There is magic involved every time I open a J.R. Ward's book and then I suddenly land in Caldwell. 
 When I am there, 
 I usually hide in the dark alleys sniffing the air for baby powder smell and listening carefully for gunshots and body compacts, 
 I cover myself at the back of Manny's ambulance behind a blanket making sure is empty on the way back to the mansion and everybody has already been home safe. Sometimes when it is not empty I listen carefully to sighs and encouragements and prayers and I make an effort to help thinking positively so that whoever is injured, he/she will be on his/her feet soon. 
 I find quiet corners in the Brothers' mansion trying to listen to giggles and laughs and curses and "I'm sorry for cursing" (because there are kids around nowadays) and looking for paw prints and snicker bars' wrappers , while my stomach growls when I smell the Last Meal being prepared by the doggens. And then I know that the pool table noises will stop, footsteps will be coming down the stairs, George will start barking, the TV will be silent, the vacuuming will stop and the dining room will be filled with voices and shouts and maybe music. 
 Sometimes I find a quiet place in the Darius' mansion and I listen to the petitions to the blind King. Frequently, I roll my eyes because what the subjects demand from the King is so trivial and simple and he and his brothers have a bloody war to fight and there is no time. But other times, my heart bleeds because what they ask is the impossible even for a King. 
 My heart also bleeds when I visit the Safe Place and I make myself invisible behind the curtains. Abuse is not limited to the human nation. If anything, it is more brutal, more life threatening in the vampire world. Vampires are much stronger than the rats without tails. They can hit harder, they can suffer more before they die, and they can bleed more. 
 And I feel similar sadness when I visit Havers' clinic and I know that some of the patients there will not live long enough to see the moon of the following night. And I know that maybe Havers will look cold and distant in front of them (he has a god complex you may think). But when he knows that he is not watched, he will hide his face in his hands. And he will feel abandoned and desperate because whatever he does, it is not enough. 
 See? I am well trained. I know what to expect. 
 This time 
 I also followed Elise in her family's mansion and I listened to the glymera nonsense that her father was explaining and I listened to her aunt's burst about her ungrateful daughter who went and got herself killed and now nobody was inviting them to the parties anymore. 
 I followed Axe to The Keys. I had a mask and somebody had lent me a key to get in. I heard the noises of the sexual aroused humans, I smelled sex everywhere, I could not see faces, I could not count how many were in each of the rooms. I ran away. 
 But when Elise and Axe sat in front of the fire or shared the shower I tried to be discreet and I left them alone. I knew what they were doing, anyway. 
 I also followed Rhage, Mary and Bitty around. They were trying to finalize what they had started in "The Beast". They were absolutely sure that was what they wanted. And I felt love, commitment, gratitude everywhere. The friends were helping, the family stayed together. 
 And of course it was Christmas time. Many gifts, many hugs and a Christmas tree. Picture perfect! 
 Ruhn welcome! Did you really exchange glances with Saxton and the air was heavy and promising? 
 Oh, maybe I just imagined it... 
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 5 stars 
 ... just because I was feeling that I was home when I was reading 
 ... just because I am a BDB fan girl 
 ... just because I can 
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 ""Father?" she prompted. 
 Rhage closed his eyes. Okay, so every time she called him that, his heart got too big for his chest and this unreal, won-the-lottery feeling sunrised all over him. It took him back to right after he and Mary had been mated and he'd gotten to call her shellan for the first time. 
 Pure, full-bore awesomeness." 
 November 10, 2016 
 Chapter 2 Excerpt was available - Only if you had joined JR Ward Newsletter!