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Where Winter Finds You (Book 17.5)

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"Blessed are those who believe in all that two hearts aligned achieve. For once united, no matter where winter finds them, they will always be warm."

Where Winter Finds You is a novella of The Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward. It follows The Savior and precedes The Sinner. Chronologically, it follows Blood Truth of the Black Dagger Legacy series, which is not required reading for the main series. Legacy and the main series alternate both in terms of timeline and release dates and should be read in order of publication.

Where Winter Finds You continues the story of Trez following the aftermath of losing Selena, iAm's life after mating, and their relationships with their found family.

Synopsis[]

When Trez lost his beloved to a tragic death, his soul was crushed and his destiny seemed relegated to suffering. But when he meets a mysterious female, he becomes convinced his true love has been reincarnated. Is he right? Or has his grief created a disastrous delusion?

Therese has come to Caldwell to escape a rift with her bloodline. The revelation that she was adopted and not born into her family shakes the foundations of her identity, and she is determined to make it on her own. Her attraction to Trez is not what she’s looking for, except the sexy Shadow proves to be undeniable.

Has fate provided a grieving widower with a second chance...or is Trez too blinded by the past to see the present for what it really is? In this sensual, arresting book full of the themes of redemption and self-discovery, two lost souls find themselves at a crossroads where the heart is the only compass that can be trusted...but that may require a courage that neither of them possesses. 

Main Characters[]

Other Characters[]

Black Dagger Brotherhood[]

Speaking Roles[]

Mentioned or non-Speaking Roles[]

  • Alondra Julia (Raul's daughter)
  • Annalye
  • The Band of Bastards
  • Beth
  • Boo
  • Bricholt (Healer in Old Country)
  • Bricholt, The Elder (Healer in Old Country)
  • Charlie (Bitty's infant brother)
  • Ehlena
  • Enzo (Manager at Sal's Restaurant)
  • Fernando (Raul's cousin)
  • George
  • Havers
  • Ivelisse Julia (Raul's wife)
  • Marissa
  • The Princess
  • Raul Julia
  • Saxton
  • The Scribe Virgin
  • The Omega
  • Selena
  • Unnamed Female Human #1 (worker at jewelry shop)
  • Unnamed Female Human #2 (Customer at Sal's Restaurant)
  • Unnamed Female Human #3 (shAdoWs patron)
  • Unnamed Female Human #5 (Therese's neighbor)
  • Unnamed Female Vampire #3 (Gareth's girlfriend)
  • Unnamed Human #1 (Child of Raul)
  • Unnamed Human #2 (Child of Raul)
  • Unnamed Human #5 (Chef at Sal's Restaurant)
  • Unnamed Human #6 (Therese's neighbor)
  • Unnamed Human #7 (Therese's neighbor)
  • Unnamed Male Human #2 (Customer at Sal's Restaurant)
  • Unnamed Male Human #3 (shAdoWs patron)
  • Unnamed Male Human #4 (shAdoWs shooter)
  • Unnamed Male Human #5 (shAdoWs victim)
  • Unnamed Male Human #7 (Thief during fire)
  • Unnamed Male Human #8 (Thief during fire)
  • Vinnie Giuffrida (Butcher for Sal's Restaurant)

Synopsis[]

Warning[]

Readers should be aware that this book contains suicidal ideation and physician-assisted suicide.

Reminder that this wiki contains spoilers so please proceed with caution.

Chapter 1[]

It's a few weeks before Christmas, the middle of a snowstorm, and a human pedestrian at an intersection slips and nearly ends up in the street, but he sees an angel hold a BMW at the light and use the Force to push him back onto the sidewalk. Raul Julia watches a semi-truck trailer slam through the red light when it can't stop on the ice; it would have destroyed the BMW and him.

Chapter 2[]

Trez has been considering suicide by driving his BMW into the Hudson River. The light turns green and his tires lose traction for the first time, keeping him stalled at an intersection as a huge truck blow past the nose of his car. He's pissed that his tires managed to fail and prevent an accident that could have removed the issue of suicide condemning him to Dhunhd where he'd never again see Selena; an accident meant he could see her again in the Fade.

Chapter 3[]

Having slept through her alarm, Therese wakes up from a recurring erotic dream of her soulmate, but they're always forced to separate. She rushes to get to work at Sal's Restaurant where she just recently started working as a server.

