Devil Dawg Donnelly's

      Welcome to Devil Dawg Donnelly's.  Though I have posted this story on other site's, this is the only place I will be posting original artwork along with the story.

For the complete story, check back frequently as I will be updating this post with new chapters from time to time.

                                                                  Ulf Raynor

                                                         

                                                                   CHAPTER ONE:

Billy Donnelly killed the engine of his Boom 125cc motorcycle right before he made the turn off into their driveway.

Since moving five miles away, Billy was forced to use some of his hard-earned summer jobs, save for college money to buy this cheap motorcycle just so he, and his best bro Baxter could still work out on base in the gym weight room together.

Ever since his Dad, MSgt. Max Donnelly had made the decision, because of his stupid, horny little brother, to move off base, and down the road into an old three-bedroom trailer that his Dad, and his buddy Carl had set up on a small plot of land he bought right off the main road, Billy had made it his personal duty to keep tabs on his sixteen-year-old brother JD, since it was his fault their dad had made that call in the first place.

Not that base housing was really any better than what they had now, but it was a lot more convenient using on-base facilities, especially the gym, where he, and Baxter could just walk the ten minutes it took from the Donnelly residence.

True, he used to have to go pick Baxter up, since he lived off base with his Mom, but that was just a couple of streets down from the side gate they used to go to and from each other's houses.

Though Baxter was a Marine Corps brat through and through like Billy, after Baxter's Dad was killed in Afghanistan, back when Baxter was just nine years old, he and his Mom had to move from base housing to a civilian home a couple of roads down from the base, and Billy would have to meet up with Baxter at the side guard gate so he could bring Baxter in as a guest on his military dependent ID card.  Guess being a gold-star Marine brat wasn't enough to warrant continued access to on-base facilities after his Dad died Billy thought to himself.

Baxter never complained though.  The death benefits his Mom got pretty much paid for their home, with enough money left over for his Mom to put aside a modest college fund for him; that is if they survived their upcoming senior year of high school and their senior year state wrestling standing, and hopeful championship.

It was just the beginning of summer vacation, but Billy was getting very suspicious of his little brother's comings and goings with his new bestie Timmy Anderson.

What made Billy suspicious is the fact the two of them had absolutely nothing in common either socially or academically. Timmy was a full year or so older than JD, he was roughly the same age as Billy and would be a senior this year as well, and he was one of the schools best gymnasts, even placing very highly in the state gymnastic competition this last year, as well as being a grade "A" student academically.

Even odder, Timmy came from a very religious conservative civilian family, and from Billy's perspective, the guy was the polar opposite of his brother.  Whereas JD was extremely brash, crude, and outgoing, Timmy was bashful, quiet, and one of the most socially backward persons he knew of.  His strict family upbringing sheltered him from the exposure to the more diverse social structure that Billy, JD, and their older brother Mike had grown up with just from being military brats.

It was almost comical how many different shades of red Timmy's face would turn just spending five minutes listening to JD boisterously swear his way through whatever ludicrous scenario crossed his mind, which was mostly lurid gossip he'd garnered from his jock buddies on the school football and baseball teams.

Timmy was way too naive, and innocent.  He could barely look you in the eye without blushing or averting his own gaze.  But, right after the "Incident" late last fall, and their Dads subsequent decision to move them off base, JD just kind of latched onto Timmy, and just seemed to revel in seeing how many different ways he could embarrass or make Timmy blush.
 

It wasn't like JD was purposely trying to torment the guy, they were just that different from each other. But, for some strange reason, that Billy had yet to determine, they had become almost inseparable, and from what he knew, their friendship was very much on the down-low from Timmy's family.

Billy doubted his parents even knew they hung out almost every single day.  JD just being himself would probably totally mortify the Anderson's, especially if they knew their angelic, poster child perfect baby boy was besties with a trash-talking Marine Corps brat, chiefly someone of JD's scandalous reputation.  They would be mortified, especially after word of mouth got around about JD's blow-up "Incident" the year before.

Billy still seethed at his little brother's unbridled stupidity.  Their Dad gave them a lot of leeway, especially since their Mom abandoned them back when Billy was just eight years old.  

It was a hard thing to deal with for him and his brothers, Even Mike, their older brother who was ten at the time, couldn't recall things being bad enough for their mom to just up and split without even so much as saying kiss my ass before leaving.  Yeah, she and their Dad would argue about stuff, but they always seemed to make up pretty quickly, and she never let on or gave any indication that things were so rough or terrible for her that she needed to get away from him.  It's not like he ever (not to their knowledge anyway) threatened her, and he never physically harmed her.  That was something she really couldn't have hidden from them, or chiefly from their older brother Mike, he and their mother were always particularly close, but even he was surprised she had just abandoned them and gone AWOL.

Even worse, was the fact that there was never any further communication from her.  All three of them were certain that their Dad knew more than he was saying, but they all pretty much assumed he did so out of concern for them.  Billy always felt his Dad was protecting them from her true nature and the fact she didn't, not even once, try to contact any of them, always reinforced that feeling, at least from Billy's perspective.

Mike on the other hand, as he grew older, seemed to emotionally distance himself from their father.  It really came to a head right after his eighteenth birthday.  It wasn't long after that, and as soon as he graduated, he joined the Marines himself and moved away only coming home twice since then; once after boot camp and then to say goodbye when he got stationed to Germany.

He did occasionally shoot Billy, and JD a short email, but it was always the typical "everything's fine, doing great" kind of stuff, just enough to let them know he was still alive, and kicking.

Billy's mood continued to sour dredging up all those bad memories as he first glided, then dismounted and pushed his bike down the S-shaped driveway that curved through the trees on the gravel that paved their driveway, which led back through some trees and shrubs, to their tan, trimmed in dark brown trailer they now lived in.  The native terrain effectively concealed their home from the main road.

Just as Billy suspected, he saw his brother's bike, and more importantly, Timmy's little red Jeep Wrangler parked near the front of the trailer.

It was 1:36 PM and JD was supposed to be at baseball practice from noon until 3 PM, or so he had told Billy and his Dad that morning before their Dad left for work.

Typical, Billy thought, he still hasn't learned his lesson, but then again, JD for the last two years or so had seemed determined to get on their Dad's last nerve.  Like what he's done already wasn't bad enough, and had already brought the wrath of MSgt. Max Donnelly down on both their heads.

Their Dad wasn't a man you fucked with, and Billy would have thought that was now made crystal clear after the punishments dished out by their very angry father when he found out JD broke the golden Donnelly rule, a rule that had been repeatedly laid out by their father as soon as they became teenagers.

To the casual observer, you would think this was a minor boy's will be boy's infraction, but the truth is, JD broke the trust their father placed in all his son's when it came to following his non-contestable golden rule: No girlfriends, no dating until they graduated high school and moved out on their own.

They all knew his reasoning, being a MSgt. in the Marine Corps, their Dad had seen boy after boy, who couldn't control their raging hormones, ruin their lives by getting girls knocked up. As a matter of fact, as he laid it out to all of them, almost half the guys coming through his doors to be trained on how to kill, and break things for the United States Marine Corps, were there because they bred some high-school girl and because they were too stupid or selfish to wear a condom, were now either trying to escape the responsibilities of fatherhood or were trying to pick up the pieces to their shattered youthful dreams. Dreams like college or other future ambitions, like promising sports careers, all laid waste by unwanted or impending fatherhood.

No girls, period, not until they were eighteen, on their own supporting themselves!

Yes, Billy hated the rule just as much as JD did, and he suspected Mike shared their sentiment; Billy's best bro Baxter did as well, seeing as his Dad, having known Baxter's Dad for many years, took up the mantle of male role model, and authoritarian, and if necessary disciplinary figure in his life, something Baxter's Mom very much encouraged, his Dad making it all to clear to Baxter, the rule extended to him as well.

The upshot, though hardly compensatory to their raging, red-blooded, always horny teen libido's, their Dad gave them carte blanche to beat their meat anytime they wanted to, to any porn mags usually laying about the place (Playboy, Hustler, etc.) not to mention the free porn vids available online using their phones, and he kept them supplied with bottles of lube, and to be fair, their Dad never brought chicks home to bang.  Yeah, there were times their Dad would come sneaking in late at night or messaging them stating he was going to be out all night, but no, he didn't flaunt the fact that he was this six-foot two-inch muscle hardened, dark-haired, furry, well-trained machine that dripped testosterone and could probably have any woman he wanted, to flaunt in their faces. No, MSgt. Max Donnelly was a man who knew about self-control and attempted to lead his sons by example.

Apparently, though, that wasn't enough for JD.

Billy knew he should have suspected something.  He knew JD was sometimes sneaking out at night, but it was usually because one or more of his football bros would come knocking on his bedroom window and try to convince him to go raid the officer quarters outdoor beer machines on base and bring it to them so they could go party.  Billy knew this because his brother's room was, and still is, right next to his and he could hear them beg and whine until either JD got pissed off and told them to fuck off.  But more times than not, he capitulated and sneaked out, and left with them in tow.

Still, despite how intimidating their father could be, too late their Dad discovered that JD apparently was hounding after several girls throughout base housing.

Billy use to think that his brother sneaking back in at night or early morning as the case may be, and his brother hitting the showers was to wash away the beer smells, knowing their Dad had this very acute sense of smell, like, he could literally find a bag of potato chips anywhere in the house just by sniffing it out.  But, in hindsight, it was to wash away the smells of teen girl perfumes, and other bodily scents.

Billy didn't know exactly how serious things had gotten or exactly how incredibly stupid and reckless his brother was being until all hell broke loose on an early November late afternoon when their very enraged father practically burst through the front door of their home...

Billy knew his Dad as this imposing strong figure, one that was both feared, and respected by the men who served with him and those few men whom he called friend or made part of their extended family dynamic.  But Billy had never seen that kind of fiery rage behind his father's eyes before and it had sent a shiver of fear down his spine and another when his Dad, almost growling the words asked: "Where's your brother?"

Billy could still remember the cold chill that passed through him with the intensity of his father's gaze, a glare that bore right into his very soul and threatened to reduce the entire house to rubble if he didn't like the response.

He remembered so vividly how the escalating intensity behind that glowering gaze magnified as his Dad took two steps toward him and repeated his demand.

To his recollection, Billy also recalled, just for an instant or by some trick of possible reflective ambient lighting, his father's deep blue eyes seeming to flash a brilliant blue around his irises.

Barely able to muster the fortitude to respond in words that didn't seem to want to coalesce in his fear-restricted throat, he meekly gestured toward his brother's bedroom, while simultaneously wondering what hell he might have just unleashed on his unsuspecting younger sibling.

Like a preamble to a cacophonous thunderhead, a sort of eye of the storm effect filled their home as the nearly imperceptible steps of his towering father reached the door to his brother's room.

Billy gasped slightly and held his breath as his father's right hand, almost appearing to be moving in a very cinematic slow-motion effect, touched the doorknob to JD's room.

Billy either vicariously or through intuition or the heightened awareness that seemed to slow and enhance his entire surroundings felt or sensed that the door was locked.

In that instant, time seemed to stand still, before, with a speed and ferocity of near herculean proportions, he watched as his father almost effortlessly ripped the door and half the framed molding away in an explosion of wood shards and flying debris.

He had watched in trepidation as his father casually tossed aside the remnants of the door as he stepped into the room, almost instantly transposing the distance between the shattered portal of JD's room, to his bed, where a startled and unsuspecting JD found himself snatched to his feet from his previous prone position and hurled into the hallway where he slammed to the floor on his hands and knees, completely caught off guard and totally unprepared for the ferocity of their father's strength.

JD flipped to his back, partially supported by his elbows, to confront the frightening visage of their enraged father, whose face had become a fiord of snarling, angry facial lines.   Gone were his usually calm masculine features, squared jawline, dimpled cheeks, and even the comely divot in his wide chin. What was left of his once handsome face was now completely contorted into a mask of anger, rage, and... disappointment?

Billy watched helplessly, as if bound by some intense localized gravitational forces, to the spot he was standing on, when his father, mere moments ago had disrupted the quiet serenity of this unseasonably warm November evening, and ripped his little brother from the very room he once viewed as his personal, private sanctuary.

Billy stood helplessly as his father scooped JD up from the floor with one hand, by the front of his sweatshirt, toting him into the air, his legs dangling pendulously, swaying back, and forth as they desperately sought purchase to the ground nearly a foot below his feet.

Even from his side-view perspective, Billy could see the abject terror etched into JD's face and wide eyes.  An expression that deepened even further as the full force of his father's vehemence clutched him inches from his face before nearly spitting words so full of anger, and disappointment: "You have no idea what you have done" his father's voice, deep and near growling sounding, twinged not only in anger but with a sense of something being irrevocably lost.

Their father shoved JD to the floor before nearly spitting the words: "You've ruined whatever future you might have had before." his emotional voice almost cracking, continued: "And for what, a few moments of casual physical pleasure?"

With a look of confused bewilderment, JD barely audibly mumbled: "I don't know what you're talking about."

Billy watched as his Dad's large fingers curled into fist that kept clenching, and unclenching at his sides before spitting accusatorily: "Sarah Nichols ring a bell, how about Michelle Touts or Rebbecca Wheeler?"

JD sat up, bringing his hands to his face forming a mask he intended to shield him from his father's litany of willful transgressions and lurid liaisons.  Like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar, JD's head bowed before haltingly and halfheartedly disavowing his carnal actions off as nothing more than casual fun: "I didn't do anything they didn't want me too" he offered feebly as if it justified his actions and willful disobedience.

Billy saw his father slowly squat before his brother then quickly snatch him by his shoulders, jerking him forward until their noses were almost an inch from each other. The laser-like intensity of his gaze instantly caused his brother to cast his eyes downward in shame and embarrassment, emphasized by their father's disapproving glare.

"Nothing they didn't want?!" his father spat with a snarling, deep, almost growling rumble: "How about Andrea Thomas?"

JD shot back defensively: "We only did it the one time!"

Billy's mind filled with the remembrance of his father's disdainful reproach after shoving his brother away from him and standing, looking down on his youngest son, shaking his head from side to side before almost calmly stating: "Well guess what sport, it only takes one time!"

Billy felt his heart skip a beat, hell, maybe a few as the light of awareness went on and spread perceptibly across his brother's now shocked face.

"Yup sport" their Dad spat out almost mockingly before bringing the hammer of truth down squarely on his youngest son's shoulders: "Welcome to fatherhood dumbass!"

 

                                                                 CHAPTER TWO:

 

Billy pushed his motorcycle quietly as possible to the far left end of their trailer, where their Dad and a few of his buds had poured a concrete slab, and constructed a simple covered carport with room enough for both his Dads S150 truck, and Billy's motorcycle. Billy continued reminiscing about the days following the blow-up, and the revelations of his younger brother JD's indiscretions, and fumbling dalliances.

Billy's Dad revealed how he came to find out about it all from Andrea's father, at least the part about JD's involvement with his daughter, and Andrea's father learning from some of Andrea's friends about JD's other involvements, and Andrea's tearful confession about how she got pregnant, or more precisely by whom.  He detailed how her recent week-long morning sickness had troubled her parents enough to take her to the on-base infirmary where the attending physician quickly deduced what was at the core of her frequent nausea.

Their Dad also revealed that the girl's parents had already made the decision, and had convinced their daughter to carry the child to term and to put it up for adoption.  Their Dad also revealed he wasn't as sure that was the course he wanted to follow and was still trying to decide if he was going to intercede and make other arrangements for his future grandson.  

How their father was so sure that she would indeed be having a boy he didn't address, only that he knew it would be, simply stating that as long as the family history had been recorded, Donnelly men only sired male children, and since it is the father who determines the sex of the child, he knew it would be a boy, and by blood, a Donnelly.

It was just like the Marine Corps to hear their Dad tell it, knowing the family history and the fact Donnelly men have been serving in the United States Marine Corps since the inception of the first Continental Marines during the American Revolutionary War was formed by Captain Samuel Nicholas.

Their father also let them know about his decision to move off base, and at least get JD away from the temptations he seemed too weak to resist, and indeed, their Dad made sure that either he or Billy or their Dad's oldest, and closest friend, and human pit-bull, Carl McGregor could keep track of him.

Carl was one of those no-neck Marines.  He was shorter than their Dad by about four inches but the man was the living embodiment of what one refers to as built like a brick shithouse; pure, dense solid muscle lightly dusted with light brown, almost reddish-blond hair.

Carl's been close to Billy, and JD's Dad since way before they were born, as far back as childhood, just like Baxter, and Billy.

They had grown up calling him uncle Carl and as far as their Dad was concerned, he was every bit as much a part of the family as anyone blood related, and as intimidating physically as Carl appeared, Billy, and his brothers had long since learned he was just a big gruff teddy bear whose unassuming laugh could fill a room, and could just about defuse any negative vibes.  Even now, the boys both knew that it was Carl who had calmed their Dad down from his initial tirades and threatening rants.

It was the days that followed, that they became acutely aware that JD's impending fatherhood was actually not the foremost of their father's concerns regarding JD's transgressions, and strongly implied there would be future ramifications for JD's conduct in the breaking of the code.  It wasn't just about him becoming a teen Dad, it was about his rejection of the family code, and the total disregard in which he treated authority, and family.  Billy understood that it was like something he felt to the core of his very being, and he too began to worry for his brother's future, that despite everything he, and his father still loved JD.  They both just knew that somehow the worst was yet to come.

In the beginning, Billy felt that JD understood it too, but as the months passed, and the school year ended, and summer began, JD had once again been reverting to his more secretive, cocky former self, exhibited in his actions today, and his deception with both Billy, and his Dad about he's supposed itinerary.

It was JD's out-of-place involvement with Timmy that peaked Billy's doubts in his brother's intentions and veracity.  It was why he and Baxter wrapped up early today so he could check on his brother, and make sure he was exactly where he said he was going to be. Billy's instincts have been so far proven correct, something Baxter had always trusted about him, but until recently, he had doubted about himself.

The older Billy had gotten the more he began appreciating his friend's level-headedness, Billy often noting to himself how much he, but Baxter too, had grown over the last couple of years, especially how quickly they had both been packing on muscle, and practicing their wrestling moves, how Baxter was only second to Billy on the team, and whose determination, and drive almost matched his own.

It was true that Baxter was determined, but Billy was always able to dig just that little bit deeper, pull that little bit more out of himself that, even though he and Baxter were within a couple of inches in height, Billy had packed on at least twenty pounds more in muscle.

Still, he couldn't help appreciate the solidity of Baxter's nude body as they showered at the base gym after their workouts.  They both often garnered the admiring stares of the various Marines that worked out there and noting how much he and Baxter contrasted each other.  Billy's slightly bulkier frame, and six-foot height, his light covering of dark body hair over his chest, abs, arms, and legs compared to Baxter's dark ginger hair, and facial scruff, the smattering of light strawberry blond body hair that appeared darker with the water cascading over his rippling muscles tightly contained by his paler skin.  Most notable was Baxter's large, protruding bubble butt.  Billy and his teammates always teased him in the shower warning him not to drop the soap or else he might be tempting fate.  It was meant in jest, but there were times, Billy just couldn't help but admire it.

It was all good-natured ribbing, but still, Billy couldn't help appreciate the work his friend had put in on his own body.  They both often commended each other on how buff they were getting and usually lamenting how they both had to be the two hottest seventeen-year-old virgins in the high school.  Damn, no wonder sex was all they ever thought about.  

Billy couldn't help but smile, knowing his eighteenth birthday was coming up in about three weeks, June 30th to be precise, and he couldn't wait to graduate, and either go to college or join the Corps.  Either way, his father's restrictions would be lifted, and he could finally rid himself of his often detested virginity.

Billy was jarred out of his self-indulgent pity party by the ding on his phone signaling he had a message  He quickly turned the volume off on his cell not wanting to prematurely warn his brother of his early arrival home, not until he had the chance to see if his brother was up to something he shouldn't be.

Billy quickly glanced at the message, noting it was from Baxter.  Billy had dropped him off earlier at his house and cautioned him to stay on guard in case he needed his assistance, that is if he found his brother doing something that could possibly incur their father's wrath.  Once in a lifetime was more than enough for Billy.

"Sup bro, is he there like u thought?" queried Baxter's text. Billy shot back a quick: "Yes, just checking it out right now, stand by in case I need u."

Baxter shot back: "Whatchya gonna do if he's got a girl in there?"

Billy responded with only two words: "Kill him!"

Moving around to the back of the trailer to enter through the back door, Billy utilized the toe to heel stealth steps his "Uncle" Hank had taught him, and his brothers, and his two sons Kent, and Jake when their Dad would take them hunting to the family lodge/cabin in a deeply isolated, and forested area by a small lake located in central Georgia.

Billy could remember many happy memories of spending time with their "cousins" Kent, and Jake; Mike, and Kent especially hit it off being roughly the same age, and both became best of friends and had even enlisted together, and now served on a Marine base located in Germany.

Jake and JD hit it off the most, even though Jake was almost three years older than him.

Jake was always this tall, lanky goofball who always seemed to look so serious about everything, especially if either Billy's Dad or his own was imparting some need to know wisdom or observation, but still, he was fun to hang with, and rough house/wrestle.

Billy always felt the boys had grown so close due to the semi-shared experience of losing their mothers at an early age.  Kent and Jake's Mom had passed away from uterine cancer when they were just kids, and like Billy, and his brothers, was mostly raised by their Dad.

Billy and JD always had a blast hanging out with their "Uncle" Hank too, the man was even taller than their Dad at six foot four inches, but not nearly as buff or muscular, plus their Dad had almost jet black hair, and was covered in it from head to toe, the often shirtless Hank was more svelte, hairless, tight, and cut.

Their Uncle Hank also served in the Marine Corps up at Camp Geiger in North Carolina, where he was a hand to hand combat specialist, and taught a lot of young Marines how to defend, subdue and even kill an opponent with their bare hands, and with bladed weapons in more advanced courses.

Billy knew that Hank was currently working on his retirement discharge, and planned on relocating here in Albany before the end of the month, his Dad had recently informed him that Hank, and Jake, who was now currently training as a hand to hand combat specialist like his father, would both be here to help celebrate his eighteenth birthday, which Billy knew would be this big to-do at the family Lodge/cabin.

All the Donnelly men, including both Kent, and Jake had undergone what his Dad referred to as their rightful Heritage which was viewed by all Donnelly men as a right of passage into manhood; something Billy was both excited about, and disappointed with since his Dad informed him that Baxter would not be allowed to tag along because it was for men only, informing him you had to be at least eighteen to attend the ceremony.  

Baxter wouldn't turn eighteen for almost another month, on July 24th, and Baxter was visibly disappointed, and crestfallen when his Dad told him, feeling like he was being left out of one of the biggest days in his best, and closest friend, and brothers life.  But his Dad had just wrapped his arms around Baxter, and while giving him a big noogie assured him, he was undergoing his own ceremony on his birthday, and everyone would be there with him to celebrate him coming into his Heritage, and passage into manhood.

His thoughts returning to the present, Billy entered through the laundry room door in back and listened intently before poking his head around the frig located right past the doorway from the kitchen to the laundry room.

Scanning the living room, Billy confirmed what he had already suspected, JD was in his room, door shut, and Billy was certain it was locked as well.

Softly as he could, Billy crept up to right outside JD's door and put his ear to the cool-to-touch wood surface.  He could hear muffled sounds that resembled gurgling, and even maybe some coughing as he could hear his brothers soothing but demanding instructions about: "Don't move" and "quit squirming" followed by, what Billy was sure was choking sounds. It was kind of hard to discern exactly what was being said because of the incessant droning of JDs window A/C.  As far as Billy could tell, JD and Timmy could just be playing video games, and after tentatively trying JD's doorknob, and finding it locked as he had guessed already, Billy decided the sounds were still suspicious enough that it still warranted further investigation.

Billy decided to go back outside, and see if he could get a visual through JD's bedroom window, he was sure he could because of the window A/C, it was like his own, and had these corrugated plastic panels on either side that slid side to side accordion-style to fill in the gaps between the window, and side trim.

Billy had to grab the small step ladder in his Dad's tool shed so he could reach the raised elevation to JD's window, and just as he surmised JD had the blinds drawn, but he could access the corrugated panels, and he carefully manipulated the plastic piece on one side just about half an inch, and peered in, to see if he could make out what his brother and Timmy were up too.

In his heart Billy kind of hoped JD, and Timmy were alone, and just playing video games, but his hopes were dashed when he could quite clearly make out his brother's muscular bare ass moving up, and down, obviously on his bed. "Dammit," Billy thought, the little bastard was in there screwing some chick right now: "the balls on this kid" he growled to himself.

Billy wanted to know who she was, and wondered where Timmy was; was he just sitting on the side perving out watching his brother fuck, or was he not as innocent or bashful as everyone thought, and just waiting his turn.  One thing was for sure when their dad found out he was going to go ballistic, and this time Billy wasn't going to be the least bit concerned about his selfish, horny little brother's well-being; hell, he might just kick the little bastard's ass himself.

As carefully as he could, Billy moved the plastic panel to the side another inch, and peered once again through the gap which now gave him a fuller view of JD's bed, and more importantly, and hopefully who was under him.

Billy could now clearly see his brother's muscular, sweaty naked body, knees pulled up flat, and spread on his bed, splayed out on either side of someone's shoulders.  His brother's upper torso was in the pushup position, and facing toward the person's feet, and using his hips only, was humping into the person under him:  "Was that Timmy?" Billy thought, were they wrestling naked on JD's bed... no that couldn't be Billy told himself, as he scooted more to the side to get a better look from a different angle, only to almost instantly regret it for what he now clearly saw.

Trapped between his brother's thighs, and held down by the force of his brothers thrusting hips, JD was fucking Timmy's mouth, just like a guy would a girl's pussy.

It was at that moment the A/C cut off, and Billy could now distinctly see, and hear the slurping suctioning sounds of Timmy's wet mouth being almost brutally fucked by his little brother.

Billy watched and listened in fascination as his brother's big egg-sized balls slapped wetly against Timmy's nose, and eyes.  The sweaty sticky flesh of his ball-sack attempting to adhere to Timmy's facial skin on each downward thrust.

Billy could make out the spit-soaked shaft of his brother's seven-inch shaft pile driving into Timmy's suctioning, gurgling mouth, and throat.

He could now clearly hear his brother's deep moans as he repeatedly ground the full length of his dick past Timmy's cock stretched lips.  He watched, trance like, as spit, and heavy mucus bubbled out of Timmy's mouth, down across his cheeks, and over his chin; even forming gooey pools in his eye sockets as the slop clung to his brothers cock, balls, and thighs as his brother repeatedly moaned: "Yeah take that dick buddy, swallow all my load's bro" he groaned, his voice thick with lust, and sexual hunger.

Billy could feel his own cock begin to twitch and begin to inflate and engorge in the loose confines of his sweatpants.  His still sweaty jockstrap began to strain as his manhood filled to overflowing with his expanding meaty cock.

Still in shock, trying now to figure out, with all that had been happening with his little brother, was he now turning gay or was he just so horny that it just didn't matter who was on the receiving end, Billy suspected the latter.

Billy now had to make a tough choice, handle the situation himself, or tell his Dad or possibly both. Either way, he was sure his Dad would go ape-shit finding out his little brother was now banging fags, though Billy had to admit, it was pretty hot watching his brother pound Timmy's wet, sucking mouth.

Billy decided to leave them to it, and left JD's window, put away the ladder, and went back inside through the back door, got himself a Coke from the frig, and with the biggest shit-eating grin on his face, parked his ass on the couch, humorously awaiting his brother, and Timmy's little "playtime" session to end before they exited his room.

Billy had every intention of making his little brother squirm, he would enjoy this moment, considering this a little bit of payback for disrupting his life, and his Dad's.

As the minutes ticked away, Billy considered what if anything he would say to Timmy.  Knowing now why his brother had become so chummy with him, he found himself still wondering, what was Timmy's deal?

He couldn't even imagine what his hyper-conservative religious family would do if they found out their bashful, perfect, handsome little golden blond jock Adonis was a total cock hungry fag.  Just casually remembering the visual of his brother's cock pummeling Timmy's puffy full lips made Billy's own cock begin to puff up again and thicken in the tight confines of his jockstrap.

As Billy thought more, and more about it, maybe his little brother was onto something. Technically, he was adhering to his father's golden rule.  Timmy was definitely not going to get knocked up.

Actually, Billy found himself beginning to admire his little brother's ingenuity in finding a solution to a problem both he, and his brother shared, that problem is a very overactive sex drive, one up to now, Billy had only been marginally satisfying with his own hand.

As Billy's cock continued visibly swelling and creating a large mound of turgid, hot, pulsating flesh in his sweatpants, Billy's own mind kept returning to the previous visual of Timmy's hungry, wet, thick cocksucker lips wrapped around his brother's jock cock.

No matter what he ended up deciding about Timmy's fate, Billy most certainly was confronting his brother as soon as he exited his room.  He was going nowhere until he surprised his brother, delighting in the idea of watching his little brother squirm.

                                                              CHAPTER THREE:

The next day found a nearly naked Billy Donnelly lying on top of his bed clad only in his old sweaty jockstrap, reminiscing about the events of the previous day as they transpired in his head.

He had patiently allowed his little brother to finish with his little afternoon delight, choosing to wait until his sibling came out on his own with a very disheveled-looking Timmy Anderson right on his heels.

Billy wished he had thought to set up his phone somewhere, and recorded a video of his brother, and Timmy's facial expressions when they came out of his room, only to find Billy parked on the couch drinking coke with a huge shit-eating grin on his face: "Have'in fun bois?" Billy had asked, his lips turning up into a more than sardonic sneer while not so silently chuckling to himself.

The look on his brother's face totally read "busted" while poor naive Timmy seemed oblivious to what was transpiring almost telepathically between the two brothers. Regardless of what was happening between them, Timmy's eyes danced around everywhere, and anywhere except Billy's.  Timmy had always felt intimidated by JD's older brother.

"So guys, how was baseball practice?" Billy taunted, causing Timmy to naively reply: "I don't play baseball." Billy laughed: "that's funny JD was just telling me this morning you were getting really good at handling the ol' bat, and balls when you get together to play."

Billy thought how much of a Kodak moment it would have been to capture how all the color had instantly drained from his sibling's face, and how heavily he gulped, looking very much like he could just hurl any minute.

Cautiously nervous, JD turned to Timmy, and as calmly as he could, told him he should get going now, and that he'd call him later.

Timmy looked at him quizzically, like he wasn't quite sure what JD was saying, then just shrugged his shoulders, hung his head, and like a sad little puppy shuffled out the front door, only stopping to look back at JD, like he wanted to say something, then with a sideways glance in Billy's direction, seemingly thought better of it, then shut the door as he left the house.

Billy stood up, walked over to his brother, snickered, jabbed a finger into his belly before walking past him heading toward his bedroom, and saying, before he closed his bedroom door: "Dad's just gonna love finding out his youngest son is now a big ol' flaming homo."

Billy just couldn't stop smiling.  He could just feel, no, almost taste the fear emanating from the spaces outside his door. He could hear JD's nervous pacing back, and forth in the hallway, stopping occasionally at his door.

Billy just knew his brother was contemplating his next move, or more likely, what lie he could think of to make Billy think what he knew had happened didn't really happen, like there was something he could think up that would lend to any kind of plausible deniability.

Billy patiently awaited the inevitable knock on his door, and he wasn't at all surprised when it happened a few minutes later.

"It's not locked" Billy responded, and with no small degree of smugness, waited as a very trepidatious and subdued JD cautiously entered his room.

"L..L.Listen" he stuttered, already stumbling right out of the gate.

It's not what you think, I don't know what you saw or heard, but it's not what you're thinking."

Billy looked his little brother right in the eyes, responding coldly, and matter of factually: "So it's your contention, that I didn't see you fucking Timmy's mouth while he was pinned underneath you?", seriously dude, you are gonna have to do way better than that." adding, just for effect: "Think Dads gonna buy that BS?"

Billy could almost see the synapses firing behind his brother's eyes, he even thought he caught a glimpse of "maybe I could take him, and beat him into silence" but that thought faded as quickly as he had mentally actualized it.  He was absolutely no match for his older brother, so that left just two options, and Billy bemusedly wondered which one his brother would choose.

He could attempt offering to pay for his silence or, he could appeal to his sense of brotherly camaraderie, and compassion, guilting Billy into believing he would be signing his death warrant if their Dad found out.

But what his brother offered/suggested surprised Billy, not the offer, just that his brother was desperate enough to imply, let alone suggest it.

"He's really good at it you know" he started out anxiously, trying to mentally pry into his brother's brain, see if that might have piqued his interest at all.

"Are you suggesting I'm a homo?" Billy responded, trying to sound offended, though he really wasn't, enjoying his brother's discomfort.

Like he told himself earlier, this could have potential, and he had his little brother right where he wanted him, offering his playmate up as potential collateral for his silence.  It was a good plan, and it was working.

"I could get him to blow ya" he half suggested/half offered. looking directly into Billy's eyes hoping he had tempted him.

He hadn't.  Billy had another plan, one that was just forming in his head.  What Billy wanted was to humble his brother; sure, Billy wasn't stupid, Timmy was going to blow him, but he didn't need JD for that, he could handle Timmy all on his own in that regard.

"Not interested" Billy answered his optimistic brother, dashing any hope he might come out of this unscathed.

"What then?" JD queried. "What can I do to get you not to tell Dad" the desperation had him almost there, having him right where he wanted him.  Billy felt like the cat that played with the mouse right before it pounced, and went in for the inevitable kill.

Billy put on his coolest poker face staring right into his brother's eyes, commanding his absolute, undivided attention before responding: "Two things you have to do" Billy paused before correcting himself: "No, make that three things." pausing again, more for dramatic effect than anything else, again, it worked.

"What are they?" his brother stammered, already looking defeated, cornered, and totally out of options, which ironically, he was.

Holding his brother's gaze, Billy reached down, first running his hand over his bulging jockstrap pouch, again for dramatic effect, before pulling the engorged pouch to the side freeing his five-inch limp, uncut fat dick, and his large, grade "A" egg-sized hairy gonads. Billy spread his legs allowing his balls to sag down, practically resting on the mattress of his twin-sized bed.

"First" Billy began: "You have to kiss the tip of my cock." Billy smiled inwardly, enjoying the look of disgust that washed over his brother's facial features before he added: "Secondly, you have to lick the sweat off my big hairy balls." Billy had to contain himself from bursting out laughing as he watched his brother's face contort into a grimace as his jaw dropped in shock.

"No fucking way" he shouted: "I ain't no homo!" Billy watched as he turned, looking very much like he was going to storm out of his room in some sort of self-righteous fit of indignation at the suggestion he'd ever do anything that was remotely queer, despite the fact, that just a few moments ago he was still having sex with his buddy Timmy in his own room.

Billy couldn't help himself anymore and started laughing at his brother's churlishness and hypocrisy.

"Is that what you tell yourself when you shove your tongue down Timmy's throat while you kiss him?" Billy didn't know whether his brother had actually kissed Timmy, but knowing his brother, he couldn't help but believe it was a distinct possibility.

"Kissing someone ain't the same as sucking their dick or licking their balls" his brother swore, outraged by the mere suggestion that he might be gay.

Billy just chuckled again: "geez dumbass, thanks for confirming that you make out with that faggot before you fuck his face." then continued: "And you're no homo?" Billy sneered mockingly.

JD just stood there for a moment, fuming, his face as red as a fire engine.  Billy sensed he was once again contemplating attacking him, but just as quickly as before, he threw his hands up in frustration and turned to stomp out of Billy's room.

"Step out that door..." Billy stated calmly, and coolly before concluding: "And my generous offer is off the table and I tell Dad everything as soon as he walks through the front door."

JD halted, stopped in his tracks by the sincerity in his brother's voice.  Billy watched as all the fight drained out of his little brother, his head bowed, and his shoulders sagged. Billy had won, and JD knew it, and he was putty in his older brother's hands.

As JD turned to face his punishment, Billy once again rubbed his fat, rapidly blood engorging uncut cock, pointed it right at JD before calmly commanding him: "Kiss it bitch."

JD sat on the foot of his brother's bed for a moment staring at his big nine-inch cock, actually, it looked bigger than nine, but one thing was for sure it was a lot longer and thicker than JD's

"Get to it." Billy urged growing impatient at his sibling's continued reticence.

JD sighed, and moved upward between his brother's muscular thighs.

As much as JD hated this, he couldn't help but be impressed with his brother's body. Though not as hairy as their Dads, it still was heading in that direction the older Billy got but more importantly, it was Billy's body.
At seventeen Billy had the physique most adult bodybuilders would be proud of.  JD had more than once appreciated both his brothers, and his buddy Baxter's bulging muscles, and rightly so.  JD knew how hard they both trained, putting in hours every day to not just make their muscles bigger but to improve their overall strength, and stamina, all things they needed, to be the best in the school at wrestling.

JD found himself almost tempted to run his hands over his brother's muscle bulging thighs and wondered how it would feel to trace the large protruding veins crisscrossing over each separate muscle grouping.

As JD moved within inches of Billy's crotch, Billy playfully grasped the base of his fully erect manhood, and waved it at JD: "Pucker up little bro, and give me some sugah." Billy teased.

JD resigned himself to his task and reached for his brother's big throbbing dick.

Billy snatched it away before JD's fingers could touch it: "No no no, little bro, no touchie with hands, just your sweet juicy lips" Billy was out, and out taunting him now.

"Can we just do this, and get it over with, okay?" JD pleaded, wanting this humiliation to end.

Billy took mercy on his brother pushing the large mushroom-shaped glans of his fat cock right up to his brother's full pouting lips.

JD could smell the strong masculine musk wafting from the half-exposed smooth, shiny purple/blue hued tip of Billy's glans.  JD nervously wet his lips, and moved his mouth to the very tip, the glans orifice, feeling the heat from the pulsating member, but just as JD's lips touched the tip, and was fully committed to his task, Billy pumped his shaft, and a large dollop of clear precum oozed from the glans orifice, and stickily smeared across JD's smooching lips.

JD jerked back spitting, and sputtering wiping his lips with the back of his hand, and shouted: "Eww, gross dude, you sick fuck!"

Billy was almost doubled over with laughter, not at what his brother had just done, not because that shit actually felt pretty damn good, but at his brother's comical antics afterward.

"You loved it little bro" Billy jeered before taunting him again: "Come on baby brother come lap up your bubba's sweet man nectar." laughing: "It'll put hair on your chest, and make a man outta ya."

"Ha ha" JD mocked:  "glad at least one of us is having fun" before concluding: "Are we done, can I go wash my mouth out now?" JD started to turn as if to escape the position he held between his brothers massive thighs.

"Whoa, there bro" Billy cautioned, his voice low, and almost threatening: "I believe the deal was that you also had to lick all the sweat off my hairy balls." Billy smiled, his lips pulled back over his teeth in a lecherous grin that left no doubt, he fully intended to savor this moment.

JD sighed, hoping against hope that his brother was really kidding or would be satisfied with the kiss to his cock head.

"Get to it JD", his brother urged: "Let's get this done before the ol' man gets home!"

JD shrugged his shoulders again, and moved into a lower position, lying on his belly, and scooting up until his nose nuzzled his brother's huge musky balls.

Billy knew his nads really weren't sweaty.  He, and Baxter took a shower after their morning workout, but he had no intention of telling his brother that.  Let him think they were drenched in sweat.  Either way, he was going to lick every square inch of his ball-sack before he'd agree that the task was completed.

Billy got a start when he felt the first flutter of his brother's wet tongue on the skin of his hairy testicles.  He almost jerked away, it had felt so different from anything else he had ever experienced thus far, in his very limited sexual encounters which, up until now had been completely limited to his own hand, and a few dry hump sessions of his pillow late at night, when he was so horny, he just couldn't stand it anymore, and allowed his instinct to fuck take control, and fornicate with his pillow until his pillowcase was drenched in his thick sticky ball juice.

Billy could barely feel just the tip of his brothers tongue lightly flicking, haphazardly against his left nut: "Dude" Billy growled, demanding: "Quit messing round, and lap my nuts clean" Before threatening: "Or all deals are off, and Dad, and I have a man to man talk about you!"

Billy was delighted when he heard his sibling groan, which sounded more like a whimper as JD began to seriously, and very wetly began lapping at his big nads, covering them in his spit, polishing them in his slick, thick saliva.

Billy's eyes rolled back in his head as he thrust his groin against his brother's lapping tongue.

Billy reached down, and clasped his right hand behind his brothers head, almost caressing his brothers thick, short, wavy, gold-flecked brown hair, before pulling him tightly into his crotch, and grinding his balls against his brothers face.

After a few minutes had passed, and Billy's nuts were dripping with spit, JD pulled away, his lower face wet with his own spittle.

"There," he said almost demanding: "They're as clean as they are gonna get" he offered, as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, pulling away from his older brothers groin.

"Gotta hand it to ya bro" Billy sighed: "That was one fine ball washing." With a sneer on his face, Billy ruffled his brother's hair before pushing him back with the palm of his hand, signaling the end of this part of their deal.

JD stood, looking down at his brother, searching for confirmation that they were cool now, and he could leave, and try to put this awful event behind him.

Just as he turned to depart, Billy stopped him: "Wait just a minute dude" he paused before continuing: "I do believe there were three things I said you had to do?"

"Aw geez dude" JD whined again, resigned to do whatever his brother demanded, and end this humiliation: "What now?" he moaned.

"You're gonna call your buddy Timmy, and tell him to be here tomorrow at eleven AM sharp" his deep demanding voice left no doubt that his little brother was going to do eactly as he was instructed: "And when he gets here, you're gonna escort him to my room after telling him he better do what ever I want, whenever I want from now on." Billy had stood up while saying this, and was within inches of his brother's face glaring right into his brother's deep blue eyes before concluding: "Now get the fuck out of my room!"

JD lowered his eyes in total submission and stepped through the door into the hallway before turning just as his brother slammed the door in his face... "Crap," he thought, how was he gonna explain this to Timmy without him having a heart attack right on the spot, and worse yet, how would he ever get him not to hate his guts after this?

Despite trying to convince his brother otherwise, he really did care for the guy, and JD was mortified that he was now being placed in a position to destroy whatever feelings Timmy had for him... "Fuck!!!" he groaned aloud as he threw himself on his bed, and not since his dad had read him the riot act back in November over his one time indiscretion with Andrea, he felt like crying...

                                                                     * * * * *

Billy Donnelly caught himself, for the umpteenth time, glancing toward the clock mounted on his bedroom wall.  He couldn't believe how nervous, and anxious he was.

Despite his bravado from the day before with his little brother JD, he couldn't stop thinking about his upcoming encounter with Timmy Anderson.

He's known of Timmy for years at high-school.  Hell, Billy could remember him as far back as grade school.  Timmy was always this little angelic, curly haired cherub faced Adonis who was also a quiet, soft spoken, bashful kid that few people actually had ever bothered getting to know, Billy, lumping himself among them as well.

Despite his near crippling social awkwardness, this pensive, shy, and as Billy had more recently noted, demure kid, was absolutely one of the best athletes in the entire school. No one came close to his gymnastic skills.

Though only five foot eight inches, he had managed to pack quite the sizable amount of muscle onto his little frame, most notably in his calves, thighs, and glutes, especially the glutes.

No doubt about it, Timmy Anderson had one impressive bubble butt, solid as a rock, with almost zero jiggle or bounce, but still managing to look like two large over ripe melons.

Billy had contacted Baxter earlier, and had canceled today's workout at the gym, telling him he had stuff he had to do around the house today (which was technically true) But of course he was feeling kind of guilty about deceiving his best friend, and even considered filling him in about what was hopefully going down today, but had ultimately decided against it, not really knowing where Baxter's head might fall at the thought of being serviced by a guy.; even if that guy was one of the cutest guys in the whole school.

Billy knew eventually he would fill him in, but if he was being completely honest about it, he kind of wanted to do this one alone, after all, it's not every day one loses their virginity.

It was already bad enough his little brother might be involved, having had a conversation about it after their Dad left for work, when JD had practically begged him to let him handle Timmy, and Billy had agreed to that.  It was no sweat off his balls, just so long as Timmy sucked his dick, he didn't really care how JD accomplished it, thinking the end result would be the same for him.

Billy had been resisting, since yesterday's encounter, from pounding one out even though his cock was screaming for release ever since then, but so far, he'd been staving off the very strong urge to rub one out.  Instead, he'd chosen to save it all to dump down Timmy's throat; that is if he managed to get him to do it.  Scratch that, he was going to do it!  The way Billy saw it, if he could take care of his little brother, then he could take care of his cock too, its not like he was going to rape the guy or anything, just wave his big fat dick in his face, and hope he can reel him in, and get him to take the bait.

Basically, that's what his brother did after catching him checking him out in the locker room, and then again later on in the shower room.  JD said he was practically drooling for it.

JD laid out his plan.  It actually had the advantage of being really simple, and would solely rely on Timmy's hunger for dick.

JD had called him, and told him to meet him here at the trailer about eleven AM.  JD told Billy to be lounged out on the living room couch in a pair of his loose, short-legged gym shorts, and to go commando.

Shortly after Timmy got there, he'd make up an excuse about having to go meet up with his baseball coach for about an hour, but for Timmy to stay there, and wait for him.

As he was leaving, he'd have Timmy walk him out after shutting his bedroom door, and locking it.  That way, Timmy couldn't get back into it to wait for him, forcing him to wait in the living room where Billy would be, while pretending to be passed out watching some boring movie on TV.

Then Billy, once he was sure Timmy was hanging out in the living room while he awaited JD's return, would do some minor tossing around in his sleep, would get a big old boner that Billy could then maneuver to pop out through the loose leg of his shorts.  JD was certain once Timmy saw Billy's big dick, he wouldn't be able to resist it.

Billy suggested that at some point before he takes off, he tell Timmy not to worry about Billy waking up, that he had hurt his back the day before, and had taken a couple of muscle relaxers about half an hour ago, making it clear that Billy would be out for hours, and making it sound like a side effect that happens when he took those things, assuring him not even an earthquake could rouse him.

All in all, Billy thought it was a pretty good plan, now if only Timmy took the bait!

Everything went down without a hitch, just as they planned it with one minor change, instead of having Billy hog the whole couch, he would be sitting while leaning back with one leg on the floor, and one on the couch.  That position would fully expose his crotch, and also offer Timmy a better view while also giving him better access to the goods, if he took the bait.

After JD left, Billy pretended to be passed out, and with his legs fully spread, his junk was already poking out the leg hole, practically fully exposed without him even being hard.  In that position, even Billy's big balls would be out in full view.

After a short time, Billy felt Timmy move from the floor where he had been watching whatever was playing on the TV, to the other end of the couch, knowing that Timmy now had the best view in the house of Billy's fully exposed junk  It was easy for Billy to fully bone up, just the potential idea that Timmy might cop him a feel or maybe even sample the goods, had Billy's big fat cock seeping, and drooling precum all over his belly, and down his shaft.

Billy could feel Timmy constantly shifting on the other end of the couch.  Risking a quick look, Billy partially opened one eye, and sure enough Timmy's eyes were glued to his drooling cock, and was fondling himself through his own shorts.

About ten or fifteen minutes of that, and Billy could feel Timmy's weight shift on the couch as he scooted closer to a supposedly unconscious, knocked out Billy.  Moments later, Billy felt Timmy's hand tentatively touch his left thigh, which was swung out, his foot touching the floor.

At first, all he did was rest his hand on Billy's thigh, he could feel his fingers tremble as he lightly fondled the muscles of his thigh, before he felt Timmy shake him, trying to see if he could nudge him awake, even going so far as to call out his name: "Billy are you okay?" his soft voice almost breaking from his nervousness.  Seconds later Billy could feel Timmy's hand grip his thigh harder, shaking him even more vigorously, and using his normal speaking volume he called Billy's name, seeing if he could rouse him or if he truly was passed out like JD had suggested he would be.

The whole scenario had Billy's over nine-inch cock throbbing, and he could feel a large puddle of precum spreading across his lightly furred six pack.

Off, and on, for about two minutes, Timmy kept trying to see if he could wake Billy before finally realizing he was completely out of it, just as Billy had led him to believe.

For almost a full minute Timmy did nothing, and Billy thought for sure he wasn't gonna take the bait, but then slowly,  timidly he felt Timmy's hand return to his exposed thigh. This time however, he wasn't jostling him trying to see of he could get a response from Billy, no, this time his hand was slowly moving up his thigh caressing his large bulging muscles as his hand made its upward sojourn toward its ultimate goal.

Within less than a minute, Billy could feel Timmy's quivering, trembling fingers massage their way to the inside of his groin until the backs of his fingers came into contact with his now very tight, extremely full ball sack.  His fingers gently stroking his uppermost inner thigh before slowly, tentatively, moving from his thigh to his bloated testicles, wherewith a near feather-light touch, he began gently caressing his balls.

After still getting no discernible response from Billy, Timmy became even more bold, and openly began to squeeze, and grope his ever tightening gonads.

Then, out of nowhere, Timmy's other hand touched Billy's cock. It was exploratory at first, but then fully wrapped around Billy's hard pulsating shaft.  He could clearly hear Timmy's breathing getting quicker as his desire for Billy's big cock surpassed his fear of him waking up.

Timmy now fearlessly stroked Billy's cock, and groped his huge cum swollen nuts. Pre-cum oozed like a river from his throbbing cock-slit, dripping over Timmy's fingers in rivulets.  All of this combined, had worked its magic on poor unsuspecting, deliriously lust crazed Timmy, as he could resist no more, and lowered his head to Billy's warm inviting crotch.

Billy once again chanced a squinting peek, watching Timmy's face move within inches of his massive, tight cum laden balls.

Billy nearly groaned as Timmy's hot wet tongue slipped past his thick pouty lips to wetly suave his hairy nads, leaving a trail of thick drool wherever his tongue touched.

Billy was fighting the almost overwhelming urge to grab Timmy's head and crush his tongue against his swollen testes.  It was even harder not letting out an audible gasp as he sucked one of his hairy balls into his wet sucking mouth, and as hard as that was it was twice as difficult not to cry out as he forced the other one in with it.

Billy always knew he had big balls, but even peering through the slits of his eyes, and seeing for himself, he still couldn't believe that Timmy had actually been able to stuff both his testicles into his oral cavity.  Billy just watched through slatted eyes as Timmy brazenly began nursing on Billy's giant hairy gonads.  It was becoming almost painful with how hard he was sucking, but then, as quickly as he had stuffed them in, Timmy spits them out, instantly moaning, and swabbing his balls, licking up the spit that now so generously coated them.

Timmy didn't stop at Billy's nuts, he continued his journey upward licking slowly from his balls to the bottom of his shaft, ever upward, licking wetly lapping, and nearly panting like a dog in heat.

Quicker than Billy had wished for, Timmy's probing tongue reached his frenulum. Timmy tugged at the hood of Billy's uncut cock, dislodging his swollen, shiny knob from its moist fleshy hood, pulling the extra folds of his skin down tight to the base of his cock.

Billy again almost audibly groaned as the tip of Timmy's tongue assaulted his now fully exposed frenulum, sliding up rapidly into the cleft where the glans separated underneath.  Billy was practically squirming trying not to make a sound, not that Timmy would have noticed at this point, his head swam with burning desire and cock lust.  With little preamble, Timmy raised his mouth over Billy's burgeoning dong, and let his lips slip over his precum-soaked, drooling glans, stuffing it into his mouth like a greedy starving baby attaching itself to its mother's teat.

Billy gasped, no longer able to contain himself as his hands shot upward, lacing his fingers, and locking them behind Timmy's head before pushing his face down the full length of his prodigious schlong.

Timmy shot up instantly, spitting, sputtering, and coughing, freeing Billy's cock from its unexpected invasion of his throat. Timmy fell on his ass fearfully staring up into Billy's lust-crazed eyes, his lips quivering as he fought to find words that could possibly explain why he had been doing what he was doing, but only a gargled mash of vowels managed to squeak past his now fear constricted throat.

Billy glared down at him as he swerved front-ways on the couch.  Timmy is now directly between his legs, on the floor cowering.

"So ya like sucking cock huh faggot?" Billy boomed, as he lurched to his feet yanking a terrified Timmy up from the floor, and shoving him toward the hallway, and his bedroom.

"Don't worry bitch" Billy goaded: "You're about to get more cock than you could ever dream possible."

Billy corralled Timmy, herding him down the hallway, driving him backwards until they reached his room, shoving Timmy to the floor at the foot of his bed.

Timmy just sat there whimpering, his eyes full of pleading tears, his muscular body trembling with fear as he blubbered nearly incoherent apologies, all of which Billy ignored as he discarded his shorts, threw himself on his bed, spreading his legs, and staring at Timmy, whose head just barely peered over the rim of the mattress.

"Well, whatchya waiting for faggot?" Billy urged in a deep lurid bassy tone: "It ain't gonna suck itself now is it?"

Timmy just sat there staring across Billy's mattress quivering, too terrified to move, his bottom lip still trembling, his eyes pleading for mercy.

Billy finally took some pity on the guy: "Listen, dude, stop with the waterworks, nobody's gonna hurt you" Billy paused letting that sink in for a second or two before continuing: "So you got caught sucking my cock, its not the end of the world."

Billy decided a different approach was needed: "Here's the way I see it" he waxed philosophically, sitting up in his bed before continuing: "You're a fag, fags suck cock", Billy pushed on, following his train of thought: "I'm a guy who loves his cock sucked, hell, to be completely honest, this is my very first blowjob", Billy smiled, and pushed on: "What we have here is just simple economics, supply, and demand" His grin broadened: "You love sucking dick, and I have a dick, and I love having my dick sucked" Timmy started to sit up higher, his entire head, and part of his shoulders now visible above the mattress line: "So basically what I'm offering you, is all the dick you can suck, and I get a cocksucker all to happy to feast on my meat."

"Happy ending" Billy went on: "Everybody gets what they want and nobody needs to get hurt.  You walk away with a belly full of my delicious jizz, and I get my balls drained when ever I want" Billy smiled, a big smirky toothy grin: "What do you say we just agree to help each other out, and make everyone happy?"

Timmy moved up onto the bed, sitting pensively before softly asking: "You won't say anything to anyone?" he quickly added: "If my parents found out..." That you're a fag" Billy interjected, just stating a fact. "Um... yes something like that" Timmy blushed; "If they found out, they'd kill me, or send me away to one of those horrible places where they try to turn you straight"

"Well then" Billy stated: "I guess we'll just have to make sure that doesn't happen, now won't we?"

Timmy smiled, and blushed a beautiful shade of pink, as Billy laid back, grasped his hard cock by the base and waved it at Timmy: "Now how about that blowjob faggot?"

Timmy grinned, and moved forward between Billy's spread muscular legs, placing his hands softly on either thigh as he inched toward his juicy, throbbing target.

Billy moaned deeply as Timmy wrapped his hands over Billy's right hand which still clasped the base of his cock.  An electric tingle spread from Timmy's fingers to Billy's, and through to the base of his cock.  Timmy swooped downward, lapping at Billy's piss slit, swabbing all the oozing precum from his large, glistening bluish pink glans. Timmy's fist helped guide Billy's to peel back the hood of his foreskin setting the large bulbous, mushroom head free for Timmy's soft wet flicking tongue.

Billy moaned appreciatively as Timmy's tongue scooped more of the copious amounts of dick dribble gushing from his gaping piss slit, before whisking it into the warm wet depths of his hungry mouth.

"God this is amazing," Billy thought to himself before clasping the back of Timmy's head with his free hand and tried pushing his straining, engorged lemon-sized cock-head into Timmy's drooling, salivating orifice.

Timmy looked up into Billy's eyes, who stared back at him mirroring the lust they now both shared.

"Stop teasing bitch, and suck my dick" Billy groaned through clenched teeth.

All too happy to comply, Timmy wrapped his thick lips around the head of Billy's dick and wetly eased downward taking as much of the thick organ into his mouth as he could.

The length wasn't an issue for Timmy, but Billy's dick was as thick as a Red Bull can, and the large lemon-sized glans made accommodating him way more difficult.

Billy didn't seem to mind as he slowly began to thrust his hips gently fucking Timmy's mouth.

Timmy continued to swab Billy's glans, and with each pass of his tongue against his frenulum, Billy's cock also rewarded Timmy with a fresh dollop of sweet sticky precum, which Timmy graciously accepted, and swallowed.

As good as it all was though, Timmy hungered for the real prize and judging by the heft of Billy's prodigious balls, it was going to be a big payload.

Billy moved his hands, clutching either side of Timmy's head, and face, whose hungry all consuming glazed over eyes, stared longingly into Billy's.

Billy was mesmerized watching has fat dick push in, and out of Timmy's sucking mouth.

"Goddam Faggot, you could suck the chrome off a trailer hitch" Billy moaned from somewhere deep in his chest.

Billy was sitting up now tightly clasping Timmy's head, and ever more forcibly, thrusting his throbbing dong into the depths of Timmy's wet sucking orifice.

Timmy was drifting into cocksucker bliss, when he heard Billy growl deep within his chest as his grip tightened on the back of his head, when all of a sudden, Timmy's bliss was shattered as Billy roared from somewhere deep, and primordial within himself.

"Arrrrrrrrrrrgh" was all Timmy made out before Billy's fingers locked together behind his head, holding him in a steely, vice like grip as Billy rammed his massive, throbbing dong balls deep into Timmy's unprepared throat.

Timmy uselessly tried to pry Billy's powerful fingers from the back of his head, clawing desperately, trying helplessly to free his overstuffed throat of the invading organ.

Timmy's pleas for relief were useless, blocked by the expanding member swelling in size as it hurtled toward an orgasm of massive proportions.

From Billy's perspective, it felt like his dick was exploding inside Timmy's mouth and throat.  Gone was the Billy everyone knew, a more primal Billy had taken his place as the molten jets of his exploding schlong erupted into the hole he had sheathed his cock in.

Spewing hot blast of thick ropey cum like liquid fire in Timmy's throat, 5... 6....7.... "Gaaaawwwdfuuuukindaaaaammmm" Billy roared: "Take it you fucking bitch, uuuhhhhnnnn you gaaaawdam fukin slut" Billy bellowed, all the while ramming, and humping his swollen balls against Timmy's abused lips.

Tears poured from Timmy's eyes as he repeatedly attempted to gasp for air, his arms, and hands beat against Billy's sides, front, and back all completely unnoticed...10....11.....12....

Billy's orgasm consumed him, sperm spewed from him in torrents, flooding Timmy's esophagus to overflowing, an overflow that had nowhere to go because Timmy's throat was completely blocked...16...17....18...

"Mmmmmuthafuuuuuk" Billy growled uncontrollably squeezing Timmy's head so hard it felt like his fingers were digging through his skull....20....21...

Billy's orgasm finally crested, and abated, subsiding, no longer a crashing thunderous Tsunami but more like waves washing against the rocks...

Billy's fingers let go of Timmy's skull, who pulled back coughing and gasping for air almost simultaneously.

Billy fell backwards, his heaving chest gasping for air as sweat poured like water from his body soaking the covers of his bed.  His still bloated, swollen cock plopped wetly against his belly as more semen, and sperm still oozed in spasms from his softening dick.

Billy's body still jerked and twitched: "FUUUCK" he moaned contentedly: "Damn boy, you're one helluva fukin' cocksucker", Billy panted between his gasp for air.

Timmy, still panting for air himself, in between gulping down the biggest load he had ever taken, crawled toward Billy before coming to rest between his thighs, his head in his groin.  Unbelievably to Billy, he watched as Timmy began to slurp up the large pool of jism that spread across his hairy abs, and overflowed from his navel... Timmy got it all, in between his gasp of air.

Billy gently stroked the hair on the side of Timmy's head as Timmy continued licking at the still engorged, but not so hard gooey member that had just practically raped his throat.  Billy just shook his head in disbelief as Timmy stuffed his cock back into his mouth trying to suck the last bit of testicular juices from his deflating dick.

"Gawwd I love homos" Billy sighed as he just laid there enjoying the gentle, rhythmic sucking sounds...
                                                      

                                                            CHAPTER FOUR:

                    

JD looked at his phone.  It had been at least an hour since he left Timmy alone with Billy, and JD was heading back now.  If everything had gone according to plan, then his brother should have gotten what he wanted.

JD hated the thought of turning Timmy over to his sibling, he was afraid he'd hurt him. Yeah Timmy liked it kinda rough, but he also liked to cuddle too, and make out before, and after, and JD just couldn't see his big badass bro doing any of that, except the rough part.

Worse yet, JD feared Timmy would hate him for this.  That he'd blame him for it (which was kinda true) but JD knew, that the only thing his brother wanted from Timmy was sex. He'd use him, abuse him, and toss him aside.  He'd never make out with him, would probably never cuddle with him, he'd never do any of that other stuff.  Billy didn't know Timmy like he did, he's never seen him doing his gymnastics, how graceful, and talented he truly is.  No, all his brother would ever want from him would be to use him for sex, just a wham bam get the fuck out until I need you next time man.

As he was heading back, JD dreaded what he'd find, a bruised, and battered Timmy was his biggest fear.  How would Timmy explain that to his homophobic parents?

No, Billy didn't care for Timmy, he hasn't sat with him while he cries about how hard it is for him at home, how his parents are always on him to do better; be perfect, like some kind of programmable robot, living their lives vicariously through their 18 year old son, expecting him; no insisting he be all virginal, and chaste, and save himself for his future wife, a wife they would help him pick.

Timmy lived in constant fear his parents would find out he's gay, that somehow, someway he'd slip up, and they'd find out, and send him away to some fix the gay group.

Not that everything was hopeless for Timmy, he did have a sort of plan.  Be as good as he can with the gymnastics, win a scholarship, and go far, far away to college, and never look back.  Get a good education, find a good job, and hopefully fall in love with some hot guy, and live his life openly, without shame, and free from his family's emotional shackles.

JD quickened his pace.  He needed to get back there, he needed to make sure Timmy was okay, make sure his brother hadn't hurt him.  Most of all, he needed Timmy not to hate him.  He really did care for him, it may not be love, but JD was sure it was more than just friendship that they shared, which was way more than he felt for that bitch Andrea or any of her viper squad.  All those girls knew damn well all he ever did with any of them was a couple of make out sessions, never anything below belt, never, not until that stupid pre Halloween party Blake Riley had thrown, and Andrea, and her entire viper squad was there with her; how she kept handing him beers, and then rubbing on him constantly, if it wasn't her it was one of the others.

He'd learned later on from one of his other buds, that Andrea, and her nasty bitch friends had laced the beer they were passing out to select jocks, with Viagra, and it was Andrea's plan to get one of them to knock her up.  She didn't really care who, and JD was the poor unfortunate sap that fell afoul of her nefarious plans.

JD had figured out that Andrea was fed up with mommy, and daddy constantly trying to tell her what to do.  She wanted to make a statement, she wanted to do the one thing that would piss them off the most, and she got what she wanted.  JD fell for it, he didn't listen to his Dad, he directly did exactly what his Dad had told him not too, and to make it all the more worse, he realized that that made him no better than Andrea.  Hell, JD wasn't even that interested in girls, he'd had his eye on Timmy Anderson for quite some time, he just hadn't worked up the balls to do anything about it.

Now his Dad was always mad at him, and with good reason, and he had his brother, and Baxter, and even his uncle Carl constantly breathing down his neck.

That's why JD had been trying to take it all in stride, and play it cool, and low key.  But then, that opportunity with Timmy arose, feeling kind of like they were being thrust together, stars in alignment sort of thing, and they hit it right off, and it was like they couldn't keep there hands off of each other.  Yeah, sure it was mostly just lust but there was something else there too, but now, JD was afraid he'd thrown it all away, whatever "it" turned out to be...

                                                                         * * * * *

Timmy was licking his balls again, Billy just moaned, and let him; it felt so good, even though he'd just shot the biggest load of his life less than ten minutes ago, he was already boned up again, rock hard, and drooling.

Billy was kind of holding off however, he knew his little brother would be back soon, and he didn't want to start something they might not have time to finish.

This was a good thing, he didn't want to spoil it, or push his luck, and he didn't want to replace JD in this kids affections.  Billy knew that much when after they had recovered enough, and their breathing was back to normal, Timmy had moved up his body, licking his way up that is, and had tried to kiss him.

Billy stopped him of course, he didn't love this kid.  Yeah, what they did was mind blowing, and extremely fun, but this was no love story, and he wasn't looking for a boyfriend nor did he want Timmy to think he did, Billy didn't want to ever be accused he led him on.  No, Billy thought it best he nip that right in the bud before it started, this was just about getting off for him, nothing more.  He'd leave the romance to his brother. He got the distinct feeling that there was something going on between them anyway.  It was in the beginning stages he'd bet, but it was obvious JD felt something for him.  He hadn't quite made up his mind about Timmy though, since he just tried to kiss him, but he'd leave that to JD, and Timmy to figure out, it had nothing to do with him.

Billy heard the front door open, and could tell by the footsteps it was JD.  He could see the shadow of someone's feet underneath his door, and he hollered at JD to come in.

JD wasn't surprised seeing Timmy licking Billy's big hairy balls, he was surprised that Timmy didn't stop, instead, just turned his head slightly, smiling up at him, all the while continuing to lap his big brother's ball-sack. Licking it like it was a big ol' lollipop.

"Ya might be back just a little early bro" Billy said, smiling down at Timmy, and cupping his chin in his hand, and stroking one of his cherubic cheeks with his thumb.

"Why can't he just join us?" Timmy said, smiling like a cheap slut while looking hopefully back, and forth between Billy, and JD.

"Wuh?" Billy groaned unhappily: "You gonna suck us both off at the same time, you could barely fit my dick in your mouth by itself?"

Timmy giggled, and blushed slightly before looking back at JD: "there's more to having fun than just blowjobs." He reached over to JD, and pulled him in by the waistband of his sweats.  JD just smiled, thinking to himself: "Well at least I know now he ain't mad at me."

Billy watched as Timmy crawled over to the edge of the mattress, and pulled JD's sweats down before swooping in, and gobbling his half hard dick into his mouth right down to the balls, and started sucking, keeping his cock buried balls deep in his throat, while staying there for a good thirty seconds before he backed off, and let JD's now spit soaked dick plop out, to loudly smack up against his six pack abs with a very wet thump.

Billy kind of envied his brothers smaller dick or at least less thick dick.  Billy wouldn't call seven inches small, but JD's dick was probably a normal thickness.  Then again, he was only sixteen, and all that could change over the next couple of years, it had for Billy. Shit, he thought to himself, he was still growing, and he was almost eighteen.

Billy huffed: "And exactly what am I supposed to be doing while you blow my little brother, because that ain't doing nuthin' for me?

The smile, and look that swept over Timmy's face was anything but innocent.  Lecherous was a word that came to Billy's mind, lecherous in a cute, and totally disarming way of course, he thought, laughing to himself.

Timmy looked up at JD before saying, as he reached for his balls kneading them before wrapping his fingers around his dick, and saying: "You up for it stud?"

JD smiled back at him, knowing exactly what Timmy wanted, and he also knew it would probably weird his brother out.  So yeah, he was up for it he grinned inwardly, just loving this side of Timmy.

Timmy looked at Billy, grinning lasciviously before turning back to JD, turning his head up toward him and opening his mouth wide with his tongue out.  Billy watched with fascination as his brother tilted his head, looking right into Timmy's eyes before parting his lips and letting a huge stream of his spit drip from his mouth right into Timmy's, who then turned back to Billy, crawled up between his legs once again, looked up into his eyes, spreading his mouth wide, with his tongue cupped but slightly extended, and showed Billy the big wad of his brothers spittle he held in his mouth, before he closed his lips around his knob, bowed his head, and took Billy's swollen cock-head into his mouth swirling his brothers mucous all over his glans.  

Pulling back briefly, and allowing JD's spit to flow down his shaft, Timmy stuffed his member back into his mouth and took about an inch past the glans coronal ridge and began swirling the mucous around his member with his tongue, making Billy moan deeply from the sensation.

Billy watched his little brother move behind Timmy, who now had his legs spread wide, ass up, jutting backwards toward him.

Billy watched as JD ran his hands up, and down Timmy's strong muscular back, caressing his tight sinewy muscles from his hips to his lats, then back down to his bulging bubble butt.

Billy gave a bit of a jump when JD suddenly raised both hands open palmed and smacked them down hard onto Timmy's twin globes.  He watched as his brother smiled, bent over, and kissed Timmy's butt at the top of his ass crack and slowly ran his tongue from the base of his spine right up to the back of his neck and then back down again, just as slow.  Billy felt the tingle clear down to his toes as Timmy moaned deeply around his throbbing shaft from what JD was doing to him.

Billy placed his right hand behind Timmy's head as he moved up into a kneeling position,  running his large left hand down Timmy's spine and into the top of his crack and back up to his lats, all while JD massaged the bulbous mounds of Timmy's muscle taut ass.

Billy ran both his hands down Timmy's back, leaning forward, driving his dick further into Timmy's mouth, pressing slightly past the uvula, as his hands came to rest on Timmy's twin mounds.  Billy repeated his brothers earlier actions, and smacked Timmy's ass with a loud "THWAAAP", which forced Timmy further onto Billy's throat invading cock-head.

Timmy gagged, but tried to fight it, gulping like he did so many times while impaled on JD's dick, but Billy's dick was just so thick, the head so large that it not only filled the back of his mouth, it expanded, and stretched it.  Billy could feel the gagging, it actually sent waves of pleasure through his glans down his shaft right into his balls.

"Come on fag boy, you can do it" Billy groaned, then cautioned: "Don't make me do it for you, I won't be as gentle as you."

With that said, Billy gave him another really loud whack on both cheeks of his ass, hitting so hard they left two large red hand prints.

JD just smiled, knowing Timmy loved this, he loved being dominated, not so sure about pain, but he liked when guys took control, so he knew he was loving this.

Billy let go of his ass, and returned to his upright position on his knees, and locked his fingers behind Timmy's head, pushing his cock to the back of Timmy's cock-sucking mouth.

"You're gonna take it all, you fucking queer or I'm gonna make you, just like last time." Billy paused momentarily letting it sink in, before he jabbed the large, blood engorged knob of his big fat dick into the entrance of Timmy's throat.

Timmy's lips felt stretched, his tongue forcibly flattened by the massive girth of Billy's invading prick, and concentrated as hard as he could to relax his gag reflex, allowing the burgeoning phallus to invade his constricted throat.  With sweat running down his forehead, and into his eyes he was able to finally pop the bloated, lemon sized glans into his expanding, over stretched throat.

Timmy squirmed, fighting the urge to gag, suppressing the need to cough the invader free, repel it, to unsheathe this fleshy pole. But Timmy fought it, he suppressed it, and like the other muscles in his body, he controlled it, mastering it to an extent, and began gulping Billy's big dick back further into his oral cavity, almost into his esophagus.

Billy moaned, grinding his balls into Timmy's chin, rotating his hips in tight circles to help grind the last fraction of an inch into Timmy's hot sucking mouth.

Billy eased back after a few seconds.  This wasn't going to be like last time, he intended to enjoy these new sensations, make them last before drowning this little cocksucker like he did before.

Timmy pushed forward slightly, and sort of gurgled, and moaned at the same time.  Billy looked up from Timmy's face where he had been concentrating, and enjoying so much of his pleasure, to see that his little brother had dropped down behind Timmy, the majority of his face hidden below Timmy's buttocks.

Timmy continued to moan louder even as he stuffed Billy's big cock-head back into his throat, enveloping it like a silky wet glove, plunging with lust all the way down to his hairy groin.

JD's forehead appeared over the crown of Timmy's twin moons, he looked right into his brothers eyes before spreading Timmy's twin peaks, and slipped his face between them. Billy couldn't believe what he was seeing, was his brother kissing this fags ass cheeks, his crack?

No, it wasn't that.  Just then JD looked into his brothers eyes, with such pure wanton lust, his eyes glazed over, deeply ensnared by passion, his tongue crested the uppermost part of Timmy's magnificent crack.

"Damn" Billy said out loud, but noted to himself that his brother was indeed licking another dude's ass.  That was simultaneously the grossest thing he had ever seen, and the hottest.

"Eat that faggots ass", Billy moaned not being able to take his eyes off his little brothers mouth as it slid back down his crack, before thrusting forward..."Yeaaaaah" Billy snarled: "tongue that faggot's pussy."

Billy subconsciously licked his own lips, he didn't know whether it was because his lips suddenly went dry or he was vicariously helping his brother munch this queers bunghole.

Billy didn't know if he could ever do that, having only ever thought about eating a girls pussy before, and how hot that would get him.  But his brother sure looked like he was loving it!

"Damn bro" JD moaned, his voice thick with lust: "You should try it, faggot pussy is the best pussy" Then smiled wickedly, and almost sang: "Faggot pussy is so good to eat I eat it everyday" Then added: "and for every meal, then have it for dessert, and a midnight snack."

Billy chortled: "I take it ya kinda like faggot pussy bro?"

JD laughed too, and they both high fived each other, an action that drove Billy's dick back to the balls in Timmy's throat, much to his own delight.

"Ya wanna try it dude?" JD asked inquisitively: "Nah dude I'll pass right now, but who knows maybe later" Billy responded.

JD took that for what it was.  For Billy this was all new, he was still experiencing things on that level.  JD knew that he'd be singing a different tune soon, but for now, he decided he was really gonna go for gold, and give his brother something new to think about.

JD stood up, and got behind Timmy.  Billy watched intently as JD palmed the head, and part of his shaft in his hand, and began letting large wads of his spit drop onto the glans, which he smeared down to the base of his cock several times until his dick was slick and wet.  Then he placed the throbbing head against Timmy's tight pucker, and began pushing slowly into his clenching little hole.

Timmy groaned loudly, and Billy just stared in disbelief as his brother sheathed his rock hard rod into Timmy's hole.

"Geeeesus fuuukin Christ dude, are you fuckin' him?" Billy queried, still not sure he was believing what his eyes showed him.

JD smirked, and answered: "You're damn str8 bro, it's twice as good as real pussy, and take my word for it, only a fraction of the bother, and trouble girl pussy brings ya."

Billy had no basis for comparison like his brother, so he'd just have to take his word on it.  Right now he was ready to really ram this queers tonsils, and began thrusting his fuck-pole in and out of Timmy's slurping wet mouth pussy.

It took a little while, but eventually Billy, and JD worked out a rhythm together, and had Timmy see sawing back, and forth between them; both his holes slurping up hard driving Donnelly dicks, moaning continuously in absolute ecstasy.

As their breathing, and rhythm synchronized, JD looked at his sweaty brother, and said: " Ya wanna switch?"

Billy didn't know how to answer having never done it before, he had difficulty believing his big dick would ever fit in such a tiny hole.

"Dude", JD pushed: "You are gonna love it!" JD pulled out of Timmy's ass, and motioned for his older brother to move back with him.

Billy withdrew from Timmy's hot sucking mouth, and scooted off the bed, joining his brother behind Timmy.

Billy watched with fascination as his little bro slid back in, then slowly withdrew his dick from Timmy's hole.  He watched intently as the tight little pink ring clung to his dick, and the actual "pop" sound it made when JD's plump cock-head plopped out, and his dick smacked wetly up against his groin.

"Damn that looks hawt" Billy moaned.

"Feels even better bro" JD beamed: "You are so gonna love it!" He added, his grin almost as wide as his face.

"Wait right here dude" JD huffed as he ran out of the room, returning in a few seconds later with a bottle of lube in his hand.

He popped the cap, and squeezed a generous amount onto his brothers huge pecker, and told him to spread it around with his fist, which Billy obediently did.

When his dick was practically dripping in the slimy cold goo, his brother reached over, put both hands on either side of his brothers hips, and guided him into position.

Billy almost jumped out of his skin when he felt his brothers warm strong fingers wrap firmly around the base of his throbbing cock, and eased him forward until the tip of his bloated knob touched the soft velvety tissue of Timmy's anus.

JD held his dick tight, getting behind his brother, and used his hips to help ease his brothers swollen cock-head into Timmy's tight hole.

Billy watched, his mouth hanging open as the lips of Timmy's hole pushed inward, and began to part, slipping over his glans like a tight glove.

His heart raced as he felt Timmy push back, trying to will his hole to open, and accommodate the huge invading member.

With both JD, and Timmy pushing equally hard, one of them forward the other backward, they were finally able to get the pulsating head of Billy's cock to pop through the sphincter into the tight confines of Timmy's clutching, over stretched hole.

Billy threw his head back in absolute ecstasy as Timmy continued to slide more of his turgid, steel hard pole into the depths of his now overstuffed rectal cavity.

Timmy felt almost virginal again, as Billy's fat schlong stretched his hole beyond what it had ever been stretched before.  About three quaters of the way in, Timmy felt it hit a barrier in the depths of his hole.  He reached back between his legs, and grabbed Billy's dick as tried shifting it around until he felt the bulbous tip of the glans hit a certain spot, that though small, had some give to it.  Timmy knew that was his inner sphincter, and was beyond where JD was able to reach, his dick not being long enough.  But Billy's was, and now Timmy was determined to lose this last refuge of his virginity to Billy's prodigious fuck-stick.

Timmy pushed as hard as he could, trying desperately to will the inner sphincter open, until he was practically bouncing as hard as he could against it, but Billy's cock-head was just too big, his cock just too thick.

JD saw his frustration, and saw the look of bewilderment on Billy's face, who was just all smiles, and to drunk with passion, and sexual ecstasy, to realize what was needed.  Just the right amount of force at the right moment, and that moment was right now!

JD raised his foot, put it on his brothers rock hard ass cheeks, and thrust his brother forward as hard as he could.  Timmy cried out in pain as Billy's fat dickhead ripped its way through his inner sphincter, and the last couple of inches claimed the last of his virginity.   It was in that moment that Billy lost all sense of reality, his full weight collapsed on top of Timmy, pushing him into the mattress.  Billy's powerful arms wrapped around his waist forcing Timmy's hips upward, embedding every last fraction of Billy's pulsating, spasming dick into the furthest reaches of his now obstructed bowels. To Billy it was pure heaven, he instinctively ground his pubes against Timmy's anal ring, and began to hump rapidly, and tightly using only his hips like some wild animal in rut.

"Fuuuckin' that Puuuuusy, fwwwuuukin it" Billy growled deep in his hairy chest, and for the next two minutes that's all he said, over and over before he practically roared in a deep animalistic bass howl as his body began to spasm, and twitch uncontrollably, his huge cock blasting Timmy's insides with hot molten sperm.  Timmy's eyes rolled back in his head as his own five inch cock exploded with ropes of jizz blasting onto the covers of the mattress under him.

JD saw Timmy's mouth wide open in ecstatic joy so he decided to take full advantage of it, and rammed his dick down Timmy's throat, and joined the duet in carnal, orgasmic passion, spewing ropes of jetting cum down Timmy's gullet as his older brother kept chanting, grunting and humping: "Fwwwwuuuking dat pwwwuuusssy" over, and over until he collapsed, sprawled out full weight on top of Timmy; who just laid there, with the most happy, stupid grin on his face as JD pulled his still oozing cock from his mouth, and began wiping it on Timmy's face, when he saw him, from the corner of his eye, their Dad, hands on his hips standing in Billy's bedroom doorway.

JD's jaw dropped as both Billy, and Timmy turned their heads in slow motion, a look of horror painted on their faces as they realized who it was!

"When you boys are done playin' with your friend" he calmly declared, a big smile on his face: "I brought home some pizza for lunch" they looked at each other in shock as they watched their Dad turn around, and head back up the hallway, whistling like he didn't have a care in the world.

                                                                    * * * * *

Shit meet fan, that's the image that was now dominating Billy Donnelly's every thought.

How the hell was he going to explain this to his Dad, in fact, what were any of them going to say?

JD just kept looking at him like he was desperate for guidance, needing his big brother to tell him what to do, while Timmy just whimpered on the bed, looking like he could burst into tears at any moment.

The only real answer that came to Billy's mind, was to own it, what else could they do really?

He turned to Timmy, the one person who seemed to be in more distress than either he or JD; this wasn't his fault, he was here because he had maneuvered him into being here.

"Timmy?" Billy spoke softly, get your clothes, and go to the bathroom, and get cleaned up, and pull yourself together then join us out there, okay?

Billy knew he was terrified, and was trying to be as comforting as he could be under the circumstances.

"This is my fault" He said: "And I'll take responsibility for it" He reached over, and put his hand on Timmy's shoulder, trying to be as gentle as he could be.

Timmy looked into his eyes, searching for some kind of hope.

Billy understood what Timmy's fears were instantly: "Don't worry, I won't let anything bad happen to you" he assured him, pulling him toward him, hugging him then pushing him back by the shoulders, repeating what he had said before: "Pick up your clothes, go across the hall, and get cleaned up okay?

Timmy cast his eyes downward, but silently nodded his head, and proceeded gathering his clothes from the floor.

Billy turned to JD who was already pulling up his sweat pants, and looking for his T-shirt.

"Guess there's nothing else left to do bro" He said looking at his brother who stared back at him looking as hopeless as Billy felt as he struggled to pull his T-shirt over his shoulders.

"Time to face the music dude" Billy concluded, pulling on a clean pair of board shorts from his dresser drawer.

Billy turned, and was about to head out his bedroom door when his brother reached out and clasped his shoulder, stopping him.  He turned back looking at him questioningly.

