14 CHAPTER 15 CHAPTER 16 CHAPTER 17 CHAPTER 18 CHAPTER 19 CHAPTER 20 CHAPTER 21 CHAPTER 22 CHAPTER 23 CHAPTER 24 CHAPTER 25 CHAPTER 26 CHAPTER 27 CHAPTER 28 CHAPTER 29 CHAPTER 30 CHAPTER 31 CHAPTER 32 CHAPTER 33 CHAPTER 34 CHAPTER 35 CHAPTER 36 CHAPTER 37 CHAPTER 38 CHAPTER 39 CHAPTER 40 CHAPTER 41 CHAPTER 42 CHAPTER 43 EXCERPT FROM RAPTURE Prologue Demon was such a nasty word. And so damned old-school. People heard demon and they conjured up all kinds of Hieronymus Bosch helter-skelter--or worse, Dante''s stupid-ass Inferno crap. Honestly. Flames and tortured souls and everyone wailing. Okay, maybe Hell was a little toasty. And if the place had had a court painter, Bosch would have been at the head of the pack. But that wasn''t the point. The Demon actually saw itself as more of a Free-Will Coach. Much better, more modern. The anti-Oprah, as it were. It was all about influence. The thing was, the qualities of the soul were not dissimilar to the components of the human body. The corporeal form had a number of vestigial parts, like the appendix, the wisdom teeth, and the coccyx--all of which were at best unnecessary, and at worst capable of compromising the functioning of the whole. Souls were the same. They, too, had useless baggage that impeded their proper performance, these annoying, holier-than-thou bits dangling like an appendix waiting for infection. Faith and hope and love...prudence, temperance, justice, and fortitude...all this useless clutter just packed too much damn morality into the heart, getting in the way of the soul''s innate desire for malignancy. A demon''s role was to help people see and express their inner truth without their being clouded by all that bullshit, diverting humanity. As long as people stayed true to their core, things were going in the right direction. And lately, that had been relatively true. Between all the wars on the planet, and the crime, and the disregard for the environment, and that cesspool of finance known as Wall Street, as well as the inequalities far and wide, things were okay. But it wasn''t enough and time was running out. To go with a sports analogy, Earth was the playing field and the game had been going on since the stadium had been built. The Demons were the Home Team. Away was made up of Angels pimping that chimera of happiness, Heaven. Where the court painter was Thomas Kincaid, for fuck''s sake. Each soul was a quarterback on the field, a participant in the universal struggle of good against evil, and the scoreboard reflected the relative moral value of his or her deeds on earth. Birth was kickoff and death was game-over--whereupon the score would be added to the larger tally. Coaches had to stay on the sidelines, but they could put different complements of players on the field with the human to influence things--and also call time-outs for pep talks. Commonly known as the "near-death experience." Here was the problem: Like a spectator who had been watching a postseason game in a cold seat with one too many hot dogs in his belly and a screamer sitting right behind his ear, the Creator was eyeing the exit. Too many fumbles. Too many time-outs. Too many ties that had led to too many unresolved overtimes. What had started out as a gripping contest had evidently lost its appeal, and the teams had been given their notice: Wrap up the play, boys. So both sides had to agree on one particular quarterback. One quarterback and seven plays. Instead of an endless parade of humans, they were down to seven souls in the balance between good and evil...seven chances to determine whether humanity was good or bad. A tie was not possible and the stakes were...everything. If Team Demon won, it got to keep the facility and all the players that had ever been or ever would be. And the Angels became slaves for eternity. Which made torturing human sinners seem like nothing but a bore. If the Angels won, the entire Earth would be nothing but one giant Christmas frickin'' morning, a choking wave of happiness and warmth and caring and sharing taking over everything. Under that hideous scenario, the Demons would cease to exist not just in the universe, but in the hearts and minds of all of humanity. Although considering all the happy-happy, joy-joy, that was the best outcome in that scenario. Short of getting stabbed repeatedly in the eye with a pole. The Demons couldn''t bear losing. It just wasn''t an option. Seven chances were not a lot, and the Away Team had won the metaphysical coin toss--so they got to approach the quarterback who was going to drive the seven "balls," as it were. Ah, yes...the quarterback. Not surprisingly the choice of that key position had led to a lot of heated discussion. Eventually, though, one had been selected, one who both sides found acceptable...one who both coaches expected to rock the plays according to their values and goals. Poor fool didn''t know what he was in for. The thing was, though, the Demons weren''t prepared to leave such a momentous responsibility on the shoulders of a human. Free will was malleable, after all--which was the basis of the whole game. So they were sending someone onto the field as a player. It was against the rules, of course, but true to their nature--and also something the opponent was incapable of doing. This was the edge the Home Team had: The one good thing

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