Chapter 4[]

Before going to work at shAdoWs, Trez stops by Sal's in the hopes of seeing Therese, who's the spitting image of his deceased shellan, Selena. He gets worried when she was late coming in and tries to coax her into letting him rent a house for her own safety since he doesn't think that the human rooming house where she currently lives is safe. It appears to be an ongoing disagreement, but she's determined to be self-sufficient, it's why she came to Caldwell.

Stopping in the kitchen, he notices that iAm seems really off, even allowing something on the stove to burn.

Chapter 5[]

On his way to shAdoWs, Trez is haunted by memories of Selena's death.

Sal's is empty, half of the staff couldn't even make it through the storm, and Therese gets a ridiculously handsome customer who stares at her. Rhage apologizes for making her uncomfortable, it's just that she looks exactly like a friend of his. His shellan has the same reaction when she arrives shortly afterwards.

Chapter 6[]

Rehvenge stops by the club and it doesn't take much for Trez to figure out that it's an intervention over his emotional state of late. He knows that Trez is suicidal and getting worse and suggests medication as an option. When Trez tries to blow him off, Rehv locks them both inside the office and tells him that it's not a conversation he can opt out of; he's not going to sit by and do nothing. He tries to tell Rehv it's not his problem because it's his own life to take and they're just friends and the only reason he stuck by Rehv when he had to deal with the Princess was because Trez felt he owed him. He reminds Trez that, that's bullshit and he knows full well that in addition to iAm there a lot of people who consider him family, Rehv included, then he threatens to choke some sense into him. Trez starts laughing at the sympath version of tough love and tells Rehv that he's terrible at interventions. He just shrugs and says that if he'd sent someone with a gentle touch and knew what they were doing, like Mary, Trez would have hugged her and then tossed her out on her ear so he's stuck with Rehvenge.

Chapter 7[]

Even though iAm comps Rhage's and Mary's meal, Rhage still leaves $1000 tip for Therese, which stuns and thrills her because that means she can afford to move out of her crappy apartment. Her supervisor, Emile, gives her a ride home and he admits that he does like her, but he also understands that she doesn't feel the same way. He knows that she's into Trez and considering the way Trez glared at him earlier when he stopped by the restaurant, he suspects that the feeling's mutual. Although she empathizes with the position Emile is in, Therese is relieved that it's out in the open and she doesn't have to bring it up herself.

Chapter 8[]

Emile gets a call from another server, Liza, with whom he has an on-again/off-again toxic sort of relationship. Concerned, he and Therese stop by shAdoWs where a fight breaks out. Therese gets knocked down and then has to dive out of the way as a gun is drawn and pointed in her direction. She's nearly trampled as the clubbers run from the gunshots.

Trez picks Therese up and carries her to a hidden access hallway. From his office above the dance floor, he'd seen the fight break out and gave Xhex a heads up. Recognizing Therese in the crowd, he dematerialized down as the shooting started. Both stunned by the close call, they kiss.

Chapter 9[]

Therese and Trez have sex and he notes that it's exactly like how it was with Selena. She tells him that she sees him in her dreams and he comes to her as a shadow. Trez doesn't feel at all guilty afterwards, he knows that she's his "queen."

Chapter 10[]

When Xhex sees Therese, she becomes quite intimidating, demanding to know who Therese is. Refusing to be cowed, Therese introduces herself.

In the aftermath of the chaos, Therese finds her purse empty of everything except for her old cellphone that she never uses anymore because only her family knows the number, and she's not speaking to them since accidentally discovering she's adopted, which was why she moved to Caldwell in her hurt and anger. The tip money is also gone. She and Trez make plans to meet the following night.

Chapter 11[]

Xhex notices that Therese has an emotional grid similar to John Matthew's in that they both have a duplicate pattern in shadow underneath the main grid and slightly offset from it. She's long suspected that her mate has a closer tie to Darius than merely that of father and son, and she's all but confirmed it since Therese's grid is identical to Selena's, even though they're unique to each individual. She senses someone else, someone familiar, and notices there's a shadow even though there's no one standing there to cast it. Following her instincts, aided by the presence, she hugs Trez tightly and tells him that everything's going to be OK. He just needs to trust his heart and have faith in himself.

Xhex asks Lassiter why she can't tell Trez and he tells her there are no shortcuts, even when one's been given a gift. She asks about John Matthew, but he tells her that, that was before his time so he can't speak to that.

Trez finds a set of keys with a copper key and they carry Therese's scent. He's having troubles wrapping his head around the fact that Selena just died and yet has returned to him as an adult.