"Don't you think it's just a bit odd bro?" JD queried then clarified: "Was it just me or did he seem like he was cool with what we were doing?" He paused, then added: "Or am I just being crazy?"

"There's only one way we are gonna find out, and it's this way dude" Billy stated flatly, turning back, heading out the door, and down the hallway to go face their Dad.

                                                                     * * * * *

Max Donnelly stood at one of the counters in the kitchen, fumbling with one of the two pizza boxes he had picked up on his way home.

He had taken off early, and had messaged Carl McGregor to join him here, and was expecting him any moment. He'd already laid out a handful of paper plates, and some napkins on the table, getting things ready for his boy's when they worked up the courage to join him.

Max Smiled to himself, rather amused at the fear he could smell coming from the back bedrooms, that, and the smell of sex, sperm, sweat, and testosterone.

Was there anything better in life he asked himself, shaking his head no, laughing to himself.

He anxiously awaited his boy's joining him, and could hear them start shuffling their way down the hallway.

He quickly posed himself, arms crossed over his chest, feet apart and leaning casually against the counter with as stern a look as he could muster before his boy's came through the kitchen door.

It took everything Max had not to laugh his ass off, barely being able not to giggle when they came shuffling slowly into the kitchen, heads bowed, looking so forlorn, like they were going to their execution.

Just as he suspected, his eldest stepped forward, the youngest, head and shoulders bowed, looking very much like he was trying to collapse within himself and blink out of existence.

"D..d..dad?" Billy stammered slowly raising his head to meet his father's stern gaze.

"I... um... I mean we..." God Max thought this was better than anything on comedy central.  Max was struggling now, barely able to contain himself from a gut busting, doubled over laugh.

"Spit it out son" Max said as deeply and firmly as he could muster: "I'm waiting?" he added tapping his foot for dramatic effect.

Good god, he thought, the kid could blow chunks any moment now he was so scared.

"D...Dad what we did....we, um...Billy trailed off, unable to find the words he wanted to say when just then Carl McGregor came through the back door toting a six pack of beer, and a duffel bag, which he dropped on the laundry room floor before coming into the kitchen bellowing: "Howdy all, wuzzup, why is everyone lookin' so glum?"

Max strained now, he knew Carl wasn't up to speed on what was happening and Max decided to see how far he could milk it, this was just too much fun to pass up.

"Do you want to explain to your uncle Carl William, or shall I?" He taunted Billy trying to add to his distress by using his son's formal name, which he only ever used when he was in deep trouble.

Carl didn't know what was going on, but he didn't smell any anger coming from Max.  If anything he sensed the exact opposite...what game is he playing at here?  The smell of fear coming from both Billy, and JD was palpable, that, and the smell of recent sexual activity, but not with a female, but with a ho... He let that thought drop for the time being.

Carl looked instead at Billy.  The kid looked terrible, and his brother looked even worse. What was Max playing at, he thought to himself?

Carl crossed over to Billy, and put his hand on his shoulder, comfortingly: "What's up Billy, you can tell me."

Billy tried looking Carl in the eyes, to lift his head, he struggled to get his throat to work, his lips to form the words, he just couldn't.

Carl swore he could hear a barely perceptible chuckle from Max, and whirled around to confront him.

"What's this about Max?" Carl demanded, certain now Max was just playing one of his silly games, toying with his sons.

"Dad caught us..." came the small voice behind him, it was Billy.

"Caught you what? Carl demanded taking both of Billy's shoulders in his hands, insisting on a response.

Without raising his face, which was bright red from embarrassment, and shame, he whispered: "He caught us with a boy in my room"

Aww, Carl thought to himself, the missing piece...Carl just shook his head, and muttered to himself: "Max you asshole."

Carl took his right hand, and lifted Billy's chin, trying to look him in the eyes, which Billy kept shifting, too ashamed to make contact.

"By caught" Carl mused:" I assume you mean you were having sex with?"

Carl just shook his head as Billy bowed his head even further, and just barely nodded, and whispered: "Yes."

Carl threw his hands up in the air and laughed: "Is that all, I thought somebody got hurt or died."

"Bu...but we..."Billy stammered, confused why Carl was laughing at him.

"Seriously kid" Carl chuckled: "Your Dads banged more than his share of guys over the years, it seems awfully suspicious he's going all puritanical on ya now."

"Boys?!" Carl boomed: "snap out of it, he's messing with ya."

Billy raised his head and stared directly at his Dad who just burst out laughing before he walked over to him and put his arm around his son, giving him a noogie with the other.

"Damn kid" His Dad laughed: "Relax, and quit taking things so seriously."

Billy, and JD just looked confused, not exactly sure how to take their Dad at the moment.

Carl grabbed one of the pizza boxes and brushed past them on his way to the table, jabbing Max in the abdomen: "That was cruel, funny but cruel" then he added: "I think you owe your boy's a beer for that prank." as he proceeded to shove a can into first Billy's then JD's hands.

"Sit boy's" Carl demanded as he opened the pizza box and took a slice.

Max came over and sat next to Carl, who high fived him as he sat down, still chuckling at his son's awkward discomfort.

Billy and JD still looked confused, not sure what to say let alone think, and right now eating was the last thing they were thinking about.

Max saw this, and finally took pity on his boy's, deciding to put them out of their misery.

"Boy's!?" He began: "It's okay, I don't care how you get off, so long as you don't violate the code." He leveled a stare at JD, who chafed under his father's sudden scrutiny.

JD so wanted to blurt out what really happened with Andrea, and why, but in the end he knew it really didn't matter, he was still guilty, he still broke his father's trust, and he knew he'd always be trying to live that down.  He just wished he could go back in time, and tell himself to stay home that night, and to stay as far away as he could from Andrea Thomas.

Billy picked up on the change in his brothers mood and ran his hand down his brothers back trying to comfort him, especially after everything else they'd been through today.

"It's okay dude" Billy whispered: "We'll work it out, we're still your family and we always will be!"

"Here Here" Carl added, picking up on Billy's sentiment, raising his can in salute.

"To family" his Dad echoed as they all raised their beers and clicked them together before swilling them down and slamming the empty cans to the table.

It was just then that a very timid, and pale looking Timmy Anderson, as quietly as possible, entered the room, head and shoulders down, his fingers clutching at each other, fumbling timidly at the hem of his sweatshirt.

Max Donnelly stood up, followed by his right hand man and lifelong best friend and companion Carl.  In full parade rest, they cheerfully welcomed Timmy.

"Get up boys" Max demanded of his sons: "Have you no manners?"

Billy, and JD looked at both their father and at Carl before turning their heads as they rose to their feet to look at Timmy, who just blushed, and fidgeted from all the unwanted, and unexpected attention.

He had never felt so awkward and out of place.

Max pulled out a chair right beside him at the table and beckoned Timmy to sit down.

When Timmy didn't move his Dad stepped forward, and said: "We would be honored if you'd join us for lunch" He paused pulling out the chair next to him, and then reiterated: "please Timmy, sit with us."

Timmy shuffled over and quietly sat down.  They all watched as Max put his hand on the back of Timmy's neck and started rubbing him, like one does when comforting a child.

"Are you okay?" Max asked him: "I didn't scare you earlier did I?"

"A little" Timmy said meekly, offering Max only the briefest of side glances.

"Then I apologize, that was not my intent." Max said, still massaging Timmy's neck.

Timmy tentatively looked Max in the eyes: ``You aren't mad about ....us?" he said, looking furtively at Billy, and JD.

Max beamed, and smiled ear to ear: "Why would I be upset with my boy's for enjoying themselves with someone who is so obviously beautiful as you are?"

Timmy blushed even more, but Max's words had the desired effect, Timmy smiled, and Max could feel some of the tightness and tension fade from Timmy's shoulders, and neck as he began to relax.

"Do you like pizza?" Max asked Timmy.

"Sure" Timmy softly responded.

Max reached over, and grabbed a paper plate and a couple of napkins, and set them in front of Timmy, taking a slice of pizza from the box in the center of the table and placed it in front of Timmy.

"Can I get you something to drink" He offered: "A Coke, milk or water?"

"Can I have a beer?" Timmy asked demurely, smiling.

Max roared with laughter: "You got balls kid, I like that!" then turned, and grabbed a beer from beside Carl, opened it, handing it to Timmy.

"Thanks." Timmy smiled, batting his eyes, an action not missed by either Max nor his sons Billy, and JD.

"Damn you are beautiful" Max almost cooed, as he lifted a finger to the loose golden blond stray locke of curly hair on Timmy's forehead, and brushed it back with the others on top of his head, before returning to the back of his neck, massaging his shoulders, and neck, and even stroking the very short hairs on the back of Timmy's head.

"Ahem." Carl interrupted: "don't we have something to be discussing right now?" He asked trying to turn Max's attention to other matters, other matters meaning other than fawning over Timmy.

"Right you are Carl." Max's attention seemed to instantly refocus as he withdrew his hand from fondling Timmy's neck to fiddling with his other hand on top of the table.

"The reason I'm home early today" He began: "was to fetch my boy's, and of course Carl here, and then swing by to pick up Baxter" He looked at Billy who looked back at him questioningly: "We're heading up to the Lodge this afternoon to stay for the weekend."

Both Billy, and JD could barely contain their enthusiasm, letting out a hoot or two, and a bro double high five. They loved going up to the Lodge, and staying in the cabin or even going hiking, and camping out under the stars.

"Don't get too excited" their Dad cautioned: "We're going for a reason." Both Billy, and JD inwardly sighed wondering what that meant.

They listened intently as their Dad explained: "It's just three more weeks until young William here, comes into his Heritage, and takes up the mantle of manhood." Billy could almost hear the pride in his father's voice, and Billy held his head up higher, hoping to live up to his father's expectations, while he simultaneously wondered exactly what this ceremony would entail, and exactly what would be expected of him?

He remembered his older brother Mike coming back from his, and how strained things became between him, and their father after his eighteenth birthday.  Billy could never find out from Mike what had happened but it was obvious Mike wasn't happy about it, and as time passed, became more, and more withdrawn right up to the time he graduated.  He didn't even wait around a single day after, before he was off to boot-camp.

Both Billy, and JD felt his loss in their lives and they still missed him not being around.

There were still things Billy wanted answers too, and he sincerely hoped those answers would be forthcoming after his ceremony.  His Dad did promise him that a great many things would become clearer after he came into his Heritage.

Billy had often asked his Dad what that meant, and he always got the same response. His Dad would simply say it wasn't something that could be explained, it was something you have to experience, that the ceremony reveals everything, and he promised Billy there was no need to worry, every Donnelly man had gone through it, and every single one survived.

Billy turned his attention back to what his Dad was saying.

"We are taking some lawn mowers, and weed eaters, and other gardening tools with us, so we can do some clearing to make way for Billy's ceremony." His Dad explaining the what, when, why's for their visit before smiling, and adding: "Don't fret boys, you can still all go skinny dipping at night, and maybe have a little bit of time in the morning to go fishing." he reached over, and ruffled both his sons hair as he stood up, and said they all needed to finish up so they can get things loaded before heading out.

                                                                       * * * * *

Baxter Whitmore was busily selecting items from his closet and dresser drawers, and stuffing them into his military issue duffel bag.  It was his Dads at one time and his Mom let him have it to use.  It was one of the few things that Baxter had that was his Dads; every time he took it out to pack with he had this little ritual he'd perform in deference to his Dad, he'd trace the letters of his father's last name, and then speak it out loud when he finished W.H.I.T.M.O.R.E. U.S.M.C. Sgt. Russel Whitmore United States Marine Corps.

Baxter knew his Dad had been dead for eight years, but it sometimes still felt like he could just walk right through the front door, a front door he knew nothing about, because his Dad never lived in this house.  But still, it was there, eight years later, and the memory of his father was still with him.  He'd come to realize, and accept it always would be, but he also regretted not really getting to know his Dad as well as he wanted too, but even more so, he wondered what his Dad would think of who, and more importantly what his son was now.

Baxter was certain his Dad would be proud of his academic grades (straight "A's), and he was equally certain his Dad would be proud of his wrestling skills, and achievement. Still, there was more to Baxter than those things, they were only part of the whole, and no one, not even his lifelong best friend Billy Donnelly or his Mom knew everything about him.

There were parts he kept locked away, that no one ever got to see, but to be truthful, it was weighing him down.  It sometimes felt like there was a caged animal clawing to get out, one Baxter was certain would rip his life to shreds, and destroy everything he had worked so hard for, drive everyone he cared about away from him if they knew.

But then there was Billy, there was always Billy, everything in his life seemed to center around him.  For as long as he could remember, even when his Dad was still around, there was Billy.

 When his Dad died, there was Billy, holding him, crying with him, comforting him, reminding him how much his Dad loved him.  Then there were the sleep overs as kids, there was Billy, lying next to him, the smell of his hair, the natural scent of his musk, the way he moved, with confidence, never a moment's doubt in who he was, and what he was capable of, and when Baxter was with Billy, he always felt the same way.

Every single moment of Baxter's life, the good, the bad, the highs, and lows the only absolute, ever persistent constant was... Billy.

Yet, there was a creature that tore at him, and clawed to get out, and that creature wanted only one thing; it was the same thing, the same constant that has always been there, it was Billy.

While Billy lives his life basically without fear, and Baxter tries for the most part to do the same; emulating his life long friend, his self declared brother, but the Baxter Billy has known all along is a lie, because Baxter knows the real truth, he knows the creature he lives side by side with every day.  

Sometimes it takes every ounce of Baxter's strength to hold back the onslaught, the fiery tempest that burns within him.  The beast he knows will destroy his life, and even more frightening, drive away the one constant in his life...Billy.

There have been so many times that Baxter fought himself over this, and every time he has managed to fight it off, reason it away, hold it back, cage it up, and take away its voice, silence it, but despite all this effort, all his strength goes to caging the beast, and Baxter was tired, worn out from the constant never ending battle...no more!

It was less than three weeks until Billy's eighteenth birthday, the day his father, and the man who has served in his own fathers stead, would pick up the mantle in memory, and deference to honor his birth father's memory, would guide his best friend into manhood, and in less than a month afterward, had sworn to guide Baxter on that same journey, to become a man.  

How could Baxter become a man, he questioned himself, when he can't even be who he is?  When he's too afraid to tell the person that means the most in the world to him, the truth, how can he stand before the man who would steer him into manhood knowing it was all a lie?

Baxter was tired, tired of lies, tired of holding back, tired of not being wholly himself, tired of not saying the things that needed to be said, and said to the people that needed to hear it.

When Max Donnelly contacted Baxter's Mom this morning and told her to have Baxter gather clothes for a weekend stay up at their family Lodge, and cabin, right as Baxter was totally focused on how he should proceed with his life, he took it as an omen, that omen being, to set himself free, let the beast out of the cage to reveal him to the one person that deserved to know the real him...Billy.

Now is the time, while he still had the chance to do so before Billy becomes a man, he wanted to do this, no... he needed to do this, he needs to face his inner demons, and he needed to honor the memory of his father by living it to its fullest, with head held high, no regrets, to look the beast right in the eye and tell him the truth....I love you Bill.

 

                                                                    CHAPTER FIVE:

 

 "Breath it in boy's" Max Donnelly proudly proclaimed, standing there with his hands on his hips as he inhaled the fresh clean woodland air of the Devil Dawg Compound.

Max watched as Carl McGregor, his two boy's Billy and JD and of course Baxter Whitmore, the boy he viewed as much a son as his own biological offspring, started unloading all the supplies and equipment they had brought from the beds of the two trucks they had just arrived in.

It was late afternoon when they finally pulled into the compound, about a two hour drive from the Marine base located in Albany, to reach the compound in the rolling forested hills a short distance from Macon.

Half an hour of that drive was after they turned off the main road down the solitary gravel topped, red clay based road that wound through the dense forested hills to reach the remote, and very isolated Devil Dawg Compound.

They had pulled up right in front of the large rustic log cabin style communal lodge building.

The structure was oblong in shape, about seventy feet in length and forty feet in width and its steep slate roof reached a nearly twenty five foot height.

Inside, it had a large communal room with a massive stone fireplace on one end. Huge log rafters stretched side to side across the upper walls to a central row of log pillared support beams that cut down the entire center of the room.

Large caste iron chandeliers with about five kerosene lamps each, hung about every eight feet apart down this central row, and served as the main source of lighting for the building when lit.

There was only one main common room, and it took up almost three quarters of the length of the building.  The far right end, the one that faced the lake, held the kitchen, larder, and pantry.

This was a structure meant for large meetings and gatherings.

Billy, JD, and Baxter had all been inside the place many times with their Dad and Carl, but in all the years they have been coming here, they had never seen or been part of any gatherings or get-together's that would have required the use of such a large facility.

They did know that from time to time their Dad, Carl, and even uncle Hank would travel here to take part in such gatherings, but that was for adults only, according to their Dad.

They didn't know how many people showed up for these events, Billy guessed he was going to find out before the end of the month, but the building could easily hold a large number of people, well over a hundred, maybe more.

Billy noted that the parking area that they were now unloading the various lawn care equipment into, was big enough to handle at least twenty, maybe thirty cars, so he guessed these functions could get rather large at times.

Standing, facing the lake, there was a path that started at the far left end of the parking area that went beside the left end of the lodge, and went back a ways into the woods where the cabin they always stayed in was located.

Like the Lodge, it was built log cabin style with a front porch that spanned the entire front length of it.

As you entered the cabin you came into the largest room, a stone fireplace directly on the opposite wall, with two leather coaches juxtaposed to each other sideways, right in front of it.

The cabin had two loft style rooms that you climbed crude, hand cut wood steps to reach on either side; those served as the sleep areas with room enough for two twin beds each with a small dresser between them for any clothes they brought.

Under the one loft was a simple kitchen with an island between it and the main room, and often served as a bar or serving area from the kitchen.  On the opposite side was a large round table where everyone would gather for meals or card games.

Kerosene lamps mounted on the walls served as the evening/night time lighting.  There were no electrical or plumbing fixtures anywhere in the compound, other than some hand pump wells from which they got fresh water.  There were several outhouses and even a water tower that collected rain water, which had a couple of large shower heads with a chain that opened the flow of water when you pulled on them, out in front of the structure, completely open air.

Billy fondly remembered how as kids they seldom even wore clothes the entire time they were there.  Most of their time was usually spent down by the small stream fed lake either hanging out on the large dock, cooking out on charcoal/wood grills or fishing, and of course to dive off of into the cool clear waters.  Several canoes where stored in a small shed close to the lake shore and even while canoeing they seldom if ever wore clothing.

The only time clothing was actually necessary was times like now, when they'd be mowing and using weed eaters, or cutting wood.  But when the chores were done, Billy was sure every one of them would strip down and head for the cool refreshing waters of the lake, and he'd bet good money that they stayed off for the rest of the evening and night.

Billy helped his Dad and Carl unload the riding mower from the back of Carl's truck, while Baxter and JD carried the coolers, grocery's, and duffel bags to the cabin.

Billy couldn't help but notice how quite JD had been all afternoon after he said goodbye to Timmy, he'd noted how JD had even walked him out to his little red jeep, and talked to him privately before Timmy drove off to head on home.  Their Dad had invited Timmy to come along, but Timmy was certain his parents would never approve of that, just spending what time he did with JD was hard enough to explain since he knew they definitely would not approve of him hanging out with him, especially after the local gossip mill had spread and of course embellished every lurid detail of JD's indiscretions last fall.

Billy had also noted Baxter's pensive mood.  He seemed off, not his usual cheerful self at all and Billy wondered if he was still upset about not being able to attend his coming of age ceremony to be held in three weeks.

He hoped Baxter didn't blame him for that, he had no say in it after all.  If there was anyone he'd want to be there it would be Baxter, he was still having a hard time accepting it as well.

Billy made a mental note to make sure he brought that up to Baxter later, maybe reassuring him would help change his mood, then again Billy was only guessing, maybe something else was on his mind, either way, once they had some time alone he'd do his best to get him to talk about it.

There was no one more important in Billy's world than his life long friend, and best bud Baxter, they always told each other everything, no secrets meant no regrets, and no judgements. Open door, open book, it's what made their friendship what it is today.

It was that line of thought that made him realize, he definitely needed to talk to him about what happened today, he was sure Baxter would get totally grossed out that he had gotten a blow job and fucked a fag today, and even weirder, that his Dad, and uncle Carl were cool with it, remembering Carl had even said that his Dad had had sex with guys before.  That blew Billy's mind the more he thought about it, and the way his Dad was treating Timmy? He didn't even want to go there with that mental image.

He just had to make sure that he reassured Baxter that in no way shape or form was he any kind of fucking queer, he was just a really horny guy tired of using his own hand, and it wasn't like he'd be repeating that very often, he wouldn't be going anywhere near any faggot after his eighteenth birthday, after that, it was big firm tits and wet pussy only for him, and any queers could just fuck the hell off.  Though, he had to admit, doing Timmy was pretty awesome, but he didn't need to tell Baxter that part.

By early evening most of the general area had been mowed and trimmed around the cabin, and around the lodge itself.  There was still the areas surrounding the parking lot to do, and of course any usable shoreline on this side of the lake still needed trimmed.  The biggest areas yet needing mowing, and trimmed was the path that led to the large clearing that held the ceremonial structures, and around the structures themselves.

The ceremonial grounds always held a large mysterious fascination for Billy, and all the other boy's growing up.   They would often go there to hang out and dream about what secret rituals and rites that were performed there, always imagining the most grand pagentries or just to scare each other with lurid frightening tales of animal or human sacrifices, envisioning brutal gladiatorial combatants squaring off in savage displays of violent, and bloody masculine supremacy. The structures themself lent to their mysterious adolescent imaginations and speculations.

The six foot wide stone paved path that wound through the dense shrubs and trees ended about hundred yards into a large low, flat grassy valley with hills on three sides, forming like a natural bowl shape in the center.

The entire flat area was stone paved and the path cut through a semi circle, four step stone amphitheater.

On the opposite side was the tallest of the foliage and tree dense hills reaching a maximum height of about forty feet.

A large square stone arch, about fourteen feet high jutted out near the base of the hillside, the structure seemed to cut right into the hillside itself but the arch had ten foot tall, eight foot wide large metal doors that had several large metal locks that prevented anyone from entering.

Six stone steps, about twenty feet wide led down from the entrance onto an oblong stone dias that had two twelve foot stone pylons, about two square foot wide at the base, that were perpendicular, and about eight feet apart.

The inside surface of the pylons facing each other had two large metal rings about a foot off the ground, and another set roughly about six feet from the ground.

On the front, and back side of the stone pylons, metal torches protruded eight feet up, the scorch marks above them attested to their use.

The front of the elevated dias descended about six more steps before giving way to the stone paved ground.  At the center of the amphitheater is a large circular fire pit, which was obviously used for large bonfires.

Taken in whole, and to the casual observer, it was quite impressive if not more than a little ominous, and daunting in appearance, especially to young impressionable minds rife with overactive imaginations.

As the sun began to dip below the tops of the trees, Max Donnelly signaled a stop to the yard work for the day, shaking his head with approval at the work thus far accomplished.

"Let's get the equipment cleaned up and put away for the night" Max barked, then continued with a big smile:  "then lets get naked and jump in that lake and cool off, and clean up before we fix some chow." The last two parts enlisted hardy cheers from his makeshift work crew.

"Did I forget to mention?" Max paused for effect: "Beers all around tonight boys!" That brought more than a few hoots, fist bumps and grunts of approval.

After dinner Max Donnelly sat, still naked on one of the two leather couches and watched admiringly as Carl, who had just finished collecting all the dirty paper plates, napkins, plastic utensils, and empty beer cans into plastic garbage bags, was now proceeding to haul his, and Max's duffel bags up to the far left loft.  As he ascended the steep rough hune wood steps, Max couldn't help ogle his lifelong friend, and companions ample dirty blond, fur covered bubble butt.  Max especially enjoyed the dense thicket of pubic hair between his tight crack, a site that never failed to make his cock stir, and plump up.

Max absentmindedly fluffed his own big hairy balls and reached for his expanding cock before catching himself, suddenly remembering who was there with him, and willed his dick to go down.  No need shocking the boys any more than he had already today, but he knew the time was coming when that cat would claw its way out of the bag.

Max knew with both Billy's and Baxter's upcoming ceremonies, and both ceremonies being so close together, that a lot of things that they have thus far been protected from, would come bursting to the surface.  Oddly enough, of the two, Max worried more about Baxter.

Ever since the boy was twelve, and entered puberty, both Max, and Carl's senses confirmed what they had often speculated about the boy. Long before puberty they could see the way he looked at Billy.  But once puberty hit, the pheromones kicked in, and it removed any doubts they had as to what Baxter was feeling, the smell at times, especially in close quarters could be overpowering.  Max often mused that Carl was secretly appreciative of the effect the boys raging hormones had on Max's libido, a libido that Carl often vicariously benefited from.

But they also couldn't help notice that Billy was completely clueless about it, but they knew that was about to change, once Billy claimed his Heritage on his eighteenth birthday, that secret would out itself.  If what they suspected about Billy pans out to be true, and they were both absolutely certain it was, then they still felt, at least on Billy's part, there would be no problem.

No, they both agreed the biggest hurdle will be keeping them apart until Baxter underwent his own ceremony, then the natural order of things wouldl sort them out.  But letting nature take it's course meant it was going to be imperative they keep Billy, and Baxter apart after Billy's ceremony, until Baxter went through his.  Max, and Carl were already working on a plan for that, and Max just had a few minor details to work out, and of course get Baxter's mothers approval, then keeping them apart shouldn't be to big of an issue, because neither would suspect that that is what was happening.

But right now, Max was a little concerned with what he was picking up from Baxter, and he worried that Baxter might be on the precipice of doing something that could complicate things.  It was only a minor worry he, and Carl both agreed that after all was said, and done, the problem would resolve itself, but if Baxter's internal turmoil pushed things too far, it could make things a bit unnecessarily hectic for a while, at least until the two boys have both come into their Heritage.  But still, Max was hoping his little machinations would forestall that from happening, he didn't want to see either of the boy's go through an emotional rough patch that would temporarily strain their relationship.

                                                               *****

Billy was getting a little worried about his friend.  Baxter had seemed pensive all afternoon, even distracted, definitely not his usual self.  He also couldn't help but noticed, that while the rest of them were running around as usual while at the compound completely naked, Baxter had slipped a pair of shorts on, something he had never done when they were kids; that was one of the things they use to really like doing as soon as they got here, both enjoying the sense of freedom that came from running around butt ass naked.  It always had felt quite liberating.

As JD went up in the loft to unpack his duffel bag, Billy seized the opportunity to nudge his best friend saying: "Hey bro, follow me." as he jumped up from the porch step they had been sitting on, and ran down the path toward the Lodge.

Billy kept looking back to make sure Baxter was following as he ran full out in an unissued challenge to his best bud to catch him.

As hard as he tried Baxter was a few feet behind Billy as their race ended at the dock with Billy throwing his hands up in victory, jumping up, and down, and proudly proclaiming: "And the crowd goes wild, at the humiliating defeat of Baxter Whitmore by the undefeatable machine that is Billy Donnelly!" Billy cheered himself on with his hands raised in the air dancing around when an unamused Baxter pushed Billy into the dark waters of the lake.

"There's your reward" Baxter mockingly laughed, while doing his own side step shuffle dance then shaking his ass at a very wet Billy, while he laughingly joked: "kiss this champ."

"Get your ass in here Whitmore, and I'll do a lot more than that" Billy laughingly goaded.

Baxter whipped off his shorts, and jumped in cannon ball style within a couple of feet of Billy, splashing, then dunking him almost simultaneously.

For the next fifteen to twenty minutes Billy, and Baxter splashed, raced, dunked each other, and wrestled in the cool night time waters of the lake, just like they did so many times as kids until finally, out of breath, and muscles beginning to ache slightly, they hauled themselves from the water, and lay side by side on the dock staring up into the star filled night sky until their heart rates dropped, and their breathing became less labored.

Baxter finally sat up staring off across the lake, Billy could sense him tense up again, and just as he was about to reach out to touch his friends shoulder, and ask him if something was troubling him, Baxter stood up, and started searching for his discarded shorts.

After finding them, and slipping them back on he turned to Billy, and said they should be getting back, that he was tired, and they had a long day ahead of them tomorrow, and he wanted to get some sleep.

Billy knew something was up, and with the way he felt Baxter was acting, he suspected that it had to do with something about him.

Had Baxter caught on about what happened yesterday or this morning? Did he suspect or did he overhear something someone said, maybe his Dad, and Carl had discussed it, and Baxter overheard.

Billy wracked his brain over the possibilities.

Baxter had already begun walking back in the direction of the cabin, and Billy jogged to catch up with him, but continued to ponder what to say to his best friend, how he could broach the subject, but ultimately they just both walked back to the cabin in silence, neither speaking, deep in their own thoughts.

The next day things remained pretty much the same between them.

By lunch time they'd mowed, and trimmed almost two thirds of the ceremonial grounds, and had stopped for a lunch break consisting simply of cold cut sandwiches, and chips.

Billy noticed that Baxter didn't come over, and sit with him as he usually would, but instead went off on his own, and sat on the steps leading up to the dais with the pylons.

Billy went over to the ice chest, and grabbed a couple bottles of water, and went over to his best friend, his concern mounting.

It was time to have that talk Billy thought to himself, he hated keeping things from Baxter, and he just knew Baxter could somehow sense he was, and was now upset with him for it, and as Billy saw it, how could he blame him.  He should have told Baxter what he found out about JD, and Timmy, even before he lured, and maneuvered Timmy into giving him a blowjob.

Billy was also consumed by guilt.  Twice he had lied to his friend, something he had never done before.  He had lied when Baxter messaged him after he caught JD, and Timmy together, telling Baxter that they weren't doing anything.

It's not that Billy didn't want to share his plan with Baxter, he was more afraid Baxter would be repulsed, and think Billy some sort of fag instead of just some super horny guy who just wanted to get off.  No, Billy didn't tell him because he was more afraid Baxter would stop him, and Billy really wanted that blow job!

The second time he lied to Baxter was the next morning when he called him, and told him he couldn't work out that day because he had work to do around the house, when in fact he was meeting with Timmy.

Billy had always planned to tell Baxter, and he was now sure that the fact he hadn't was somehow now coming between them.  It was a problem that Billy intended to rectify right now, as he walked over to his friend, and shoved a bottle of water under his nose: "Drink" he simply stated: "You gotta stay hydrated." Baxter accepted the drink, and gave Billy a simple smile, and a nod as he sat down next to him, close enough to feel the heat emanating from his body but still enough space that their skin didn't touch.

Baxter's thoughts raced almost as fast as the heart within his chest, he knew he had to do this, he had to tell Billy how he felt, prove he had a back bone, and face him, and in so doing free himself.

"I got a confession" Billy blurted out, just as Baxter was about to speak.

"I lied to you" he paused trying to look his friend in the eyes but letting his gaze drop to his feet before adding; "Actually I lied twice."

Baxter's head was swirling, one moment he had built himself up to reveal everything to Billy, and the next Billy was babbling about lying to him.  Baxter was confused, and was trying to clear his mind, focus, and redirecting his previous thoughts on what Billy was now saying.

Baxter listened as Billy told him he had lied about what he found out about JD, and that he lied to him a second time when he canceled their work out session at the gym the next day.

"Dude" Billy said pleadingly: "I was thrown for a loop, and I just wasn't ready to discuss it right then" he frowned at the confused look on Baxter's face, knowing he was going to have to be more forthcoming than that.

"I'm confused" Baxter said, shaking his head, still trying to refocus from his previous train of thought. "You, lied to me?" he said pointing to himself while looking quizzically at his friend.

Billy felt he had to pick up the pace before he lost the courage to say what he felt needed saying.

"Timmy's a fag, and I think my little brother might be too" he blurted out, all hushed like, so no one else could hear him, no one but Baxter that is.

Baxter felt the blood drain from his face, and his heart skipped a few beats as he heard the vehemence in the way Billy said "fag", but also curious how he came to think that his brother, and his friend Timmy were so inclined.

Billy quickly laid out the course of events from the time he spied through his brothers window to the next day right up to the part where he fucked Timmy's ass, but he cut short of telling him about their dad catching them or how much he had really enjoyed the experience.  When he was done, he stared into his friends now pale face, who just sat there staring at the ground, and saying nothing...

Billy panicked, taking Baxter's silence as disapproval, maybe even rejection or worse yet, judgement.

Defensively he quickly spat out: "I swear man, I'm not a fucking fag dude" he said pleading his case, Baxter noting there was almost a hint of desperation in his voice.

"You know I'm not!" Billy insisted before adding: "I'm no more a fucking queer than you are" he concluded,making it sound more like a supplication than a statement of fact.

Baxter stood up and took a couple of steps, his thoughts racing, his heart sinking heavily in his chest, now thankful he hadn't confessed what had been eating at him.  Any thought of making that confession to Billy was now gone.

Baxter came to the brutal realization, one made from self preservation, that the guy he had so long thought of as a brother, the best friend who would always have his back, the one person he believed, and hoped would at least understand, maybe, as he had fantasized so many times, in some small part even share, in fact felt the exact opposite.

Baxter turned and looked Billy in the eyes as if seeing him truly for the first time, and not liking what he saw.

In that moment, seeing the supplicating, near desperation in Billy's eyes.  Baxter did what he had always done, the mental cages that held the beast back within his mind got slammed shut, and pushed back into the darkest recesses of his consciousness.

Baxter smiled at Billy, a smile as fake, and as superficial as Baxter now thought his relationship, and friendship with him had always been.

No, he wasn't blaming Billy, he was exactly as he had always been, what had now suddenly changed is Baxter's perception of him, the recognition that he, and Billy were actually polar opposites.  He also saw more than a bit of self grandiosity, riddled with toxic veins of superficial sexual superiority stemming perhaps from some weak masculine insecurity, and a false sense of entitlement.

He was in fact, just Billy, a guy like any other guy, and they were, as Baxter now recognized, just buddies, two guys who just shared a couple of similar interests, nothing more than that.

Billy saw his friends smile, and jumped to his feet, and threw his arm over his shoulder, feeling happy he had gotten all that off his chest, and cleared the air between them, certain that they were squared, and back on track, barely noticing Baxter shrugging his arm off before turning, and punching him on the shoulder.

"Hands to yourself fag" Baxter taunted as he dashed away from Billy, who just laughed, then chased after him catching up, and began a playful shoving match between the two of them as they rejoined the others.

Billy was happy he had cleared the air between them, thankful his friend, by all appearances was back to his fun, playful self.

Baxter knew what was expected of him, he had played this part for more years than he cared to recall, but mentally he was busy burying all the emotions he had always carried for Billy, accepting, and inwardly embracing the death of those feelings, knowing they were never shared, and never would be.

On the inside, Baxter felt like a light had gone out, a light that use to warm him, but now was cold, and dark, a light that would never shine again.

                                                                 * * * * *

Carl McGregor was finishing cleaning the grill they'd used that evening to cook the steaks, and potatoes they had that night, he'd enlisted Baxter to help him in the attempt to lift the boy's mood.

Max, and he both had observed Billy, and him talking at lunch that afternoon, and while outwardly he seemed to be more upbeat, and even playful with Billy, and JD, they had sensed a change in him; obviously imperceptible by Billy, who seemed to accept the sudden mood change in his friend, but it hadn't fooled Max or Carl.

Underneath it all, they both sensed a deep sadness veiled by a very thin veneer of fake frivolity.  The boy was hurting inside, and even without their superior senses, they could perceive the difference from this morning to this afternoon.

It further flummoxed them that Billy was so blind to it; for the last twenty minutes Carl had tried to get Baxter to open up, and talk to him while they cleaned everything up after their meal, but Baxter was being stubborn, and with each gentle nudge Carl issued, it only seemed to make Baxter withdraw within himself even more, causing Carl to think that what Max, and he had feared the most might happen, had indeed transpired.  It seemed the only chance that could now resolve this issue between them was still weeks away.

"He's in pain." he shared with Max as they stood together later, leaning over the island counter in the kitchen, watching the boys noisily play some card game while finishing their first beers of the evening.

"That's obvious," Max groaned, his eyes never leaving Baxter: "We both know what the problem is" he continued. "But there's little either of us can do about it until they've both gone through the ceremony."

Carl knew he was right, but knowing that didn't make it any easier to accept, let alone watch.

Max could feel his long-time companion's stare burn right into the side of his peripheral vision.

"Dammit Carl," He said curtly, "I know what you want me to do, and you also know why I can't!"

Carl cast his eyes downward before responding: "I know, I'm sorry." He brought his hand up and gently touched Max's arm: "It's just so frustrating watching this happen when I know what he's feeling right now..."

Max turned and looked Carl squarely in the eyes: "It will resolve itself after the ceremony, we both know this." Max nodded his head in the direction of the boys: "We both know that right now all we can do is some damage control until then."

"Is there any way we can push up your plans for Baxter and extend them until right before his ceremony?" Carl mused, knowing the distance, and different surroundings might help ease some of Baxter's hurt.

Max smiled at Carl: "You're like a mother hen, ya know that?" he whispered with a huge smile: "I'll talk to his mom when I take him home tomorrow okay?"

"Somebody has to keep an eye on them, and keep some semblance of order around here." Carl said jovially: "If it was left up to you, they'd all be running around feral, and out of control."

"Quit your bitchin'," Max growled: "You know you love it!" he stated matter of fact, before smacking Carl's naked ass, and giving it a playful squeeze.

"Hey, hey! None of that in front of the kids!" Carl grunted before pulling away, wiggling his ass suggestively as he walked away from him.

"Keep doing that bitch and I'll take what's mine right here, and now in front of them!" he muttered under his breath, admiring the bounce of the twin melons that passed for Carl's hairy muscular ass.

                                                               * * * * *

Sunday morning they finished up what yard work they had left before noon, and  after a quick swim, and a cold cut sandwich lunch, they decided to pack everything up, and head back to civilization.

Carl could tell the strain of keeping up a happy facade was beginning to wear on Baxter, and he wasn't the least bit surprised when he climbed into the passenger side of his truck instead of JD for their journey home.

"You don't mind if I ride with you, do ya?" Baxter asked: "I've got a bit of a headache and just need some peace, and quiet for a while." he offered as an explanation.

"Not at all," Carl smiled: "I could use some of that myself after almost three days of Max."

Carl knew the real reason Baxter wanted to ride with him; it was because he didn't want to be so close to Billy right now, trapped in a long-distance ride in such close quarters was just too emotionally taxing for him right now.

Billy was hurt that Baxter would choose to ride alone with Carl instead of him, his little brother, and his Dad, he was about to say something to him when his Dad tossed his truck keys at him, and told him he was driving back; he was riding with Carl.

"What the hell?" Billy said aloud but silently wondered what was going on, his Dad never let him drive his truck on his own.

No one was more surprised than Baxter when Max opened the passenger-side door to Carl's truck, and ordered him to scoot over; he was riding with them.

Awkward didn't cover it for the way Baxter felt, sandwiched there between the two large, muscular adult males as Max instructed Carl to get his ass in gear, and they pulled out, leaving Billy and JD to follow behind them.

They mostly rode in silence as country music played softly on the cab radio.

As they hit the main road and started the return trek down the highway, Baxter felt Max move his arm behind him, and his large hand began absentmindedly stroking the neck, and the back of Baxter's head.  At first it felt uncomfortable, like an invasion into his personal space, but after a few minutes, he found himself starting to relax, and not long after that he began to find it soothing.

Despite what had transpired with Billy, he knew deep down that it didn't, and wouldn't affect his relationship with Max, not unless he wanted it too.

Right now, at this moment in time, he was beginning to find his presence, and the warmth of his touch comforting, and before long, his head eased over sideways, and rested upon Max's strong shoulder, and Baxter soon found himself drifting off into a dozing half-sleep.

                                                                * * * * *

As always, the trip back home seemed to go a lot quicker than the trip there, and before long they found themselves pulling into the Donnelly residence driveway.

It was still mid-afternoon, and as Max, and Carl unloaded what they needed from Carl's truck, Billy, JD, and Baxter unloaded the stuff from Max's truck, and hauled it into the trailer.

Billy was about to suggest to Baxter that he stay the night; he wanted to spend some time alone with him because he was getting an uncomfortable feeling that maybe things still weren't right between them, and he wanted, no needed to make sure things were good.

He wanted Baxter to understand, needed him to know that there was nothing or no one in his life more important to him than his best friend.  But, before he could suggest it, his Dad came in, and told him, and JD to go with Carl, and help him unload the mower at his place while he took Baxter home, that he needed to talk to him, and his Mom about something.

Baxter looked questioningly at Max, who just nudged him off in the direction of the front door, reassuring him there was nothing wrong, and they'd discuss it along the way.

Billy just stood there, wondering what that had all been about, and more sure than ever that something was going on with Baxter that he didn't know about.  He was definitely going to make it his mission to find out though, one way or another, if Baxter had a problem then he had a problem and he'd move heaven, and earth to help his friend with whatever it was!

                                                               * * * * *

Baxter Whitmore sat fidgeting in the passenger seat of Max Donnelly's truck as he drove down the road in the direction of Baxter's home, not five miles away, wondering what was up, or more importantly if he had done something he shouldn't have.

"Quit squirmin' " Max chided him with a big smile on his face as he concentrated on the road.

"Did I do something wrong?" Baxter asked questioningly, the worry thick in his voice.

Max laughed out loud: "Boy, I can't think of a single time you've ever done anything wrong."

Max wasn't exaggerating: "Why do you think I like having you around Billy so much?" He posited: "You keep him grounded, and he's a better person when he's with you." he stated matter of factly before continuing: "You mean more to him than anyone else in the world Baxter, surely by now, you get that don't ya?"

Baxter suddenly felt awful, finding himself wishing he'd never gone on this three day weekend; still though, Max's words changed nothing, he didn't know what he knew; hell, none of them did, not even his mom; and after yesterday's conversation with Billy, he knew Billy understood him least of all.

Max could feel he wasn't getting through to him, but he hoped he had at least planted some seeds of doubt to the dilemma in his head.

Max hoped that Baxter would go for what he was about to propose, if he didn't, he didn't really know what he could do, at least not until he came into his Heritage, go through his ceremony as Max had promised his Dad he would.

Max made one more attempt: "Baxter I hope you know you can talk to me about anything," he paused before continuing: "I promised your Dad I'd keep an eye on you, to protect you, and your Mom."

Baxter bowed his head at the mention of his father: "I'm not going to push you right now Baxter, but only if you make me one promise..." again he paused waiting for some sort of acknowledgment from Baxter, who briefly lifted his head, and gave him a quick glance, eye to eye, and nodded his head slightly: "All I ask Baxter is that you make no drastic decisions between now, and your birthday without talking to me first, can you do that?" Max asked, almost pleadingly.

"I'll try sir," Baxter responded barely louder than a whisper.

"Do more than try, Baxter" Max insisted before proclaiming: " I've already lost one son because he wouldn't talk to me; I'll be damned if I lose another, do you hear me?"

Baxter could hear the emotion in that voice, and he knew that he was talking about Michael, his eldest son, but it also warmed Baxter's heart that Max thought of him as a son, as his son.

Baxter tried to straighten up, lifting his head and facing Max head-on: "I promise sir, I won't do anything rasah without discussing it with you or my Mom."

Pulling into Baxter's driveway and stopping, he reached over and ruffled Baxter's hair playfully.

"You've grown on me kid and I like having you around." Max beamed a grin as wide as his face, a grin so infectious that it couldn't help but lift Baxter's somber mood.

Max opened his door, and stepped out of his truck: "Let's go talk to your Mom, I have a mission for you, and we're gonna need your Mom's permission first."

Baxter, not for the first time that day, looked questioningly at Max, and wondered what the heck he was up to.

                                                             * * * * *

"What do you want for dinner boys?" Carl asked as he pulled out of his driveway after unloading the riding mower, and putting it away with the rest of the lawn equipment in his garage.  Carl lived off-base in a ranch-style two-bedroom home situated back in the woods by itself away from the main road, about a mile or so past the base.

As he headed into town to pick up some food, he sat patiently waiting for a response to his query.

Billy sat silently, staring out the passenger side window of his truck tapping his index finger on his right hand against his front teeth.

This was something Carl had noticed many times over the years, that he did this when he was deep in thought, while JD busily typed out messages to his "friend" Timmy, letting him know they were back, and wondering if he could come over later.

"Earth to boys," Carl grumbled, attempting once again to get their attention, they both looked at him simultaneously with the same dumb expression on their faces.

"Food, dinner, and where?" Carl reiterated, "and don't say pizza!" he quickly added, realizing he was talking to two teenage boys.

"How about tacos?" JD casually suggested, his attention already back on his phone as he responded to another text.

"Crunch wrap supreme sounds good to me," Billy said, not really giving it any thought before drifting off again.

"Can we get Timmy something just in case he comes over too?" JD asked, his vision never once leaving the screen of his phone.

Carl just sighed. "What does he like?"

JD gave him a side glance, shrugging his shoulders before responding: "How should I know? We've never gone to Taco Bell before."

"Well of course not. What was I thinking?" Carl mockingly sighed before he moaned out loud to no one in particular: "Teenagers!"

                                                                * * * * *

Baxter Whitmore watched from the dining room in his house as Max Donnelly, and his Mom chatted outside on the back deck of their small two-story home.

Max had told him that he had something he wanted him to do but needed to talk to his Mom first, mainly to see if she not only approved but to get her input as well.

Baxter had no clue what they were discussing, and wished right now that he could read lips.  He knew Max, and his Mom talked frequently; she often turned to him for advice, especially about Baxter, and he also knew that she was aware of this Heritage ceremony that Max, Carl, and others talked about.

His Mom had assured him that it would be what his father wanted since she knew he had undergone such a ceremony when he was eighteen, right before he joined the Marine Corps.

It was while he was on his first tour of duty in Afghanistan that his Dad met up again with his old squad buddy Hank Bauers, who he had served with in Kuwait and Iraq, when everyone in their squad, except Hank, and his Dad, had been killed; that was all years before he met his Mom.

Hank was the one who introduced his Dad to Max, and Carl.  His Dad had been so impressed with them, he even put in for a transfer so he could move here after his first tour because his Dad wanted to join Max's squadron.

Baxter noticed that Max was doing most of the talking, and occasionally his Mom would look at him through the window, and give him a faint reassuring smile.

Whatever Max was saying seemed to agree with his Mom, as she kept nodding her head in agreement with whatever he was saying.

After about twenty to twenty minutes, they came back in, and asked Baxter to sit down so they could talk to him.

"Baxter," his Mom started out: "Max has made me aware that Hank Bauers, one of your Dad's closest friends and old squad buddies has decided to retire, and move here to Albany in a few weeks." she paused to let Baxter take that in, looking at Max, and then letting her continue: "Hank's coming into town in two weeks to stay for the week of Billy's eighteenth birthday so he can attend his Heritage ceremony."

"What's that got to do with me?" Baxter asked: "I'm not even allowed to go." A fact Baxter was still a bit miffed about, and was sure that it came across in the timbre of his voice.

Max ignored Baxter's almost accusatory tone, and continued: "Well, after the ceremony, Hank will be returning to North Carolina to finalize his retirement, and will be packing up to move here."

"Billy's already told me that much," Baxter said, wondering again what this had to do with him?

This time his Mom took over the conversation: "Well honey, as you know, Hank was a real good friend of your father, and he has asked if you'd like to go back with him for a couple of weeks after Billy's ceremony?"

Baxter looked from one to the other, wondering what the deal was before his Mom continued: "I know that you have expressed an interest in following in your father's footsteps in joining the Marines when you graduate, and when Hank extended his invitation: "I..." she paused: "No we," meaning Max, and her: " We thought you might like to go to Camp Lejeune and look around." she paused again before explaining further: "That's where your father went to boot camp."

"Plus," Max added: "Hank could use some help packing up, and getting his stuff ready for the movers."

Baxter pondered for a moment before responding: "What about my birthday ceremony?"

Max smiled: "Don't worry Baxter, Hank knows he has to have you back here on time for that, and just so you know, he, and his son Jake will be attending your ceremony, Hank was one of your Dad's best friends Baxter, and I think he's looking forward to seeing you through your ceremony as much as I am."

That made Baxter feel better, and the offer did intrigue him, plus it would get him away from here for a while, give him some breathing room to figure out where his head was at, and he would have the chance to talk to someone who served with his Dad before he had married his Mom, when he was Baxters age.

That thought alone sold Baxter: "I'm in" He smiled thoughtfully.

Max hugged him: "You're an amazing young man, Baxter," he said, before holding him an arm's length away, looking him right in the eyes: "Don't ever let anyone tell you differently, you hear me?"

Baxter could hear the sincerity in his voice, and though he may not think so much of Billy right now, he still very much looked up to Max, and would try to do his very best.

                                                               * * * * *

Timmy Anderson wracked his brain for some excuse he could give his parents for going out.

He so wanted to meet up with JD, it had been two, almost three whole days since he, and JD had last been together, and he was really missing him.

No one made him laugh like JD did, and though JD teased him relentlessly, he knew he secretly loved the attention, and he knew that JD realized it too.

Yeah, JD could be really aggressive, but Timmy had come to accept that he liked that too, truthfully, he liked it a lot.  He had especially enjoyed it when JD, and his big, hot, muscular brother had spit-roasted him together; that, and his brother's big dick.

Just thinking about that thing made Timmy's hole twitch in anticipation.  God, he had been fantasizing about that cock for the last two days, hoping he would get another chance at that big thing.

Timmy also thought about their Dad, he knew it was crazy to think so, but he was sure their Dad was flirting with him, and he had to admit that he was the hottest, most masculine man he had ever met.  Just the very thought of that man made his boy parts grow bigger, and made his hole tingle at the possibilities as well.

There was a knock on his bedroom door, and Timmy quickly answered it.  He was greeted by the stern countenance of his overbearing father.

"Timothy, can you come downstairs, your mother, and I have something to discuss with you."

His father spoke softly, and Timmy sensed that something was wrong, and he feared what that something could be.

After his Dad had delivered his proclamation, he turned, and headed back down the hall, and to the stairs, looking back only once to make sure that he was following him.

Timmy joined his mother, and father in the living room, his Mom looked like she had been crying, not unusual to see, she seemed to cry a lot.  Timmy was sure it was just her natural defense against everything, unless she, and his father were raving about some godless heathen or whore they haplessly landed on while searching for something good, and wholesome to watch on TV.  Not an easy task according to his father who was hyper-critical about almost every show that was currently on it.

Even at the age of eighteen, they still wouldn't allow Timmy to watch anything that was above a "G" rating.   His Dad told him to sit down, indicating the chair opposite the pristine, plastic-covered, white couch his parents stiffly sat on.

"We have some sad news," his father began, his mother thrusting a tissue under her nose right on cue to stifle a sob.

"Your grandmother Ericson," meaning his mother's mother: "has fallen ill, and has become bedridden, and she's wanting your mother to come stay with her for a while." He frowned, and shook his head slowly side to side as if he thought this news should be devastating to Timmy.  Timmy not being stupid, feigned an: "Oh no, will she be okay?"

Timmy knew his grandmother did this routinely.  It was her way of forcing her children to come visit her when everyone knew that what was usually wrong is she drank too much of that cooking sherry she kept hidden in her bedside nightstand, and probably too many Xanax, her drug de jour.

His Dad continued after what Timmy knew he thought was the appropriate amount of time had passed so as to not to upset his mother's delicate sensibilities even further.

"I've already notified work that I'll be taking a few days off to immediately take your mother to tend to your sick grandmother." He paused again, reaching his hand over to pat his mother's.

Timmy was already moaning inside, certain what was coming next, meaning he'd be expected to pack his bags, and miss his workout routine every day for the next week just so they could go fawn over his grandmother so she didn't write them out of her will.

Imagine Timmy's surprise when his father said "your mother, and I understand that you have obligations to your coach, your gymnastics team, and to maintain your workout schedule.  So, we've decided to trust you to stay home by yourself, so long as you promise to not have any guests over while we're were away, especially girls," his Dad added, and cautioned sternly: "I know how you young boys are." he scolded: "Every pretty girl turns your head, and makes you think impure thoughts, but we have agreed to trust you," he went on: "since you've shown so much dedication to your academics, and of course your sport."

His Dad stood up, and patted Timmy on the shoulder, the single most affectionate thing his Dad had done since he was like thirteen: "We are already packed, and will be leaving shortly.'' he announced as he helped his mother to her feet, and guided her back to their bedroom.

"I would appreciate your help son in loading the luggage out to the vehicle." which Timmy knew actually translated into him expected Timmy to carry it all out there, and to load it all into their SUV for them, which he did ecstatically, barely able to contain his jubilation, at his unexpected good fortune.

As they pulled out, Timmy fought the urge to jump up, and down with joy as his parent's car disappeared from sight.  Timmy raced into the house to his phone, and begin deliriously typing a message to JD: "I'm on my way stud!!!"

                                                                    CHAPTER SIX:

Anna Whitmore sat with her son Baxter at their kitchen table enjoying the evening meal she was having with her son and even more the somewhat happier mood and tone their mealtime conversation had taken.

Anna could tell her son was still troubled by something, but since she and Max Donnelly had suggested going to North Carolina for a couple of weeks next month with one of his fathers oldest and best friends, she couldn't help but note that her son's mood had improved, and while she could sense the building excitement and enthusiasm he had for the idea, she was also considering Max's other request, to perhaps take Baxter away on vacation somewhere for a couple of weeks.

She knew she had plenty of vacation time accumulated from her job as chief librarian at the local community college, and it was summertime; what better excuse for her and Baxter to get away for some mother-son time, It had been a while, and with what Max had filled her in about the troubles between Billy and Baxter, Anna was forced to agree with Max about it being best to keep the two apart for a while.

For quite some time Anna had suspected her son felt more than just friendship for Billy Donnelly, being both a mother and someone who had been in love before, she could see how her son looked at him, hung on his every word and always wanted to spend as much time as he could with him, but she also had noticed that something had recently and fundamentally shifted or changed in Baxter.

She had suspected it had to do with Billy, who else could it be about, and after talking to Max she was just as sure as he was what was wrong with him and her heart ached for him.

She wasn't as sure as Max that it would all resolve itself after both Billy and Baxter had undergone their Heritage ceremony, but she had no basis for comparison.

Her husband had indeed explained everything about himself before they married, even warned her that no matter how many children they had they would all be boys, she understood the science and history behind his claim, he had even told her what to expect as their child/children reached maturity, it was all very exciting and scary for her, but she had seen for herself with her own eyes what to expect after her son goes through his Heritage ceremony.

She was simultaneously both excited for her son and more than a little bit terrified, especially if Max and Carl were correct in what would or could happen with both Billy and subsequently Baxter, especially if it turned out to be true.

After dinner, while she and Baxter were cleaning up the dishes, as usual, her washing him drying, she decided to implement the second phase of their plan, one she had mentally dubbed "Operation Distract Baxter."

"You know Baxter..." she began, as if she had just thought of it: "I was just thinking when was the last time you and I went on vacation?" she questioned, turning to look at her son.

Baxter stopped drying the plate he held for a moment as he contemplated before answering: "I think the last time was when I was fifteen when we went to visit grandma and grandpa on their farm in Alabama." Baxter smiled at the memory his sudden recollection of that visit brought, fondly rememberig the fun he had fishing with his grandfather and the incredible pies his grandmother made.

Anna smiled back at her son: "Why don't I see about taking a couple of weeks off from work tomorrow and we go to some nice beach in Florida for a few days and then go visit your grandparents for a week or so?" she suggested, looking at her son, hoping for his approval.

Anna was thrilled by the sight of her son's huge, broad smile; at this moment she couldn't help but notice how much he looked like his father, the auburn hair, his broad, muscular chest and shoulders, his narrow waist, the way his scruff grew on his face, his deep green eyes, and his rather large, thick lips, and that adorable little pug nose set between his high cheekbones.

There was absolutely no doubt how handsome her son was and that he was his father's son, one of her biggest regrets was that she and her husband had only had the one son, she knew Baxter would have made an amazing big brother.

Anna was thrilled as her son snatched her up in his arms and practically twirled her around like a rag doll in his large muscular arms, obviously overjoyed at her suggestion.

"I take it you approve?" She mused, not needing any more confirmation than his already overzealous response indicated.

"Are you kidding?" He said giddily: "When can we leave? What beach are we going to? Can I call grandma and tell her?" It was obvious Baxter was happy, and Anna said a silent thank you to Max Donnelly for suggesting it.

                                                               * * * * *

JD was thrilled to see Timmy's red Jeep in their driveway as they pulled up in Carl's old truck, Carl would have called it "vintage"; JD couldn't wait to get him alone in his room, lock the door and rip Timmy's clothes off. "Maybe with my teeth," JD thought to himself, he was so horny.

He'd been exchanging messages with Timmy since they got back, and he was almost as thrilled as Timmy seemed to be when he messaged him to let him know his parents had left town for a few days.

JD intended to take full advantage of the situation, his dick already half chubbed, and wanting immediate attention.  He couldn't help notice that even Billy seemed to perk up when they got out of the truck, and saw Timmy stand up from where he had been sitting on their front porch, waiting.

He was only wearing a pair of skin-tight, very short gym shorts that hugged his huge muscular bubble butt like a second skin, and an old thin sweatshirt that had been cut off right about the mid-waist, JD especially enjoyed the light blond hairs of his treasure trail as it disappeared into the low cut waistband of his skimpy shorts.

"Good god" JD thought, he could just lick him all over like a lollipop right here, right now.

No sooner than Carl had ushered all the boys into the trailer, and was passing out paper plates to everyone at the kitchen table, when Max walked through the front door.

Billy had half hoped Baxter would be with him, but he had kind of guessed he wouldn't be, he was still feeling a lot of angst over Baxter, and was having a hard time thinking about anything else, he desperately wanted to know what Baxter, and his Dad had discussed, and waited for the opportunity to speak to his Dad alone.

As they all sat down for dinner at the small round table in their kitchen, Billy couldn't help but notice that Timmy positioned himself between his Dad, and JD, as the meal progressed he watched with casual interest as his Dad, and Timmy continuously flirted with each other.

Timmy kept batting his eyes at their Dad, and with what could only be described as a giggle, did so at every lame Dad joke their made, Timmy also constantly kept touching their Dad's arm, lingering there far longer than what anyone would deem appropriate.

Billy noticed even Carl giving the duo the side-eye at the almost comical flirtation exhibited by the pair.

By the end of the meal JD was getting visibly annoyed, but it didn't end until Carl stood up, announcing he was tired, and going home.

Billy sensed he was kind of put off as well by the constant flirtation between his Dad, and Timmy.  Carl's sudden decision to head home seemed to be the catalyst that finally spurred their father to end his exchanges with Timmy, as he also rose to go after Carl, who was already heading out the front door.

Billy observed out the kitchen window from where he sat, and watched as his Dad caught up with Carl just as he got to his truck; he saw his Dad's right-hand raise, and move around Carl's body to the top of the truck door, and held it shut, preventing Carl from opening it.  Carl just stood there with his hand still on the truck door handle, while their Dad talked to him from behind until Carl finally turned around, and Billy's placed both hands on his shoulders.

Their Dad talked, and Carl listened.  After a while, Carl's head bowed, and he nodded a few times before their Dad let him go, and he climbed into his truck, and started it.

Billy watched as his Dad headed back to their front door: "Hey boy's I'm going over to Carl's for a while, we have a few things we need to discuss and work on, don't expect me back until late." he shouted, before turning, and heading back to Carl's truck and got in.

"Dammit," Billy thought to himself, miffed that he hadn't gotten the chance to talk to his Dad about Baxter, and as his thoughts once again began to dwell on his friend, Billy's mood soured and he got up from the table and headed for his room, leaving JD, and Timmy to fend for themselves.

Billy picked up his phone, and tried to think of some way he could approach the topic via text message with Baxter, but frustratingly couldn't think of anything that didn't sound completely lame, so he just called it quits, and decided he'd just hash it all out with his buddy after their morning workout at the gym the next day.

Having decided on a course of action, Billy decided to strip and hit the shower, and just turn in early.  As he crossed the hall naked to the bathroom, he couldn't help but notice JD, and Timmy had already locked themselves up in JD's room.  Billy kind of mentally kicked himself for not at least thinking far ahead enough to at least have gotten a blowjob off Timmy, but then again, he had some pretty important stuff on his mind distracting him.

After his shower, Billy just flipped his a/c on, climbed under the sheet of his bed, and allowed himself to drift off to a bit of restless sleep.

It must have been sometime after one in the morning when he heard his bedroom door creak open.  In his lighter than normal sleep mode, he was instantly aware of its opening, and he was certain of who it was, and exactly what he wanted.

His dick knew what he wanted too, as it began to instantly expand, and engorge with blood, and it was fully erect in seconds, waiting for what it knew was coming.

Billy felt the shifting weight of someone climbing onto the foot of his bed, felt the sheet lift over his feet as that person moved under it, and up his body between his muscular hairy legs.

He moaned as wet lips found his cock-head, and a wet tongue swabbed his hooded glans, before sucking his foreskin into his mouth, forcing the tip of his tongue into the folds, and wetly drove the tip of his tongue into his already leaking piss slit.

Billy didn't speak, he just moaned as the hungry wet mouth began to devour his thick nine inch cock, he felt it stop as the bulbous head of his dick poked at the back of Timmy's throat, trying to force the thick mushroom-shaped knob to move past his uvula to penetrate the warm silky wetness of his throat.

Frustrated with the cocksuckers hesitancy, Billy reached down, and interlocked his fingers behind his head, and rammed his throbbing cock to the balls, grinding his nads against Timmy's chin, enjoying the sensation of the choking, and gagging as his pole smoker struggled with his prodigious member.

Billy completely dominated his cocksucker's mouth, pulling slightly back but not letting the lemon-sized head of his uncut dong slip past the entrance of his throat.

"Breath through your nose, bitch," he whispered gruffly: "cause my dick ain't leaving that throat until I say so."

As if to accentuate the veracity of what he was saying, he slammed back balls-deep, and ground his hairy testicles against the cock-suckers chin refusing to let him pull back even a fraction of an inch.

Billy just held him there, could feel the increased choking, the desperate hands trying to push him away, even the convulsions that made his throat muscles undulate as he tried to vomit his fleshy sword from the recesses of his impaled orifice.

After a minute or so, Billy backed out just a couple of inches, still leaving the swollen head of his cock inside the throat just past the uvula.

"I told you to breath through your nose, bitch." Billy swore as he rapidly micro humped his glans into his oral cavity in his attempt at throat fucking his captive cock slave's throat hole to loosen it, and allow his cocksucker to gasp air around his invading member.

Slowly, through trial, and error, and more than a little desperation, necessity forced the throat muscles to loosen, and expand around the thick cock-head, allowing for the briefest wisp of air to come sucking around his fat glans.  The sensation was exhilarating to Billy, and added a new dimension to the oral molestation of his cocksucker's mouth pussy.

Billy redoubled his assault, ramming harder, and harder into those wet dick smoking, cock gobbler lips, and throat as Billy could feel his much-needed orgasm build to a crescendo, before finally releasing the torrents of molten sperm into the hungry waiting depths of his cocksucker's esophagus.

As the waves of his orgasm abated into an oozing pulse of thick cum, Billy yanked his cock-sucker off his dick by the curly short locks on the crown of his head.

Timmy gasped for air, gurgling around the thick mucous, and copious amounts of sperm, and semen that still obstructed his throat cavity.  As Billy shoved him backward, forcing himself between Timmy's legs, grasping the base of his still very erect pole, Billy used the tip of his still sperm drenched glans to find Timmy's already puffy hole, and rubbed his gooey essence around the lips of his anal folds.

As Billy leaned forward, burying his face in Timmy's muscular neck, and gently biting into the flesh below his left ear, Timmy dug his heels into Billy's ass, as Billy rammed the full length of his turgid pole balls deep into Timmy's tight entrails.

Timmy would have cried out in pain if Billy hadn't swiftly covered his mouth with his left hand, muffling his cries as Billy began to punch fuck Timmy's guts with his engorged organ.

At first, Timmy's anal ring clung to the flesh of Billy's dong, but as Billy continued leaking large amounts of semen into his anal cavity, the sloppy foaming soup that formed eased his invading passage and Timmy's hole loosened, and allowed easier access to Billy's rampaging prostate poker.

With each push, and pull of his dick, the coronal ridge of Billy's glans mauled Timmy's prostate, making Timmy gasp, and moan like a slut in heat, humping his upturned muscular ass into Billy's driving pelvis, the wet, sloppy, sucking sounds of Timmy's ravaged hole drove Billy into making deep guttural groans as he ruthlessly pummeled Timmy's anal orifice.

Timmy could feel it deep in his anal cavity, as waves of pleasure pulsated from his battered prostate throughout his whole body, his five inch cock jumped, and throbbed, and with a silent scream of orgasmic pleasure that erupted from his own cock, sprayed his, and Billy's chest, and abdominals with copious amounts of his sticky ball juice.

Timmy's orgasmic bliss made his anus spasm, and undulate, his anal ring clutch, and squeeze at Billy's rampant dick, triggering his own seismic orgasm, which erupted from the pulsing head of his cock like a fire-hose, spraying Timmy's guts with his thick, hot manly juices.

Sweating like a prized racehorse after a winning race, Billy collapsed on top of Timmy as Timmy absentmindedly kissed, and licked the sweat from Billy's neck as he just lay there trying to catch his breath.

Unable to move a muscle, he just lay there letting his half-hard dick dribble into Timmy's wet sloppy hole, without even saying a word as Timmy stroked the muscles of his sweaty back with both his hands as Billy drifted into a deep sleep.

                                                            * * * * *

Billy found himself in a dark pool of swirling water, he didn't know how he got there, only that it was dark; the only time he could see anything was by the ever-increasing frequency of the flashing lightning storm that raged around him.

Gale force winds pummeled him, and forced him to tread the murky dark waters that splashed against his face relentlessly.

With one huge flash of lightning, Billy saw Baxter reaching out to him, to his immediate right pleading for Billy to take his hand, which was mere inches away from his.  He could see that Baxter was being pulled towards a watery vortex, and was trying to swim toward Billy, but was gradually losing ground.

Billy fought as hard as he could to close the distance between them, desperately trying to clutch Baxter's outstretched hand, their fingers barely making contact.

Billy kept screaming Baxter's name over, and over, but the current of the whirlpool kept pulling Baxter from his grasp, and he watched in horror as he was slowly, inexorably sucked under time, and time again, begging Billy to save him, the absolute terror, and desperation on his face, and in his eyes wrenched at Billy's heart, and soul as Baxter was dragged beneath the roiling dark surface one final time, never to rise again.

Billy wailed uselessly at the raging storm, powerless to save the one person who meant the most in the world to him.

He surrendered himself to despair, and as the dark waters consumed him in his anguish, the cacophonous explosions of lightning left a deafening ringing in his ears as the lingering scent of honey, and feshly dug earth, lingered in the air.

                                                           * * * * *

Billy woke with a start to the loud, persistent buzz of his alarm clock, his chest heaved at the vague recollection of his dream.

Billy had set his alarm for an hour earlier so he'd have plenty of time to get ready to go too Baxter's house with enough time for him, and Baxter to have a moment to chat before they headed over to the base gym to do their morning workout.

Billy noted that Timmy had vacated his bed at some point last night, and he was kind of grateful for that; he really didn't want any distractions this morning.

Billy quickly showered, and brushed his teeth.  He had just finished getting dressed in his room when his phone dinged with a new message.  Billy looked at it knowing at this early hour, it had to be from Baxter.

It was...

"Hey bro, gotta cancel today. Mom, and I are working on something today...fill ya in later."

"Dammit!" was all Billy said. He was really disappointed now; he was so looking forward to finally getting to spend some time with Baxter alone, and figure out what was eating at his best friend.

"Sumthin' up dude?" came the question from his little brother, who was now standing in his doorway.

"It's Baxter; he's canceled on me today." he responded, still staring at his phone still not sure what to say back: "He's been a bit off recently, and I think he's upset about something." He looked over at his brother, leaning against his door jam dressed only in a pair of sweatpants.

"Well, he's probably upset you didn't give him a kiss before he left with Dad yesterday." JD said, taunting his brother.

"Baxter, and I aren't like you and Timmy." Billy said, giving his brother the finger.

"Ouch dude, that was rude." JD feigned hurt by clutching his heart before responding: "You know, since Baxter can't make it, and I know you've missed a few days of working out..." He paused gauging his brother's responsiveness: "Timmy, and I could go with ya, and show ya how to do it right?" Then he quickly added: "You have been looking a bit scrawny as of late, just sayin'."

Billy couldn't help but laugh at his little brother.  He knew he was just trying to help out: "Ya know, that's not a bad idea, and it has been a few days since I've logged some gym time, plus it sure as hell couldn't hurt you to do so, runt." Billy chided.

"You're on dude!" He turned to head back to his room: "Let me just rouse Timmy, and get his beautiful ass in gear so we can head out."

"I'll whip us up some protein shakes for breakfast; can't work out on an empty tank dude." Billy smiled for the first time that day.

Though in the back of his mind he was still worried about Baxter, he welcomed the distraction his brother was offering.  Billy was finding he was actually looking forward to seeing Timmy workout; he'd never seen him do any gymnastics before, and was kind of curious about it.

                                                               * * * * *

The morning went remarkably well, all considered Billy thought, turn's out that his little brother wasn't such a bad workout partner, with Timmy proving to be even better.

Timmy was surprisingly able to keep up with Billy as he went through his routines, that's not to say Timmy could match the amount of weight Billy was use too, but he came close enough to impress Billy; especially considering his lighter build, and smaller stature.  At only five foot eight inches Billy was completely impressed with how much muscle, and muscle control Timmy had.

But where Timmy really shone came later in the morning when he gathered several yoga mats, and laid them end to end before starting his gymnastic stretches, tumbles, and flip routines.

Toward the end of his workout, almost everyone in the gym had stopped their workouts to watch this young, blond Adonis twist, flip, role, and contort his body into almost any conceivable position, effortlessly.

His final run had him rolling into a standing jump into the air where he tucked into a ball, and rotated no less than three times mid-air before he then landed perfectly into a full split, and without breaking his split at all, was able to, in an amazing display of muscle control, raise sideways.

Moving his split vertically, Timmy twisted into a handstand split position, and rotated his entire body in a 360-degree spin that culminated into a backward flip right into a perfect straight-legged standing, chest out, arms raised skyward position.

Everyone cheered, and applauded him.  Billy couldn't help notice more than a few guys there re-adjusting their crotches as they went back to their own workout routines; but continued doing so while constantly side-eyeing Timmy.

Billy knew what they were thinking because he was thinking the same thing, and also found himself among the others having to adjust the growing bulge in his jockstrap; especially when every bit of Timmy's routine only served to highlight, and showcase his amazing muscular bubble butt.

As morning gave way to afternoon, and Billy returned home by himself, Timmy, and JD had decide to pop over to Timmy's house so he could get some clean clothes, and then go out for something to eat together, leaving Billy alone to fend for himself.

Billy couldn't help but notice his Dad's truck was still there but knew his Dad wasn't, which meant he never returned from Carl's the night before.

Billy just shook his head figuring his Dad, and Carl must have gone whoring last night, and his Dad got lucky.  He knew his dad kept spare uniforms at Carl's house, so there was no need for him to rush home, and do the early morning walk of shame in front of his sons.

Bored out of his mind, Billy decided to give his best bud Baxter a call, and let him know he was gonna hop on his bike, and head on over so they could hang out before his early part-time shift started at the local Piggly Wiggly, where he worked as a stock boy.

Billy still wanted very much to talk to Baxter about the last few days, and clear the air between them, discuss any problems, and get them resolved.  The last thing Billy wanted or needed right now, with everything that's been going on, and with the pressure of his looming birthday ceremony, was an upset best friend; someone who Billy solely counted on for moral support, and the occasional morale boost.  Plus, he wanted to tell Baxter about that weird-ass dream he had the night before, as scary as it was at the time, he knew Baxter would probably turn it into something humorous, and dispel whatever angst Billy still felt over it.  More than ever though, Billy knew Baxter was always his rock, the one that kept him grounded and centered, and would always be there for him, no matter what.

Billy picked up his phone, and tapped Baxter's icon dialing his number, releived by the all too familiar: "Sup dude?" as the calming voice of his life long best friend greeted him.

"Hey Baxter!" Billy practically sighed with relief at hearing his friend's voice: "I'm just calling to let ya know I'm getting ready to head on over to yours so we can hang for a few before my shift."

"Um..." Billy heard the hesitation in Baxter's voice: "Sorry dude, no can do." Billy got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as Baxter continued: "Mom and I are packing right as we speak."

Billy quickly interrupted, concern in his voice: "Is something wrong, do you need my help?"

Baxter could hear that concern: "No bro, mom just surprised me when I got home yesterday." He tried sounding upbeat with Billy, putting him at ease: "She and I are going on vacation, and we're leaving here shortly."

"Leaving?" Billy stammered questioningly, his head beginning to swim, and feeling like the room around him had begun to spin.

"Yeah, we're going to a beach in Florida for the rest of the week, and then to my grandparents, the following week. Ain't that kewl dude?"

Billy didn't think it was "kewl" at all, he felt like he was alone all of sudden. He felt like he was sinking, and Baxter was drifting away, out of reach.

"Anyway..." Baxter said, sounding a bit distant: "Gotta go, dude, gotta finish packing. Catch ya when we get back."

Billy knew that he hung up, the silence coming from his phone was almost deafening. His thoughts spiraled, leaving a sinking feeling to sweep over him as he felt Baxter drifting away from him, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

For the first time since his mother left them as kids, Billy sat on his bed, folding into himself, feeling like he was being abandoned for the second time in his life.

As Billy collapsed across his bed with his forearm over his eyes, Billy felt like... crying.

                                                           * * * * *

Max Donnelly had just finished giving some last-minute corrections to one of the Lance Corporals under his command, and making sure he understood all his instructions to the letter, before calling it quits for the day.

Max hated the more mundane administrative aspects of his job as a Master Sergeant in the Marine Corps, the paperwork alone was mostly mind-boggling, anal-retentive bullshit intentionally designed by bureaucrats to over inflate, and massage the egos behind it.

Max called them kingdom builders, smug little men with big attitudes, and an even bigger overestimation of their worth, and contribution to the Corps.  Max was far more the hands-on type of guy, preferring to knuckle down, get hands-on dirty with his men, and just get the job done.  Definitely not a "cross the t's, and dot the I's" kind of man. But, red tape is what drives today's military, and Max reluctantly played the game.  It was also what was adding to the darker aspects of Max's mood today.  But as usual, it often made him more self-reflective as well, something he had been doing all day, especially after the events of the last few days, and last night with Carl.

Max hated disciplining Carl, but Max also knew he couldn't allow Carl's little display of disrespect, spurred by petty jealousy yesterday in front of his son's, just go unaccounted for.

As he approached Carl's truck, who was dutifully waiting to pick Max up, and take him home, he was hopeful Carl was in a better state of mind.  Max didn't want to have to repeat last night's corrective actions again.

As he scooted into the truck he couldn't help notice how Carl just stared eyes forward, no greeting, no eye contact.

Max wasn't expecting a bubbly reception but he also wasn't in the mood for attitude either, he needed Carl's mind focused, especially with all the upcoming events they still had to orchestrate.

"Still in a mood I see." Max spoke bluntly, and to the point: "Carl?" Max tried to control himself, and speak more calmly: "I need you focused right now, not pouting like some jealous schoolgirl." Max was just being honest, trying to appeal to Carl's usually more reasonable side, as Carl still stared straight forward, his hands gripping the steering wheel of his truck.

"Permission to speak freely, Sir." Carl muttered, trying to mask all emotions in the timbre of his voice.

Max's eyes flared into laser focus, boring into him before nearly hissing: "Since when have I ever expected anything less from you?" then quickly added: "And don't push me with that "Sir" bullshit."

Max's hackles were up now, and he was not in the mood for games.   He watched as Carl bowed his head, and glanced over at him, briefly making eye contact before submissively lowering his gaze.

"Its been a long time since you've taken your belt to me like that Max." He stammered.

"So..." Max countered: "You think just because its been a while, that it was unwarranted?" he questioned, practically demanding a response with the severity of his tone.

Max knew what the real problem was, and he didn't want to start the evening off with another belt thrashing of Carl's ass; Max reached over and lifted Carl's chin with his right hand, turning his head upward, insisting Carl make eye contact.

"Just because I show interest in someone else," he began, this time more softly, "doesn't negate or change what I have with you, and you know it!"

Carl sighed: "I can't help the way I feel Max, and you punishing me made me think what I feel doesn't matter to you."

Max shook his head, moving his hand to gently stroke Carl's neck, and tried to temper his response, while still not backing down: "You know I didn't punish you because of how you feel, I punished you because of how you acted with me, and especially the way you acted in front of the boys." Max leaned forward, clasping the back of Carl's head, and staring intently into his eyes: "If you don't know by now, after all these years, how I feel about you..."Max paused, choosing his words carefully: "Through all those years with Monaca, the mother of my three children, did I ever willingly neglect you?"

Max paused for a response, watching as Carl's head hesitantly nodded side to side: "Have I not included you in every aspect of my life, even in bringing up the boys? Yes, I'm attracted to that kid," Max said bluntly: "But even if I do claim him or just have some fun with him, it doesn't affect us and what we've had, and as far as I'm concerned, will always have." Max had both hands behind Carl's head now, forcing him to stare him right in the eyes: "Use your senses Carl, am I lying to you?"

Carl bowed his head again, he knew he was right, Max was almost always right, and he was proving once again how far more level headed he could be when one doesn't let sentimentality, and selfishness override reason.

At that moment Carl couldn't help but compare what Billy, and Baxter were now going through with his, and Max's almost identical experiences before their Heritage ceremony.

What a mess that was; but Max's sire knew they lacked the perspective they would gain from the ceremony, and as it was then, they were both certain now the same perspective would help Billy, and Baxter.

"You didn't have to hit me so hard ya know." Carl mused, a slight grin spreading across his face.

Max growled softly: "You loved it, and you know it"

Carl blushed, slightly embarrassed because he knew it was true.

"Now let's get the fuck out of here." Max demanded, waving his hand forward, and settling back into his seat.

"By the way..."Max exclaimed: "It's way past time the boys learned to deal with some simple truths." Max ignored the puzzled look on Carl's face: "You'll be staying over tonight. Let's see how they deal with that!"

Carl gulped, thinking to himself...this could get interesting.

                                                              * * * * *

Gavin Hollis was distracted.

He'd just finished correcting yet another re-order number that he had made a mistake on, as he remined himsel that this only happened when "he" was working.  How could he be expected to concentrate with "him" to work with?

That "him", of course, was Billy Donnelly. The distracting factor wasn't anything that Billy did.  No, it was just his mere presence that was a problem.

The way he moved, the way the light would catch his bulging muscles, the cleft in his broad masculine chin, and his squared jawline.  It was the persistent five o'clock shadow, his dark thick wiry, and wavy brown hair, and of course that bulge; no matter what he wore, there was always that mound of hidden flesh pushing against the straining fabric of his clothing.

Gavin could remember all the times he'd glance over at Billy in PE period in school, his locker being just across from Billy's.  The countless times he would turn just to see him standing sideways, talking to his equally hot bestie Baxter Whitmore, for Gavin, both were the stuff of his most lurid teen sexual fantasies.

Yeah, he looked, who could resist that massive bulge in his jockstrap or his hairy asscrack?  Oh, and that butt; big protruding twin mounds of muscle packed flesh stacked on top of massive tree trunk sized thighs.

"Shit," Gavin said aloud, he had entered another mistake, at this rate he was going to lose his job if he didn't get his act together.

Actually, there was no real fear of that happening, his uncle was the store manager, and Gavin's significant computer skills had proven quite useful to his uncle, helping him track on-hand inventory, and a coded program he had written to help one click re-orders, using handheld tablets like he was doing right now with the stock boy on duty; which unfortunately for Gavin, happened to be his second biggest crush, Billy Donnelly.  His first biggest crush being that giant blond muscle god, and prized fullback for the football team, Arliss Gundarsun.

Arliss made even Billy look small in comparison; Billy being six foot in height, and Arliss being at least six foot four inches, but unlike Billy, who was a very outgoing kind of guy that most people liked, Arliss was often withdrawn, and extremely quiet, and introverted.

They were also kind of polar opposites.  Billy's skin tone skewed to the pale side whereas Arliss was very tanned, being a farm boy, and spending countless hours outdoors working on his family's farm.

They also contrasted in hair color, Billy's darker brown hair vs Arliss's sandy golden blond hair; blond hair that covered almost everywhere, his arms, chest, abdomen, legs, and ass, which was thick too, the kind of thickness one was sure their fingers could get caught in.

The best part of Arliss for Gavin though was the fact he was so shy, and soft-spoken.

There wasn't a presumptuous bone in the guy's body; Gavin knew this because they were kind of friends, well, as friendly as Arliss could be with no social life other than going to school, football being the only exception his parents made since most of what could be considered spare time to the average teenager was time Arliss spent working on the farm; that, and his parents didn't seem to like having strangers around.  They tolerated Gavin because he often helped their son with his schoolwork, which Arliss needed from time to time, not that he was slower or less intelligent than others, it just boiled down to time, and the family farm consumed most of his.

