The Savior

by J. R. Ward

  “So this is where we live.”

  Sarah jumped as Xhex came around from the driver’s side. “You know . . . this is the kind of place I assumed the King of all vampires would live in.”

  “Wait’ll you see the inside,” the female murmured. “You ready?”

  Sarah nodded, but didn’t walk forward. She couldn’t seem to move.

  Xhex took her arm. “Come on, they don’t bite—okay, maybe that’s not the best choice of words.”

  Together, they started up a shoveled set of stone stairs toward an entrance that belonged on a cathedral. Overhead, the moon was full in a clear sky, and the night was still. Sarah’s breath left her lips in puffs of white, and she had to put her hands in the pockets of her parka because she didn’t have gloves.

  Xhex opened a heavy door into a vestibule and looked down into a camera mounted next to a computer monitor. “Hey all, it’s us—”

  The inner door was opened by a tall dark-haired woman—er, female—with a dark-haired baby on her hip. “You must be Sarah! This is so great! Hi!”

  Before Sarah knew it, she was wrapped in an embrace, the baby going for her hair, a bunch of women—er, females—stepping in close.

  And then Sarah lost track of everything. On account of the holy-shit-will-you-look-at-that.

  The vast space on the far side of the double doors was so luxurious, so colorful, so overwhelming, she couldn’t take it all in. Everywhere she looked there were crystal chandeliers, and gold leafed mirrors and balustrades, and columns made of claret marble and—was that malachite? Glancing down, she found an intricate mosaic floor depicting an apple tree in full bloom and three stories up, there was a domed ceiling sporting a fresco of warriors on stallions.

  The staircase made Tara’s look like a frickin’ step stool.

  There was also a grand dining room off to one side and a pool room on the other, and in the latter, she could hear male voices . . .

  Sarah shook herself as she realized all of the females were looking at her with indulgent smiles.

  “It can be a little overwhelming,” the dark-haired female with the baby said. “But I promise you, you’ll get used to it. I’m Beth, by the way, and this is L.W.”

  The baby looked at her with the clearest pale green eyes she’d ever seen—and reached for her.

  “Oh, he wants to say hi. He likes you.”

  And that was how she ended up with a baby in her arms.

  The little one was warm, and he smelled like fresh soap and sweetness, and as he smiled at her, her eyes pricked with tears.

  She had forgotten about her dream of having a family. Just left it behind after Gerry’s death. Decided it didn’t really suit a scientist anyway. But now, as she held this vital weight against her body, and felt him move, and saw him respond to her, she found the spark reigniting. Except . . .

  “It’s okay,” the mom said gently. “You can have one with Murhder. My mother was human. It happens, if you try enough times, and somehow, I’m thinking your man is going to be up for practicing.”

  Sarah looked at the female. “Really?”

  “Yes, I promise.” She turned to the others. “Now, let me introduce you around. This is Bella and Nalla. Mary. Cormia and Autumn. Marissa . . . Payne. Ehlena. And of course, you know our Doc Jane well.”

  Jane smiled and raised her wineglass. “You’re handling the future King very well over there.”

  Sarah paled. “What?”

  “He’s the King’s son. This is our queen.”

  Sarah immediately held the baby back out to his mother. “Oh, God. Too much—too much responsibility. Nope, not going to be the one who drops him.”

  Everyone laughed, and before she knew, she was talking to them all, answering questions about what she did, what she hoped to do, where she and Murhder wanted to look for a house. They were the most welcoming group of females, and then there were more people to meet in where the pool tables were.

  It was a whole community.

  Family, was more like it.

  And after having lost her mother and father, and then Gerry, and being prepared to live her life alone, she couldn’t wait to get to know—

  From around the base of the stairs, the old butler with the happy face brought someone very familiar into the grand space, and Sarah started to smile.

  “Will you excuse me?” she said before all but running across the mosaic tile.

  Nate seemed as shell-shocked as she was as he looked around at the grandeur. But the second he saw her, he exhaled in relief.

  She wrapped the boy up in a hug so hard, she had to force herself to release him before he couldn’t breathe—except he didn’t let her go. He held on, dropping his head into her shoulder and sighing.

  Stroking her hand up and down his back, she remembered finding him in that cage, in that lab. She couldn’t believe they were here now, standing in this awesome place, with a group of strangers that felt like family.

  She inched back and took his face in her hands. His eyes were tired and his smile more determined than honest.

  “Hi,” she said.

  “Hi.” His pseudo-happy expression lost some of its traction. “You came back.”

  “I did. And I’m not leaving. Come here.”

  She pulled him in again and had to get up on her tiptoes to hold more of him. “It’s okay,” she murmured.

