Lover Unbound (2007) (edit title/settings)

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• Vishous: "V". A member of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, Best friends with Butch. The most intelligent and the one who is specially gifted. His curse is his ability to prognosticate: he sees the future, though not the 'when' of events so he is tortured by his inability to save those he loves from danger.
• Jane Whitcomb: Chief of Trauma at St. Francis.
• Butch O'Neal: "Cop". Former policeman who was turned, now a member of the Brotherhood named "Dhestroyer," Marissa's hellren. From Wrath's bloodline. Vishous's best friend.
• Marissa: Butch's shellan, Haver's (doctor to their species) sister and manager of Safe Place
• Lash: Member of the training class. John's enemy.
• The Bloodletter: Vishous father. Ran a camp where warriors were trained.
• Wellesandra: Known to many as Wellsie. Tohr's shellan. She is deceased having being murdered by a Lesser.
• Fritz Perlmutter: Doggen for the Brotherhood.
• Xhex: Rehvenge's head of security. Half vampire/Half symphath.
• Darius: Member of the Black Dagger Bortherhood but died because of a car bomb. He was Beth's father.
• Layla: The Chosen that will help John through his transition. Rhage feeds from her since he can't feed from Mary.
• Manuel Manello: Chief of Surgery at St. Francis Medical Center. Jane's boss. An orthopedic surgeon
• Rehvenge: "The Reverend" - Owner of ZeroSum, brother to Bella. Pimp, drug dealer. Half vampire/Half symphath.
• Cormia: One of the Chosen. Picked as the first mate for the Primale.
• Qhuinn: He is training to become a warrior; he is a friend of John's.
• Blaylock: He is training to become a warrior; he is a friend of John's.
• Mary Luce: Rhage's shellan. Human who was cured of leukemia by the Scribe Virgin and given an extended life span.
• Beth Randall: Wrath's shellan. Queen of vampires. Daughter of Darius.
• Bella: Zsadist's shellan. Pregnant with their first young.
• The Scribe Virgin: The Mother of all vampires. Created the race using the one act of creation she was gifted by her Father.
• Wrath: Beth's hellren. The last purebred vampire on the planet and the vampire race's king.
• Rhage: A member of the Brotherhood. Mary's hellren. The strongest of the brothers and the best fighter. Cursed by the Scribe Virgin, he is possessed by a dark side which is a danger to everyone. Known as Hollywood because of his movie star good looks. When he gets angry, he turns into a beast which resembles the dragon tattoo on his back.
• Zsadist: A member of the Brotherhood. Bella's hellren. Phury's twin. The most lethal of the brothers. A former blood slave, he was mercilessly tortured during the first hundred years of his life.
• Phury: A member of the Brotherhood. Zsadist's twin. The loyal one, the one who sacrifices himself for others. Phury is Zsadist's twin brother and a celibate who cannot truly live because of everything his biological brother has lost.
• Tohrment: Called by many as Tohr. Member of the Brotherhood; he disappeared after his pregnant shellan, Wellsie, was shot by a lesser.
• John Matthew: Training to become a warrior. Believed to be Darius' son. In reality is Darius, returned as result of bargain with the Scribe Virgin.
• Hannah Whitcomb: Jane's younger sister. Deceased.
• Amalya: A Chosen. One of the Scribe Virgin's personal attendants.
• Michael Klosnick: Lesser.
• Shalonda: Nurse at St. Francis
• Faye Montgomery: Nurse at St. Francis
• Nan: Nurse at st. Francis
• Dubois: Doctor
• Grodht: Obese vampire at the Bloodletter's camp
• The Directrix: Head of the Chosen.
• Ken Falcheck: Chief of Surgery at Columbia

Quotes edit see section history

• “No offense, but these are wicked Village People.”

  Butch

• “Then I suggest you hold your breath. Won't affect me in the slightest, but at least the suffocation will help pass the time for you."”

  Jane to Vishous

• “Butch, you and I just beat the crap out of each other.”

  Vishous

• “Why couldn't it be me?You're my brother, if I can fix what's wrong, why wouldn't I?”

  Phury

• “When I want you to beg, I'll tell you.”

  Vishous to Jane

• “Manello:''I came to see if you were dead.''_____________Jane: ''Jesus, Manello, don't be such a romantic.''_____________M: ''You look like shit.''______________J: ''And now with the compliments. Stop. You're making me blush.''”