Every day, for the last three years going to, and from school, Gavin would help Arliss cram for his classes, which was usually just enough to help him maintain the grade average he needed to still be able to play football.

All that was over now, since Arliss had graduated, and was now working full time on his family's farm.

Gavin didn't know how he was going to handle his daily commutes without Arliss, and Gavin was determined to save enough money from his summertime job to buy himself a nice dependable used car so he didn't have to depend on the school bus for transportation.

Being the nerdy type, didn't exactly endear Gavin with the other football jocks on Arliss's team.  They tolerated Gavin because they didn't want to piss Arliss off; no one wanted to do that.

One defensive back tried one time to make sure Gavin knew he wasn't welcome, and shoulder shoved Gavin in the hallway up against his locker, he could have easily passed it off as an accident, but the idiot decided to laugh at him, and warn him to stay out of his way, ending it by calling Gavin a nerdy little faggot.

Gavin was sure the guy probably just about pissed himself when Arliss, with one hand, snatched the guy into the air, and tossed him across the hallway to smash into the lockers on the other side so hard it dented two of them.

Not a word was exchanged, but Gavin never had a single problem with anyone after that.  But this year, his senior year, there would be no Arliss there, and Gavin kind of worried about how different his life might be when he went back to school in the fall.

"Dammit," his program dinged again, rejecting for the umpteenth time the erroneous order number he had typed in.

"Is there something wrong?" said the deep voice that came from about two feet away, Gavin was surprised to see Billy; he didn't even hear him approach.

"Yes," Gavin blurted, sounding harsher than he intended: "I keep entering the wrong numbers."

"It's not my fault is it?" Billy asked, legitimately thinking it might be his fault because he was the one writing down the product codes from the stock inventory for Gavin to enter into the system.

Gavin chuckled: "I wish I could blame you, but I'm the one screwing up, not you."

"I was just wondering." Billy said rather self-deprecatingly: "Judging by the last few days, it doesn't seem like I can do anything right."

Gavin frowned: "Know that feelin' all too well dude."

Gavin thought for a second, looking at Billy, and how he didn't seem to be his usual upbeat self.  Not that Gavin was accustomed to working around him; they'd only worked together like three or four times in the last few months.  Gavin usually worked in the afternoon instead of early evening hours, but he certainly seemed rather glum today: " Hey, ya know what?" Gavin spoke, it was more of a statement than a question: "Why don't we take a break; we've been at this pretty steady for the last two hours, and I don't know about you," He paused pointing a finger trigger at his head before firing: "my brains about fried, how about you?"

Billy laughed: "Yeah, I could go for something cold to drink, and a breath of fresh air." Stopping to fan his face with his right hand: "It's kinda warm and muggy in here, especially with these thick overalls we wear."

Gavin wasn't that uncomfortable, but then again Billy probably had a good seventy five pounds or more on him, not that Gavin was scrawny or anything, he did try to work out regularly, but he was only five foot seven inches, and about hundred and forty five pounds.  Not skinny, by any means, but nowhere near as buff, and bulky as Billy.

"Let's grab a couple of bottled waters, and slip out back shall we?"

Out back meant where the truckers would deliver, and usually contained trailers that had been dropped off that were in need of being unloaded and sorted.

The entire area was fenced off, and unless you worked that section, people were kind of discouraged from hanging around there, management citing security reasons, and employee safety as the reason, but everyone knew they were afraid of employees stealing from the unpacked trailers.

"You sure that's kewl?" Billy questioned.

Gavin smiled, mischievously: "Of course not, but my uncle is the store manager, ya know." he concluded with a wink.

Billy smiled back at him, really beginning to like this guy: "Lead the way boss man." following him as they went to fetch some water first before stepping outside into the warm night air.

As they settled against one of the loading docks in the back of the building, Billy decided to unzip his overalls down to his waist then peeled it back over his torso, exposing his broad, slightly hairy chest, and abs as brought the sleeves of the garment forward, and tied them around his hips.

Though Billy didn't catch the longing, and appreciative sideways glances Gavin gave him, he definitely could see how he started sweating more, something Billy noted first by the smell, a smell somehow vaguely familiar, the scent of something like honey, and newly dug dirt; but here, outside, it faded in the warm summer breeze, and was quickly forgotten.

It didn't bother him if Gavin looked, he had heard the locker room rumors about him, and Arliss Gundarsun, rumors no one with half a brain would even whisper anywhere within earshot of Arliss if they valued breathing that is.

Truth be told, Billy found more, and more, he rather enjoyed the way people looked at him.  He knew it was vain, but so what? Who did it harm? Certainly not him or the person looking. Then there was the simple truth; he was enjoying talking to someone, it felt good just bullshitting, and not fretting over things he had no control over.

He missed Baxter, and yes, he desperately wanted to clear the air between them, but Baxter wasn't here, and if he was being honest, he felt that Baxter was deliberately avoiding him.  He didn't like it, but there was nothing he could do about it, so why not just let it go for now, and enjoy the company of someone who enjoyed being with him as well.

As they concluded their break, and re-entered the building, Billy started to untie the sleeves, thinking to pull the top of the coveralls back over his torso, when Gavin stopped him, saying, that since it was so hot, and that they were the only ones back there right now, that it didn't bother him if he wanted to be more comfortable.

Billy smirked to himself.  Of course it didn't bother him.  No, Billy didn't know if the rumors were true, but one thing he did know was true; the obvious bulge in Gavin's crotch that hadn't been there before they stepped outside, was a big indicator.  There was also the increased sweating, and the constant sideways glances that seemed to focus on his chest, and abs.  Who knows, maybe, like his little brother, he could have his own Timmy...

That was it! The smell, scent, whatever you wanted to call it, he had smelled it before, even though it was faint, and there were minor differences, Gavin smelled like Timmy! That faint honey and freshly dug earth scent, stronger, and now a more pervasive odor here in this static, enclosed environment.  Yes, it was still faint, but it was there.

He didn't know what it meant, maybe they used the same type of soap or cologne, but somewhere in the back of his mind he realized that scent had followed him almost his entire life.  He found it simultaneously comforting, and now more recently, arousing.

Billy felt the blood flow start to increase in his groin, gradually filtering it's way to his previously flaccid cock.  He could feel his dick start to press against the fabric of his overalls.  He didn't try to curb or conceal his expanding bulge, instead, he went with it, deciding to test what he was sensing about Gavin.

Billy hiked the fabric of his overalls at the crotch, letting it accentuate his growing member, allowing it to stretch out, and tent the front of his coveralls, and noting that it had worked!  Gavin could barely conceal his roaming eyes, now a bit wider, and more insistent, and Billy could almost feel his increased respiration, and the notable flaring of his nostrils, and of course that scent...

"Hey?" Billy decided to leap: "Got anything planned after work tonight?" he asked almost suggestively, his voice a little raspy, deeper, and thick with his mounting desire, watching as Gavin gulped, trying to convince his lips to move while also trying to peel his eyes away from Billy's bulging crotch, and meet Billy's lusty gaze.

"Unfortunately, I do." Gavin stammered, really wishing he didn't right now: "I promised my uncle I'd stop by, and go over these numbers when we're done, he's anxious about getting this stock program implemented as soon as possible." he said by way of an explanation.

"Do you work tomorrow?" Gavin half-asked hopefully.

"Yup." was Billy's one-word response.

"So do I!" Gavin stated excitedly: "Maybe we could go hang out or something afterward...?"

Billy allowed the question to linger for a minute, not wanting to appear too eager, then responded: "Sounds like a plan."

Gavin's ear-to-ear smile, and visible excitement made Billy smile too, as the two boys went about their work a lot more lightheartedly than they had before.

                                                              * * * * *

Max had allowed Carl to badger him into doing some grocery shopping at the base commissary before heading home, not his favorite thing to do, which is why Carl usually did it for him, but he didn't mind so much today.

Swallowing his pride a little, and allowing Carl this small bit of PDA, and it was PDA, knowing that two Marines grocery shopping, and pushing a cart around together, was almost the social equivalent of holding hands in public on a Marine base.

He did it telling himself he was just placating Carl's desire to domesticate him, at least a little, and Max was fine with that; relationships could be complicated things, and Carl has been very patient, and tolerant over the years, and Max has recently decided that, combined with his alternate duties, and position, Carl warranted a few special, long over due considerations.

Max knew Carl understood the statement they would be making tonight; with the simple phrase of Carl spending the night, Max meant that it would not be on the couch, as he had sometimes done in the past.  But instead, this time in his bedroom, and in Max's bed.  

Most of all, he was doing this for Carl, not because Carl wanted him too, or emotionally coerced him into it, but because Carl deserved it.  He deserved the recognition, and acknowledgment of his position, and role in his life.

On some level, he knew Carl was freaking out right now, and Max had to admit to himself, this was as bold a move as he had ever made, but with Billy's approaching birthday, and his coming into his Heritage, combined by what both he, and Carl sensed about his middle son, and what that could mean not only in their lives, but countless others, if it did indeed pan out to be true.

Max thought of the old axiom: "Change is the only constant in the universe." and every one of Max's senses crackled with it, every fiber of his being told him that things were about to change, evolve, metamorphose, and Max was determined he would be ready to face it head-on with an open heart, and an open mind.

                                                                  * * * * *

As Billy turned into his driveway, he couldn't help note that Carl's truck was still there.

It was after ten, and Billy thought it rather odd he would be here this late since it was a work night.  He was happy to see that Timmy's Jeep was there, and he hoped he could get a repeat performance like he had the night before, especially after that trip home on his bike, which vibrated his crotch all the way, and made him even hornier than he was before leaving work after saying goodnight to Gavin.

"How's it going guys!" Billy called out as he entered through the front door.

"Over here kiddo" he heard his Dad say from the direction of the kitchen, where he, and Carl sat; Carl on his laptop surrounded by some papers laid out on the table: "Ya caught us working on your birthday stuff." his dad mused, looking very much like the cat that had caught the canary.

Carl looked up briefly, and asked: "How do you feel about roasting a pig for your birthday meal?"

Before Billy could respond his Dad corrected: "You mean pigs as in plural."

Billy looked quizzically at his Dad: "Why so much? I don't know that many people?"

His Dad leaned back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest, and responded with: "Because there will be a lot of people there, some you know, some you have met over the years, and quite a few you have never met."

Billy looked at his father, puzzled by his response: "If they've never met me then why are they invited?"

His Dad's eyes took on a more menacing look: "Because they must be there, and bare witness!"

Billy wasn't so sure he wanted to know what his Dad meant by that, so he just let it drop: "Pig sounds good to me." he said, attempting a half-smile as he said it.

"There's a plate of lasagna, and garlic bread in the oven for you." Carl cut in, effectively ending the birthday conversation, and concluded with: "I think we're done for the night." he added, closing his laptop, and reaching for his beer.

"I'm going to go wash up first, then I'll eat." Billy said as he headed down the hallway in the direction of his room.

As he passed JD's room, he noticed that the door was slightly ajar, and that Timmy, and JD were lying on his bed, side by side, with controllers in their hands playing some video game.  He noted Timmy's wink as he passed by, and Billy knew that that somehow confirmed he would be getting another visit that night, which made Billy smile.

After taking a quick shower, and throwing on a pair of clean shorts, Billy headed back to the kitchen for his food.

He couldn't help noting his Dad, and Carl had moved to the couch in the living room, and were watching some documentary on the History channel.  What was of special note to Billy though, was that they were sitting rather close together, and that his Dad had his right hand on the back of Carl's neck massaging it casually; Billy fluffed it off, and sat at the table, and began eating his dinner.

"There's pop in the fridge if you want one." Carl stated, his eyes still glued to the tv.

'Yeah." His Dad added with a playful moan: "There are all sorts of stuff in the fridge, and freezer" His Dad adding jovially:  "Carl held me at gunpoint, and made me do KP duty at the commissary!" laughingly adding: "Who knew there were so many different types of milk?" He then quipped: "How do they get milk out of almonds anyway? I didn't even know nuts had tits!"

Carl just moaned, and elbowed Max in the abdomen. It was at that time Timmy came bouncing in, and plopped himself down right next to Carl, followed by JD, who sat down right next to him.

"Can Timmy stay the night?" JD asked his Dad who continued to stare intently at the tv as he responded: "Ask Carl, household matters are his purview now."

JD didn't know what to think. At first, he just stared at his Dad, then he looked over at Billy who just sat there staring back with the same dumbfounded look he had.  Then they both looked back at their Dad, then to Carl, who just gave Max this stern sideways glance, who in turn continued to ignore all of them.

When it was clear that Max had no intention of answering JD, Carl turned to him, and said it would be fine, just so long as they didn't stay up too late.

JD looked back over at his older brother questioningly, Billy just shrugged back at him being just as confused as he was; what was clear though, was their Dad was being quite sincere.  Then, just like he had done it a thousand times before, their Dad rose, looked down at Carl, and announced it was time for bed, and stood there until Carl got up to join him.

Billy, and JD watched wide-eyed as their Dad placed his hand on the small of Carl's back, and escorted him back to his bedroom.

Before shutting his door, he turned, and bid them goodnight, leaving his sons with their mouths open, and heads spinning.

                                                             CHAPTER SEVEN:

"Mmmm, I could wake up like this every morning." Carl McGregor moaned into the pillow his face was almost buried in.

Max Donnelly pulled his head back from between Carl's hairy ass cheeks, taking one more swipe of his long, wet, drooling tongue across the swollen puffy lips of Carl's moist anal orifice: "I could spend the rest of the day eating this delicious pussy of yours!" Max practically purred, before driving his tongue inches back into Carl's moist hole.

"Max?" Carl groaned, subconsciously lifting his hips to push back against Max's probing hole lapper: "You need to stop, we have to get up." Carl said with all the enthusiasm of someone getting a root canal. Max responded by pulling his tongue out of his hole and kissing it sweetly before clamping his lips around his swollen pucker and begin sucking on it in earnest.

"MAX!?" Carl moaned louder, turning his head around as far as possible, practically pleading with him: "We have to get it in gear."

Max pulled back, raising both hands and loudly smacking Carl's muscular furry ass cheeks: "Never disturb a man when he's eating pussy, bitch." To emphasize his point, he re-spreads Carl's cheeks, dove back in vigorously and loudly began lapping and slurping at Carl's rectum.

Carl just buried his face in the pillow in an attempt to muffle the loudness of his ever-increasing moans, until finally Max pulled back, giving Carl's hole a playful smack with his fingers, making Carl flinch and twist around, his hands shooting up protectively, trying to cover his smarting anus.

"What was that for!? Carl griped, his fingertips gently massaging his now sore hole.

Max rose from the bed, a wicked grin on his face: "Just reminding you who's hole that is!" Leaning over, Max planted his lips against Carl's, forcing his tongue into his mouth, before pulling away with a smack of his lips: "How's your cunt taste, beautiful?

Carl almost laughed at the debauched lecherous smirk on his lover's face: "Tastes like your cum, if you wanna know the truth." Carl smiled, closing his eyes, and rolling his tongue over his lips sensuously making sure Max knew he enjoyed the flavor.

Max laughed: "I thought you said we had to get going?" bringing his hand up to stroke Carl's face affectionately before palming it and shoving him backward. Max turned to head toward the bathroom, then suddenly pivoted back around, cautioning: "Stay right there boy!"

Max walked over to his nightstand, opened the top drawer, reached inside and pulled out a two inch circumference butt plug and motioned for Carl to turn around: "Almost made me forget this, you little vixen." he said, spitting on the plug and smearing it all around with his fingers: "Ass up!" he commanded, Carl groaned before complying.

"Is this really necessary Max?"

With a resounding smack against his right ass cheek, Max growled out: "It's my hole, I do what I want with it when I want!" Max snarled, shoving the plug into Carl's hole, then smacking his fleshy mounds again on both sides: "Got it!?" he stated, daring Carl to disagree.

"Wouldn't dream of having it any other way." Carl responded, rising from the bed and putting his arms around Max's neck and pulling his head down to kiss him warmly on the lips.

Max broke the kiss and turned once again to head toward the bathroom across the room: "By the way, that stays in until I remove it, is that clear?" his voice trailing as he crossed the room.

"Doesn't it always?" Carl quipped, still feeling playful while trying to straighten the bed.

"Leave that for later." Max ordered: "Get your ass in here so you can do your duty and wash me." he added, stepping into the shower, turning it on, and adjusting the temperature to his liking.

"Damn," Carl thought to himself: "I sure could get used to this every day!" hurrying to join Max as he held out the bar of soap to him expectantly.

After washing every inch of Max's hairy body and rinsing him with his massaging hands, Carl applied shaving lotion to Max's face and began reluctantly shaving him, gently stroking the razor over his face, Carl mused: "When we retire from the Corps, the first thing that's gonna change is this."

Max smiled down at him affectionately: "You just want to feel my whiskers against your snatch." Max reached down gripping both of Carl's firm mounds in his hands and began squeezing them, drawing Carl up against his body.

"Stop that!" Carl groaned: "You could make me cut you!" he cautioned.

"I heal fast." Max sniped playfully snapping at the tip of Carl's nose with his teeth.

Carl knew he had to change Max's focus, or they were indeed going to be late for duty the way things were progressing, as evident by Max's rising phallus.

"What time is our meeting with Walker today?" He asked, hoping to refocus Max's attention.

"Hmmm, I was thinking about," Max paused before continuing: "how about ten hundred hours? Would that be enough time for you to get your shit together?"

Carl's brow furrowed thoughtfully: "I think so, not sure about Walker though."

Max gave Carl a half-grin: "Quit being so critical. I had one of my lance corporals notify him yesterday." Max actually loved the way Carl was always trying to be cautiously prepared for every contingency.

"Atticus will do fine Carl." He insisted: "Give the poor guy a break and let him prove himself."

Max thrust his head under the shower spray and rinsed his face: "Let's get dressed and fix some breakfast." He reached for a towel as Carl shut off the water: "What if the boys are up? Carl asked hesitantly.

Max shrugged his shoulders: "What about it? They're big boy's now. Let 'em figure it out." He looked Carl in the eyes: "If they have questions, they'll ask." a smirk crept across his face as he leered into Carl's green eyes: "Then I'll just stand back and watch as you squirm, hem haw, and get all embarrassed."

Carl glared at him, while Max grinned back, giving him a quick peck on the nose: "What's the matter Sgt. McGregor? Can't the big bad jarhead handle two wittle teenage boys or is he gonna yank up his skirt and run screaming away like a 5-year-old girl?"

"You're asking for it, Donnelly." Carl snarled, laughing at himself on the inside for falling right into it.

Max was right though, control the situation, don't let it control you.

Later, as Carl finished up frying a skillet full of scrambled eggs and putting some more bread in the toaster Max sat at the table checking out the morning news on his phone.

"Could you wake the boys?" Carl asked over his shoulder as he finished buttering the previous pieces of toast that had popped up.

"Nope." Was Max's simple response: "I told ya last night this is your purview now babe."

Carl tried to mentally shoot daggers from his eyes at Max's head.

Without even looking up from his phone, Max declared: "Carpe Diem Carl; seize the day."

Carl grabbed a pot from the rack above him and the wooden spoon he had just used to scramble the eggs and walked down toward the boy's bedrooms.

As he banged the pot loudly, Carl shouted out: "Rise and shine boys! Breakfast is nearly ready. Ya got five minutes before your Dad starts singing as loud as he can."

Carl returned to the kitchen with a shit-eating grin on his face, Max looked over at him as he removed the last two pieces of toast from the toaster and started buttering them and adding them to the plate and setting it on the table.

"And exactly what is wrong with my singing may I ask?"The look on his face was so serious, Carl wanted to burst out laughing.

"Nothing Max, you have a singing voice that should be on the radio." Carl grinned devilishly.

"Haha!" Max smirked: "Let me guess, so you can turn it off right?"

Carl just batted his eyes at him feigning innocence, just as JD and a very sleepy looking Timmy came stumbling out of his room, Timmy looking a little worse for wear.

"Rough night?" Max inquired, more as an observation than an actual question before adding: "Carl did warn you two not to stay up too late."

Just as Carl sat down at the table after getting the plate of bacon from the oven, Billy appeared from the hallway running his fingers through his already messy hair: "What's with the early morning roll call?" he grumbled, now trying to rub the sleep from his eyes as he sat down.

"Good morning boys!" Carl smiled ignoring their grumpiness: "You're up because it's after oh seven hundred and it's time for breakfast!"

"Better give it up boy's. He's obnoxiously upbeat in the morning's." Max stated, taking a sip of his coffee before adding: "Better get used to it because you don't have any other choice."

Carl thought about giving some smart ass retort but decided against it. Max was right. If the household is now his purview, like he said it was, then he was running it the way he wanted and that meant everyone at the table for breakfast in the morning.

"Can we eat now?" JD grumbled: "Or do we all have to hold hands and sing a round of Kumbaya first?"

                                                             * * * * *

Master SGT. Max Donnelly sat at his desk staring at his computer screen reviewing the stats on the two new transfers coming in from the Kaneohe Bay Marine Corps Base in Hawaii. Cpl. Scott Taylor and Pfc. Austin Davis were already in flight and would be arriving this evening.
Max knew Carl was just going to love that, since he'd be the one assigned to greet them, both men had checked out after Carl had sent Max the breakdown of their lineage and their training specs.

Both have undergone their Heritage ceremonies, something easily tracked through Max's connection network, Elder Danal Cornelius himself vouched for their authenticity.

Scott Taylor was sired in the Northern Devil Dawg region and Austin Davis was sired in the South Western Devil Dawg region, the latter just having completed his Heritage ceremony just five months ago and was only eighteen years of age, still a bit green, but he fit Max's requirements.

Scott was twenty one and had specialist training both in the Corps. and outside it, his profile was like so many others, left outside the system by the death of his sire in service to the cause or service to the Corps. and now sought placement, at first thinking he could go it alone, again like so many others on his list, but quickly finding out that that is not so easily done.

Though his good friend and one-time mentor Danal Cornelius did his best to keep track of all these outsiders, the older they got the more likely they would fall out of the system and would make lives for themselves outside their Heritage.

 Max and Carl compiled this list of some of the younger ones that Danal was able to keep track of and contacted them explaining the situation and what Carl, Hank, and even Danal had sensed in his son Billy; let's just say these twelve young outsiders thought it intriguing enough to hitch their wagons to the possibility so to speak.

If what they believe is true, and the signs were there, and they had all sensed it, then these young rogues could finally find a place they could legitimately belong, it was a huge leap of faith by all of them, but if everything pans out, then the potential for them finally finding acceptance would be almost assured. If nothing else Max reasoned, they had at least started coalescing into a fine unit of their own. Max could definitely find a use for that.

Just as expected and right on time, Carl arrived for their appointment with Corporal Atticus Walker in tow.

Atticus was pure Kentucky country boy; big, outgoing, and eager to make an impression; too eager sometimes for Carl's liking, but most of all, he, like the other nine in his growing squad, had managed to maintain the code; not an easy task considering their age and having already all gone through their Heritage ceremonies and living out on their own, free from the expectations of their sires whether separated by death, dissolution, or physical/mental incapacitation.

The one thing that annoyed Carl the most was the hair. Though still regulation cut high and tight, Atticus and his squad had taken to wearing their hair faux-hawk style, pushing the sides of the hair on top to the middle and into a small peak.

Carl thought it was disrespectful to the Corps, Max however found it rather fitting and somewhat attractive.

 Max gestured for them to both be seated in the chairs in front of his desk. Carl laid his laptop down on the corner and pulled his chair up to the desk while Atticus just sat where indicated and let the small stack of folders he brought sit on his lap.

While Carl got ready, Max took the moment to appreciate Atticus's physical features.

 While not what some would call handsome, absolutely no one would deny his features weren't extremely masculine, noting his most prominent facial feature was his broad nose, his larger than normal nostrils, that often flared when he spoke; a voice deep and raspy, a voice you knew could boom out orders when required, the crooked side bent of his protruding nose bridge, deformed by poorly set bones from some previous breakage. Atticus's eyes were also a narrower set, light golden hazel green/brown that always burned with enthusiasm and an inner drive.

Above those eyes was a heavy protruding brow, with thick, dense, medium brown hair. A lower than usual forehead that crinkled and furrowed heavily when he would smile, laugh or even while concentrating, his jaw also protruded, as does the broad chin framing a very wide mouth with lips so thick it looked like if you licked them and shoved his lips against the wall his face would stick to it.

As for the rest of him, the best word to describe the man was thick. Everywhere. Even though he was six foot four inches, he looked squatter than he actually was, his large thick hands and huge feet added to the illusion, as well as the fact his neck was so thick and wide and corded with muscle, it gave the impression he barely had one, it also made his head look disproportionately smaller.

As for the rest of his body, Max could only surmise the man lived in the gym weight room and when he wasn't there, stuffing his face in the mess hall trying to fuel his near bestial proportions, even his XXL uniform fatigues looked too tight on him.

Max had never seen him shirtless, but suspected his entire body was covered in the same thick reddish-brown fur his forearms were covered in, Max concluded his VSE (visual surveillance of extremities) of the young Corporal as Carl cleared his throat and indicated he was ready to begin.

"I've received confirmation that Taylor and Davis boarded their flight as scheduled and had landed in San Diego." Carl began, still staring at his computer screen: "I can also confirm they boarded their connecting flight in San Diego and should be arriving here in Albany by or before nineteen hundred hours." He concluded, looking at Max for further instructions, instructions he was already sure would not be to his liking.

Max looked him intently in the eyes, his brow furrowing: "You know I'm gonna want you there to greet them." Max could see he was expecting it, but also that he didn't like it. Max understood; after last night and this morning's breakfast with the boys, Carl wanted to present a united front, backing up their status as being "together," that he was afraid his absence tonight might send a confusing message to the boys.

But this was important; they also needed to demonstrate a united front especially with the new recruits, the final two arrivals for this new special unit.

Max turned to Atticus who was intently taking it all in, ready for Max's orders, anxious about finally completing this phase of many months worth of work: "I expect you there to greet your men Corporal." Max's tone was firm, but tinged with a casual light grin, an acknowledgment to Atticus's excitement at having the last two members of his team finally join them.

Max cleared his throat before continuing, looking at Carl: "You know, you'll..."

Carl interjected before he could finish: "I'll be there as well, Master Sergeant; at least until we get the new men settled."

Carl's face was completely deadpan, devoid of anything other than acceptance of his duty. This is one of the many things Max loved about him; his selfless devotion and sense of duty. If Atticus weren't here right now he'd... Max let the imagery of that thought trail away to the back of his mind for later and returned his attention to Cpl. Walker: "Are those the latest updates to your men's progress reports?"

Atticus stood and handed over the stack of folders he held, reaching across the desk, and handing them to his superior: "Yes Master Sgt. "He was practically beaming with enthusiasm.

Max took the folders and set them on his desk opening one at random to peruse the content: "Is there anything of special significance I need to address or know about Corporal?" Max asked, looking intently into Walker's eyes.

Atticus, with no small sense of pride in his thick raspy voice, enthused: "I'm very happy with the overall progress of the team as a whole Master Sgt., but two of them are already doing better than expected." He paused pointing out two folders that lay spread out in front of Max: "These two." He indicated pulling them from the spread: "Pfc. Barin Young and Pfc. Rex Wilson." Atticus's eyes betrayed his youthful exuberance speaking about his teammates.

Max scanned their files with interest, taking special note of their progressively incremental surges in hand to hand combat and tactical growth, Max nodded with approval, adding: "There will be two highly trained combat specialist arriving within the next week or so from Geiger. I think they will be significantly helpful getting the rest of your team up to par with these two Corporal." Max concluded: "Good work Atticus!" Carl knew Max was referring to Hank Bauers and his son Jake, both Max and Carl could see how Atticus beamed with pride over Max's appraisal.

"Confidence is a good thing," Carl stated in a matter of fact tone, then added: "but it's the overall unit competency that matters here." Carl addressed his comments specifically to Cpl. Walker: "With that thought in mind and with Max's approval, we will be going on a little training mission Corporal."

Max looked quizzically at Carl, not knowing exactly what he had in mind, but knowing him well enough to hazard a guess: "Training mission to the compound Sgt McGregor?" Carl's faint grin confirmed he had read the situation correctly: "Get it set up immediately." Max ordered.

Carl dreaded asking because he already knew the outcome: "How immediate are we talking?"

Max tried to conceal the fact he knew Carl would not be at all pleased with his response: "No time like the present." He looked Carl right in the eyes, the intensity of his gaze leaving no doubt that there was no room for discussion; his mind was made up: "Start preparations now," Max ordered, "I expect your unit to pull out by zero nineteen hundred hours tomorrow."

Max didn't look at Carl now, he knew he wouldn't be happy with the order but knew it was coming and Max knew he understood why Max was so keen on this getting done. Billy's birthday was just a little over two weeks away now, and Max wanted this unit ready for any contingency, they both knew that if what they thought was true, not everyone might be accepting of it, and though he wasn't expecting any significant trouble, like any good leader, he knew to prepare for it and he also knew Carl understood that as well.

"You have your orders gentlemen." Max stood, indicating the meeting was over: "Dismissed!" Max noted Carl was fiddling with his laptop, purposely stalling, waiting for Atticus to leave. Max came around his desk sitting on the end closest to Carl as Cpl. Walker exited his office: "Don't be upset with me." he said softly lightly touching Carl's shoulder.

"I'm not, Max. I'm just a little disappointed at the timing is all." Carl said not looking up to meet Max's eyes, fumbling with the satchel he kept his laptop in.

"Pick us up something to eat for dinner on your way home." Max added with a small grin. "I'll wait to have dinner with you when you get home tonight."

Carl couldn't help but smile, before asking if there was anything, in particular, he'd like to eat for dinner, Max responded coyly: "I think you already know what I want to eat and it ain't something you can buy at any restaurant."

Carl blushed slightly as he turned to head out of Max's office before pivoting slightly at the door to respond: "I'm saving that for dessert Max Donnelly!"

                                                             * * * * *

Things were panning out pretty good Billy thought to himself, at least compared to earlier, it started going downhill at first, right after his morning work out on base.

He had ridden his bike to get there as usual, but after his workout and on his way home it started to downpour and Billy was completely drenched in the short time it took him to get there, it continued to rain off and on, in typical Georgia summer fashion, all afternoon.

By 3:30 pm Billy was resigned to the fact he was going to have to drive to work in the rain and get drenched again, but Timmy offered to give him a ride, as he was getting ready to go home to check on things, maybe call his parents, and get a change of clothes, if nothing else, Billy figured he could call his Dad if he needed a ride home after his shift, but he was kind of hoping he and Gavin might still do something after work.

Billy pondered what that something could possibly be and exactly how far did he intend to push it?

Gavin was cute and all, for a guy, but Billy wasn't sure he could go as far as his brother does with Timmy, if he made some sort of move on Gavin, what would Gavin expect him to do? Or maybe he was just overthinking it, perhaps all Gavin was expecting was just to hang out or something, which was also cool with Billy, noting mentally that Gavin had a good sense of humor and Billy could see them just being buds, nothing like him and Baxter, but still, he wouldn't have any problems just hanging out together.

Billy was kind of relieved fairly early on in their shift when Gavin asked if they were still planning on hanging out together after work.

After Billy explained his ride situation, Gavin just smiled and said he could give him a ride home; he was using his Mom's truck and told her he was probably going to hang out with a friend from work afterward.

"How about we get something to eat at Burger King?" Billy suggested.

Gavin thought that was a great idea, he hadn't eaten since lunch and was starving.

As their shift came to a close, Billy popped into the employee restroom and quickly changed out of his overalls and slipped into the sweats he'd brought with him then headed out back to meet up with Gavin.

Billy was kind of surprised how easy it was to talk to Gavin, noting Gavin shared a similar taste in music and even liked a few of the same video games.

As they pulled into the local BK, Gavin asked Billy if he just wanted to go through the drive-thru or if he wanted to go inside to eat.

It was a little after 8pm and there didn't appear to be that many people there at the time so Billy suggested they go inside: "It's a lot cooler in there than it is out here." Billy happily noted.

Gavin gave Billy a quirky little smile and innocently responded: "Well, we can't have you getting too hot, now can we?" No sooner had Gavin spoken the words, his face flushed realizing how what he just said might be interpreted.

Billy burst into a hearty laugh, increasing Gavin's embarrassment: "I'm sure if I get too hot, you'll be able to think of a way to cool me down." Billy quipped before giving Gavin a lecherous wink and a wicked smile full of implied intent.

"Good gawd, what have I unleashed!?" Gavin moaned mockingly, all the while his face flushing even redder than before.

Gavin parked fairly close to the building, off to one side, not far from the side entrance.

As they got out of the vehicle and stepped onto the sidewalk leading to the entrance, Billy bowed slightly and with an over-exaggerated sweeping gesture indicated that Gavin should lead the way: "Perhaps you should go first so you're not tempted by my hotness." Billy could barely contain the mirth he was getting from Gavin's embarrassment.

Gavin just shook his head, but after passing Billy and reaching for the door and pulling it open, he stood there waiting for Billy to enter returning Billy's mocking, bowing gesture and with a sweeping arm flourish ushering Billy inside, he bemused: "I'm pretty sure you just wanted me to go first because you were afraid you wouldn't be able to figure out how a door works!"

                                                             * * * * *

After appropriating an M38 jeep from base transport and picking up Atticus from his unit's assigned barracks, Carl transported them to the Southwest Georgia Regional airport outside Albany to pick up Taylor and Davis who were arriving from their commercial connecting flight from Atlanta; fortunately, and much to Carl's relief, the flight was on time and he and Atticus awaited their departure from their aircraft.

As the two young Marines entered through the small terminal gate carrying their rucksacks and their duffel bags, Carl found himself visually assessing them. Cpl. Scott Taylor was the taller of the two, Carl estimated him at about six foot one inch with dark, almost pitch-black hair, fair complexion, with broad-shoulders and a tapered waist, he wasn't overly muscular, rather lean; but from his exposed nearly hairless arms, Carl noted how defined his muscles were, noting to himselg, this is obviously a man who trained his body for both strength and speed, not just bulk.

Despite the apparent lack of body hair, Taylor actually reminded him of a very young Max, both in the way he carried himself and the ever scanning and assessing glare of his eyes.

Pfc. Austin Davis was his mirror opposite; sandy-haired, shorter, maybe dive foot nine inches, light golden hair softly covered his thick, muscled, exposed forearms, heavier set than his companion, though not what Carl would ever denote as obese or fat, his sparkling blue/green eyes unable to conceal what Carl was sure would be a bubbly, cheerful personality, as did his boyishly cherubic face.

Austin defined what Carl had always pictured as the stereotypical baby blue Marine.

 Both Carl and Atticus stood motionless in typical parade rest, hands behind back, shoulders straight and chest out stances, as the two Marines spotted them and approached with what Carl observed as a small degree of trepidation.

"Cpl. Scott Taylor and Austin Davis reporting for duty Sir!" Taylor announced, both dropping their gear to stand stiff armed in the expected stationary drill stance, eyes forward and awaiting instruction.

"Drop that "sir" shit!" Carl sneered: "I'm not an officer corporal, I work for a living!" Carl's admonition caused both men to smile and relax their stiff stances.

They both extended their hands in less formal salutations as both Carl and Atticus shook their hands announcing who they were in a less formal greeting.

After gathering their gear and loading them up in the jeep, Carl headed back to base and listened intently as Atticus unabashedly preened about his unit and getting to know them on a more personal level.

As they recounted their life histories leading up till now, Carl couldn't help but shake his head more than once at their all too familiar stories; how both Taylor's father and mother had been killed in a car accident when he was nine and he was sent to Michigan to live with his widowed grandfather who had made sure he underwent his Heritage ceremony but died soon after, a ceremony that would have never taken place if it hadn't been for his grandfather's absolute persistence after being repeatedly rejected by the regional Devil Dawg compound leader, describing how it wasn't until he sought the help of the district's Green Father, Elder Hadrian Mumsford, who interceded on his behalf and performed the ceremony with his grandfather stepping in to take his son and Taylor's sire's roll, that it happened at all.

As for Austin, he didn't have a clue growing up who his father was, his mother just said he was some Marine she met at a private party one night and never saw again.

Austin said he would have never even known about his Heritage or the ceremony if it hadn't been for the father of a friend and football teammate he had just met when his mom transferred to her new job in Corsicana, Texas as a sales rep, he recalled how he pulled him aside one night and grilled him about who his father was.

Austin told him all that he knew and his friend's dad made it a point to talk to his mom to help fill in the blanks, Austin was fifteen at the time and after that conversation, he took a keen interest in Austin's life, recalling how it was he who ended up laying down the law, so to speak, about the code and the importance of him and his son having each other's back until they were eighteen and came into their Heritage, which they did.

On Austin's eighteenth birthday, his friend's father stepped in and assumed the role of surrogate sire and saw him through his ceremony.

Hearing their life experiences forced Carl's thoughts toward Baxter and how if not for what they believed about Billy, would share a similar fate as all these young men.

More and more Carl shared Max's belief that the ancient Codex could go fuck itself. These young men deserved better!

After returning to the base and doing a brief introduction of the two new recruits with the other nine members of their unit, Carl gave them their orders for the next morning and left them in Atticus's care.

Carl was actually impressed with the way Atticus had gotten the two young Marines to open up and discuss the most intimate details of their lives and how trusting and at ease his men felt around him.

Of course, this only made Carl reluctantly smile inwardly, acknowledging how right Max had been, thus once again proving that Max was seldom wrong about people and that there was more than met the eye as far as Cpl. Atticus Walker was concerned.

Carl returned the jeep to base transport and jumped in his own truck, pulling out his phone, punching on Max's icon and waiting for him to answer, wanting to know if there was anything specific Max wanted for dinner all the while silently chanting: "Please don't say pizza." over and over again.

                                                              * * * * *

Max Donnelly's stomach growled again, refusing to let him forget how hungry his belly was.

Max had just taken a cold shower a few minutes ago hoping to quell another hunger as well; at least until Carl made it home.

Seeing his youngest son lay on the couch with his legs sprawled over the far end and his head resting peacefully as he slept in the angelic lap of Timmy Anderson, who idly stroked his son's hair from his perch in the center of the couch, wasn't helping with the latter part of his hunger, noting the boys were feigning interest in some movie on Netflix, Max decided to pop a bag of popcorn and join them, hoping to at least assuage his grumbling belly if not his churning balls.

As the popcorn popped, Max dove into the fridge and grabbed a can of beer, flipped the tab, and took a deep chug of the refreshing, bubbly beverage.

Max contemplated heading back to his room and putting on a pair of shorts instead of walking around with a damp towel wrapped around his waist, but the sudden ding of the microwave altered that plan; Max just said "fuck it", grabbed the bag of popcorn, his beer, and joined the duo on the couch.

Max parked himself a couple of feet from Timmy and sat his beer on the end table next to him, then he took a handful of popcorn and stuffed it into his mouth and extended the bag to Timmy, urging him to have some.

Feeling a bit peckish himself, Timmy hesitantly reached out and grabbed a few buttery kernels and stuffed them in his mouth, looking right at Max and playfully sucked the salty butter from his fingertips.

Max just laughed at him and turned kind of side-saddle on the couch and propped the bag of popcorn between his hairy muscular legs, before reaching in and hauling another handful out and began munching on it while pretending to pay attention to the movie on TV.

Timmy frowned slightly, before reaching over and grabbing some more of the popcorn and casually consumed it, kernel by kernel, as he returned his focus to the movie he and JD had been watching.

Quenching the initial pangs of his ravenous stomach only brought the gnawing hunger centered in his gonads more to the forefront.

Max openly ogled Timmy's nearly naked body, being clad only in a pair of skimpy tight shorts, Max was able to admire the bugling ripples of his nearly hairless velveteen skin over his well-toned muscles, the soft milky, smoothness of his skin practically begged for caressing.

He watched as Timmy's left hand haphazardly reached over and fumbled to find the opening to the popcorn bag, practically groping Max's leg in the process, before plucking out a few more kernels of corn and moving his hand slowly to his mouth, Max watching as he then sensuously poked them one by one between his full, ripe lips and proceeded to suck his fingertips each time, not realizing the effect it was having on Max's libido.

Max just scooted his hips forward more and brought the bag closer to his now exposed crotch, he bemusedly watched as his cock began to slightly engorge with blood and expand upward and flop thickly across his right thigh.

He could barely contain a snicker as Timmy's hand once again fumbled over in the direction of the bag to grope his naked upper thigh once again, his fingertips just missing his expanding dong by fractions of an inch before finding the bag opening and retrieving more kernels again absentmindedly pushing each piece into his mouth and sucking his fingertips.

As Max watched his cock expand to its fullest, he noticed a drop of pre-cum bubble out his piss slit in a large pea-sized beaded droplet.

Max reached into the popcorn bag and plucked a kernel out and stuffed it into the viscous fluid instantly adhering it to the tip of his enormous helmet-shaped bulbous glans as Max moved the popcorn bag out of the way, fully exposing his genitals.

Max's eyes watched wickedly as Timmy's hand reached over once again and fondled around for the popcorn bag grasping at empty air until Max eased his crotch forward even more until Timmy's fingertips came into full contact with his massive wanger.

Max laughed out loud as Timmy wrenched his hand back, a look of shock and surprise consuming his facial expressions.

Max ran his left hand down his hairy chest and abdomen, his fingertips pushing through his thick dark pubes until connecting with the base of his cock and pushing it upward, forcing it to stand straight up.

Max lasciviously looked into Timmy's wide bulging eyes and sneered: "Last piece, you want it?" Max watched as Timmy visibly gulped before adding: "Come and get it!"

Timmy sat there motionlessly, frozen, staring at the biggest cock he had ever seen, and that included the numerous porn vids he had watched.

Up till now, Timmy had thought Billy had a really big dick, but this one put it to shame.

Max's cock was huge, not only longer than Billy's by a good bit, but a lot thicker as well, and Timmy felt hypnotized by it as it visually pulled at him like a moth to flame.

His hand seemed to reach out for it of its own accord, forcing Timmy to lean sideways to wrap his fingers around its humongous girth.

It didn't surprise him at all, that his fingertips couldn't meet no matter how hard he squeezed, trying to close the gap between his thumb and middle finger; Timmy knew it had to be thicker than his wrist and almost as long as his forearm, at least twelve inches.

The huge helmet-shaped head was a bluish lavender and shiny, so shiny he almost expected to see his own distorted reflection in it, noting how it was also thicker than his shaft, being close in size to a tennis ball.

Max's balls were also a marvel, his hairy thick-skinned sack looked like it had been stuffed by a baseball, pulled up tight to his groin.

Timmy unconsciously and repeatedly licked his lips in pure lustfull hunger taking in Max's prodigious endowments.

Max decided to take matters into his own hands, reached down, and plucked the piece of popcorn from the tip of his cock and plopped it into his mouth, taunting: "Your loss." He then moaned and rubbed his belly. "Delicious!"

Timmy audibly whimpered and sought to move his mouth closer to his throbbing cock-head, and with just mere inches from his goal, Max's phone rang, and he immediately stood up, ripping Timmy's hand away from his cock as he headed to the kitchen to retrieve his phone and answering.

                                                               * * * * *

Billy shook the last of the piss from the head of his dick before stuffing it back into his jockstrap and sweatpants.

As he flushed the urinal, washed his hands, and turned to head out the door of the restroom, he found himself smiling and not remembering when the last time he actually felt like doing that.

Gavin was a fun guy to hang with, he was funny, and at times witty, and Billy was really enjoying hanging out this evening, he'd even half-forgotten about seeing if he could get a blowjob or something off him, not that he would now say no to that, but more like discovering he was actually enjoying having someone to just relax with and shoot the shit.

As Billy rounded the corner from the bathroom area, he noted that several people had gathered around his and Gavin's table, and as he drew closer, he knew immediately who they were.

Blake Riley and that nasty-ass bitch Rebbecca Wheeler, two of Blake's football buddies, and to Billy's surprise Melissa Talbot.

He had always gotten the impression she was as smart and nice as she was beautiful.

Billy had always admired her from a distance at school, thinking she was one of the hottest girls he knew of, looking almost like a clone of Selena Gomez right down to the long dark sultry hair and, of course, having all the curves in all the right places.

So, Billy thought to himself, what was she doing hanging with that redneck dipshit Blake? And why were they all crowded around his and Gavin's table?

Melissa spotted Billy first, and just shrugged her shoulders with her hands held up denoting helplessness and rolled her eyes from Billy's gaze to Blake's back.

 It was at that moment Billy could see Gavin, with his face turned sideways away from Blake whose angry face was mere inches from Gavin's left ear, he couldn't quite make out what he was saying, but his tone was definitely threatening, noting how Blake's two large, jock buddies stayed close by, arms folded over their chest just as threateningly, while Rebbecca Wheeler just sneered nastily at Gavin on the other side of him, where Billy had been sitting just a few moments ago.

Gavin looked pale as a ghost as Billy sauntered up behind Mike Humphrey and Dougie "Dickhead" Dickson, that's what his brother called him having had a few run in's with him, and threw his arms over their shoulders loudly stating: "Howdy boy's, is there a problem here!?"

Dougie and Mike instantly pulled aside, shrugging off Billy's unwelcomed bro hug, Blake turning angrily to Billy: "Fuck off Donnelly, this ain't none of your business."

Billy shoved his way between Dickhead and Mike and yanked Rebbecca Wheeler out of his seat by her arm, eliciting a harpy-like screech from her as he shoved her aside like a rag doll: "Next time, stay out of my seat, bitch." Billy sniped.

Blake jerked erect, puffing his rather sizeable chest out, hands clenching: "I'm warning you Donnelly, stay the fuck out of this!" he practically spat the words in Billy's face.

Billy just leaned back and casually stretched and relaxed into his seat while offering a visibly more relieved Gavin a big smile, before looking right into Blake's eyes, he responded with a coldness that made Gavin shiver: "Or what, pussy boy, you'll wet your panties?"

Billy laughed mockingly as Blake's buddies grabbed Blake, holding him back from lunging across the table at him, continuing to smile wickedly while he just sat there coolly ignoring his ranting profanities.

It was at that moment Melissa gently took hold of Blake's arm, trying to calm him down, saying they should just leave before they all got into trouble.

It was Rebbecca Wheeler who responded for Blake: "Shut the fuck up, bitch!" she hissed venomously: "This little faggot deserves everything it gets after what its boyfriend Arliss Gundarsun did to Blake a couple of years ago! "Rebbecca shook her bony finger angrily under Melissa's nose, who surprisingly snatched it, shoving her backward and warning her: "You ever stick your finger in my face again, you little tramp, I'll shove it up your ass. Oh, by the way, his name is Gavin, not "faggot" or "it", you dumb, bigoted cunt!" The look on her now angry face left Billy and Gavin both with no doubt she'd do exactly what she said.

Billy couldn't help but smile, nor could he help the fact she just made his dick chub a bit.

Blake whirled in Melissa's direction and grabbed her roughly by the arm before shoving her backward spitting: "You just earned yourself a long walk home, you fucking frigid dyke."

"Like I'd ever get in a car with any of you ever again, you pencil-dicked momma's boy." Melissa's tone was cool, calm, collected, and completely said without fear, knowing the hours of training her Marine Corps father taught her gave her all the confidence she would ever need to handle someone like Blake Riley.

Billy was so impressed with Melissa he almost let her handle Blake herself as he moved toward her and raised his fist as if to strike her, but Billy's instincts and lightning-fast reflexes caught Blake by the wrist, and before Blake knew what happened to him, Billy slammed him face-first into the table, his arm twisted behind his back, holding him painfully helpless.

Billy barely had time to turn his head around, catching Rebbecca Wheeler, now armed with a serving tray, throwing the arm holding the tray back over her right shoulder,  but before she could swing it at Billy's head, Billy and Gavin watched in total surprise as Melissa snatched her by the hair on the back of her head and with one big yank tossed Rebbecca backward onto her ass on the floor where Melissa, now standing over her, thrust her foot against her throat and held her securely to the floor, Rebbecca helplessly clutching at Melissa's ankle and shin with both hands, trying desperately to extricate herself to no avail.

Like the coward he was, Blake cried out to his buddies for help.

Billy turned, still holding Blake's arm, but expecting he'd now be facing three opponents instead of one, but as he looked over at Mike and Dickhead, he noticed neither made a move in his direction, it was then that Billy noticed a familiar face smiling back at him from between the two jocks.

Carl McGregor had witnessed the ongoing events as they played out from mere moments ago, knowing one-on-one, Billy would have no problem defending himself.

Carl got out of his truck and hurried in, not liking the odds of all three boys jumping Billy.

He now stood grinning back at him smiling, Mike Humphrey's left arm and Dougie Dickson's right arms securely held tightly behind their backs, fist firmly planted between their shoulder blades and held tightly against their spines.

Carl whispered into their ears: "If I let you boys go, are you gonna behave like gentlemen and collect your friends and depart the premises?" Carl twisted their arms even tighter, causing considerable discomfort, before stating as a matter of fact: "Or am I going to have to rip these off and shove them up your collective asses so far it will take a team of proctologist a week to remove them?" He let go of their arms and shoved them forward, assuming a defiant stance, daring them to make any kind of move he didn't approve of.

With a nod from Carl, both Billy and Melissa released their captives, allowing them to stand up.

Instantly, an enraged Blake tried to take a swing at Billy's head with his closed fist, arcing towards him when he was suddenly struck against the back of his head with a dinner tray, hard!

Blake stumbled forward, his knees almost giving out, as his two buddies caught him and practically carried him away, a glowering Rebbecca Wheeler practically snarling at them as she joined them.

Gavin still stood there, the tray in his shaking hand, not quite sure he had done what he had indeed just actually done.

"That was awesome bro!" Billy's face beamed as he slapped Gavin on the back congratulating him.

"So..." Melissa quipped from behind them, as both Billy and Gavin turned simultaneously, taking note of her standing coyly with one hand on her hip: "Is it always this much fun hanging with you two?"

 

                                                                CHAPTER EIGHT:

 

 

 While helping Cpl. Atticus Walker and his men load the last of the provisions and equipment into the M1165 troop transport vehicle he had Atticus pick up this morning, Carl McGregor couldn't help but give a lustful look over at Msgt. Max Donnelly.

For Carl, seeing Max standing there in his dress blue "D's" was close to a strong dose of Viagra, the way his tan, short-sleeved, well-pressed shirt outlined his very muscular torso and clung to him like a second skin, triggered all sorts of signals, all of them X-rated, but not nearly as X-rated as the way Max's huge cock strained against the crotch and down the inside seam leg of the dark blue and the blood red pinstripe dress slacks; it was obvious Max wasn't wearing underwear, not even one of his usual bursting-at-the-seams jockstraps he seemed to prefer.

"Get your men loaded corporal!" Carl instructed Atticus as he broke away and walked toward the man he'd shared most of his life with so far.

"Being a bit obvious this morning aren't we?" Carl stated, casually looking back at the group of men now jumping into the back of the transport carrier, making sure no one saw him as he reached down with his right hand and lovingly palmed Max's big cock through his pants.

"Unless you want me to fuck you right here in front of these men, I suggest you stop doing that right now." Max growled, the lustful glare in his eyes leaving absolutely no doubt in Carl's mind that he would do exactly that.

Despite Max's threat, Carl reluctantly let Max's hardening cock go, though he knew deep down it wouldn't bother him at all if Max wanted to put on a little show for the squad, but he had his orders and Marines, if nothing else, Marines are good at following orders.

"So, who's that for?" Carl queried, glancing down at the very significant and obscene bulge in Max's trousers, which was now stretching halfway down his thigh, knowing full well, that Max wouldn't be suited up in his "D's" and putting on this "display" if it wasn't for a reason.

Max's face twisted into a lecherous sneer: "I'm meeting with Gunny as soon as I leave here."

Carl just rolled his eyes and shook his head: "So, you're in that kind of mood today huh?"

Glancing over at the truck and watching as Atticus was securing the last of his men into the transport carrier, Max responded: "Not at all Carl, just tying up a few loose ends."

Carl laughed: "I'm betting you actually mean that literally."

Max smiled at him and reached down with his right hand and stuffed his fingers into the front of Carl's BDU's, hooking his belt and pulled Carl's crotch to his: "It won't be as much fun as it was last time without you there!" Carl could feel his own cock stiffen at the memory as Max released his grip on his trousers: "If everything goes as planned today..."Max continued, the intensity of his gaze burning into Carl's eyes: "Expect someone to join you and the team Friday before twelve hundred hours."

Before Carl could question what Max meant by that, Atticus called out that they were good to go.

Carl twisted his head sideways, giving Atticus the thumbs up before returning his focus to Max, but before he could frame his questions Max cut him off: "You have your orders Marine hop to it."

Carl's brow furrowed as he resisted the urge to posit a response, and as Carl shrugged his shoulders and turned to join the team, Max grabbed his left bicep, drawing his attention back to him and softly said: "After the new arrival Friday, leave Atticus in charge and return home for the weekend understood?"

Carl grinned ear-to-ear, wanting nothing more than to lean in and give Max a kiss, but Carl knew Max would think that inappropriate behavior in public while on duty, instead Carl just gave him a naughty wink and headed over to hop in the passenger side of the MTVR.

Max stood there and watched as the unit pulled out and was completely out of sight before jumping in his truck and heading over to the armory where he had a meeting with Gunnery Sgt. Brock Gryzinski.

As Max approached the armory, he swung around to the back entrance and parked, knowing that Brock would be waiting there for him in the back storage room the Gunny had set aside for their secret rendezvous.

As Max entered and headed down the dimly lit corridor, he could feel his cock begin to once again engorge with blood, stretching down his trouser leg and strain against the blue fabric of his slacks.

There was no sign of any other personnel, just as Max knew it would be, the remoteness of the backroom had been a carefully secured location set up by Gysgt. Gryzinski.

Max paused briefly, switching the briefcase he carried to his left hand, before reaching up and knocking on the locked metal door three times.

Max could hear the jostle of the deadbolt lock as it released, and purposely waiting a moment, with a huge grin on his face, before grasping the knob, twisting it, and swinging the door inward.

                                                              * * * * *

Billy was almost bemusedly assisting Gavin Hollis with the leg lift machine at the base gym, trying to be as encouraging as he could after Gavin had agreed last night to come with him this morning to work out.

JD and Timmy had also come with them, but had finished up a little while ago and had headed out to go swimming at the base pool.

As Gavin finished up with the last of his reverse leg curls, he just lay on his stomach across the incline bench, moaning how much that hurt until Billy smacked him hard across the left cheek of his plump little bubble-butt.

"Ouch!" Gavin yelped, pushing himself up into a sitting position: "What was that for?" he asked, turning to look up at Billy who just stood there grinning down at him.

"It's called motivation, little buddy." Billy laughed and offered Gavin his hand as an assist in helping him to a standing position.

"Little buddy?!" Gavin quipped: "What is this, Gilligan's Island?"

"Yeah" Billy chuffed: "It's just like Gilligan's Island, and you know who that makes you don'tcha?"

Gavin smiled and retorted: "Not the big fat one?!"

Billy bellowed with laughter as he reached over and mussed Gavin's hair: "Alright smart guy," Billy pulled Gavin to his feet: "Time for some more stretching."

"Again, we did that already?" Gavin moaned as his shoulders slumped.

Billy grimaced, his tone more serious: "That was the warm up, now that we're done for the day, you have to do your cool-down stretches or you could start cramping."

Gavin just shook his head and followed Billy over to one of the mats: "I think you just like torturing me."

"Smart guy like you just figuring that out now?" Billy chortled and began running Gavin through his stretch routine.

As Gavin sat on the floor, legs spread and leaning forward to touch his toes, Billy leaned in tight to his left ear and whispered, his reassuring hand flat against his lower back: "Look at it this way, the sooner you're done, the sooner you get the added bonus of seeing me naked in the shower."

Gavin moaned louder this time: "I was right, you are a sadist, Billy Donnelly."

Billy just smiled and then quietly guided Gavin through the cool-down stretches, allowing his thoughts to drift back to the events of the previous night.

Not long after their encounter with Blake and his minions, recalling how Gavin, Melissa, and he had sat there excitedly going over the whole thing, laughing not only at how stupid Blake was, but how clueless the rest of his group had been, they were, of course, laughing at themselves and the way they'd each reacted as well.

At one point, after Gavin excused himself to go take a leak, Billy had found himself, for a few moments, alone with Melissa.

He recalled how she smiled at him and listened intently to everything he was saying; how she would ever so casually place her hand on his forearm when she was making a point or just to emphasize something, and how soft and warm her touch was.

He also remembered the smell, not exactly like the one he perceived from both Timmy and Gavin, but very very similar, the scent of honey and fresh dug earth, but tinged with something else, it was harder to distinguish because, like most girls, Melissa bathed, powdered, and perfumed herself with all sorts of scented things meant to mask one's natural musk.

But it was still there, underneath it all, just like it was with Timmy and Gavin; he also was becoming aware of just how much that scent aroused him, but it also confused him, because it was such a familiar scent, it wasn't something new he was just beginning to smell, it had been there all along or at least for as long as he could remember, but just like the other night with Gavin, or at different times with Timmy, he couldn't place exactly where he had encountered it before and more importantly, why it seemed only recently he had started to notice it.

Carl's hand on his shoulder had broken that train of thought, he was sitting there close to Melissa, listening to her soft gentle voice go quiet as Carl sought his attention: "Walk me out?" Carl's tone leaving no doubt that he fully expected Billy to follow him.

Once outside, Carl went to his truck, Billy was following sheepishly; he knew what was coming.

"I'm not going to lecture you." Carl started, looking Billy sternly in the eyes, compelling Billy to meet his gaze: "I'm a firm believer that the worst vice is advice." He continued: "You know the Code and you know how important it is to your father." Billy held his hand up: "I'm just talking to her uncle Carl." Billy noted how it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself as much as Carl.

Carl got into his truck with the bag of food he bought, shutting the door, and while hanging his head out the side window, he stated: "I said I wouldn't lecture you, and I'm not, but a blind man could see what you were feeling just now in there."

Billy bowed his head, knowing it was true as Carl added: "All I'm saying Billy, is think how disappointed your father would be if something did happen, especially this close to your Birthday."

Billy met Carl's eyes again: "I promise it won't." he stammered: "Please don't say anything to him." Billy had pleaded.

Carl sighed heavily: "You know I won't lie to him Billy!" He paused, seeing how Billy's head bowed and his shoulders sagged: "I won't bring it up, but if he asks..."

Billy beamed, jumping over and threw his arms around Carl's neck and hugged him through the truck window.

"Thanks uncle Carl! I promise to keep the Code; I won't disappoint him or...you."

Carl had smiled at him as Billy pulled back, and as he started his truck up, he had instructed Billy: "You and your friend escort that young lady home and don't be out too late."

Billy had watched him pull away before returning inside to get his friends.

After chatting for a while together, Billy suggested to Gavin that maybe they could give Melissa a ride home, which Gavin happily agreed too.

Melissa and Billy had both gotten a kick out of how nervous Gavin was going through the main gate of the Marine base. it was especially funny when the guard stepped up to his driver side window and asked for his ID card; Gavin handed him his drivers license.

They could barely contain themselves when he looked at them with wide eyes after the guard impatiently handed it back and said: "Military ID card, sir!"

The look of sheer panic on Gavin's face was priceless to Melissa and Billy, but Melissa was the first to crack and handed over her military dependent ID to the guard who checked it and had handed it back to her and motioned them through.

"You assholes!" Gavin yelled: "I almost had a heart attack!" They all laughed teasing back and forth all the way to Melissa's house, where they dropped her off with the promise they'd all get together again sometime to hang out.

Billy remembered how he had watched her walk up to her front door, well, more specifically, how he watched her ass as they pulled away.

"Somebody's got it bad!" Gavin teased.

Billy huffed and bro-punched Gavin's right shoulder.

Gavin smiled and added: "You do know she was checking you out too right?"

"Bullshit!" Billy quipped: "She's like one of the hottest girls in school."

Gavin roared with laughter: "Do I really have to have the whole hot conversation with you again?!" he exclaimed.

Billy had just shook his head smiling at the recollection but not biting Gavin's goading.

Gavin's voice took a more serious tone: "Seriously dude, she's into you."

As they approached the gate, Billy handed Gavin his ID card: "Can we just please drop it dude?" he asked timidly.

Billy recalled how grateful he was when Gavin changed the subject asking him if he had any suggestions about what they could do next or if he just wanted to call it a night.

"I could really go for a swim right now." Billy had said halfheartedly knowing the base pool was closed at this hour.

"I know a place" Gavin smiled while adding: "My family uses this boat dock down on the Flint River, no one will be there at this time." The excitement showed on his face: "We could go swimming there, if ya want?"

The more Billy had thought about it, the better the idea seemed to him, and before he knew it, Gavin was pulling down a dirt road that ended close to a small dock with a concrete ramp that disappeared into the waters of the Flint River.

There was no artificial light, but the half-moon coming up well over the horizon provided more than adequate lighting as their eyes adjusted to the night.

Billy had watched as Gavin had pulled his shirt off and tossed it on the dock as he waded his toes into the cool water, looking like he fully intended going in wearing the board shorts he had on.

He smiled faintly to himself as he had noted the surprised look on Gavin's face as he had completely stripped down butt-ass naked and ran down the dock and jumped into the river, it had taken him a good deal of taunting and teasing to get Gavin to finally strip down to his briefs and jump in with him.

Billy had to fight the urge to rough house with Gavin like he always had with Baxter, Gavin was much smaller than Baxter and Billy feared how Gavin would take it, still, he did dunk him under a few times and they had the usual obligatory splash battle, before hauling themselves out of the water and laying on the hard concrete surface of the dock to dry off and catch their breath.

Billy couldn't help noting how Gavin kept giving him quick sideways glances, most notably to his groin area, Billy was also equally sure Gavin had an erection in his wet, white briefs, and it wasn't long before Gavin had sat up with his legs crossed sitting nearly head level to Billy.

Billy knew that position gave him a better view of his naked body and it was easier for Gavin to ogle him more openly without Billy noticing.

But Billy did notice, he just pretended not to, deciding to let him look until he had his fill.

Billy had tried to make small talk with him, but before long, they just fell silent, it was apparent to Billy that Gavin was obviously far more focused on something else, and Billy allowed that to continue for a few minutes before he finally decided to confront Gavin head-on.

"Gavin, can I ask you a personal question?" He had asked cautiously.

He heard Gavin sigh in anticipation of his question, with a sense of unease.

But Billy had pressed on: "I know a while back there were those rumors about you and Arliss..."

"They weren't true!" Gavin shot back, a little to defensively.

Billy could feel Gavin's body tense up, and Billy had turned to face him, keeping his motions slow and as non-threatening as possible, he tried to look him in the eye, but Gavin turned his head and avoided the contact.

"I was just going to say, whether it was or wasn't, it doesn't matter to me." Billy had said trying to sound supportive.

"Can you keep a secret?" Billy had asked him, still trying to get Gavin to look at him.

Gavin just nodded his head and whispered: "Sure."

"My brother and Timmy do stuff together." He paused before adding: "Not sure if my brother's gay, but I know Timmy is."

That had gotten Gavin's attention, Billy had watched as his mouth dropped and he stared wide-eyed at him.

"Wanna hear something even wilder than that?" he had queried: "That guy that helped us tonight..."Billy had paused before adding: "The other night, he stayed the night with my Dad...in his bedroom."

"Bullshit!" Gavin had said, not believing him.

"Ask my brother." Billy had suggested, then it struck him to ask: " Hey, there's an idea! Why don't you go to the gym with me tomorrow?"

Gavin just looked at him, before letting his gaze drop: "You still want to hang out with me?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Billy had mused, and continued with a tease: "Besides, you could stand to spend some time in the gym, nerd."

That had made Gavin laugh, and Billy had stood up and offered his hand to Gavin, helping him up as well.

"Billy?" Gavin's voice went soft again, barely a whisper: "I am, you know..." His eyes had dropped down again looking at the ground, tentatively waiting for Billy's response.

"Well duh!" Billy had said playfully: "I knew that by the way you've been drooling over my big fat dick!"

Billy had to dodge quickly as Gavin swung at his arm. He had begun laughing as Gavin had chased him: "Asshole!" he shouted, nearly giggling.

"Help! Help!" Billy had cried out feigning terror: "There's a big ol' homo trying to rape lil' ol' defenseless me!"

Billy had let Gavin catch him and they tumbled to the ground, laughing so hard their sides had begun to ache.

                                                                  * * * * *

Entering the small, twelve-feet by fourteen-feet room, Max noted how it reeked with the smell of honey and freshly dug dirt.

As usual, kneeling on the floor naked and with his head bowed and arms behind his lower back was Gunnery Sgt. Brock Gryzinski.

Max turned and shut the door with a loud clang and twisted the large dead-bolt to the locked position.

Max and Brock had been meeting like this for over two years, not long after he had transferred here.

Brock wasn't that old, he was actually rather young at only twenty six; at least for a Gunnery Sergeant, but he was exceptional at his job, and Max would be hard-pressed to find anyone who was equal to, let alone better at firepower logistics than this man; If you needed any kind of equipment or machinery, Brock could get it.

There was just one thing that was holding Gysgt. Gryzinski back and Max was here today to fix that, or at least start him down the right path.

This was, of course, the path Max wanted him on.

Max walked past him, and appeared to completely ignore the naked figure kneeling with his knees spread wide, fully exposing himself as he was commanded to do per Max's instructions yesterday, not that this was anything unusual, this was his default position when they would get together.

Max walked to the center of the room to the large crate occupying the space right underneath the single metal dangling light fixture.

Max veered sideways and sat his briefcase on top of one of the two metal barrels off to the side of the wooden crate, then moved to the front end of the large wooden box, swung his left leg over one corner, letting his leg dangle over the front.

As he leaned his left butt cheek on top of the crate, his right leg planted firmly on the floor, Max leaned forward, resting his left elbow on the top of his left thigh and clasped his left forearm with his right hand.

"About face boy." Max commanded in his more restrained baritone voice.

Brock immediately rose and turned, executing a 180, now standing and facing Max, whose face instantly turned into an angry grimace; Max practically roared at the young Gunny: "WHO THE FUCK TOLD YOU TO STAND FAGGOT!?"

Max's voice left no doubt he was livid, and a horrified Brock dropped to his knees, instantly bowing his head, hands behind his back, knees spread wide.

"LOWER!" Max ordered, his arms crossing over his chest and watched as the frightened Marine dropped his head to the floor, ass up, hands clasped together behind his lower back.

Max sat there for a moment enjoying the Gunny's submissive position: "Crawl over here on your fucking hands and knees boy!" His voice still booming in the dimly lit room.

Instantly Brock rose and did as ordered, knowing there would be consequences for his previous presumptive actions.

Max smiled wickedly as the Gunny crawled on his hands and knees to him, coming to a stop directly between his legs, head bowed and waiting for his next command.

"Sit pretty, faggot." Max ordered, his voice still cool and dripping with icy venom.

Brock returned to his previous upright knees spread position,  Max lifted his left shin and parked his foot squarely on Brock's chest: "Hold my ankle, boy." Max muttered, locking his eyes on Brock's face.

The young Gunny grasped Max's left ankle, gently, almost reverently.

Max leaned forward slightly: "Look at how dirty your disgusting floor got the sole of my nice clean shoe." His tone now almost mocking: "It's your fucking fault faggot for being such a dirty little bitch." Max snarled, shoving the toe of his shoe against Brock's lips: "What are you waiting for faggot? Lick it clean!" Max commanded.

Instantly Brock began earnestly lapping the dirty sole of Max's patent leather shoe, his tongue dragging enthusiastically over the full length, heel to toe until the entire sole of his shoe was licked clean and practically dripped with saliva.

"What are you waiting for?" Max spat in his face: "Take it off, then do the other one."

Brock did as ordered even removing his socks and carefully folding and kissing them and placing them neatly into Max's shoes.

Max stood up his hard cock leaving a large, straining, tenting bulge more than halfway down his thigh.

He stepped forward slightly rubbing it across Brock's face: "I know what you want boy." Max cooed softly, almost seductively: "It's what all faggots like you want." Max stepped back, his arms hung loosely at his sides: "Go ahead boy, remove my uniform."

Max stood there motionless as Gysgt. Gryzinski carefully undressed him, being extremely cautious when removing each piece of Max's uniform, folding it neatly, kissing it and placing it reverently on top of the first barrel.

When done, Max shoved Brock backwards ordering him to kneel again as he walked around him slowly, until he came full circle.

Max had always admired how ruggedly handsome Brock was, from the light brown hair on the top of his head to his totally shaved muscular body, Max had made him keep his entire body shaved from neck to toe for the last two years, an order given not long after he started using him.

Max admired the thin-set lips and the low arch of his thick, but well-trimmed eyebrows, his strong jawline, and that small pug nose of his, with it's upward turned rounded tip, of course, his ever-present dimples in his cheeks and the long lashes of his deep hazel colored eyes also added to the attraction.

Then he saw it, glinting at him from the corner of his eye, reflecting the light from directly above their heads.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS, YOU GOD DAMNED FUCKIN' BITCH!?" Max snatched Brock's left hand up to his face, slapping the young Marine with his own hand repeatedly.

Brock cowered; in his haste to have everything set up perfectly and get the place cleared for the arrival of the Master Sergeant, the now very frightened Gunnery Sergeant was mortified he'd left his wedding ring on.

His Master Sgt. had long ago forbidden him to wear it in his presence and had always threatened to beat the skin off of his ass if he ever forgot.

His lips trembled as he softly uttered: "Please forgive me Master Sgt." Brock tried to yank the ring from his finger with his right hand but Max had intercepted it and twisted it behind his back, before shoving the Gunny to the floor.

Max angrily walked over to his briefcase and withdrew a pair of handcuffs then ordered the visibly shaken Gunny to stand and put his hands behind his back as Max locked Brock's hands behind his back and then shoved him face-down on the crate.

"You are so going to get what you deserve now, faggot." Max snarled into his left ear.

Max reached over to his pants and picked up his black leather belt: "Don't you dare fucking move a muscle or make a single sound bitch!" Commanded Max's deep guttural voice, icy cold and full of purpose now.

Gysgt. Gryzinski waited for his punishment, knowing his Master Sgt. was about to rain hellfire down on his ass, and even before the first blow hit, he gritted his teeth, steeling himself so as not to make a sound, not even a whimper could escape past his lips or he knew it would be twice as worse for him.

The first hit struck like lightning on his naked ass, Brock knew it had instantly left a large red welt: "Count them out, faggot!" Max bellowed.

"One Master Sgt." Brock whimpered, "Good god, this was going to be bad." he thought to himself, and indeed it was.

Max whipped his ass mercilessly fifty strokes, to be exact, of searing agony, Brock's ass glowed bright red and thumped with a fiery throbbing pain.

Silently he wondered how he would explain this to his wife, but he knew better than to mention that to the Master Sgt.

Brock felt Max grip his gold wedding band between his thumb and forefinger and ripped it from his finger, he felt Max lean over him and spoke right into his right ear: "I'm just gonna have to make sure this never happens again huh, faggot?!"

 It was more of a statement than a question, and Brock knew it, as Max suddenly kicked Brock’s legs apart and stepped forcibly between them.

He could feel Max press the gold ring against his asshole, and too little too late, he realized what Max intended to do.

Without any lubrication at all, Max shoved the gold band into the Gunny's asshole using his index and middle finger, shoving them and the ring in to the third knuckle and then ruthlessly twisted his fingers, grinding the ring in as far as his digits permitted, Brock gritted his teeth and rapidly hissed his breath through them, his hole now burning almost as much as his ass cheeks.

"If you thought that hurt..." Max growled, positioning the enormous glans of his massive twelve-inch unlubricated cock at the Gunny's twitching hole, he then rammed it in to the balls, ripping passed the Gunny's sphincter, tearing through his inner sphincter in one teeth-jarring jolt.

Brock screamed in absolute anguish, trying as hard as he could to twist himself away from Max's maypole, tears of pain poured down his cheeks as his mouth dribbled spittle between his deafening cries for mercy.

Max yanked him to his feet, throwing his left arm around his waist, his left hand clasping the base of his ball sack pulling his testes down tight, protruding passed the index finger and thumb of his fist.

Max held him tighter, and using his right hand, began slapping Brock's tightly stretched balls held securely in his left hand.

The Gunny howled in renewed anguish, trying desperately to twist and squirm out of Max's strong grasp, his hole felt like it was being ripped to shreds, his balls began to swell and tighten as Max continuously pummeled them with nonstop rapid smacks.

Max snarled into his ear: "I'm gonna destroy your fuckin' pussy with my dick bitch!"

Brock knew he had to fight past the pain and surrender himself to it and do as his Master Sgt. ordered.

Slowly, Max felt the Gunny's hips start to move, felt his hole clutch, and suck at the base of his wrist-thick schlong, Max slapped Brock's balls even harder, each blow making the Gunny's ass pussy quiver, tighten, and release.

"That's it, you fuckin' bitch. Milk that fukin' dick." Max growled.

Brock howled in agony, thrusting his hips back and forth, ramming his abused and swollen hole against his Master Sgt.'s pubes, grinding himself in tight circles with each downward thrust, trying to capture every fraction of an inch of Max's throbbing monster cock.

Max squeezed his balls even tighter, his slapping hand now turned into a tightened fist that smashed into his bruised and battered nads, Brock wailed and screamed, thrusting as hard and fast as he could, actually trying to destroy his own hole on his Master Sgt.s humongous rod, when suddenly, he felt the dam within him burst, as the first jolts of his orgasm hit him.

Brock's six-inch cock exploded in a shower of rapid-fire jets of erupting jism, splashing loudly against the far wall and squirting against the ceiling.

His eyes rolled back in his head and his whole body jerked and spasm, caught in the throes of unimaginable ecstasy as Max's arms now encircled him holding him upright, his cock now erupting torrents of sperm into Brock's battered cunt, filling him to near overflowing, his huge glans expanding and contracting as volley after volley fired like a cannon deep into the depths of Brock's undulating bowels.

 As their tidal waves of lust and passion diminished and assuaged the savage beats of their hearts, Max and Brock collapsed in a heap on the floor beside the large wooden crate, Max continued to hold Brock, his hands now gently stroked his chest and abs.

Brock spoke first, his throat tight and dry: "That was amazing, Master Sgt. Thank you, Sir."

"Was it what you wanted?" Max queried.

"Yes Master Sgt, exactly what I hoped for." He sighed contentedly.

Max eased Brock forward and stood up, reaching for his clothes and started to dress. Brock continued to sit propped up by the crate.

"Well, I'm glad you had a great time." Max smiled then his face suddenly grew stern. "Because that was our last time Gunny."

Brock straightened immediately, turning his full attention to Max, he couldn't hide the near panic that washed over his face suddenly.

"Don't look at me like that Gunny; you knew this day was coming." He said matter of fact.

"I just thought..." Brock's voice was soft, almost forlorn, his heart raced anew with a sudden sense of unimaginable loss.

Max had practically been his salvation, his oasis, in a life that was nothing but duty and obligation in every other facet of his existence, not only could Max sense the despair building in the young man, he could smell it.

"Enough!!!" Max ordered, glaring down at Brock: "Get your ass up and get dressed!" he paused before adding: "We've got things to discuss, not least of which is your future Gunny."

                                                                 * * * * *

"Ya know, I could just go home and take a shower just as easily." Gavin bemoaned trying desperately not to gawk at a now nearly naked Billy Donnelly.

"Dude, did you or did you not ask me to help you get stronger and teach you how to defend yourself last night?" Billy stood there only two feet away from Gavin, stripped down to his jockstrap, hands on his hips, and from Gavin’s point of view, looking more like a wet dream come to life instead of a self-defense instructor: "Here!" Billy said shoving a towel in Gavin's hands, knowing exactly what the problem was: "Wrap that around your waist and strip ya big pussy."

Billy was right of course, partially. Gavin wasn't use to being naked around anyone, let alone those that happened to be a bunch of very fit, healthy, young Marine, in other words, Gavin's dick was as stiff as a railroad spike.

Thankfully Gavin had gotten so nervous realizing that Billy wasn't taking no for an answer, that his boner had subsided to a mere semi-chub, but be that as it may, and even with the towel wrapped securely around his waist, Gavin still blushed about ten different shades of red, all of which Billy found immensely amusing as he timidly slid his underwear off.

Billy, of course, didn't understand Gavin's lack of self-confidence, after all, Gavin wasn't a bad looking guy, Billy thought he looked kind of cute in his glasses, glasses he only wore when he was reading, so it wasn't like he wore them all the time; and yes, he was shorter than most guys Billy knew, standing at about five foot seven inches, but he had a nice solid build and a cute little bubble butt that kind of jiggled when he walked.

His sandy-colored hair was kind of floppy and always looked a bit wild and out of control, something that probably contributed to people's perception of his nerdiness, but he had a cute face, high cheekbones, a smallish nose, and a rather small mouth with pouty lips; Billy also noticed how nearly hairless his slim body was, that more than anything made him look deceptively younger than his seventeen years indicated.

As they entered the shower area of the locker room, Billy herded him toward the back.

The showers there had dividers between them for those wanting a little more privacy than the main showers offered, and Billy guided him to the very back one and turned it on, adjusting the water to a comfortable level.

Seeing the relative privacy did start to allow Gavin to relax a little; that is until Billy whipped his towel off and entered the stall, beckoning Gavin to join him.

Billy noted Gavin's hesitancy: "Dude if you don't get your ass in this shower right now..." Billy moved out of the shower to stand in front of him with his hands on his hips: "I'm gonna throw you over my shoulder and haul you out to the public showers and hand wash you top to bottom in front of anyone who wants to watch!"

The way Billy said it left no doubt to Gavin he'd do just that.

Reluctantly, Gavin hung his towel up and stepped under the warm shower spray, his hands covering his crotch.

Noting Gavin's apprehension and bashfulness, Billy decided to counter it with a little of his temerity: "Turn around." Billy said, dispensing some soap into his hands. Uncomfortably, Gavin slowly turned to offer his back to his muscular new friend.

Billy placed his now soapy hands-on Gavin's upper back, smearing the soap and gently massaging and washing Gavin's skin, and despite his apprehension, Gavin started to relax, enjoying the way Billy's strong fingers stroked his body, cleansing away not only the sweaty grime but his tension as well.

As Billy finished with his back and rinsed the foaming soap away with his hands, he handed the bottle of liquid soap around to Gavin: "My turn bro!" he practically whispered into Gavin's ear as he turned to offer him his broad back rippling with muscles.

Gavin turned to face him, squeezing some of the bottle's contents into his hand before setting it on the tiled shelf of the shower stall, his hands trembled slightly as he touched the naked flesh and burgeoning muscles, massaging Billy gently, exploring the vastness of his back.

Gavin noted the dichotomy between the softness of his skin compared to the hardness of his back muscles all the while, right below him, was the large, lightly furred mounds of Billy's muscular bubble butt, the effectual cause was made quickly apparent by Gavin's now fully erect six-inch cock.

As he finished, he tried to turn far enough away to hopefully conceal his erection from Billy, mortified that Billy would ever see such a blatant display of the sexual arousal he felt for him, completely embarrassed by his body's lustful betrayal.

"Dude, it's okay," Billy assured him softly, his large hand now grasping his shoulder and slowly turning him around to face him.

Gavin felt his entire body was blushing and was wishing nothing more than to be anywhere else instead of so blatantly displaying his carnal desires to his friend.

Billy reached up with his left hand cupping the right side of Gavin's face, his thumb stroking his cheek gently, affectionately: "This is bullshit ya know." Billy groaned: "It's okay to feel what you feel dude." Gavin hazarded a quick glimpse into Billy's bright blue eyes, those same eyes stared back at him, soft and gentle, the smile on his face genuine, not mocking, as Gavin feared he'd see.

Then to his surprise, Billy stepped back and brought Gavin's right hand up to the center of his chest and held it there, covered in his own: "Go ahead bud, look and touch all you want." his voice deep and soft like velvet: "It doesn't bother me at all that you’re perving out on how hot I am!"

Gavin punched him in the chest as they both burst out laughing.

                                                               CHAPTER NINE:

Max Donnelly sat at his desk; he had just returned after releasing Brock Gryzinski after their little morning rendezvous and ordering him to get cleaned up and meet him here in his office within the hour.

Normally Max wouldn't and didn't involve himself in the personal lives of those he worked with, preferring to keep a professional distance, but he and Brock weren't just friends; they had became more than that; GySgt. Gryzinski had become a valuable resource and ally as well as a pretty damn good piece of ass.

He was one of the chosen few who were fully aware of the Heritage while not being part of it, but Max, like a growing number of others within the Heritage, were coming to realize and feel that the Heritage Codex, the rules that those of the Heritage lived by, something that they had followed for untold centuries, had been twisted into something self-serving and exclusionary, even to those the Heritage had a long-standing connection too; men like Brock.

Max pondered the numerous times he, Carl, Elder Danal Cornelius, and several others heavily debated these things and how they had all come to the conclusion that things needed to change and as Max has observed so often, it always came back to that age-old axiom, time and time again: "Change is the only constant in the universe", and that axiom is what brought Max where he is today.
It was now, with that thought in mind that he was now going to force GySgt. Brock Gryzinski to face today.