  “I did my mahmen’s Fade Ceremony tonight. I wish you’d been there.”

  Sarah closed her eyes. “Oh, Nate. I’m so sorry I missed it.”

  “It’s okay.”

  “I didn’t know.”

  “I maybe could have waited. But I just . . . I needed to get through it.”

  “I was the same when my father died.”

  Now Nate was the one easing back. “You lost a parent?”

  “Both of them.” She smoothed his hair. “It’s hell. No matter when or how it happens. It just . . . sucks.”

  As he nodded, he looked beyond lost.

  And maybe she should have talked to Murhder first, maybe she should have thought things through better, but no. Some things, you just knew.

  “Nate, Murhder and I are going to get a little house just outside of Caldwell. It’s going to have an extra bedroom. How’d you like to come live with us?”

  The boy—male, that was—blinked a couple of times. “You mean it?”

  “Yes. I want you to come . . . stay with us. And listen, if you don’t like it, or if you don’t like us, you can—”

  Nate’s face lit up. “Really? You’re serious? I could . . . live in a house? With you guys?”

  “Yes.” She started to smile. “We’d love it. We love . . . you.”

  Now he hugged her hard enough to crush her, not that she minded in the slightest. And when he set her back, he said, “I don’t have any money. I don’t have a job. I can’t really read all that well—”

  “Not to worry. We’ll figure it all out together.”

  His smile became real, his eyes glowing with true happiness. “So you have a house already picked out?”

  “No, we haven’t started looking yet.”

  “But wait, how do you know it’ll have an extra bedroom.”

  Sarah clasped his hand and gave it a squeeze. “Because we aren’t going to buy something that doesn’t have room for you.”

  Murhder nearly broke the mansion’s damn doors down. He’d only been away from Sarah for what, like an hour? But it was too long. Waaaaay too long—

  As the inside door of the vestibule was sprung by Fritz, Murhder nearly ran over the poor doggen. And then he was instantly frustrated because there were frickin’ people all over the frick. Some he recognized, like Rehvenge and Trez and iAm, others were new, like some of the females, and four huge males who were draped in weapons.

  None of them was who he was looking for, though, and he had a moment of panic. Where was Sarah? Xhex was supposed to—

  “She’s over there, buddy,” Xhex said.

  His friend the symphat
h’s dry tone belied the grin on her face—and Murhder had to give her a hug as he looked into the billiard room and saw his Sarah standing with Nate by a pool table.

  “Thanks for taking care of my female,” he said.

  “And thanks for nominating my male.” Xhex grew serious. “It meant a lot to him.”

  “He deserves it. He’s a helluva fighter.” Murhder leaned in and dropped his voice. “And brace yourself.”

  “For what?” When he didn’t respond, she frowned. “What am I bracing for?”

  Murhder winked at his old friend. “Let’s just say the era of the Brotherhood being a boys’ club only is officially over. And I understand you’re pretty damn good with a lys.”

  It was so satisfying to stun the symphath into silence.

  “That’s right,” he said as he saw John Matthew come for her. “We’ve got our eyes on you, soldier.”

  Murhder stepped aside as John swept his female up and the two kissed like they hadn’t seen each other in years.

  Good example to follow. Murhder strode through to the billiard room, and the instant Sarah saw him, the glow of love in her face was a beacon he would follow to the ends of the earth. Pulling her into his arms, he held her up off the floor and twirled her around.

  After he kissed her, he reached around and drew Nate in. “Group hug!”

  The young male folded into the pair of them as if he were an essential piece of their unit, and Murhder thought about Ingridge reaching out to him all those months before. Thank God, she had. Thank God for . . . everything.

  “So I’ve invited Nate to live with us,” Sarah said as they stepped back from the huddle. “I hope that’s—”

  “Fantastic!” Murhder put his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “You up for that, son?”

  “Yes, please.” The hope on that face was almost painful to witness. “I promise not to get in the way—”

  “You are welcome always.” Murhder tucked his Sarah into his side. “We’re your family. All of us here, are your family.”

  Someone offered him a beer and he accepted it with thanks, and then he just hung back and enjoyed the view into the foyer. Fritz and some doggen brought in a sheet cake, and bowls of punch, and then balloons were falling and people were cheering.

  It felt so good to be a part of it all. Once again.

  So many familiar faces, laughing, talking. He missed Darius, though. The male should have been—

  Through the grand archway into the dining room, John returned from the back of the house, his robe still on, his face still shining with pride and happiness. He was carrying something—no, two things. One was a black dagger, and the other was . . .

  A green apple.

