Laura S. Fox

Chapter Ten – The Message in the Rock His life had been nothing but suffering for a long time, but there was something deep and humiliating about what he was experiencing right now. His sensitive wolf hearing had caught the conversation between the two companions he hadn’t asked for. They were talking in their usually inane fashion about sex. Sex. It was so easy for them to discard it as a mere biological function, a pastime humans participated in with the only worry being the mild att

Oh, yes, nice comparison!

I did take my time with the mirror scene... making sure it's not too much, but not too little, either. I'm so glad that you guys noticed it and caught its meaning the way I intended (it is my main struggle as a writer). Lyn truly saw himself, and it made him happy in ways he's never experienced before. And I believe you're right about Lyn's motivations about not being keen on seeing Brad. He might be a little selfish, but he enjoys so much what he has now with Alexander, he doesn't need all that drama. This will be even more obvious in the next 'present day' chapter. He's getting stronger! Actually, you'll get to see parts of Lyn you haven't seen until now. He's not made only of his weak points, I like to believe.

Alexander is vulnerable... yes, please, it's worth noting. Lyn sees him as strong and unmoved by anything. But Alexander has his layers. He wouldn't be human without them. And emotional undressing... you make me jealous not having thought of such a juxtaposition of words.

Hold on to that photo, Maestro... It's an essential clue Lyn needs to see himself... Alexander knows it and gently coaxes him into it. Well, he doesn't mind applying a bit of spanking, but I believe he's well entitled to it. There is an even deeper connection to the two moments which you cleverly linked already. You'll know when we get there. Again and again, you're reading Lyn correctly. The last thing he needs now is for Brad to learn about him and Alexander, because he feels that the 'cheating bastard' would taint what he discovers that he has with Alexander. By now, I'm happy that more and more readers are catching on the breadcrumbs I left... Lyn's gut instinct tells the truth, the protective layer of lies comes later through overthinking. And Lyn's fear of exposure... is well, exposed in one single line from Alexander. It is what defines him, regardless of his own wishes. He hides, because it means survival. With Alexander, he can abandon that mentality. Alexander doesn't judge him. And Lyn needs to remember how things stood in the past. Ah, so it wasn't so bad that I left Lyn's adventures with the two sexy guys out Glad to hear it. What Lyn has with Alexander is the real deal.

I'm glad people paid attention to the information, too! Especially with two hot guys in the room...

Oh, lol, so very specific! And I had to google it. Brr, I just pulled my knitted sweater closer around myself just seeing those happy - and crazy - people.

Yeah... I really cooked this one. I want the sex scenes to be more than just sex...

In the past, Alexander never said anything openly... He had his own reasons and hang-ups, but not anymore

Thank you, Chris! I know everyone wanted them together so badly... and I've been planning this for the whole of 39 chapters to this one included. 20 plus remaining

Yes, they were in heaven As for keeping their relationship a secret... that's a good question, actually!

He-he-he...

Chapter Forty – [Memory, Junior Year, February] – Who Does That? “You’ve been boring holes into my forehead for the last fifteen minutes,” Alexander said without raising his eyes from the pages in front of him. How he could do that was beyond Lyn. The demon had several extra senses, not just a sixth one to count as unbelievable, and made use of them at random. The pale blue eyes turned to him since he failed to provide an answer. “Out with it,” Alexander commanded. Lyn

Oh, yes, he so slippery...

Not neurodivergent, not in this case... There are psychological issues - I hope I'm not terribly insensitive to use this word - that develop in years and are just as crippling... The latter is Lyn's case. Oh, Joe and Quinn stole your heart, lol!

