John Matthew

"Alex's husband was as tall as a basketball player, built like a boxer, and had the kind of physical confidence only trained killers had.

Mortal combat wasn't just a video game to him.

...No one had ever heard the SOB say a word, but by the same token, anyone built like that didn't have to talk."

-Duke Phillips on his boss' "husband"^[1]

John Matthew is the reincarnation of the Brother Darius in The Black Dagger Brotherhood series by JR Ward. He's mated to Xhex and they are the main characters of the eighth book of the series, Lover Mine.

Biography[]

John was found in a bathroom stall where he was born and discovered by the janitor who then brought him to Our Lady. He eventually gets a job as a busboy lives alone in a dingy apartment complex where he was raped by a man in the halls with no one to help.

At the time, Mary had been working at a suicide hotline across the street from his apartment; he often called her because he needed someone to talk to, but being mute, he would listen to her for comfort. Since his apartment and the hotline office were in a bad neighborhood, he'd follow her home to make sure she made it there safely.

One night after secretly escorting her home, he reveals himself to her in her backyard. Since he looks more boy than man not yet having gone through the change, Mary doesn't feel threatened and they talked well into the night. Bella came over from next door to visit Mary and she noticed the bracelet that John wore, recognizing the Old Language. He told her that the design had come to him in his dreams.

Using John's interest in martial arts, Bella offers to introduce him to some friends of hers who could train him. The Brothers put together his history, deducing that he's Darius' son, and offer to bring him into the vampire world. He moved in with Tohrment and Wellsie and quickly came to think of them as the parents he never had, and they think of him as their son. After Wellsie's murder and Tohrment's disappearance, he was hurt and angry for a long time.

While in the training program, he clashed with Lash, who immediately looked down on him for being mute, and met Qhuinn and Blaylock, who become his best friends.

Personality[]

John loves hard and when he cares about someone and they leave or die he feels the loss deeply. He's extremely protective of those for whom he cares, going so far as to reveal what felt was his deepest, most shameful secret to Wrath, who he greatly respected and admired and therefore feared Wrath would think less of him in order to protect Qhuinn.^[2] On the other hand, he doesn't do well with disrespect especially when he's already in a mood.

Physical Description[]

John is as tall as Zsadist, four inches taller than his best friends Blay and Qhuinn, and as thickly muscled as any Brother.^[3] He has a birthmark on his chest that matches the mark the Brothers wear, which made other recruits see him as a brown-noser because they think he gave it to himself.

A human tattoo artist inked Xhex's name in the Old Language with ink John Matthew stole from Vishous' supplies because he didn't want anyone to know yet how he felt about her.^[4] He wears Darius' signet ring on the forefinger of his right hand.^[5]

Skills[]

American Sign Language
In his class of trainees, he was the best fighter.^[6]

Abilities[]

Dematerializing
If he's well and truly pissed, he can create a blast of pressure that can shatter windows.
When angry, he can create a blast of cold.^[7]
He is left-handed, Brother Zasadist noticed that he also has the same fighting style as Darius who was the only known left-handed Brother.

Relationships[]

Blay and Qhuinn: best friends
Sarelle: Wellsie's cousin, comes over for dinner at Tohrment and Wellsie's home one night. John is struck with interest, and she is very interested in him as well. Thereafter they talk via messaging over the computer since he can't very well talk to her over the phone. There is no official relationship, but he does share his first kiss with her.

Xhex[]

Bonded shellan.

Trivia[]

He saw The Matrix four times when it first came out, but not Lord of the Rings, and is into action movies.^[8]
The nuns at Our Lady named him.
As of 2008, he was worth approximately $40 million.^[6]
When he has flashbacks to his previous life he has seizures.
He's only the second fighter known to fight left-handed, the other was Darius.^[9]
One Halloween, he and Xhex dressed up as Neo and Trinity from The Matrix, respectively.^[10]
At his mating, he wore black ceremonial silks that Tohrment brought him and a jeweled belt Wrath lent him.^[5]
He sleeps in the nude.^[11]
After Wellsie passed, he kept a Picasso from her art collection that he really liked.^[12]
Jack Daniels is his drink of choice.
He rolls a quarter across his fingers as a nervous twitch.^[13]
Member of the Survivors' Club

Appearances[]

References[]

Gallery[]

John-Matthew-the-black-dagger-brotherhood-30881980-710-1124

[1] Possession, Ch. 4

[2] Lover Enshrined, Ch. 26

[3] Lover Unbound, Ch. 27

[4] Lover Mine

[:2-5] 5.0 ^5.1 Lover Mine, Ch. 74

[:1-6] 6.0 ^6.1 Lover Enshrined, Ch. 28

[7] Lover Mine, Ch. 27

[:0-8] Lover Eternal

[9] Lover Unbound, Ch. 47

[10] Beth. "Missive From the Mansion." Caldwell Courier Journal. Vol I, Issue 8. October 1, 2019

[11] Lover Enshrined, Ch. 2

[12] Lover Reborn, Ch. 66

[13] Lover Avenged, Ch. 16

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