Max knew that the Gunny was stuck, he had boxed himself in and could no longer evolve beyond where he was at, where Max and all the others that depended on him, including Brock, needed him and depended on him to be.

Brock Gryzinzki needed change and Max had decided to be the instrument of that change by doing what the universe does to spur it on; Max was going to introduce chaos into the Gunny's life, the kind of chaos he couldn't hide away from or pretend would go away or deny the existence of.

Max sat at his desk waiting for him, ready to push the button, to shove Gunny over the precipice into chaos and the inevitable liberation that would result and free him from the mess his life had become, a mess he forced not only on himself but by naive association, those closest to him.
Max was contemplating the small plaque on the wall by his desk inscribed with the Latin words: "Verum Tuae Sui", or “To thine own-self be true” when the timid knock came on his door.

Max straightened himself and adjusted his shirt, composing himself for what was to come: "Enter," Max called out and watched as GySgt. Gryzinski entered his office, clean and crisp dressed in his normal fatigues.

"Gunnery Sergeant Brock Gryzinski reporting as ordered Master Sergeant." he announced taking the customary stationary drill stance.

"Take a seat, Gunny." Max said pointing toward one of the chairs in front of his desk, and as he did so, Max got up and walked over to his office door and locked it, then returned to the front of his desk, leaning his ass on it, crossed his ankles, and folded his arms over his chest.

Without a word he reached down and unzipped his fly and hauled out his genitals, letting his flaccid eight-inch uncut cock drop to hang pendulous between his thighs, over his big hairy balls now nestled in the crook of his crotch.

Studiously watching as Brock lustfully stared at his groin and absentmindedly licked his lips repeatedly, Max leaned forward lifting the young Gunny's chin forcing their eyes to meet: "Do you remember what I said to you before I left you in that storage room this morning Gunny?" Max's tone was firm and leaving no doubt he expected a response.

Brock gulped: "Yes Master Sgt." Max could see the longing behind his eyes, the troubling fear of potential loss: "Did I do something wrong, Master Sgt?" Came the expectant plea Max knew would come.

Max pointed to the plaque on his wall: "Do you see that plaque Gunny?" He demanded, staring intently into the Gunny's eyes.

"Yes Master Sgt." was his simple, soft-spoken reply.

"Read it out loud." Max said, his voice louder, firmer, and more commanding.

"Verum Tuae Sui." came the timid response, a confused expression crossing his face as his eyes returned to Max's.

Max glared at Brock, the intensity cutting right through him: "Do you know what it means Gunny?"

Max watched him intently, watched as he now cast his eyes first toward Max's huge limp cock and then to the floor, then, almost whispering: "To thine own self be true." His eyes looked up into Max's, eyes that begged him to stop, fearful of the outcome if he didn't.

Max proceeded calmly, confident of his decision to help this young man: "Get on your knees." he commanded, pointing to the spot right in front of him.

The Gunny instantly dropped down, his face mere inches from Max's prodigious endowments, licking his lips both nervously and from a deep, hungry, aching lust.

Despite his fear, the sense of being trapped and cornered, Brock felt his cock swell to fullness in his fatigues, straining against the crotch of his desert camo pants.

Max snapped his fingers and the Gunny's eyes jolted back to Max's intense gaze: "Before you is your truth Gunny." Max paused letting him take in his now growing cock, until he was almost completely transfixed to it.

Max reached over and grabbed his phone and began recording a video and pointed it down at the young Gunny: "Look up at me!" He commanded, his voice thick and full of authority: "Beg me for it faggot!" Brock knew he was videoing him, but he was torn between obeying him, to give in to his near insatiable hunger or refusing.

 Instinctively he knew if he chose the latter, Max would never let him have it again, would never fulfill his deepest desires, satiate his unrelenting voracious hunger.

Max smiled lecherously as the young Gunny whimpered and stuffed the massive bulbous head of his half-hard schlong into his mouth and ravenously sucked on it like a starving calf on its mother's teat.

Max slapped him, hard, the blow dislodging his dong from his mouth, spittle flying everywhere: "I said BEG!" Max's voice was near a snarling growl.

Brock returned his attention to Max's dick, looking upward, their eyes meeting: "Please Master Sgt." he paused, his voice quivering: "Please let me suck your dick, Sir!"

"I only let cock-hungry faggots suck my dick boi." Max snarled: "Tell me what a cock-hungry faggot you are."

Brock's head swam with lust, he had to have Max's big dick back in his mouth, he didn't just want it, he needed it: "Master Sgt., please let this cock-hungry faggot suck your perfect dick Sir...please!"

A large lecherous grin stretched across Max's face as he reached down and patted Brocks head: "That's better faggot. It's all yours!"

Brock Gryzinski didn't waste time, he devoured the huge knob and forced it into his oral cavity, his lips sucked convulsively, his tongue undulating against the frenulum; he knew what Max liked and he was determined to give him the best blowjob he had ever given, forcing the bulbous tip of his swollen glans against his uvula, his jaws expanding to encompass the bloated dick meat.

Two years’ worth of jaw stretching exercises now assisting the expansion of his throat muscles as he gulped the entire length of Max's monster down his gullet like a snake devouring its prey, cock-sucker tears poured from the corners of his eyes as his lips stretched and strained to their fullest until they nestled in the coarse thick bush of dark pubic hair.

"Okay, that'll do Gunny!" Max suddenly announced, turning off the camera on his phone while pulling his wet dick out of Brock's mouth, and as he leaned back against the desk, stuffed his half-hard dick back into his slacks, and zipped up.

Brock just knelt there, wondering what had just happened, his mind trying to clear away the webs of his lust and refocus on the man against the desk, the source of his confusion: "Get up Gunny." Max's voice full of controlled calm authority again.

Brock frowned, as the questions formed on his face as fast as they formed in his head: "I have all I need now," Max concluded as if that should answer all the questions now swirling in the Gunny's brain.

Max toyed with his phone, turned it around showing it to a very confused Gunny, the image of him kneeling, looking up into the camera appeared, Brock's face flushed as he heard and saw himself say: "Master Sgt. please let this cock hungry faggot suck your perfect dick Sir...please!" Max smiled and hit repeat and shoved the phone closer to Brock's face.

"Wuh...wah..what are you doin'?" Brock pleaded, his eyes now denoted the impending panic building behind them.

Max's face took on a stern calm as his eyes drilled into Brock's: "I'm showing you your truth, Gunny." he paused and added: "This is who you are, you're not the fake, phony, liar you show everyone else." Max hit repeat again: "Master Sgt. please let this cock hungry faggot suck your perfect dick Sir...please!"

"STOP IT!" the now panicked Marine yelled at him, his hands balling up into fist his body tense and nearly trembling from fear and anger.

Max hit repeat again: "Master Sgt. please let this cock hungry faggot suck your perfect dick Sir...please!"

Brock lunged at the phone, intending to rip it from Max's left hand, as his fear gave way to anger his anger gave way to action.

Max deftly avoided his grasp and his right hand shot up smacking squarely into Brock's chest with just enough force to topple him backward onto his ass, Brock's anger now turned into blind rage and fury and he jumped to his feet and launched himself full-body at Max.

With a speed that completely caught the young Gunny off guard, Max's right hand shot out lightning-quick, his fingers digging into the Gunny's muscular throat, and hoisted him one-armed into the air.

For the briefest moment, Brock could have sworn Max's irises flashed a bright blue, but there was no mistaking the predicament he now found himself in as he desperately tried to gasp for breath against the steel-like grip of the man dangling him a good foot off the floor.

Brock’s hands clutched at Max's forearm, clawed at his rigid fingers, helplessly trying to extricate himself, his need for oxygen growing by the second as his face flushed red and his hazel eyes bugged out.

Max shoved the phone in his face once again and hit repeat: "Master Sgt. please let this cock hungry faggot suck your perfect dick Sir...please!"

"This is who you are!" Max growled, daring Brock to disagree with him, forcing him to face his reality... to face the truth, his truth... "Verum Tuae Sui."

All the fight drained from Brock, and as his body went limp, Max lowered him to the floor and eased him back into one of the chairs, where he sat slouched over on his elbows, resting on his knees and his face planted in the palms of his hands as the tears began to flow from his eyes.

Max knelt in front of him, tossed his phone into the other chair, and brought his right hand up to gently stroke the right side of Brock's head: "You’re gay, Gunny." said Max's voice, now deep and soothing, but full of truth.

Max's resolve almost melted as this strong young man began to sob, arms reaching out to him, Max pulled Brock to him, his strong powerful arms encircling and comforting him and softly stroked his back, neck, and head, allowing him the time to face his truth, to accept it, and move on.

That's what real men do, that's what this Marine needed to do, to become a man and face his fears head-on, to face the chaos head-on and allow it to forge him into something new, something better, to claim his heritage.

His heritage as a man and a Marine.

They stayed like that for a while until Brock gently began to pull back, wiping the tears from his face, Max reached over and pulled some tissues from the box sitting on his desk and handed them to Brock, as he composed himself and sat up straighter in his chair, his hands clutching at the moist tissues he held in his lap, Max returned to his seat behind his desk, adjusted his shirt and sat down.

"What do I do now?” Brock moaned, his voice still thick with the parade of emotions that continued to wash over him.

Max glared at him sternly, forcing his eyes to meet his: "You're going to own it, Gunny, and become the man you were meant to be!"

Brock's face grew sullen: "What about my family, they'll never accept this? My parents are very religious, my brothers..." His eyes became saucers: "Dammit, what about my wife?!!"

Max leaned back in his chair and contemplated for a second: "She doesn't have a clue, does she?" Max had met her before at squadron dinners and other social functions, an attractive woman if not a bit naive.

Max's brow furrowed but he had to ask: "I've always wanted to know something, you being married to a woman and being gay and all..." Max's voice trailed for a second, not sure how he wanted to frame his train of thought: "I assume since you've been married for four years, at some point the two of you have had sex."

Brock bowed his head: "Yeah, but not that often..." He thought for a second calculating: "Maybe a couple of times a month, sometimes more. Usually I don't even cum." he concluded.

"Damn" Max groaned, shaking his head: "No wonder you're always so.. how shall I put this...enthusiastic." Max smiled and noticed the faintest of grins at the corners of the Gunny's lips: "Clarify for me..." Max said pausing briefly: "What all do you do together, in the bedroom that is?”

Brock shrugged his shoulders slightly: ”We fuck...well, at least we fuck for as long as I can maintain an erection that is."

"Nothing else?!" a look of surprise crossing Max's face before Brock responded: "Well, sometimes she will suck me a little. But I don't think she likes doing that very much."

"How about you?" Max asked, truly fascinated now.

"What about me?" Brock asked not sure he understood the question.

"Do you ever go down on her?" Max queried and almost laughed at the look of disgust that momentarily washed over the young Gunny's face.

"Um....no." he half-whispered looking down at the floor.

"Never!?" Max exclaimed incredulously staring at the Gunny.

He didn't need to answer, Max knew it alread, Brock’s face and entire body language said he was repulsed by the idea: "That poor fucking woman!" Max sighed: "That's it, we're through talking." Max exclaimed and stood up glaring at the Gunny.

"You know what you're gonna do Gunny?!" Max was in full command mode now, the timbre of his voice leaving no doubt whatsoever that GySgt. Brock Gryzinski was going to do exactly what he was about to order him to do: "You're going to go home right this minute and drag that poor bitch into your bedroom. You're going to sensually strip her down and sit her at the foot of your bed. You’re going to lean her back, spread her legs, and you’re going to spend the rest of the afternoon and evening eating her fucking pussy. You’re gonna lick, lap, and suck her clit and drive your tongue as deep as you can in and out of her snatch and slurp up all her pussy juices. You're going to eat pussy and make your wife cum over and over again until she can't take it anymore and begs you to stop!”

Max didn't give a rats ass when he saw the color drain from Brock's face and he began looking a bit green around the gills at the thought of what Max was commanding him to do: "If I find out..." Max sternly cautioned jabbing his finger toward Brock's chest: "that you failed to carry out my orders..."

Max let his threat sink in: "No Master Sgt. I won't fail, Sir!" Brock stammered, visibly shaken. Max could see the fear in his eyes, knowing Brock was in no hurry for a repeat of what had just happened minutes before.

Max opened the briefcase on his desk and removed an envelope, two manila folders, and a small oblong box and set them in front of him: "After you've satisfied your wife and probably given her the best sexual experience of her life..." Max paused, once again emphasizing his orders: "You're going to sit her down and tell her the truth. Then you're going to tell her that you're going to immediately petition for a non-contested divorce, granting her whatever she wants of your joint assets." Max wasn't even trying to be diplomatic about it now: "Then you're going to pack some clothes and go to a motel for the night." Max stared right into Brock's eyes: "Tomorrow, you're going to retain an attorney, and file a divorce petition."

Max looked down and picked up the first manila folder: "These are your orders to file with base operations tomorrow letting them know you are going on special assignment effective immediately."

"New assignment Master Sgt.?" Brock's was face full of questions he was afraid to ask.

Max picked up the second manila folder: "These are the requisitions you are to file before the end of day tomorrow." Max handed it to the Gunny: "Make sure you get everything in order before you leave."

The Gunny opened the folder and started scanning the contents, a surprised look on his face: "Are these all approved?" he asked.

Max smiled: "Look at the authorization Gunny."

Brock saw the name: "Lt. General Bastian Hartford!" a look of surprise swept the Gunny's face: "A three-star general at that." Brock whistled: "You got some real connections, Master Sgt."

"And you have your orders Marine." Max picked up the small oblong box and the letter handing the last two items over to Brock: "Friday morning at zero nine hundred, you are to depart for the Devil Dawg Compound and report to Sgt. Carl McGregor. He will introduce you to the new team you will be training with." Max had taken him to the compound several times before, a couple of times with Carl.

Max smiled wickedly at the next part: "You will be introduced to Corporal Atticus Walker, whom you will present this envelope too. After he reads the contents, you are to hand him this box and do exactly as you are instructed to do."

Max sat back down, pleased with himself and with a wave of his hand dismissed the Gunny, but just as he had opened the door to leave Max called out his name: "Brock?" The Gunny turned to meet the Master Sgt. eye to eye and with a big smile on his face Max said: "Enjoy your first taste of pussy Marine."

Brock left, suddenly feeling very queasy and nauseous, thinking to himself: "It's going to be a very rough night."

                                                                      * * * * *

"So, how does it feel to be a loser?" Gavin didn't expect Billy to answer that question. It just felt good to be better at something than this big strong jock.

"That's quite the accomplishment, being better at a video game you've played a million times compared to someone who has never played it at all." Billy retorted.

Gavin feigned indignation: "Do you expect me to believe that you've gotten to the ripe old age of seventeen and have never played Mario Kart?" Gavin clutched one hand to his chest and the back of the other to his forehead, sweeping his head upward mockingly: "Lies I tell you, lies!" Billy laughed and reached over and started tickling Gavin's sides: "Stop that asshole! You’re gonna make me piss myself!"

Billy straddled his chest and begin fingering Gavin's armpits, making him squirm underneath him, trying to twist away from the tickle torture: "Go ahead," Billy laughed, a broad grin on his face: “It's not my bed you'll be pissing in."

After the gym, Gavin had asked Billy if he'd like to come over to his house and hang for a while, Gavin didn't have many friends that ever came over to visit, especially any that were as hot as Billy Donnelly.

He wondered what his computer geek friends would think if they saw him now, lying across his bed with one of the hunkiest guys in their school, straddling his chest, his bulging crotch mere inches from his face; a crotch Gavin just couldn't keep his eyes off of.

"Are you staring at my dick again, ya big homo?!" Billy sneered playfully.

"It's hard not to when it's practically shoved right in my face, ya big prick tease" Gavin laughed and tried harder to push Billy off his chest.

Billy rolled off him and lay down beside him, both of them now lying sideways across Gavin's bed, their bare feet on the floor: "Do you really think that?" Billy said, his expression a little more serious now, turning his head to look at Gavin meeting him eye-to-eye.

"I didn't mean anything bad by that Billy!" Gavin's face showed his concern, thinking he had crossed a line and offended Billy by his comment, quickly adding: "It wasn't a complaint." Gavin bowed his head slightly and blushed a little: "Truthfully, I kinda like it."

Billy thought for a moment, bringing his arms up to lace his fingers together behind his head: "I don't tease you because you’re gay, ya know that, right?!"

Gavin twisted sideways and propped himself up on one elbow looking at Billy's strong handsome face: "I know that dude, but..." He paused for a moment before adding: "This is just all so new to me and sometimes..." He let his thoughts drift for second thinking how to put his feelings into words: "I am gay and you’re like.." He gulped, too afraid to say what he was thinking.

"A hot stud muffin you can't take your eyes off of?" Billy goaded and chuckled trying to break the somber seriousness of the moment.

Gavin smiled back at him and poked him playfully in the ribs: "It's just that I've never... you know, I've never done..."

Billy sat up putting his hand on Gavin's shoulder: "You mean you're a virgin bro?” Gavin turned away, not wanting Billy to see him blush now: "Seriously dude, you've never done anything?" Billy asked, laying back down folding his hands behind his head again.

"No" Gavin smiled faintly.

"Not even a kiss...nuthin'?" Billy was kind of surprised, but not surprised at the same time, thinking back at how awkward and bashful he'd been, even about being naked around another guy: "So you've never even seen a dick up close, have you?" Billy queried, honestly wondering if today had been the very first time Gavin had seen one relatively up close like he had today in the shower earlier. Gavin bashfully looked back at Billy, their eyes barely connecting, and shook his head no.
If there had been a bulb over Billy's head it would have lit up and probably exploded at that moment compelling him to ask: "Would you like too?"

Gavin just looked at him questioningly, confusion by Billy's question written all over his face.

Billy clarified: "Do you wanna see my dick up close?" Billy almost laughed out loud, but glad he caught himself after seeing the deer in headlights expression that now dominated Gavin's surprised, shocked face: "Yes or no dude? It's not that difficult a question."

Gavin heard the sincerity in Billy's voice, and though he was still more than a bit shocked by the question, he heard himself timidly respond: "Yeah."

Billy sat up briefly, pulling his sweatshirt off and tossing it on the floor, before returning to his previous hands behind head position: "There...that's better, might as well get the full show while we're at it." Gavin continued to sit there not knowing where to begin staring at Billy's now exposed muscle-bulging chest and rock hard 8-pack abs.

Billy noted his hesitancy: "Pretend it's Christmas and you’re unwrapping your Christmas present." He said mischievously, grinning ear to ear. Gavin's eyes were still trying to take it all in, he had seen Billy with his shirt off before, but not like this, not so close and on display solely for his enjoyment.

"Can I touch your abs?" Gavin asked, almost breathlessly.

Billy giggled slightly, amused by Gavin's timidness: "You can touch anything you want."

Suddenly Gavin felt like a kid in a candy store; he didn't know where to start as he brought his right hand up and placed it palm down in the center of Billy's abdomen and caressed the hard, bulging mound of his belly, enjoying the feel of Billy's light brown fur.

His fingers traced the valley's and crevasses of Billy's abdominal muscles, slowly moving upwards to the twin slabs of rock hard flesh that comprised his pecs, Gavin's fingertips stroked the line between them as Billy flexed them slightly, making them grow tauter.

Gavin was amazed at the detail of the striations as they rippled underneath his stroking digits.

Gavin turned his attention to Billy's quarter-sized areola and the pencil eraser sized nubs of his nipples and without thinking, he bent his head down and licked one before realizing what he'd done and jerked back looking concernedly up at Billy who just smiled back at him.

"It's okay bro, you can touch, kiss, or lick anywhere you want..." Billy paused then added: "Anywhere but here." he pointed to his lips. "I'm not that keen on kissing another dude right yet." He laughed making light of his one restriction.

"That's kewl." Gavin smiled, still considering himself the luckiest gay virgin in the world right now getting to do all this with one of the hottest studs he has ever met.

Billy watched as Gavin refocused his attention, moving his hands down tentatively to the waistband of Billy's sweatpants, he watched with interest as Gavin hooked his thumbs into his sweats and began easing them down slowly.

As Gavin got up and moved between Billy's muscular thighs and pulled his sweats down, Billy lifted his hips off the bed allowing Gavin to draw them down over the growing bulge of his overstuffed jockstrap and slid them down his legs removing them completely.

Billy's cock began to engorge with blood, expanding the already obscene bulge of the jock pouch, stretching it outward, straining against the elastic yielding fabric.

He watched as Gavin slipped his fingers over the bulge extending up to his waistband and began slowly pulling it down over his growing erection until it popped out and flopped heavily and with a thumping noise against his belly.

Having removed Billy's jockstrap, Gavin focused his attention on what he considered to be the grand prize, the huge throbbing piece of meat between Billy's splayed  legs.

Gavin marveled at it, his tongue absentmindedly flicking wetly across his lips, his mouth suddenly watering at the impressive organ, he let his hands roam over Billy's thighs ever upward toward it, drawn like a moth to flame his right hand finally touching it, his fingers slowly encircling its pulsating girth, lifting it to stand vertically upright.

Billy moaned deeply, a resonant sound that came deep within his chest as Gavin began to peel away the thick foreskin from his bulbous, lavender-blue shiny glans.

Gavin brought up his left hand and gently cupped the two large, furry, egg-sized balls that dangled loosely between Billy's hairy spread muscle taut legs, awed by the sheer weight and density of them, the aromatic musky smell that wafted upward into Gavin's nostrils further intoxicating his senses with pure animalistic lust.

Wanting to fully savor the moment, Gavin leaned in and hesitantly kissed both cum swollen testes, feeling like an acolyte worshiping at the altar of Billy's manhood, relishing the pure masculine aroma that was uniquely his own.

With eyes glazed over, his tongue slipped between his lips almost subconsciously and swabbed the moist and salty flesh, Gavin adoringly enjoying the strong, sapid flavor of male virility.

Not wanting to ignore the main focus of his lustful journey, Gavin flattened his drooling tongue against the base of Billy's monumental phallus and slide it upward in one long continuous stroke ending at the cleft between his glans then swirling the tip of his tongue against his frenulum coaxing a low and guttural groan from Billy.

Not wanting to interfere with Gavin's explorations, Billy was doing his best to not reach down and seize him by the hair and force his aching boner down his throat and deposit his load, but Billy didn't know how much more he could take before his libido overrode his need for release.

Gavin lifted his head over Billy's palpitating, bulbous glans, wrapped both hands around the thick shaft, and pumped gently up and down marveling at the shiny, smooth, velveteen flesh of his blood-engorged knob.

He watched wantonly as a large, clear, pea-sized, droplet of seminal fluid oozed from the gaping urethra.

Staring up into Billy's lustful blue eyes, Gavin pursed his lips and sipped the viscous fluid into his mouth and savored the saline sweetness of masculine secretions for the first time, and with hunger and passion he'd not known existed within him before, Gavin devoured the helmet-shaped mushroom head and stuffed it deep into his oral cavity, slurping and sucking like a wanton cock hungry whore.

Billy's groans grew louder, his hands shot to Gavin's shoulders gripping them tightly, thrusting his hips upward, trying to push more of his dong passed Gavin's pursed, siphoning lips before his gonads launched the missiles of his pent up load, blasting like a rocket into Gavin's lip locked suctioning orifice.

Gavin did not expect the sheer volume of sperm that blasted into his mouth, let alone the speed and force in which it jetted into the back of his throat, he gulped and choked, gobbled and guzzled hot molten jizz, his head dizzy with passion, his eyes rolled back in his head in pure carnal lust, realizing too late his cock was exploding into his underwear and shorts, his orgasm spurred by the satiation of his primal hunger for cock.

As the waves of their passion subsided Billy's right hand lifted and gently stroked the side of Gavin's face, Gavin softly looked upward, still somewhat in his lustful fugal state, happily sucking and swallowing the last bits of dick dribble still oozing from Billy's member.

Billy grinned as their eyes locked: "Damn dude! I'm gonna have to let you win at Super Mario Kart more often!"

 

 

                                                             CHAPTER TEN:

 

Max Donnelly had just showered and slipped into his favorite pair of USMC PT silkies and grabbed his first cold beer of the day from the frig; as he opened the can and went to take a swig, he heard the message ding of his phone and went to check it, knowing it couldn't be Carl because they didn't have cell service out at the compound, he also knew that Billy was over at his new friends house and was having dinner there, so that only left one real option.

"Dad, coach is taking us all for pizza, won't be home till later, JD." Max smiled to himself, he loved his boys but this was one of those rare moments that he would actually have some time to himself, no Carl, no teen boy drama, just him, a cold beer and a comfy couch calling out his name.

But of course, he had no sooner stretched out when he heard a vehicle pull up out front; for a moment or two he thought about just pretending no one was home but as he heard the footsteps on the gravel drive approach his front door he already knew who it was, the strong scent of honey and fresh earth preceded him...
                                               
                                                          * * * * *

Timmy had been clothes shopping in town and decided, since it was on the way home, he would chance dropping by and see if JD had made it home yet from baseball practice.

As he came down the driveway he noticed Max's truck in the carport and hoped that meant his Dad had picked up JD and he was indeed home, he could already feel his cock begin to stir and his hole began to get that certain itch at the thought of spending another evening with JD; of course the possibility of seeing his incredibly virile, hunky Dad wouldn't exactly bother him either.

Timmy hadn't stopped thinking about JD's Dad's enormous cock and those huge hairy balls, and he couldn't stop fantasizing about what might have happened if he hadn't gotten that phone call from Carl right when he did and how Max had taken the call to his room and came back out a few minutes later totally dressed virtually signally an end to any possibility of Timmy getting his hands on that magnificent tool of his.

With his imagination still full of visions of that big cock still lingering in his mind, Timmy raised his right hand to knock on the front door to the Donnelly trailer; he was startled by the door opening abruptly and now found himself blushing as the person he had just been fantasizing about now stood before him, dressed only in a loose pair of olive drab silk shorts, which did nothing to conceal the near perfect outline of the large appendage dangling bulging underneath the sheer fabric.

"Uh hum!" Max's deep voice breaking the momentary silence: "My eyes are up here" he stated with a cocky half grin and pointing to his dark blue eyes, embarrassingly refocusing Timmy unconsciously staring at his crotch, to meet him eye to eye.

Timmy felt like crawling away and hiding somewhere, ashamed at his blatant ogling of Max's obvious endowments.

"I'm so sorry Mr. Donnelly, I just stopped by to see if JD was here" he finally managed to stammer out the words but still fighting the impulse to caress Max's bulge with his eyes.

"He just called a few minutes ago saying he was going out to eat with his coach and his team" Max paused briefly: "But you're more than welcome to come inside and wait for him" Max stepped aside and practically ushered Timmy inside before shutting the door.

"Sit!" Max said with a gesture of his hand to the couch, the word sounding more like a command than a request as he headed toward the kitchen: "Would you like something to drink?" He asked while pulling another beer from the frig for himself. "A Coke would be fine" Timmy stated meekly, still feeling very nervous and more than a little intimidated by the man's mere physical presence; for Timmy, Max was everything he thought a man should be, strong, confident, sure of himself, lump all that in with his incredible body, handsome masculine features and of course his prodigious endowments, and Max Donnelly became his near perfect ideal vision of manhood.

As Max casually sauntered back over to the couch with a beer in one hand and a Coke in the other Timmy couldn't keep his eyes away from the large limp phallus that flopped and bounced against the silky fabric of his very thin shorts, his hand almost trembled as he tentatively took the proffered can of soda from Max's large hand before sitting himself next to him on the couch, close enough to feel the heat radiating off his body, near enough to smell his clean natural masculine musk, a scent that only addled Timmy's thoughts and composure, a composure further rattled by Max's next comments: "You know..." he paused a look of contemplation crossing his face: "In many ancient cultures people like you were considered a third sex." Max could see the question forming by Timmy's expressions before he even spoke: "People like me?" he asked, trying to focus his thoughts now, anywhere except between Max's legs.

"Yes, your people" Max affirmed: "Homosexuals."

Timmy almost spat out the sip of Coke he had just taken, an action not missed by Max, but not acknowledged either before continuing: "Of course they weren't called that back then, the word homosexual didn't exist until 1868 when an Austrian-born Hungarian journalist by the name of Karl-Maria Kertbeny first coined it." Max's eyes became more stern and a slight sneer crossed his face: "Kind of makes you wonder how the word homosexual got into the New Testament of the King James Bible since it was written in the early 1600's, doesn't it?"

Timmy just stared at Max, his face a blank palette; was what he was saying true, he thought to himself, quickly concluding it had to be or Max wouldn't have known where the word originated; how did a word that wouldn't be invented until over 200 years later now appear in scripture?

Why didn't his parents know this, even worse, why didn't his church's pastor know this? Timmy's mind was swirling now, his ire rising as he recalled all the time's he could remember the condemnation from not only his parents but their church pastor citing Bible verses using the word homosexual wielding those scriptures like swords of eternal damnation, hellfire and judgement against people just like him.

"Just something to consider" Max mused, the stern look fading from his eyes knowing the weight of the seed he just planted in this young man's mind.

Timmy looked intently at him now asking: "So, what name did they call them in these ancient cultures?" Max stared back at him, contemplating: "That depends which culture we're talking about" he posited then added: "Did you know that there's no Hebrew word for homosexual? he paused letting that sink in: "Nor is there a Latin word, the language the Romans spoke, neither was there an Aramaic word, the language Jesus spoke."

Timmy was baffled, and queried: "Are you saying there were no gay people back then?"

Max couldn't help but smile and give a little chuckle: "No, it's just that they didn't have a word for it, but they did have a terminology" Timmy's brow furrowed, now more than a little confused, Max answered before Timmy could frame his thoughts into a question: "The terminology was born eunuchs" Max waited a moment before concluding: "Many modern scholars have determined this because of these ancient cultures definition of what a born eunuch is; that being men born without a desire for women" Max smiled broadly again with a hint of mischievousness: "sort of just says it all doesn't it, so simple yet so true."

Timmy just shook his head: "They don't teach these things in public school that's for sure"

Max took another few swigs of his beer before continuing the conversation: "Many men in those ancient cultures actually sought them out" He noticed Timmy's frown, knowing he was thinking the worst, he quickly added: "They sought them out to be guards over their wives, daughters or for their harems"

"Guards for what?" was Timmy's rather naive response: "Guards against other men having sex with them of course" Max chuckled again: "Plus they had the added bonus of being additional sexual partners to those men." Max's smile was nothing less than lecherous and it didn't go unnoticed by Timmy.

"Enough about ancient homo history" Max laughed then stated: "I'm getting hungry, how about you?" Timmy didn't really need to think about that: "Yeah actually I am kind of hungry"

Max grinned at him: "Can you cook?" he asked looking him dead in the eye: "A little" Timmy responded, again his face a questioning grimace that Max thought was kind of adorable: "Good, I was wondering who was going to fix my dinner tonight" his eyes burning into Timmy's before leaning back sideways on the couch, his rising legs inching Timmy up so they could take his place as Max nodded his head to the left: "Kitchens that way, let me know when dinners ready."

                                                              * * * * *

"You're full of shit!" JD said mockingly, shoving Davy Turner sideways in the seat next to him. His teammates and buddies Matt Brewer and Jason "Pee Wee" Dunne shaking their heads and agreeing with him.

"I swear on a stack of Bibles dude, I saw it with my own two eyes!" Davy insisted.

"Then you need fukin' glasses" Jason admonished in his deep baritone voice, his huge hand taking a playful swipe at Davy's blond haired head from across the table at the Pizza Hut coach Tuck Pullman had taken them too.

Moments before Davy Turner had told them about what he'd seen this morning when he arrived early at their high school gym at 11am, his Mom needed to drop him off early because she had a doctor's appointment to get too by 11:30.

He had seen that the coaches truck was there and he had headed in through the back entrance to the gym where the coaches office was, thinking he'd see if he needed a hand getting the day's equipment out and set up on the baseball field and in the dugouts.

He'd poked his head in the coaches office and though the lights were on, the coach wasn't in there, so he decided to just go take a quick whiz in the locker room before he headed out to the field, thinking that's probably where the coach was, but when he got to the locker room he could hear a shower running and figured the coach was probably taking a quick one before the team got there; normally he would have just headed back outside, but he really had to piss so he decided to see if he could just sneak passed the shower room entrance and hit the head real quick without disturbing the coach, but as he got closer to the shower room, he could hear someone moaning real low the kind of moans guys make when they are having sex.

Davy kind of grinned wickedly and told them he thought the coach had his ol' lady in there bangin' one into her so he had gone full stealth mode so he could take a peek.

They'd all started bro punching him on the shoulder calling him a perv: "Like all you guys wouldn't have done the same thing." he taunted, everyone snickered because they knew it was true.

"Anyway..." he continued: "when I got there what do I see, ain't nobody with the coach, but he's naked and pounding his pud right there in the shower" they all just looked at him in disbelief especially after he told them the second part of it.

"I'm tellin' ya, it was nuts, I ain't ever seen nuthin' or heard of nuthin' like it!" his eyes wide as saucers talking excitedly, his face flushing red at the recollection: "He was sitting his ass on a baseball bat!" it was then that JD had called bullshit.

"Nah' dudes" Davy now insistently continued: "At first I just thought he was just resting against it, then I saw him ease back with the bat handle wedged against the floor and wall and I watched him lower his asshole down on it like about four-inches or so" he paused letting that visual sink in: "I'm thinking how the hell could ya get something that size up your butt-hole that far and not split yourself in two, but he didn't stop there." He paused again trying to catch his breath before going on: "I know ya ain't gonna believe me, but I shit you not, the coach sort of squatted, reached between his legs and using both hands on the handle of that Louisville slugger, slid it up there at least three quarters of the way, everything except where his two hands was holding it."

All of them laughed at Davy, absolutely certain he was totally full of shit now, making the whole thing up.

"I knew you guys wouldn't believe me!" he stammered, knowing his pride was on the line now, he pulled out his phone and pulled up a file on it and hit play, and there it was, a video of their coach in the shower fucking his asshole with a baseball bat, not just a little bit but just like Davy said, he was practically shoving the whole thing in and out of his ass and almost more impressively, without even touching his dick, they watched as he rammed the bat in and out as fast as he could, he groaned real loud and started spraying jizz all over the shower room floor.

They all just sat there, faces red and flushed, but all agreeing that if Davy hadn't recorded it, they wouldn't have believed it possible, even after seeing it, they still couldn't believe someone could take something that big up their butt let alone take almost the whole damn thing, even more astonishing that the person doing it was their macho, married, redneck baseball coach.

                                                               * * * * *

"That wasn't bad at all" Max Donnelly moaned, scooting his chair back from the kitchen table and patting his stomach having just stuffed himself with the spaghetti Timmy had made them for dinner.

"Sorry it was just meat sauce and not meatballs, but that would have taken a lot longer to fix" Timmy was still smiling from Max's compliment.

"Meatballs wouldn't have changed the taste any, I even enjoyed the salad" Max smiled widely and leaned toward Timmy and whispered: "But don't tell Carl that or he'll be making me eat rabbit food every night."

At the mention of Carl's name, Timmy's head slightly bowed and he toyed with the fork he still held in his right hand: "Can I ask you a personal question?" his eyes only briefly looking into Max's: "Shoot" Max simply stated, before taking another swig of his beer.

More awkwardly than he would have liked, Timmy asked: "Are you and Carl...you know...like..." Max interrupted: "A couple?" the half grin on his face denoting the humor he felt at Timmy's bashful discomfort.

Timmy couldn't bring himself to look up at Max, a fresh wave of embarrassment flushing across his face, Max responded as best he could without revealing too much: "What Carl and I have goes beyond that, but what I really think you want to know is..." He paused, a huge wicked grin conveying more than his words as he reached down and lewdly groped his bulging phallus through his silkies, practically shaking it at Timmy: "You're sitting there wondering if Carl would object to me pounding your ass tonight."

Timmy's eyes shot up immediately, his mouth practically hanging open, once again shocked at the man's boldness, that and knowing he wasn't wrong. "How does he do that?" Timmy thought to himself.

"You didn't answer me" Max's voice a bit firmer now: "Do you or do you not want me to pound your hole until it looks like a fuckin' pussy?"

Timmy had to gather all his strength just to meekly mutter his one word response: "Yes."

Max smiled again, loving how he affected this beautiful young man, he could smell the sexual pheromones just gushing from Timmy, so much so he could practically taste them, he could hear the sound of his increased heart rate, feel the rising heat emanating from his skin as he flushed with sexual desire, the scent of honey and freshly dug earth, this is what people like Timmy smelled like, it was a lot like the scent that women give off but when coupled with the testosterone that infused his masculine body it becomes almost intoxicating, irresistible to those like Max, the need to possess and dominate crashing against the thinly veiled wall of their self control.

Max had to wonder to himself, if this young man knew what was about to be unleashed on him, if he had a choice before it went that far, would he still be sitting there or would he have bolted from him, gaining as much distance as he could hoping they'd never meet again?

No, Max concluded, the waves of passion now radiating from Timmy would never allow someone such as him to flee, they craved, hungered for what men like Max could give them, the fulfillment they could never find anywhere else, a fulfillment Max noted that came from wisdom, a wisdom that can only come with age or experience, a fulfillment Max now knew worked both ways.

"What is your interest in my son?" Max suddenly queried his voice thick, almost demanding.

Timmy sat there, no longer able to avoid the intensity of Max's gaze, his desires growing, stretching outward longing for the gratification that he knew instinctively he could only find with a man like Max Donnelly: "I don't know" he answered simply, honestly.

"You don't love him, that much I do know" Timmy heard the truth behind Max's words, he didn't love JD, at least not in the sense Max was referring too. He did however deeply cared about him.

For Timmy, JD was like the proverbial knight in shining armor who had saved him from the evil dragon that had threatened to consume his life, but Timmy had also come to realize, that JD had become his safe space, the person who makes him feel good about himself, lightens his day and makes his existence bearable.

But Timmy also knew that for all those wonderful things that JD is, he's still a boy; a beautiful, smart, funny, energetic, exuberant breath of fresh air, but underneath it all, still a boy, fumbling to find himself.

"I don't want to hurt him." Timmy finally managed to moan, his beatific face now marred by worry and a growing angst.

"He's not for you" Max spoke calmly, but firmly insisting: "My son's path lies in another direction, one regrettably forged by his own hand" Max paused, not wanting to go into too much detail about his sons fate, a fate he will be faced with in just a couple of weeks and one Max hoped he had successfully bargained and prepared for, one he hoped his son could grow into and salvage himself from the wreckage of his own making.

Timmy sensed the sadness in Max's voice, but he also sensed hope there as well.

"He needs someone who'll love and care for him." Timmy whispered but his words were resolute.

"Then we both want the same thing for him" Max's tone was softer now: "If I told you he will have that opportunity, will you accept what I say without further question?"

Timmy heard the sincerity, he wished he had had a father like Max growing up.

"If you promise me you'll keep your hands off my boy from now on..." That lecherous grin returning to Max's handsome face, reaching down and pulling the left side leg of his shorts to the side revealing his massive genitals to Timmy's startled but all consuming stare: "I'll promise to satiate you in ways neither he or anyone else ever could!"

Timmy looked up to meet Max's lusty glare, eye to eye, matching his boundless passion with his own unquenchable thirst.

                                                           * * * * *

"Mmmmmm...mmm....mm" Gavin Hollis moaned, his swollen puffy lips still firmly wrapped three quarters of the way down the still fully erect phallus of Billy Donnelly, whose still pulsing dick head still oozed his thick testicular juices into Gavin's hungry mouth.

Gavin once again, his mouth full to overflowing with Billy's thick hot sperm, languishingly savored the viscous fluids, swirling them around the fat cock in his mouth, enjoying the tingle of his little swimmers on his tongue and the subtle nuanced bouquet of saline, starch and sweetness.

Gavin has been sucking this beautiful member, off and on now for hours, in fact this was the fifth load Billy had blasted into his mouth, each as thick and plentiful as the last.

Gavin marveled at his virility, but as he slowly let this load join the others in his belly by gulping it down in spurts allowing him to prolong his enjoyment, he knew this had to end, his jaws ached, his lips were swollen and puffy from all the suctioning as was Billy's now bloated foreskin, but he never complained, allowing Gavin to satiate himself from all those years of pent up sexual repression, gorge himself passionately on the bountiful feast that is Billy's virility and manhood.

"Looks like someone's finally had enough" Billy chuckled softly, his voice thick and dry from hours of moaning as Gavin suckled him into blissful oblivion.

Indeed, Gavin reluctantly allowed the firm turgid flesh to slip from his lips and wetly smack against Billy's abdomen, bending gently down and giving it one more long lick and a sweet kiss on the tip as his tongue swiped into his glans orifice for one more tasty reminder before rising up, stretching and turning to smile gratefully at the man who made this wonderful day possible.

"You really suck" Billy said laughingly, his own head still recovering from the fugue-like state he'd been in most of the afternoon and early evening.

Gavin smacked him on the thigh and stood up, looking down at the mess he himself had made from his own ejaculations.

"Come on dude, we need to get cleaned up" Gavin said offering Billy his hand for assistance in getting up: "My Mom will be home soon and she can't catch us like this."

Billy laughed again: "How are you gonna explain them big ol' lips of yours to her?" Gavin rushed over to the mirror above his dresser: "Shit dude, it looks like someone punched me in the mouth."

A large smirk spread across Billy's face: "Someone did, Me!" He said chuckling again: "I've been dick punching them almost all day."

"Ha ha monkey boy" Gavin sneered coyly.

"If I'm the monkey that makes you the organ grinder" Billy's smirk broadening into laughter before offering: "Put some ice on them that should help with the swelling."

"Damn Donnelly that's almost smart, who knew you had a brain inside that thick skull" Gavin quipped lightly punching Billy in the chest.

"Barely" Billy smiled: "I thought you we gonna suck them all out through my dick cock-sucker"

Gavin grinned responding: "Okay Donnelly, go get the shower started while I go get some ice for my cock-sucker lips" He chortled before adding: "Besides, I don't have time to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person." Gavin ducked Billy's swing as he ran down the hall to the kitchen.

                                                                * * * * *

As they pulled into the Devil Dawg Compound Carl McGregor couldn't help but notice the black SUV parked on the far side of the parking lot nearest the paved walkway that led about a hundred yards through the woods into the ceremonial valley section of the compound.

Carl was certain he knew who the driver of that SUV was as well and as the twelve member team disembarked from the MTVR and started unloading the supplies, Carl called Cpl. Atticus Walker over to him: "Corporal, get all the supplies and provisions removed and secured" he ordered, then added: "Seems we have a guest I need to go greet." Atticus looked at him questioningly nodding and acknowledging the only other vehicle in the parking lot: "Do you require assistance Sgt?" He asked, cautious concern etched on his stern rugged face.

Carl smiled disarmingly, waving the young Corporal off with a flick of his hand before turning and walking toward the pathway and saying loud enough for Atticus to hear: "It's just an old friend Corporal, nothing to concern yourself over."

As Carl walked the serene scenic distance to the grounds he found himself slightly irritated with the jostling of the two-inch circumference red butt-plug Max made him use to hold the loads he fucked into him, right now it held back the two from last night and the fresh one Max had pounded into him earlier in the morning before they left for the base.

The slight discomfort and irritation of the plug now reminded Carl of how its use came into being; years ago, while Max was still with that bitch Monaca and before they had Michael.

Carl still lived with Max, in his own room of course, Max had intended they all share a bed together, but it became quickly apparent that neither Carl or Monaca would ever get along and could barely stand being in the same house together let alone share a bed which of course, relationally complicated things for Max, he hated being put in the middle of their domestic squabbles.

Max would often find little ways to display his annoyance with both of them, the one he favored using on Carl was to come to Carl's room right after fucking Monaca, his dick still wet and dripping with her vaginal juices and fuck them into Carl's ass, Max knew how much Carl hated having part of Monaca inside him, probably ever bit as much as her hating it when Max would kiss her with the taste of Carl's cum in his mouth.

It was after one such incident Max had caught Carl washing his hole out in the shower right after sex, yes he knew Max always insisted he keep his loads inside of him, but that night had been a particular bad one between him and Monaca, they had bickered, argued and fought all evening and Carl finally got fed up at dinner that night and stomped away shutting himself up in his room even after Max had ordered him to return to the table.

Carl wasn't naive about it, he new Max would punish him for it and of course, that night Max came to Carl, right after fucking Monaca and mounted him, he reeked of her the entire time and after Max rolled off him and started to doze off, Carl slipped out of the bed, no longer able to stomach the idea of Monaca's cunt juices inside of his hole and went to the bathroom and began douching, trying to get her stink out of him, knowing that at the same time he was flushing out Max's sperm as well, something Max had directly ordered him never to do.

Max of course caught him in mid act and though at that moment he didn't say anything, Carl knew by the look on his face, he was furious and disappointed in him, emphasized even more by Max saying nothing and leaving his room, slamming his door on the way out.

Too late, Carl realized what a huge mistake he'd just made and knew there would be repercussions for his disobedient behavior.

The next morning Max wouldn't even speak to him, not even during their ride to work, Max just dropped him off at his duty station and left without ever saying a word, leaving Carl the entire day to dwell on it and he did exactly that, but as bad as he felt about what he had done, he still felt justified in doing so, especially after the extra bitchy way Monaca had been acting toward him recently and as the day drew longer and the more he relived the previous few days, the more pissed he got, not only at Monaca but at Max as well and by the time his shift came to an end Carl had become determined to let Max know just how he felt and indeed he did, no sooner had he climbed into the passenger side of Max's truck he started unloading.

For almost ten or fifteen minutes he aired his grievances, every percieved slight he had with Monaca and her behavior and concluding with the unfair way he felt Max was letting her just run all over him without saying a word to her and showing her preferential treatment over him.

All the while Max just sat there staring ahead, his hands gripping the steering wheel of his truck, silently listening to Carl vent and rant, not once turning to look Carl in the eyes, just blankly staring off into space waiting for Carl to finish.

"Are you done?!" Max's voice was icy cold but what wasn't cold was the fire in Max's eyes as he turned his head to lock eyes with Carl: "You are such a tight-ass!" Max said, his tone hard and razor sharp: "You are so blinded by your fucking petty possessive jealousy, that you can't even see what is really going on around you!" Carl remembered how Max's words and attitude cut right into him and just as he was about to let loose his pent up rage, Max turned away, eyes staring out the windshield and simply stated: "She's pregnant Carl."

As he neared the end of the path and the entrance to the ceremonial valley came into view, Carl's thoughts still drifted to that day, how after Max's simple declaration obliterated his rage.
Even worse, was the shame he felt, a shame compounded by Max's continued observations and admonishments: "If you weren't such a tight-ass Carl, you would have sensed it for yourself, just as I did two weeks ago." Max's words of truth carved deeply into him and he sat there silently, his head bowed as Max laid it all out: "I don't think even she knows yet, though I'm sure she suspects, especially now that she's been getting sick in the morning more frequently"

Carl's voice was barely above a whisper: "Why didn't you say something to me, or to her?"

Max's response only made Carl feel even more foolish: "Because I would be stealing her moment Carl, depriving her the right to be the first to know, the first to speak it aloud and share it in her own way and in her own time."

Carl remembered how at that moment he felt like crawling up inside himself, not even wanting Max to look at him: "I'm sorry Max" knowing the words were completely inadequate the moment they passed through his lips.

"Don't be sorry, be better!" Max retorted and with those words still burning in his ears, Max had slammed the truck into gear and peeled out of the parking lot and off the base, a look of total determination on his face, driving them silently into town only to pull up at the only adult store in town.

Max had parked the truck and got out ordering Carl to stay put, it was cold and wet out that day and it was already getting dark; it was less than ten minutes when Max returned holding a small cardboard sheet with a plastic bubble wrapped two-inch circumference red butt-plug.

Max opened the truck's passenger side door and ordered him to get out, Carl could see the focused determination in Max's eyes, he knew the time for any discussion was over, that Max was giving him no options, no choice, demanding only absolute obedience: "Drop your pants NOW!" Max commanded, his voice almost a growl, and despite the fact they were in an open parking lot just a few feet from the main road in town, Carl did as ordered, knowing he didn't have any other choice but to obey and no sooner had he done so and stood there bare ass to the whole world, Max turned him around, his ass facing him and shoved Carl over the seat of his truck his ass sticking out, his feet firmly planted on the pavement.

Carl could hear Max ripping the packaging that held the plug open and within seconds he was jarred by Max kicking his legs apart exposing his hole to the cold evening air: "Let this be a reminder to you!" Max's voice dripped with authority as he placed the tip of the cold latex plug against the opening of his anus: "Don't be such a tight ass bitch!"

Carl remembered the pain he felt as Max shoved the plug into his hole without any kind of lubrication, shoving him into the truck after he pulled his pants up and pulled out of the parking lot and headed home: "That only comes out when you have to take care of personal hygiene, then it is to immediately go back in, is that clear!?" Carl had only nodded his head and thankfully that had been enough for Max at the time: "I expect that hole to be open 24/7/365 is that understood!?" Carl knew that was more a declaration than question and didn't really require a response, just compliance and that is exactly what he has done all these years.

He couldn't remember the last time his hole had ever been closed, couldn't even recall how that even felt, not that he missed it, this, in so many ways pleases Max and Carl had learned long ago, after way to many incidents like that one, that Carl could only be happy when he knew Max was.

Carl smiled as he approached his destination still reminiscing and knowing he had, on so many occasions, been a difficult student in his studies of the book of Max, but fortunately for him, Max was a patient teacher who never gave up on him or let him give up on himself.

As Carl's reverie of his shared past with Max faded, Carl found himself at the base of the stone steps of the dais.

From there he could see that one of the large steel doors to the reliquary stood partially open, confirming to Carl who was inside; only two people possessed a key to enter, Max being one and the other being Danal Cornelius, his and Max's old friend and mentor, also their districts Green Father and Elder of the Council of Greges.

Carl ascended the steps and entered the reliquary, which was cut into the side of the hill.

Carl always enjoyed looking at all the faded old tapestries that lined the rough honed stone walls of the long vestibule leading into the main room of the reliquary, what he didn't enjoy was the musty old smell of ancient books and scrolls that filled the many bookshelves of the main room.

Just as he surmised, there sat Danal, his back to Carl, seated in the center of the room at the large wooden table pouring over the old manuscripts and books before him, one single kerosene lantern situated nearby, his only source of light.

"Well, are you just going to stand there staring at my ass or are you going to come say hello McGregor?" Danal's lilting gruff voice disturbing the silence.

Carl stepped forward, moving toward the old man: "At your age you should feel honored anyone would want to still look at your old gristly ass." Danal stood, turned and embraced Carl warmly hugging his body to him.

"I see Max still hasn't taught you any manners" Carl catching the jovial twinkle in the old mans still very keen gray eyes: "What can I say, he likes me sassy, says it adds spice to his otherwise dull life." It was Carl's turn to smile mischievously.

Danal laughed out loud hearing that: "One of the last things I would ever expect to hear about Max Donnelly is that he's led a boring life." still smiling ear to ear, Danal eased Carl away, his right hand still on Carl's shoulder: "Next time I see him, I'll make sure he knows you need more excitement in your life" his face covered in his most wicked grin was followed by a very hard resounding smack to Carl's left butt cheek.

Massaging his now smarting butt Carl grimaced: "Well you still haven't lost your delicate touch old man, I thought you Green Fathers were supposed to impart wisdom and guidance not bruises and welts."

Danal waxed rhapsodical: "Who's to say we can't do both or that one is mutually exclusive to the other?" Carl noticed Danal sniffing the air, his nose raised upward, looking almost whimsical: "I see that you brought a part of Max with you." eyeing Carl's ass, his toothy grin seeming almost lecherous if not so intentionally comical: "Did you happen to bring the rest of him as well?"

"No" was Carl's simple response. Danal Cornelius wasn't born yesterday, he knew there was more behind that simple utterance than a mere response to his query: "Care to elaborate my son?" Danals tone firm but empathetic.

It never ceased to amaze Carl how easily Danal could slip from old friend engaged in simple light banter into a learned mentor who, like a skilled surgeon, could cut right to the heart of ones psyche, getting one to talk and divulge their innermost thoughts and feelings.

Carl's reluctance spurred Danal on: "What has he done this time?" Carl knew Danal meant Max and he also knew that Danal expected a response, also realizing how relentless he would be if he didn't get one, but still, Carl just bowed his head slightly, not meeting Danal's piercing gray eyes: "I see" Danal smiled slightly as he brought his left hand over to touch Carl's: "The ever recurring theme between you two, who is it this time?"

Carl felt his cheeks flush, ashamed that Danal thought he was so predictable, but then again, he wasn't wrong either: "He's taken interest in a friend of JD's"

Danals eyes dropped momentarily at the mention of Max's youngest son, but pushed it aside just as quickly to address him: "Is it serious and you know what I mean by serious?"

Carl didn't have an answer for that, he just knew Max's interest more times than not led to action, for all he knew, Max could be taking that action even now as they spoke: "I gather you partially feel your presence and his absence now are in part due to this interest?" Danal paused briefly contemplating Carl's physical reactions, knowing he had reached to the core of Carl's angst: "Have you addressed your feelings to Max?" Carl lifted his head and looked into his mentors inquiring gaze: "That's just it, we have discussed it, and Max..." Carl fumbled in how he could convey his confusion: "Right after we discussed it, he had me spend the night with him, at his place with the boy's there"

Danal's left eyebrow raised, his eyes glinting as he began to smile: "But that's not all" Carl was quick to add: "He put me in charge of his household, even told the boy's they had to run things past me." Carl knew Danal could hear the confusion and tension in his voice and he stood there expectantly, his eyes searching Danal's for answers

"Carl..." Danal's tone was soft, his hand now squeezed Carl's reassuringly: "Max has always loved you, he may not always show it in the way you expect or want, but your entire history together is replete with his insistence that you be part of his life, share in his joy's, like when his son's were born." Danal stared intensely into Carl's eyes: "And even more than that Carl, you are the one he has always turned to when things have gone bad, like when Monaca just up and left them..."Danal paused briefly letting that sink in before continuing: "And Michael, who did he lean on through all the struggles he went through with his first born, who was able to calm him over what his youngest has done?"

Carl knew the answer to all those questions, knew Danal was right, and it did help having someone he admired, someone who actually knew Max longer than he had remind him.

"So, He put you in charge of his household huh?" the playfulness returning to Danal's eyes: "For a man like Max, that's like slipping a ring on your finger and carrying you across the threshold like some virgin bride..." the twinkle in Danal's eyes full of mirth and mischievousness: "... Right before he rips your clothes off smacks your ass and ravages you just the way you hoped he would!" Carl joined him in hearty laughter not because it was particularly funny, but because, like usual he was absolutely right.

Carl was still chuckling when Danal raised his hand abruptly silencing Carl as his bearded head craned upward, nose sniffing and the short gray hairs on the back of his neck stood up: "I think you need to get back to your young charges!" Carl could vaguely sense it now too: "Seems we have more visitors and they don't seem to be taking kindly to your team being here."

Carl saw the concern in his eyes and heard it in his voice as he quickly dashed down the hallway running toward the parking lot.

 

                                                                  CHAPTER ELEVEN:

 

 

 "Is that even possible?" queried Elder Heinrich Voigt, he knew from experience that blending two different plant species was possible, he himself crossed various different orchid strains together, but even then the outcome was usually unpredictable trial and error, and if he was going to commit the amounts of funding this woman was seeking to continue her research, he needed far greater assurances of her success than just her saying so, he wanted proof.

Monaca Donnelly was finding this all extremely tedious, she had far more important things to do than be paraded around by her benefactor Ryker Von Krause to every self grandiosing moron who didn't know eukaryotes from monotremes, seriously this man was even more arduous than that buffoon her ex-husband Max endlessly subjected her too, Danal Cornelius who was every bit a smug knuckle dragging neanderthrallic prick as her faggot ex husband Max was.

Someday soon, she would be free of these misogynistic ass-wipes, but right now, her work was at a crucial stage, she needed them for now, or more precisely she needed their money to continue her research, so she just bit her tongue and smiled like some cankerous whore speaking as one would to a child: "My studies have been tracking what are called "jumping genes" these jumping genes are actually small pieces of DNA that can copy themselves throughout a genome and are known as transposable elements, do you follow me?" She knew he didn't, none of them ever did, but she played the game: "What I am attempting falls closer to cross species hybridization, I have found that cross-species transfers, even between plants and animals, have occurred frequently throughout evolution."

While all that was true, she smirked inwardly knowing she was leaving out the cross sex/gender aspect of her experiments, knowing full well these two were deeply vested in their "boys only club" misogynistic mentality, which was at the heart of her research.

She was fed up with men like these, men like her husband who brainwashed impressionable young idiots like her children. Children, that was a joke; she didn't have children. She was infected by a self absorbed monster and used as an incubator for its progeny.

If it was the last thing she ever did, she was going to remedy that, but for now, she played their game, just not by their rules: "Basically Elder Heinrich, what I am doing is best described as cross-species transmission, also called interspecies transmission." she paused trying to keep it as simple as possible but concise enough to sell this dunderhead: "It's a matter of finding the right vehicle to host jump, or spillover by finding the right virus or viral grouping I hope too introduce this virus into an individual of a new host species, to infect that individual and spread throughout a new host population and permanently alter it's DNA.

Again she left out the second part of her plan, to simultaneously create a viral vehicle that would eradicate specific genomes, like the one these idiots had coursing through every cell of their bodies. God how she would love to see the look on her husband's face when she unleashed that on him and his precious kids and that insufferable bitch of his Carl.

"I think you'll agree Elder Voigt" Ryker Von Krause interjected: "That Monaca's work for us has vast potential."

"Yes" Heinrich agreed, it did have potential: "It does have merit and I could see how it could benefit us, but on the other hand it could be a devastating weapon against us in the wrong hands."

Monaca frowned, maybe this one wasn't as stupid as she originally thought, but she could still pull this off: "Then it would behoove you to sponsor my work Elder, it would be foolish to believe that I'm the only one in the world working on something like this."

"Precisely" Ryker ran with her train of thought, just as she knew the moron would: "We need to get there first, be prepared for any contingency, I think it boils down to the old axiom: "Rule or be ruled" He paused for dramatic effect: "I for one choose to rule, I refuse to bend to any man's will but my own!"

Elder Voigt now addressed Monaca directly: "If we grant you the funds what is your projected timetable to a viable application of your treatment?"

YES, she had them, she did a mental high five with herself knowing she had played them for the fools they were: "We are very close, even now I'm extracting more samples as we speak!" she raised her hand toward the large window above the control panel in front of her, two test subjects strapped down to reclining medical chairs with IV's connected to their arms pumping out their blood into the collection bags beside them while interns monitored the flow.

"I'm inclined toward believing you Ms. Donnelly" Elder Voigt said softly, looking at the handsome young blond Marine strapped into the chair on the right: "Especially knowing that one of your test subjects is your very own first born son!

                                                                * * * * *

"I'm tellin' ya it'll work dude" Davy Turner was adamant his plan would work, JD looked to Jason Dunne to back him up, but the normally level headed, down to earth big guy had a look behind his eyes that spoke to a hunger JD had never seen in him before: "Seriously Pee Wee you ain't really thinkin' this is a good idea are ya?" JD knew his voice held a hint of desperation behind it but couldn't help but feel that Davy's plan could totally backfire on them or blow up in their faces and right now, with his Dad already pissed at him over his recent past indiscretions, he really didn't want to add to the list of negatives where his Dad was concerned.

"Don't look at me man" Matt Brewer said putting his hands up defensively: "All ya'lls know I ain't no homo, but dayam' that video was off the wall" He paused for a moment his mouth pulled into a sneer and his left eyebrow raising: "I'd kinda like to see him do that up close ya know?"

Fidgeting and anxiously shifting his weight from one leg to another Jason proclaimed: "Fuck that man, I wanna do way more than watch!" emphasizing his point by grabbing the large bulge in his crotch and giving it a lurid squeeze.

JD couldn't believe that his buds really wanted to use the video Davy had recorded to blackmail their baseball coach into "performing" live for them and JD didn't think for one minute that it would end there either if they did.

Davy had been trying to convince them since the coach had brought them all back to the school in the small van the team used to transport in; it had taken JD and Jason to convince him not to show the video to the entire team, but ever since their other teammates had left, Davy was dead set on having his on way going through with his hair brained little quest and now with both Matt and Jason siding with him, both for different reasons, JD was feeling the odd man out.

"Fuck it man, I'm dong it!" Davy spat, heading down the sidewalk to the rear gymnasium entrance with Matt Brewer flat on his heels, stopping only long enough to turn back to JD and Jason and motioning them to join them before running to catch up with Davy.

"I can't believe you're up for this Jason" JD scolded, looking at his large friend apprehensively as he fished into his pocket for his phone, thinking he'd either call Timmy or his Dad to come get him and leave these idiots to their mischief.

"Look at me Donnelly" Jason responded imploringly: "Do you know the last time I got laid?"

JD looked Jason up and down, wondering what the hell he was talking about, now that Arliss Gundarsun graduated, he was like the prize bull of their football team, everyone knew Jason was the undisputed replacement for Arliss's position as fullback on the team, the guy was freaking huge, at least 6'4" 220 pounds and almost all of it pure muscle, there wasn't a guy on the team that could take him down and JD was absolutely certain there wasn't a cheerleader on the team that wasn't all wet in the panties for him, he looked like a hairy version of a young Rob Gronkowski.

Ever since he transferred here from North Carolina two years ago when his Mom started working at Albany State University as a professor of biology, the team coaches practically begged him to sign up.

It really wasn't until this last school year that he and Jason had even really started to get to know each other and until just now, though new to JD's little inner circle of guys he called friends, JD had always thought Jason as the most level headed and more of a leader than someone who caved to peer pressure.

"What are you talkin' about?" JD queried, looking Jason sternly in the eyes.

Jason walked up to JD, putting his arm around his shoulder, pulling in close: "Dude I know everyone thinks I'm this big stud with the ladies..." He paused, looking after Matt and Davy as they now entered the back door of the gym and headed inside: "But just between you and me, I've never gotten laid before." He stammered, looking down at his feet awkwardly.

JD looked back at him, dubiously skeptical, knowing how many times he'd seen Jason flirt with girl after girl at any of their little gangs get together's, but Jason persisted: "You know why they call me PeeWee don't ya? JD smirked then, knowing that it didn't have to do with his body size or height but from the club he had swinging between his legs, something you couldn't help but notice about the guy when you're in the locker room showers after practice.

Jason blushed: "I ain't lying JD, I've never gotten to third base with any chick before." The look on his face reflected his sincerity but JD grimaced, still finding it hard to believe having seen the way a lot of girls flirted and clung to him: "Jason, I've seen you with more than a few girls hangin' on ya bro." JD stated simply before Jason cut him off: "Yeah, they all wanna see if it's true for themselves..." He paused a pained look in his eyes: "But the truth is, once they see my dick hard they freak out, do you have any idea how fuckin' frustratin' that is?"

JD just looked at they guy, not knowing whether to call BS or to feel sorry for him remembering just a month ago the guys teasing him about leaving a party with a girl he himself had made out with, one of Andrea's slutty bitch friends Michelle Touts and deciding to point that out to him: "I heard you and Michelle Touts left together after a party just a few weeks ago all over each other?"

Jason shook his head, his eyes narrowed, face tinged with a touch of anger: "Yeah I did, she was all over me saying she wanted me" he fumed: "Then when we got somewhere alone and private she got me all worked up and talked me into letting her take a picture of my hard cock" HIs face now red with anger and embarrassment at the memory of that night: "After she got what she wanted and I tried getting it on with her, she just laughed at me and said there was no way she'd ever let a freak like me go anywhere near her pussy."

JD just shook his head, now angry for Jason: "Yeah, dude, that sounds just like her" remembering his own encounter with her and other members of Andrea's bitch squad.

Jason squeezed JD's shoulder drawing him closer: "As bad as that was dude..." he paused, again shaking his head: "I found out the next day she had shared the pic with all her bitch ass friends."

JD frowned, turning to look at Jason square on: "Don't you see dude, Davy and Matt are basically doing the same thing to coach?"

JD could see by the ponderous look on Jason's face that he was torn between something he hoped for and doing what was right before shrugging his shoulders, and grabbing JD's arm hauling him toward the rear exit door of the gym: "I guess we better go stop those two dumb-asses before they freak coach Pullman out."

As JD and Jason entered the hallway and rushed down toward the coaches office hoping to catch up with and stop Davy and Matt from showing that vid to coach, they could hear the slightly raised voices of their two friends and knew they were already to late, that they had already cornered and confronted the coach.

JD grabbed Jason's wrist stopping him right outside the open door to the coaches office, wanting to approach with a little more caution instead of just plunging right into the thick of it: "What the hell do you and Brewer want Turner!?" They heard the coach blurt out, his voice a mixture of anger and fear.

JD and Jason peeked around the open door to the coaches office, seeing him sitting behind his desk while Davy Turner had his phone stuck outward in his hand facing a very pale Tuck Pullman, Matt Brewer stood at the end of the coaches metal desk with his arms folded on his chest, legs apart a lecherous grin across his face: "Your gonna do whatever we want coach" Davy spat, pulling his phone back and stuffing it back into his sweat pants pocket, then rubbing his left hand over the tenting mound protruding from his crotch.

"Listen, I don't have any fucking money kid!" coach Tuck spat, his eyes going nervously from Matt's wicked grin to the hand Davy groped himself with, gulping several times.

"We don't want money coach," they heard Davy say, his voice a lustful low groan.

Coach Tuck's eyes were glued to Davy's bulging crotch now, he watched as Davy continued to rub, grope and fondle his tenting mound, now openly licking his lips and swallowing heavily, before timidly responding: "What do you want then?" JD could tell his voice was lower, thicker now and JD couldn't help wonder to himself: "Is this turning him on?"

JD watched as Matt crossed over to the far corner of the office and picked up a baseball bat, holding it in one hand and slapping the thick end into the palm of his other hand while walking back over to the desk, his eyes smoldering with lustful, malicious intent: "We wanna see you fuck yourself with this!" his wicked smile turning into a lecherous toothy grin: "Right here on your desk!"

JD could feel Jason's hot breath on his neck as he peered over his shoulder, his chin practically resting on his right lat, trying to watch everything going on in the coaches office.

"If I do what you want will you delete the video and promise never to say anything about it again?" Tuck's voice was barely above a whisper, his words coming nervously as he continued to look between the two very horny teens.

"Yeah yeah, wuhtever" Davy cooed, grabbing his erection through his sweats and shaking it at his coach: "So long as you do everything we want ya too!"

They watched as Tuck Pullman arose from behind his desk, his own bulging crotch now coming into view, obviously as turned on as the two teens confronting him, eyeing him up and down like some sort of prize they had just won.

"Strip" was the one word booming command of dark haired Matt Brewer, whose sweatpants now bulged even bigger in front than the one in Davy's pants, which now had a very large wet spot spreading where the head of his cock would be.

JD watched as their 22 year old baseball coach began to pull his T-shirt over his head.

Tuck Pullman had just started on the coaching staff at their school, being the new guy and having the least amount of tenure had landed him the summertime gig of baseball coach.

JD noted he had to be at least 5'10" and about 190 pounds of solid muscle, damn near hairless, even discerning his shaved armpits and clean shaven face highlighting his rustic good looks. Though his light brown hair was close cropped, he wore it like a spikey crew cut on top and oddly had kind of bushy eyebrows framing a beautiful pair of deep grayish green eyes.

Still going unnoticed by the coach, Matt and Davy; JD and Jason continued to spy on the throuple as Tuck kicked his shoes off and began tugging his sweatpants down and off, leaving him standing there in only his old worn out jockstrap.

"Hop up here and lay on your back" Davy instructed patting the top of the coaches metal desk, after pushing everything on top to the far end.

Tuck paused for a moment, studying and assessing the situation and staring at the bat Matt held in his hands, then leaned over pulled open one of his desk drawers and retrieved a bottle of lube and looking at Matt: "You doing the honors or am I?" Tuck asked, holding up the bottle of lube.

They watched as Tuck lay across his desk front to back his head hanging over the front side as Matt moved into position sitting down in the coaches chair and pointing the bat vertically erect as he flipped the cap of the bottle of lube and began squeezing out a generous portion onto the smooth wooden surface before wrapping his large fist around it smearing the cool, viscous gel over its entire circumference and most of its length.

Almost mesmerized and as if the whole scene played out in slow motion, they watched as Tuck pulled his knees to his chest, Davy grasping both his ankles and wrapping his armpits around his shins, presenting Matt with his desired target: "Spread his buns dude" Matt ordered Davy, who leaned forward clasping Tucks twin melon shaped hard mounds and split them apart as instructed.

They watched in spellbound fascination as Matt brought the blunt end of the bat up to Tuck's hole: "Hold up dude" Davy excitedly spoke: "Ya need to lube his hole too dude!"

Matt gave him a look of disgust: "I ain't sticking my fingers in another dudes crapper dipshit."

Davy impatiently snatched the lube bottle sitting beside them and started squirting out the contents into his right hand, still holding Tuck's shins between his armpits: "I'll fuckin' do it ya big pussy" Davy spat, seemingly annoyed at Matt's prissy hesitancy.

JD could feel Jason push closer to his back, trying to gain a better vantage point to the show that was taking place just a few feet away from them, he could feel the heat of his his chest press against his upper back, Jason's hot breath still beating down on his right shoulder and neck, the tightening grip of his right hand on JD's right deltoid.

Matt watched as his blond friend poked the tips of his first and middle fingers at Tuck's anal ring, almost mesmerized as the two digits gently spread the tight ring, parting it as they sank into the warm depths of their coaches hole: "Damn bro!" Davy practically cooed: "This feels just like fingering a pussy dude, except tighter!"

A wicked grin spread across Matt's face as he raised the blunt end of the bat back to Tuck's wet hole, shoving Davy's probing fingers aside and pushed it against the wet round circle of coach Pullman's now juicy anus: "It ain't gonna be tight for long buddy!" Matt sneered forcibly shoving the end of the bat into his anal orifice about two inches.

"Oh fuuuuuck!" Tuck Pullman gasped: "Go easy kid or you'll rip me up inside."

Matt's face turned into an evil grimace: "Ya mean like this faggot!?" he practically growled, shoving another six inches into his coaches straining, over-stretched hole.

Davy could feel their coach struggle to raise up and used the weight of his entire lower body to keep him pinned to the desk, his thighs squeezing his head and muffling his cries at the sudden forced intrusion: "FUCK YEAH bro tear that cunt up" Davy's voice was now thick with lust: "Quit squirming bitch!" Davy spat, smacking the coaches exposed ass as hard as he could as a pain-racked Tuck tried to twist and buck out from under him.

Matt took his left hand from the bat using only his right to hold it in place while he grasped the coaches jock bound nuts in his left hand and gave them a firm squeeze: "Stop fucking kicking bitch or I'm gonna yank your fuckin' nuts off!" he snarled between clenched teeth.

JD and Jason watched as the struggling coach forcibly controlled himself, his pleas muffled between the tightening vice of Davy's thighs: "Can't you shut him up dude?" Matt complained, the timber of his voice denoting his annoyance.

"I got just the thing" Davy mused as he moved his body upward, his knees on either side of the desk next to the coaches head, as he shoved his sweat pants down, freeing his six inch rock hard drooling dong: "Open your mouth faggot" Davy commanded, his normally boyishly handsome face now twisted into a lascivious mask of pure lust as he poked the head of his precum oozing dick at Tuck's tightly closed evading lips.

Davy watched as his life long friend Matt tightened his grip on their coaches nads and squeezed them hard and just as the coaches mouth flew open to cry out his pain, Davy rammed the entire length of his cock into the mans oral cavity, grinding his balls against the coaches nose and eyes: "If I feel your teeth so much as scrap my dick fag..." Davy paused, letting his threat sink into Tuck's head along with his dick: "I'm gonna chew on your fuckin' nuts, now suck my fuckin' dick!"

They could feel the fight go out of their coach as he gasped for breath around Davy's six inch member, gurgling around the embedded schlong sending waves of pleasure through Davy's dick, balls and groin.

Matt slowly released the coaches balls and returned to his main interest, fucking the coaches ass with the thick baseball bat.

Davy watched in renewed fascination as Matt drew the bat back a few inches, grabbed the lube bottle and applied more of it to its shiny wooden surface: "Get ready bitch, 'cause here it comes!" Matt snarled one hand clutching the handle of the bat the other shoving it from the very base, his palm pressed tightly against it, driving half the length up their coaches upturned ass.

Davy's eyes practically rolled into the back of his head as the muffled screams of their coach made his throat undulate against the sensitive flared glans of his throat embedded cock sending spasms of pleasure throughout his entire body, making him grind his dick against the coaches straining tight lips: "Yeah bro, fuck that faggots pussy dude, ram the whole thing up his cunt!" Davy moaned, sweat beginning to pour from his face onto his sweatshirt.

As intrigued by the throuples coupling, JD feared things were getting out of control and just as he decided to intercede on the coaches behalf, he felt both of Jason's large strong hands grip his shoulders, holding him back: "Watch JD, he's loving it!" he heard Jason's deep voice whisper into his right ear and indeed as JD focused his attention on Tuck, he could hear the former cries of pain now give way to moans of pleasure and observed wide eyed as Tuck began thrusting his hips upward to meet Matt's slow but steady thrust as he had begun fucking the bat in and out of his upturned buns, pulling it completely out then sinking it back in half way over and over again, going faster with each thrust, what was now also apparent was the rock hard bulge in the coaches jockstrap pouch, something that didn't go unnoticed by Davy: "This fuckin' queer is loving it dude" He smirked, slapping Tuck's hard dick through his jock: "Give 'em more dude" Davy's eyes burned into Matt's trying to mentally coerce his buddy into doing his bidding.

But Matt didn't really need any encouragement, the wicked toothy grin returning to his face as he thrust the bat deeper into Tuck's already abused, stretched hole, going well passed the halfway mark, until only about six inches remained sticking out of their coaches quivering hole: "DO IT FUCKER!!!" Davy growled as Matt snarled, palming the very base of the bat with both hands and thrusting the last six inches into Tuck's manhole until only the very base of the handle protruded outside the stretched almost gasping, twitching ring.

Davy lowered himself, spreading Tuck's buns, his thumbs on either side of his twitching hole and unfurling the orifice, the slightly swollen lips of his anal ring opening up like a blossoming rose, as it continued to gulp at the base of the fully sheathed baseball bat like a sucking mouth, mirroring the incessant gulping chugs of his impaled phallus in Tuck's cock hungry, ever sucking mouth.

As he lifted his head to look at Matt, who now just stood there panting, chest heaving arms to his side, fist clenching and unclenching, his head bowed and eyes glazed over in the same near primal lust that seemed to fill the room, their eyes met, digging like two daggers into each others souls.

Davy lowered his eyes stopping at Matt's bulging crotch, noticing for the first time the large shovel shaped glans of Matt's hard cock protruding from the top of Matt's waistband, a rivulet of clear precum drooling down the front of his sweats.

Almost as if hypnotized, Davy reached up, digging the tips of his fingers into the elastic waistband and gently pulled Matt's sweat pants down until the full length of his 8 inch circumcised cock plopped into full view, surrounded by his thick, near black bushy pubic hair and two tight bloated furry gonads.

Davy looked down at the tip of the handle of the bat and clasped it between his fingers and slowly began to unsheathe the massive anal invader, watched with fascination and devilish delight as the anal ring stretched around the wider circumference as he slowly withdrew it, enthralled by the way the now loosened ring clung tightly to the slick wooden surface, pulling the loosened ring almost in inch away from his body, now sex swollen and a puffy shade of pink and red, he could feel the gasp coming from around his palpitating dick as Tuck's body reacted to the thick anal invader as it finally popped free and was casually laid beside him, his hole still pulsating and quivering, gulping convulsively for its return.

Davy once again looked upward into the face of his friend Matt, whose eyes glared into Davy's, a burning hunger seethed behind his near glassy eyed stare.

Davy looked down again at Matt's twitching, member, which now stood almost completely vertical to his abdomen, precum bubbling from his glans orifice like an oozing fountain of seminal fluid, he reached forward with his right hand and clasped the base of the now throbbing phallus between his thumb and forefinger, gently pulling it downward until the swollen knob touched the velvety wetness of coach Pullman's quivering quim, with his free hand, Davy wrapped it around Matt's waist and firmly clasping Matt's taut left muscular butt-cheek and urged his hips to move forward.

Staring wide eyed with sexual fervour Davy guided the head of Matt's dong against the sticky wet ring of Tuck's swollen anal tissue, captivated by the way it parted, slopping the dripping glans against the plump circle of dilated rectal tissue, mesmerized as the lips of the hole extended suddenly outward like a gulping hungry mouth trying to consume the turgid flesh of Matt's throbbing boner, wrapping thickly around his glans and sucked at the shiny knob until it had completely consumed it.

Davy suddenly felt the hands of his friend clasp his shoulders for balance as he shoved forward thrusting his schlong balls deep inside Tuck's gulping hungry hole, Davy simultaneously reaching up and cupping Matt's hairy tight balls in his hand and gently fondled and kneaded them between his fingers and palm, eliciting a thick strangled groan from Matt: "Dayaaam" Matt cried out: "That's one hungry pussy."

"Yeah fuck this fags cunt bro" Davy urged staring intently at Matt's slick, gooey dick as it pulled back until only the tip of his glans was still wrapped around the quivering folds of Tuck's clutching manhole.

Without further prodding, Matt began a slow rhythmic seesawing into the coaches sucking guts, Davy's face drew nearer and nearer, hypnotically captivated by the pistoning phallus, the smell of sex wafting so pungently from the coupling that Davy felt he could almost taste it until Matt missed a stroke and his dong plopped out smacking Davy wetly on the chin.

Instead of yanking away in disgust as Matt thought he would, Davy instead brought his other hand up and grasped Matt's throbbing wet dick in his hand, guiding it back to Tuck's loose open hole and ran the head all around the now loose lips of his anus, while also jerking his cock in his strong grasp, milking a torrent of drooling precum from the tip of his dick and smearing it all around.

It was at this moment JD thought to reach into his pocket and pull out his phone and hit the video record, he could hear Jason's moan of approval as he aimed the camera and focused it up close on Davy's face and Matt's hard wet cock.

As the action unfolded before them JD was slightly startled by Jason's large hands leaving his shoulders and caressingly journeyed down his sides, gently but firmly massage him through his clothing, he was even more surprised when Jason leaned further into him, his hard muscular thighs pressing into the back of his own, it was then he felt the thick tube of turgid flesh straining against Jason's sweatpants upward and as his hands came to rest on JD's hips, he felt Jason ease the bulge between JD's butt-cheeks, thrusting his hips forward as he pulled JD back toward him, his hands leaving his hips and wrapping around JD's waist and clutching him closer, their body's glued together only separated by the clothing they both still wore.

Just two weeks ago, if any guy had tried to do this to him, they'd be walking away with a busted lip and few missing teeth, but for some unfathomable reason JD just froze, letting Jason fondle and massage his body, letting him hump his fat bulging cock between his ass crack, he could even hear himself gasp as Jason's lips touched the nape of his neck: "Keep filming JD" Jason groaned into his ear, the tip of his wet tongue dredging slightly across his earlobe.

Confused and more than a bit bewildered by his own body's response to Jason's groping and fondling, JD tried to refocus his attention on recording the trio in front of him.

Matt couldn't see what Davy was doing through his head, but he could see it bob downward and by the moans of approval coming from their coaches dick stuffed throat, Matt surmised Davy was tongue fucking his fag hole.

A deliciously twisted thought occurred to Matt, knowing Davy still held his cock just an inch or two from Tuck's wet hole, Matt decided to thrust his hips forward, embedding the glans of his dong into his pussy right alongside Davy's deep probing tongue.

To Matt's surprise, Davy didn't come up spitting and sputtering as he expected him too, but instead now found his life long friends tongue now swirling all around his bloated knob, the tip digging into his piss slit, scooping out dollops of his thick precum and fucking it into their coaches open hole along side his throbbing schlong.

Even more surprising he watched as Davy lifted his face to stare eye to eye into Matt's glassy glare before wantonly slurping Matt's fat shovel shaped cock-head into his mouth, his tongue cupping under his frenulum applying a tight wet suction to the highly sensitive area.

Matt didn't know which got to him the most, the suctioning of Davy's cupped tongue right at the flanging split of his throbbing cock-head or the continuous fondling and massaging of his hairy ball bag or was it the long strokes of Davy's fist wrapped around the girth of his schlong. What Matt was sure of was the outcome that all three in unison had.

With zero warning, Matt's palpitating cock suddenly grew thicker, harder, the head pulsated and throbbed and as Matt's mouth dropped open a deep snarl escaping his lips as he intently watched the first volleys of ropy sperm erupt from the gaping tip of his sperm spewing dick, right into Davy's wide open mouth.

Matt's eyes rolled back in his head as Davy's lips closed around his spewing knob, groaning passionately as the missiles of thick viscous goo splattered every surface of his oral cavity.

Even after the crashing waves of his orgasm began to dwindle, Matt watched in almost detached, robotic fascination as Davy continued to knead his balls and pump his shaft obviously milking him for every last drop of Matt's pungent, thick seed.