  Manello (Jane's boss) and Jane

• “Love was worth sacrificing for... Even if it wasn't yours”

  Phury

• “Butch knew what was doing. Hell, they were best friends, and the guy could read V better than anyone could. And Marissa knew it because she wasn't stupid. And the Brotherhood knew it because those old-maid fool idiots never let you keep secrets. They were all cool with it. He wasn't. He couldn't stand the emotions. Or himself.”

  Vishous

• “He really had to get out of here. For a while he'd tried to get them to move out, but Marissa maintained that the Pit was "cozy" and that she liked living in it. Which had to be a lie. Half the living room was eaten up by the foosball table, ESPN was on mute twenty-four/seven, and hard-core rap was always playing. The refrigerator was a demilitarized zone marked with decaying casualties from Taco Hell and Arby's. Grey Goose and Lagavulin were the only drinks in the house. Reading material was limited to Sports Illustrated and… well, back issues of Sports Illustrated.”

  Vishous

• “Right now you're throwing off an aura like your ass is plugged into the wall. So I strongly encourage you to drop the I-am-an-island bullshit and get your sorry excuse for a personality into Rehv's office before we have a situation. Dig?”

  Butch to Vishous

• “I'm not gay, though." "No, really? That's such a shocker. I was sure all that I'm-a-good-Irish-Catholic-boy-from-Southie shit was a front.”

  Butch & Vishous

• “He put his bare hand to her cheek and felt the softness and warmth of her face. He knew that when he pulled out of here, he was leaving his stupid fucking heart with her. Sure, something would beat behind his ribs and keep his blood moving around, but it would just be a mechanical function from now on. Oh, wait. It had been like that before. She'd just given the thing flesh and life for a short time. He pulled her into his arms and rested his chin on the top of her head. Holy hell, he was never again going to smell chocolate and not think of her, not pine for her.”

  Vishous

• “Like I said, my man, it's whatever. You and me? Same as always, no matter who you screw. Although… if you're into sheep, that would be tough. Don't know if I could handle that.”

  Butch to Vishous

• “Do NOT feel safe with him. The Stockholm Syndrome is not your friend.”

  Jane

• “Hello, boys—" Marissa stopped and stared at Butch. "Good… Lord… look at those pants." Butch winced. "Yeah, I know. They're—" "Could you come over here?" She started backing down the hall to their bedroom. "I need you to come back here for a minute. Or ten”

  Marissa to Butch (with Vishous in the room)

• “She'd rely on destiny, no matter how much it hurt in the short run. Because love in its many forms always endured. It was the infinite. The eternal. That which sustained.”

  Jane

• Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers

• Letting go meant you accepted what couldn’t be changed. You didn’t try to hold on to hope in order to coerce a change in fortune…nor did you battle against the superior forces of fate and try to make them capitulate to your will…nor did you beg for salvation because you assumed you knew better. Letting go meant you stared at what was before you with clear eyes, recognizing that unfettered choice was the exception and destiny the rule.

  Highlighted by 160 Kindle customers

• “A book unopened alters not the ink on its pages. What is there is there.”

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• If you eliminate all possible explanations, then the impossible is the answer.

  Highlighted by 146 Kindle customers

• Because love in its many forms always endured. It was the infinite. The eternal. That which sustained.

  Highlighted by 137 Kindle customers

• No bargaining. No trying to control. You gave up and saw that the one you loved was in fact not your future, and there was nothing you could do about it.

  Highlighted by 117 Kindle customers

• Love was worth sacrificing for, he thought as he left his room. Even if it wasn’t yours.

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• “Here’s the thing, though. I believe there’s a hand that guides us. It just isn’t always a gentle one. Or one that seems fair at the time. But I dunno, I try to trust in it now. When I freak, I just try to…shit, I guess trust in it. Because at the end of the day, what else can you do? Choice only gets you so far. Reasoning and planning, too. The rest…it’s up to someone else. Where we end up, who we know, what happens to the people we love…we don’t have a lot of control over any of it.”

  Highlighted by 105 Kindle customers

• “I love you. And I’m going to keep loving you even after you don’t know I exist.”

