Timothy M.

Wow, Jared certainly has amazing self-control, but I understand his wariness. Hopefully, he'll realize Darwin needs to be loved and reassured over and over again. Darla is a worry they could have been without. But Darwin should stop beating himself up about it and put the blame where it belongs, ie on Carl and his hunters.

Jared and Darwin really are shit at communicating, aren't they? They don't talk with words, they assume the wrong things about each other's behavior, and they ignore what their instincts and bodies tell them until it hurts. Sex might help for a bit, but they really need to bond. Jared going off the whole day for the next few weeks or however long it takes, is not a good idea for the new mates.

It works everywhere you do it.

So blood is actually thicker than water among werewolves too. However; I bet Tobias is mainly helping Jared because if he has his own pack he won't comeback and try to take over his brother's pack. And perhaps Tobias is also slightly proud of his little brother stealing wolves from another alpha. This was actually another chapter which had so many things happening, you left me breathless. I feel sorry for Darwin and Darla, the bite was a bad thing to happen.

So the main reason Darwin's wolf was considered crazy was because he wasn't in touch with his human mind? Interesting. I'm guessing this split was kept going because Darwin had to play dominant, so it was too dangerous to be attuned to his wolf and his instincts. I'm hoping Jared's plan will work out, and now that Rayne has been shown to be clever and almost kind, the chance has gone up dramatically.

Jeez, what a roller-coaster of emotions. I'm actually impressed with Jared dealing so well with all of Darwin's issues and fragile ego. I was pleased for both their sakes when Darwin finally yielded, and I loved the description of how happy it made them, both mentally and physically. But of course it couldn't last. Henry's in problems, but so far his confusion has helped him and the broken phone was a great piece of luck. But how did they find the cabin, then?

This was like four chapters in one, first Jared waiting for Henry to wake up, and then their talk being interrupted by the call from Darwin. Second Darwin's ordeal with the crazy alpha and later him waking up and escaping. The way you intertwined those two parts was masterly. Third there was the rescue and healing, and I have to say I'm surprised Jared could do all this first aid stuff and that Darwin survived. Werewolves must have incredible stamina and ability to heal. Finally, we get a glimpse of how submissives are supposed to finction, and we witness the beginning of the struggle between Darwin and Jared. Their instincts are sound but their behavior is all fucked up by their home lives. Darwin is worst off, because he's had to pretend to be a dominant, but Jared is pretty clueless too about social interaction as an Aplha because his brother and mother made him suppress his natural inclinations. I agree with every word Gary says about what a great story this is.

I can recall thinking at this point that there had to be more between Jared and Darwin than Alpha / Submissive vibes, because Henry would have worked just as well for Jared, if he simply needed to slake his lust. But Henry clearly thinks Jared belongs to Darwin even if he can't tell the Alpha no. The explanation Henry gave Jared should have made him talk to Darwin instead of stalking and teasing him. And then he did the dick move of inviting Henry out and now Darwin is in the clutches of his crazy Alpha. It's all Jared's fault.

I would have thought the above would apply even more to Liam. He's having a hard time convincing Seth he's interested in dating him. (if you did the @Rambling Robin trick, she might see this conversation.

I'm glad you started the chapter with a nice relaxing and fun trip on the lake. They needed this to deal with the later event. I'm going to focus on the chapter title, because to be honest the chapter note doesn't do much for me. But Circle Upon Circle Upon Circle is a very powerful image and so true. This chapter's revelation brings us back full circle to several earlier chapters. Chapter 2 where we learn about how Kellar came to be a foster child and the mystery about how his parents died. The chapter where he fought with the scarred Reznick, and I want to call it divine justice or at least earth mother justice that Tobyn and Kellar revenged his parents, especially since Gigi was Elinor's friend. The reason Tobyn met Kellar was because he scented Fendral. Like other readers I now wondered why the old wolf was in the vicinity of the cabin. Did he scent his daughter in Kellar somehow? Kellar arriving at Morningstar at last was another circle closing, just like the fact he healed Arthur by closing his broken burnt umber loop which in turn restored him at Sybil's mate making her seer ability come back so she could have the vision about Kellar's parents. And we know how the hunters could find Roland and Gigi, but missed Kellar, because as a child he was not making silver vibrate. Circle Upon Circle Upon Circle is perfectly true. (And no I didn't notice the circles in the water.) I just have one question: what was the unusual color of Gigi and Esther's wolves? Does Kellar get his white half from his father and the other side from his mother? Has Elinor seen Kellar's wolf or not? Oh and I was rather stunned about them saying Kellar should be Morningstar's Alpha. I hadn't realized this position was strictly hereditary, in spite of Logan and his dad.