Matt's spent cock plopped wetly downward as Davy let it finally slip passed his lips and Matt watched as Davy's mouth now hovered over Tuck's well fucked hole, acutely now focused on what he sensed Davy was now going to do and smiled wickedly as he observed his friends thumbs now spread Tuck's faggot pussy lips and spit the huge mouthful of thick ropy sperm right into his wide open hole.

Knowing exactly what Davy had in mind, Matt grabbed the baseball bat and brought the blunt end back to Tuck's gaping hole and plunged it back in, deep into his bowels and began rapidly punch fucking his load deep into his maul of a cunt.

Matt watched intently as Davy now fucked Tuck's mouth like he did his girlfriends snatch, plowing it ruthlessly, pounding his pole balls deep into his sucking lips, grinding his nads against his nose as he pummeled his throat relentlessly as Matt pile drived the baseball bat mercilessly into his battered and abused ass pussy: "FUCK YEAH" Davy spat out loudly: "Ram that fukin' queer with that fukin' thing dude, wreck his cunt!"

Matt was startled as Davy whipped the bat from his hands and began thrusting it brutally into their coaches hole, he noticed how his cum had turned into a frothy batter, that slopped everywhere and clung to the shiny surface of the wooden bat: "This is how you fuck a queers pussy" Davy raged, his face now red and wet with sweat, his hips almost a blur of pounding action as he drove his six inch dick into Tuck's mouth and rammed the entire length of the baseball bat in and out of his coaches gooey obliterated gash.

Matt had never seen Davy so worked up before, almost shocked at the brutality of Davy's assault, almost considered dragging his friend from atop their coach when Davy gave out one last howling growl and shoved his hips into Tuck's mouth burying his cock and then slamming the baseball bat all the way into coach Pullman's ass: "Take that load faggot, swallow it all!" Davy roared his hips punching and grinding his course blond pubes into Tuck's orifice as he shot his load down his gulping throat.

Matt shook his head as Davy collapsed on top of their coach, his now deflating dong slipping wetly from Tuck's swollen, battered lips.

JD caught it all on his phone, not really knowing how he had managed to do so with Jason's large hands groping his upper torso, his right hand slipping under his sweat shirt and grasping his right, already erect nipple between his index finger and his thumb, rolling the eraser sized nub between the two as his left hand moved across his abdomen and sliding around his hip to his lower back, his large fingers slipping under the elastic waistband of his pants, his long thick calloused middle finger sliding down the crack of his ass and over his still virgin hole, making JD shudder.

JD was barely able to control himself as he shut off his phone just as he felt Jason's large thick lips press against the nape of his neck his tongue snaking out before he began gentling sucking the tender flesh as his hips continuously ground and gyrated his large phallus into JD's lower back and over the hard surface of his ass.

"Jason...?" JD moaned, his hands now clinging to Jason's right arm as his fingers still pulled, twisted and teased his engorged nipple.

JD groaned out loud as the tip of Jason's middle finger now swirled against his hole, gently prodding it but not yet trying to penetrate him, JD was shocked to find his hips pushing back at Jason's strong hand as he continued to suck on his neck, his teeth gently nibbling: "Jason?" He groaned again trying to catch his attention as JD's body continued to betray him and melted into Jason's strong embrace.

"I think their done Jason" JD finally was able to moan coherently enough to momentarily distract Jason and pull away from him, noticing for the first time the huge wet spot in his own sweatpants where his hard dick throbbed in his now bloated jockstrap.

The distraction seemed to work as Jason's once glassy lust crazed eyes seemed to focus back on the here and now.

"I know, I know" Jason stammered, shaking his head trying to clear his thoughts: "We can't let them leave here with that video Davy shot earlier!"

"Bingo, got it in one" JD mused, smiling directly into Jason's large bluish green eyes trying not to stare at the massive bulge protruding off to the left of Jason's hip, poking the fabric of his sweatpants obscenely well passed it.

JD felt Jason's massive left hand clutch his right butt-cheek and squeezed it tightly winking knowingly at JD's surprised expression knowing he'd been caught staring at Jason's huge bulge: "We'll continue this later" Jason smiled mischievously as he pushed passed JD and entered the coaches office.

"Well, well what do we have here?" Jason's voice boomed breaking the now more sedate silence in the coaches office.

Both Matt and Davy whirled around looking kind of shocked at Jason, who was now standing with his hands on his hips right in front of the office door.

JD stepped in with Jason, moving off to the side and eyeing their coach who was still sprawled out across the desk, his chest heaving covered in sweat barely even acknowledging anyone else was in the room.

"Looks to me like we caught two homos sexually assaulting our coach" JD quipped, shaking his finger at his two teammates: "Tsk tsk boys what will the entire team think about that I wonder?" he mused, barely able to contain the smirk that wanted to spread across his face.

Matt spoke up first: "Fuck off Donnelly your just pissed we got here first"

"Your welcome to our sloppy seconds losers" Davy's mocking grin and cocky attitude was beginning to annoy JD.

"Hmm" JD grimaced looking thoughtfully at Jason, who now crossed his powerful arms over his equally powerful chest still glaring at Matt and Davy: "He's got a point ya know Pee Wee" JD stated as he slipped between the two boys throwing his arms around their shoulders before continuing: "Maybe instead of sloppy seconds we should just break the two of you in!" JD looked to Jason who now grinned and winked wickedly back at him: "I mean seriously all it took was a little video of the coach doing something private to get you both laid, wonder what the whole team would do if they saw this?!" JD held up his phone stretching his hand out so both guys could see the video he had just shot of the two of them having sex with the coach.

Davy snatched at his phone, but JD was quicker: "Wait, wait dude here's my favorite part!" JD held the phone out as a close up image of Davy sucking Matt's cock while jacking him off and fondling his hairy balls while cum shot into his mouth played across the screen.

Davy was red with rage now and Matt not far behind. JD could see the thought processes running through Davy's mind like his skull was completely transparent, debating his chances if he decided to charge JD and looking to Matt to see if he was thinking the same thing.

Jason stepped forward coming right up to face them both: "Listen dudes, we ain't out to trash ya, all ya gotta do is delete the video ya made earlier and they'll be no worries."

"Fuck that noise" Davy spat: "I ain't done with that fag, not by a long shot!" Davy's eyes shot daggers in JD's direction and back at Jason.

Jason smiled ear to ear and began to laugh before cutting it abruptly short and snatched Davy into the air by the scruff of his shirt, his fiery glare shooting fear into Davy's eyes: "I think you're under the mistaken impression I was asking instead of ordering!" Jason's cold calm voice sending chills down both Davy's and Matt's spines as Matt visibly backed away: "Delete the fucking video dumb-ass" Matt stammered.

"Okay dude, dayam..." Davy bluffed: "I was just joking around bro"

Jason dropped Davy unceremoniously to the floor: "Good, we can all be friends again just as soon as you do!" Jason glowered at him watching as Davy fished into his pocket and pulled out his phone. JD scooted up next to him and snatched it from his hands: "I'll do that bro, just so no one can accuse you of any funny business later" he posited, searching Davy's vids and deleting the one of the coach, then handing it back to Davy.

Matt stepped forward, his hands up: "Are we all kewl now?" he queried, still looking a little leary at Jason, letting it be known he didn't want any part of facing off against his team mates.

JD spoke before Jason could comment: "Everything's kewl so long as the two of you drop this and don't bother the coach anymore."

"Agreed" Matt flatly stated, looking over to Davy for his response: "It's not like I got anything on him now does it!?" Davy pouted, shoving his phone back in his pocket and headed for the door: "You comin'?" he directed at Matt, who looked first at JD and then Jason, shrugged his shoulders and headed out toward the door to join Davy turning around before they exited and asked quizzically: "What about him?" Matt nodding his head in the direction of coach Tuck Pullman.

Jason didn't even turn around to answer him, just headed over to the desk and stared down at the coaches nearly naked sweaty body and at the handle of the baseball bat barely sticking out of his swollen, puffy ass lips.

"I think the big guy's got that covered" JD winked at Matt ushering his two teammates out the door before closing it and locking it shut.

                                                          CHAPTER TWELVE:

"Good of you to finally join us McGregor." The voice of Staff Sergeant Paul Lakatos boomed arrogantly as Carl entered the parking lot, having just ran there from the compound's ceremonial grounds.

As Carl assessed the situation, he noted the other two men with Paul now standing threateningly close, on either side of Cpl. Atticus Walker, who defiantly stood his ground in full attentive parade rest. Carl also took in the very tense posture of the other eleven men Carl had brought with him.

Though off to the side, they looked very much like they were ready to attack at a moment's notice in defense of their comrade. Carl smiled inwardly, realizing the ridiculousness of Lakatos's arrogance.

"Might I suggest you have your men step back and stand down from my Corporal before I move them for you First Sergeant?" Carl demanded, making sure that the timbre of his voice conveyed the seriousness of his intent.

Before Lakatos could respond, his weaselly second hand man Sgt. Remy Deveaux, with the smarmiest, most contemptible expression he could have mustered in his Cajun tinged drawl spat: "Dat would take more d'an you fils de pute."

Carl smiled coldly, looking squarely into the young Marines dark brown eyes: "Didn't they teach you how to count back in the bayou or were you to busy sucking your mothers tit to go too school?" Carl hand signaled his men and they all moved as one to stand right behind Atticus, Remy and the large blond Lance Corporal that stood threateningly on either side of him.

"Order your men to stand down NOW Sergeant! Paul Lakatos bellowed, staring icy daggers in Carl's direction.

"You first asshole!" Carl shot back, moving to stand directly in front of the man, until only two to three feet separated them and returning his icy glare with his own.

A now very pissed off SSgt. Lakatos stepped up until he was nearly nose to nose with Carl: "Max Donnelly may tolerate your insolence but I assure you, I won't!" Lakatos growled, the icy stare now one of pure fire, his face a snarling grimace full of malice.

From his peripheral vision, Carl could see his fist clenching and unclenching at his side and knew he was mere seconds away from throwing down with this belligerent, bloviating peacock of a man.

"Then perhaps you should take that up with Max himself Lakatos!" Danal Cornelius mused walking slowly toward the pair, a cocky half grin on his face, his bluish gray eyes full of mischief with an underlying tone of purposeful menace.

Without so much as a sideways glance, his eyes still boring into Carl's, Lakatos shot back: "Stay out of this old man, this is between me and this disobedient mongrel."

Danal was now less than four feet away from them: "Exactly what is it you think you'll do if I make it my business boy?!" Danal's voice was calm and measured but the timbre of his words and manner in which he emoted them, left no doubt that Paul was perilously close to biting off more than he could chew, a fact Carl would have asserted happened the moment he stepped foot on the compound grounds.

Paul Lakatos instantly pivoted toward Danal, roughly brushing passed Carl to stand directly in front him: "I demand to know why you, an Elder of the Council of Greges and Green Father of the Southern Devil Dawgs is allowing this travesty..."Paul's left arm extended out, his left hand sweeping accusationally at Atticus and the young Marines standing behind him, his voice full of contempt and disgust: "They have no right to be here and I insist they leave right now!"

Carl couldn't ever recall a time he had ever seen his old friend and mentor truly mad or angry before, these weren't emotions that came easily to Danal, who he knew to always be a man of measured, thoughtful and often contemplative foresight especially before imparting a response; but the age old adage that there was a first time for everything, right at that moment became demonstrative as Danal Cornelius's irisis flashed for the briefest of seconds a bright blue just before his right hand shot up, with a speed that belied his age and backhanded the six foot one inch, 215 pound muscular Marine with such force that it slammed him to his knees with spittle and blood splashing the pavement below him.

Carl watched with more than a bit of shock but a lot more admiration as Danal turned his now stern, commanding countenance to Paul's companions: "On your fucking knee's NOW!"

Carl knew that Danal's command was solely intended for Paul and his men, but with a flick of his wrist, both he, Atticus and all the other young Marines knelt on one knee facing Danal, heads bowed and not surprisingly so did Paul's men.

Carl could hear the deep growl building in Lakatos's chest, knew without looking he was on the verge of losing control and unleashing a violent response to Danal's actions, the air around them seethed hormonally with his building rage.

From his peripheral advantage Carl observed Paul begin to rise, his eyes burning blue, his teeth bared and snarling, his entire face twisted into a deep crevasse of vitriolic fury, every muscle taut and coiled ready to propel into action when Danal's right hand shot forward and caught him by the throat, his extended finger tips digging tightly into his pharynx, spots of blood dripping where Danal's fingernails dug into his flesh: "I've had enough of your insolence pup!" Danal's voice was low and hard, dripping with authority as he forced Paul Lakatos back to his knees: "Submit or I will rip your fucking throat out right here, right now!"

Carl couldn't help but smile inwardly as he sensed the fight drain from Lakatos, he beamed with delight as the man was forced to bow his head in deference and as quickly as it had all escalated, a strained, controlled calm settled in and Danal slowly removed his hand from Lakatos's neck, a few rivellettes of blood ran down his sternum and soaked into his tight desert camo fatigue blouse: "Get up and follow me" Danal commanded Ssgt. Paul Lakatos, before looking over in his direction: "You too Carl"

As Danal headed toward the Lodge, he stopped momentarily to look at Remy Deveaux and the tall, burly, handsome Marine with him: "Be good little pups and get back in your vehicle and wait until I'm done with your owner" Carl watched with continued amusement as the two Marines wide eyed and more than a little shaken, bowed their heads respectfully and immediately turned heel and headed directly toward the truck they had arrived in.

Always full of surprises, Carl watched as Danal walked up to Atticus and reached down and groped his groin, openly fondling his balls through his fatigues: "Those are some mighty big balls you've got son" Atticus didn't even flinch, just smiled back at the man and gave him a quick nod and a playful wink; Carl almost laughed out loud when Danal leaned in and said loud enough for both he and Paul to hear: "My money would have been on you if Carl and I had taken our time and stopped to pick some flowers on our way to join you." Carl almost wished he'd had his phone out to capture the exuberant expression of pride that crossed Atticus's face at that moment and now, more than before he realized just how accurate Max's assessment had been about this young man, making a mental note to bring it up later when he had time to discuss it with the young Marine.

Paul just huffed beside Carl, turning his head away, completely dismissing the comment.

"Return to your duties Corporal." Carl commanded and watched with no small measure of gratification as Atticus nodded and immediately began barking orders to his unit.

The mischievous smile faded from Danal's face as he returned his attention to the two men before him and waved them forward toward the Lodge.

As they entered the building Danal turned to Carl: "There is a first aid kit in the kitchen, please be so kind as to retrieve it."

As Carl headed in that direction he heard Danal instruct Paul to remove his shirt: "I'm fine" the large Marine insisted: "I'd much rather just leave..." his voice nearly dripping with bile: "That is if your done trying to humiliate me for the day!"

Carl could clearly hear Danal's response as he headed toward the kitchen: "If it was my intent to humiliate you, I would have pulled your pants down and taken my belt to your bare ass before fucking you right there in front of your men." Danal's wickedly playful side returned: "Then again..." He paused as if he was truly considering it: "The day's not over yet and you do have one really nice looking ass."

By the time Carl made it back, Paul had obviously relented and removed his shirt and now sat on one of the wooden benches that proliferated the room, topless.

Despite his animosity toward the man, Carl couldn't help but appreciate his physicality; he wasn't as hairy as Max, but he not only was close to the same size as Max, they had very similar builds; Carl doubted the man had an ounce of fat on him and despite his earlier bravado, he definitely wouldn't have desired squaring off with him, Carl was certain he wouldn't have fared well in the exchange, no more than he would have with Max.

That was just the nature of men like Paul, Max and even Danal; they exude authority, it was inherently part of who they were, just like their exuberant confidence and tenacity, the difference between Paul and Max and even Danal was exemplified by the way they achieved their goals; men like Max and Danal did so by tempering their expectations with an understanding of the limits of those around them, while men like Paul, younger and less experienced, impatiently demanded those around them live up to unrealistic expectations.

All these things were inherently at the core of what Max, Danal, Carl and others saw wrong with the Codex and it was the fact that far to many were just like Paul, those who unyieldingly codified it, citing worthless litanies like: "Its always been that way" that surmounted any notion of change, change both Danal and Max often noted being the only constant in the universe.

One thing Carl was sure of though, nature abhors a vacuum and for men like the ones outside right now, working and hoping for a better future not only for themselves but for many others all over the world just like them, that change couldn't come fast enough and Carl still worried that even if what they were certain and were hopeful for concerning Billy, that even if it turned out to be true, would it be an effective challenge to those determined to keep things like they've always been, maintain the status quo? Not least of Carl's concerns was for Billy himself, would they be placing far to much on his young shoulders?

All these thoughts ran rampant through Carl's head as he held out the requested first aid kit to Danal.

"I'm not so sure he wants me near his throat again do you?" Danal smiled impishly, pushing the kit back in Carl's direction.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me old man!" Carl chided, glancing briefly over at Paul then back to Danal, whose face expanded into a huge mischievous grin: "Look at it this way..." he mused: "How often do you get to paw a young stud like Paul without Max being involved?"

"Can we just get this over with?" Paul demanded, not even looking in either man's direction and definitely not amused by their banter.

"You're gonna smoke a turd in purgatory for this one Danal" Carl huffed before moving over to Lakatos and sitting down in front of him and opening the kit.

Carl opened a pack of cotton swabs and a small bottle of peroxide and began dabbing Paul's wounds and cleaning up the now drying blood that had dripped down his chest.

"Just so you know Danal..." Paul began sternly: "I fully intend to report this to the council."

Danal leaned against one of the post nearest Paul and Carl, his hand gently stroking at his beard: "I'm sure they will be delighted in hearing you confess your insolent behavior to them."

Paul groaned: "You know damn well I meant about what you and Max are allowing to go on here!" He turned his head toward Danal, a bit of his previous defiance creeping back into his voice.

If Danal heard it and Carl was sure he had, he didn't show it, as he continued to contemplatively stroke his beard: "And exactly what business is that of yours?!" Danal cooed whimsically, knowing full well his tone would only exacerbate an already irritated Lakatos.

Carl could feel the muscles in Paul's neck tighten as he grew more tense: "Because I have a right to be here and those men out there do NOT!" Paul snapped, glaring at Danal, the fire building in his eyes once again.

Danal stood erect, turning to face SSgt. Paul Lakatos meeting his defiant glare with a cold calculated temerity: "Let me make this absolutely clear to you boy..." Danal began, walking over, then bending until his face was mere inches from Paul's as he stared him directly in the eyes: "You and everyone else, including myself, are allowed here because Max Donnelly tolerates it, that is of course..." Danal paused bringing his finger up to poke Paul in the chest: "You grow a pair and decide you want to challenge Max directly for leadership of the southern region!?"

Carl could feel the tension build between the two men, Danal's face was stone cold, his eyes burned into Paul's: "Shall I issue your challenge and arrange the time or are you man enough to do it yourself!?"

Carl struggled to hold back the chuckle that begged for release in his chest as Paul visibly gulped and averted his gaze: "I didn't say I wanted to challenge Max Green Father" Paul simply stated, his voice far more sedate and reserved than mere seconds ago; Carl did not sense fear in him, but something more like a reserved acknowledgement of Max's authority.

"That's good Paul.." Danal smiled bringing his hand up to muss the younger man's hair: "I'm very fond of your sire and don't really want him to lose his eldest offspring." Danal stood up and stared down at him: "I will however make sure he knows how close that came to happening today by my own hand the next time I talk to him."

Carl shot the old man a quick look and closed the first aid kit, now finished with cleansing the superficial wounds on Paul's throat and stood to face his old friend: "His fathers going to be the least of his concerns after I report this to Max." Carl chided moving to stand by his old friend.

Danal tossed Paul his shirt, a big grin on his face as he turned and headed toward the door of the Lodge: "Knowing both Max and his sire..."Danal mused: "I would suggest he invest in a big bottle of lube."

                                                                  * * * * *

Timmy Anderson was beginning to wonder what he'd gotten himself into, after his dinner and chat with Max Donnelly early that evening and they had come to an arrangement about his son JD, Max had promised to satisfy him in ways he never knew he could be.

He vividly recalled how Max had stood up, and escorted him back to his bedroom and slowly striped him of his clothing before shucking his olive drab silky shorts.

He followed Max's instruction to lay on his bed before going to his closet and pulling out a rather large metal military ammo box with a pull top lid that latches on one end and carried it over to the bedside.

He watched in silent fascination as Max pulled out two pairs of handcuffs and secured both of Timmy's wrist to the two metal frame posts of the headboard and then retrieved two leather cuffs with singular metal loops.

Timmy allowed Max to wrap these leather cuffs around his ankles before pulling a shiny stainless steel length of chain from the box before wedging himself between Timmy's legs forcing them up and attaching one end of the chain through one of the metal loops on his left ankle then threaded the chain through a metal loop on the headboard about two feet above his head, before attaching the other end to Timmy's right ankle the effect of which, left Timmy's legs spread eagle, ass fully exposed and Timmy bound helpless on the bed.

"That's one pretty little pussy ya got there." Max said smiling down at Timmy from between his legs, his massive 12 inch cock now laying over Timmy's balls and lower abdomen while Max's fingers caressed his smooth, hairless upper torso.

Timmy watched silently, as Max leaned forward and gently kissed his right nipple and then his left, letting his tongue lightly flick over each one before he brought his hands up and clasped each nipple between his index fingers and his thumbs and began softly squeezing his nubs and tenderly pulling them causing both to stiffen and erect.

Max could feel the goosebumps rise all over Timmy's body, his smile broadening as he continued to stimulate the boys nipples while simultaneously thrusting his fat large phallus between Timmy's tight muscular twin buns smearing the precum oozing from his glans over Timmy's upturned ass crack and anus.

Max pushed forward and brought his face close to Timmy's, their lips just inches away from each other, Max staring intently into Timmy's soft blue eyes: "Open your mouth" Max instructed, his voice low and deep his breath a soft whisper across Timmy's pink, plump lips.

Timmy opened up to Max whose lips then covered his entire mouth, his thick wet tongue darting inward filling Timmy's oral cavity.

Max swirled his tongue around Timmy's as he allowed his spit to flow from his own mouth, down over his tongue and into Timmy's who in turn wrapped his lips around Max's tongue and began sucking on it, trying to extract all the flowing juices into his hungry mouth.

To Timmy's amazement, Max's tongue slipped even further into his mouth, well beyond what he would have expected until the tip of it flicked against his uvula and nearly threatened to invade his throat.

"Like that little trick?" Max said pulling back, a mischievous smile spreading across his face, before sliding down Timmy's body until his face was directly juxtaposed to Timmy's exposed ass.

"You're gonna love this" Max growled before diving his tongue against Timmy's pucker, forcibly pushing into his hole and driving through his sphincter into his anal cavity.

Timmy's initial response was to wince at the speedy abruptness of Max's oral invasion, but as Max observed from between his split buns looking directly at Timmy's face he watched bemusedly as Timmy's eyes grew bigger with surprise as he drilled the tip of his tongue against Timmy's prostate, who in turn ground his ass almost involuntarily at the new sensation.

"Oh my Gawwwd..." Timmy groaned, his arms struggling and flailing, at odds with the chains binding him, stopping him from reaching down and grasping Max's head.

Max pulled back momentarily, grinning wickedly: "Somebody likes their butt clit licked don't they? Max mused, adding: "Let's see what this does to ya!"

Max jammed his tongue back into Timmy's wet hole and churned against his joy spot, undulating his oral appendage against it as his lips wrapped around Timmy's spasming pucker and began heartily sucking on it; the combo proved to much for Timmy, his head shot backward, his body twisted and jerked as his gonads pulled nearly up into his body as his 5 inch dick erupted his pent up load all over his face, chest and abs.

But to Timmy's surprise, Max's oral assault only continued, well after his unexpected but glorious orgasm; if anything, Max's tongue probed harder his suction doubled, Timmy felt as if his entire central nervous system was now centered around Max's suctioning lips and twirling tongue, he was certain his hole was being opened and sucked inside out and repeatedly forced back in by his unrelenting oral invasion.

Timmy knew that only moments had passed since his first orgasm, but just like the previous one Max's skillful manipulations induced a second tidal wave of rapturous splendor, that, just like its predecessor elicited a huge eruption from Timmy's straining cock, which once again bathed him in his own seminal juices, splattering his entire upper torso as his head thrashed uncontrollably side to side, his body bucking and twisting, spasming and twitching overcome by the climatic forces Max was inciting from him.

"Omigawwwd Maaaax...pppplllleeeeez....." Timmy practically screamed through clenched teeth, sweat pouring from his face and body, tense and straining against his bonds.

Max yanked back, his lower face looking like a freshly glazed donut, licking and smacking his lips, smiling deviously at the now nearly exhausted golden haired youth: "What's the matter bitch, so use to the fumbling of boys you can't handle a real man?" he sneered, his wicked smile evidence enough he was in no way shape or form done with him yet: "Remember..." he leered: "You said you wanted this..." Max rose up, thrusting his large shiny glans at Timmy's now puffy, swollen hole and began rubbing just the leaking tip against it, smearing it with the copious amounts of precum drooling from his piss slit.

Max reached down and rubbed his index and middle finger up and down the length of Timmy's still tumescent cock: "Looks like your little clit dick likes what I'm doing" Max chided playfully then moved up Timmy's body, his lips seeking Timmy's right nipple and sucking it into his mouth and began nursing and gnawing on it like a hungry baby.

Max continued doing this back and forth between each of Timmy's nipples, ravenously gorging himself on them until Timmy pleaded with him to stop, noting how sore, sensitive, swollen and puffy each of them had become, but Max only chortled and slid back down Timmy's body and renewed his oral assault on his already bloated, distended hole.

For over an hour Max continued to torment both Timmy's hole and both his nipples, nearly driving Timmy to distraction and at least three more orgasms and Max hadn't even penetrated him with anything other than his tongue.

After his last one Timmy just collapsed, both his nipples were grossly engorged, puffy, red and sore while his butt-hole no longer resembled the tight little circular ring he began with, but now looked inflamed, bloated and distended, he had pleaded and begged multiple times for Max to either slow down or out right stop, but he quickly realized Max did what Max wanted too and Timmy was helpless to stop or deter him so he just moaned, groaned and at times squealed and screamed as Max drove him well beyond anything he had ever experienced before.

Max had indeed reduced his entire body to one huge erogenous zone, his central nervous system surge with endorphins throughout, heightening his pleasure and effectively altering his otherwise limited capacity to a rapturous cacophony of sensations and delights.

"I think that's enough foreplay for now." Max grinned: "Time to turn your ass into my pussy Max sneered, satisfied he'd far surpassed Timmy's limited sexual expectations and boyish fumblings.

Max reached up Timmy's torso, clasping his hand behind Timmy's neck and brought hs head forward, practically bending his body in half as his other hand guided his enormous, tennis ball sized, bulbous glans to Timmy's bloated, inflated, spit dripping anal lips: "I want you to watch closely as I turn your asshole into my pussy." Max murmured softly: "I want you to be a good little faggot girl and watch it happen, okay baby?" His deep crooning voice both comforting and demanding at the same time.

Timmy offered no resistance, he lacked the will or capacity to do or say anything contrary to what Max desired of him, he was an empty vessel waiting to be filled, to become whatever he wanted or needed him to be, so he tried to focus and do as he was commanded and center his thoughts on that singular action as Max gently pushed forward the blunt helmet shaped tip of his cock-head, the glans orifice until it kissed the lips of Timmy's turgescent folds and began parting them.

Max tilted Timmy's head back carefully, until their eyes met; Timmy felt as if he were staring into his body, his mind and soul and for the briefest moment he could have sworn Max's corneas flashed a brilliant blue, drawing Timmy in ever deeper, losing himself completely in Max: "Do you want to be my good girl?" Max droned, the sound of his voice hypnotic and surreal to Timmy, as he feebly shook his head yes, unable to do anything more than dribble spittle from the corners of his mouth and groan in ecstasy: "Do you want to be my little faggot princess?" Max cooed bringing his lips forward and caressing them lightly over Timmy's trembling lips, his hot breath filling Timmy's nostrils, making him whimper and moan the faintest whisper: "Yes."

"Then listen carefully!" Max grunted, pointing Timmy's head downward at his torso, Max's fingers released his dick and reached upward to run over Timmy's extremely bloated nipples: "These are your titties, your breast...your boobs!" His voice still soft but firmly insistent: "Men have chest and pec's, faggots have breast!" Max asserted before tracing his fingertips caressingly downward until they ran down the length of Timmy's five inch hard dick: "This is your clit, men have dicks, faggots have clits." He emphasized his point by rubbing Timmy's frenulum eliciting a strangled groan from Timmy: "Do you understand so far?" Max's voice was calm and soothing, speaking to Timmy as if he were speaking to a child, instructing him in the ways of the world as his fingers returned to clutch his massive drooling erection and rubbed the tip against Timmy's wet hole: "This is your pussy, your twat, snatch or cunt" Max emphasized the last word by thrusting forward with the power of his hips the fully engorged head of his schlong driving forcefully into Timmy's hole nearly ripping it to shreds as its mammoth girth split the folds of his anal opening, and with a nearly audible pop, penetrated past Timmy's over stretched sphincter, eliciting a strangled cry from deep within Timmy's throat and chest in sudden pain, he tried jerking away from Max, but Max wrapped his arms around him, his full weight crashing them backward on the mattress as Max held his position letting Timmy's convulsing, spasming anal ring adjust to the wrist thick circumference of his manhood and the protuberant size of his throbbing glans.

Timmy's eyes watered and tears of pain dripped down his cheeks, his arms pulled desperately at the handcuffs restraining them, his powerful legs jerking at the metal chain and leather straps secured to his ankles all to no avail, his hole felt like it was on fire, stretched beyond all reason causing it to undulate convulsively against the massive intruder barely secured beyond his quivering sphincter until his anguish gave him voice: "Pull it out..." he sobbed, his whole body jerking against Max's, who just calmly held him tightly against him, refusing to budge an inch as he patiently waited for the initial shock of penetration to settle, for Timmy's spastic convulsions to abate.

Max hated this part, with each new partner there was always the inceptive pain of first penetration, first with Carl, then with Monaca and later others such as Brock; the list wasn't as vast as some might think. Max could count them on two hands and not all ever took to it like he knew Timmy would, once the initial shock wore off.

Max knew from past experience, it wasn't the anal part that was the hardest it was the oral that proved the most challenging, but over the years, through trial and error, Max had devised a method to even accomplish that as well, the biggest factor was the willingness of the recipient, their need and desire to accommodate and please him.

He knew through those experiences that Timmy was that kind of individual, he needed to please, his desire to satisfy, but most of all his innate, exigent craving toward submissiveness.

Some would wrongfully think Timmy's superior athletic skills came from a place of sportive aggression, when in truth it was his way of pleasing others with a skill-set uniquely his own, his slavish devotion to it evidential of the desire to initially impress and please his parents and later those instructing him, always seeking to improve himself, push beyond their expectations and exceed them, their pleasure at his accomplishments is what drove him to excel and Max knew he would do so now.

Just as predicted, Max could slowly feel Timmy's body relax beneath him, his hole loosen around his invading dong; the tightness and vice like grip was still there, but the spasming of his sphincter lessened.

Max pulled his torso back a bit, until he could look into Timmy's eyes, noting the terror and pain had subsided from his expressions and were slowly being replaced by one of acceptance which Max knew would soon change again by Timmy's inner desire to please and accommodate: "Don't worry princess, I'll soon have this pussy nice and loose." Max smiled as he began to thrust another couple of inches into Timmy's clenching hole, eliciting another grimace from Timmy as his hole expanded and elongated to tightly encompass his member like a new sword being sheathed in its equally new scabbard.

Max held off at the halfway mark, letting Timmy's cunt adjust again, while still pulling back slowly letting the flare of his coronal ridge dredge against his prostate evoking a tremor and shudder of renewed pleasure emitting from Timmy's anal clit throughout his body.

Max grinned devilishly as Timmy moaned and whimpered beneath him as he began rotating his hips slightly grinding his glans against Timmy's and noted how Timmy's hips responded in kind.

That was the signal Max had been waiting for, as he lowered his head to Timmy's ear, at first to gently kiss and lick at the sensitive skin at the nape of his neck before biting down hard against his flesh while simultaneously driving the full length of his monster cock balls deep into the deepest recesses of Timmy's tight twat.

Timmy's body went rigid as his eyes bugged out and his face contorted into a mask of shear agony as Max's flaming phallus ripped passed the tight confines of Timmy's lower bowel.

Max again held him tightly, but this time began to thrust the throbbing head of his dick in and out of Timmy's inner sphincter, pushing it beyond its elastic limitations, forcing it to stretch to accommodate its prodigious girth, relentless in its to and fro assault.

Timmy's entire body convulsed and twisted against his restraints once again trying to buck Max from him and expel his invading member. Max rewarded his efforts by raising up into the push up position and slowly began withdrawing his schlong from the clinging walls of Timmy's overstretched gash until the enormous flair of Max's coronal ridge ripped free of Timmy's sputtering twat.

Max poised and hovered above him, looking down into Timmy's gnarled scowl before ramming the full length of his giant dong balls deep into Timmy's gash and ruthlessly began thrusting the full length of his dick in and out of Timmy's convulsing hole.

Slowly, just as Max knew he would, Timmy's scowl and shrieks of anguish transformed, at first subtly then like a tidal wave, into cries of passion and then to pure stuporous lust: "Fuuuuck meee" came Timmy's initial guttural pleas rapidly followed by a crescendo of lilting squeals and torid grunts: "Fffuck my pussssy....fuuuuck it." became his battle cry, one that drove Max finally over the edge as his bloated dong erupted volcanically into the deepest depths of Timmy's pussy, impregnating the delicate lining of his bowels with molten jolts of spraying jism, flooding his chute with his virile masculine juices.

Timmy's own clit dick erupted spewing watery dregs of seminal fluid from the pit of his seminal vessels completely draining the last of his reservoirs until his dick was dry heaving and his shrunken balls ached from overuse.

As Max's own orgasm subsided, as he felt Timmy go completely limp underneath him, his lips quivering his mouth sputtering incoherent gibberish as drool flowed down the corners of his lips and puddled on the covers of Max's bed.

Max reached down and twisted Timmy's face toward him, Max noting with proud satisfaction Timmy's eyelids fluttering his eyes still rolled to the back of his head unable to focus on anything other than the residual waves of tortured ardor that continuously washed over his profusely sweating and sporadically twitching body.

Max was unsure of whether Timmy could even hear him or not, let alone understand what he was saying as he bent down towards Timmy's ear, softly biting his earlobe: "Better buckle up princess, that was only round one."

                                                                   CHAPTER THIRTEEN:

"Man, it really looks like they did a number on 'em" JD said, looking down on their baseball coach Tuck Pullman, still splayed out on top of his desk with a baseball bat still stuck halfway up his ass, his head dangling over the other side, looking very much like he'd just gotten royally screwed, which in fact he just had.

JD wasn't sure what his friend Jason Dunne was thinking, he stood there staring down at the coach, having positioned himself between his legs; more precisely JD was sure he was staring at the bat sticking out of his ass, but JD did recognize that glassy eyed look, it was the same he knew himself to have every time he was alone in his room and Timmy would wiggle his magnificent ass at him invitingly.

As he moved toward the desk, JD had thought about helping the coach get up and just as he was about to reach down and see if he could run his arms under Tuck's and haul him into a sitting position, the man's left hand snaked up between JD's legs and started fondling his crotch: "Damn..." JD moaned, automatically pushing his groin closer to the coaches face, his cock already hard from the show earlier: "I think he wants more!"

As Tuck groped his boner through his pants, JD looked up to meet Jason glowering intently back at him, looking from JD's face to Tuck's spread, upturned ass as if debating on his next course of action.

JD observed his friend's large hand slowly outstretched toward the handle of the baseball bat, his eyes became riveted to it. He watched as Jason's fingers wrapped around it and silently observed in amazement as the six foot four jock began to slowly withdraw it, surprisingly to the very erotic moans of the man below them: "Please..." Tuck groaned, his hand now desperately clutching and pulling at JD's turgid cock lifting his head to look directly at Jason and begging: "Fuuuuck me!"

It was next to impossible for JD to read Jason's expression but he could see the beads of sweat that had formed on his forehead, he could tell his friends breathing had grown more labored and by the large tenting bulge running down until obscured by the desk below them. JD wasn't surprised when Jason yanked the bat out of the coaches ass and tossed it on the floor: "I don't think we'll be needing that anymore" Jason murmured, his voice thick and heavy as he brought both hands up to clasp both of Tuck's firm round buttocks in his hands and squeezing them like a baker kneads bread dough.

"Man..." Jason now moaned: "That's one big wet, juicy hole ya got there coach" Jason looked up into JD's eyes, the glower had now turned completely into lust: "You gotta see this JD", his eyes once again riveted to the object of his ever increasing desires: "It almost looks like a chicks pussy" JD bent forward at Jason's urging and indeed, Tuck's outer hole was now so swollen wet and stretched, that what once must have started out as a tight ring now flopped open, engorged.

As if to emphasize his observation, Jason moved his hands toward the gaping hole, placing his thick thumbs on either side and pulled it apart like the folds of a vagina, revealing the deep red undulating delicate tissue inside, followed by what was assuredly Matt's cum oozing out thickly, dripping in a steady stream down the crack of Tuck's ass to puddle on the desk in a viscous pool of sperm and semen.

JD continued to lean over the coach, entranced by Jason's manipulations of his twitching anus, he felt Tuck's arms encircle his waist, his hands clutching JD's ass and pulled him down closer to his face until he was practically laying on top of him.

JD could feel the coaches lips and teeth chewing at his member through his sweatpants, he could even feel his tongue lapping at his crotch, running up and down the full length of his swollen phallus.

"I think someone wants some more cock" JD mused smiling, looking up at an equally grinning Jason, now smiling ear to ear: "Like a bitch in heat wanting to gnaw your bone dude."

Jason continued to use his thumbs to rotate around Tucks gooey hole, tracing the outline of his loose anal folds when suddenly he slid his index and middle finger into the oozing gash and began finger fucking him.

"This feels just like how I imagined pussy would feel" Jason mused, ogling his fingers slowly penetrating Tuck's hole in and out slowly, twisting and turning with each inward outward stroke, completely mesmerized by how hot, wet, soft and yielding the orifice was.

"It's like finger banging warm jello" Jason concluded, not really caring who was paying attention to him or not, his head swam with only one lascivious thought as he reached down and began stroking his own burgeoning dong through his pants.

"If you're gonna fuck him..."JD had started to say, but no sooner had the word fuck passed his lips than Tuck began moaning below him almost begging: "Please fuuuuck meeee" and like a call to action, began tugging at JD's sweatpants, trying to yank them down.

"Ain't no "if" about it dude" Jason sneered glaring right into JD's eyes with a hunger and lust JD was all too familiar with.

JD smiled knowingly at his bud, while simultaneously struggling to maintain his balance as Tuck practically ripped his sweatpants down freeing his seven inch drooling dick and began slobbering all over it, trying to capture it between his cock hungry lips.

JD gasped as Tuck's mouth found his straining cock and pulled it into his cavernous maw, gobbling his manhood to the nads and began devouring it like a hungry man who hadn't eaten in days.

He'd always thought Timmy was an amazing cocksucker, but he didn't hold a candle to coach Pullman, the man brought pole smoking to a whole new level, with his dong buried to the hilt, Tuck's tongue slipped passed his lips and began tonguing JD's egg sized balls, washing wetly over them while constantly tightening and constricting his throat around the head of his schlong, milking JD of more and more precum and guzzling it down like it was the sweetest nectar.

No longer able to support himself leaning over the coach, JD rose up and began earnestly fucking his mouth: "Man bro, this dude has a mouth like a vacuum hose" he joyously proclaimed, grabbing both sides of Tuck's head and riding it in long strokes, grinding his balls against the coaches nose on each inward plunge.

Jason watched intently, his own carnal desires building to a feverish pitch, he didn't know why he was feeling the way he was, he didn't know if it was his actual desire to fuck for the first time or the fact that it was something he was sharing with his bud JD.

Jason had admired JD for quite some time, he liked his outgoing personality, the way he handled himself in any given situation and was always the one he could count on when he was feeling down to cheer him up or at least try too.

JD was the first real friend he'd made after he and his Mom moved here from North Carolina, his Mom was always working back in those days, her job at a research facility in applied genetics at a privately owned company there, almost consumed her every waking moment, that and they lived far and removed from most populated areas, his mom always saying she needed the peace and quiet, which was fine for her, but left him often feeling like an outsider looking in.

Being a bit of a scrawny bean pole as a kid, didn't help, that and his mother didn't really like him bringing friends home, not that he had that many to begin with; she didn't even like him spending the night over at a friends house, always insisting in knowing exactly where he was and who he was with and what they'd be doing.

It wasn't until he started hitting puberty and his body really started to change that his interest in sports in particular often led them to argue over whether he could pursue his interest in athletics; she had even gone so far as to set up his own home gym in the hopes of allaying his consistent protest about how isolated and alone he felt most of the time.

The happiest day of his life came when some government agency took interest in the company she worked for and that if she continued working there she would be working with a military liaison, something his mother always tried to avoid and was why she ended up taking this teaching job here at Albany State University.

From an early age his constant queries into who his father was, seemed to pain his mother the most.

Often, after he would push her for more info, she would just clam up, her mood would become more morose and sad, it was after one particular row when he insisted on knowing who his Dad was and demanding to meet him, she had just totally shut down and locked herself in her room.

That night, while he laid in bed, unable to sleep, still wondering and imagining what kind of man his father was and why she wouldn't talk about him, he could hear his mother crying.

It was that night, when he was barely twelve, that he gave up asking her, he couldn't do that to his Mom, but he vowed that someday, when he was on his own, he'd get the answers he sought, for good or bad, he'd find out who his father was.

"Earth to Jason!" JD's voice broke his momentary distraction and revelry: "I thought you wanted to get laid?" JD said, his voice full of roguish mirth and masculine bravado, looking from Jason's face to the hungry moist hole right in front of him: "Ya know..." he continued, the huge grin on his face belaying the seriousness of his intent: "holes don't come with written instructions, ya just gotta go for it dude!"

Jason looked down at Tuck's hole, still filled with his probing digits and slowly removed them.

JD watched intently as Jason's hands moved to the waistband of his sweat pants and started pushing them downward over his throbbing erection until it lurched free and smacked with a loud thud against his abs: "You weren't fuckin' kidding!" JD gasped, his eyes going momentarily wide at the prodigious appendage now palpitating and drooling a steady stream of clear fluids from its enormous glans, sticking nearly perpendicular to his washboard stomach.

Blushing slightly at the awkwardness of JD's leering gaze, he boldly clasped the base of his rotund mammoth eleven incher and waved it at the awestruck youth.

JD marveled at its size, not only its length but at how thick it was. Up until then. the biggest dick he'd ever seen was his brother Billy's, but Jason had that beat by a considerable bit, it was almost as thick as the baseball bat he'd just moments ago removed from the coaches abused hole.

"That's fucking huge bro" JD stammered, unable to take his eyes off Jason's enormous hooded pole: "I can see why chicks would be scared of that thing" he smiled lecherously back at Jason, who also noted JD couldn't take his eyes off his throbbing erection and the way he absentmindedly licked his lips, somehow gave Jason a sense of pride for the first time in his substantial endowment causing the burly youth to wag it at him, peeling the foreskin back and milking a drooling river of precum from the pulsating, helmet shaped, enormous glans.

Jason didn't know which he liked more, the idea of finally getting to fuck an all to willing hole he was certain could handle his big dick or the all to apparent fascination of a nearly hypnotized JD, whose blue eyes now followed his now stroking hand up and down the length of his cock, for whatever reason, that just seemed like icing on the cake for Jason, he realized, on some level, he really liked how impressed his friend was, he also couldn't help but remember, just a few moments ago, how he held JD close to him, rubbing that same monster dong against his pert young ass and how JD had let him caress his hard, warm muscular body as they watched Matt and Davy have their way with their baseball coach.

Jason had never thought about being with a guy before, had never even considered the possibility, even now, he wasn't turned on by the coach, but by the idea of just being able to fuck for the first time, but he couldn't just shake off the fact that out there in the hallway, with JD, it was something more than just the idea of actually getting to fuck that turned him on, he couldn't help but think that maybe in part it had to do with who he was with and how that made him feel.

Either way, he was losing his virginity tonight and he looked down at the gaping, twitching wet hole in front of him, begging to claim its virgin prize.

As if in slow motion, JD watched intently as his huge friend pushed his big cock downward until just the tip of it prodded against the loose folds of Tuck's cavernous gash and began rubbing around in small circular motions, smearing the ever leaking precum drooling from his cock-head all over it adding to its moistness.

It was at that moment that a studious JD was struck by an idea: "Wait dude..." a somewhat startled Jason halted abruptly, his eyes pulled back to JD's handsome face: "This is your first fuck bro!" He stammered excitedly, reaching downward and fumbling to find the pocket of his sweatpants now shoved down to his knees, until finally whipping out his phone and holding it up, brandishing it victoriously like it should hold some great significance to a questioning Jason.

"It ain't everyday you lose your cherry bro..." JD's enthusiasm had Jason completely perplexed, wondering what his excited friend was going on about.

"Don't worry dude, I won't show your face" JD offered as explanation as he held his phone out and hit the video record: "What kind of bud would I be if I didn't preserve this momentous occasion?" He jovially queried: "Just think about all the fun we'll have watching it over and over again later!" JD finally concluded, urging Jason to continue.

Jason just shook his head, smiling at how comedic the whole thing seemed but also taking mental note that JD had said "we" when saying they'd watch it later and how much fun they'd have; Jason couldn't help but wonder what kind of fun that might entail, his mind raced at the possibilities of that open ended declaration.

As he began video recording Jason's first time fucking, JD leaned forward to get a closer look driving his own dick as deep as it could go in their coaches sucking mouth and to Jason's surprise he watched as JD reached forward with his free hand and wrapped it around his turgid pole.

The sensation of his friend's warm hand rippled through not just his shaft but clear down into his gonads causing his cock to spew out even more precum than before. Jason watched in silent reverence as JD began smearing his cock-head against the already saturated cavity, then looking impishly up at him still firmly grasping his shaft and gently stroking it: "Do it bro, fuck this pussy with this big fuckin' beautiful dick."

Spurred by JD's eagerness and the warm lurid touch of his clutching hand, Jason pushed forward easing his prodigious glans into the loose gooey folds of Tuck's manhole causing not only a gasp to escape his lips but whimpers of approval from the coaches cock filled throat.

"Dayam that friggin' feels amazing!" Jason moaned as the head of his cock popped through the sphincter into the anal cavity.

Jason loved the way the delicate velveteen tissues of his anal lining wrapped around his penetrating shaft and glans, reveled in the firm grip of JD's hand at the base of his dong continuously urging him forward into the silken depths of Tuck's sloppy dick ditch.

JD was first to notice as their coach began trying to thrust his hips upward so his hole could claim more of Jason's anal intruder: "I think he wants more" JD mused, looking once again up into Jason's now glazed over eyes before finally releasing his shaft and reaching behnd Jason to firmly grip his right muscular buttock and pulling him forcibly forward even further into the chasm that was Tuck's anus.

As the giant organ penetrated deeper JD could feel Tuck now gurgling around his dick head, his throat desperately trying to vocalize his desire for more but only being successful at further thrilling JD's entrenched schlong.

"Fuckin' coach is trying to gargling with my dick juice dude" JD swooned, the sensation driving him to pay less attention to Jason and more to drilling his own dick in and out of his sucking oral cavity.

If Jason heard him, it didn't show, JD observed he now had his head thrown back, sweat started pouring down his forehead as he just stood there transfixed by the new sensations surrounding his slowly sheathing dick.

Then, without a word of warning Jason growled from somewhere deep inside his chest and clutched Tuck's hips between his large hands and rammed his mammoth cock balls deep into his body with such force it nearly threw JD backward dislodging his dick from Tuck's sucking mouth.

Like a man possessed, JD watched in awe as Jason wrapped his bulging arms around Tuck's strong legs, hauled them over his shoulders and began thrusting brutally in and out of his hole, driving with such vigor that the sound of their flesh impacting reverberated off the walls with a loud thumping, thwacking noise that reminded JD of the sound one's boots made trodding through thick mud.

JD turned his phone off and slipped it back into his pocket, moving back in position looking down into their coaches now grimacing, contorted face: "That's a real big dick fuckin' ya coach" JD mused, not even sure if the man was even aware enough to grasp what he was saying let alone articulate a response as Jason continued to pummel his hole like a jackhammer: "That's gotta be better than some ol' baseball bat up your twat" JD meant it in a jovial, non-malicious way of course, not that Coach Tuck Pullman cared to notice in the moment, instead, as JD delicately ran his fingers over the coaches thick wet, saliva moistened lips their eyes briefly met and the coach began to mutter something, imperceptible at first, because of the jarring, rocking actions of Jason's hammering thrust, but soon the same words drooled passed his blubbering lips: "Big dick fuckin' me."

JD almost laughed at the obviousness of the simple declaration: "Yup, big dick fuckin' ya..."JD repeated then added: "I'm betting your pussy ain't ever gonna forget this night." He concluded by patting Tuck's face, who just kept muttering over and over again: "Big dick fuckin' me" that is until JD stuffed his cock back into his mouth silencing him and joined Jason in fucking the man further into debauched senselessness, matching the huge powerful jock thrust for thrust.

JD looked up and found Jason staring at him, their eyes locked and a kind of mental bond forged between them, it was almost as if they became one person driving compulsively in unconstrained rapture into the fleshy receptacle below them, sheathing their meaty swords simultaneously and repeatedly into the willing consuming flesh of their baseball coach until they reached a feverish crescendo and hovered there together, eyes locked, mind to mind, moving as one before finally succumbing to the inevitable, glorious conclusion and both, in complete synchronicity erupted in torrential waves into the siphoning abyss of coach Tuck's ravenous holes spewing thick jets of jock sperm deep into him from both ends to the point of overflowing.

As the tidal forces of their orgasms subsided JD collapsed on top of Tuck's sweating body he was joined shortly by Jason's on top of his.

They laid there like that together over the desk, their sweat intermingling, their chest still heaving from their carnal exertions.

Moments passed as JD was still enjoying the afterglow and the warmth of being pressed between two hard bodies that he felt Jason's strong callused hands begin to gently stroke his thighs from behind, rubbing them methodically, circling gently but perceptible higher until the tips of his fingers found JD's buttocks and softly stroked his muscular buns.

At first JD thought it felt nice, especially after the intimacy of what they just shared, the connection he knew they both felt when they seemed to lock together into one of the best orgasms he had yet known.

JD had never experienced anything like that with Timmy, yeah the sex was always good and he never once got bored by it, but he couldn't help feel what he was experiencing now was something different, he didn't know what that difference was, nor could he explain it and what troubled him even more, was the fact he was, for the second time this evening, enjoying Jason's caressing touch: "Man you guys stink like sweaty socks" JD announced, shrugging himself upward encouraging Jason to lift off of him as he himself in turn lifted off Tuck.

For a brief moment Jason and JD's eyes locked once again, JD could still sense their connection along with the somewhat dopey sideways grin painted on Jason's mug that made him almost audibly laugh out loud: "I say we all hit the showers" JD mused, trying to lift the coach up into a sitting position, thankful when Jason joined him and managed to finally rouse him enough to know they hadn't done any real damage, if anything, by the way he continued to look hungrily at Jason's now half hard cock, JD was sure he was more than willing for another round of hide the sausage.

JD reached over and clasped Tuck's chin in his hand turning his face toward him: "No more big dick until we all get nice and clean" he taunted, before adding: "Then we can all have a nice little chat about tonight okay?

Coach Pullman did his best to clear his head and pull himself back into focus, but even as he stood and started looking around for his clothes, JD couldn't help but notice he still kept eyeing Jason's big wet dong, which swayed back and forth pendulously as he gathered up his own clothing before joining JD as he headed out the door toward the locker room: "Whether ya want one or not..." JD whispered at his friend: "I think you just earned yourself a devoted groupie."

Jason looked back toward the coach, smiling: "You kidding, I'm totally ready for round two."

"Maybe later" JD chided, grabbing his arm and redirecting him forward:" I need to get cleaned up and think about how I'm getting home before my ol' man freaks out."

"Oh shit me too!" Jason responded quickly, a look of sudden concern crossing his face: "My Mom's probably wondering why I haven't called her to pick me up yet."

As Jason fished through the pockets of the sweatpants he carried in his hands, Coach Pullman walked up behind them: "I can give you boys a lift home if you want" he said smiling directly at Jason, his eyes briefly darting to the big jocks crotch again and absentmindedly running his tongue over his lips as he visually caressed the still half hard dick.

"Sounds like a plan" JD mused: "Showers first" he added before looking back at their coach as he resumed walking toward the locker room: "And for the sake of time, lets keep the soap dropping to a minimum shall we!?"

                                                                * * * * *

"Man this really is some set up you got here" Billy noted, peering over Gavin's shoulder as he typed away at the keyboard of his desktop computer.

"Thanks" Gavin bustled before finishing up the last bit of coding he was writing for the program he created for his uncle to track inventory at the store more efficiently, which also would have the added benefit of making both his and Billy's jobs easier as well.

"I built it myself you know" Gavin simply stated, not intending to sound smug, just stating a fact.

"That doesn't surprise me, Brainiac" Billy quipped, ruffling Gavin's hair playfully.

"I think my Mom really likes you" Gavin smiled, thinking back to their dinner and how his Mom wanted to know all about Billy's athletic achievements and about how well he did last year in wrestling, basically getting all the social amenities out of the way before grilling him about girlfriends, if he was seeing or dating someone.

Her interest really peaked when he told her he'd never had a girlfriend and she shot Gavin a particularly knowing wink and half smile after Billy told her that, causing Gavin to blush several different shades of red realizing exactly what she was implying by it.

Gavin had always suspected his Mom knew he was gay, it just wasn't something they talked about, or at least it wasn't something Gavin was comfortable discussing with her.

He knew in her own way she was just trying to be supportive and he was thankful she really made an effort to make Billy feel comfortable being there, Billy certainly seemed to enjoy the conversation and the meal his Mom whipped up and thankfully didn't seem to notice the way his Mom kept smiling her unspoken approval of Billy's presence.

"Think there are any more of those biscuits left?" Billy queried with a big smile and a wink at Gavin.

"Damn dude, we just ate less than an hour ago" Gavin playfully chided, having not seen anyone put away as much food as Billy did with the possible exception of Arliss.

"Hey now..." Billy said defensively: "I'm a growing boy, besides..."he paused looking around making sure they were quite alone: "Some of us didn't gorge ourselves on protein all day."

Gavin sneered at him before giving him a spirited jab to the ribs with his elbow.

"I take it you still want to see if I can track down your brother Mike?" Gavin taunted, teasing Billy genially.

Billy's countenance immediately switched to serious mode; he and Gavin had discussed his older brother earlier, Billy imparting the fact he had written a couple of emails to him in the last couple of weeks, wanting to know if he could take some leave and come take part in his Heritage ceremony, that and he just really missed his older sibling, but as of that day, he still hadn't received any kind of response from him.

Gavin could see the concern written on Billy's face, knowing his brothers silence wasn't really unusual, that it sometimes took awhile to get a response back, but Billy said it had never taken this long, usually only a couple of days, a week at most, depending on what his brother's duty assignment was.

"Well, I can try to locate him" Gavin said, before cautiously adding: "But you do understand, I can't promise anything."

Billy understood, he was just thankful that Gavin would even try: "No problem bud, I'm probably just worried for no reason."

They both knew that wasn't true, but Gavin knew Billy was very much concerned and Gavin felt that after all Billy had been doing for him lately, this was the least he could do to show his appreciation.

"First, let's check that base out," Gavin said as he typed the base's name into his search algorithm: "Panzer Kaserne, Blingen Stuttgart" he spoke everything out loud so Billy could follow along.

"I thought you said your brother and his friend were Marines?" Gavin asked, his brows furrowing questioningly, glancing over his shoulder at Billy, who was now leaned over and so close he could feel his warm breath on the side of his neck: "This here says it's an Army base."

Billy chuckled lightly into Gavin's ear: "It is, but they have a Marine contingent there" he said before adding: "The base serves as a Marine launch point for early response for both eastern Europe and Africa as well."

Gavin searched through the base listings until he found that they indeed did have a Marine section listed in the sub-menu: "I always assumed that the Army and Marines had separate bases."

"They do in some instances" Billy observed: "But most bases have a complement of two or more branches, basically sharing the same space."

"I guess that's why you always see Marines on naval vessels then huh?" Gavin posited, still searching through the sites listings.

"This is going to be trickier than I thought" Gavin sighed: "They don't really go that much into base operations here." he paused thoughtfully for a second then asked: "You wouldn't happen to know who his immediate superior is do you?"

Billy pondered for a moment, then hurriedly fished out his phone and began searching: "I'm pretty sure Mike mentioned him in one of his emails to me awhile back."

"That could prove very useful in my search" Gavin remarked, then appended: "You do know, I might have to do something a little shady to get what you want don'tch'ya?"

Billy looked over at his friend, giving him a concerned questioning look: "How shady is shady?" Billy queried.

Gavin smiled deviously: "Like, hack into someone's computer shady." Gavin concluded.

"Aha!" Billy said jubilantly: "His direct commanding officer is Major Anthony Drummond" He beamed, hoping that Gavin could work with that info: "So..." He paused momentarily considering Gavin's previous statement: "Can we get in serious trouble for doing this?"

Gavin's smile broadened as he returned his attention to his computer screen and began typing furiously: "That depends on whether we get caught or not!"

                                                                * * * * *

JD couldn't believe he was now playing chauffeur while Jason fucked coach Tuck Pullman's brains out in the back seat of the coaches truck.

Earlier, right after they had finished their shower, that is after they were finally able to pull the coaches mouth off Jason's big dick, they had gotten dressed and as JD hurried them along, knowing it was getting late and not wanting to incur his father's wrath, just as they came up to the coaches truck, he looked at JD and asked if he had his drivers license, when JD assured him he did, the coach tossed him his keys and told him he was driving.

While still partially surprised by the move, it became apparent why as Tuck opened the back passenger door ushering Jason inside before him, only turning for a second to wink at JD before jumping inside with him.

Before JD could even get the drivers door opened and climb up in, he looked back and the coach already had Jason's sweatpants down to his ankles and his head was bobbing up and down Jason's enormous cock-head, the loud wet smacking and slurping sounds only matched by the coaches constant humming grunts and groans.

JD just sat there for a moment looking back at the pair, before meeting Jason's glazed over eyes smiling sheepishly back at him and holding his hands up trying to indicate the futility of his predicament.

Oddly enough, JD reminisced, before they even made it to the shower, they had learned a few things about their coach they didn't know or had wrongfully assumed.

Though it was true he was gay, he wasn't out, at least not at school, being pretty sure he wouldn't have been hired in the assistant coaching position he now held, if Coach Grimmly knew he batted for the other team so to speak.

They had all also assumed he was married, having seen him on more than one occasion with the same beautiful woman and knew the two lived together; but Tuck set them straight (no pun intended) that though they did live together, he and her were just best friends.

They also learned that her name was Claire and she was also gay, or more precisely a lesbian.

They knew people assumed they were married or at least a couple and that played to their advantage so they never bothered to correct those who guessed wrong, after all, what they did in the privacy of their own home was no one's business but their own.

Tuck informed them that his job here was just a stepping stone to gain some tenure before transferring hopefully to a school in a larger metropolitan area where being a gay Phys Ed instructor wouldn't be considered a detriment.

Both JD and Jason promised him that his secret was safe with them and did their best to assure him that they would make sure neither Matt or Davy would be a problem either, letting him know that JD had already deleted the incriminating video from Davy's phone.

It came as no surprise to either JD or Jason that coach Pullman decided to show his gratitude by dropping to his knees in the shower and stuffing Jason's half hard dick down his throat and began sucking it back to a full raging boner.

Which was exactly when JD decided they needed to get the fuck out of there since the shower room was the very same place that got Tuck into this whole situation to begin with.

"Take the long way home JD and drive slow." He heard Tuck grunt from the backseat.

JD watched the action going on in the rear view mirror, he bit his lip nervously as he observed Jason positioning himself between Tuck's raised legs expecting him to just slam his hard cock into his upturned ass, but to JD's amazement he watched furtively as Jason lowered himself even more until his face was buried between the coaches muscular bubble-butt and started lapping at his mantwat, noisily driving his lapping tongue in and out of his swollen hole: "Damn that's some sweet pussy!" Jason gurgled, his voice muffled by Tuck's loud moans.

Coach obviously enjoyed Jason's rimming, having moved both his hands down to clasp his fingers tightly against the back of Jason's head and grinding his ass into Jason's hole sucking mouth.

Both the sights and the sounds of their licentious exchange had JD's own boner straining against his pants and for the briefest moment he considered pulling over somewhere and joining them.

But the butt-munching soon turned into butt-fucking as a now totally lust driven Jason lurched upward suddenly, driving his hips forward and began slamming his mammoth cock, balls deep into Tuck's quivering hole.

For the next twenty minutes JD had to not only listen to their boisterous noisy coupling he could feel it as Jason's pile driving had the entire vehicle rocking back and forth for almost the entire journey.

JD almost sighed with relief as they drew nearer his turn off, that the pair reached their climax and slowly started uncoupling.

They were still pulling their clothes back on as JD pulled into his driveway and parked the vehicle about fifteen feet from his front door right behind Timmy's red jeep.

As JD turned the truck off, he pondered the significance of Timmy's vehicle being there after ten in the evening, for that matter, now that he thought about it, he hadn't heard from him since that morning, which he found equally out of character since they usually conversed multiple times a day either by phone or text.

As JD pondered these things he had stepped out of the coaches truck and without a word started heading toward his front door and was just getting ready to turn the doorknob when Jason called after him.

JD turned in the direction of his voice in time to catch him jog over to him and climbed the couple of steps up the porch and to his front door.

As he stood there before JD, he could see over his shoulder as coach Tuck climbed out of the back passenger side of his truck and took his place behind the steering wheel and started the truck up once again, obviously waiting for Jason.

"Listen..."Jason said softly, trying to meet JD's eyes as best he could standing there in the darkness: "I hope you don't think that all of that..." he said, sweeping his right arm backward and nodding in the general direction of the coaches truck: "Well.. " He stammered: "I just don't want you to think that meant anything serious to me" JD could feel Jason's large callused right hand clasp his left shoulder and gently squeezing it and despite his following response, JD could feel the goosebumps raise on his skin where his hand made contact with the skin of his shoulder.

"I don't" was all JD said, wondering why Jason was all of a sudden concerned about what he thought about their little fuck-fest in the backseat of the coaches truck while he was forced to play chauffeur.

"I mean it JD" Jason said, the sincerity in his voice didn't go unnoticed, leaving JD feeling a bit awkward and maybe even a little bit flushed, so much so that he turned his head briefly, breaking the intensity of their eye contact before thinking better of it and turning back to face Jason eye to eye.

It was just then that Coach Tuck hollered out for Jason to get a move on.

JD watched as Jason swiveled his head in the coaches direction and said he was coming before turning swiftly back to face JD and with a big grin on his face, leaning in and plantinh a quick kiss right on JD's unsuspecting lips.

JD just stood there like he was frozen in time and space as he watched Jason sprint away from him and jump into the passenger side of the coaches truck and hanging out the window waving goodbye, yelling out to him that he'll drop by tomorrow so they can talk all while having the biggest shit eating grin JD had ever seen on his face.

Completely stunned into silence JD watched as the truck disappeared down his driveway, leaving JD standing there wondering what the hell had just happened and more importantly, why had he liked it so much!?

                                                              CHAPTER FOURTEEN:

He didn't know how much time had passed while Max Donnelly relentlessly pounded his hole but Timmy was pretty sure it had been hours.

He had long ago lost any sensation in his ass, but he could still feel the constant jarring impact of Max's groin against him, could still feel the sweat and heat from his body, as he hugged Timmy close to him, his hips ever thrusting and pounding his enormous, insatiable phallus into the gaping maul that was formally his anus.

His only occasional relief came from the intermittent times Max would yank his rampaging cock from his hole and dive down to suck on the now distended folds of his engorged and inflamed hole causing it to swell and inflate even more while simultaneously vacuuming out all the cum he'd fucked into him, filling his mouth with it, before plunging his rampaging dong back into him and forcing his sperm filled mouth over Timmy's and steadily feed it to him.

For at least the last two hours Timmy had been nothing more than a limp rag doll in Max's arms, any possible resistance he might have had was completely drained from him, along with whatever strength his muscles once had, all of it was as nothing compared to the onslaught of Max's virile libido and animalistic stamina.

For almost as long, Timmy's mind had entered into a fugue like state, his body becoming a mere extension to Max's carnal desires, he had in essence become a receptacle of Max's indefatigable manhood, a sheath for his fleshy majestic sword.

His mind was completely subsumed, bent toward one goal, satisfying Max, being his hole, being the bearer of his seed.

Max had promised him he would satisfy him in ways he'd never imagined, at the time he didn't know how true that would be, he could no longer imagine anyone or anything ever so completely filling the emptiness he use to feel or even truly understand had existed within him for so long, until now, until Max had so completely taken him.

Timmy barely noticed as Max raised up and began unfastening the chains that bound his now limp body to his bed all he cared about was the massive engorged phallus that filled him, completed him, that pulsed like a second heartbeat deep with the recesses of his body, to remain connected, joined together as one.

He offered no resistance as Max lifted his head, bending it forward to peer down his own body until he could clearly see the area between his ass cheeks and Max's groin all of which was completely lathered in the thick foamy muck that was their fuck juices.

"I told you I was gonna give you a pussy boy" Max's voice passed his lips thick, low and commanding and as proof of the veracity of his words, Max began to slowly withdraw his massive dick from Timmy's sweaty body.

Timmy couldn't believe how the now loose swollen folds of what once was his anal ring now clung stickily to the skin of Max's wrist thick member, he watched as it distended inches away from his body as Max continued to unsheathe his manhood from the confines of his rectum, until the enormous head of his cock plopped out and a torrent of thick, foamy jism spewed from the now gaping maw his hole had become.

Max was right, the inflamed swollen ring of his anus now looked like the labial folds of an overly fucked vagina, flapping wetly on either side as Max continuously rubbed his engorged glans against it.

"Of course..." Max leered down at him, his lips pulled back into a sneer: "We're gonna have to keep that pussy fucked real good every day until it becomes permanent."

Timmy just listened, letting Max's words fill his mind, he knew what he was saying, knew what he expected and Timmy didn't care, he wanted nothing more than to feel the way he felt right now, satisfied and whole and if Max wanted him to have a pussy then he would do whatever Max wanted him to do.

Max looked down at Timmy, he could tell exactly where Timmy's head was at, he knew because he led him there, like he had led Brock and others like him and Timmy.

This, in part, was his Heritage ceremony, the claiming and acceptance of his peoples lineage, one that was inexorably linked to those like Max.

Despite the disparities within the Codex, both he and Danal and a host of others knew that this was every bit a part of the bigger picture.

Just like Atticus and the thousands of others just like him, who wandered aimlessly, unfulfilled and without purpose and left with no recourse, so too did people like Timmy.

Max and those others knew the history, knew how both sides were interconnected, they also knew how the few, over the ages had corrupted the meaning of the Codex, inserted their own hierarchical meaning into it and bereft so many from claiming or even knowing or partaking in their true Heritage.

Max knew that he was just a guide, he alone could not affect the broad sweeping changes needed to affect so many, but he was sure that his son Billy would be the catalyst, at least that was his and Danal's belief; either way, they would know in just a little over a week from now.

For now, Max would have to settle for helping the few he could, in the limited capacity allowed him.

"So, princess.." Max cooed, staring into Timmy's beautiful soft blue eyes: "Are you ready for the second part of your training?" he asked, even though already knowing the answer, he wanted to hear Timmy say it.

Timmy just blissfully starred up into Max's eyes, nodding his head and meekly whispering: "Yes."

Max lifted Timmy up and half walked and carried him over to the corner of the room between the nightstand and the closet, there he lowered him to the floor.

Timmy watched as Max retrieved one of the pair of handcuffs from the bed he had discarded when he set him free just moments ago, he watched as Max bound his wrist behind his back and hooked them to a metal ring protruding behind him about a foot off the floor on the wall, securing him, kneeling in place.

Max reached over to the metal ammo box and pulled out a metal device that had to concaved bars running perpendicular to each other and was threaded on each side with what looked like long screws with two wingnuts on each side.

Timmy silently waited while Max pushed both bars between his lips and ordered him to bite down on it as he began adjusting the screws, the effects of which, caused Timmy's mouth to open by pushing his upper and lower teeth apart; he did this until Timmy's mouth was fully open, almost to the point of being painful.

Kneeling down in front of Timmy and gently stroking the side of his face with the back of his hand Max calmly explained: "This will be one of the worse parts because it's the most uncomfortable" Max twisted the screws again and the bars spread his jaws even further, it was now not just uncomfortable, it was low level painful: "You see, to accommodate men like me, we have to stretch those tendons in your jaw slowly so you can open wider." Max continued to speak softly, comfortingly: "I know it can be a bit painful at times, but I assure you..." He paused for a second to tilt Timmy's head back as he stood up: "The end result will be its own reward for both of us!"

It was at that point Max crammed his now puffy flaccid cock into Timmy's wide open mouth stuffing it until the glans fully filed his oral cavity, Timmy stared up at him, the discomfort showing in his eyes: "I'm sorry princess but it has to be this way" Max declared, before adding: "As a special reward, I'm going to make sure you stay hydrated."

With that announcement, Max let go a stream of hot piss, that splashed against the back of Timmy's throat.

Timmy's eyes went as wide as saucers as the acrid fluid quickly filled what little space was left between his mouth and the entrance of his throat, his mouth was so full of Max's cock it had nowhere to go except down, reluctantly Timmy began to swallow it, having to gulp faster and faster to keep up with the flow from Max's pissing dong; it felt like minutes, and Timmy swallowed countless mouthfuls of Max's hot piss before the stream died down to a mere trickle.

"Lick it nice and clean like a good girl" Max groaned, pleased that Timmy handled this new role so well.

After following Max's instruction and before his cock began to swell again, Max reluctantly pulled his phallus from the confines of Timmy's tight mouth.

Max stood back and surveyed his handiwork, before realizing he had forgotten one thing and reached into the closet and pulled out a three inch circumference pink butt-plug he'd pick up the other day, just for this occasion.

As Max squatted in front of Timmy, he held the bottom of the plug up so Timmy could see where he had written "Princess" on the bottom: "See, I even thought to buy you a special gift." Max slid it under Timmy's depleted balls and shoved it deep into Timmy's hole until the widest part popped into his anal cavity past the sphincter.

"From now on..." Max said, smiling at Timmy and looking him squarely in the eyes: "You need to keep that pussy nice and open for me, do you understand princess?"

Max's smile broadened as Timmy nodded his head yes.

Max rose up and softly cupped the side of Timmy's face in his large hand before moving up and running his fingers through Timmy's short golden curly hair: "You keep being such a good girl and we won't have to shave all this off." Max concluded before turning and walking away leaving Timmy alone in the bedroom still bound securely to the floor.

                                                             * * * * *

Billy Donnelly sat patiently on Gavin Hollis's bed watching as he rapidly typed away on the keyboard of his computer; to Billy, he looked like a man possessed, engaged in some mystical frenetic, electronic invocation that would magically summon an heuristic algorithm to do his bidding.

"Ya know Gavin..."Billy said, sitting there with his elbows on his knees, his fingers laced together, while his mind fought off a sense of trepidation: "I don't want you to do anything that's gonna get you in trouble." He paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts while trying to suppress the anxiety he was beginning to feel watching Gavin do his digital danse macabre: "What if the military traced this back to you?" he murmured softly, looking down at his fidgeting digits, his fears finally finding voice.

"Oh ye of little faith" Gavin mused, a sardonic grin forming on his face, his eyes never leaving his computer screen: "If it helps, I'm actually not attempting to hack any military network or equipment... that would be a federal offense." Gavin stopped typing for a minute, turning to look at Billy, hearing the concern in his voice and now hoping to assuage it: "What I'm actually doing is hacking into the WiFi network of Major dumb-asses apartment complex off base."

Billy's face contorted into an unspoken question mark, which Gavin picked up on before Billy could formulate a response: "It seems..." that sardonic grin returning to Gavin's face: "Major dumbass likes to use his personal laptop at home to email instructions and directives to those under him."

In response, Billy shook his head and rolled his eyes: "Jeez, even I know you're not supposed to do that, my dad doesn't even own one, Carl does, but I know for a fact he doesn't use it for anything official, that's against regs."

"Exactly!" Gavin exclaimed, then adding: "And I'm sure Major dumb-ass knows that too, that's why, even if he figures out I've been poking around his emails, he'd be reluctant to report it officially..." he paused for a second before he and Billy both concluded at the same time: "Because he'd be admitting what a dumb-ass he is!"

Gavin and Billy both laughed, finally dispelling, at least in part, the tension Billy had been feeling since Gavin undertook this little quest: "So how close are you to getting in?" Billy asked, relaxing a little and leaning back on Gavin's bed, propping himself up on his elbows.

"Oh, I'm already in the WiFi network" Gavin beamed: "I'm just running a decryption program I wrote to gain access to Major dumb-asses email account which I got by backtracking the networks ISP."

Billy smiled back at him: "So you don't even need to get into his computer then, just his email account?"

Gavin just answered Billy by giving him a huge Cheshire Cat type grin and coyly batting his eyes.

"Ya know..." Billy said, smiling back at Gavin: "You keep this up and you may yet get that first kiss after all."

Gavin mockingly clutched his chest in feigned surprise: "I do declare Mr. Donnelly, your audacity shocks my delicate disposition, whatever must the neighbors think?"

As his eyes narrowed and a wicked grin appeared on his face, Billy responded: "They'd probably be thankful you weren't still making all those loud grunting noises you made earlier while chowing down on my chub."

Gavin laughed: "Lies I tell ya, lies!"

On the inside Gavin knew, but also hoped Billy wasn't serious, though he really liked Billy and thought anyone including himself should consider themselves fortunate to be on the receiving end of a kiss from Billy Donnelly, deep down he was still hoping to reserve that first time for someone else, the same person he had been crushing on for the last two years... Arliss Gundarson.

Since his graduation, Gavin had made sure to stay in contact with Arliss, visiting him on his family farm dutifully every Sunday, the one day of the week his family allowed him downtime.

He'd always felt, despite Arliss's devotion to his parents and the family farm, that deep down he felt trapped by his circumstance, that being the crushing weight of family obligation; Gavin knew, for all intent and purpose, he was the only friend his parents tolerated and for all Gavin could tell, was Arliss's only real friend.

Despite his best efforts over the last two years to be as nice as he could to Arliss's parents however, they still always managed to make him feel that his presence was an intrusion they only tolerated because their son insisted on it.

A perfect example of this happened just this last month, in May.

It was one of those rare times Arliss actually called him on his phone, yes they conversed via text off and on all the time, but for Arliss to actually call him was rather rare, the last time Gavin could even remember him doing so was on Christmas when Arliss wanted him to stop by because he had a Christmas present for him.

Gavin was sure it was more than that, he got the feeling Arliss just wanted to spend some time with someone his own age, to connect with someone other than his immediate family.

So, even though he had just seen Arliss just three days prior, he was surprised when he called him out of the blue, on a Wednesday to invite him over for dinner the next night.

It was the last week of school for both of them and just seven days until Arliss's graduation, so Gavin immediately thought it had something to do with that but as the conversation pressed on and Gavin asked if he should bring something, Arliss had just chuckled and said, yeah, he could bring him a million dollars for his eighteenth birthday.

Gavin felt bad enough that he hadn't known it was Arliss's birthday, but what really kind of ticked him off, was the fact he had made it a point, like he always did, to talk to Arliss's parents the previous Sunday and not once did they give any indication or acknowledgement to the one and only real friend their son had, that he was having a birthday that coming week, especially something as momentous as his eighteenth birthday.

Gavin had of course accepted Arliss's invitation, he made it a point to rush right out that evening to pick him up a gift, a pair of wireless headphones for his phone, knowing how much he liked to listen to music all the time, but his Dad hated his musical preferences and would often complain about it being nothing but noise and caterwauling.

As bad as he thought it was that Arliss's parents hadn't even mentioned that his eighteenth birthday was coming up, what really irked him happened the next night when after a simple fried chicken dinner he decided to give Arliss his birthday present, Arliss was visibly moved that Gavin had gotten him something and even more thrilled when he unwrapped it and saw what it was, it was at that time his Mom brought out an unwrapped box and handed it to him and Arliss opened it and it was just a couple pairs of new bluejeans, the same type he wore while working, and that was it and as bad as Gavin thought that was, especially for something as monumental as this, Gavin was further appalled by the fact they didn't even bother with a birthday cake.

That's when Gavin got pissed, there was not a chance in hell he was going to let Arliss's eighteenth birthday go by and he did not even have a single bite of birthday cake, it was then that he announced that there was a second part to his birthday gift.

He could still mentally picture the excited and expectant expression on Arliss's face as he waited to hear what it was, and even more so when Gavin said he was treating him to a night on the town.

To say his parents weren't thrilled, well..., if looks could have killed, the looks he got from both of his parents would not only have killed him but planted him six feet under, dead and buried.

Gavin knew he was further exacerbating them and he did so with a great deal of satisfaction, by hurriedly ushering Arliss out the door and into his car.

Gavin didn't even give him time to respond to his Dad insisting he not stay out to late, that they had a lot of work to do the next day, he just painted a huge shit eating grin on his face and practically pushed his large friend into the passenger seat of his car and drove off, determined to give him the kind of birthday he deserved.

He started the evening out by taking him to a local diner where he knew a female friend of his from school worked as a waitress most evenings and ordered a small cake and a couple of bowls of ice cream, he had quietly pulled her aside and told her it was Arliss's birthday and asked if she could help him in some way to make it special for him, she did so in spades.

Not only did she somehow manage to get Happy Birthday Arliss written on the cake she had somehow managed to get some candles to put on it, not only that, when she brought the cake she and the rest of the waiting staff joined in as they all sang happy birthday to him, much to Arliss's embarrassed delight.

It was right after that, while he was trying to think of where they could go next, that one of the girls told them about a spring fair that was going on near Radium Springs not far outside Albany and by the way Arliss's eyes lit up at the suggestion it was only a matter of minutes before Gavin had him back in the car heading in that direction.

To say Arliss had a good time that night, would have understated his mood that entire evening, Gavin had never seen him smile and laugh so much and vicariously so did Gavin.

Hours later on the ride back to Arliss's home, all he did was go on and on highlighting the events of the evening only occasionally to pause in between to repeatedly thank Gavin for the best birthday he had ever had or ever hoped to have again and as they pulled up and Arliss went to get out of his car, Gavin stopped him and got out with him and gave him a big hug and wishing him a final happy birthday and assured him, that from now on they would always celebrate his birthday with a boys night out.

As their hug ended and Arliss bid him goodnight and once again thanked him for a great evening, Gavin was sure he caught wetness in Arliss's eyes before he turned away to disappear into the night down the paved walkway to his house.

"Cry Havoc and let slip the pups of war!" Gavin exclaimed triumphantly, throwing his hands up in victory.

"You did it?!" Billy gushed, jumping to his feet and nearly plowing into Gavin's back as he assumed his spot bent over his shoulder to peer into Gavin's computer screen.

"We are in, dude!" Gavin boasted, he and Billy slapping hands together in a high five.

At first they didn't know what to look for, most of the emails were to low level command staff and was mostly about equipment and inventory movement so Gavin decided to narrow the parameters and scope of their search to incoming messages and within a few minutes Billy's finger darted toward the screen: "That's him, that's Mike's email address, open that!" he said excitedly.

What they read was an acknowledgement from Mike that he was being instructed to report to some place in Hilden which was in the northeast of Germany, a long way from Stuttgart.

The email was dated about two weeks ago.

Gavin did a comparative search in Major Anthony Drummond's sent emails and found the original orders to Mike.

"Says here he was instructed to report to a research facility in Hilden. Someplace called Qiagen." Gavin noted.

"What the hell is Qiagen?" Billy queried.

Opening up a second browser window Gavin typed in a search for Hilden Germany and Qiagen, what came up only added to their confusion: "It says Qiagen is a genetics research company, like the biggest one in Germany to be precise." Gavin added, his puzzlement written all over his face.

Billy was first to ask the obvious question on both their minds: "Why would the Marine Corps. order his brother to report to a German civilian genetics research facility?"

"Look here..." Gavin pointed to the email instructing his brother to report to that facility: "Seems he didn't go alone, this email is also tagged to a Cpl. Kent Bauers instructing him to do the same."

Billy's ears perked up hearing Kent's name mentioned: "That's Mike's best friend from since we were kids" He said, before adding: "They joined the service together under the buddy system and got stationed together in Stuttgart."

Gavin frowned, turning his head to give Billy a quizzical look: "Somethings not right here dude" he said, his statement only echoing what was already on Billy's mind.