  The newest member of the Brotherhood started peeling the Granny Smith as he wound through the crowd and went over to Zsadist, who was standing next to a beautiful female and holding a young in his powerful arms who looked just like him. The brother was laughing and smiling at his shellan, until he saw what John was doing with the apple.

  Instantly, his face grew serious, especially as the two males locked eyes.

  After John had peeled the apple in one long strip that fell on his bare foot, he cut a piece of the white flesh with the black steel of the dagger—and offered it to Z on the blade.

  Zsadist reached out and accepted the slice, popping it into his mouth.

  His smile was ancient. And beautiful, even, if not especially, because of his scarred face.

  John ate the next slice. And then the young got the third.

  No words were spoken between to the two, and Murhder was pretty sure that the party all around them was totally forgotten as some sort of debt was repaid with happiness on both sides.

  “Oh.” Sarah stiffened as she looked out into the foyer. “Oh . . . my.”

  At first, Murhder wasn’t sure what she was focused on. There were all kinds of couples hugging and friends laughing and Wrath had picked up his dog, who was so excited at being reunited with his master that his tail was going a mile a minute—

  But then Murhder saw what the issue was.

  Lassiter, the fallen angel, had come into the billiards room after a clothing change . . . and he was wearing gold lamé on his golden body. Which wouldn’t exactly have been a problem, except . . .

  “Are those ass-less chaps?” Sarah asked. “Or am I seeing things wrong.”

  Murhder put his big body in the way so she and Nate were spared the vision of two golden globes making waaaaay too much of an appearance.

  “Um, yeah,” he muttered, “I don’t think you need to get your eyes checked. Unfortunately.”

  “Who is he?” Sarah asked as Nate started to laugh.

  “That’s our deity. You know, the one who runs things from above? He’s a fallen angel.”

  His mate did a double take. “You’re not serious.”

  “No, he really is magical. I know it’s hard for humans to understand the magic in our world, but there is another realm, and Lassiter does live there. According to what Tohr told me, he took over from the Scribe Virgin who—”

  “Oh, I get all that. I don’t have a problem with the paranormal.” She laughed and kissed him. “I mean, hello, I’m going to marry a vampire. But how are you guys ruled by something that would wear ass-less chaps?”

  Murhder glanced over his shoulder. Yup. Still butt all over the place.

  “Well,” he said, “you know, it’s probably best to have a god with a sense of humor, don’t you think? I mean, all that stuffy stuff just gets tiresome, and sometimes, you do have to pray for crazy things. Plus, he does have a good ass. I mean, honestly, if you look at it objectively, he doesn’t have a thing to apologize for.”

  As Sarah and Nate started laughing together, Murhder put his arms around the two of them, and decided that all was right in the world.

  After all, if you had the love of your life, your friends, and your family . . . and a god who watched over you lovingly—even if he was only partially dressed?

  What else was there to the mortal coil?

  Except then the angel in question came over, and Murhder wasn’t so sure those golden globes needed to be so—

  The angel held something out to Sarah. “A gift of welcome to you.”

  “What is it—” Sarah flushed. “Wait . . . this is a diamond.”

  “And you know what they say about them.”

  Murhder’s breath caught. “Forever. A diamond . . . is forever.”

  All at once, a glow suffused Sarah’s body, and she looked down at herself in alarm.

  Lassiter smiled. “Another gift as it were. Enjoy your long life with your males. Both of them.”

  Sarah gasped. “What did you do to me . . .”

  But the fallen angel was already walking away. Flashing that ass.

  In the wake of Lassiter’s departure, Murhder wasn’t sure whether he should laugh or cry. So he gathered his true love to his heart . . . and did both.

  “I think we just got our happily ever after,” he whispered in her ear. “And we owe that angel . . .”

  Sarah inched back. “Can we start by getting him a real pair of pants?”

  “Excellent idea, scientist mine . . .”

  And then Murhder kissed his eternal shellan.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  With so many thanks to the readers of the Black Dagger Brotherhood books! This has been a long, marvelous, exciting journey, and I can’t wait to see what happens next in this world we all love. I’d also like to thank Meg Ruley, Rebecca Scherer, and everyone at JRA, and Lauren McKenna, Jennifer Bergstrom, and the entire family at Gallery Books and Simon & Schuster.

  To Team Waud, I love you all. Truly. And as always, everything I do is with love to, and adoration for, my family of both origin and adoption.

  Oh, and thank you to Naamah, my Writer Dog II, who works as hard as I do on my books!

  More from the Author

  The Wedding from Hell…

  Prisoner of Night

  Consu
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  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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

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  Facebook.com/JRWardBooks

  Twitter: @JRWard1

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  Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/J-R-Ward

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  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2019 by Love Conquers All, Inc.

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  First Gallery Books hardcover edition April 2019