I was given The Hobbit by UK friends of my family when I was around 12. I was already an avid reader at the time, and I had started reading books in English (which at that time wasn't taught in Danish schools until grade 5. Danish kids today start in grade 3 and sometimes in grade 1 or 2). The Hobbit was too difficult for me, so my mother bought the Danish translation, and when I loved it, I was given the LoT books later. When I was around 15 or 16 I read all four books in English (and had to get used to Bilbo Baggins instead of Bilbo Sækker, lol). I've probably read LoT in original more than 10 times, and my favorite parts innumerable times. I've heard many teachers praise the existence of well-written fantasy books like HP as a brilliant way of getting especially boys to read. When I think of the meager selection we had in the 1970'ies, I couldn't agree more. Thanks for sharing your experience, James.

Very observant of you, Blind, and the end of the next chapter gave us a glimpse of why that wall is there in the first place.

Me too. It's always nice to get a glimpse of Joel.

What a slimy toad Who kisses another guy when he's just told him he's on a date? And especially after having apparently broken his heart two years before. I also wonder what it is in Seth which attracts these hunky, self-confident men? From the way he acts and sees himself, I get the image of a non-descript, introvert, slightly over-weight guy, but I could be totally wrong. And of course Liam is a genuinely nice guy and not a shallow bastard like Kris.

Bailey lives in his own little bubble of pain and avoidance. Justin and Declan are the only people making an impact but for widely different reasons. I hope Justin doesn't have a crush on Bailey, because he needs a friend more than a boyfriend.

I'm glad Bailey's Dad backed him 100% against the coach and the school. I feel sorry for him and Bailey that they lost each other, and his Dad didn't get to see him finally be accepted and do well. On the other hand, I'm beginning to wonder how he could afford a private school like Heritage, and how Bailey's Mom can stay in the house if the family isn't independently wealthy.

I see you point, but he's not actually telling Alek this, so it's more like he's trying to work out in his own head, what would make him trust Alek. See also my post in the story topic.

Growth - Morningstar has already grown with the arrival of Vega - and everything has been delightful so far. And now we'e witnessing the beginning of another kind of growth - via new children being conceived and born. If anything more is needed to convince other packs it would be Tobyn telling them his mother is pregnant. The whole scene with Elinor was intense and delightful, and I loved Kellar going all 'confidential doctor mode' on Tobyn. Something else which has grown is the mate bond between Hugh and Connor, as well as Connor's confidence and trust. He may want to hold back with his mind but his heart and body tell him what to do. Seeing them embrace and scent each other, witnessing Connor tease Hugh gently while declaring his intention to move in with him, telling his mate he likes (loves) both him and his wolf, mentioning Tobyn and Kellar as role models and a reason to trust the earth mother - all of this was delightful, which does not surprise me in the least. You excel in creating moments, Gary.

I remember him being sad about not being able to talk much to Alek at a hockey match, for fear of his teammates getting suspicious. Hmm, I went back and checked Unforgivable, but I couldn't find any mention of it. Only Alek being nervous about people overhearing his talk with Liam and Corey.

@Drew Espinosa and @droughtquake don't you start again now ! or at least take it over to the story discussion topic.

I think Liam had a very good point about Alek being out to more than his family and customers. Until he's seen Alek being clearly out with his hockey team and friends, Liam shouldn't make a choice to give him another chance. But it was interesting to see Liam be jealous, when he has no reason to be. Alek hasn't stopped loving him just because he's been away for a week.

Lucas going from laid back to furious and Joel being all confused had me chuckling. Joel trying to keep Lucas calm while they interrogated the boys was hilarious. I'm glad the boys came clean and go some help.

I signed up for the first one. None of the others are for me, but I think they're good examples of all the wonderful things GA do for authors.

I'll participate. Hmm, now I have to go and rummage around Mann's stories. Can I find something to criticize?

Don't worry, this bug has been noticed several times, and the admin are working to get it solved.