"Billy, I know you didn't want your Dad to know you were trying to reach out to your older brother, but..." Gavin eyed Billy, hoping they were still on the same wavelength.

Billy just shook his head, still not knowing what to think, but still fearing his Dad might take it the wrong way about him reaching out to his brother, but Gavin was right, what they just found out didn't quite sit right, he couldn't explain it, it was just something he just felt in his gut.

"Ya know..." Billy said, thinking out loud: "Uncle Carl would know what to do."

Gavin bowed his head in thought for a moment: "Didn't you say earlier that he's away right now?" He asked, his focus returning to the video screen of his computer as he once again scanned through the various emails listed.

"He is" Billy said but enumerated: "But I think I remember my Dad saying he was due back this Friday."

"Actually, ya know what?" Gavin declared: "That might work out perfectly" he concluded, Billy's expressions now a litany of questions.

Gavin's hand shot up: "Just hold up and listen to what I have in mind" He paused only briefly trying to head off the questions Billy was most assuredly getting ready to start throwing at him.

"Let's wait until Friday and you can run this all past Carl first and see what he thinks" He looked a doubtful Billy right in the eyes: "Let me finish dude..." He instructed, already formulating a plan in his head: "One more day shouldn't make a difference and that will give me some time to see what I can dig up about this company and what they're doing there." He brought his right hand up and placed it on Billy's left shoulder, attempting to ease whatever doubts he had: "It's your call of course, but if your Dad's gonna find out, lets have all our ducks in a row before you pull that trigger okay?"

Billy knew Gavin was making sense, right now he was a little bit too emotionally invested in it to approach it logically.

"Right now, it's getting late" Gavin emphasized: "Let me close this down for now and run you home" He said, adding calmly: "Then tomorrow I can work on finding out more about this company and what their into and more importantly, why your brother and his friend are there, sound kewl with you?"

Billy nodded his head, agreeing that Gavin's plan was their best alternative at the moment, besides, if he was approaching his Dad about this, he definitely wanted Carl by his side when he did so, there was no one his Dad trusted more than him.

                                                               * * * * *

JD had just entered his home, still feeling very confused and more than a little conflicted when he was greeted by his Dad who was sitting on the couch watching something on TV: "Hiya sport, how was the team pizza party?" his Dad asked him, seeming a bit on the cheerful side considering the fact it was well after ten o'clock and more than a few hours after he had sent his Dad the message about his intended whereabouts.

"It was good" he responded, adding: "Coach kept us pretty entertained tonight" JD said, thinking the best excuse was just to tell the basic truth and leave out some of the more colorful details.

"I recognized your coach's truck..." his Dad exclaimed: "but who was that young man with you on the porch?"

JD felt himself blush and hoped his Dad didn't notice: "Oh, that was Jason, one of my teammates." he stammered, still feeling a bit thrown back by what had just occurred: "He's also on the football team."

JD thought to change the subject, hoping to get off the topic of Jason Dunne: "Where's Timmy?" He asked, barely making eye contact with his Dad who just sat there slightly grinning and staring intently at him.

"Come sit with me for a minute sport" His Dad said, patting the spot right next to him, making JD feel more conscientious than he already did, but obeying his father and cautiously sitting where his father indicated.

"Did I do something wrong?" JD asked timidly.

"Not that I know of son, unless there's something you're not telling me" JD caught the slight wink his Dad gave him while also certain he heard a bit of a chuckle as well, further confusing him and adding to his general state of discomfort.

He felt his Dad study him for a moment before continuing: "I think it's time we have a man to man talk about your future" JD felt his Dad's left hand on his right shoulder, firm but still comforting at the same time: "You're going to be a father yourself soon" His Dad began, his words hitting him directly in the gut causing his entire body to tense up: "I'm sorry son, but we need to discuss this and we're running out of time before it becomes a fact."

All JD could do was bow his head, his former confusion and trepidation's about what had just transpired with Jason instantly paling in comparison with the harsh reality of what his Dad just brought up: "I thought her parents were giving it up for adoption?" he postulated, now wondering if something else had happened to change their minds.

"First of all..." his Dad prefaced as he leaned forward on the couch, his hand still firmly affixed to JD's shoulder: "That's your son, not an it" he exclaimed, his voice still calm but growing a bit firmer like his grip on his shoulder: "He is also a Donnelly" His Dad's voice seemed to trail off for a second, but his meaning was perfectly clear to JD and he kind of anticipated his next question even before his Dad asked it: "What do you want to do about it son?"

It was a logical question but it was also a difficult one to answer: "What can I do Dad?" he asked, more as a statement than a supposition: "Do I quit school and look for a job?" He blurted: "Do I try to get custody and attempt to raise him on my own, what?!" He could feel his eyes begin to water up, as fear of his future came crashing down squarely on his back, his mind now racing in a million directions at once, all of them bleak and dark.

JD felt himself plummet full force into an emotional meltdown and through it all, through the entire litany of dark possible outcomes and futures and all the self recriminations, his Dad sat there, his hand on his shoulder waiting for what he knew would come, like a rock against the rampaging waves of a storm until finally his sixteen year old son collapsed into his arms in uncontrollable tears, sobbing and begging his dad not to hate him, pleading for forgiveness, wishing and wanting nothing more than to turn back the hands of time and go back and fix the wrongs in his life, to be the son his father raised him to be, to make everything alright again, return to simpler times when all that was expected of him was to be a sixteen year old boy who liked to play sports and video games with his friends, to enjoy the simple life his father had provided for him before he willfully screwed it all up.

As the sobs began to fade and his body trembled and shook a little less, JD began to feel the warmth of his father's body, the strength of the arms that now embraced him, holding him close, the large strong hands that caressed his back, the unyielding shoulder his face was planted in that absorbed all his unrestrained tears, his anguish and fears, he slowly came to the realization, that his father still loved him, had always done so and had always been there for him no matter what, it was in these few desperate moments that he learned what had always been there and would always be there, he already had what so many other young men yearned for, sought after, some for their entire lives, that unspoken thing was his father's love.

He slowly pulled back from his Dad wanting merely to look into the eyes of the man who sired him and cared for him, his brothers and so many others, he bravely wiped away the tears from his face and eyes with the back of his hands and looked his father in the eyes: "I want my son!"

Those words rang like music in Max's ears, this is what he needed to hear from his son and in this moment here and now he couldn't have been more proud of him, that despite his age, his youngest son was becoming a man: "It won't be easy" He said, knowing now was not the time to try and put a pretty face on it, the road he was on was fraught with twist and turns, bumps and hazards, but it was a road he himself was familiar with, it was in fact a road he was still traveling himself and this was just another hurdle, another obstacle that needed to be faced, crossed and dealt with, it was a road JD was now starting on, joining his Dad on his never ending journey as a parent.

"You'll have your son JD" he said, his tone leaving no doubt he meant every word of it.

"But there will still be a price to pay for that future" His Dad cautioned: "And you need to be prepared to face it when it comes!" his Dad paused for a moment staring intently into his eyes, further emphasizing his stance: "I can't tell you at this time what that price will be..."he said cautiously before continuing: "What I do need for you to do is trust me and when the moment is right, and you will know when that happens, you'll grab it with both hands and hold on to it!"

JD held his father's gaze, and vowed he'd do what needed done, that he'd never let his father down again.

"Good" his Dad said: "the first thing you need to do is let Timmy go, he's not meant for you"

JD had forgotten about him and suddenly remembered that Timmy's jeep was parked outside and realized he had to be somewhere near: "He's with you isn't he?" JD posited, not meaning it as an accusation but more of an actuality.

"Yes" was his Dad's simple response adding: "I mean no disrespect when I tell you, Timmy requires more attention than you're capable, at this time, to give him" JD heard no malicious intent in his Dad's voice nor did he perceive any in his countenance.

"Truthfully Dad..." JD said softly, continuing: "I kinda expected it, you two have practically been all over each other since he started hanging out here with me."

Max just shook his head watching the faint smile spread across his youngest son's handsome face.

"Oh really?" Max began, returning his son's sudden smug smile with one of his own: "Well, since we're dropping truth bombs, maybe you'd like to tell me more about that boy you kissed on the front porch this evening!?"

It was at that moment that Billy walked through the front door, and upon seeing his Dad and little brother sitting on the couch together grinning surreptitiously at each other and now at him, asked: "So, anything interesting happen while I was out?"

                                                           CHAPTER FIFTEEN:

 

As Thursday morning slipped into late afternoon, JD found himself laying on his bed, his mind still preoccupied with the events of the last twenty four hours.

Though he now felt better about the state of his relationship with his father and realizing that much of his fears and feelings toward him since the revelation of his regrettable encounter with Andrea, was mostly due to a self inflicted sense of worth and deprecation and not the rejection he falsely perceived from his Dad.

His father had more than allayed his fears of self recrimination and in fact made it perfectly clear that he was there for him and would help him in any way possible, just as he always had before; at least as far as his future offspring was concerned.

His Dad helped him face that impending truth and at least he now felt like he had the rudiments of a plan going into the future.

He still worried about what his Dad had said concerning there still being a price to pay for his breaking of the code, but at least now he knew he wouldn't be facing it alone and his Dad had assured him there was a path forward, he just had to accept and embrace it when it happened.  In this he was now determined to follow his father's lead and do what he should have done before, trust his Dad, to put his faith in the man who has always had his best interest at heart and had, as of last night, reiterated and demonstrated the depths of his compassion and empathy.

He was also thankful for his brother Billy, who had tried to reassure him months ago that his Dad still cared about him and that they both still loved him.

JD appreciated how they both tried to lighten his mood after his Dad had made him face his inner demons and had gotten him to unload the mental and emotional baggage he had been suppressing for months.

Billy had even gotten him to laugh by making suggestions on what to name his unborn son, even his father had joined in whipping out treasures like: Bubba Fet and Justin Case to Billy's Eric Shun and Ben Dover. It was all in good natured fun, the kind of banter they had always shared before and now served to lighten the months worth of tension he had allowed himself to succumb too.

He was also thankful for the fact his father had dropped his line of questioning about Jason once Billy got home.  JD still didn't know what to make of what had transpired and he certainly didn't want his brother grilling him about it as he knew he would, at least, not until he had a clearer understanding of it all himself.

He couldn't help but notice his brother was more fidgety last night.  Despite the humorous mood he portrayed, JD knew that something was also preoccupying his thoughts as well, but decided not to pursue it at the time, at least not in front of their Dad.  Even though he couldn't help but wonder why Billy, right out of the blue, asked their Dad when Carl would be back.

By the questioning look their Dad gave him, JD sensed that their Dad also noticed the subsurface anxiety that emanated from Billy and he was surprised their Dad didn't grill him further about it.  Instead, he just simply stated he'd be home Friday afternoon and let it drop.

Maybe it was the way Billy had smiled after hearing that, that their Dad had thought better of probing deeper.  But JD knew there was more to it than just wondering where Carl was, and if he knew that, he was certain their Dad did as well.

JD decided to take his father's lead and let it drop for the moment.  Determining that further questioning might be better pursued later, when they could talk more privately.

It was shortly there after that their Dad called it an evening, standing and stating he had something to attend too and giving them a mischievous smirk, before he headed to his room shutting the door behind him.

Billy followed suit shortly thereafter stating he was feeling tired.  JD was certain he did so hoping to avoid addressing the inquisitive looks he had been giving him.

JD chose a different approach: "Hey, can I go with you to the gym tomorrow morning?" He queried, as his brother got up to leave: "Sure" he responded simply, then more thoughtfully inquired: "What about Timmy, don't you two usually go together?"

"I'm not sure if he'll be available tomorrow" he had answered, nodding his head in the general direction of their Dad's room.

Billy's eyes had widened and just stared at him, like he couldn't quite assimilate the information just imparted to him: "Seriously!?" he stammered, pausing briefly after seeing the resigned shrug and half hearted grin he gave him: "Dad and Timmy... are you sure?"

JD just shrugged again, responding: "He told me himself" he purposely left out what all his Dad and he had discussed about Timmy and especially the part about Timmy's needs.

Billy just stared at him for a moment, trying to take it in: "What about Carl, I thought they were together now?"

JD just returned his stare not really knowing how to respond watching as his older brother just reached up and started scratching his head, a look of consternation crossing his facial features: "Do you think that's as fucked up as I do?" He whispered sounding almost conspiratorial: "I know they've been flirting and all..." he posited: "But to jump Timmy's bones the moment Carl's away?..."

"Hey bro..." JD exclaimed: "Don't ask me, I'm the last person in the world who should be passing judgements or talking about other people's relationships."

JD's thoughts had immediately returned to Jason and how confused he was about what had just transpired between them earlier and made the conscious decision to try and shove it all to the side for now and just follow his Dad's example and retire to the relative safety of his room and the familiar comfort of his bed, leaving his brother standing there with his own thoughts mulling it over, knowing intuitively, that when it came to their Dad, it was always a sure bet he knew what he was doing and that there was almost always more there than meets the eye!"

JD's thoughts moved forward to the next morning.  Having had one of the most restful nights he had experienced in months, not since before that night his Dad confronted him about Andrea.

The morning started out awkwardly with his Dad sitting at the kitchen table, doing his morning ritual of checking the news on his phone while drinking his coffee.  Still, it was odd watching Timmy hurriedly fixing them breakfast.

It was rather surreally myopic watching him interact with his Dad, like it was happening to someone else and became even more so when his brother joined them.

Billy was rather coldly distant with both Timmy and his Dad, not even acknowledging Timmy when he offered him some of the pancakes he made.  Instead, he just brushed past him, got a bowl and some cereal, before sitting down and hurriedly downing his breakfast, all while doing his best to ignore both of them.

His somber mood did not go unnoticed by their Dad, who had put his phone down and sat there eyeing his brother like he was assessing him.  Like one would read a map: "Something on your mind son?" he had asked, the resonance in his voice making it sound less like a question and more of an accusation.

His brother had just shrugged, coldly looking up at their Dad and responding with feigned indifference: "Just wondering if Carl will be coming by here tomorrow when he gets back or if I'll need to got to his house to talk to him?"

It was obvious, even to JD, the implied accusational undertone of Billy's query, but their Dad maintained his composure despite it and calmly answered: "He'll be back here by early afternoon and will more than likely be staying most of the weekend." he had paused briefly, still looking like he was gauging and evaluating Billy: "Is there a particular reason why you need to speak to him and not me?" he'd asked, folding his hands together on top of the table, looking questioningly at his brother.

He could see the wheels turning behind his siblings eyes as he gave his measured response: "My buddy Gavin and I are working on a project together that involves computers and I thought he might be able to offer some advice about a few things."

Even JD could tell there was a lot more behind that statement than he was letting on and he was sure their father realized that too.  Oddly, he dismissed it by telling him that if it had to do with computers then Carl was the best choice in addressing any issues they might be having.

Thankfully, shortly after that brief conversation, their Dad got up from the table stating it was time he hit the road for work.  Neither Billy or JD were that surprised when Timmy left with him, but noting they both left in their own vehicles.

It was shortly after JD had loaded the dishwasher that Billy asked him if he still wanted to go to the gym with him that morning, knowing that it was something he and Timmy had been doing together for the last few weeks: "Yeah" he had answered: "Looks like I'm gonna need a new workout partner."

His brother had given him his sympathetic supportive look and mussed his hair, stating brothers should always have each other's backs.

JD knew it was just his way of trying to show support over what he perceived as a quasi romantic loss, but truthfully, as far as JD was concerned, he was actually kind of fine with it.

He'd always known on some level that he and Timmy were more fuck buddies than anything else.  He knew Timmy's long term plans didn't involve him, there was never any mention or discussion about his future that included JD in it.  Still, he had thought they would always be friends and couldn't help but wonder if that was even possible now.

He didn't hate Timmy for messing around with his Dad, no more than he had when Timmy and Billy got it on.  That, in of itself, told him that what they had experienced wasn't a romantic kind of love but just a mutual sexual gratification thing, that had just been between two friends.  Like his brother, he wondered more about what this all meant to their Dad especially since he had just recently let it be known that he and Carl were way more than just best buds and had even gone as far as to say that he and Billy both had to get Carl's approval first when it came to anything involving their home life.

That part wasn't at all surprising to either him or his brother since Carl had always been like a second father to them their entire lives. Like his brother, his biggest concern was how Timmy's presence might change things between their Dad and Carl, that is, if it meant anything at all.

Billy had obviously chosen which way he fell on the topic.  But JD saw it as rather hypocritical of his brother since he himself had enjoyed Timmy's sexual talents.  But, he also realized that Billy wasn't in a relationship with anyone else either and JD recognized that that was the crux of the issue at hand.  Was their Dad and Carl in a relationship and if they were, how would he feel about Timmy and their Dad boinking or did he know already and was cool with it?

Unlike his brother, JD had decided to reserve judgement and wanted to wait and see how it all played out first.  If his little brouhaha with Andrea had taught him anything, on the surface, things weren't always what they appeared to be.

The rest of the morning followed the same disjointed pattern as Billy's friend Gavin joined them before they went to the gym, giving them a lift.

All during their workout JD felt like the third man out as the two, on several occasions had their heads together almost conspiratorially, judging by the way they talked in whispers all hush hush when JD drew anywhere near them.

Though he didn't know Gavin that well, he did know his brother and it wasn't a hard read to figure out that something was up between the pair and he couldn't help but wonder if that had anything to do with what Billy was wanting Carl for.

As the day progressed and after Gavin and JD dropped him off at home before taking off for Gavin's house, JD found himself in his room laying on his bed contemplating the events of the last couple of days.  He hadn't even realized how much time had passed by when here heard his Dad's truck pull in, taking note he was home a little earlier than usual.

It was while he was in the kitchen, casually talking to his Dad that he received a text message from Jason.  He must have had a concerned look on his face that caused his dad to inquire if something was wrong: "Um...no." He stated distantly still staring at the screen of his phone debating how to respond to Jason's text which stated he was on his way over to see him.

His Dad just looked at him with a rather cocky half grin before asking: "Is that the boy from last night?"

JD just blushed awkwardly, knowing they had never finished that conversation last night before Billy came home and interrupted them.

JD's embarrassment must have read all over his face as he stammered to formulate a response to both his Dad and to Jason, wishing at that moment he had decided to stay in his room: "Yeah, he's on his way over.." he managed to squeak out, still not knowing how to respond to Jason's text or whether he should at all.

His Dad, now a little more jovial than before and still smiling said: "Good, invite him over for dinner, Timmy's on his way as soon as he finishes picking up some steaks for us to grill."

JD just looked sheepishly at his Dad before he added: "I'll just text Timmy and have him pick up an extra one..." his dad winked at him as the smile broadened on his face: "I can't wait to meet the boy that has my youngest so frazzled."

JD tried to ignore his Dad, choosing to stare at his phone and type a response to Jason's text instead of meeting his father's gaze: "He's just a friend and teammate from school dad!" He offered up in self defense, before his Dad patted him on the back while walking past him heading toward his room: "Just a teammate huh?..." his Dad posited, giving a light chuckle and asked before dissappearing into his bedroom: "Do you always suck face with your teammates or is it just him?"

JD was glad his Dad left that hanging before heading to his bathroom to shower and change; also thankful his Dad didn't get to see the array of crimson shades that washed over his face, while he nervously pondered: "How do I get myself into these things?!"

                                                                 * * * * *

Billy sat anxiously on Gavin's bed, his chocolate brown eyebrows furrowing as he tried taking in the intel Gavin had gathered since last night after dropping him off at home.

"As I was saying earlier..." Gavin began, pulling up the data on his computer that he had gathered the night before: "Qiagen is a genetics research facility, a very big one at that" he looked over at Billy trying to gauge how he was taking all this: "What's odd about it all..." He said cautiously before continuing: "On the surface I could find no section of this company that says they have authorization to do any work with humans," Billy's head perked up.  His eyes coming into contact directly with Gavin's: "Then why's my brother and Kent there, it doesn't make sense?" Billy's voice was low and thoughtful.

Gavin turned to face him: "That's not all..." hesitating momentarily, contemplating: "I couldn't find anyone on their staff security or otherwise, nor their guest or visiting rosters that would indicate either of them have ever been there or are in any way associated with Qiagen." Gavin paused again, giving Billy time to absorb the information he was giving him: "Even more oddly, I couldn't find any connection between the US military and Qiagen, making me think..." he hesitated for a second as Billy finished his train of thought for him: "That the military didn't authorize them being sent there or someone is running some sort of covert operation."

"I thought of that" Gavin said turning back to his computer and pulling up the data on the search algorithms of Major Anthony Drummond's collective emails: "I did an exhaustive search of dumb-asses emails and nowhere could I find him receiving any kind of orders from HQ or any hire ups that authorized or instructed him to send anyone to Hilden, except..." Billy heard the hesitancy in his voice and stood up, walked over behind him and looking over his shoulder as Gavin proceeded: "I did find a confirmation from someone named Gunther Kline who works for Das Unternehmen Kampfhund stating they had received some sort of delivery from the Major the next day."

Without even looking at Billy, Gavin could sense his frustration and confusion: "I decided to look into Unternehmen Kampfhund and this guy Gunther, turns out he is the personal assistant to a Ryker Von Krause..." Gavin paused again, turning his head to look at Billy: "Guess who the chairman and principal stockholder of Qiagen is?"

"No fucking way is that a coincidence." Billy spat, his eyes narrowing as he stared into Gavin's.

"Let me make this perfectly clear Billy..." Gavin cautioned: "I could find zero evidence of any kind of connection on any level between the US military or the US government with this company, none at all."

Billy looked down at him, his body stiffening before commenting further: "Then maybe someone should have a little chat with Major dumb-ass!"

"Actually..." Gavin smiled wickedly: "kinda did something not so legal." Billy frowned now concerned his friend had really gone out on a limb for him and done something stupid  But, before he could say anything, Gavin waved him off with a flip of his hand: "I know, I know" he mused almost mockingly: "I sort of accidentally found a few correspondences with his bank and back traced his account and I kinda, sorta had just a little tiny peeksie..."

Billy just shook his head, his concern showing all over his face; this was the last thing he wanted was to possibly get Gavin into trouble. Gavin could read exactly where his head was going: "Don't worry dude, I was extremely careful, as far as the bank could tell it was Major dumb-ass checking his online account."

Billy moved back over to the bed and sat down, torn between his concern for Gavin and his mounting fear that his brother and Kent could be in serious trouble.

It didn't take a genius to guage Billy's mood and to someone as observant as Gavin Hollis, Billy's thoughts and mood right now were an open book to him as he moved across the room to go and sit next to his friend: "Do you wanna know what I found?" Gavin prompted cautiously, knowing full well that Billy really wasn't going to like the news.

"I'm afraid to ask" Billy sighed, his head bowing briefly before looking up to meet Gavin's soft sympathetic hazel colored eyes: "The day Major dumb-ass got the confirmation from that Gunther guy..." he paused again, raising his hand and gently putting it on Billy's shoulder comfortingly: "There was a sizeable deposit from Das Unternehmen Kampfhund to the tune of roughly about a hundred thousand dollars."

Billy just sat there for a moment trying to take it all in.  His mind raced a hundred miles an hour, envisioning all sorts of horrible dark scenarios and now, more than ever he wished Baxter was here with him.  Not that he didn't appreciate everything Gavin had done for him, but because Baxter was his best friend, the one person he had always been able to turn too and count on.

It was at that moment, with his thoughts scrambled and different emotions raged within him that he realized Baxter was more than just a friend.  Maybe even more than a brother.  Baxter was his safe place, the one person that knew him possibly better than he knew himself.  The one person that could assuage the raging storm gathering within him.

Billy looked at Gavin, their eyes meeting, the fire blazing within his glaring gaze reflected back at him through Gavin's: "Can you gather all this info and print it out so I have something to show Carl first thing tomorrow when he gets back?" Billy queried, his voice now thick with determination and resolved conviction.

Gavin looked apprehensively at Billy and with all the resoluteness he could muster responded: "You mean we?  There's no way I'm letting you do this alone."

Billy forced a smile for the sake of his friend, knowing that Gavin was just as determined as he was and realizing that everything he had found out was all due to him.  And though he knew he owed it to him to honor his request, he also felt more than a little trepidation about involving him further.

"Listen Gavin..." Billy started to say before Gavin interrupted him, guessing exactly what was going to come out of Billy's mouth next: "It was my choice to get involved and I'm damn well going to see this through to the end, the consequences be damned!"

For the briefest of moments, Billy thought about kissing Gavin.  In actuality, he felt like kissing him, but held back, not wanting Gavin to misinterpret it as some sort of romantic gesture and not the genuine heartfelt gratitude he was now experiencing.  Instead, he just grinned from ear to ear: "Like you said, consequences be damned." he stated, slapping Gavin's back before adding: "Not to push my luck or anything but do you think I could spend the night here?" he queried before explaining further to the sudden quizzical look that crossed Gavin's face: "If I go home tonight I'm afraid my Dad will be able to tell that somethings up and I really want to talk to Carl first."

Gavin just smiled impishly back at him: "I'll have to ask my Mom if it's okay, but I'm sure she won't mind so long as you promise not to violate her only child's virtue."

Billy chuckled, musing: "Really nerd, I rather got the impression she was hoping I'd rescue you from your near terminal case of virginity."

                                                                * * * * *

JD couldn't believe how apprehensive he felt at the moment.  He had hoped by warning Jason via text that his dad was expecting him to stay for dinner that it somehow would be enough to scare Jason off from the idea of coming over.

He didn't know what he feared the most, having an awkward discussion with Jason about what had transpired between them the night before or him meeting his dad; which he was sure could be one of the most embarrassing moments of his life.  All of this was compounded by the fact that his ex-fuck buddy Timmy Anderson was now in the kitchen wrapping some potatoes and corncobs in aluminum foil to bake on the grill with the steaks he had brought all while shamelessly flirting back and forth with his dad.

As far as JD was concerned, the only bright point in his current predicament was the fact his brother wasn't there also.  Not that it would actually matter if he died from the embarrassment he was certain his dad was going to inflict on both him and Jason.

As bad as all that seemed to him, what still gnawed at him the most was Jason himself.

JD still hadn't had time to sort out what transpired between them last night.  At the time he just chalked it up to the both of them just being overly heated up watching the coach and their two teammates Matt and Davy getting it on in the coaches office.  But afterward, when Jason followed him up on the porch last night and basically told him he didn't want JD to think he was serious about the coach and then kissing him, implied, at least as far as JD was concerned, that he was serious about him or at least was acknowledging that he had some sort of romantic feelings toward him.

To make matters even more egregious than that, though JD was surprised by the move, he hadn't exactly tried to stop it either.  Just like outside the coaches office when he had Jason pressed up against his back and Jason fondled and caressed his body and kissed and licked the nape of his neck, he couldn't help but also remember how his body responded to Jason's touch.

Even now, just recalling the previous nights events had started to chub him up visibly in his sweatpants and he did his best to conceal it, trying to think of anything else other than Jason and that stupid fucking kiss.

JD had been so deep in his thoughts he didn't even notice his dad standing in the kitchen doorway looking at him, his hands on his hips with a huge smirk on his face: "What's the matter sport, thinking about that beau of yours?" he said with a slight chuckle looking downward at the obvious bulge in JD's crotch and rolling his eyes suggestively.

JD could feel the blood surge throughout his entire body knowing for a certainty he was now blushing head to toe.

"Dad you can tease me all you want..."He said, barely making eye contact with his father before continuing: "But please don't embarrass Jason tonight."

JD watched as his dad crossed the room over to him and put his arm around his shoulder drawing him close: "I'll promise to be on my best behavior sport, boy scouts honor!"

JD just shook his head and casually pushed his dad away playfully: "Like that means anything, you were never in the boy scouts."

"Oops...busted!" His dad chortled, smacking JD on the ass before turning away and heading back toward the kitchen muttering as he walked away: "If ya hurry, ya might have time to rub one out before he gets here, might help make it less obvious.  Ya don't want just any beau to think you're easy pickings sport."

JD couldn't help but smile at his dad's taunting, as he shook his head knowing that this was going to be a long evening, all while wondering what horrible thing he must have done in a previous life to merit all this bad karma.

                                                               * * * * *

Carl McGregor sat in front of the fire pit absentmindedly poking the hot coals of the small flame that still burned with in it as his old friend and trusted mentor Danal Cornelius sat beside him enjoying his after dinner cigar and blowing smoke rings over the open flame and watching them dissipate in its upward draft.

"That's a nasty habit old man" Carl suggested while looking past him watching the men that came with him continue to gather limbs and fallen branches from around their bivouac in the woods before the early evening light faded into darkness.

"Still in a bad mood I see" Danal responded, blowing another string of smoky circles over the open flames.

"Not really" Carl offered, not really sure how he felt at the moment, especially after the events of the previous day while simultaneously thinking about going home tomorrow and rejoining Max and the boy's.

"It's hard being away from him isn't it?" Danal said softly, barely glancing at him, twirling his cigar between his fingers playfully.

"He's got a lot on his plate right now, not least of which is Billy's upcoming birthday." Carl bowed his head, staring at the ground below him.

Danal looked at him sideways with his usual lilting half grin: "Did you stop to consider, maybe that's why he sent you here for awhile?"

Carl turned to face Danal: "What is that supposed to mean?..." Carl queried, a hint of agitation in his voice: "Are you suggesting I'm somehow adding to his burdens?"

If Carl's agitation affected Danal in any way it didn't show but his response did nothing to alleviate it either: "Don't you?"

At first Carl felt like giving Danal a sharp retort but ended up biting it down and just staring at him incredulously instead.

"You're either improving with age or you're just too tired to argue," Danal quipped, the grin broadening on his face: "A younger Carl would have already let his mouth overload his ass without even thinking about what I just said."

Carl partially huffed and chuckled at the same time: "Maybe it's a little of both." He concluded, easing back into the Adirondack chair he was sitting in contemplating what Danal had just said to him, knowing he would never purposefully say something to upset him, but always trying to get him to see more than what appeared on the surface. This was something they both knew was difficult for him to do especially where Max was concerned.

"You know, you're getting to be a bit long in the tooth for me to keep placating and mollycoddling your insecurities where Max is concerned don't you? Danal chided, his tone now more fatherly than friend or mentor.

Danal emphasized his point by reaching over and smacking Carl upside the head.  Carl winced at the sudden blow turning once again to face him: "I get your point old man" He said rubbing the back of his head where it now smarted, feeling very much like a scolded child.

Danal went back to smoking his cigar, taking a few puffs and blowing the smoke at Carl's head: "Good!" he exclaimed: "Now tell me what you "think" you've come to understand all of a sudden, I want to hear you say it!"

Carl leaned back in his chair and sighed deeply, feeling at the moment like he was some patient visiting a psychiatrist and knowing instinctively that analogy wasn't far off.

"I know first and foremost that Max loves me" he began, closing his eyes momentarily as he brought up his mind's eye view of Max.  Big and strong, the thick mat of black hair that covered his muscular body and of course the big fat cock between his legs that was always ready to satisfy Carl's deepest cravings.  The same fleshy sword that was often sheathed within him joining the two of them together, not only in body but in mind and soul as well.

He also knew the way Max worked.  It was in his nature to help those around him in need, especially if he saw a potential within them that they might not otherwise see or reach themselves without his intercessions.  Men like Brock, who he knew Max was attempting to help even now.  Working him slowly toward the destiny and potential Max saw in him.

It was at that moment it dawned on him, isn't that exactly what he was now doing with Timmy?

Even Carl could see the vast potential in that beautiful young man.  Most of which, thus far, has been wasted by the crushing weight of self deprecation and fear instilled in him by misguided and deluded parents selfishly holding him back and squashing any individuality from their son in an attempt to control him, keeping him forever under their thumb.

Carl mentally peeled back the years that Max has done this very same thing for others and how he had often chafed against it, wanting selfishly to possess Max's attention all to himself instead of being what Max really needed him to be and why he now sat here, with Danal and these young men who didn't really require him being here, knowing full well that Atticus was more than capable of handling this.

Carl realized something else.  Danal wasn't here by chance.  Max had expected something like yesterday might crop up and that the only other person who could have faced what transpired yesterday besides Max, was Danal.

What Carl came to realize at that moment, was that Max sent him away so he could accomplish something he thought might otherwise upset him if he was present.  That realization hit him in the gut like a physical blow.  Instead of being the helpful partner Max needed, especially now with so much at stake, Max had to also contend with a possessive, potentially jealous partner, who instead of being there for him, had to be emotionally protected like some petulant, pining schoolgirl.

Carl sat up with a start in his chair turning to face Danal with an incredulous look across his now stern face: "You crafty old bastard" He admonished, staring intently into the mischievous eyes of his mentor; finally realizing how both Max and Danal have been manipulating him for years until he matured enough to have this epiphany on his own.

Danal's grin consumed his facial features.  His eyes twinkling like two bright stars knowing Carl now fully understood what was needed from him: "Don't be too upset with us pup, this wasn't something either Max or myself could have ever explained to you. You had to arrive at this destination on your own."

Danal winked at him concluding playfully: "That willful spirit of yours is both simultaneously your greatest strength and your greatest weakness."

Carl rose up and embraced his old friend, holding him close, wishing now more than ever to be back in Max's arms and to finally embrace his place by his side.  Not just as his lover, but as a true partner.  One that he could finally lean and depend on fully, to be his haven and not his burden.

It was at that moment that a horde of hooting young naked Marines flew past them dashing toward the cool refreshing waters of the lake and as Danal and Carl parted, they watched as Cpl. Atticus Walker sauntered up to them, just as naked as his men, his massive grin paled only in comparison to his huge hairy muscle swollen body and the enormous and pendulous piece of meat that dangled between his legs limply swinging back and forth slapping against his mid thighs as he walked: "Y'all gonna join us for a swim?" he asked in that deep, gravely southern drawl of his winking at both of them as he walked past them on his sojourn to the lake.

Danal and Carl stared after him, enjoying the backside of him almost as much as the front before Danal finally commented: "I don't know whether to envy or pity whoever that boy ends up taking a shine too!"

                                                               * * * * *

JD had just finished helping Timmy set the table when he heard a vehicle pull up in the driveway and made it to the front door just in time to greet a very sharply dressed to impress Jason Dunne climbing the steps to the front porch.

"Well, do I pass muster Mr. Donnelly?" Jason asked, flashing his pearly whites at JD in a smile that stretched from ear to ear.

JD cut himself short of gawking at Jason, who filled out his shirt and jeans like a second skin that snugly hugged his muscular physique in all the right places, sending an unexpected wave of palpitating heat through JD's body.

Returning his smile and stepping aside allowing Jason to entire his home, JD couldn't help but check Jason's ass out too, noting how it protruded like two large firm melons supported by tree trunk sized thighs and calves that stretched the fabric of his straight legged denim jeans.

"I gotta admit..." Jason said softly in an almost whisper: "I'm kind of nervous about meeting your family."

"Well," JD said, leading Jason to the couch and indicating he should sit: "It will just be my dad tonight.  My brothers staying over at a friends tonight and my uncle Carl is away on some assignment."

"I've kind of already met your brother before at school" Jason revealed, expounding on how he had seen him wrestle a few times.  Him and his buddy Baxter and how he actually congratulated him with a group of the guys from the football team after one of his many victories during a home match.

"He seemed like a really nice guy" he added: "really firm handshake too as I recall" smiling again at JD, who couldn't help but notice how his cheeks dimpled every time he did so.

"Yeah, my brother and Baxter are pretty driven when it comes to their sport" JD kind of beamed, realizing how much he actually appreciated his brother and Baxter's athletic prowess.

"Would ya like a Coke or sumthin' to drink?" JD offered, starting to feel a little more relaxed now that Jason was actually here and the roof hadn't caved in or anything equally as disastrous happening.

"Coke would be fine" Jason chimed back, rizing up and following right behind JD into the kitchen: "So where is your Dad?" Jason queried, looking around the kitchen noting the table was already set and silently wondering who the fourth place setting was for.

JD opened the frig and hauled out a couple of cans of Coke and handed one to Jason: "Oh, he's out back with Timmy grilling dinner." he stated flipping the tab on his soda and taking a sip, his nose crinkling slightly as the carbonated beverage tickled his nostrils, awkwardly noting the smile that crossed Jason's face as he watched him.

"Timmy Anderson?" Jason asked, the smile slowly fading from his face: "I thought I recognized that Jeep out front." He paused for a second and then stated kind of distantly: "I kinda forgot you two were best buds and all."

JD could sense the abrupt shift in Jason's mood at the mention of Timmy's name and how he now looked downward at his fingers as they toyed with the tab on his Coke.

"He's not my best friend" JD quickly asserted observing how Jason's eyes shot up quizzically to meet with his own as he continued: "He's more a friend of the family kinda. He's really a nice guy once you get to know him."

Jason looked at him apprehensively before commenting: "But you invited him here to have dinner too?"

JD chuckled lightly: "No, actually my Dad did and when you messaged me earlier my Dad suggested I invite you over too."

He didn't know why, but seeing the smile return to Jason's face after he told him that, gave him a sense of relief.

For the umpteenth time JD found himself wondering what it was about Jason that made him feel the way he has been every time he's around him.

It was like his head goes all fuzzy and foggy and his libido shifts into overdrive and JD couldn't help but wonder if Jason experienced the same thing since he seemed to sometimes be just as discombobulated as he was when they were together.

"So why did your Dad want me to have dinner with you all if you already had company?" Jason queried.

JD of course knew the answer to that question but suddenly felt embarrassed to relinquish that info to Jason, being absolutely certain he would be mortified if he found out his Dad knew he had kissed him last night on the front porch and now wanted to meet the boy who did so.

But the one thing past experience had taught him, secrets have a way of coming back to bite you in the ass... hard. It was with that thought in mind JD concluded that forewarned was forearmed and Jason should be allowed to make his own choice in the matter and not be dragged into anything he wasn't comfortable with or prepared for.

"Jason listen..." JD stammered trying to find the right way to word what he had to say to him before just deciding to rip that bandage off and just blurt it out and let the chips fall where they may.

"My Dad knows what happened on the front porch last night, I don't know how he knows, but he does."

JD didn't know what to think as Jason just stared blankly back at him, like the words he just spoke hadn't registered in some way or were somehow unintelligible.  But once again, Jason's response caught him off guard: "I'm not ashamed of it JD and I hope you aren't either." he stated matter of fact and quickly adding: "Just so you know and I'm completely clear about this..." He paused for a second, a second that seemed to drag on for eternity as his bright blue eyes narrowed and bore directly into JD's: "I meant it JD and if it means manning up and owning it to your Dad, then I'll do just that!"

JD barely had the chance to process the shock he felt from Jason's balls to the walls declaration when his Dad's voice boomed clearly behind him: "That's good to know boy, I wouldn't take kindly to anyone wanting to take advantage of my youngest son."

Pivoting instantly around and backing up a few steps closer to Jason, JD nearly bumped into him as they both now stared directly at his Dad.

He barely had the chance to gulp before Jason once again surprised him by maneuvering around him and stepping forward with his hand extended toward his Dad, who to JD's surprise and relief took Jason's hand and shook it vigorously: "Jason Dunne Sir, glad to finally meet you."

Max Donnelly smiled and chuckled, slightly impressed at the firmness of Jason's grip: "Drop the sir shit" Max retorted: "That's for officers and politicians, unlike them I work for a living."

JD watched as Jason and his Dad exchanged pleasantries, taking special note how his father actually had to look up at Jason who stood at least a good two inches taller though not nearly as muscular or filled out as he was.

He noted that as they talked, his Dad's expressions and attitude began to shift as he seemed to focus more keenly on his friend Jason, like he was studying him, assessing and appraising him.  The once jovial aspect of their first encounter subtly changed as his Dad's face started taking on a more serious, quizzical countenance, before abruptly concluding their conversation and indicating to Jason he should take a seat at the table while he went to check on the progress of their meal.

At first JD started to walk over to the table with Jason when his Dad called out to him from the door asking him for his assistance outside.

JD couldn't imagine what more help he could possibly need since Timmy was still out there with him, but as he joined his Dad, he watched as he instructed Timmy to head inside shoving the tray with the corn and baked potatoes on it in his hands and telling him to keep Jason company while he and JD finished up with the steaks.

Timmy had no sooner disappeared through the door when JD's Dad grabbed him by the shoulders and locked eyes with him: "Tell me everything you know about this boy" Max insisted, JD detecting a hint of urgent anxiety in his Dad's voice.

JD felt his body tense up as he wondered what could possibly make his father react this way to someone he had never met before, fearing that somehow Jason had offended him and now worrying what that might mean to their friendship going forward.

His doubts and concerns must have read on his face like an open book to his Dad as he straightened up and relaxed his grip on his youngest son's shoulders: "He's not in trouble sport, it's just very important you tell me everything you know about him."

JD just looked at him quizzically: "Like what exactly, where he lives, how much he can bench press or squat lift in the gym, what's his favorite type of donut?"

Max smiled at him, realizing the broadness of his previous statement and course adjusting to garner the info he really wanted to know: "Let's start with how long you have known him?" his Dad responded more calmly.

Thinking for a moment, JD thought back to the day he first noticed him at school about a little over a year ago, noting it was in the gym after school when he was trying out for the football team.

"I've only known him for little over a year but I know he and his Mom moved here about two years ago when she took a teaching job over at the university."

JD cited every detail he could remember and answered the additional ones his Dad interjected with.

He didn't know his Mom's name or what she taught, he thought it had something to do with biology or something.  He knew they moved here from somewhere in North Carolina where Jason was born and grew up.

His Dad seemed really interested in what he knew about his father, which was easy, because Jason had told him multiple times he didn't know who his Dad was and it wasn't something his mom liked to talk about.

He also wanted to know exactly how old Jason was, which he also knew, telling him he was the same age as Billy (seventeen) and his birthday was sometime next month.  He couldn't remember exactly what day though.

After hearing that, his Dad seemed to relax somewhat and asked JD to keep their conversation under wraps for the time being, assuring him that neither he or Jason where in any kind of trouble, that as a matter of fact he wanted JD to encourage Jason to come over as often as he wanted.  Even suggesting he invite him and his mother over on Sunday for an early dinner.

JD found the whole thing rather bizarre and couldn't help but wonder what had put his Dad in this strange mood, pondering what his Dad's possible interest in Jason could be; apprehensively speculating whether this would turn out to be another Timmy type of situation, but doubting his own train of thought since Jason was absolutely nothing like Timmy.

As they gathered the steaks and headed toward the house, JD couldn't help but wish Carl was here right now.  If anyone could explain his Dad's behavior it would be him and he was very much looking forward to his return tomorrow.  Maybe then he could get some answers to his questions, but most of all, maybe Carl could help him sort out what he was feeling when he was around Jason Dunne.

                                                            CHAPTER SIXTEEN:

As Brock Gryzinski turned off the main highway and now headed down the gravel road leading to the Devil Dawg Compound, he couldn't help but recall the events that led him to where he was now, especially the ones over the last three days since that momentous and revelatory meeting with Max Donnelly.

He didn't really want to dwell on what Max had ordered him to do with his wife.  Just thinking back on it made him feel slightly nauseous, and definitely had made for the longest couple of hours in his life.  But Max had been right, his wife certainly enjoyed herself, that is right up until the point afterward, as they sat on the bed together and him nervously telling her that the reason he hadn't ever done that to her before was because he was gay.  For propriety sake, he left out the part where Max had ordered him to do it.  That would have hurt her, and he knew telling her that their marriage was now over was going to be painful enough for her.  The last thing he wanted was to cause her more distress than his deception already had.

He'd always known that the woman he married was a rather naive person.   She was not stupid, but trusting to a fault.  That's why it didn't surprise him, that after he told her that he was gay and why he had never performed oral sex on her before, the first thing she assumed was that he was now cured or somehow overcome his gayness and him eating her pussy was his way of proving it to himself.  Brock felt twice as bad he looked into her smiling hopeful eyes before he told her no, that he did it to prove he was to himself, a minor lie, but the truth would have just added to the pain she was already feeling after telling her he wanted a divorce.

He knew she would be devastated.  He anticipated the tears, but he didn't think for a minute she would want to try and stay together despite his sexuality, saying she'd do anything to save their marriage.  He was certain that offer fell short of him having sex with other men.

It took him awhile, but he finally got her to understand that saving their marriage wasn't an option and after talking for awhile, made her realize that she would be so much better off with a man that could love her fully and completely and that he also deserved to be with someone that he could do the same with.

What didn't surprise Brock, after all was said and done, she expressed her concern for him, especially in telling his family, if that was something he intended to do.  She proved time and again, that throughout their four year marriage, what a selfless person she was and this time was no different.

Brock knew, in many ways, he was gong to miss he. , But one thing he now knew for an absolute certainty, he would never have to fuck or eat a vagina again.

As Brock drove down the twists and turns in the road, he also ran through the list of other orders Max had given him.  He'd packed as many of his uniforms and clothes that he could get into the backseat of his truck along with all the toiletries he used and a few other sundry personal items and had found a nice cheap motel to stay at.

Once he got settled into his room he got his phone and called a lawyer friend he had used numerous times and told him about wanting to file a petition for divorce.  He made the conversation short, not really wanting to go into the personal details, just that he wanted an equitable split of any joint property.  His friend assured him he could drop by in the morning and he'd have the paperwork drawn up, ready for him to sign to get the ball rolling and that it would probably take about 30 to 40 days before the divorce would be legally finalized.

The rest of the evening Brock had spent compiling and categorizing the numerous requisition forms and applications Max had given him and also filled out and signed the provided transfer papers, which he could drop off after he finished at the lawyers in the morning.

Thursday had been pretty much a blur of activity for him, usually he liked to squeeze an hour or so at the gym in the morning, but he had to skip it that day.

He was thankful that it really hadn't taken that long at the lawyers office and only a few minutes to submit his already signed transfer papers at Admin/HQ.  Grateful, because processing all of Max's requisitions and work order applications, even despite the fact he had spent hours the night before working on organizing them to the various agencies and departments they had to go too, it still took him until almost nineteen hundred hours that evening to finish up.

Even without compiling the cost report on everything he had processed Thursday, he knew the number had to be in the millions.  In the back of Brock's mind at the moment, as he made his final approach to the compound, with all that he had set in motion, he had to wonder if Max had somehow finagled getting the Pentagon to fund his own personal Marine Corps base.  One thing was for sure, this place was about to be deluged with equipment, supplies and contractors within the next couple of weeks and Brock was certain that the reason Max had him transferred here was because he would be the one that had to keep it all organized.

For most men, this would be rather daunting and terrifying.  But for someone like Brock, it was like being a conductor conducting an orchestra in a symphony he had written and as Brock pulled into the Devil Dawg Compound parking lot and saw all the shirtless, young Marines dressed only in their PT olive drab silkies busily being led by a huge, hairy, muscular mountain of a man vigorously putting them through some rather intensive calisthenics, he couldn't help but leer wantonly at them, especially the big one.  He enjoyed the way their bodies glistened and dripped with a very shiny patina of manly sweat.

Maybe, Brock thought to himself, as he got out of his truck carrying his copy of the transfer orders Max gave him to present to Carl McGregor along with an envelope and small oblong box, that it wouldn't be so bad here after all.

                                                                * * * * *

Thursday night had gone remarkably well all things considered, JD thought to himself, while busily pulling himself together Friday morning.

He had slept in longer than he had realized, awakened only by the ring of his phone which he had recharging on his bedside nightstand.

Just as he had thought, it was Jason, sounding way too chipper for that early in the morning, confirming he was on his way over to pick him up.

After dinner the night before, he had ushered Jason into the living room as his Dad escorted Timmy into his bedroom, only to reappear about ten minutes later to join them.

Though he didn't think Jason picked up on it, JD knew his Dad well enough to know when he was pumping someone for information, having been through it himself many times over the years and for some reason his Dad continued throughout the evening to get Jason to talk about himself, especially about his childhood and about where he grew up in North Carolina.

He had stopped questioning Jason about his Dad after Jason had stated he never knew his father.  Didn't even know who he was, or what he did, not even what his name was; mostly because his mother didn't like to talk about him for some reason.  Jason speculated, at his Dads behest, that something upsetting must have happened because anytime Jason tried to bring up his father, his mom would either change the subject or get upset.

The most awkward part of the evening though came when his Dad started asking Jason about girls and dating.  His Dad listened intently as a visibly uncomfortable Jason skirted some of the more lurid details of his past encounters until his Dad just brazenly asked him if he was still a virgin.

JD was not only embarrassed by his Dad's question but also felt embarrassed for Jason as he awkwardly fumbled to find a response, looking nervously over to JD, his eyes conveying his silent, unspoken plea for help: "He's made out with a few girls but he's never gotten to third base before Dad" JD answered for him, obvious relief showing instantly on Jason's face as he mouthed the words "Thank you" at him while his Dad had turned to listen to JD.

It further shocked JD when his Dad informed Jason that he should stay that way before going into the full family code thing and the spiel about waiting until after he was eighteen and living on his own, being able to make mature informed decisions. He even told him about all the young men he had known throughout the years that had ruined their lives with unwanted pregnancies, even looking over uncomfortably at JD when he said it, with a blushing and embarrassed Jason, head bowed, just taking it all in, before  leading into the most bizarre Segway which had his Dad inviting Jason and his mother over for an early dinner Sunday afternoon and then grilling him about his Mom.

By the end of their conversation JD found out his Mom was a professor of biology specializing in genetics and fertilization.  That she was roughly about his Dad's age and was a terrible cook, or as Jason concluded, spectacularly bad and that she was also a workaholic, stating that, if she wasn't working she was reading. Usually something eggheady as Jason had put it.

His Dad had even gotten Jason to tentatively agree to swear off dating girls until he was old enough and responsible enough.  Jason surprising JD by looking over at him with a grin and giving him a wink, responding he didn't think that would be a problem, which had elicited an awkward blush from JD.

They had talked so much that evening that they had lost track of time until Jason received a text message from his Mom asking where he was and if he was going to be home soon.

Jason had responded, getting up and stating it was later than he thought and he should be getting home, having borrowed his Mom's car and wanting to stay on her good side since she didn't often let him do so.

JD remembered how his Dad kind of stupefied him when he suggested that he and Jason should start working out together and recommended that maybe they could go to the base gym together the next morning.

Jason had beamed at the idea, at first stating he'd never been on a military base before and usually worked out at home, but then added he didn't know if his Mom would let him borrow the car or not, concluding he'd have to ask her first then get back to JD, but adding he definitely would be up for it.

As his Dad bid them both goodnight, JD walked Jason out the front door, stopping on the front porch, he couldn't help wonder if Jason would attempt to conclude the evening the same way as the previous night: "So..." Jason began softly: "Do you think I made a good impression on your Dad?" JD couldn't help but notice how close Jason stood to him, sure he could feel the heat radiating off his body.

With a slight chuckle JD mused: "I think you must have done something right.  My Dads never been that interested in one of my friends before."

JD didn't know why, but he wasn't too surprised when Jason shuffled even closer to him, his right hand coming up to rest on his JD's hip as one of his muscular thighs touched his own.

"Is that all I am to you?" He paused, a quizzical look on his face, perceptible at that close of a range even in the darkness, before continuing: "Am I just a friend?" he queried softly.

"Honestly..." JD sighed: "I don't know what I'm feelin' right now..'he paused again.  He could feel Jason's body begin to stiffen up slightly as his hand began to withdraw slowly from his hip and his head bowing slightly.  But just as his hand slid from his hip, JD surprised himself by reaching out with his left hand, taking Jason's retreating right hand into his, grasping it gently.

"You know everything that's going on in my life.  Most of it has my head swimmin' to the point I don't know whether I'm coming or goin' and last night.."he paused, his voice growing thick, almost trailing away, before concluding by grasping Jason's hand firmly and squeezing it: "I'm not saying no, for what it's worth."

Jason looked up, locking eyes with JD and pulling their hands up between them and clutching it next to his chest, drawing closer to him again as he smiled: "I can work with that."  Once again, Jason leaned forward planting his thick moist lips softly against JD's, gently kissing him, and without even thinking about it, JD found himself kissing him back, just like the night before.  Jason pulled back with the biggest grin on his face and wishing JD a good night before disappearing into his vehicle promising to call him the next morning to let him know if he could borrow his Moms car again.

Once again JD had stood there, as he watched him drive off, dumbfounded by his own actions but oddly feeling a warmth inside he had never felt before, along with a sense of nervous anticipation and a raging boner.

                                                               * * * * *

Having ordered the men to unload the M1165 MTVR of all the equipment and supplies, Carl McGregor surveyed the various items and checked them off against the list provided by GySgt. Brock Gryzinski, who stood beside him still impishly ogling peripherally the sweaty, scantily clad Marines hauling the provisions and equipment from the troop transport he arrived in.

Carl was particularly happy to see the communications equipment and portable relay system that once set up would allow them their own mobile WiFi network.  Brock had even thought to double down on the energy requirements by bringing both a generator and solar panel array they could set up on the roof of the Lodge which would supply the meager current necessary to operate everything.  The whole system had a rechargeable battery storage backup more than capable of supplying electricity enough to not only power the communications equipment but more than a few lights at night.

Brock leaned in and whispered in Carl's ear: "I also brought a coffee maker and bean grinder Sgt."

Carl sighed happily at the thought of a nice hot cup of freshly ground coffee: "I could kiss you right now" Carl sighed, jovially.

"Maybe later?" Brock retorted eyeing Carl up and down suggestively with a slight grin crossing his face adding a knowing wink for good measure.

"If you two are done eye fucking each other..." Danal Cornelius interjected as he walked up behind them: "One or both of you might want to head inside and supervise the set up of all these doohickies this pretty little thing brought with him." Brock looked more than a little surprised when Danal gave him a swift smack on the ass and openly fondled and squeezed his left butt cheek: "Don't look so shocked" Danal continued, his usual smile turning into his trademark mischievous grin: "A pretty girl like you better get use to having a busy dance card" He said lecherously, adding with a twinkling wink of his left light bluish gray eye: "Especially being here isolated with a bunch of young stallions chomping at the bit to prove their virility and eligibility."

"That's enough teasing old man" Carl interjected, barely being able to contain the chuckle he was suppressing at the sharp spike of hormonal activity emanating from Brock after Danal's lurid taunting.

Carl took pity on Brock, herding him away from Danal and into the Lodge where several of the men were busily unpacking the equipment he had brought.

Watching as Brock switched focus almost instantly into his role as gunnery sergeant and began issuing instructions on what goes where, Carl couldn't help but be impressed by the man's professionalism and knowledgeability, organizing the men present into specific tasks replete with instruction sheets on set up specifications and placements.

In short order, he had the men busily performing their task as Brock pulled Carl with him outside to see to the set up of the solar panels and the portable generator.

"These are all temporary solutions" Brock said to Carl, as he handed out specification sheets to the two men assigned to assist in the generator set up and then to the two delegated to mount the solar panels to the roof of the Lodge.

Barely stopping to make eye contact with Carl, while he whirled from one task to the next Brock halted momentarily: "Within the next two weeks this place will be crawling with contractors installing the main electricals and plumbing."

Carl sighed at the thought, knowing Max had Brock set in motion what would forever shatter the peaceful rustic charm of the compound into a bustling command center and training facility with all the modern conveniences they usual came here to get away from.  But change had become Max's mantra and this growth and expansion into the modern day was a necessity if they hoped to be successful in what they envisioned for the future.  Still, he couldn't help but wax rhapsodic at the loss of something that had for so long been their oasis of quiet serenity.

"Don't worry to much Carl" Danal interjected as he approached him, Brock veering off to check the last of the items being removed from the vehicle, as Danal interrupted his moment of quiet reflection and revelry, walking up beside him and placing his hand warmly on his shoulder knowing exactly the thoughts running through his mind: "The ceremonial grounds won't be touched..."He said softly, almost reverently: "Some traditions are worth preserving for future generations to enjoy."

"I know..." Carl mused distractedly, his thoughts still dwelling on past outings here with Max and the boys, watching on, seated next to him as the boys splashed and played in the crystal clear, cool waters of the pristine lake on hot summer days and at night running naked with Max in the woods until they were all hot, sweaty and out of breath, exhaustively crumbling to the ground on some mossy patch and making passionate love beneath the moon and stars had Carl wishing it could be like that forever.  Just Max, him and the boys, without a care in the world.

"I had a second epiphany as well yesterday Danal, one I've been toiling over ever since." He added thoughtfully.

Carl could feel Danal's warm hand gently squeeze his shoulder as he stood there beside him: "Maybe it's time you headed back to Max, I think that young Corporal and I can handle things for now." He said softly, once again proving how well, at least in part, he could read the change in Carl's mood and thoughts.

"You know..."Carl hesitantly started as the cool breeze blew across the water of the lake to caress his face and short sandy colored hair: "I have to wonder, if after everything is said and done, if Max could ever go back to like it was in those days.  Being together one on one..." It was more of a statement than a real question as he turned his head to meet Danal eye to eye before continuing: "I have to wonder, if he would even want too again, or more precisely if he ever did want that in the first place or have I just ever been a means to and end for him.  Just another tool in his arsenal?"

For once, Carl could read Danal's mood, see his thoughts.  Knowing his mentor didn't have any answers or insights to assuage him, offering instead: "He does love you Carl, but what Max does or doesn't do in the future can only be answered by him."

"That's just it..." Carl interjected briskly: "As evidenced by this week, you have shown me that Max doesn't tell me everything, he doesn't trust me the way he expects me to trust him.." There was a bit of fire in Carl's eyes as he addressed Danal firmly now: "And neither do you!"

Danal withdrew his hand from Carl's shoulder, his eyes narrowing as the full force of his focused awareness surveyed Carl speculatively.  Carl knew he was now treading thin ice but dismissing the potential warning signs of garnering Danals ire: "Despite what you or Max think..." He continued, his voice full of conviction bordering on defiance: "I am not some child to be placated and manipulated to achieve his or your goals!" Carl could see Danal tense up.  Knew he was on the edge of responding with the same anger and authority he had unleashed on Paul Lakatos: "You and Max go on and on about change, but when you speak of it, you only do so from the perspective of others needing too..." Carl stepped closer to his old friend, placing both hands on his very tense shoulders, matching the fire in his eyes with the courage of his own realizations: "What about the two of you, how am I, or others for that matter, supposed to believe the two of you want change when both, at east from my perspective, are just as guilty of doing things the same old way you always have?"

Carl could see the fire slip from Danal's eyes.  The tension in his shoulders was still there, but Carl knew he now had his attention: "All I'm saying Danal, is change works both ways..." He paused letting that sink in before concluding: "From this moment on, if you and Max expect me and others like myself, to continue on this path, then the way you do things needs to change as well."

Carl saw the twinge in Danal's eyes, a spark of awareness igniting synaptic cohesion as a myriad of thoughts coursed through Danal's brain simultaneously.

Carl nearly jumped reflexively as Danal unexpectedly threw his arms around him hugging him close and as his old friend lifted him up of the ground and began swirling him around like a rag doll, Carl couldn't help but wonder if maybe he had pushed the old man over the edge until he started laughing, lowering Carl to the ground and kissing him right on the mouth.

"Thank you!" Danal said exuberantly, the smile on his face spreading ear to ear as he once again clutched Carl close to him, patting his back repeatedly as a confused Carl queried: "For what?"

Danal's voice boomed with laughter: "For showing me that an old dog can still be taught new tricks, my beautiful boy!"

Carl didn't know how to respond, choosing instead to just hug his mentor back, surprised he was still standing after confronting him the way he had.

A few moments passed before Danal gently pushed him away at arms length: "I have a confession young pup..."Danal beamed, the joy that spread across his face only secondary to the enthusiasm of his lilting voice: "In case you haven't noticed, I've been grooming you for years!" Danal laughed again at the confused look that now crossed Carl's visage before he asked quizzically: "Grooming me for what exactly, to fetch your newspaper or your slippers old man?"

Danal grew more introspective as he cautiously drew Carl into the memories of his own youth: "Do you remember how we first met?" He asked, his voice low, calm and steady: "It wasn't by chance we met when we did, it was arranged by Marcus."

The quizzical look on Carl's face, confirmed to Danal what he had always suspected.  That Marcus had never divulged that little tidbit of information.

Danal carefully laid out in detail how Marcus had contacted him saying he thought he had a candidate that might meet most of the requirements to be trained as his apprentice and future replacement on the council.

Danal imparted how he had wrongfully assumed that Marcus was speaking of Max, but when he arrived to discuss the matter further with him, he was surprised to learn that Marcus had indeed meant Carl.

Carl stopped him, holding up his hand, positing: "The council would never consider me a viable or acceptable candidate, so why would Marcus consider that an option?"

Carl could see that Danal now struggled, growing more pensive before responding, relaying his unvarnished account of events as they transpired back then.

He told Carl that though Marcus loved him like one of his own, he had felt that Carl had become a distraction for Max and wanted Max totally focused on his future as Marcus's replacement as leader of the southern region and rightful heir to the compound.  He had also noted your keen intellect and your innate ability to access difficult but nuanced situations, usually with a clear and level headed approach.

The one exception to that, was when it concerned matters having anything to do with Max.  He did see Carl, after years of training, assuming an advisory role with Max, but thought if he could separate the two of you before you came into your Heritage, that it would eventually be easier to steer Max into the role he had mapped out for him.

Carl interjected at that point his own recollection from that painful time: "So it was Marcus who sent me away with you, two months before Max's ceremony?"

"Yes" Danal said, bowing his head slightly before resuming his narrative.

Right from the start I had realized what a mistake it was to separate you from Max.  You were inconsolable and sulked the entire time you were away from him." Danal elucidated: "Teaching or instructing you was pointless.  You couldn't concentrate on anything and quite frankly the constant moping and whining was next to insufferable."

Danal smiled at Carl, his hands once again on Carl's shoulders holding them firmly: "Here's what you don't know from that time..." Danal paused, his eyes locking onto Carl's: "I wasn't the one that ended your separation, it was Marcus."

By the questioning look on Carl's face Danal knew, that even to this day, Carl didn't know the full truth about his and Max's reunion: "Your path was set by Marcus.  I was stuck with you no matter how badly I might have wanted it otherwise for you."

Danal held Carl's shoulders, his hands almost caressing them: "It was Marcus who changed his mind and do you know why he finally did so?"

Carl just shook his head, still caught up in the distant painful memory from his youth, the feeling of extreme loss he felt during those four months, until that glorious day Danal had taken him back and he and Max were reunited.

"You silly boy..." Danal almost giggled at the recollection before concluding: "As bad as it was for me to keep you from Max during that time, by all of Marcus's accounts, it was twice as bad for him trying to keep Max from you.  Especially after his and subsequently your Heritage ceremonies."

Carl stared at Danal.  He knew Max had told him when they reunited that he missed him too, but the picture Danal now painted was completely new to him.  Danal pulled him back close to him.

"After your ceremony..."Danal was practically giggling in his ear: "Max was so determined to see you, Marcus had to have him physically restrained.  It took six of Marcus's men to hold him down long enough to slip the chains on him and even then they had to keep a constant vigil on him because he kept snapping the chains..." Danal pulled back again, looking a now somber Carl in the eyes once again: "Marcus had to take to sedating Max and even then, he still constantly asked for you.  After two months of dong that and not being able to get Max to focus on anything else, he finally relented and contacted me to bring you home."

Though Carl had never heard this aspect of his and Max's reunion, he had no reason to doubt it.  Danal's respiration and heartbeat were steady and Carl could not detect any hint of deception in either his words or his mannerisms, that and the fact, this all sounded so much like a young Max to downplay anything that might make him appear to be weak.  Always feeling like he had to be the best at everything to garner his fathers approval, even the fact he kept most of this from him, all to protect Carl and his own young masculine pride.

Danal spoke again, pulling Carl back to the present: "I've never told you because I knew Max would never have wished you to learn how he suffered without you.  Not to keep you in the dark, but to protect you from the truth of your separation and his own father's hand in it.  At the time, he knew how much that knowledge would have hurt you."

Danal lifted Carl's chin, his eyes twinkling like two stars in the nighttime sky: "All those times I told you I knew Max loved you and would always love you, wasn't just placation, it came from my personal experiences and recollections of those times.  But also, it comes from the way I see him look at you now, like he always has."

Danal stepped back from Carl and cleared his throat: "As you have helped me see the truth, I ask you to do the same..."Danal's expression became more stern, his voice deeper: "I suggest to you Carl McGregor, that you yourself, where Max is concerned, can not see the forest for all the trees." He paused once again, his countenance becoming more reflective: "As you have given me much to think about, I suggest you do the same," Danal fished into his pocket and pulled out his car keys tossing them at Carl: "Go home "apprentice" and speak to your man.  Tell him what you have told me, lay all your cards on the table and insist he do the same."

Carl looked at the keys in his hand and then up to his mentor and friend: "If by that you mean don't hold back, believe me I don't intend too."

Danal smiled again, placing his arm around Carl's neck as he steered him back toward the Lodge: "Might I suggest a more tempered approach with Max than the one you used with me?  I've put a lot of effort into you and would like to keep you around long enough to succeed me on the council one day so I can finally get some peace and quiet away from you noisy kids."

As Danal and Carl approached the Lodge so Carl could give the unit his final instructions before his departure, he was once again joined by GySgt. Brock Gryzinski who Carl noticed had a letter and a small oblong box in his hands which he presented to Carl, stating that Max had instructed him to present these to him with the stipulation that he in turn give them to someone named Atticus Walker, who was to open and read the letter in private with Brock present.

Danal laughed out loud and started merrily clapping his hands as Carl just stood there glaring back at Brock, knowing full well what was in the box.  He strongly suspected what the contents of the letter were as well.  Carl knew this was just another one of Max's pet projects and that he was once again being expected to play his part in it.  The difference this time however, was that he now did so willingly, with full knowledge of what Max expected the outcome to be and Carl couldn't agree more.

Carl had already noted the difference in Brock and he was certain it had to do with his "meeting" with Max the other day.  He couldn't exactly pinpoint what the difference was but he could definitely tell, by the way Brock comported himself, that his level of self confidence had been boosted and that he seemed less rigid and closed off.  Carl also couldn't help but notice the absence of his wedding ring which Carl was equally certain was down to Max's handiwork and the perceptible way Brock now presented himself, like a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders and was just learning to test the boundaries that had now opened to him.  All these things were like an open book to Carl.

Carl suddenly stiffened and ceased his line of thought, bowed his head, shaking it back and forth and letting out a loud audible groan, Danal stopped chuckling, giving Carl a quizzical sideways glance right before Carl turned to face him declaring: "OH My GOD... I am turning into you, you old bastard!"

Danal once again burst into laughter as Carl chuckled along beside him while a very confused Brock Gryzinski looked on, absentmindedly scratching his head wondering what the hell was so amusing.

It was right at that moment, as if by some prearranged cue, Atticus Walker sauntered up to them.  Both Danal and Carl couldn't help but notice the wide eyed intense appraising stare Brock gave Atticus as he approached them.  They both giggled like school girls noting how his gaze instantly zeroed in and focused on the immense straining bulge obscenely flopping side to side beneath Atticus's olive drab silkies; unconsciously licking his lips as his eyes continued to visually assault his massive, shirtless, sweaty muscular and hairy body.

As Atticus came to a halt a few feet in front of them, in the traditional arms behind back, legs shoulder width apart parade rest, both Danal and Carl realized, even without their heightened senses, they could detect the strong hormonal emissions emanating from Brock.  The air around them was practically awash with the strong wafting scent of honey and freshly dug earth.  They also discerned, that he wasn't the only one broadcasting hormonally at the moment, as evidenced by the furtive sideways glances Atticus kept silently throwing his way.

"Sergeant..." Atticus boomed, in his deep, gravely and guttural voice: "I'd like to report that all equipment and supplies have been removed and secured."

Carl was certain he could hear an almost imperceptible moan coming form Brock, an obvious reaction to the bassy southern drawl that oozed like sweet molasses from Atticus's thick wide lips.

"At ease Corporal..."Carl began, still trying to stifle the case of giggles both he and Danal had succumbed too: "Since you're done securing everything I would like to introduce to you the latest member of your team."

The quizzical look that overtook Atticus's expressions were in themselves almost comical and Carl still fought to control himself, fairing only slightly better than Danal who continued to snicker under his breath.

Carl did note how Atticus kept looking over at Brock like he had misread him.  His face and mannerisms denoting his confusion.

What was evident was the fact everyone of his senses was telling him that Brock wasn't like him and his other men and he kept looking at Carl for some sort of explanation or clarification.  For Atticus, Carl knew part of his confusion was the fact that Brock, as a Gunny, was clearly his superior rank wise and Max had made it abundantly clear to him multiple times that these men were his unit.

Carl decided to put him at ease, at least about part of his dilemma: "You heard correctly Corporal." Carl paused momentarily to give a still snickering Danal a stern consternated look before continuing: "Cpl. Atticus Walker, I'd like to formally introduce the latest member to your team, Gysgt. Brock Gryzinski."

With the confusion still fully displayed across his face Atticus stepped forward, hand extended to Brock who cautiously reached up and allowed Atticus massive hand to clasp his.

Brock couldn't help but notice how Atticus's hand dwarfed his own.  Nor could he not help but appreciate the strength of his very firm grip.

Carl turned to face Brock, instead of addressing Atticus directly: "Gryzinski, Max wanted me to make this especially clear to you.  That while you're here, your Marine Corps rank means nothing.  Atticus here..." Carl's hand swept upward indicating the large Kentuckian Corporal: "Atticus is in charge of this unit.  This is HIS team and you are under his command and you're to follow his orders and instructions, is that perfectly clear?"

Carl was pleased to see Brock heave too and assume the standard full attention posture; taking a two step pivot to face Atticus and announcing loudly and clearly: "Gunnery Sergeant Brock Gryzinski reporting for duty Team leader."

Carl was pleased to see a large portion of Atticus querying expressions fade from his face as his military training kicked in: "Noted and welcome to the Devil Dawgs Southern District Gryzinski!" Atticus said proudly before adding: "At ease and stand down."

Carl motioned for Atticus to walk with him as Danal took the opportunity to pick Brock's brain about all the special equipment he had brought.

When they had passed enough distance to be out of earshot of Brock, Atticus began asking the questions Carl knew were first and foremost on his mind: "I don't mean to question Max's orders, but is this really on the up and up?" Atticus looked over his shoulder at Brock as he busily talked to Danal: "He's not one of us Sergeant." Atticus concluded, his voice as much a whisper as the large man could manage.

Carl smiled at his consternation, knowing Max fully intended this to be a test of Atticus's leadership abilities.

"Would it help you to know that Brock is fully aware of who you and your men are?" Carl said, addressing him in a matter of fact tone.

Carl turned to face the still confused young Marine: "As I just did with Gryzinski let me now make this perfectly clear to you.  You are to treat him no differently than you do any of your other men.  Expect no more or no less from him as you do from any of them.  He trains as they do and is subject to the same rules and conditions, is that understood Corporal?"

Carl was pleased to see Atticus's training and professionalism kick in as the consternation faded from his expression and dutiful diligence and purpose took its place as he responded: "Crystal clear Sergeant."

Carl chose that moment to present the letter with Atticus's name addressed on it and the small oblong box to him: "This letter is from Max, I do not know its contents nor do I want to know.  They are for your eyes only." He began handing the letter and box over to Atticus: "Max's only other instructions was for you to take Brock to the cabin, where you will then open the letter and read its contents.  He was absolutely insistent that Brock be there with you when you do so." Carl noted Atticus looking at the box questioningly: "No Atticus, I do not know what's in the box, but I'm certain you're not supposed to open it before you read the letter."

Atticus looked him square in the eye before asking: "No time like the present Sergeant?"

Carl smiled back at him: "Your call team leader.  Dismissed."

Carl's grin broadened as he watched the young Marine veer off, jogging double time, halting only marginally as he approached Brock and Danal and ordering Brock to follow him.

Carl joined Danal who was still grinning wickedly, both knowing that the two young men were probably about to have a very interesting conversation.

"I think that's probably the last I'll see of those two for the rest of the day" Danal said half seriously half in jest.

Carl chuckled: "Knowing both Atticus and Brock, I think you better count on being in charge for the rest of the weekend.

Carl watched as a huge mischievous and lecherous grin spread across Danal Cornelious face: "Did you say I was in charge?" he cooed, turning to eye the half naked young Marines meandering about busying themselves in absence of further instruction.

Carl laughed: "You know perfectly well Max said hands off old man, instruct yes, molest no."

Danal batted his eyes in feigned innocence: "Looking is not touching pup, now hit the road and get your ass back home."

Carl just laughed, and jogged over to Danal's vehicle and started it up.  He pulled out and turned around in the parking lot and headed in the direction of the road leading out of the compound, stopping only momentarily to watch in the distance as Danal shouted orders to the young half naked Marines, who all rapidly rushed to get into line formation.

As Carl watched in amusement, Danal barked more orders.  Carl couldn't help but shake his head and laugh as each one of the men, in almost perfect unison, dropped their silkies and stood at full parade rest now completely naked.

Carl just shook his head as he stomped on the gas pedal and headed straight for the road leading the way out of the compound.  He couldn't help but laugh as he checked in his rear view mirror as Danal had them all doing jumping jacks while he sat in a chair sipping a nice cold beer, smoking a cigar and enjoying the show.
                                                

Chapter Seventeen:

The workout that morning at the base gym was more than productive, at least from JD's perspective, not only did he get to spend some quality time getting to know Jason better, but Jason actually taught him a few new workout routines he hadn't done before, ones that were now making muscles slightly ache in places he had never felt before, but that was a good thing as far as he was concerned, it just meant he was working muscles that weren't getting the attention they needed.

Jason was also enjoying having a workout partner that he liked hanging out with; the base gym had a better layout than he had at home or what was available in the school weight room.

But the biggest bonus of all for JD was getting a closer look at Jason's incredible physique, which was nothing short of spectacular, his washboard eight pack ab's, his slab like pectorals, his melon sized delts and the flaring spread of his lats and traps, his legs were phenomenal in size, JD was certain his thighs were bigger around than JD's waist, and his calves were so large they almost rivaled the size of his bulging biceps, and then there was his ass, his tight shorts prevented him from checking them out in detail, but there was absolutely no missing the fact how huge and protruding his glutes were, straining the seams of his thin cotton, tight fitting red gym shorts and of course, not least of JD's visual enjoyments was the huge bulge of his crotch, JD could still remember in detail from just two days ago, seeing that monster cock of his fully erect and plowing into coach Tuck Pullman.

What was even more apparent than the bulge between Jason's legs was the fact he was enjoying showing it and his entire body off to JD, choosing almost from the start to go shirtless, the red shorts and his sneakers being the only thing covering his rippling sweaty, lightly hairy body.

There was also the fact, that at every opportunity he could think of, Jason was touching JD; whether it was his hands on his forearm and shoulder, caressingly guiding JD in how to properly supinate in his seated arm curls or the most distracting one of all, dangling his bloated, bulging crotch over his face as he spotted him while he did his bench presses.

All of which continued to surprise JD, who couldn't help but notice the longer they worked out and the sweatier they got, the more he enjoyed and even seemed to crave the attention, especially noting how that desire increased proportionally the closer Jason's proximity and though this seemingly new found interest in the male physique was still somewhat confusing to JD, he was increasingly becoming more and more comfortable with it and as he also notably observed, apparently so was Jason.

That comfortability changed however as they finished up their workout and headed to the locker room to undress and shower; sure they had already seen each other not only naked but aroused as well, but they also weren't in a public setting where other guys were coming and going intermittently.

Instead of hitting the more public showers, JD led Jason to the back section where there were a couple of somewhat private stalls, he was also thankful when Jason took the stall next to his instead of joining him, knowing full well if he had, he wouldn't have been able to conceal his obvious arousal and suspected Jason felt the same.

Despite his increasing physical attraction, JD still wasn't amenable to the idea of just jumping into a fumbling first time sexual encounter where he was certain Jason would be assuming he would take the passive role. JD had never even sucked a cock before, in fact had never even thought about doing so and he definitely had never considered getting fucked by a guy, let alone fucked by someone as endowed as Jason was and then there was the flip side to that, JD loved getting blowjobs, would Jason be okay with doing that, how about fucking, the only thing JD loved doing with Timmy more than getting a blowjob was fucking him; somehow, JD couldn't picture Jason being cool with offering up his own booty for a nice hard pounding.

Clearly, JD thought to himself, there was a lot he and Jason had to discuss before any attempt at intimacy occurred and the way things were progressing, JD felt that maybe that conversation should happen sooner than later.

After a quick shower and gathering their stuff, JD suggested they stop and pick up some lunch on the way back to his; as they were leaving they ran into Billy and Gavin, who were just getting there for their workout.

Knowing from experience his brothers workout routine usually ran him about two hours, JD thought that would give him more than enough time to have a heart to heart with Jason uninterrupted, also hoping to be there when Carl got home, maybe getting the chance to kill two birds with one stone thinking maybe Carl could shed some light on his fathers peculiar behavior were Jason was concerned, plus he really hoped Carl could help him sort out what it was he was experiencing whenever he's around Jason.

JD wasn't afraid he might be gay, he knew he was attracted to girls, and what he had with Timmy wasn't based on sexual attraction, at the time when that all kicked off, he was in a pretty low place and Timmy made him feel better about himself, the sex was just an unexpected bonus.

No, JD knew that somehow this was different and he also knew, that if anyone could help him sort this out, it would be his Uncle Carl.

They had no sooner gotten into Jason's vehicle and were trying to decide what they wanted to pick up for lunch, when Jason got a text from his Mom.

JD knew something was up when he heard Jason sigh while shaking his head back and forth: "Wuzzup dude?" JD queried, hoping something wasn't going to throw a wrench in his plans to have the discussion he wanted with Jason.

"It's my Mom..." Jason groaned, still staring into the screen of his phone, before cocking his head sideways and hesitantly stated: "She wants to do lunch".

JD just shrugged his shoulders, realizing this could hamper his planned talk with Jason, while simultaneously not wanting to put pressure on Jason to choose between him and his Mom: "No biggie dude, you and I can do lunch anytime..." Before he could finish what he was going to say, Jason cut him off abruptly: "JD she knows I'm with you, this is just her round about way of getting to meet you, but you know what..." Jason smiled devilishly at him before continuing: "One sneaky plan deserves another!"

JD just looked at him quizzically as he rapidly typed his response to his Mom, chuckling to himself as he did so.

"What are you up too?" JD asked, feeling somewhat like a pawn being played in a game he didn't know the rules too.

Jason smiled impishly, started the vehicle and pulled out, musing: "She knows I'm with you, knows I've been spending a lot of time with you and she's curious about you but doesn't want to appear to be, so she pulls this figurin' I'd bring you along."

"I got that part dude.." JD answered, adding: "How is doing what she's planned, beating her at her own game?

Jason just chuckled giving JD the side eye and a knowing wink: "Because I didn't get a chance to talk to her about going to yours this Sunday for dinner, now I can do so with you there making it harder for her to refuse."

JD just shook his head and rolled his eyes: "Do you and your Mom play these kinda games often dude?"

Jason just giggled, responding: "Don't be mad at me, it's just the way our relationship works" He paused for a second adding: "If I had asked her last night she would have just said no, end of discussion, after she meets you and gets to know you a little bit, she might be more open to agreeing to the dinner Sunday." Jason reached over with his right hand and placed it over JD's left and gave it a gentle squeeze: "I really want our families to get along, especially where your Dad's concerned..."He paused again, giving JD a quick and meaningful smile: "If 'n I'mma gonna be courtin' ya Mr. Donnelly, I'mma do muh dangest to stay on your pa's good side."

JD couldn't help but laugh audibly at Jason's terrible attempt at a deep southern accent and more so at the imagery it invoked in his imagination of him showing up to his home one night all dressed up in a suit, hair slicked back, carrying flowers, before whisking JD away to some summer chaperoned cotillion and sipping sweet tea on a veranda in between waltzes.

                                                                * * * * *

Having just left through the side entrance of the science lab where she had just ran through the latest project results of some of her students, Elizabeth Dunne anxiously awaited for her son Jason to show up for the lunchtime rendezvous she had just arranged with him about 20 minutes prior.

Her anxiety centered around her son's growing interest in a boy from his baseball and football teams, of which, in the last couple of weeks she had heard endlessly about.

It was clear to Elizabeth that her son's recent preoccupation with the boy was far more than he was letting on but still self evident in the glowing way his name often frequented their evening meal conversations.

Up until recently, her biggest fears had been which of the many vacuous girls he had shown a casual interest in, might she come home one evening or afternoon to find hanging all over him and being introduced as his "girlfriend" or worse yet, future mother of her grandchild.

She had done all she could to prepare her son during his early adolescence about the perils of unwanted teen pregnancy, and though she was fairly certain her son wasn't that stupid, she could never quite dispel the insecurities she fostered concerning young male libidos and the hormonal induced stupidity that afflicted most boys his age.

But this was a new wrinkle, one she had learned could be a possibility from her ex, but until now had seen no evidence of, so much so she had passed it off as improbable, maybe her ex had been wrong, maybe Jason was different somehow, that she had changed that potential outcome in some way just by the nature in which he was conceived.

But here it was, as unlikely as it had seemed mere months ago now on it's way in the form of a teenage boy she knew little about; yes she had gleaned certain particulars from her son's often enthusiastic ramblings, but she had to admit to herself, her current anxiety was in part due to a natural curiosity about a boy that could illicit such a keen interest from her son, especially so quickly and to the point of near infatuation.