Chapter 12[]

The next night, Trez is in a great mood as he finds Bitty painting Christmas cards, a tradition she learned from "Auntie Beth." She's making one for every family in the mansion and gives him his, which is a picture of a male and a female holding hands under a gold star. The body of the female is painted silver to signify that she's passed on and she shows him the ones she's made for both her families: one of her and her mahmen holding her baby brother and the other of her standing with Mary and Rhage with her mahmen and baby brother in the sky above. Her mother and brother, who she calls "Charlie," are also painted silver. She explains that she painted Selena on the same level as Trez, with him, because it felt right.

She frets that she hasn't written the inscription yet, but Trez tells her it's perfect as it is and tears up a little. Later, Rhage lets him know that it's okay if it's too painful for him and he needs to dispose of it. Trez recoils at the thought because he loves it. He asks Rhage if he was recently at Sal's and he confirms that he was.

Therese goes to work and finds everyone gathered in or outside iAm's office. When Emile couldn't find her when the club was evacuated and she didn't answer her stolen phone, he worried she was dead. As the crowd disperses, Trez arrives and iAm asks him why he didn't call iAm to let him know about the shooting. He's glad Therese is fine and he reminds her that she never provided information for her emergency contacts. Trez interjects to tell iAm to call him as long as Therese's okay with that. Even though things are moving so fast between them, she finally feels rooted.

Chapter 13[]

iAm is pissed at Trez and accuses him of stringing Therese along like he's used so many women and females by pretending she's Selena. Trez asks him if he'd rather he was unhappy and suffering, if it makes him feel better about his own life? They argue and Trez tells him to ask Xhex about Therese because she sees what he does. iAm points out that she's a sympath and maybe she said what he needed to hear to try and keep him from committing suicide.

Before leaving, Trez gives Therese her keys and tries to give her $1,000. She believes that he happened to find her keys, but she does not believe he happened to find that much money just lying around the club like it fell out of her purse. He tells her that he's friends with the male and when Trez told him what happened, he wanted to help her. That, she believes, but it's not his friend's responsibility. Although she's grateful, she declines the money.

Chapter 14[]

Trez picks up Therese after work and takes her to the Cape Cod home he's been urging her to rent. She's surprised to learn that he's associated with the Black Dagger Brotherhood. As she's getting undressed, there's a knock at the door even though Trez isn't expecting anyone. Pulling a gun, he tells her to wait.

Chapter 15[]

Trez makes his way downstairs to find Fritz on the doorstep with groceries, not at all fazed by the weapon in Trez's hand, and ready to cook dinner. Eager to return to Therese, Trez tries to tell him there's no need and hurry him out the door, but being Fritz, he's horrified at the though of Trez putting away the groceries himself. Trez hears a noise and finds Therese lying in the snow in the backyard, giggling; she jumped out of the window to come in from the back in case he needed help even though she didn't really have a plan as to how she would provide said help.

Chapter 16[]

iAm's been worried every night since Selena's death that he's going to hear that Trez has killed himself. maichen tells him that the healers told her that the young she's carrying is a little girl. Even though he wants to share the good news with Trez, he doesn't because he doesn't want to flaunt his blessings to his brother who's suffering.

Chapter 17[]

Trez is trying not to deal with all the crap in his head. He knows that he's out of control, but he tries to ignore it by having sex with Therese, until he breaks down crying.

Chapter 18[]

He curls into a ball and Therese holds him. She tells him about how she was helping her parents move and accidentally came across her adoption papers, which was how she discovered that she was not, in fact, the blooded daughter of Larisse and Rosen like she'd always thought. She got into an ugly fight with her brother, who'd known all along, but she didn't. She left without telling anyone where she was going and she felt inexplicably drawn to Caldwell.

Chapter 19[]

She imagines a life with him and notices a rainbow-coloured shadow in the backyard making a snow angel. Therese offers to leave, instead, he asks her to cuddle and they fall asleep.

Chapter 20[]

Trez apologizes for the night before and asks Therese to move into the house. She explains that she's determined to be self-sufficient because she'd never had to be independent before; she lived with her brother and even her dad got her, her previous job. When she felt like she was surrounded by strangers, she felt helpless and scared. It's something she needs to prove to herself so she can always use that for inner strength if she's ever in that position again.

Trez is afraid to tell Therese about Selena because she could prove beyond a doubt that she isn't actually his shellan and wonders if iAm's right and he's wrong about who she truly is. She says she sometimes feels like she's always known him and takes his vein.