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• Falling into ruin was a bit like falling in love: Both descents stripped you bare and left you as you were at your core. And in his limited experience, both endings were equally painful.

  Highlighted by 99 Kindle customers

• This was real-life cocoa. The kind you gave someone you loved because you couldn’t think of anything else to do and both of you were a mess. It was the kind you stirred while your gut was knotted and your mouth was dry and you were thinking seriously of crying, but you were too much of a male for that kind of display.

  Highlighted by 87 Kindle customers

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Caldwell, New York
• The Commodore
• St. Francis Hospital: the hospital where Jane works.
• Safe Place: Shelter for unmated or abused mated females and their children, managed by Marissa
• ZeroSum
• McGrider's Bar
• Screamer's
• The Tomb: Sacred vault of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Used as a ceremonial site as well as a storage facility for the jars of lessers. Ceremonies performed there include inductions, funerals, and disciplinary actions against Brothers. No one may enter except for members of the Brotherhood, the Scribe Virgin, or candidates for induction.
• The Fade: Nontemporal realm where the dead reunite with their loved ones and pass eternity.
• Dhunhd: Hell.

Organizations edit see section history

• Black Dagger Brotherhood: 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 well 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 other classes expect when they need to feed. They are subjects of legend and the object of reverence within the vampire world. They may be killed only by the most serious of wounds.
• The Chosen: 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 mater to Brothers at the Scribe Virgin's direction to propagate their class. Some have the ability to prognosticate. In the past, they were used to meet the blood needs of unmated members of the Brotherhood, and thatpractice has been reinstated by the Brothers.
• Lessening Society: Order of the slayers convened by the Omega for the purpose of eradicating the vampire species.

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Glossary edit see section history