As she stood there waiting for her son to show up, Elizabeth found herself reflecting upon the past, and as usual, on her son's father.

She still remembered fondly the day they had met, it was at a guest lecture on applied genetics at North Carolina University, the college she was attending while working on her PhD in biology, specializing in genetics, she had been looking forward to the guest lecturers visit and hoping to pick his brain afterward when she accidentally bumped into the most handsome man she thought she had ever seen.

Back then, her entire life had been completely focused on her academic life, she seldom had the occasion to socialize, let alone give thought to dating or romance.

She chuckled to herself, at the comedic spectacle she must have presented, books and papers flying everywhere, scattering all around them on the floor as she scampered about trying to gather it all and hearing the deepest sexiest southern twinged voice of the man she had collided with profusely apologizing repeatedly for not paying enough attention to where he was going, even though Elizabeth was fairly certain it had been her fault; she was running late, as usual, and was dashing toward the lecture hall at a breakneck pace when she collided with him.

It was after those first few awkward moments crawling on the floor retrieving her books and papers, with his assistance, that when she went to stand up he had offered his hand to assist her and their eyes met for the first time.

She couldn't get over how ruggedly handsome he was, his short brown hair , which was mostly concealed by the desert camo cover he wore and the clean shaven face, his squared jawline and button nose and his rather sensuous full lips and of course his piercing blue eyes, eyes that smiled back at her and held an intensity she had seldom seen in others.

He exuded masculinity, but not in the fake bravado she had noted in so many men her age, but in a steady, unspoken confidence and quiet, unassuming austerity.

She knew immediately this wasn't a man with a bloviated and over preening sense of self worth and his beautiful blue eyes sparkled with what she was sure would be a keen intellect, tinged with a healthy dose of playful humor, she also couldn't help but admire the physical fitness of the man, whose camo fatigues clung snugly to his massive muscular frame.

Yes, she thought to herself, it had been an awkward start, but one she was thankful for.

It was after that fateful accidental encounter that they connected, made easier while making their apologies to each other that she learned that he was there for the same reason she was, that though not a student at the college he did have an interest in the topic of genetics and since the lecture was open to the public, he had decided to attend.

Elizabeth recalled fondly how afterward they continued to talk for hours at the local coffee shop and how he had insisted on escorting her back to her dorm, where they of course exchanged phone numbers with hopeful assurances made of getting together again to talk further.

She had no idea that encounter would be the start of a relationship that would last for over two years ending only in his much to early tragic death in Iraq, during a simple routine patrol and a car bomber who not only took out the love of her life, but everyone on his team except for two lone survivors.

She had of course been devastated, they had planned on getting married upon his return from his tour of duty, and out of all that tragedy and sense of loss, she had thrown herself into her work, for over two years afterward she worked toward one goal, securing her future financially and the preservation of the sperm samples she had taken from the discarded condoms during their last night together.

She wasn't a stupid or naive woman, she knew the danger he was going into despite his assurances otherwise, she was also intelligent enough to know not only to hope for the best but prepare for the worse.

Elizabeth knew in her gut she would never find a man like Bannor Griffen again and if indeed the worse did happen, when the time was right she would still be able to have the family both he and her had frequently discussed before he left; she had purposefully kept the donor of her future son a guarded secret, knowing there were those in Bannor's life that would have insisted on having a say in her son's life and upbringing, yes she knew who Bannor was, she knew what it would have meant to them had they known she had preserved his legacy, but she didn't want her son to follow in his fathers footsteps and she knew if she had involved them in any way, they would have filled her sons head with grand notions of duty and honor, regaled him his entire young impressionable life, with heroic tales about his deceased father until he too wanted to follow in his footsteps in some sort of paternal homage.

No, Elizabeth had told her self repeatedly, she wanted a different destiny for her son, she had already sacrificed the hopeful future she had with her beloved, she wasn't going to allow her son to be seduced into pursuing the same course his father had been sent on by his father, and his father before him, going back generation after generation for further than she cared even to think of.

Jason was her son and she wanted him in her world, not his father's, she knew full well she would be breaking the link in a chain of succession going back centuries, but from her perspective, all that mattered now was her son, not the patriarchal monolith her former lover had served and ultimately given his life for.

She took solace in the fact that at least she was preserving his lineage if not his Heritage, a Heritage she was determined their son would never share or know of.

                                                           * * * * *

Having just moments ago been given leave by Sgt. Carl McGregor to sequester his newest team member in the private cabin here at the Devil Dawg Compound, Cpl. Atticus Walker now stood next to the table in the cabin, upon which he had just sat the oblong box given to him with instructions not to open until he read the letter presented to him, in the presence of his newest team mate.

GySgt. Brock Gryzinski now stood a few feet away from him, apparently just as anxious and apprehensive as he was to know the content of said letter.

Atticus poised himself as he fumbled with the sealed envelope, facing Brock, but not looking at him as he removed the one page note and unfolded it carefully.

The burly young Corporal hazarded a glance at Brock, noting his informal parade stance, and sensing the trepidation that emanated from him as Atticus lowered his eyes to survey the contents of the letter from Max Donnelly.

"Atticus," it began informally: "Standing before you is Brock Gryzinski, for the last two years I have taken it upon myself to work with and train this young Marine in the hopes of freeing him from a life of fear and self loathing."

"Much like yourself and the rest of your team, he has been without focus, without a true sense of belonging and purpose and like you, much of the damage done to him was inflicted upon him by his upbringing, by those charged to guide him and give him the tools he needed to have a full, rich rewarding life, failed and marginalized by the dereliction of those responsible for his existence.

"Unlike you and the others, he had no sense of Heritage to call upon to help him weather the looming solitude, instead he did what so many others of his kind have done, he internalized it and allowed it to metastasize until it had threatened to consume him."

"You and I have discussed both mine and Danal's belief that the fate of both our peoples are inexorably linked and until that is rectified, neither they or us will ever truly find peace, a peace and purpose that can only come from our reunification, it was with that thought in mind that I have designated Brock as your newest team member and rest assured, Brock won't be the last of his kind, there is one other I think will make an admirable addition to your team."

"As for yourself, I have roughly spent the same amount of time working with you, offering you the same guidance and hopefully have instilled in you a renewed sense of purpose, you know it is my deepest desire and belief that you and the others will soon have your path forward within the Heritage, but it is also my intent to include men like Brock, who in part share a lineage with us predating the Heritage."

"I can't begin to tell you in mere words how proud I am of what you and the others have accomplished so far, in truth Atticus, you have become like a son to me and it is with that thought in mind and after recent revelations in my own life, I have come to understand that the path forward doesn't need to be a lonely one."

"You are twenty one now Atticus, you have fought long and hard to get where you are now, consider how much more you can and will achieve with someone by your side, someone who shares your goals and has a stake in the outcome, one who can help shoulder the burdens that life throws at you; you are also a leader, perhaps it's time for you to lead by example.

"I will not order you to do this, but I can present you with a choice, one that I consider to be mutually beneficial, the decision is yours to make."

"Within the box presented to you, you will recognize a once time honored tradition between men such as ourselves and those like Brock, all I ask is you consider it, I am certain you will make the right choice, son."

Atticus noted it was just simply signed "Max."

To say that Atticus had a surging sense of pride reading Max's words, would be an understatement, but nothing touched or moved him more than the last word in Max's letter, tears were not in the lexicon of displayable emotions for a man like Atticus, years of training and self control, even the harshness of his life thus far, had bereft him of such self indulgent demonstrations.

But Max's words and intent did move him and if he had learned anything while under his tutelage it was how insightful Max Donnelly could be, but as he stood there staring blankly at the letter deep in his own thoughts and reflections, he came to a realization; if he went down the path suggested by Max, he would not be doing so alone.

Atticus looked up at Brock, who was still standing there in a full parade rest stance, staring quizzically at Atticus, patiently awaiting his next move.

Atticus walked over to Brock and handed him the letter: "If we do what Max suggest in this letter, then you have as much right to read this as I do." Atticus paused for a second as Brock began scanning it: "Never let it be said I kept secrets from you."

His words held little meaning to Brock, that is until he finished reading it.

Brock looked up at Atticus, still a bit dubious as to the meaning of Max's words: "Is he suggesting what I think he's suggesting?" Brock asked timidly, not sure exactly how he would feel about either a yes or no answer, instead just differing to Atticus's response and hopeful he could bring a clarity Brock himself had yet to discern.

Atticus just cocked his head sideways and gave Brock a rather disarming half grin: "I can't remember the name it was called by, but it predates the Codex and was practiced before the split between our people."

Brock handed the letter back to Atticus: "Though I know about the Codex, I've never read it, so I'll just have to take your word for it team leader."

Atticus was sure he detected a hint of a sardonic scowl come across the handsome face of the Gunny, but also realizing it's source; of course he had never read the Codex, only those of the Heritage were privy to it's contents, but something else occurred to Atticus at that moment, the fact that Brock even knew of the Codex, combined with his knowledge of the Heritage and the contents of Max's letter all suggested one thing to him: "Come with me Gunny." he said with sudden enthusiasm, snatching up the box from the table and giving Brock a gentle nudge in the direction of the cabin door: "We need to see a man about a book!"

                                                                   * * * * *

Lunch had gone pretty much how Jason Dunne had expected it to go, most notably his Mom donning her clinically detached analytical persona instead of just relaxing and trying to enjoy having lunch with her son and his guest.

He knew she would grill JD about himself, wanting to know the usual things that most sixteen year olds seldom gave thought too, but JD comported himself admirably, trying his best to remain jovial throughout, answering her queries lightheartedly but succinctly enough as not to appear to be flippant.

Jason couldn't help but think of it as a little payback for the grilling he had gotten from JD's Dad, but comfortable enough to know he could handle himself and wouldn't take exception to the more personal questions, and though his Mom's and JD's Dad's interrogations were similar on face value, it was the intent behind it that differed, where as Max Donnelly's questions were geared toward learning more about him and his families history, his Mom's seemed more like a fact finding expedition; he got the distinct impression she was looking for chinks in JD's armor whereas Max's had felt more like a keen interest in getting to know the type of guy who was showing interest in his son.

It was with that distinction in mind that Jason took it upon himself, after his Mom had exhaustively covered the gambit of JD's academic interest and had turned her spotlight on his social/sexual relations, that he made the conscious choice to throw his Mom a proverbial curve ball, one he hoped would distract her from her pursuit, knowing that JD would be completely transparent if the topic of girls came up and possibly divulge his approaching paternity; without a moments hesitancy, Jason reached his left hand over beside him and clasped JD's right hand in his, knowing full well the impact and statement the simple gesture would make, especially in light of her current queries.

The result of which was immediate; at the initial touch of his hand to JD's he felt a slight tugging twinge and Jason feared JD would jerk his hand away, but Jason just gave his hand a firm squeeze indicating he was fully cognoscente of his actions, he was truly relieved when JD just relaxed and acquiesced to the sudden public display of affection.

It was at that moment that Jason chose to spring his little trap: "Yesterday, while I was having dinner over at JD's house, Mr. Donnelly invited you and I over for dinner this Sunday." Jason let that sink in for the moment, knowing his Mom was still a bit discombobulated over the sight of her son now holding the hand of another boy right in front of her, but before she had time to formulate a plausible excuse as to why she couldn't attend, Jason quickly interjected: "I told him that shouldn't be a problem since you would probably be just as interested in meeting the family of the boy I'm dating."

The look on her face was priceless, one of those moments Jason would recall for years to come.

For far to long his mother had controlled or at least attempted to control the people Jason befriended, never wanting Jason to form to close of ties to anyone she hadn't fully approved of or vetted, usually finding fault with each in their turn, but in this instance Jason was resolute; he wanted her to understand that this time, things were different, this was his coming of age, his independence day.

He wanted her to fully comprehend that he would no longer allow her to dictate who his friends were, but most of all that she would have no say in who he was romantically attached to or interested in.

Jason also knew that for the first time he now had her cornered, he knew she wouldn't want to come across as somehow disapproving of her son dating another boy, that would be unthinkable in the world of liberal academia.

No, she would wait until later, when they were home alone to make up some cack-handed excuse and try to weasel her way out of it, but Jason decided that he would cross that bridge when he got there, that if it was a fight she wanted, then she would get more than she bargained for; he was almost eighteen now and he was no longer going to tolerate her dismissive attitude toward the things that mattered to him, he loved his Mom, but she needed to know that the umbilical cord had been severed long ago and he was his own man now, not some little boy dependent upon her for everything, and it was for that reason he was now rather enjoying the somewhat visible discomfort she displayed knowing she had been out maneuvered by her only son and that that was the reason she now tried to appear calm, composed and collected, even trying to feign a genuine smile for his and JD's sake a smile as fake as her tacit support of dining with the Donnelly's on Sunday and it came as no surprise that she now chose this moment to end their lunch time rendezvous, standing and offering her hand to JD to shake, before leaning over and kissing him on his forehead, bidding them good afternoon and letting Jason know, she would call him later to let him know what time to pick her up.

JD and Jason sat there in silence as they watched her cross the small distance from the commons to the side door she used to reenter her lab.

JD turned to Jason, a big goofy grin on his face: "Well golly gee wiz, I think your Mom and I have forged quite the bond there don't you?"

"Absolutely!" Jason chuckled: "Without a doubt, meeting you today will go down in history as one of the greatest moments of her life!"

                                                             * * * * *

"You do realize my boy, we are in uncharted territory right now don't you?" Danal Cornelius murmured to an obviously excited and hopeful Cpl. Atticus Walker.

"What I understand sir..." Atticus began, standing tall, chest out, arms behind his back, head held high: "Is that both you and Max tell me that reunification of our two peoples is the ultimate goal, that and those displaced like my men and myself by those abusing the Codex, be brought back into the fold."

Danal eyed the young Corporal, knowing that what he was stating was an over simplification, but at its core was the truth behind their beliefs: "While that is true, you know that the Codex was first written by the Progenitor of our people not his." Danal nodded his head toward Brock, who the whole while stood back, as more of an observer than a participant in his and Atticus's discussion, still unsure where Atticus was going with all this and what it had to do with Max's letter and him specifically.

Atticus stood his ground, and spoke with an air of certainty; he had never approached the issues he had with those he felt misrepresented the true spirit of the Codex; never thought that it somehow made him a victim, instead he wanted what he had always wanted for both himself and those men like him, such as his team mates: "Green father I offer as proof of Gryzinski's right to view the Codex and be subject to it's traditions, this letter written by Max Donnelly himself."

Atticus handed Danal Max's letter and as Danal scanned and contemplated the document, Atticus plead his case: "In the content of this letter, Max states his desire for reunification and then proceeds to add GySgt. Gryzinski to my team and states he has another candidate like him that he also considers a viable selection for my team as well..." Danal returned his focus to Atticus, his own thoughts still fresh with his recent illuminating discussion with Carl about change and it being a two way street which gave him pause to interject what he now considered to be the core of Atticus's supposition: "Is it your contention, that the fact Max has assigned one such as Brock to your team and speaks of another like him doing so as well, as proof that Brock is now also subject to the rules of the Codex therefore entitled to access and to study it like the rest of you?"

Atticus smiled and gave Danal a wink: "That and the fact that Max suggests in the letter I undertake one of the more obscure rituals of the Codex with Gryzinski..." Atticus paused briefly adding hesitantly: "I can't remember the exact name of the ritual but it had to do with binding two of the Heritage together."

Having said that, Atticus handed the oblong box to Danal: "If what I recall is true.." Atticus stated, his head turning momentarily to Brock then cautiously back to Danal: "Then I'm pretty sure that what's in that box is part of that ritual and requires your services as a Green Father to move forward."

Danal flipped the lid of the box, a smile slowly creeping across his face as recognition of its contents became clear.

He knew Max could be crafty but this bordered on genius, if he did this, it could potentially send ripples throughout the Heritage and best of all, it was rooted in their earliest practices, even predating what they now knew as the Codex, a carry over from the time before the Heritage even, though practiced for many years after that eventful moment.

Closing the lid of the box Danal looked first to Brock and then meeting Atticus eye to eye, a look of consternation painted stoically across his countenance: "As a member of the Council of Greges and Green Father to the Southern Devil Dawg region I can not honor your request at this time."

The confident, hopeful look that had been on Atticus's face faded and as his head began to bow in silent dejection, Danal added, his voice full of officiant pageantry and solemnity: "I cannot honor your request until you perform and complete the prerequisite rituals!"

Atticus's eyes shot up to meet the mischievous twinkle in Danal's, he didn't know whether to hug him or scold him, while a completely confused Brock Gryzinski looked on, clueless to the meaning of any of this and deciding that if this was about him too, then he at least deserved an explanation of some kind: "Pardon me..." Brock interjected: "meaning no disrespect, but what the hell are you guys talkin' about exactly?"

Danal stifled a giggle returning his attention to Atticus: "Perhaps before we proceed my boy, you should have a little heart to heart with your intended." Danal put his hand on Atticus's shoulder and pivoted him toward Brock, nudging him forward, toward a still confused Brock, adding: "The first requirement of the ritual is that both parties concerned request it."

Atticus looked back over his shoulder at Danal and watched as he just flipped both his hands toward him in a shooing motion, then pointing suggestively toward the Lodge door, the gesture suggesting that perhaps their conversation was best held more privately outdoors.

Giving Brock a furtive glance before latching his large meaty hand on the Gunny's left bicep, Atticus escorted him outside and guided him toward the banks of the lake.

As they stood there silently for a moment, looking out over the water, Brock mentally ran through the contents of the letter Max had sent the large, muscular man next to him.

Brock had always been attracted to men like Max and sensed that Atticus was cut from the same cloth as him; everything about Atticus appealed to him, in fact, the hairy muscular brute standing next to him silently contemplating the crystal clear reflective waters of the lake, clicked every one of his physical attractions and in the short time he's had to actually speak with him, he suspected he'd fair comparably with ever one of his mental attractions as well.

What was confusing him now however, was the context of Max's letter to Atticus, Brock had long ago been told about the Heritage, Max and Carl had both talked about the Codex, though never going into great detail about it's contents, just the deleterious effects it had for some, causing certain individuals within the Heritage, men like the one standing next to him, to be marginalized and "otherized" which was something Brock as a homosexual man, could relate too.

He also knew that Max had inferred on more than one occasion, that people like himself and those within the Heritage once had a strong connection, Carl had even elaborated once that they had a shared history, even a shared lineage, but to what extent neither Max or Carl ever addressed fully and Brock had never felt compelled to push them further on the subject, thinking they told him what they thought he should know or needed to know and would explain further if the need or time warranted it.

Though all that in of itself was still pretty much a mystery to Brock, it wasn't what confused him now, from his point of view, Max's letter read very much like he was presenting him as some sort of "gift" to Atticus and while he wasn't opposed to the idea of getting down and dirty with this near perfect specimen of masculinity, he wasn't sure he liked the idea of being passed around and discarded at leisure, like some sort of old hand me down; he may not of had much respect for himself in the past, but after the recent events of the past few days, he had been learning a lot about himself or more precisely accepting about himself that had began a chain reaction of change in his perception about his own self worth; sexually he knew he liked aggressive men, but there were times he liked being aggressive too, but in a totally separate way.

Max had, on more than one occasion, called him a bossy bottom and thinking about it now, he kind of guessed that was true, he liked what he liked, but what was different, and had been changing for awhile through Max's influence, is that he now felt expressing those needs coming more and more to the forefront.

"Listen Brock" Atticus began, drawing his attention back from his self examination, and turning to face him.

"I'm a simple Kentucky boy, more apt to kid and joke around most of the time" His eye's drew Brock in as they narrowed and his heavy brow furrowed in concentration: "I'm a by the book, get the job done kinda guy when it comes to work and I can be a real ball buster in the process." Brock had already accessed as much about the latter but was very interested in seeing if the first part held true or not.

"I know..." He continued slowly, trying to pick his way through his own thoughts and present them in a way he felt Brock might better understand: "I know we just met and I can't speak for you..."He went on, his right hand swooping upward to brush through the short coarse hair on the top of his head: "But I suspect you know Max about as well as I do."

Brock looked up at the six foot four bulging giant before him and laughed: "I somehow doubt we know him in the exact same way, but I get your drift... we trust him!"

Atticus smiled back at him and winked: "Yeah on both counts I suspect." they both chuckled a little bit, whether to relieve the awkwardness of the situation or just out of the sheer ironic truth of his conclusion, both concluded simultaneously that it didn't really matter.

"You read what I read and I think we both know what Max's intention is here, right?" Atticus looked down at Brock, his face fully reflective of the pensiveness of his query waiting for Brock's response.

"I get that he expects us to get together in the Biblical sense and bump uglies and though I'm not opposed to that..." Brock said half jokingly pausing before he continued: "But I fail to see what that accomplishes other than temporarily putting a big ol smile on both our faces."

Atticus smiled back, but shook his head, explaining: "It's a lot more than that, what Max is suggesting is that we form a bond that ties the two of us together and the only way I know of doing that between our two peoples that will accomplish what Max is suggesting..." Brock interrupted him with a question written all over his face: "You mean like getting married, because I can't do that, I'm still legally married right now, that is until my divorce goes through."

Atticus frowned, scratching his head, trying to find the right words: "It's kinda like marriage but it's not legally binding at least not in the real world, it's more of a commitment, a statement of intent..." He thought for a second, remembering how the ancient text described it: "In the old days it referred to a joining, a coming together of two people... " Atticus searched his memories of the text and used the only analogies he could recall: "in those days, there were times that two warriors would form a bond that went beyond friendship and there were times when it was used to join two houses together when no daughters were available for marrying."

Atticus paused when Brock held his hand up haltingly: "If it's not legally binding in the real world what's the catch and how does it change anything?"

Atticus smiled, inadvertently or not, Brock had cut to the crux of the matter and he responded likewise: "Because the ritual binds two people together, meaning I become part of you and you become part of me and that part of me in you also confers my Heritage upon you, affording you the same treatment as me.." Brock's eyes lit up in recognition, interjecting quickly: "It would open the door to me having access to the Codex and partaking in Heritage ceremonies?"

Atticus chuckled: "Yeah, but it also means you'll have to train like one of us, and be ranked within the Heritage like one of us as well and one other thing you should know..."He hesitated telling Brock this, but if he were to agree to this he wanted to be fully transparent about everything: "This differs from what most consider marriage in several ways, but the one that maybe is the most important for you to know..."Atticus took Brock by the shoulders, locking eyes with him: "Once done, it can not be undone, the bonding is for life and...."Atticus couldn't help but hesitate with the next part, for most, this was the deal breaker and why so few took this path in those early days and one of the chief reasons it dropped away in general practice later.

Atticus steeled himself, hoping for the best but preparing himself for the rejection: "Only the more dominant one between us is allowed to speak for both publicly."

Atticus was surprised when Brock started laughing: "So in that aspect it's exactly like marriage."

Brock couldn't help but notice the somber look on Atticus's face and the stern look he now gave him: "This is not a joke Gryzinski, I assure you, there will be those within the Heritage who might put the bond to the test."

Brock knew by the serious tone of Atticus's voice, there was more to it than he had disclosed so far: "I certainly hope you're going to clarify that little tidbit" Brock queried, eyeing Atticus dubiously.

Atticus took a step forward placing a hand on Brock's shoulder: "As an example, if it is determined that I am the dominate between the two of us and Max was asking me a question and you answered instead, he would have every right to demand that you be punished for being insolent and who do you think would have to be the one to punish you?"

Brock looked at him with the same expression one might expect to see if he had just seen a unicorn just cross his path: "That's archaic, like Biblical patriarchal shit bad."

It was Atticus's turn to smile and chuckle: "Now you know why few entered into such a bond." Atticus could see his attempt at humor did little to assuage his concerns: "If it helps, the other partner gains certain rights that the dominant partner must obey as well."

Brock just huffed skeptically: "Such as?"

Atticus smiled sheepishly: "Remember that old adage "A man's home is his castle", well under the rules of the bond, the submissive partner rules within the home."

Brock smiled at the thought of that, imagining Atticus on his knees massaging his feet and feeding him grapes: "Yeah, that could have it's advantages, just one thing though..."

The grin faded from Brock's face before asking cryptically: "How is it determined who the dominant partner is or will be?"

Atticus smiled again, a big toothy grin: "By a contest of course, one that doesn't rely so much on strength but skill and cunning, you might be surprised to learn that a form of it today is considered a child's game."

"Brock groaned and shook his head: "If you say patty cake patty cake" I'm gonna kick you in the balls"

"That's a good one" Atticus quipped: "Have you ever heard of hide and seek?"

Brock chortled then sneered at Atticus: "I'm betting it's a little more involved than that"

Atticus slapped him on the back and headed back toward the Lodge muttering over his shoulder sardonically: "There's only one way to find out and that's to agree to the bonding, that is unless you're some kinda whimpy pansy ass pussy!"

Brock double-timed to catch up to the lumbering hulk: "If you're prepared to lose then how can I say no."

                                                                 * * * * *

Less than half an hour after their very entertaining lunch with Jason's Mom, JD found himself sitting on the couch in his home with Jason, they'd turned the TV on for a while, but quickly realized that there was nothing on that could sustain their interest for more than a few minutes.

Truth was, JD was still very much itching to have the "sex" talk with Jason but struggled with how to approach the topic with him and the TV had become JD's way of stalling, putting off what he knew needed discussion.

JD was still deliberating about how best to proceed, knowing time was not on his side; at best he had maybe another hour before his brother could be done at the gym and show up or Carl could be back at any moment and though he was very much looking forward to speaking with him about his newly discovered feelings for Jason, he was still very keen on clearing the air about the looming potentiality of sex and what that meant to each of them.

"A penny for them" Jason murmured whimsically seated beside him, his arms stretched out on the back of the couch, the index finger of his left hand casually caressing the back of his neck.

"A penny for what dude?" JD responded, still very much distracted by his thoughts and that stroking digit on the nape of his neck.

Jason chuckled softly: "A penny for your thoughts JD." Jason sat forward, his hand pulling away from JD's neck and moving forward to come to a rest on top of JD's thigh, right above his knee as he furtively attempted to lock eyes with him.

JD could feel his heart start to palpitate and his temperature rise with the pounding of his pulse.

It was now or never, expediency necessitated it.

"We need to talk about sex" JD finally blurted out, maybe a little to forcibly but nonetheless true.

"Well..."Jason started, the grin on his face mischievous, his deep voice alarmingly seductive: "As a general rule, I'm all for it."

Clearly, JD realized Jason and he were on the same page but not the same paragraph noting how Jason slowly drew nearer, clearly intending to plant a kiss on JD's lips.

Bringing his hand up and placing it against Jason's chest in a halting gesture JD retorted: "I said talk, not have!"

Upon his mild rebuke, Jason pulled away and leaned back in a somewhat prone position against the back of the couch, an expression of consternation and frustration creeping across his visage: "I'm sorry, I'm really not trying to rush you JD" his sigh said it all, JD could feel the confusion emanating from him, it was clear he didn't understand the reason for JD's reticence.

"I get it." JD murmured gently, leaning back with him, putting his left hand on his chest: "I feel it and want it as much as you do and that's the problem..."

Jason turned his head to make eye contact, a look of confusion sweeping over his expressions.

JD knew he didn't understand the dilemma that spurred JD's reluctant behavior, he knew he must feel it was him being recalcitrant maybe even a little misleading.

"Jason, the problem isn't whether or not I want to have sex with you, it's how we have sex."

JD maintained eye contact with him and watched as Jason mulled over his words, it was almost as if he could see the various thought processes traverse the pathways of his brain until they settled, through reasoned deduction, on the gist of their joint quandary.

"I guess the old saying about assuming something is true after all" Jason's tone softened as he leaned closer to JD, his hand coming up to clasp JD's gently on his chest.

Cocking his head slightly, JD smiled tenderly, staring deeply into Jason's bright blue eyes: "I guess being up front with what I haven't done with a guy would be a good place to start?" JD posited quizzically.

Jason smiled back at him: "You've seen everything I've done so far, but just so you know..." Jason paused, releasing JD's hand and placing it back on his thigh and giving it a gentle squeeze: "I'm willing to learn if you are?" Jason speculated, hoping JD felt the same.

JD leaned forward, maneuvering his torso until his face was directly in front of Jason's and until their lips were mere inches away from each other and the warmth of their breath brushed against the flesh of each others faces: "Maybe we should just agree to try everything and see what works best for both of us, how's that sound?

Jason smiled in response as he ran his hand up JDs thigh to cup the fullness of JD's sweat pants covered crotch in the palm of his hand and began kneading his balls: "Like I said last night, I can work with that."

Jason's lips crashed against JD's, their mouths fighting for dominance with each other, their tongues swirled wetly and tangled in an osculating duel, each trying to suck the breath from the others lungs; Jason's fingers wrapped around the cloth covered phallus trapped within JD's pants and firmly stroked it, his other arm embraced his neck and pulled him down on top of him.

JD's hands probed Jason's firm muscular body as he ground his hips against his.

Jason released JD's palpitating cock, and reached around him, clutching his firm buttocks with both hands and kneaded them like baker's dough, pulling him tighter while grinding their bulging crotches together.

JD eased Jason backward until he was prone, lengthwise across the couch, pushing his legs apart with his knees until he was firmly planted between them, their hard cocks grating against the others as he pulled back to stare lustfully into Jason's smoldering blue eyes.

Without a word exchanged between them, JD slid his fingertips underneath Jason's T-shirt and began stroking their way up his rigid abs, bunching the T-shirt upward, revealing the hardened flesh beneath.

Diving downward, JD kissed his navel, slowly extending his tongue to swirl around it, before pushing upward, over the deep ridge of his linea alba, the trench between his abs halting only momentarily at his sternum, to yank at the cloth of his T-shirt, pulling it over his pecs and up over his head, until finally tossing it unceremoniously onto the floor.

Jason took the opportunity to return the favor, pulling at JD's gray sweatshirt, pawing at it until it wrenched free of his body and tossed it across the room.

Now both free of their shirts, Jason reached up and clasped JD behind the neck and pulled him down to him, once again to lock lips, smothering him with his thick sucking lips and probing tongue, his arms embracing him, his hands caressing up and down his back and spine until settling at the hem of his sweatpants waistline and scooping underneath until he fully clasp his bare buttocks, and as JD moaned into his mouth wantonly, his own fingertips searched for Jason's nipples and tweaked them between his index fingers and thumbs.

"If we keep this up I'm gonna cum in my pants" Jason groaned as JD slipped down and twirled the tip of his tongue over Jason's right nipple, nibbling at the eraser sized nub gently with his teeth.

"Well..." JD smirked, with a mischievous, lopsided Cheshire grin mockingly painted across his visage as he began to kiss and lick his way down Jason's torso until coming to rest at the belt buckle securing his stone washed denim jeans: "We can't have you making a big ol' mess now can we?"

Jason watched intently as JD unfastened his belt and threaded the top button of his jeans and slowly began unzipping his fly, his left hand halting as it came into contact with the protruding enormous bulge, tenting and veering left.

JD marveled at the intense heat radiating from his groin and slowly began to trace the outline of his member with his fingers, squeezing and teasing at it across its prodigious length and girth.

Staring up into Jason's glazed over eyes and tilting his head slightly, JD's wet tongue extended past his lips before he ran it over the full length of Jason's bulging denim constrained dong, stopping at the flaring outline of his swollen glans and chewing at it with his front teeth.

Jason's now thick raspy, lust filled voice groaned: "That ain't helpin' dude, seriously.." He cautioned, barely able to stop himself from squirming away from JD's oral manipulations.

Chuckling wickedly, JD veered back toward Jason's fly and clasped the tongue of Jason's zipper between his teeth and resumed unzipping his fly deliberately and as slowly as he possible could, all the while knowing the effect it was having on him.

Jason sighed deeply as JD looked up at hm, his bright greenish blue eyes staring longingly at him as he nuzzled his crotch playfully: "Maybe we should take this to your bedroom?" he posited, raising up into a seated position clasping JD's face between his rough calloused hands and kissing him passionately.

JD rose up, dragging Jason by the hand, guiding him toward the privacy of his bedroom.

After closing and locking the door, JD crossed over to Jason, who now stood beside his bed, intently watching every movement he made: "I think you should lose these." He stammered, kneeling in front of Jason, gripping the sides of his bluejeans and languidly lowering them to the floor and lifting Jason's legs to remove them completely.

Jason stood there, glaring down into JD's eyes watching as if in slow motion as his hand reached up to grip his throbbing eleven inch schlong at the base, his fingers pulling the folds of his thick foreskin back over the pulsating head while simultaneously cupping his large egg sized balls in his other hand and began gently tugging them downward in his enclosed fist before swabbing them with his wet tongue.

Grunting his approval, Jason reached down and stroked the back of JD's head encouraging him as his tongue swept upward to the base of his thick shaft and followed the tube of his urethra with the tip of his tongue right up to the frenulum, teasing the nerve cluster there right between the flanging head of his throbbing, pre-cum oozing glans.

JD may have never sucked a cock before, but here sure knew what felt good on his and he transferred that personal knowledge into action on Jason's enormous member, knowing he was being successful when Jason stated moaning louder and clutching the back of his skull tighter, trying to maximize the contact between JD's probing, flicking tongue on his sensitive glans, JD could also tell, by the voluminous flow of Jason's drooling dick, that he had to be close to an orgasm, something JD had no intention of allowing so quickly.

Kissing the tip of Jason's oozing cock, JD pulled away and stood up, his right hand gripping the back of his neck and pulling him down to taste his own pre-cum on his lips and tongue: "Like the taste of your own cock dude?" JD cooed lustfully, his tongue swiping at Jason's thick lips, before nibbling on the bottom one.

Jason's only response was a guttural grunt, that came from deep within his chest as his arms encircled JD, his hands clawing at the fleshy mounds of his ass, the middle finger of his left hand slipping slowly between them until the tip of his finger found JD's moist pucker and began a gentle circular motion, meant to stimulate but not penetrate, at least not yet.

Lowering himself to the edge of JD's bed, Jason's hands slipped JD's sweat pants down along with the worn jock that confined his own throbbing seven inch erection.

As Jason worked to get his sweat pants off, JD reached down and grabbed his boner and began caressing the side of Jason's face with it, smearing the copious amounts of his own pre-cum across his cheeks and chin.

As JD continued to stroke his face with his dick, Jason swooped underneath and licked at his balls, surprising him when he suddenly sucked them both into his mouth and began swirling his tongue all around them.

JD ground his groin against Jason's mouth and chin, pushing his hips forward forcing Jason to recline backwards onto the bed, JD climbed on with him, maintaining the oral contact with his testicles until he was fully squatting over Jason's now prone body, his knees jammed on other side of Jason's torso up to the armpits.

A few moments passed as JD enjoyed the gentle suctioning of his balls, before he withdrew them from Jason's mouth and pivoted, moving into a sixty nine position, his knees now on either side of Jason's head.

Resting his elbows on Jason's muscular tree trunk sized thighs, JD lowered his head to lick at the thick, massive dong splayed across his belly, going from the tip to the base of his balls repeatedly causing Jason to moan as he began to return the favor, eliciting the same response from JD.

At one point, JD looked upward between their body's, noting how Jason's tongue and mouth had pinned JD's dong against his abdomen and JD now tightly rode the smooth, wet oral appendage, grinding his now hypersensitive glans against it, his frenulum completely cupped by the folded suctioning of Jason's tongue as pre-cum flowed from his gaping piss slit in such quantities it oozed in rivulets over the side of his tongue and lips, even down the sides of his face.

The actions of Jason's oral manipulations spurred JD's lust filled mind as he returned his focus to the enormous phallus, jerking and throbbing below him.

Wrapping his hand as tightly as he could at the very base of Jason's dick, JD pushed the prodigious organ straight up into the air, marveling at the symmetrical beauty of the thing, from the spherical, helmet shaped glans to the thick, tubular veiny shaft, to the oval shape of his large testicles now pulled tight to the base of his cock.

Like his own cock, Jason's dong drooled a near endless supply of pre-cum, and he watched in fascination as it dripped thickly down the front of his shaft, surveying as it pooled against his thumb at the base and dribbled over the side into Jason's thick wiry pubes. without a thought, JD found himself drawn to it, like a moth to flame, his tongue distending as he began lapping at the seminal fluids from the base to the protruding crown of his coronal ridge.

JD's hand pumped Jason's phallus, observing the flared head moving within the folds of his foreskin as even more pre-cum trickled out from beneath the extended lips of his prepuce.

The tip of his tongue dove into the foreskin orifice, penetrating it and diving into his piss slit for even more of the sweet saline tinged seminal nectar, before swirling around inside the innervated mucocutaneous membrane sending waves of pleasure throughout Jason's groin causing him to squirm beneath him, his hips subconsciously rotating and thrusting in rhythm to his oral machinations.

He could hear Jason's gasp right before he dove into JD's dong and slipped it into his sucking mouth, his own fist pumping JD's engorged shaft, milking him of his own manly juices, feasting on them in the carnal lust that now consumed the both of them.

Without preamble or warning the pair erupted into each other's mouths simultaneously, no longer being able to withstand the hormonal driven passion spurring their passions into rapturous emissions.

Their mouths flooded with each other's thick, ropy spurts of jetting cum, each devouring the others ejaculate like starving babes suctioning at their mothers teat, feasting on the testicular bounty their mouths mutually harvested from each other.

As the waves of their passion subsided, JD found himself now laying to the side of Jason his head resting against the steely corded muscles of his massive thigh, more surprising to him, he now realized he had the massive head of Jason's schlong now fully encapsulated by his still suckling mouth.

He had never imagined himself a cock-sucker, had never pictured himself capable of even doing so, but now found himself actually enjoying the experience and also enjoying the fact that Jason was still doing the same to him.

Almost reluctantly, he pulled away from Jason's groin to prop himself up on one elbow, looking down his own torso just in time to see Jason release his own spit soaked phallus to sit up and lock eyes with him.

Without a word spoken between them, their mouths collided together, their suctioning, gyrating lips communicating far more effectively the ecstasy they both had just experienced.

Sex with Timmy had always been fun, but this was completely different, JD realized this, knew that the two were incomparable. What he was now feeling for Jason went beyond the sexual fumbling of two horny teenage boys, this was poignant, almost mind altering.

His consciousness searched for the words that could convey the depths of what he had just experienced, as their lips parted JD's eyes devoured Jason's and instantly he saw that everything he was feeling was reflected back at him, their foreheads touched and the tips of their noses rubbed against each other gently as their warm breath caressed each others faces: "FAG" JD chided playfully, a huge grin spreading across his face as he pulled back from a now smiling Jason, who jestingly jabbed him in the chest with is fist: "Cock-sucker."

They both burst out in laughter and began lightheartedly wrestling with each other, before collapsing together in each others sweaty arms, JD nestling his head against Jason's muscular, slightly hairy chest, feeling the hairs tickle his nose and enjoying the rhythmic beat of his heart, neither felt any urgency to fill the silence with words that fell short of expressing what their body's now quietly conveyed more eloquently, they just lay there together enjoying the moment for awhile until they heard the sound of tires grating against the gravel of the driveway as a vehicle pulled up and came to a stop.

                                                      Chapter Eighteen:

That had gone better than he expected Timmy Anderson thought to himself as he concluded his conversation with his Dad over the phone.

His Mom and Dad were still visiting and helping to care for his ailing grandmother and his father had told him he was extending his leave of absence from work for another week and probably wouldn't be back for another week at the least.

Their conversation afforded him the chance to present an opportunity proffered by Max Donnelly just the night before.

Max had explained how he wanted Timmy to go and train for six weeks with a group of Marines on his private camp grounds somewhere up around Macon.  The way he had explained it, he would be undergoing self defense and survival training while also learning how to interact with others in a team based environment; he also felt it would be character building and help him boost his own self reliance and sense of self worth.

Timmy had to admit, all of that appealed to him and the fact he would be surrounded by over a dozen young horny Marines didn't serve to dissuade him either.

Persuading his father was easiest of all, merely telling him it was a military themed training regimen and would be conducted by seasoned professionals and best of all would be of no personal monetary cost, was more than enough to sell his Dad on the idea, his Dad even adding it would help make a man out of him and toughen him up.

Not that Timmy thought his Dad had any clue what being a man really was, he did play into his Dad's analogy, knowing that agreeing with him was the quickest route in garnering not only his receptiveness to the idea but giving it his blessing.

All in all it had gone exactly as Timmy had hoped and planned for, knowing Max would be pleased, which meant more to him than his fathers dated notions of what comprised manhood or represented masculinity.

Timmy didn't desire to be more manly, he had come to realize through his interactions with Max, that what he craved was masculine attention and camaraderie, that being the receptive partner didn't necessitate being the submissive one, sure he was submitting to Max's training and instruction, but it was for his benefit not Max's.

For the first time in his life, Timmy actually felt like he was more in touch with himself, through Max's help, than he had ever felt before.

He didn't feel ashamed by being touched by a man, or to desire them, in fact, in just a few short days Max had begun to instill in him a sense of acceptance in who he was and what he craved from their encounters. In Timmy's eyes, he was freer now than he ever had been, he liked men, he liked masculine energy, masculine companionship, there was less shame in what he desired and a building enthusiasm to embrace who and what he was; Max sensed it too, telling Timmy that his future was what he made of it, his potential was greater than he had previously allowed himself to dream of, citing Timmy's superior gymnastic/acrobatic skills as proof of his dormant inner quiescent capabilities, skills he had pushed himself to accomplish almost solely with finding self worth through pleasing others.

As Max had explained, imagine what he could accomplish if he did these things to please himself, to push his own goal post past the expectations and limitations of pleasing others and instead focused on what he aspired toward.

This is where Timmy's head was now, caught between two worlds of potentiality, a quasi state of independence or interdependence and realizing one path lead to a safe, unassuming and all to familiar complacent future or a bold, no holes barred, nothing ventured nothing gained one.

Max called him Princess, but what kind of Princess would he be, would he be the kind of Princess other men wanted him to be or would he be the kind of Princess other men desired to be with?

Yes, he liked aggressive men, yes he liked pleasing them physically, but he also had desires and expectations, not just to please but to be pleased as well; he wasn't just a hole to be used and discarded, what Princess would tolerate that for long?

Max was right, he was a Princess and this Princess expected to get back the same amount of effort given, if a man wanted to claim him then he had to first prove he was worthy and capable of handling it.

After his successful phone call with his Dad, Timmy had shot Max a quick text simply stating it was a go on his end.

Max had responded by telling him to rest up that night and to pack his bags for an extended stay and to join him tomorrow at his place by lunchtime and to be prepared to leave Sunday afternoon for his six week stay at the Devil Dawg Compound.

Timmy just smiled to himself, as visions of young, horny Marines played repeatedly in the cinema of his minds eye, basking in the myriad potentialities that lay before him.

                                                              * * * * *

"Omnium rerum principia parva sunt" Danal Cornelius chanted, smiling slightly, while still trying to maintain the solemn air of an officiant: "The beginnings of all things are small" he proclaimed before turning to the larger of the two men who now stood before him and addressing him directly: "Salve Atticus Walker"

"Salevete Green Father" Atticus responded noting the use of the ceremonial ancient Latin greeting and responding likewise as did Brock Gryzinski as Danal turned to him with the same salutation.

Both just moments ago had returned to Danal after having just agreed to undergo an ancient ritual that would by word, action and deed, bind the two together forever and now stood here before him making their intentions clear as the custom dictated.

Danal looked sternly at both young men, stepping up to them and placing a hand on each of their shoulders and gripping firmly: "The ritual you seek is named in the ancient tongue as Coaptandas, meaning "join together" Danal paused for a moment, looking from man to man before continuing: "Be forewarned, the first part of this ritual is a blood liturgy" Having said that, Danal produced a small ornate dual edged dagger and held it up for both men to look at: "If it is both your intent to proceed, then you need to clasp your right hands together tightly around the blade and repeat the words I recite."

Atticus and Brock turned to face each other as Danal brought the small blade up between them, both griping the blade between their clasped hands, their eyes focused and locking on each others.

As Brock now stood there eye to eye with Atticus Walker, his thoughts roamed back to the moments before when Danal had pulled him aside and had given him a brief layout of what would happen and what would be expected of him as a result of the ritual.

The focus of his own concerns was the whole dominant and submissive aspects Atticus had spoken of earlier by the lake and Danal help assuage some of his fears, explaining that the ritual imparted a blood connection between the two, something members of the Heritage would be able to detect, especially when the two are together which gave a literalness to the rituals given name Coaptandas or join together; the implication meaning that those within the Heritage would see them as being of the same blood and having the two become one and in their view of the world, one person can not have two voices and that one must speak for both, which in a bizarre way kind of made sense to Brock; in most cultural pseudo religious marriage ceremonies a similar belief is also held, but not usually to the literal sense when only one could speak for both publicly.

Danal had simplified it as best he could, observing that all it would mean is that the one determined to speak for them does so knowing he is speaking for both and should reflect both their views and that the other should always publicly be seen as in agreement.

Basically, if the one speaking for them does say something that in actuality is conflicting, that the time to voice those concerns isn't publicly, but when they are in private. Of course, Danal noted whimsically, if they got in the habit of discussing things and there was good communication between them, the incidents or potential for discourse would be negligible.

While Danal's words had eased that aspect of his fears it did little to assuage the other, the part about potentially being punished for publicly disagreeing with his significant other or speaking out of turn, even if it was unintentional, in fact it had been Atticus who ended up offering him a military comparison that he could understand,.

In the military chain of command he wasn't allowed to have a political or religious opinion when he was publicly dealing with subordinates, nor could he publicly be seen as disagreeing with a superiors orders or even worse, countermanding them, all of which could and most likely would lead to disciplinary action, put in those terms Brock felt he could work with that, especially since it was something he had already grown accustomed to doing as a matter of military protocol.

The second part of their conversation was more private and dealt with something else Atticus had referred too about the advantages afforded the one designated as submissive or subordinate, noting to Danal that Atticus had imparted that the submissive was in charge in the home.

Danal had just smiled and given him a playful wink and told him that that was an over simplification but primarily true and that after they had undergone their ritual, he would then be granted access to the Codex and if the ritual determined him the subordinate, he would be best served reading what advantages that differed, Danal had chuckled, stating he was certain a man like Brock would find them rather advantageous and that maybe it was Atticus who didn't fully understand what he was getting himself into.

All these things still lingered in Brock's mind as he stood there now with Atticus's large fingers laced with his and the palm of their hands pressed securely against the double edged blade of the ceremonial knife.

As Danal wrapped both his hands around theirs he once again began chanting an ancient litany in Latin: "Alea iacta est, permitte divis cetera" Thankfully, Danal translated for them: "The die is cast, leave all else to the God's." Danal yanked the blade out from between their palms with one hand while squeezing them tightly together with the other, the double sided bade slicing into their joined palms as their blood flowed and seeped into each others open wounds.

After a few moments Danal once again chanted, ordering the two to repeat after him: "Factum fieri infectum nun potest... It is impossible for this deed to be undone!"

After both recited as instructed Danal removed his hands and touched a bloody thumb to both their foreheads: "Exitus alta probat... The results justifies the deed."

Danal stepped back, instructing the two to keep their hands locked together until the blood stopped flowing and to wait silently there until he returned.

They were so intent on each other, their eyes locked so ardently, they barely noticed him slipping out the door of the Lodge until he returned a few minutes later with the dark haired Corporal Scott Taylor and the blond haired Lance Corporal Barin Young in tow.

Danal came over to them and reached up to pull their hands apart and began wrapping each in gauze bandaging speaking his instructions softly to the both of them: "Each of you will go with one of these fine young men and be escorted to separate parts of the lake, where you will strip and bath in the waters" His voice grew deeper and his tone firmer: "You are to have no further contact with each other until the sun goes down, when you will join me at the Reliquary escorted by your witnesses." He looked from Scott to Barin who took up positions beside them, Scott with Atticus and Barin with Brock.

"What happens then?" Brock asked timidly, rubbing the wound on his hand through the gauze.

Danal smiled wickedly, leering at both of them: "Why then my boy, the great hunt begins and guess who the hunted shall be!"

Brock gulped visibly, looking from Danal to Atticus expectantly and very much feeling like a little tiny mouse caught in a big fucking trap.

                                                             * * * * *

JD stood there, leaning against the cool metal surface of the refrigerator in their kitchen, fretfully mulling over the information being presented by his brother Billy and his friend Gavin Hollis to their Uncle Carl, outlining their concerns about their older brother Mike and their pseudo-cousin and their brother's best friend Kent Bauers.

His hopes of approaching Carl about his growing attractions to Jason Dunne had all but vanished from his mind when Billy and Gavin arrived just a few minutes before Carl's return.

JD was now kind of thankful that Jason's Mom, shortly before Carl returned, had called him asking him to pick her up within the next half hour, though he also kind of wished Jason was still there to lean on for moral support, especially after hearing the course of events Billy and Gavin laid out and the troubling conclusions that intel garnered, all of which were reflected strongly in the thoughtful, scowling grimace that now dominated Carl's face as he studied the printouts Gavin had strewn across the kitchen table alongside his laptop.

"Dammit William.." Carl began slowly, the irritation in his voice conflicting with the obvious concern painted on his visage: "You shouldn't have waited for me, you should have taken these concerns to your Dad immediately!"

Carl's scolding visibly weighed on Billy's shoulders as his head bowed, averting his gaze as he struggled to compose a stammering response.

"That's my fault Mr. McGregor" Gavin interjected, coming to Billy's defense: "I was the one that suggested we wait until we had time to put this all together and confirm some of the details."

Finding his voice and giving Carl a sideways glance, Billy added: "I didn't want to trouble Dad if we couldn't prove any of our suspicions." Billy looked over to Gavin and gave him a slight smile and a supportive nod, obviously thankful for his friends support: "You know as well as I do, that Dad would have been upset I was trying to contact Mike about possibly coming to my birthday celebration without his knowledge."

Carl just shook his head, he could tell Billy was upset and even believed what he was saying was the truth, but Carl knew the ends didn't justify the means: "Billy, your first mistake was not trusting your father or me for that matter"

Carl's words burned in Billy' gut, he was right of course, even if he had feared what his Dad's response would have been, he also knew that Carl has always been approachable and would have done whatever he could to help him, especially where his Dad was concerned.

The truth was, Billy wanted Mike there no matter what and he had taken it upon himself without consideration of or for anyone else. Carl reached out to Billy and clasped him in his arms for a few moments, letting his words sink in: "I know that what you were really hoping for was some form of reconciliation between your father and your brother..."Carl paused, feeling Billy stiffen as he gently pushed him away at arms length and lifting Billy's chin with his right hand forcing him to look him in the eyes: "Your motives were good Billy, but your execution was poorly considered."

JD watched on as he knew his brother was now coming to terms with the actions that resulted from his own choices, he felt empathetic for what must be now going through him internally, having faced just such a moment himself not long ago and feeling as helpless as his brother must feel right now.

"Be that as it may..."Carl concluded, drawing his cell phone from his pants pocket and clicking on Max's icon: "What you and Gavin have uncovered is very troubling and I think your father is our best option at getting to the bottom of this."

At Carl's suggestion, JD had taken Gavin into his bedroom when moments later their Dad arrived.

JD turned his TV on and tried to mask the sounds of their fathers harsh, irritated and demanding voice as he grilled Billy and Carl about the circumstances and events leading up to and including Mike's and Kent's questionable reassignments.

It was moments later, when things grew more silent that they heard the front door open and shut.

JD rushed to his window only to see Carl and his Dad jump into his truck and pull out at a breakneck speed heading in the direction of the base.

Gavin and he just exchanged quizzical looks before heading out of his room to find Billy sitting at the kitchen table, his head in his hands looking even more troubled and shaken than he had previously.

JD had just fetched a beer from the frig, opened it and thrust it into Billy's hand when they heard the distinct sound of a vehicle pulling up out front.

Billy and JD both lifted the blinds to the kitchen window and watched as their Uncle Hank and a vaguely familiar, humongous mountain of a man stepped out of their SUV and headed toward their front door: "When it rains it pours..." Billy moaned, dropping his head to the table with a hard thud.

                                                              * * * * *

Carl sat quietly all the way to the base, he could almost feel the concerned concentration emanating from Max and wished he could do more to alleviate or dispel his trepidation's, but Carl knew as well as Max the potential danger his son and Kent were in, especially when he pointed out the name of the parent company of Qiagen to him, Internehmen Kampfhund which translated to Wardog enterprises.

They both were fully aware of who the Wardogs were, they knew they were one of the European branches of the Heritage, specifically the largest branch in Germany, the link between them and Max's eldest son in no way could be considered coincidental, especially knowing that the Wardogs were often very hostile toward other Greges within the Heritage and doubly so with those outside the European alliances.

"I met him once you know..." Max said flatly, breaking the somber quiet between them, his eyes still intently focused on the road before him; Carl turned in his seat to face Max as best he could, but remained expectantly silent but supportive.

"It was during the last Grand Council meeting, back when I was in my early twenties" Max hazarded a brief sideways glance at Carl, the grimace on his face from the recollection adding ominously to his oration: "I went with my father, Danal was there as well as Hadrian Mumsford from the Northern Devil Dawg region." Max paused long enough to flash his ID at the guard at the main gate before proceeding: "Krause was there with his sire as guest of their regions Council member Heinrich Voigt."

Carl stared calmly at Max, interrupting his own silence by stating: "I take it you weren't that impressed by the encounter?"

Max laughed sardonically, again hazarding a quick glance in Carl's direction: "Let's just say I would be hard pressed to tell you who I thought was the more arrogant between the three." Max hesitated only a second before thoughtfully adding: "Neither Danal or Hadrian thought very highly of Voigt despite his high rank within the European Council of Greges."

"And the Krause's?" Carl queried, though judging by Max's body language he was already fairly certain of Max's impression: "They both epitomized and embodied everything that is wrong within the Heritage...arrogant, self absorbed and elitist." Max's disdain and disgust at the recollection read in every part of his countenance.

Carl bulked at asking what preoccupied his thoughts at the moment, but felt compelled to ask: "What do you think Krause could possibly want from the boys?"

It was at that moment they arrived at the admin building and Max's office and as he slammed the vehicle into park and opened his door to get out, he shot back at Carl: "I don't know, but if they've harmed one hair on those boy's heads, I will rain hell fire down upon them the likes of which they never dreamed possible."

Carl caught the bright flash of blue fire in Max's eyes and knew he meant every word he had just uttered; as Carl exited the truck and ran to catch up with Max, he could almost feel a small bit of pity for the fools that thought tangling with Max Donnelly was a good idea.

                                                             * * * * *

Elder Heinrich Voigt sat in the drawing room of the Von Krause estate house in his favorite Firenza armchair, casually sipping a glass of Courvoisier XO Cognac while perusing the printouts to Dr. Monaca Donnelly's research and progress notes.

He had made it his priority to learn as much as he could about what she was attempting to do, specifically how she intended to do it and while he knew he lacked the knowledge to discern much of what was written, he was the type of man that believed in caution and even now, as he read through the documents, he had people who did understand the science looking through it as well; Heinrich thought what she was attempting and her progress so far was exceptional, but he also didn't wholly trust her either, especially knowing she was married to the leader of the southern US Devil Dawg's, Max Donnelly.

If it weren't for the rumors that they'd been getting whiffs of about his middle son and what some within the North American Greges Council believed about his upcoming Heritage ceremony, as implausible as their beliefs were, he and the Von Krause Kampfhund and many other European Greges felt the necessity to prepare for the worse, even if there was a ridiculously small chance there could be a kernel of truth behind their wishful thinking.

Heinrich no more believed in that old fairy tale than he did in the Easter Bunny or Santa, he knew the Donnelly line was old and their lineage could be traced back possibly as far as the Von Krause line, but he was completely dubious it dated back as far as the Progenitor, he knew of no specific Grege that could boast that claim, though there were those like Danal Cornerlius and Hadrian Mumsford and a few others that endlessly argued that they were all descendants of the Progenitor.

He and Ryker had debated this topic endlessly over the last couple of years and he and Ryker both felt that this was more likely to turn out to be a power grab by the North American and possibly South and Central American Greges and both mutually concluded that they needed to be prepared, maybe even prepare a preemptive response, Ryker certainly felt having Donnelly's eldest son safely secured and within reach at his research facility here in Hilden could be useful if the need arouse or necessitated.

"I see you still have your doubts" Ryker posited, breaking the silence between them, eyeing his old mentor from across the room as he turned away from the window he had just been staring out of, having been lost in his own thoughts as he calculated the potential paths that now lay before him, especially if that woman could do what she claimed.

Heinrich looked up in time to see Ryker's face contort into a lecherous grimace before he added: "Or maybe you took a fancy to Donnelly's progeny?" he snickered: "You can't fool me Councilor, I saw the way you looked at him."

Heinrich huffed and glared dispassionately at him in return and waved him off dismissively with the flip of his hand before grabbing his glass of Cognac and sniffing it lightly, enjoying its thick heavy bouquet: "He's an extremely handsome young man and judging by your own physiological responses I could safely assert I wasn't alone in my admiration of his physicality."

Ryker hissed disgustedly: "You know the old saying lie with dogs get up with fleas, I would never debase myself lying with a mongrel like him or any of his ilk."

A smirk spread across Heinrich's face as he peered into Ryker's pale blue eyes: "Oh yes, how silly of me to even suggest someone of such a high bloodline would ever lower themselves to copulate with a common disperser."

Unphased by Heinrich's attempt at mocking him Ryker stared at his own reflection in the ornate mirror mounted on the wall not far behind him, admiring his own sturdy and rugged looks, light sandy blond perfectly quaffed, short curly hair and the fullness of his thick and manicured beard; at twenty eight, he considered himself to be at his prime, he trained with the best his families wealth could buy him, he'd married and sired two son's thus far with his beautiful and of noble blood wife Gessell and had his pick of the many young warriors who served under him or were retained by his family, he had even taken a particular shine to his wife's younger brother Milo, though he carefully kept that a guarded secret, not only from his wife but from his mentor Heinrich as well.

"Maybe we should discuss how we intend to handle the Council once Ms. Donnelly concludes her research?" Ryker queried sitting in the chair opposite Heinrich's and eyeing him pensively, knowing his mentor often had multiple machinations in play and not always being forthright about the minutia of the ones he deemed would jeopardize what he often referred to as plausible deniability.

Heinrich looked at him sternly: "I think its best we concentrate on the here and now."

Ryker Von Krause rolled his eyes sardonically and chuckled slightly: "I assume your referring to that ridiculous rumor about Max Donnelly's other mutt?"

It was easy for Heinrich to be just as skeptical as Ryker was, but he was also a prudent, cautious man: "I hope by that you don't mean you didn't take my council to have someone monitor the situation there, especially since the boys Heritage ceremony is next Friday?"

Ryker leaned forward and was about to respond when a loud energetic rapping came on the closed door to the drawing room.

With a look of consternation and annoyance Ryker yelled out for whomever to enter.

Immediately a young attendant opened the door shifting sideways as a larger, older man in uniform brushed passed him and entered the room.

Heinrich and Ryker both stood expectantly as a confused look consumed their dual visage.

"Herr Krause, I am Generale Otto Pfluger of the Bundeswehr and as a member of the Eastern Kampfhund and at no small risk to my career, I have come here to warn you, that the Chancellor herself has ordered the Federal Intelligence Service to conduct an immediate raid on your Qiagen Facility in Hilden."

Instantly the color drained from Heinrich's face as he collapsed back into his chair, his mind racing in a myriad directions and to a plethora of conclusions, none of which boded well for them.

Ryker Von Krause immediately searched his pockets for his cell phone, instantly thinking to call Gunther Kline and warn him, knowing he was there now and was overseeing Ms. Donnelly's base operations.

Otto held his hand up in a halting gesture: "I think you will find that all communications have been blocked, the Bundesnachrichtendienst are, if nothing else, very efficient."

Ryker huffed, ignoring the warning and tapped Gunther's icon, immediately a temporarily out of service message popped up on his screen, he quickly tried the head of medical operations number and the regional administrators, all the same.

Heinrich Voigt found his voice, asking the question he was certain he already knew the answer too: "Why would the Chancellor order this?"

With the slightest of shrugs, Otto Pfluger responded: "The Chancellor had a visit from Brigadier General Beauregard Chambers of the US forces stationed in Stuttgard, stating he had learned that two of his Marines were MIA and believed to be held against their will at the Bilden Qiagen genetic research facility and that he feared the company was conducting experiments on US military personnel."

Ryker's face was flushed red with anger, Heinrich stood again and crossed over to him, placing a hand firmly on his shoulder, hoping to quell the tempest that now raged within him before it was given voice; looking over to the Generale he thanked him for his loyalty to the Heritage and his kindred and ushered him toward the door, Heinrich assuring him he would convey as much to the Council of Greges and the other leaders of the Kampfhund.

No sooner than he had shut and locked the door and turned to face Ryker Von Krause he heard him growl low, deep and guttural, his eyes burning blue embers: "If it's the last thing I do, I'm going to kill Max Donnelly!"

                                                           * * * * *

Despite all the excitement and anxiety over their older brother Mike and Kent, most of which JD still had trouble wrapping his head around, the afternoon had passed slowly and with no small degree of foreboding.

The arrival of their uncle Hank Bauers earlier and who JD soon realized was his old childhood playmate and Hanks youngest son Jake, had caused a fair amount of trepidation and angst with his sibling Billy, which at first confused JD until Hank had inquired about their Dad and Carl's whereabouts, that his brother began slowly relating what he and Gavin had uncovered about their brother Mike and Kent and the circumstances leading up to his Dad and Carl rushing off toward the base.

Hank had immediately called their Dad and had talked to him for a good while as they all watched on, trying to glean what they could from the conversation but mostly standing around nervously anticipating and waiting for him to finish and fill them all in.

No one looked more apprehensive and worried than his brother Billy, JD couldn't think of a time his brother looked and acted more concerned and fretful and the weight of it hung on his brother like a ton of bricks and it didn't take much to figure out that Billy was consumed with guilt over not having brought his suspicions to his Dad sooner, fearing his delay may have in some way jeopardized Mike and Kent even more than he already dreaded.

JD recalled the consternation in his brothers voice, when Hank concluded his conversation with their dad: "I'm so sorry uncle Hank.." he began brokenly, self recriminating guilt filling ever syllable he uttered: "I should have said something sooner, if anything has happened to them, I'll never forgive myself..."

Billy didn't get a chance to finish his line of thought before Hank reached out and took him in his arms and held him, hugging Billy and rubbing his back, trying to comfort him: "It's not your fault kiddo, your brother and Kent are grown men and US Marines, they are more than capable of taking care of themselves."

Hank had pushed Billy back at arms length and looked him right in the eyes: "If it weren't for you and your friend here.." He paused to shoot a thankful nod and wink at Gavin before continuing: "We wouldn't have known anything about them being missing."

JD had watched as his brothers gaze dropped to the floor, his shoulders slumping before he meekly tried to assert his sense of guilt, stammering: "But it was my fault for waiting a whole day..."

Hank stopped him abruptly, taking Billy's face between his large hands and forcing him to look at him: "Enough kiddo, we don't know what's happened yet, if anything at all, so stop beating yourself up over it, ya hear me?"

JD could tell that Billy had still been doubtful, but Hank's reassurances had helped allay some of his fears.

It didn't surprise JD at all that Hank took such an optimistic view, JD had always known him to be a very gregarious, upbeat kind of person, playful and disarmingly witty at times, his often jovial banter resulting in cacophonous laughter with both their Dad and Carl throughout their frequent stays together at the compound, especially when their Dad's old family friend Danal was around, the two of them continuously exchanging barbs, put downs and cringe-worthy puns at each other, were often the noteworthy highlights and entertainment during their stays.

But there was the serious side too, much of what he and his brothers knew of self defense came in no small part due to their Uncle Hank, the man was a phenomenal close quarters hand to hand combatant.

He couldn't begin to count the many times Hank instructed them and his own sons into the various holds, deflections and counter moves and parries that constituted self defense.

It was all that early training that had inspired his brother Billy and Baxter's interest in wrestling, they had all grown up sparring together, but the best fun had always been when their Dad, Carl, Hank and even Danal would spare together, often trying to best one another, but usually ending when they would team up and try to take their Dad down, the only person he could ever recall ever besting Hank consistently was their Dad, JD could even recall, at times, the combined efforts of all three couldn't bring their Dad down, something that always seemed to fill JD with a sense of pride and security.

As the afternoon faded, JD allowed those youthful recollections to distract him as they all waited for their Dad and Carl to return, it was during this time he also began to take notice of his quasi-cousin Jake.

JD hadn't seen Jake in almost three years and the last time he saw him he remembered him as this tall, lanky beanpole of a teenager.

He'd always been on the rather quiet side, amiable enough, though he always seemed a bit on the awkwardly shy side until he got to know you; he and JD just seemed to gravitate toward each other as kids, which stood to reason since Billy always had Baxter and both their older brothers were always stuck together like glue.

Despite his quiet nature, he and JD always seemed to have fun together, hiking and rough housing, though as JD recalled it, he seldom joined them swimming, unless it was at night; his brother use to tease him about not wanting anyone to see him naked because he was afraid they'd make fun of his pecker and true or not, whenever anyone suggested going skinny dipping during the day he'd always blush and find some excuse not to join in.

But that was the Jake from his childhood, the Jake standing in what appeared to be a perpetual parade rest stance in his living room, was a completely different person, JD barely recognized him.

He had always been tall and that certainly didn't change, if anything he had grown from what JD recalled, quite considerably, not only in height but width as well.

The biggest guy JD knew was Jason, with the exception of Arliss Gundarson, but compared to Jake, they both looked like scrawny runts.

As he later found out, Jake stood a good six foot eight inches, but that wasn't what was even most notable about him, every square inch of him was massively muscular, just one of his thighs had to be bigger round than JD's waist, his nearly hairless forearms looked like corded steel and his biceps were at least as big and thick as one of JD's own thighs, not even in one of those body builder mags he occasionally saw around the base gym had he ever seen anyone as massive as Jake Bauers was. JD quietly chuckled to himself, thinking even his muscles had muscles, hell, even his neck muscles were so thick they were wider than his head.

JD also couldn't help but notice how ruggedly, yet still boyishly handsome he was, meticulously groomed and clean shaven, his short, high and tight chestnut colored hair and the slight perfectly symmetrical short bangs in front, his prominent brow with thick, well trimmed eyebrows, his pug, upturned nose and narrow amber colored eyes, his thick, full lips and his protruding, squared jawline and chin made for one striking presentation of masculinity all of which he had packed into his nearly skin tight dress "D's", the dark blue slacks and crisply ironed short sleeved tan blouse bulging at the seams, his shiny leather shoes polished to near mirrored perfection and then there was that massive protruding crotch, ballooning outward, looking almost like he had stuffed a large grapefruit down his pants, and for some reason it kept drawing JD's gaze back, it was like his brain couldn't register what his eyes were seeing and most unsettling of all to JD, he was constantly catching him staring at him.

At times, when JD would casually look in his direction, Jake's bright amber eyes would be on him, he even did so openly, not even bothering to look away when their eyes would meet accidentally, even when someone would engage him momentarily in conversation or his Dad asked him some question, his eyes always returned to JD, like he was seeing him for the first time or as JD imagined, he was sussing him up, evaluating him, made all the more unnerving to JD by his constant, never changing blank expression, which had the effect of making JD look away nervously but always drawing him back in to see if even the slightest grin or frown would cross his otherwise handsome face.

JD almost whispered a silent prayer of relief when his Dad and Carl returned home and every ones attention, including Jake's, focused on them.

Of course the mood only shifted slightly as Carl and their Dad greeted Hank and Jake warmly, hugs being exchanged as well as a few playful jabs and barbs most notably by JD's Dad about how much Jake had grown since the last time he had seen him, but what confounded JD was when his Dad commented on how he was dressed, teasing him that he obviously came dressed to impress and then looking straight at JD and gave him a broad grin and a wink, followed by Jake turning to look right at him and began staring at him with that same blank expression on his face, again making JD feel very self conscious and more than a little bit awkward.

It was Carl that shifted their Dad's attention, by touching his arm and nodding toward Billy, who sat solemnly at the kitchen table, his hands folded in front on the table surface as his fingers clenched and unclenched nervously; Gavin by his side his hand on Billy's shoulder in a show of quiet support.

JD watched as their Dad crossed over to him and bent over, his arms going around Billy's chest lifting him into a tight hug, one JD noted that Billy just melted into: "I'm sorry I was so harsh early Billy..." their Dad began, his hands caressing Billy's back affectionately before adding: "If it weren't for you and your friend here..." His left hand extending out to grip Gavin's shoulder, giving him a firm squeeze: "None of us would have been even remotely aware of your brothers and Kent's predicament."

Gavin blushed a deep shade of red as Carl put his arm around him and said: "I think we owe you a special debt of gratitude for both your selfless support of Billy but also for your rather clever and creative intelligence gathering."

It was at that point their father began to relate the events as they unfolded over the last couple of hours after he made queries with his Pentagon contacts.

Lt. General Bastian Hartford, the head of the Marine Corps Senior Command staff at the Pentagon, upon hearing their suspicions and seeing the evidence sent to him via email by their Dad. contacted Brigadier General Beauregard Chambers who was in over all charge of the US military contingents throughout NATO and instructed him to detain Major Anthony Drummond and then to contact the German government informing them the Pentagon had intel stating that a German genetics company was detaining two MIA Marines and were demanding their immediate release and return.

Their Dad smiled and informed them that as of an hour ago both Michael and Kent were retrieved and on their way back to Stuttgart and both seemed to be physically fine, but would undergo a full medical evaluation upon arrival at the base in Blingen.

Their Dad's news sent a ripple of hoots and ooh-rahs throughout those present, Billy even grabbed Gavin, scooped him up in his arms and began swinging him around the room joyfully.

As the shouts settled down their Dad opened the frig and grabbed a six pack of beer, ripped one off and handed it to Gavin, telling him he had first honors at kicking off a weekend of celebration at the Donnelly household.

Through all the excitement JD had failed to notice the towering figure standing right behind him, didn't sense or notice him at all until he felt the large meaty hand descend on his shoulder that instantly sent rippling waves tingling through him where ever their flesh made contact.

JD slowly turned his head, thinking that perhaps Jason had returned for some reason, only to find a now grinning Jake looking down at him as he gently began massaging his shoulder sensuously and with his other hand, offering JD an ice cold can of beer.

                                                           * * * * *

"So you're really going though with this Gunny?" twenty year old Barin Young asked while looking on as Brock Gryzinski finished lacing and tying his military issue combat boots.

Brock gave him a sideways glance nodding his head: "That's the plan jarhead." he responded stoically, taking a moment to admire the physicality of the golden blond haired Pfc. that had shadowed him since they left the Lodge a few hours ago.

Barin had stayed glued to him since then and even assisted him in his ritual bathing down at the lake by keeping watch making sure that neither he or Atticus came in contact with each other either physically or by line of sight.

Brock discerned the studious way Barin was observing him as he finished dressing, buttoning up the camo blouse of his BDU's, before slipping his cover on his head.

"Ya know Gunny, I can already tell there's a difference in ya." He observed, his nose crinkling slightly as he tapped it, drawing attention to his narrow flaring nostrils as he whiffed the air, his handsome boyish face lilting slightly sideways, reminding Brock of a puppy cocking his ears and twisting it's head quizzically and noting that the kid looked just as adorable doing so.

Brock chortled: "Are you saying I stink private?" he queried, offering Barin a cocky half grin.

"Not at all Gunny..." he responded, adding: "Even though you just bathed, I can still smell Atticus on ya, it's kinda muffled and ..." He paused, the questioning look of concentration on his face adding to what Brock perceived as youthful naiveté: "It's like it's mixed with somethin' else.." he continued, shaking his head: "Honey and freshly dug earth." he concluded, his analysis bringing a slight smug smile to his face, obviously self satisfied with his own analogy.

Brock couldn't help but note that Max had used that same description about him before, had even implied it's significance related to who and what Brock was, Barin's observation made him quizzical: "Does everyone not of the Heritage smell like that to you guys, that honey and dirt smell?"

Barin kind of chuckled, a hint of his youthful exuberance coming through: "Not at all, it's actually kinda rare in dudes" he paused again contemplating before adding: "It's sort of the way women smell, but not exactly the same, it's kinda hard to explain really" he offered in conclusion before quickly adding with a bit of a flirtatious leer: "It's actually kinda alluring to us ya know."

"Down boy!" Brock laughed, playfully mussing Barin's short faux-hawked hair: "Don't make me whack your snout with a rolled up newspaper."

They both shared a brief laugh before Barin indicated it was probably time for them to head over to the Reliquary since the sun was almost fully set.

"Ya nervous Gunny?" Barin asked as he opened the door to the Lodge, waiting for Brock to exit before closing the door behind them.

"As cool as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs private" Brock mused allowing Barin to take the lead as they headed toward the Ceremonial grounds and his rendezvous with destiny.

                                                           Chapter Nineteen:

It had probably been less than half an hour since the evening's festivities had concluded and Max and Billy had left to escort Hank and Jake over to Carl's house, where they would be staying while visiting.

Gavin sat across the table from him and Carl had decided to use the time to go over the finer details of what all Gavin had done to gather the intel they had used to help secure both Michael and Kent.

Carl was actually impressed with Gavin's skill's and even more impressed in the calm demeanor and out of the box methodology he incorporated in his approach in what Carl would have referred to as tactical recon.

Though it was true what he did wasn't exactly legal, his technique showed a high level of cognitive development especially in problem solving, something Carl rarely found in someone almost twice his age and Carl couldn't help but speculate about what this young man might achieve if properly mentored and guided, thinking that if he were suitably motivated and vetted he'd probably make one hell of a tactician.

Carl smiled inwardly as his keen sense of smell deduced at least two of those motivating factors emanating from the sandy haired youth, the scent of honey and freshly dug earth and a faint hint of Billy's DNA masked by spearmint toothpaste.

His real concern was actually geared toward Gavin himself: "Don't take this the wrong way Gavin..." Carl declared, knowing he potentially was treading on thin ice: "As I understand it, you and Billy have just started hanging out together, so I have to wonder why you would be so willing to risk your neck for him?" It didn't escape Carl's attention that Gavin blushed slightly while diverting his eyes downward to stare at the half empty can of beer in front of him before responding: "What kind of friend would I be if I didn't help someone who has been there for me when I needed it?" There it was, Carl thought to himself, knowing exactly what Gavin was referring too but had as of yet spoken aloud; Carl wondered to himself if Gavin had ever actually vocalized the word to anyone else before: "And exactly how has Billy been there for you might I ask?" Carl knew the answer, he just wondered if Gavin could be prodded into admitting it, personally knowing how cathartic it could be saying it aloud for the first time.

Gavin's continued silence spoke volumes as he continued to avoid looking at him directly and just as Carl reached over and covered Gavin's hand with his own, he timidly responded: "He just helped me deal with something I was having trouble with, that's all."

Carl could hear the sincerity and admiration in his voice and now feared it may be more than that or had the potential to develop into more.

One thing became forefront in Carl's thoughts, the old adage "those who don't learn from history are condemned to repeat it" repetitiously played in his head, and his thoughts swam with the similarities between Billy and Baxter's relationship and his and Max's, knowing where that would leave Gavin in the long run, and it was with that thought in mind that Carl decided to give Gavin a not so gentle nudge, hopefully in the right direction: "Are you saying he figured out you are gay?" He didn't really know exactly how Gavin would respond to that declaration but he most certainly wasn't expecting the boy to look him directly in the eyes and state as a matter of fact: "I'm not going to ask how you knew, since we both know it's just as simple as it takes one to know one"

Carl chuckled to himself, gone was the meek and timid facade, the mask Gavin wore to protect himself from those who he calculated as potential physical threats, in its place surfaced the keen methodical intellect Carl knew hid within; sharp, clear eyes stared knowingly back at him: "Fair enough..." He began, his amusement reflective in his intonation: "And not entirely inaccurate." they both giggled as Carl squeezed his hand playfully before releasing it adding: "But just so you know, for future reference, spearmint toothpaste doesn't cover up as much as you think it does."

Carl laughed audibly as Gavin's cheeks flushed in myriad shades of red before he too nervously joined him in laughter.

Once again Carl was reminded of the similarities between Max and his son, especially in how they often chose to help those they felt needed them, and he couldn't help but wonder why the Donnelly men often felt the best way to help those they took under their wing had to always involve the use of their dicks, and as he pondered that, he had another realization, if Max and Billy saw that part of their purpose was to help others attain their true potential, then perhaps he should take a cue from their playbook, maybe he needed his own project and maybe that project sat right across the table from him.

True, he wasn't of the Heritage, but after a week of epiphanies, what was one more; Max certainly didn't let that deter him, in fact he was determined that those who shared a distant connection with them should be included in the impending shakeup and Carl was looking at one right now, one that was just as full of potential as either Brock or Timmy and one whose attributes best suited his skill-set to develop.

One thing was certain, he would need Max's approval first and Carl mentally added this to his list of topics he and Max needed to discuss once he could get him alone.

Carl spent a few more minutes talking to Gavin and as they sat there going over some of the finer details of what Gavin had done to acquire his intel and assuring himself that Gavin had indeed done a fairly good job at hopefully covering his tracks, that he noticed, through the open kitchen window, an unfamiliar vehicle pull into the driveway, headlights off as it cruised silently to a stop before a large figure get out, heading in the general direction toward the front door.

Carl could feel the small hairs on the back of his neck stand up as he caught his unfamiliar scent in the evening breeze wafting through the kitchen window, he could feel every muscle in his body tense up as he started to stand and move toward the front door cautiously, whoever this man was, everyone of Carl's senses was telling him he was potentially formidable and with just him and two sixteen year old boys in the house to protect and with what they had just been through in the last few hours, Carl wasn't in the mood to take any chances.

Carl's defensive posture quickly changed to offensive as he noted that the large figure didn't come to the front door as he first suspected but instead changed trajectory and headed toward the carport and the path to the back of the trailer.

His Marine Corps training kicked in as Carl first looked over to Gavin who had since risen as well, a questioning look on his face and Carl silently gestured for him to get down as his hand slowly turned the doorknob of the front door and as quietly as he could, opened it only far enough to squeeze through, slipping onto the porch in a crouched position and peering as stealthily as possible through the side rails just in time to see the figure disappear around the corner.

Carl's adrenaline induced senses kicked into overdrive as he was certain he had seen that the figure had something in his left hand, but it was to dark to make out what it was, Carl gave himself a silent rebuke for not having his own weapon at his disposal, having left it in his truck, which Max and Billy had borrowed to escort Hank and Jake over to his house.

His mind raced for alternatives before eyeing the porch post and looking upward and calculating the distance between the top of the post and the extended eaves of the porch roof.

With no viable weapon other than his wits, Carl settled on stealth and surprise as his most reasonable and attainable approach.

Carl silently shimmied his way up the front post, his left arm extending until he could firmly clasp the edge of the soffit and swinging himself over until he could clasp it with both hands and then pull himself upward and flip himself on top of the porch roof.

Moving as silently as a gentle breeze, Carl traversed the distance to the back of the trailer and crouched down to peer over the edge, studiously watching as the tall figure made his way down the back sidewalk toward the patio and the back entrance.

Timing himself perfectly, Carl waited until the figure passed directly below him before launching himself from the rooftop and hurling himself toward the large, lone figure's unprotected back and landing with perfect precision, less than two feet behind him.

Carl dropped into a crouching stance immediately, swinging his left leg outward in a roundhouse kick that landed forcibly against the figures ankles, sweeping him off his feet, plunging him forward at a left angle, the object in his hand scattering to the side of him a few feet away as he went face first into the grass beside the sidewalk.

To Carl's amazement, the stranger tucked and pivoted into a roll as he hit the ground and with near cat like reflexes leapt into a standing defensive posture now facing him, before charging directly toward him, his broad shoulders aimed perfectly at Carl's midriff and with such speed, Carl barely had time to spin sideways and launch his countermeasure, slamming his knee squarely into the mans chest, causing him to double over before rolling over his back, clasping his left wrist in his hand and twisting it upward against the middle of his back.

Using the full force of his weight to propel the figure forward and slamming him against the side of the trailer; Carl marveled at the shear strength of his adversary, noting it was taking everything he had to hold him in that position and that if he didn't incapacitate him quickly he may not be able to hold him for long.

Carl swung his other arm around the straining, hulking figures neck, the fingers of his right hand deftly clutching his upper thorax as he began to apply the necessary pressure to his coratid artery to cut the blood flow to his brain and cause him to pass out. It was at that moment that the patio lights came on and both JD and Gavin stepped out.

Carl was just about to shout at the boys to get back into the house when he noted the look of distress and panic on JD's face as he moved quickly toward them: "Uncle Carl stop!" JD shouted, imploring him to release the large figure that had now stopped struggling against him as his choke hold began to have its desired effect.

Still confused, Carl released the powerful mystery man and watched as he slid down to one knee, coughing and gasping for breath, he watched as JD practically came skidding to a stop, dropping down to first hug and then frantically check him for injury asking him desperately over and over again if he was okay.