Chapter 21[]

Charging her old cellphone after having left it shut off since she left Michigan, Therese finds that she's missed multiple calls from her brother who only ever calls in an emergency, preferring to text. Struck with fear that something terrible has happened, Therese finally realizes that blood isn't what makes a family, it's the people you love. The first few voicemails from Gareth are continuations of their argument before she left, but the later ones tell her that their mother's in ICU at Havers' clinic because of a chronic heart condition that's put her in a coma.

Chapter 22[]

Trez drives Therese to the clinic and meeting her family is confirmation that she's not Selena because how could she have an entire history with her family when Selena passed away not too long ago. He realizes he's convinced himself that Therese is his shellan.

She's nervous about seeing her family again, but feels better that Trez is there to provide support and encouragement before she enters the room. He waits outside so she doesn't have to broach the topic of who he is on top of reuniting with her family.

Chapter 23[]

Therese is afraid that her brother, Gareth, will kick her out because it's apparent from his voicemails that he blames her for their mother's deterioration in health from the stress of the fallout with the family. She blames herself for it, but her father, Rosen, reassures her that it was always a matter of when Larisse's cardiomyopathy led to a collapse, not if. Therese admits that she could have handled the revelation better and he says that's true of all of them, but she's here now and that's all that matters. She doesn't believe him, though and worries that her relationship with Gareth is irreparable.

Gareth steps outside to smoke and Trez talks to him, explaining that he drove Therese over to ensure that she arrived safely since she was too upset to dematerialize. He says that she only just got his messages and came over as soon as she did. Gareth points out that he left messages weeks ago. Trez gives him a white lie that her cellphone was stolen, which is true, just that it was her new one and not her old one. Gareth begins to unload on Trez about how leaving broke their mom's heart, but Trez cuts him off to say that he should be talking to Therese about this, not him. At one point he even growls at Gareth's attitude, which is when Gareth realizes that Trez is more than just a friend.

Chapter 24[]

Trez has to pop into the club and asks if Therese needs anything; she asks him to tell iAm that she'll be at the clinic until her mother's condition changes.

Gareth assumes Therese moved to Caldwell for Trez, but she only met him after she got her job at Sal's. She didn't get the messages, but Gareth tells her that Trez already filled him in on that. Gareth thinks that Trez is a nice guy. He felt abandoned after she left because they were more than siblings and roommates, they were friends. He was angry that she didn't let their mom tell her side of the story and Therese acted like she wanted an apology from them for being her family. Therese tries to explain that she felt betrayed since she was the only one in the family who didn't know.

Chapter 25[]

Trez goes to see iAm, who's worried and asks if Trez wants to talk to Mary, but he reassures iAm that he's not currently suicidal. He apologizes for fighting with him over Therese and admits that iAm was right that he was deluded and he was wrong. Then he asks about maichen and iAm tries to be breezy about it, but Trez points out that he's snapped the pencil in his hand, which is now bleeding because the pieces have pierced his palm. Helping him with the wounds, Trez guesses that maichen is pregnant and expresses genuine happiness for them; the news gives him hope. iAm asks Trez to be the blessing one for the young.

Trez explains Therese's situation and that he's going to tell her everything. iAm points out that he could fall in love again, he just didn't want Trez to fall for Therese thinking that she's someone else. He assures Trez that Therese has a job there for as long as she wants and promises to make her the best meal she's ever had. Trez considers the possibility that she might move back in with her family to reconcile and the thought hurts even though he intends to end the relationship. He doesn't trust his own judgment.

Chapter 26[]

Therese talks to her mom and apologizes even though she's unconscious in the hopes that it might help. She tells Larisse that she understands that she had her reasons and she wants to hear them from her mom.

Trez arrives with food and Rosen asks him what he does for work. At first, he freezes because he's not sure how to talk around his illicit dealings and then lands safely on "entertainment." Privately realizing he feels like he's been in a rut, he says that he's thinking of going back to school. Gareth says that he's doing the same to study human law because the race needs someone who understands it. Trez suggests putting him in touch with Saxton, the King's solicitor, for an internship at the Audience House and gets bombarded with questions once they get past their surprise. He's been to the Audience House? Has he met the King? Trez says that he lives with him, but he plans on moving out and into the house he'd arranged for Therese. Then and there he decides to give the club to Xhex.

Before they can ask any more questions, a nurse summons them to Larisse's room.

Chapter 27[]

Larisse is awake and stronger, if she stays that way they want to try having her breathing on her own.

Therese walks Trez to the elevator and can tell that something's off with him. She acknowledges the weirdness due to the intensity of late and asks him where he's at. He tells her that his shellan died badly very recently. Although she's saddened to hear that, but not surprised, and being there must be hard for him. He doesn't begrudge her father his joy at his mate's recovery. He says he didn't mean to lead her on; even though she's heartbroken and realizing that she's in love with him, she understands because it's too soon. He tells himself it's the right thing to do even though it's obvious she's in pain and trying to hide it.