Yes, I love it that you started with this, Maestro! Lyn thinks of Alexander more often than he cares to admit and he does it when he's asleep of all times! Of course, that's when the walls are down... I am, luckily, not yet old enough to forget about the times in my young years when I was shocked by being attracted to someone I considered obnoxious when wide-eyed and awake because of dreams. So I inserted a bit of 'me' here. And damn, when I realized I was crushing on a 'jerk', that was so annoying, lol! And these dreams Lyn have - they are a clue about the existence of feelings from before the present time. I think it was @LeeSA who mentioned this earlier, before this chapter - I hope I'm not mistaken, with so many comments, which I love, is hard to keep track of all the interesting things readers say. Your analysis of Lyn's dream is spot on. We might have to start calling you Dr. Freud And yeah, Lyn's first time was cool And it was as he wanted it, a physical experience without emotional strings attached. He was just way too far from ready to go all in. Please, forgive me for lack of details... I got shy, thinking that readers might be put off of reading about Lyn with other people so close to his scene with Alexander (in the present). Brad is confused... yes. Lyn is deep in his own shell... yes. (Talking about the past) - and the 'bad unraveling' from the past does have Brad as the cause, at least on surface-level. With 20-something more chapters to go, we're getting closer to that moment. Thank you for the comprehensive analysis, as usual!

I read about 5-6 books a month, and sometimes I DNF a work that doesn't fit me, despite the raving reviews others wrote about it. So I think, at this point, it's fair to say that this story isn't for you. I will just leave one thing here, one I mentioned in another earlier comment. As stated previously, Lyn is an unreliable narrator. What does this mean? That while events from the past and present can be rendered as they happened/happen, he's not entirely honest about his thoughts, opinions, feelings regarding them. An unreliable narrator is someone who doesn't tell the whole truth, either by omission or outright lying. It's a bit odd but interesting for me to explore that I did write this story as 'closer' to reality than other works of mine and yet, it gets perceived as unrealistic. It's my opinion that most people, at least in some situations, aren't fully honest to themselves. If we were to tell the story of our lives, most of us would be unreliable narrators; we'd tend to embellish some things, disregard others, pretend to forget about things that hurt us or that would show us as flawed. It's a defense mechanism. I'm not a psychologist, I can't explain it better. Anyone who's completely honest to themselves all the time deserves my admiration. But I reserve the right to have my doubts that such a person truly exists.

Why Portugal of all places, lol?

I have obsessed continuously about keeping Lyn in character. So I'm happy to read a comment such as yours. He does approach everything in this clinical manner that defines him. And yes! While his first sexual experience with the two guys was important, I snuck in the other important bit... Lyn begins to realize that he might feel a lil' bit too attracted to Alexander and his - otherwise obnoxious in his eyes - personality. He doesn't dream about Brad... nope. He dreams of Alexander, the one who challenges him, intrigues him, and puts him down intellectually, which Lyn enjoys more than he cares to admit. As for the two friends' reactions... hmm, it might not be like that, just saying

Ah, I'm so sorry guys if I did wrong by you by not detailing Lyn's first time... in romance, there is this big no-no everyone touts about cheating being completely unacceptable, and while it wouldn't have been that at all, placing this sexual experience for Lyn - structure-wise - so close to the one in the present with Alexander made me choose not to go into details. Lyn is not neurodivergent. I understand why he might come across as such, but his psychological hang-ups are developed in years and are not from birth.

Alexander must have weighed his options and chances of success back then... but the truth is he never directly and clearly made a move on Lyn.

Yes, I wanted Lyn's first time to be good. With his psychological makeup, a traumatizing first time would have put him off sex for a long time. There's this really great quote from Mark Twain - I have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened That's Lyn's case, too... He worries a lot and overthinks a lot. Some of the time, for nothing.

Well noticed! (That someone did call Lyn 'pretty') I feel like I need to reiterate the point I made at the start of the story: Lyn is an unreliable narrator, which means that he won't be 100% honest 100% of the time.

Chapter Thirty-Nine – You Should See Yourself He was moving in a fog of lust and mind-blowing pleasure. The steam shrouded everything, making their surroundings appear as if taken from a dream. Alexander’s lips moved over Lyn’s throat, pressing, kissing, squeezing. After one hour of well-earned rest, he had straddled Alexander, asking for more. That direct demand had landed them in the shower. Lyn moaned, his head tipped back while Alexander fingerfucked him slowly, reminding him that