• Ahstrux Nohtrum: Private guard with license to kill who is granted his or her position by the king.
• Ahvenge: To commit an act of mortal retribution, carried out typically by a male loved one.
• Black Dagger Brotherhood: 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 well 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 other classes expect when they need to feed. They are subjects of legend and the object of reverence within the vampire world. They may be killed only by the most serious of wounds.
• Blood Slave: male or female vampire who has been subjugated to serve the blood needs of another. The practice of keeping blood slaves has recently been outlawed.
• The Chosen: 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 mater to Brothers at the Scribe Virgin's direction to propagate their class. Some have the ability to prognosticate. In the past, they were used to meet the blood needs of unmated members of the Brotherhood, and thatpractice has been reinstated by the Brothers.
• Chrih: Symbol of honorable death in the Old Language.
• Cohntehst: Conflict between two males competing for the right to be a female's mate.
• Dhunhd: Hell.
• Doggen: Member of the servant class within the vampire world. Doggen have old, conservative traditions about service to their superiors, following a formal code of dress and behavior. They are able to go out during the day, but they age relatively quickly. Life expectancy is approximately five hundred years.
• Ehros: A Chosen trained in the matter of sexual arts.
• Exhile Dhoble: The evil or cursed twin, the one born second.
• The Fade: Nontemporal realm where the dead reunite with their loved ones and pass eternity.
• First Family: The King and Queen of the vampires, and any children they may have.
• Ghardian: Custodian of an individual. There are varying degrees of ghardians, with the most powerful being that of a sehcluded female.
• Glymera: The social core of the aristocracy, roughly equivalent to Regency England's ton.
• Hellren: Male vampire who has been mated to a female. Males may take more than one female as mate.
• Leahdyre: A person of power and influence.
• Leelan: A term of endearment loosely translated as 'dearest one'.
• Lessening Society: Order of the slayers convened by the Omega for the purpose of eradicating the vampire species.
• Lesser: De-souled human who targets vampires for extermination as a member of the Lessening Society. Lessers must be stabbed through the chest in order to be killed; otherwise they are ageless. They do not eat or drink and are impotent. Over time, their hair, skin, and irises lose pigmentation until they are blond, blushless, and pale-eyed. They smell like baby powder. Inducted into the society by the Omega, they retain a ceramic jar thereafter into which their heart was placed after it was removed.
• Lewlhen: Gift.
• Lheage: A term of respect used by a sexual submissive to refer to her dominant.
• Lys: Torture tool used to remove the eyes.
• Mhis: The masking of a given physical environment; the creation of a field of illusion.
• Nalla (f) Nallum (m): Beloved.
• Needing Period: Female vampire's time of fertility, generally lasting for two days and accompanied by intense sexual cravings. Occurs approximately five years after a female's transition and then once a decade thereafter. all males respond to some degree if they are around a female in her need. It can be a dangerous time, with conflicts and fights breaking out between competing males, particularly if the female is not mated.
• Newling: A virgin.
• The Omega: Malevolent, mystical figure who has targeted the vampires for extinction out of resentment directed towards the Scribe Virgin. Exists in a nontemporal realm and has extensive powers, though not the power of creation.
• Phearsom: Term referring to the potency of a male's sexual organs. Literal translation something close to "worthy of entering a female".
• Princeps: Princeps: Highest level of vampire aristocracy, second only to the members of the First Family or the Scribe Virgin's Chosen. Must be born to the title; it may not be conferred.
• Pyrocant: Refers to a critical weakness in an individual. The weakness can be internal, such as an addiction, or external, such as a lover.
• Rahlman: Savior.
• Rythe: Ritual manner of assuaging honor granted by one who has offended another. If accepted, the offended chooses a weapon and strikes the offender, who presents him- or herself- without defenses.
• The Scribe Virgin: Mystical force who is counselor to the King as well as the keeper of vampire archives and the dispenser of privileges. Exist in a nontemporal realm and has extensive powers. Capable of a single act of creation, which she expended to bring the vampires into existence.
• Sehclusion: Status conferred by the King upon a female of the aristocracy as a result of a petition by the female's family. Places the female under the sole direction of her ghardian, typically the eldest male in her household. Her ghardian then has the legal right to determine all manner of her life, restricting at will any and all interactions she has with the world.
• Shellan: Female vampire who has been mated to a male. Females generally do not take more than one mate due to the highly territorial nature of bonded males.
• Sympath: Subspecies within the vampire race characterized by the ability and desire to manipulate emotions in others (for the purposes of an energy exchange), among other traits. Historically, they have been discriminated against and, during certain eras, hunted by vampires. They are near extinction.
• The Tomb: Sacred vault of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Used as a ceremonial site as well as a storage facility for the jars of lessers. Ceremonies performed there include inductions, funerals, and disciplinary actions against Brothers. No one may enter except for members of the Brotherhood, the Scribe Virgin, or candidates for induction.
• Trahyner: Word used between males of mutual respect and affection. Translated loosely to "beloved friend".
• Transition: Critical moment in a vampire's life when he or she transforms into an adult. Thereafter, he or she must drink the blood of the opposite sex to survive and is unable to withstand sunlight. Occurs generally int he mid-twenties. Some vampires do not survive their transitions, males in particular. Prior to their transitions, vampires are physically weak, sexually unaware and unresponsive, and unable to dematerialize.
• Vampire: Member of a species separate from that of homo sapiens. Vampires must drink the blood of the opposite sex to survive. Human blood will keep them alive, though the strength does not last long. Following their transitions, which occur in their mid-twenties, they are unable to go out into the sunlight and must feed from the vein regularly. Vampires cannot "convert" humans through a bite or transfer of blood, though they are in a rare cases able to breed with other species. Vampires can dematerialize at will, though they must be able to calm themselves and concentrate to do so and may not carry anything heavy with them. They are able to strip the memories of humans, provided such memories are short term. Some vampires are able to read minds. Life expectancy is upward of a thousand years, or in some cases even longer.
• Wahlker: An individual who has died and returned to the living from the Fade. They are accorded great respect and are revered for their travails.
• Whard: Equivalent of a godfather or godmother to an individual.

Series & Lists edit see section history

Preceded by Lover Revealed, and followed by Lover Enshrined.

Preceded by Lover Revealed, and followed by Lover Enshrined.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. J. R. Ward (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• New York Times Bestsellers list (#2)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: CPB Box no. 3058 vol. 2
• Dewey: 813.6

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Sexually Explicit Material. Profanity.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Fantasy › Urban
• Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Fantasy › Dark
• Books › Literature & Fiction › Erotica
• Books › Romance › Vampires
• Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Fantasy › Series

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• J.R. Ward - The Black Dagger Brotherhood: EXCERPTS FROM LOVER UNBOUND
• J.R. Ward: Author's Website

More Books Like This edit see section history

Books with Additional Background Information edit see section history