She deserves to be loved for who she is and not because she looks like someone else. That draws Therese up short and she starts putting the pieces together, figuring that she must be his shellan's doppelganger. If he lives with the king, then he must know the Brotherhood, which means that the large male customer who knew him must have been a Brother. That would explain his reaction and that of his mate. Trez says that he didn't mean to hurt her and she asks if he didn't mean to use her. Looking back, she realizes he never used her name when they were intimate and he let her take his vein but didn't take hers because if she tasted different, then that would ruin the fantasy for him. Therese tells him that she never wants to see him again and that he can tell iAm that she quits without notice. He knew the entire time that it was wrong so he should just leave now so she can pick up the pieces. Trez knows that he deserves her ire.

Chapter 28[]

Over the next 24 hours, Therese has been numb, but is thrilled to hear that her mom's breathing on her own sooner than expected. Larisse explains that she always felt that Therese was destined to be hers after she'd prayed for a daughter and the paperwork was to ensure that no one could take Therese from her. To her, Therese has has always simply been her daughter and she asks her to come home. Therese goes to the rooming house where she's been staying and starts packing.

Trez gets a migraine and lays down on the couch in his office.

Chapter 29[]

There's an explosion at the rooming house, possibly drug related.

Trez isn't quite asleep nor awake and remembers Selena's funeral pyre. He has a vision of Lassiter resurrecting Selena, who appears as part flame before the pyre explodes.

Chapter 30[]

Therese is injured and tries to crawl down the hall, past the corpses of humans who succumbed to the fire.

A tapping at his office window overlooking the dance floor wakes Trez, but there's no one there, plus that would require levitation. He's full of adrenaline after the disturbing dream and goes into his bathroom to splash some water on his face when he hears sirens. Looking out the bathroom window, he sees clouds of smoke coming from the direction of Therese's place and dematerializes over there in a panic. He can sense her inside the burning building due to his blood inside her and he's struck by déjà vu from his dream.

Chapter 31[]

Therese has a vision of herself and thinks that she must have died and that's her spirit, then she's inundated with images of the Sanctuary and her previous life. Trez dematerializes into the building and, finding her, carries her into the bathroom in an apartment away from most of the smoke and fire. He makes a phone call and opens the window so help can dematerialize into the room.

She's badly burned and scared for him. Now she understands she'd been left on that doorstep as an infant so she could make her way back to him. She calls him her "love" and that she missed him.

Doc Jane and Vishous ghost into the bathroom. Trez's bonded male instincts take over and he tries to bite Jane's hand, but she grabs him by the throat and talks him down. V's ready to kill him for trying to hurt his shellan. Trez apologizes and begs for their help because he can't lose her again. He tries to insist on carrying her even though he's in no shape to do so due to smoke inhalation, instead, Jane puts him in charge of Therese's IV bag and oxygen mask and has V carry her.

Chapter 32[]

On the stairs, Trez starts to fall, he throws the IV bag and oxygen mask at Jane and tells her to leave him. She makes sure he has oxygen before getting Therese to safety. Tohrment comes to carry him out to Manny's RV and keeps him calm on the way to the mansion.

Once there, Trez insists on feeding Therese even though he's in rough shape.

Chapter 33[]

Therese has another vision of herself and she tells Trez that she is the one he lost although she doesn't know how and tells him that she loves him. Lassiter appears, ecstatic that his first miracle worked, and toots his own horn quite colourfully. Everyone in the room witnesses the victory dance in stunned silence and before leaving, Lassiter has to wipe their memories because he has to clean up after himself.

Epilogue[]

Two weeks later, Therese has healed up without any scars, but needs physical therapy. She feels secure now in who she is and her relationship with her family and with Trez. She's moved into the Cape Cod with Trez and they're making plans to move her family in with them since Larisse needs to be close to the clinic. He gives Therese a gold necklace of an angel with diamond wings.

They invite everyone over for a New Year's Eve party, which Larisse is able to attend having just been discharged with expectations of many more years of good health ahead of her. While looking for "Auntie Therese," Bitty's thrilled to find the card she gave Trez hanging on the fridge. Trez has Saxton working on documents to transfer the club to Xhex as a surprise gift. He's going to get his law degree and Therese is going for her PhD. Unbeknownst to her, he has plans for her to work with Wrath on some building projects.

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