"Would someone mind explaining exactly what the hell is going on here?!" Carl demanded sternly, looking from JD to Gavin for answers, Gavin only shrugging his shoulders as JD continued to console what Carl could now see was a young man, probably roughly around the same age as Billy, maybe even a little younger, but considerably larger and at this close proximity Carl could now detect something else, something everyone within the Heritage could detect when encountering one of their own.

"JD I asked you a question and I better be getting an answer, who is this and why is he here?" Carl demanded, his hand now on JD's shoulder and pulling him around to face him.

The look on JD's face spoke volumes and Carl read it all almost instantly, obviously he was someone he cared deeply about, both the concerned looked on his face and in his eyes and his frantic consoling ministrations spoke to that: "His name is Jason and he's my...."JD paused for a second, gulping and looking back toward Jason who was still coughing and rubbing his own throat struggling to regain his composure, but managing a weak smile as he reached out with his left hand a clasped JD's left hand in his.

Turning back to face Carl, after first bending over to pick up what Carl could now easily see was a phone, JD briefly locked eyes with him before timidly proclaiming: "He's me boyfriend."

                                                             * * * * *

As the sun set over the hill across the lake and the last rays of the sun faded into darkness, Brock Gryzinski found himself languidly strolling toward the Ceremonial grounds of the Devil Dawg compound lead by a golden haired Barin Young for his clandestine rendezvous with Atticus Walker.

Though his mind was still subsumed with all that had happened when they were last together, Brock was surprised at how calm he was, it was like an inner peace had washed over him as the hour of their appointment drew nearer, if anything, Brock felt as if he had grown even more resolute and secure in his decision to undergo the Coaptandas ritual with Atticus.

Danal had explained it sufficiently enough for him to grasp what was expected of both him and Atticus and for the last few hours he had dwelt over the main contentions and reservations that he might have had with the potential outcome; he had resolved and concluded, that even if he lost the "hunt" and Atticus became their public voice, he didn't necessarily see that as a bad thing.

Danal had assured him that it didn't mean he had to constantly be silent in public, it didn't mean he couldn't carry on day to day conversations with others, just that when a situation presented itself, that a decision that affected both of them was to be addressed or made, Atticus would be the one to speak for them and that if he actually disagreed with what Atticus said, the time and place to voice that difference, wasn't publicly but in private; he could never appear to be in disagreement with him in front of others.

Brock smiled to himself thinking that all of that solely depended on whether Atticus was victorious in the hunt and though he knew the cards were stacked in Atticus's favor, he had absolutely no intention of making it easy for him.

Early in his Marine Corps career Brock had quickly determined he wanted to be the best Marine he could possibly be and voluntarily underwent SERE training; Survive, Evasion, Resistance and Escape.

During the hardest part of the course he was given a knife, a canteen full of water and his BDU's and set loose in a heavily forested area where had to survive all on his own for five days and nights, catching his own food, finding or making a secured shelter and most of all to avoid capture, it was one of the most intense experiences of his life, but he had successfully completed the course and he was no less determined now to succeed.

If Atticus wanted the dominant role, he was going to have to work for it, despite his advantages, Brock was committed to doing whatever he could to overcome those odds, knowing that even if he failed he did so giving it his best.

There was something else Brock was focusing on as well, ever since they performed the blood liturgy, he immediately noted a perceptible change in his metabolism, the liturgy had almost immediately infused him with a sense of vitality, Brock compared it to downing an entire pot of coffee and a few energy drinks all at once and though a lot of the initial effects had subsided into a manageable level, it still coursed through out him, with each pounding beat of his heart and the effects didn't end there, as he noted now, walking down the path toward the Ceremonial grounds, the near pitch black of the night would have normally been difficult for him to traverse without the use of a flashlight, but though still slightly obscured, he could still make out the edges of the stone paved path and he could clearly make out the broad stalwart shape of Barin Young walking a few feet away, directly in front of him, leading the way, but even if he couldn't see him, he most definitely could smell him and hear him.

For Brock it was like his senses had been supercharged, Barin's day old Bristol shaving cream wafted behind him and filled Brock's nostrils like he had just freshly shaved, also the sound of the crickets and bullfrogs coming from the surrounding woods and as far as the lake itself were a lot more prominent and distinguishable, he could even hear each and every intake and exhale of breath either he or Barin made and as they progressively drew loser to the Ceremonial grounds, Brock was certain he could discern the scent of the burning oiled torches that he knew were mounted on the twin stone obelisk on top of the dais.

There were other scents as well, most a garbled array of conflicting odors that shifted in intensity, a morass of subtle fragrances each vying for distinction over the other, but among all that, as they made their final approach to the Ceremonial grounds, he could cognizantly differentiate twelve other individuals other than himself and Barin, but the most prominent was Atticus, like himself he smelled like a blend between himself and that which singularly incorporated the uniqueness that was inherently Atticus himself, and as they rounded the bend in the path that opened into the large circular valley that encompassed the grounds, he could make out the different forms of all those that comprised his teammates gathered at the bottom of the dais forming two rows with a path between them to the steps leading up the dais where Atticus and Danal stood, between the two stone pylons with two burning torches lighting the surrounding area in an almost eerie, incandescent orange glow.

As Brock silently approached the steps of the dais, Barin slipped to the side to join the others taking his place to complete the two rows of six men, leaving him to walk alone between them, down the center to the bottom of the steps.

For the first time since they were separated earlier in the afternoon, Brock locked eyes with Atticus whose face reflected the same calm serenity that Brock himself felt.

They looked intently into each other, conscious of each others mindset, bound by the duality of their individuality that was inexorably pulling them into a singularity of purpose and union.

It wasn't until Brock cleared the final step at the top of dais that his gaze slipped from Atticus to Danal.

Brock marveled at the site, gone was the bluejeans and green flannel shirt he wore earlier, Danal was now festooned in the garb of his station as Green Father and Elder of the Council of Greges.

Most notable was the hand forged bronze helmet with two protruding deer antlers each comprising twelve points, one for each of the twelve council members that was representative of the North, central and southern American Greges, around his neck was an ornate bronze chain with four polished stones each carved with a different runic symbol that Brock would later find out represented the four elements, earth, wind, fire and water.

Over his shoulders he wore a cape that stretched to the stone surface of the dais, it appeared to be comprised of a green woolen fabric on the inside and the outside was heavily covered in perfectly preserved hand fastened leaves, varying in a myriad of colors, all of which fluttered and danced with ever movement he made.

The rest of his body was completely exposed except for a fur pelt loincloth that draped to his knees and was secured around his waist with a large braided leather belt.

In his right hand he held a large wooden staff intricately carved with what Brock could only describe as snake scales which ended at the top with a horned rams head with green emerald eyes.

To his right side stood a small wooden table with several items on it, one Brock recognized as the oblong box he brought with him, given to him by Max Donnelly and dutifully presented to Atticus Walker as instructed.

As he joined the two men and stood opposite but juxtaposed to Atticus, Danal raised his staffed hand into the air between them chanting: "Salve Fratres, welcome brothers"

Like the others gathered, Brock repeated the traditional salutation.

"Et qui habet aures audiendi audiat me, let those with ears hear me now!" Danal invoked before continuing: "We have gathered to witness a once time honored tradition of our ancestors, one practiced even before the Progenitor provided his law that we still follow to this day, known to all gathered as the Codex.

Danal paused briefly letting the echo of his words fade as they bounced off the valley hills into the solitude of the starry night.

"Only twice in my lifetime have I ever seen two of the Heritage join together in this manner, but this is the first that I know of that will join one of us with our forgotten brethren" Danal extended his left hand, palm up and entreated both Atticus and Brock to place theirs on top of his.

"Atticus Walker, brethren of the Heritage, name your intent before all so that they may bear witness." Danal boomed, his voice projecting outward for all to hear.

Atticus turned to lock eyes with Danal, his hand firmly squeezing Brock's: "Green Father, Queaso Coaptandas, I invoke the Joining!"

Danal turned to Brock, his gaze burning into his own, twinged with a mirthful twinkle and a knowing wink: "Brock Gryzinski do you accept his challenge and swear to abide by the outcome?"

Danal had instructed him earlier what to say, he had to publicly submit to Atticus's challenge or it ended here and now.

Brock turned his gaze back to Atticus who stood there staring back, a hopeful expression written in every sinew of his face."Subicio Green Father", I submit." Brock proclaimed, noting the huge smile that spread across Atticus's face, both men knowing there was no turning back now, no matter the outcome of what came next.

Danal stepped forward brandishing his staff and placing both Atticus's and Brocks right hands on it to hold upright between them, he then turned to the table beside him and held up a small bottle that he opened and dipped his index finger into bringing each in turn up to their foreheads and drawing a circle with the oil before retrieving his staff and turning to Brock: "By the rules of Coaptandas, the challenged is given chase to determine who shall lead among you." He winked bemusedly at Brock before leaning in and whispering with a chuckle: "You can always just say you surrender by kneeling in front of Atticus right now, nobody here would blame you"

Without hesitation Brock shot back, staring defiantly right into Atticus's face: "If he wants it that bad he's gonna have to work for it."

Brock was pleased to see both Atticus and Danal grin ear to ear, Brock knowing both men felt secure in the fact that he would be no challenge to Atticus.

What they didn't know was that Brock had no intention of losing, he had spent the last couple of hours doing what he does best, assessing the area and formulating a battle strategy utilizing what he knew about them and what he learned during survival training, true, Atticus had the physical advantage, but Brock hadn't garnered the rank of Gunnery Sergeant and priding himself on his tactical planning skills, just to lay down and accept that the odds were stacked against him and he should just give up, fuck that, he'd wasted enough of his life hiding who he was and he had gotten quite good at it until Max helped him see what a waste that was.

He'd play this game and he'd use all those skills to do his best to counter Atticus's advantages, if nothing else, he would teach Atticus that he was no push over, if something was worth having it was worth fighting for and Brock was beginning to realize he had a lot to offer and he was damn well going to make sure Atticus understood that right from the start.

Brock leaned in and winked at Danal, a cocky half grin on his face: "Ya know Green Father, Atticus could always kneel in front of me; if I've learned nothing else in this world it's that age and treachery will always overcome youth and inexperience."

Danal burst into laughter and heartily patted Brock on the back: "Pretty and smart, a deadly combination, I think Atticus is in for one hell of a ride for the rest of his life trying to keep up with you!"

They both turned to look at Atticus who had overheard everything they had said and glowered back at them with a mirthful grimace and a sneering leer: "Time to put up or shut up, let's get this dog and pony show started!"

With that, Danal laid down the ground rules as he pointed to a small hourglass sitting on the table stating that Brock would receive half an hours head start before Atticus joined the hunt.

Brock could go anywhere within the compound and utilize anything nonmechanical to aid in his endeavors to evade capture and that Atticus had exactly one hour to retrieve him and bring him back to Danal before the last of the sand dropped and if Atticus failed to do so in the allotted time period then Brock would win by default.

Having concluded his instructions, Danal turned to Brock and asked if he had anything he wished to say before they started.

Brock thought for a second, while looking over at Atticus and said: "Tell me the truth, he couldn't track an elephant in four feet of snow could he?" Danal smiled and reached over to the hour glass and flipped it over: "I guess you're about to find out one way or the other!"

                                                                 * * * * *

As he lay there basking in the glow of their very passionate reunion and still enjoying the feel of Max's hard twelve inch cock buried balls deep in his still twitching hole, Carl McGregor couldn't help but feel a sense of contentment at how unexpectedly well their earlier conversation had gone.

Carl lay there on his side absentmindedly stroking his lovers hairy muscular arm as it lay there dormantly draped over him, still holding him close to Max's sweaty body as he contemplated their discussions upon his return shorty after having mistakenly attacked JD's "boyfriend" thinking he was a potential threat to his family.

Max and Billy returned mere minutes after the event as Carl was still trying to grapple with the fact, that in the few short days since his departure, Billy and Gavin had uncovered some nefarious plot with Max's eldest son and his best friend Kent, that his youngest now had a boyfriend, one that Max later told him in private he was certain was of the Heritage though not cognizant of it or his paternal lineage, a lineage Max was certain may very well rival his own.

There were few lines in the western hemisphere traceably as old as Max's, the only one Carl could think of that fit the area the boy had revealed to Max he was from, was now deceased and had been for several years before he was even born.

Max had also told him he had arranged for the boy and his mother to come for dinner on Sunday and he hoped it would help to gain some insight into who Jason's sire was and to determine if his mother was even aware of Jason's lineage, or of the Heritage itself.

Of course Carl's biggest concern was for JD himself, he couldn't help but wonder if his developing attachment to Jason wasn't now compromising the arrangements Max had set in motion to deal with the potential complications from both the Council and rival members of the Heritage, who would most certainly have heard by now about JD's violation of the code, a complication that both he and Max knew they would view as being prohibitive of his inclusion into the Heritage.

Carl recalled how his growing anxiety for both JD and Billy had made Max smile and pull him into an unexpected hug and a kiss on the forehead before comparing him to a worrisome mother hen protecting her young.

Carl had felt somewhat befuddled by Max's apparent lack of concern, and it must have shown on his face, causing Max to throw his hands up defensively, his smile broadening before playfully asking him what he would have him do, forbid him from seeing Jason, pointing out that that cat was already out of the bag.

As Carl had stood there weighing the outcome of that scenario, Max further confounded him by pointing out JD's initial reactions to Jake, knowing full well that Carl had to have picked up on JD's physiological responses to his proximity and reminding him about how close they were as young boys growing up, before reassuring Carl he had had a heart to heart discussion with JD about his future and telling him he had prepared a way for him to move forward and that he would know it when it happens and though Carl still worried how that choice might now impact him with his growing attachment to Jason, he also knew that Max's plan was the best possible outcome JD could expect going into the future.

Max had concluded that it was best to let JD have his fun now and enjoy what time he has with Jason, that after all was said and done, the final choice for his future was his own, that neither he or Carl could make it for him.

Carl couldn't argue with that and took comfort in the fact that at least JD was potentially presented with two options before him and both of them seemed intent, at least at the present time, to win his affections.

It was Max who shifted the focus of the conversation to Carl's time spent at the compound, listening intently as he laid out the training regimen he and Atticus had worked out, adding how much that could improve now that Hank and Jake had arrived and Carl was looking forward to see how they might enhance their routines, Carl also laid out the progress made in the various new equipment set up brought by Brock making sure Max also knew how well Atticus and Brock seemed to hit it off, something Carl knew would make Max very happy to hear.

It was at that time Max laid out his plans to send Timmy there to join the team, feeling his special skill set might be incorporated in some way to the overall training and further enhance the teams capabilities.

Carl knew that Max intended for the team to become the compounds security force, one he hoped never had to be used but strongly felt may become a necessity they couldn't be found wanting for should the need arise, and with Billy's Ceremony now just a week away and with what they suspected the outcome to be, they knew all too well the kind of opposition that might incur.

Max was especially keen to hear every detail of his run-in with Paul Lakatos and though he was pleased with the way he and Danal had handled him, he made it clear he would personally deal with Lakatos himself during the gathering for Billy's Heritage ceremony; in the way he said it, Carl could almost feel a smidgen of pity for him, knowing how harsh Max could be when he dealt with those he felt challenged his authority and it was with that in mind, as he continued to lay out the events of the week, that Carl found himself balking at bringing up what he had discussed with Danal.

Ultimately, Carl decided that it would be disrespectful to just bury his feelings, that if he did so they would just fester and eat away at him and if left unchecked could erode the very foundation that comprised the basis of their personal relationship.

He knew Max loved him and that it was that more than anything else that motivated and dictated his actions concerning Carl and his need to protect him.

In the end, it was Max that had spurred him on, by noting how apprehensive and pensive he had become, knowing there was something that was preoccupying his thoughts and urging him to discuss it.

Carl layed there in his arms now, snuggling as closely to the man he loved more than life itself as he could, fondly remembering how Max sat there on the edge of their bed with him patiently and thoughtfully listening as he poured out his observations and revelations over the last few days, detailing his conversations with Danal and about his discovery of his fathers attempt to separate them and how Max kept that from him.

Carl also related how he felt that it was indicative of Max's overall approach when dealing with him, how it made him feel he was more of a burden to Max instead of an active, trusted participant in his life and how he needed that to change, even reminding Max of his own commitment to the axiom about change being the only constant in the universe.

He recalled how Max stared intently at him, listened as he concluded by voicing his desire to be a participant in that change, not an unwitting automaton deployed without foreknowledge or insight concerning it's actions.

Carl had expected resistance, he had run this scenario over and over in his mind on his trip home, playing both parts in an attempt to formulate a rebuttal to each of Max's potential rebukes or concerns, but to Carl's amazement, by the time he concluded his final thoughts and awaited apprehensively for Max's response, he was taken by surprise when Max just leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips before pulling back and locking eyes with him, stating: "Carl McGregor you have always been the greatest source of my strength and while simultaneously my weakness and without you, I could never do what needs to be done, nor I think I would want too."

Carl knew that was Max's way of agreeing with him, he didn't have to say the words verbatim, it was enough just to know they were of the same mind and that moving forward, they would do what they had always done best, work as a team, not only to make the world a better place, but to do so together and Carl couldn't ask for anything more than that.

Still going over the days events and contentedly enjoying the pulsating feel of Max's rock hard cock deep within him, he barely noticed as Max shifted his weight behind him, bringing his lips near his ear: "I know how much you enjoy these little cuddle sessions, but I'm about ready to really tear that cunt of yours up" he whispered in his ear, his hot breath brushing against Carl's cheek and neck as he let the tip of his tongue trace the length of his ear before gently biting and nibbling at his earlobe: "But before that happens don't you think you need to go check on the boys and make sure the house is secured for the night?"

Carl turned his head slightly until his lips met Max's, teasing him with the faintest of touches: "As their father wouldn't that be your job? he asked playfully, still reluctant to sever the connection between them and giving Max's stiff cock a hard squeeze with his sphincter.

Max suddenly yanked his cock unceremoniously from Carl's wet clutching hole and climbed out of the bed heading toward the bathroom, saying over his shoulder as he did so: "You've been gone for only a week and already you've forgotten that you're now in charge of this household?"

Carl just shook his head and smiled, remembering this was just one more of Max's concessions in deference to his role in Max's life and realizing he was actually enjoying the familial aspects, though still not certain of what the boundaries were: "Maybe when you get a chance and your not so busy..." Carl retorted a sardonic half grin permeating his face: "You might want to write down all the rules I now need to adhere to?

Carl got up and casually searched for his trousers as Max poked his head out the bathroom door: "It's easy, anything having to do with the household and the boys are now your purview, how much simpler do I need to make it for you or are you getting so old you can't remember one rule?"

Carl chuckled lightly: "And if I decide that all adult males who enter this house must be naked at all times?" he said half mockingly as he pulled his trousers on, before turning to see Max now standing still butt as naked in the bathroom door way shaking his hips back and forth causing his still glistening, sex wet, semi erect phallus to smack back and forth against his thighs, a huge lecherous toothy grin on his face: "Then I'd say I am already in compliance and think I should get extra special considerations by way of throat fucking your mouth pussy as soon as you get back!"

Carl leered back at him as he opened the bedroom door: "I think that can be arranged Mr. Donnelly, so long as you don't fall asleep before I get back."

He had no sooner left the bedroom when he encountered the four teenagers still sitting in the living room where he and Max had left them about an hour ago.

Carl glanced at the kitchen clock noting it was approaching midnight, something the boys apparently were unaware of as they continued to banter back and forth, still excitedly going over the evening highlights.

Carl still felt a twinge of regret over his manhandling of Jason Dunne but was also still a little miffed at JD for not letting him know he was expecting company, something he fully intended to address with both boys when the time was right and with all that has happened, Carl fully intended to introduce some slightly stricter guidelines concerning the boy's safety and for his own peace of mind.

"Boys I hate to do this but I think it's time to break this up." He looked first to JD and then Billy adding: "You both need to get your rest, there's a lot to do tomorrow, not least of which is scrubbing this house down top to bottom and getting all the lawn care done." He looked at Jason before saying: "I hear we're having special guests for dinner Sunday and I'll be damned if they're gonna be walking into a pigsty."

Both Billy and JD groaned, before Billy spoke up, an expectant look on his face: "Uncle Carl I was planning on spending the night with Gavin at his house."

Carl considered it for a second before answering: "That might not be such a bad idea Billy considering everything that's happened since I've been gone, but I expect you back here first thing in the morning..." Carl paused thoughtfully for a second before adding: "I think it would be in your best interest, at least for the time being, if you and Gavin keep a close eye out for each other, besides I might have a few things I want to discuss with Gavin after I've had a chance to run a few things past your Dad, but I still expect you back here first thing in the morning to help out around here, understood?" Billy just smiled and nodded his head.

JD was next to speak up asking Carl if it would be okay if Jason spent the night. Carl noted that the two had become practically glued together at the hip after his and Jason's unconventional introduction earlier: "He can but under one condition..." Carl gave the two one of his more stern looks before adding: "So long as Jason sleeps on the couch and you sleep in your own bed, I am absolutely serious about you getting some rest!"

He could see the disappointment written on both JD's and Jason's faces, before he locked eyes with Jason and then JD: "And I better not find out that either of you broke my trust, because I can promise you, you won't ever get a second chance to do so again, am I clear?!"

Both boys nodded their heads affirmatively despite their obvious disappointment as Carl ushered them all into motion, Billy and Gavin saying their goodnights before departing as JD gathered a blanket and a pillow for Jason.

As the boys settled in for the evening, Carl did a final pass of the house, making sure all the doors were locked and secured before returning to the bedroom, where he found Max lying, still naked across the bed: "I assume everything is in ship shape and Bristol fashion Sgt. McGregor?" Max chuckled while giving him the once over appraisingly, a look Carl was all to familiar with and causing him to rapidly shuck the trousers he had put on mere moments ago.

Carl returned his laugh, responding with a salute as his pants hit the floor and he stepped out of them, his eight inch cock already at full mast and ready for action: "Aye, aye Cap'in all hands secured" Carl said mockingly in what had to be one of the worse cockney accents Max had ever heard.

Carl watched as Max flipped over, his hairy muscular ass pointing up in the air and aimed right at Carl: "Good, then I think it's time for the cabin boy to swab the poop deck, before he gets his nightly rations" Max growled, looking over his shoulder devilishly at Carl before reaching back and spreading his buns exposing his thick furry crack.

Carl practically leapt at the bed, diving face first between the twin mounds, it wasn't often Max allowed him near his ass and he certainly wasn't going to pass up the opportunity that now presented itself so wantonly before him.

Carl paused only briefly to take a deep breath, savoring for a second or two the deep musky scent that was uniquely Max's before driving his tongue thickly between his crack licking from his balls, up over his taint and up to the small of his back, then reversing course until the tip of his tongue centered on Max's hirsute hole and began flicking rapidly in a circular motion before driving forward into his moist tight hole.

Max moaned as he reached back with his left hand and grabbed the back of Carl's head and forced him deeper into his hole while simultaneously grinding and rotating his hips against his lover's face, enjoying the feel of his probing tongue: "C'mon boy clean that hole real good, lick the stink right off it and maybe I'll let you do my armpits next."

Max sneered playfully as he felt Carl's tongue shift into a frenzied twirling mass of spit, flesh and muffled groans, lapping hungrily at his pucker.

Much to soon, at least from Carl's perspective, Max shoved him away before flipping around on the bed onto his back, his legs spread and his hands folded behind his head and smiling lecherously down at him, from between his legs: "What are you waiting for, these pits ain't gonna lick themselves clean."

Carl knew damn well Max was pushing all his buttons tonight, offering up a treasure trove of Carl's personal favorites, thinking to himself: "I missed you too asshole" while returning Max's sneer with one of his own as he slowly crawled up Max's body, their eyes locked, each lost in the deep consuming hunger and lust that now devoured and permeated their consciousness.

Carl couldn't help but remember it had always been this way, as far back as their first time together as virginal teenagers; the burning passion that inexorably drew them to each other, igniting their ardor into a blazing chiaroscuro of fervored heat and desire until neither could tell where the other began or ended.

Carl had always thought that the passion would slowly ebb as they grew older, that the need would somehow lessen with familiarity over the passage of time, never knowing just how naive that thought was until the years rolled passed but the hunger didn't wane.

In some respects Carl felt it had refined and even became more intense at times.

Whatever the reason, it didn't matter, all either of them could ever hope for was to assuage it briefly before the need consumed them again like it was doing right now.

Carl could feel the thick hairs of Max's moist armpit tickle his nose as he took in the aromatic bouquet that avidly gnawed at his olfactory senses.

If there was a room full of thousand sweaty men and he was blindfolded he would still be able to distinguish Max immediately, his aroma leading him right to him.

He could feel Max's large fingers on the back of his head again, drawing him into his pit as his tongue extended, wet in anticipation, his mouth watering expectantly as his flesh made contact with Max's.

As it often did, Carl lost himself in the overload to his senses, completely devoted to his task until he felt Max's hand guide him from one pit to the other where he resumed ardently caressing the furry flesh with his lapping tongue, savoring his work as a labor of devotion.

All too soon Max pulled him away, guiding his lips to his own and cramming their mouths together, locking them together into an osculating delirium that overpowered their perceptions.

Carl could feel Max slowly roll them over, reversing their positions, before pivoting around into a sixty nine position, hauling Carl's hairy muscular thighs into the air, his waist bent in half as his knees locked between Max's armpits and torso, fully exposing his ass to him while Max's knees split sideways as he lowered his groin into Carl's face, until the massive head of his drooling dong hovered precariously over his hungry lips and brushed against the tip of his nose leaving a string of pre-cum across his philtrum before being engulfed by Carl's hungry lips.

In anticipation of Max's next move, Carl inhaled deeply, filling his lungs to capacity as he awaited the inevitable plunge of Max's equine endowments into the depths of his oral cavity.

There were few people in this world that Carl knew of who could accommodate Max's prodigious length and girth and Carl prided himself on being chief among them, having had years worth of practice doing so.

Within seconds Carl could feel Max's schlong begin it's slow trek into the deepest recesses of his esophagus until the wiry hairs of his pubic mound chafed against his suctioning lips, his bulbous balls smothering his nose and obscuring his vision.

Carl gulped and tightened the tissues of his orifice around his veiny python, undulating his throat muscles and tongue in alternating synchronicity, just the way he knew Max derived the most pleasure from; in return for his ministrations he felt Max lean forward, spreading the lips of his anus apart with his thumbs as he drove his tongue deep into Carl's hole, pulling back only briefly, grunting deeply: "God I've missed your fucking pussy" before diving back in until the tip of his tongue located Carl's ass clit and began massaging it internally, sending tremors of electrical pleasure down Carl's spine.

Max began see sawing back and forth, tongue fucking Carl's twat as his huge phallus raked against Carl's tonsils, his palpitating tennis ball sized glans occasional popping past his throat cavity into his mouth where Carl would simultaneously gulp in more air and suave the flaring coronal ridge and dip the tip of his tongue into Max's piss slit extracting more of his sweet tangy seminal fluids.

Together they built a rhythm, working each other into a languishing cavalcade of prolonged per-orgasmic pleasure and hovering there on the precipice neither wanting to break the connection, building each other brick by brick into a state of pure animalistic fervor.

Try as they might and despite their earlier coupling and release, neither could withstand the mounting explosion building to eruption within them before finally relenting to the inescapable fury of their mutual climax.

Carl could feel his entire body twitch and spasm at the force of his own eruption, his cum splashing against Max's chest and abdomen as Max in turn pistoning thick viscous ropes of molten sperm down his gullet.

Max's lips formed a vacuuming seal around Carl's anus, suctioning forcefully as he continued to swirl the tip of his tongue against Carl's prostate, maximizing and sustaining the orgasmic bliss that rocked Carl's body.

For what seemed like minutes the two coerced every scintillating drop of pleasure they could from each other until shear exhaustion necessitated their reluctant uncoupling.

Max rolled off of Carl into a seated position against the metal headboard, sweat pouring down his face and body as he looked down at Carl, who was still gasping for breath heavily, eyes closed.

"Damn.." Max growled, his voice deep and guttural: "That wasn't half bad."

Carl's eyes fluttered open, though still glazed over, turning his head slightly as he tried to focus in on Max and trying to gargle out a raspy response: "Maybe with a little more practice we'll finally get it right."

Max slapped him on the chest before climbing out of bed and stretching.

Carl watched admiringly as Max crossed the room and entered the bathroom, he giggled bemusedly as he heard the sound of Max's piss hit the bowl of water noisily before the inevitable flush and watched as his lover reappeared and sauntered over to the bed, Carl's red butt plug clutched haphazardly in his hand.

Fighting the urge to groan, Carl was about to dutifully turn around and offer his ass up to Max, knowing all to well what to expect.

Max smiled down at him and Carl watched in fascination as Max tossed the plug into the bedside garbage can before climbing into bed next to him, pulling Carl effortlessly against him and kissing him gently on the lips before looking contentedly into Carl's questioning eyes: "I don't think we'll be needing that anymore baby."

                                                     Chapter Twenty:

What was he thinking, this was just fucking nuts Brock Gryzinski kept repeating to himself as he now ran down the stone paved path heading away from the Ceremonial grounds of the Devil Dawg Compound and back to the Lodge.

Mere minutes had passed since Danal Cornelius flipped that hour glass signaling the start of what he referred to as the "great hunt" and Brock had wasted no time in darting off the dais after giving Atticus one last quick glance.

He had half an hour head start, not much time, but still doable by Brock's calculations, but he didn't have a second to spare if he was going to accomplish what he had planned on doing to equalize his chances against an opponent that clearly had the biological advantage.

Atticus was clearly stronger, faster and his senses were far superior to the average man, but as Brock had come to realize, after the initial boost to his own senses and metabolism from their earlier ceremony, in what Danal had called a blood liturgy (which in fact was just an exchange of blood passed between him and Atticus through a wound Danal had made with that ceremonial dagger in the palm of their hands) he too had a boost that helped, at least in part, to negate some of those advantages.

Brock couldn't help but wonder if Danal had done that on purpose with that thought in mind or whether it was actually part of the ceremony, either way, he was thankful for the boost and was even now finding it useful as he rapidly traversed the distance back to the Lodge at a breakneck speed, something prior to the liturgy, would have been far more treacherous a course without the increased but waning boost to his vision and other senses.

As he finally made his way to the parking lot in front of the Lodge, he stopped only long enough to catch his bearings before making a dash for the lake.

Brock looked out over the serene looking water as be knelt down and began unlacing his boots and discarding them on the shoreline, he reached into the top pocket of his camo blouse and removed a small plastic bag, setting it aside as he removed his blouse and dropped it to the ground beside his boots, he did this purposefully knowing Atticus would find them and know he had entered the water.

Brock smiled to himself as he then knelt once again to carefully remove his socks and placed them in the plastic bag and sealed it until he was sure it was watertight and shoved it into the pocket of his BDU trousers before diving into the lake and swam as fast as he could, heading directly for the shore on the other side.

Even though it was a small lake, the distance between opposing shorelines had to be at least equal to the distance of two football fields, maybe a little more; stopping only once at the halfway mark to get his bearings again and to catch his breath, he gave a silent thanks that the lake water was still rather warm and that the breeze coming across the water was blowing from the direction he had just come from, he knew that it would be easier for Atticus to be able to pick up his scent that way and Brock's plan was contingent on Atticus knowing he had indeed swam across the lake to the other side.

By the time Brock took foothold on the opposite side of the lake, he estimated that the time it took was roughly five minutes, hesitating only momentarily, Brock proceeded to climb the rocky, grass covered banks upward and into the wooded hillside approximately 30 to 40 feet where he quickly shucked his tan T-shirt and deliberately tossed it as far as he could up the hill, he then reached into his trouser pocket and removed the plastic bag holding his socks and carefully removed one while searching around him for a fist sized rock that he then shoved into the sock clear to the toe before tying it off.

Brock began swinging the sock around, twirling it faster and faster before releasing it, letting it fly up the hillside further into the forest directly to his right, he then repeated the entire procedure with the other sock except for letting it go in the opposite direction, to the far left, smiling to himself in satisfaction, thinking: "That should chew away at your time Atticus."

Having accomplished his goal on the opposite side of the lake, Brock carefully backtracked his footsteps, being as careful as he could in the placement of his footing while walking backwards, he retraced his steps clear to the banks of the shoreline, shucking his trousers and leaving them where he had initially made footing.

Now clad only in his jockstrap, Brock dove back into the warm waters of the lake, tangentially veering to the left of his starting point, estimating he would come out somewhere near the small wooden dock on the shore near the Donnelly cabin.

Without pausing, knowing his timing was now very crucially close to Atticus' start time, Brock put everything he had in covering the distance and making landfall before that happened.

Brock's entire line of deduction forced him to factor in the knowledge that he had no real estimation or comparison to the limits of those within the Heritages senses, he had no real idea how developed their sense of smell was or how keen their eyesight was, and questions like whether they could just see further and more clearly or could they actually perceive, as he suspected, radiant heat, were left unanswered, he just knew it was greater than his own and that he knew they had vastly superior night vision, a benefit he himself was still currently, though now waning, experiencing due to the blood liturgy he had shared earlier with Atticus.

It was with that thought in mind specifically, that as Brock made shoreline again he paused at the shallow waters edge, in ankle deep waters and scooped up handfuls of mud and began smearing it all over his body, including his face and head, while additionally pulling down handfuls of Spanish moss from the surrounding trees and draping it all over the wet mud adding an element of camouflage to what he hoped the dual purpose of the mud garnered him; Brock deduced that the mud would not only help mask his scent but would also mask his ambient body temperature.
Having completed his task, Brock stealthily covered the distance to the back of the cabin, where he hid within nearby shrubs, a position that still afforded him a concealed visual of the path leading to the Ceremonial grounds and waited expectantly for Atticus to begin his pursuit.

In what seemed an interminably long passage of time, Brock could clearly discern the loud cheers and oo-rahs, knowing for a certainty that moment, what Danal had referred to as the great hunt, was finally at hand.

Brock crouched there in the shrubs, trying to make himself as invisible as possible, anxiously awaiting Atticus's emergence from the pathway into the parking lot.

Far sooner than he thought humanly possible, Atticus did in fact appear mere moments later, in what Brock calculated as nearly half the time it took hm to traverse the same distance and though it was faster than he had anticipated, Brock was certain it still factored well within the parameters of his estimations.

From his hidden vantage point Brock suddenly felt a surge of anxiety as Atticus halted and appeared to be scanning the area, his nose raised high sniffing the air and turning to face in his direction; for a few short seconds Brock wondered if he had screwed up and that Atticus was even now aware of him, despite his best precautions, detecting his position.

Those fears quickly passed as Atticus suddenly veered right and ran toward the lakeside shoreline. stopping briefly, glaring across the lake before diving in and began his trek across the lake, almost perfectly following the same course Brock had previously set.

His confidence in his strategy now bolstered as Brock relinquished the security of his hiding place and darted toward the bivouac the team had set up.

He quickly rushed to the tent he himself had set up the day before for himself, Brock retrieved the rucksack he had packed earlier and left for this moment before invading the other tents, ripping through his teammates personal affects and appropriating bottles and cans of aftershave and colognes he found until his was satisfied he had enough to accomplish his next task.

Tossing the items into his rucksack Brock proceeded out of the bivouac about fifty feet, before sitting the sack down and searching the area for a small branch he could use and settling for one roughly about the size and thickness of a baseball bat.

One by one Brock chose a bottle or can from among his collection and proceeded to pepper the entire surrounding are with the various often overpowering noxious scents by rocketing each through the air spraying or dispersing their contents by whacking them with the branch all while being as cautious as possible not to get any of the liquids on his person until each and every item was used.

Even without his ramped up olfactory senses the entire area for hundreds of yards in every direction now reeked overpoweringly of the artificial stench.

Brock smiled wickedly to himself, mockingly saying under his breath: "Sniff me out now big guy" before snatching up his rucksack and darting further into the woods.

By Brock's estimate he was certain Atticus must have reached the other side of the lake and was even now having to reconnoiter, in several directions, before he figured out his little ruse.

Brock actually hoped, though he wasn't counting on it, that Atticus would chew up all the time allotted searching for him on the opposite side of the lake, but like any good strategist Brock wasn't hedging his bets and putting all his eggs in one basket.

After reaching a minimum distance of at least a hundred yards from the encampment, Brock set down the rucksack and opened it, pulling, at first the pair of running shoes he had packed and donning them as quickly as possible, then retrieving a pair of synthetic gripping gloves he used for repelling exercises and finally a thirty foot length of nylon rope attached to a small, three pronged stainless steel grappling hook.

After putting on the gloves, Brock tossed the rucksack as far back up into the woods as he could before he began climbing the nearest pine tree until he was a good twenty five feet off the ground; from that height Brock was able to swing the rope with the hook and release it to secure a hold on the nearest tree to him and swing Tarzan like to his new destination and repeating this procedure numerous times until he had made a complete semi circular path around the campsite, ending with him finally swinging from the last tree to land feet first on the grassy ditch line of the main road leading into and out of the Devil Dawg Compound.

Having completed his planned course, Brock now cautiously headed back to the parking lot and hid himself from view beside one of the MTVR vehicles that afforded him a clear view of the lakeside.

With no small degree of self congratulatory pride in his flawlessly executed plan, Brock sat silently as he awaited for Atticus' reappearance before he could execute the final stage of his stratagem, which was as equally simple, if Atticus made it back and began tracking his course through the bivouac and into the woods, Brock would once again make his way to the lake and swim across it in the same path he used before except this time he would pick a direction to start running into and run as fast as he could until the time ran out and he was safe to return and claim his victory.
"Ya know, that was quite the show ya put on up there Gunny", came the deep guttural voice twinged with a hint of a snicker from above him, coming from the back of the truck he was crouched beside.

Brock leapt to his feet just in time to see Atticus Walker rise up from his prone position to peer down at him over the side rail of the vehicle, his eyes full of mirth, his lips contorted into a sneering half grin.

"Tag, your it!" Atticus laughed, hauling himself up and over the side rail of the truck to land squarely and neatly next to a very surprised Brock Gryzinski.

"How the hell..." was all Brock could manage to stammer out, still in shock: "I saw you swim across the lake!" he insisted, his voice sounding as incredulous as he felt.

Atticus draped his beefy muscular arm around Brock's shoulder and reached over to ruffle his mud caked hair: "That's simple, you only thought I did because I wanted you too, the truth is, I knew where you were the whole time."

Brock just shook his head in disbelief, knowing full well he had executed his plan flawlessly; Atticus could see the mounting confusion and consternation on Brock's face and decided that maybe it would be best not to mock him further, especially since this night would mark the first of many they would share together throughout the rest of their lives.

In way of an answer to his unspoken question, Atticus clasped Brock's right hand between his and brought it up between them, showing him his bandaged palm: "With this wound I could track you anywhere within a miles radius, the scent of your blood is now and forever etched in my head, besides..."He smiled gently at Brock leaning into his ear and softly whispering: "You're not the only Marine in this compound who has undergone SERE training."

Brock couldn't help but laugh despite the fact he now felt like he had been set up right from the start, but it was a trap he had willingly walked into and after all things considered, the end result was that either way, he and Atticus would have still ended up together and judging by the size of the bulge in Atticus' pants, he was certain he could have done a lot worse.

Without another thought, Brock reached down and shoved the four fingers of his right hand down the front of Atticus BDU trousers and clasped his belt buckle and turned and dragged him by his crotch toward the path heading back to the Ceremonial grounds: "C'mon country boy, let's get this over with, I'm tired, wet and covered in mud and might I add, hornier than a bitch in heat and your parading around the scratch to my itch!"

                                                             * * * * *

"Man dude, you have got to stop beating yourself up over this" Gavin Hollis repeated once again as he and Billy Donnelly sat on Gavin's bed finishing the last of the burgers and fries they picked up at the local BK on their way back to his house for the night: "You heard what your Dad said, your brother and Kent are okay and back where they are supposed to be."

Billy knew that everything Gavin was saying was true, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that something was still wrong, he knew it didn't make sense, but the mounting feeling of trepidation, despite the good news about his brother, still lingered.

Exacerbated, Gavin through his hands up in defeat: "Okay, what's it going to take to get you past this?"

Billy hung his head, knowing Gavin was just trying to help but knowing there was only one thing that would truly make him feel better and that would be to actually talk to his brother, to hear his voice telling him everything was okay.

Growing up, Mike had always been this intensely focused persona, always pushing himself to be the best at everything, no matter what he tackled. He was an incredible athlete, made perfect grades, always demanding the best of himself, but there was his soft side, a side he seldom showed others but one he often demonstrated in the way he treated both Billy and their younger brother JD.

Billy couldn't begin to count the many ways Mike would always encourage him to push past his limitations, to never accept defeat and to learn from his mistakes and do his best not to repeat it, in Billy's mind, other than their Dad, there was no one as determined and confident as him, yes, sometimes to the point of arrogance, but what young guy didn't do that from time to time, especially someone as adept at everything as his brother always seemed to be.

When he and Baxter first showed an interest in wrestling, it was Mike that spent endless hours with them showing them various moves and holds he had learned and how to counter each; he pushed them both at the gym and gave them their first workout routines, emphasizing the importance of flexibility and agility in proportion to strength and self discipline, but most importantly, strategy.

Mike had been everything he could have ever wished for in an older brother and he still keenly felt his absence in his life, even more so as his own apprehension grew as the day drew nearer to his own eighteenth birthday and his Heritage Ceremony.

Billy couldn't help but worry and dwell on it, after all, it was right after Mike's Ceremony that everything changed and none of it for the better.

Almost overnight his brother completely changed, gone was the confident, structured self control; if Billy were to try and describe it, the one word he could envision most was defeated and from that defeat came anger and resentment most of which was aimed at their father.

He didn't know what had transpired to so drastically affect such a dramatic change in his brother, but as his own time approached it was eating at him more and more. He couldn't ever imagine anything that would turn him against his own father, but up to the point of Mike's Ceremony, he couldn't ever imagine Mike would change so much that he would so openly defy their father and to do so with so much anger and resentment.

It was true, that Mike had always tended to be closer to their mother than their Dad, but at least their Dad never abandoned them and Billy had always gotten the impression that Mike felt the same way, but after his Ceremony, accusing their Dad of driving their mother away became an all to often repeated refrain during hushed but heated exchanges between the two.

All of it had been so confusing to both Billy and JD and try as they might, in the days that followed his Ceremony, they couldn't get their brother to open up and talk to them about it, dismissing their concerns by saying they would soon find out for themselves, and Billy sadly recalled how it had all come to a heated end; he had never seen his brother so enraged as he poured and heaped vitriol at their Dad, who just stood there in the living room of their old base house, arms folded over his chest as Mike vented his rage at him, not saying a word, just glaring back at him silently.

 It had started shortly after dinner and Carl had quickly ushered Billy and JD out of the room, but ultimately, there was nowhere in the house they could go that Mike's booming voice couldn't be heard and shortly after Carl returned to join them, he and JD snuck out into the hallway to listen in.

The shouting finally concluded by Mike accusing their Dad of being both a liar and a deceiver; to their surprise it wasn't their Dad who spoke but Carl, they watched as Carl stepped up to Mike and slapped him so hard it nearly knocked Mike to his knees, before clutching him by the collar of his shirt and thrusting his face in Mike's before speaking to him in the most cold and guttural tone imaginable: "The only liar that has ever lived in this house was your bitch of a mother and the only one who has ever deceived you was yourself."

They watched almost clinging to each other as Carl tossed him to the floor and with an accusatory finger wagging under Mike's nose: "You father has done nothing but try to warn you and prepare you for your future in the Heritage, it was your mother that broke his trust and revealed too much to you at too early of an age for you to comprehend, she broke the Code and poisoned your mind with delusions of grandeur."

They both had watched as their father just shook his head and placed a restraining hand on Carl's shoulder before reaching down with his other toward Mike and offering assistance that Mike slapped away before jumping to his feet giving both their father and Carl one last look of disgust before storming out of the house; two days later they had learned that Mike and Kent had joined the Marines and were on their way to bootcamp.

Once again, Billy found himself missing Baxter, wishing he was there now to talk too; sure Gavin had done so much for him, but the one thing he couldn't do was bring up his fears of his coming Heritage Ceremony, how would he ever be able to explain something he himself as of yet understood and he knew Gavin would ask uncomfortable questions whereas Baxter would already know what he was feeling and why he was feeling that way, his entire life Baxter had been the Ying to his Yang and with each passing day he missed his comforting presence more than words could say, it was like he was missing a vital part of himself a void that could only be filled by his return.

Gavin broke the the silence between them by positing: "Ya know, there's one thing you could do that might cheer you up."

Billy looked at his young friend, he could see the concern written on his face and wondering whether Gavin was now hitting on him or actually had something else in mind, causing him to respond: "I don't know if I'm in the mood for that right now."

Gavin giggled and punched him in the arm playfully: "You wish... no man I was going to suggest that maybe you call him." Gavin looked over at the clock on his bedside table, noting: "It's one am here but in Germany it's seven in the morning, he might be up by now, at the very least he should be back in his quarters."

Billy's eyes lit up at Gavin's suggestion, realizing he was right and giving himself a mental kick in the pants for not thinking of it himself instead of just sitting there moping.

"Better yet..." Gavin said, moving to his computer and typing furiously for a few seconds: "Why don't we Skype him?" Gavin sent the chat request and beckoned Billy to take his place at his desk and the blank video screen as the request continued to process.

After a few interminably long moments passed, Billy was about to give up when his brother's face suddenly appeared on the screen, smiling back at him from across the other side of the world: "Hiya runt, long time no see!" Almost instantly Billy's trepidation lifted his mood became joyous and he could feel the waves of relief wash over him as his eyes began to water and threaten to spill over: "Mike, you're okay?!!" was all he could manage to say, the words sticking in his throat.

Gavin sat back on his bed watching his friend reconnected with his older brother, observed as the tension that had knotted the muscles in his body, relaxed and gave way to the now jovial repartee exchanged by the two siblings.

As his concern faded for his friend he finally took note of the man Billy called brother; Gavin had always thought that Billy was extremely handsome, even one of the hottest guys in school, but the golden, wavy haired Adonis that now conversed with Billy was next level, Hollywood actor/model handsome, Gavin found himself nearly gawking at him he was so stunning before he came to his senses and realized he was missing out on their conversation.

"There was no reason for all the fuss runt, seriously, Kent and I are fine, I don't know how the wires got so crossed, but Kent and I were at the facility voluntarily, we thought it had all been approved, but it looks like Major Drummond forgot to properly process the paperwork." Mike mused, the smile on his face disarmingly upbeat and buoyant.

"But why would you volunteer at a German genetics lab, did they run out of lab rats or something?" Billy queried smiling but with a hint of skepticism thrown in for good measure.
Mike laughed and rolled his eyes: "We weren't there as guinea pigs runt, we were helping them beef up their security protocols, that's all, it was kind of a friend helping a friend sort of deal, nothing to worry yourself over..." Mike's smile broadened, adding: "As you can see I'm still the same ol irresistibly handsome stud I've always been."

Gavin could tell by the timbre of Billy's voice and mannerisms that like himself he still wasn't quite buying fully into Mike's story and Gavin in particular was absolutely certain there was far more going on here than met the eye and he himself was about to interject on Billy's behalf with a few questions of his own when Mike suddenly changed the topic: "I got your emails about your birthday and I just wanted you to know I hadn't forgotten and I might just have some good news for you" Gavin saw it for the deflection that it was, but it did manage to refocus Billy's attention: "Please say your at east thinkin' about coming?" Billy asked his voice now full of hopeful optimism: "Kent and I both have put in a request for leave so we can fly over for the weekend, we hope to find out today so we can make the necessary arrangements to make it by Friday."
Gavin couldn't help but notice how happy that news had made Billy so he shoved his own concerns to the back of his mind but filed them away for future reference, thinking that maybe Billy wasn't the best person to voice them too and thinking maybe he should have another conversation with his Uncle Carl.

Billy and Mike talked for a few more minutes before he announced he had to go stating that he had to report for duty within the next half hour.

Mike's image had no sooner faded and Gavin closed out the chat then Billy threw his arms around him and for the second time that evening and began swinging him around the room thanking him over and over again for everything he had done for him: "I can't wait to tell my Dad and Uncle Carl and Hank too for that matter, won't they be surprised?!"

"Yeah..." Gavin agreed reluctantly, but doing his best to feign a happy veneer: "I'm sure the news will come as a complete shock to all of them!" Gavin knew Billy didn't catch the sarcasm in his voice, but Gavin was more convinced than ever, that there was more to all this than he was currently aware of and if Billy couldn't see that, then as his friend he would have to tackle this for him and there was only one person he was sure might agree with his concerns and that was Billy's Uncle Carl!

                                                                * * * * *

It had been a long day, full of twists and turns and surprising revelations followed by an equally chaotic and astonishing evening that bordered, at least from Brock's perspective, on damn near fantastical.

Never in his life would he have ever dreamed he would now be where he was, standing on top of the dais in the Ceremonial grounds of the Devil Dawg Compound waiting expectantly for Atticus Walker to rejoin him so they could complete some ancient ritual that would forever intertwined their lives together.

This was the third time that evening he now stood where he was; after the great hunt, he and Atticus had made their way back to the grounds and Danal had declared Atticus victorious in the hunt to the hoots and hollers of their teammates.

Danal had then suggested that before he completed the ritual that the two of them go and clean up and meet back at the reliquary at midnight where he would then perform the final liturgy binding them together, Brock had used the time to cleanse himself of the layers of caked mud and grime and after shaving and donning a clean set of BDU's, he had returned and now stood there atop the dais, alone with Danal Cornelius nervously awaiting the return of Atticus Walker.

"That's quite the get up you got on there Danal." Brock posited bemusedly, giving the elder a lilting sneer and casual wink.

Danal eyed him up and down: "We all wear costumes my boy, as a famous drag queen once observed "We're all born naked and the rest is drag", no truer words were ever spoken."
Danal returned his wink with a playful jab at his belly and a hearty laugh.

Brock laughed with him, thankful for the minor distraction and the breaking of the awkward silence between them: "Is there anything I should know before Atticus gets here?" he queried, hearing the slight anxiety exhibited in his own voice and knowing Danal most assuredly had picked up on it as well.

Brock was a little taken aback when Danal started giggling, a mirth-some twinkle in his eyes that Brock mistook for mockery: "Sure, laugh it up, ya know, I could still say no."

Danal laughed even louder, reaching over and placed a hand on Brock's shoulder and gave him a reassuring squeeze: "My jovial mood isn't meant as sarcasm toward you my boy, you are going to be just fine." Danal smiled lecherously at Brock, followed by another wink: "It's the apprehensive consternation of your intended I find humorous."

The confused look that filled Brock's facial features voiced his confusion far better than the words he was still trying to postulate before Danal concluded observationally: "You don't get it do you?" He said, more as a statement than a question, before asking: "Why do you think it's taking him so long to return?"

Brock didn't have the slightest clue, but the question was valid it wasn't like Atticus had to scrape and scrub a thick layer of dried mud from his entire body and for that matter where was everyone else, where were his other ten teammates?

"I don't know..." He mused sardonically: "Maybe he got a run in his stockings or he can't find a purse to match his shoes."

Danal just smiled back at him, shaking his head, giving his shoulder one more hard squeeze before releasing him: "You really don't understand do you?" Danal postulated, before continuing: "Your encounters with Max and Carl afford you a level of experience in what to expect from one of the Heritage does it not, or even with men in general?"

Brock considered his words for an instant before it registered what he was actually implying: "Are you saying Atticus has never been with another guy before and now he's nervous?"

Danal chuckled, his eyes locked with Brock's: "Clearly Max left a few gaps in your education about those within the Heritage."

It was at that moment Brock could clearly hear the steady marching footfalls coming from behind him and knew without looking, who was now approaching.

Danal and Brock continued to stare at one another, the mirth never leaving the elders eyes: "You are partially correct, but his inexperience isn't limited to just one gender."

He didn't know if his jaw had actually dropped open or not, but proverbially he felt it must have hit the ground below him as he hesitantly posited: "Are you saying Atticus is a virgin?!"

The broad Cheshire cat grin that spread across Danals' face, ear to ear, left absolutely no doubt he had nailed it and as he gulped down a sharp intake of air, he turned to face the procession just now clearing the path and entering the Ceremonial grounds of the Devil Dawg Compound.

All this time Brock had thought that this was somehow a set up by Max Donnelly in which he, Brock Gryzinski was being offered up as some sort of gift to Atticus Walker, nothing more than the passing of goods from one owner to another, but Danal's revelation now changed his entire perception, that despite the outcome of the hunt earlier, it was now clear, that as the night progressed it would be up to him to take charge of this situation and see it through to its logical conclusion and that Atticus, though the winner of the great hunt and soon to be voice for the both of them, was also a blank slate to write upon, to mold and shape and build a relationship with, his life experiences making him the guide in their shared existence.

"Max you crafty bastard," Brock thought to himself, his own face now covered in a broad grin as he watched the marching procession approach the dais.

Brock felt a sudden twinge in his crotch at seeing them draw nearer; there were few sights in the world that affected him as much as this, all ten of his teammates were formally attired in their Dress Blues, they marched in dual columns with a similarly attired Atticus Walker between them, the light of the twin torches reflected off their brass pips and buttons, each man meticulously dressed to precise Marine Corps specifications until they reached the bottom steps of the dais and a lone Atticus Walker ascended until he stood officiously by his side, only offering the briefest of head turns to momentarily lock eyes with Brock before turning to Danal and assuming a full parade rest acknowledging his readiness to begin.

Brock did his best to suppress his mounting lust for the uniformed giant beside him while simultaneously feeling grossly under dressed for the Ceremony at hand, regretting his failure to foresee a need to pack his own Dress Blues.

Thankfully Danal made a quick start to the final ceremony by once again beginning with the ancient greeting of Salve and the entire group responded with the traditional Salevete.
"Brothers of the Heritage..." Danal began, his arms raised, hands extended, palm up: "Let all bear witness to the final rights of the Coaptandas, the joining of two into one." Danal reached down and took Atticus' right hand and turned him toward Brock, then did the same with Brock, until both men faced each other, their right hands clasped together.

Brock and Atticus locked eyes, staring intently into each other's gaze barely aware of Danal binding their two hands together with a cord of soft braided leather and then anointing their foreheads once again with his index finger, dipped in scented oil.

Danal covered their joined hands with his own and announcing: "Et qui habet aures audiendi audiat me, factum est, Let those with ears hear me now, it is done."

Brock watched in fascination as Danal reached over and flipped the lid to the long white oblong box that Brock himself had brought, finally revealing to Brock it's contents.

Inside there were two long cords composed of a long rod of bronze metal braided with two leather strips, each rod ended with a small ornate ball with a hook at each end.

Danal removed the first one and turned to Brock, reaching up with the rod until it was behind his neck, Danal's hands clasping it firmly on either side of his head, before commanding in the ancient tongue "subicio" (submit)

Brock stared him in the eye passively as Danal began to bend the metal, leather woven bar around his neck until the two hooked ends met and clasped together in a near perfectly conforming circular torque; once accomplished Danal gave the ends a final twist with his hands forcing the metal hooks to seal and thus lock in place forever.

After repeating the same process with Atticus, Danal freed their hands and held them both up over their heads and declared loudly: "Duo in carne uno, two become one!"

Both men smiled as their teammate erupted in cheers and rushed up the steps to encircle them, each hugging them in turn and patting them on their backs or giving them a playful smack on the ass.

After a few moments, Danal clasped his hands on their shoulders and drew their heads in close to his and speaking loud enough for all gathered to hear: "Max has graciously extended the use of his cabin to the both of you so that you may consummate this union, you are relieved of all other duties until Monday morning and I do not want to see either of you again until then."

With a roar and numerous ohh-rahs, their teammates gathered around them dragging them from the dais and quickly escorted them from the ceremonial grounds right up to the front door of the cabin and herding them both in, Scott Taylor and Barin Young took up guard position on either side of the door and before closing it, Cpl. Scott Taylor instructed them that their every need had been set up and provided for inside and that the team would take turns standing guard for the next two days and nights to make sure they were not interrupted, before pulling the door shut leaving the two of them alone, staring awkwardly at each other.

As they stood there silently Brock noticed the cooler and and a couple of grocery bags sitting on the counter that separated the kitchen and main room: "Shall we check out what kinda goodies they left us?" Brock suggested as he walked past Atticus and started poking through the bags: "I don't know about you, I haven't eaten since breakfast and I'm starving." he concluded, giving Atticus a brief sideways glance as he pulled out a package of hoagie buns from one of the bags and then flipping the lid of the cooler and hauling out a package of assorted luncheon meats.
"Now that ya mention it..." Atticus noted in his deep southern twang, a smile spreading across his handsome face: "I haven't either and my bellies been rumbling for hours."

As Brock set about making a few overly stuffed hoagies, Atticus grabbed a large bag of chips, a package of chocolate chip cookies and a couple of beers from the cooler and began spreading the items out for them across the counter before sitting down on one of the bar stools.

After completing the hoagies, Brock pulled one of the stools up next to Atticus and took a seat beside him: "Don't be getting no ideas about me becoming some housewife who spends all day in the kitchen cookin', 'cause this is the extent of my culinary skills." Brock stated, a bit more authoritative sounding than he intended and attempting to diffuse it by giving Atticus a half smile and a playful wink.

Atticus just smiled back at him: "See'in as we don't have a kitchen that shouldn't be a prob" he chuckled, before adding: "But even if we did, I wouldn't mind do'in it, I did most of the cookin' for my pap paw and me when I went to live with him after my parents died."

Brock already knew about Atticus' parents untimely death in a car crash when he was still just a kid and that it had been his grandfather who raised him and even got him through his Heritage ceremony, he had made it a point to read the bio's and stats on all the men he would be training with.

Brock was about to make a comment, when he noticed Atticus lift his hoagie to take a bite, Brock reached over and took hold of his forearm blocking him from doing so: "Are you really willing to take the risk of soiling your uniform jarhead?"

Atticus stared back at him as he lowered the sandwich, watching intently as Brock reached over and started unbuttoning his dress blouse, then standing to move behind him and help slip the near skin tight jacket from his arms and shoulders before carefully laying it across the countertop; Brock smiled inwardly noting he had not worn a T-shirt underneath and now sat there bare chested, a sight Brock stood there admiring for a few seconds before returning to his seat beside him.

"Do I have your permission to keep my pants on while we eat?" He queried jovially: "Or will you be removing those as well?" He chuckled again winking at him mischievously.

Brock sneered back at him: "You can keep 'em for now, but don't be surprised in the future if I make a no clothes rule anytime we're home."

A serious expression crossed Atticus' face before responding: "We don't have a home and I don't recall us having had a discussion about cohabitating either."

Brock locked eyes with him, not sure that what he just heard was made in jest or not, before responding sternly: "Then I see no reason why we should be spending the night together Corporal, we'll finish our meal and I'll return to my tent and you can return to yours". Brock turned away from him and started consuming his hoagie, fully aware that Atticus was still staring at him but completely ignoring his presence.

A few moments passed before Atticus spoke again: "We have to spend the night together, the Coaptandas isn't valid unless we consummate the ceremony."

The tone in Atticus' voice seemed far more measured and calculated to Brock, like they would just be performing some ritual to seal the deal, a mere physical act devoid of any other purpose than the completion of some task.

Brock continued to eat, still refusing to make eye contact with him and coldly responding: "A hand shake is legally binding as far as intent goes for any business transaction in the state of Georgia, I see no need to complicate things further, after all..." Brock turned his head to stare solemnly right into Atticus's glaring eyes: "This is not a marriage, it's a joining of two people for the sole purpose of unifying two different groups, you don't need to fuck to do that and I have absolutely no intention of doing so with someone whose only goal is to conclude a business arrangement."

Brock could visibly see Atticus' previous analytical glare shift into a full on disapproving, glowering scowl, he realized that things were about to go from bad to worse: "The Codex is quite clear about the definition of consummation Gryzinski and it ain't a handshake." Atticus' voice, though still subdued, had the hint of a growing growl behind it as his gaze now nearly burned into his own.

"Ya know what Walker..." Brock began, his own voice cold, precise, cutting like a surgeon's scalpel as he slipped from the stool to stand momentarily, defiantly returning Atticus' stare: "This is not what was presented to me by either you or Danal and I see no reason, since we haven't "Sealed the Deal" so to speak...." Brock practically spat the last words at Atticus before concluding: " I see no reason to continue this fucking farce." Brock turned and walked toward the cabin door, becoming more angry with every step he took before a loud thud came from behind him; Brock whirled around to confront a now standing Atticus Walker, his eyes to flaming emeralds, burning white hot in his direction, his stool now laying across the floor where it fell a few feet away: "We both wear the torque of the Coaptandas, what has been done cannot be UNDONE!"

Atticus boomed the last word and slammed his fist on the countertop with another loud thud that threatened to buckle and splinter the hard wood surface.

Brock's calm demeanor didn't waiver as he responded in a matter of fact tone: "I have a pair of wire cutters in my tool kit over at the Lodge that can easily remedy that."

Without so much as a pause, Brock pivoted back toward the door and opened it and walked past the two surprised Marines who stood guard at the cabin door.

He had no sooner cleared the porch steps when he heard the lumbering steps of Atticus Walker following directly behind him, even matching his quickening pace as he approached the units bivouac.

He completely ignored a confused looking Danal Cornelius as he stood from the seated position he had at the campfire to watch him charge into his tent.

Brock angrily began stuffing his personal effects into his rucksack and duffel bag ignoring the somewhat heated exchange going on outside his tent between Atticus and Danal though tacitly aware of it at the same time; he was just about finished when he saw Danal standing at the entrance to his tent a look of concern written across his countenance, his normally jovial eyes now eschewing a thinly veiled trepidation: "May we speak Brock?" he asked almost diminutively, caution hanging from every syllable he uttered.

Brock barely looked at him as he continued to zip up his rucksack, offering only a mild grunt of approval watching from the corner of his vision as he entered his tent, noticing the absence of his ceremonial garb and now being attired in his usual bluejeans and green plaid button up shirt: "Whatever you have to say, say it quickly because in a few minutes my ass is hitting the road and heading home." He announced more coldly than he actually intended, but meaning every word of it.

Danal just looked at him, his face still full of concern: "And what do you think Max will say about that?" It was a logical question, since Max was the one who issued his transfer here, something Brock now had every intention of contesting once he made it back to base, certain that his service record and skillset would garner him any post he wanted, regardless of how much he respected Max Donnelly, he didn't own him and Brock made that perfectly clear to Danal, concluding heatedly that he wasn't a piece of ass to be passed around from one person to the next.

He continued to vent his anger and frustration at Danal for a few minutes, while Danal quickly realized that what was at the core of his rantings was his disappointment and a growing feeling of rejection by Atticus.

As Brock finished up and stood there expectantly staring at Danal awaiting a response and steeling himself for the rebuke he was certain would come, he was surprised to hear him giggle as a smile spread across his age lined face, made even more mirth-some by his full silver beard and his twinkling light blue eyes.

Brock was just about to give him an angry retort when Danal stepped forward and clasp his right hand in his and pulled it up to his chest, clutching it close to his own heart: "I apologize Brock, sometimes I forget that those outside the Heritage don't hear what we hear, or see what we see or smell what we smell..."

Danal looked intently at him, there was no mockery in either his words or jovial gaze: "Do you remember what I told you about Atticus right before he took his place by your side earlier?" He queried, pausing for his response. Brock considered for a second before haltingly uttering: "You told me he was a virgin, I fail to see how that correlates with his actions at the cabin."

Danal's response was careful and measured, Brock almost felt like a child being instructed by an adult: "Allow me to explain..." Danal began, his grip on Brock's hand tightening slightly: "For the last four years, since his Heritage ceremony, Atticus has done what few do, he has kept himself physically pure in the hopes that he would find his place within the Heritage, two years of that has been under Max's tutelage and mentor-ship, in his heart he sees an end to that long wait coming in less than one weeks time."

Brock's brain synaptically sifted through his available data, logically concluding that Danal was speaking about Billy's upcoming Heritage ceremony: "Are you suggesting this thing that's going to happen to Billy will somehow also affect Atticus?" Brock asked questioningly.

"Not just Atticus.." Danal swept his free hand broadly, indicating the entire camp, a joyful merriment beaming proudly from his now ethereal gaze.

For the second time that evening, Brock was certain his chin had hit the floor at his sudden realization: "Are you saying they are all virgins and what...."he paused, thinking it was too incredulous to take in: "That they are all saving themselves for Max's kid?"

Danal's squeezing hand confirmed his suspicions without vocalizing them, pausing long enough for Brock to process it all: "You know how things work within the Heritage, does that really come as such a surprise?" Danal let go of Brock's hand and placed his arm around his shoulder: "Belonging is ingrained in who we are and for those who are part of the Heritage but denied a life or place within it, is almost unbearable."

Brock thought about it from his own perspective, it was like his own family, knowing full well the reason he had never come out as gay was his fear of their rejection and ultimately his ostricization from all those he had grown up with and called family and suddenly realizing Atticus had no one, even his grandfather had passed away shortly after his Ceremony and that most of the guys here had simular situations and were here now with much the same hope as Atticus.

Like a light turning on in his head, Brock had a disquieting thought: "Atticus is afraid of being intimate with me isn't he?" he queried, turning to face Danal, staring dubiously into his eyes: "He's also afraid if he does he will be somehow betraying Billy or at least limiting his chances at attaining an active role within the Heritage?"

Danal didn't say a word, he didn't need too, Brock saw it all clearly now, he saw right through Atticus' earlier behavior and now knew exactly what he needed to do, with a quick knowing glance and nod at Danal, Brock headed out of the tent and marched right up to Atticus Walker and grabbed him by the arm and pulled him along, heading back toward the cabin: "Time to put up or shut up Walker, 'cause whether you like it or not, your stuck with me now!"

Upon their return to the cabin, Brock ushered Atticus in before him, shutting and locking the door himself before turning to face the big Marine.

Atticus stood there, arms folded over his still bare chest a contemplative look of disdain written in his expressions and body language; Brock knew the signs of a man that was about to assert himself or in this case, issue some command and Brock decided he wasn't having any of it: "Let me make something perfectly clear..." He began, staring down Atticus as he drew nearer to him, until he was less than four feet away: "We are going to consummate this dumbass ritual and when I'm done breaking you in..." Brock closed the distance between them and grabbed the buckle of Atticus' belt and flipped it open: "You are going to march your ass over to the bivouac and move your gear into my tent where we will be staying until we acquire more suitable accommodations."

Brock paused for a second, looking directly up into Atticus' eyes as he yanked the belt loose from it's buckle: "Got any questions so far Corporal?"

Atticus glowered down at him, his eyes burning with tenacity and finally finding his voice: "You forget whose in charge here Grysinski."

Despite the air of authority in which he spoke, Brock smiled up at him, a smile both disarming and cocky at the same time as he jabbed his right index finger into Walkers hairy chest: "I had a discussion with Danal earlier about something you said to me on the beach about me being in charge when we are alone and in our home.."

Brock turned around and walked over to the leather coach in the middle of the great room and sat down, draping his arm casually over the back before once again locking eyes with Atticus: "Danal confirmed that indeed I am in charge when we are alone and in our home..."

Brock could see the brooding response building in Atticus and knew exactly what his response was going to be and deciding to head him off before he could voice a single objection: "Before you say it, know this, as Marines our home is where we lay our head down at night, and for all intent and purpose, at least for the next couple of days, this is our home and you are bound by the Coaptandas to obey me while we're in it..."

Brock paused for a second, letting the weight of his words work their magic as Atticus's expressions took on a more conflicted grimace as he internally debated his alternatives and realizing his choices were limited and his options even fewer.

Brock smiled to himself, thinking the great hunt hadn't ended in the parking lot of the Devil Dawg compound an hour ago with his capture, the final victory was his and it was here and now he would claim his prize: "Strip Marine" Brock commanded, a lecherous grin spreading across his face as he eyed the big hairy Corporal up and down, licking his lips and feeling like a little kid at Christmas opening his gifts and anxiously wondering what he would find underneath the pretty colorful wrappings.

If Brock had expected further resistance from Atticus, he didn't get it, evidenced by the smug grin that spread across the big Marines face as he unfastened the top button of his dress blues trousers and slowly unzipped his fly: "Be careful what you wish for Gryzinski, you may get more than you bargained for." Atticus exclaimed, his voice low and guttural as he hooked his thumbs inside the waistband of his pants and slowly began lowering them to the floor, removing his shoes, socks and trousers.

Atticus now stood completely naked before Brock, who looked on appraisingly, admiring his stunning physicality, Brock first found himself comparing him to Max, in part because of their, equal height and of course their ruggedly handsome good looks and their hirsute bodies, but when it came to muscularity, Brock had seldom seen anyone comparable to Atticus, the man looked like he was carved from stone, every muscle on his body seemed to stand in relief, even the denseness of his auburn body fur did little to mask the striated perfection underneath, the only noticeable defect in his masculine beauty was the slight offset of his nose bridge, the obvious result of a poorly set previous breakage, but for Brock, even that added to his masculine appeal.

Atticus stood there proudly displaying his magnificent body to Brock, his fist planted firmly on his hips, his eyes burning embers highlighting his growing, lustful desires; it was true, he had allowed his judgement to become clouded earlier with his intended, his thoughts torn between his desire to secure for himself and his men, their rightful place within the Heritage, a place that was solely dependent on the outcome of Max's son Billy's ceremony less than a week away and the growing attraction he felt ever since he first laid sight on Brock Gryzinski and caught the sweet scent of honey and freshly dug earth, that he and others of the Heritage found so alluring.

Brock too felt this attraction and though he found many men attractive he realized long ago, after Max had made him aware of those within the Heritage, that he had a heightened attraction for those of the Heritage; he didn't know if that was more a physical or psychological reaction, but ultimately deciding it didn't really matter, it was what it was, he had wasted enough of his life fighting his natural inclinations until Max helped free him from his self imposed exile from his true nature.

All of Brock's commiserations came to an abrupt halt as his gaze fell, for the first time, on the thick flaccid appendage between Atticus' hairy, thick thighs, almost doing a comical double take as he took it all in; though apparently completely limp, the organ hung a good eight to nine inches and had to be at least as thick as Max's fully erect cock.

Like all those within the Heritage, Atticus was uncircumcised though the large tip of his manhood, exposing his pisslit, protruding past the thick folds of his prepuce to dangle erotically over his large, ovaled, tight hairy ballsack.

Motioning for Atticus to draw nearer, Brock found himself gulping as his mouth began watering in anticipation watching the huge organ flop side to side as Atticus drew closer, closing the gap between them until his phallus was nearly eye level to Brock's seated position, mere inches from his face.

Brock's mounting lust, seethed behind his eyes as he looked up into Atticus's, whose face contorted into a lurid sneer as he became suddenly aware that he was about to experience for the first time, that which he had, up until now, only dreamed and fantasized about.

"Like what ya see faggot?" Atticus growled, the low raspy rumble of his voice emphasizing the burning passion behind his eyes as his large calloused hand came up to gently stroke the smooth skin of Brock's left cheek, while his thumb slowly traced and caressed the fullness of Brock's pouting lips.

"Let's see if ya still feel that way after I bone up" Atticus snickered, while using his other hand to grasp the base of his dong and began slapping the other side of Brock's face with it.

Limp it was easily as thick as Max's fully erect, wrist thick cock and Atticus' heavy bloated balls were at least half again as big as Max's, looking very much like his sack was stuffed with a large orange covered in thick, wiry reddish brown hair.

Brock watched, mesmerized, as the already huge organ began to lengthen and expand, slowly engorging with blood, his eyes grew wider in astonishment as it pulsed and jerked sporadically, growing to mammoth proportions in its inexorable, expanding journey upward until finally standing fully erect, nearly perpendicular to his fur covered chest.

Gulping uncontrollably, Brock marveled at the wondrously monstrous cock that stood before him, filling and exceeding any fantasy or expectation he could have ever dreamed of.

Max was big, Brock thought to himself but the thing pulsating and throbbing before him nearly dwarfed it in comparison, from the top of his balls to the tip of his uncircumcised crown, Atticus' dick had to measure at least fourteen inches in length and most amazing of all, the meaty girth of the thing had to exceed the circumference of a coke can; without even trying to encompass it with his hand, Brock knew there was no way his fingers and thumb could meet around it; thicker still was the huge, bulbous helmet shaped head, that thinly stretched his foreskin tightly around the glans, leaving only the very tip protruding from his prepuce, Brock estimated the size of the the thing to be at least comparable to a large granny smith apple and would more than span the entirety of the palm of his hand.

As Brock stared up wantonly into Atticus' eyes, he felt Atticus's large meaty hand clasp the back of his head and pull him into his large bloated hairy balls, Brock's tongue instinctively slipped past his lips and began swabbing the prodigious orbs with his wet slavering tongue, coating them profusely with his saliva and mucus.

Their eyes locked in passion, Brock began moving upward, licking and sucking, from the bottom of his balls up to the base of his veiny shaft, eliciting deep, continuous, guttural moans from the hairy muscular giant, watching in fascination as a pea sized droplet appeared over the crest of his flanging glans to drip like candle wax over his frenulum and down the wide protruding tube of his corpus spongiosum where Brock's flicking tongue and pursing lips sucked up the succulent tart nectar into his hungry mouth, an action that only made him more ravenous for the viscous liquid.

Brock's oral ministrations led him penultimately to the broad flaring tip of Atticus's glans where his tongue dipped rapaciously into his seeping urethra, lapping up the oozing juices and savoring the rich sweet manly sap.

Atticus half expected Brock's upward sojourn would end with him trying to engulf his manhood and suckle him into ecstasy, but was surprised when his lips moved from his glans and continued the upward trek, moistening the hairy flesh of his sternum and driving upward as he tongued the cleft between his massive slab like pectorals, his body rising from the couch and sliding against his as he did so, his arms trying to encircle his broad back, kneading and caressing his skin sensuously.

Brock's wet tongue raked across his neck and adams apple, swirled around his chin before ultimately moving in to plant his lips firmly against Atticus's.
As Brock's lips touch Atticus's he felt him turn his head away, pulling back and taking a step backward effectively separating their bodies and bringing his hands up to Brock's shoulders holding him at arms length before saying: "I'm not all that sure I'm into all that lovey dovey kissy kiss faggy shit buddy."

Atticus's sudden change in attitude took a moment to register with Brock, initially ignoring his protest and swooping in, attempting to reengage their lip lock, but as Atticus' lips remained taut and closed, Brock pulled away, his lustful gaze shifting into a questioning grimace: "You've got to be fucking kidding me!?" Brock practically spat at him, before giving Atticus a hard shove away from him.

"You've picked a fine time to let me know your a homophobic prick, asshole" Brock fumed, brushing past Atticus and walking over to the cooler on the counter and retrieving a cold can of beer, flipping the top and downing the entire content, trying to calm his nerves and his rising temper.

Atticus turned to face him, his gaze dropping down toward the floor after seeing the seething anger written on Brock's handsome face as he now glowered seethingly at him.

"I'm not homophobic Brock, I'm just not use to this level of intimacy between men" Atticus managed to stammer, attempting but failing several times to make and keep eye contact with Brock, his body shifting its weight nervously from foot to foot, reminding Brock of a scolded boy.

"Would you feel the same way if I was a woman?" Brock shot back, certain he knew the outcome of this conversation before another word was uttered, but totally unprepared for Atticus's timid and unusually passive response: "I will never know, since I will never be with a woman."

Atticus's confession hit Brock like a slap to the face and as bad as that made him feel it's what he revealed next that sent Brock's mind into a spiral of conflicting thoughts: "None of the team ever will if everything goes as we hope at Max's sons ceremony."

The dichotomy of the situation left Brock stunned, the forlorness of what he was saying opposed to almost joyous exuberance encapsulated in the hopeful optimistic outcome of Billy's Heritage ceremony, rocked his senses.

Max had told him much about the Heritage and about those like Atticus and the team it left as outcast.

Brock gave himself a mental kick in the pants, knowing what all these guys have been through, how who they were left limited options open to them and here he was bitchin' and moanin' about a simple kiss and concluding that if Atticus needed time to adjust, then all he needed to do was be a little patient, and judging by the obvious response of his libido to Brock's own desires, he was now equally certain the adjustment period would be negligible, after all, Brock noted, despite the tenseness of the situation, Atticus still had a raging boner.

"Okay tough guy..." Brock stated, walking toward Atticus, his mood shifting again as his thoughts returned to the prodigious phallus pulsating a few feet away, beckoning for attention: " We'll put the training wheels on this ride until you find your big boy pants and man up."

The wicked smile that crossed Atticus's face at his jest made Brock all the more certain, that his little adjustment period wasn't going to take long, nope... it wasn't gonna take long at all.

                                                 Chapter Twenty One:

"Like what ya see?" Brock Gryzinski cooed impishly over his shoulder as he and Atticus nakedly climbed the ladder steps to the loft.

Though he only gave a slight grunt of approval, Atticus Walker did indeed like what he saw, evidenced by the raging boner sticking nearly straight up his torso, the massive head of his erection nearly bouncing off his sternum as his eyes remained glued to the sensuous oval shaped pouting lips of Brock's anus, protruding visibly between the rounded, twin mounds of his muscular smooth buttocks.

It was apparent to Atticus that Brock was no virgin, but staring upward into that hole as they climbed to the loft, the puffy lips of his rectum rubbing suggestively against each other, mere inches from his face, had him nearly drooling in anticipation.

Gone was his earlier trepidation's, either through his growing lust or Danal's reassurances that his mating with Brock wouldn't hinder his chances of securing a position within the Heritage or maybe some degree of both, his slavish devotion to tradition in maintaining his chances through purity of service was about to end; he did still harbor a sense of regret for his men, but trusted that Max Donnelly and Danal Cornelius had read the signs correctly and knew what they were talking about and that he and his men would soon achieve what they had so longed for, ever since their own Heritage ceremonies.

Once they both stood there together on the loft, Brock guided Atticus over to the foot of the king sized bed instructing him to lay down and get comfortable.

Having decided that Brock's experience in these matters made him the most qualified to expedite their initial coupling, Atticus took his place on the bed, lying on his back with his head and chest elevated with the pillows he stuffed behind him and stared up at Brock who waited patiently at the foot of the bed for him to get comfortable and as Atticus folded his hands behind his head and slightly spread his legs, he gave Brock a slight cocky grin and a mischievous wink: "What now boss?" he asked, taking the opportunity for the first time to take in Brock's naked body, first noting that from the neck down he was completely hairless, chest, arms, legs and crotch all baby smooth, his skin also a complete contrast to his own.

Atticus spent most of his time outdoors running drills with his men, the summer sun had baked his skin into a nice golden bronze color all covered in a dense reddish brown auburn fur as opposed to Brock's pale, smooth alabaster, nearly blemish free epidermis.

His body, though firm and gym hardened, was far less bulky and more subtle, his thin waist offset by his ample protruding bubble butt and his firm thick thighs beckoned to be touched and caressed and Atticus found himself having to fight the strong urge to just grab him, throw him on the bed and mount him right then and there, his building passions evidenced by the seminal fluids leaking continuously from his piss slit, to puddle at his sternum and drip in rivulets down the side of his body.

He watched in lip biting anticipation as Brock lowered himself sensuously to a kneeling position at the foot of the bed and began massaging his right foot, his adept strong fingers manipulating his tendons and foot muscles sending gentle waves of relaxing pleasure up his body as his soft hazel green eyes locked with his own almost telepathically willing Atticus's body to loosen and relax.

For a good ten to fifteen minutes Brock went from foot to foot, back and forth until almost all the tension of the day drained from Aticcus's body and his barely audible groans transformed into gentle moans of approval as his head slowly tilted back and his eyes closed completely surrendering himself to Brock's nimble fingers.

With a roguish grin on his face, Brock leaned in closer to Atticus's right foot and let his flattened tongue slip wetly from his mouth as he licked in one broad stroke up the entire length of Atticus's foot from heel to toe.

Atticus's head lifted abruptly, startled by the new sensation, his eyes once again locking with Brock's, tinged with a look of near incredulity as Brock now circled the tip of his tongue around the apex of his big toe, before encircling the digit with his pursing lips and sliding down it's length encompassing it into the suctioning vacuum of his moist wet mouth.

A broad grin of approval spread across Atticus's face as he studiously watched Brock go from toe to toe in descending order, lavishing each in turn with his flicking tongue and suctioning lips until moving from one foot to the other, repeating the process.

After finishing with his toes, Brock turned his attention to swabbing the bottoms of Atticus's feet with his tongue in long languishingly slow strokes, making sure on each upward stroke to lick between the soft delicate tissue between his toes, sending chills up Atticus's spine as his oral manipulations tickled his tender flesh.

"It's a good thing I washed up before the ceremony 'cause I doubt you'd be enjoying that as much if I hadn't" Atticus sneered, still marveling at how much he actually was enjoying this new sensation.

In response, Brock grinned up at him, ceasing his oral assault on Atticus's feet and began climbing up between his massive hairy legs until they were practically nose to nose, their eyes locked intently on one another as Brock's body covered Atticus', his hands cupping over the massive flexing bulge of his biceps and kneading them forcibly between his fingers massaging their way to his hairy armpits and stroking his thick fur.

"Clearly it's time to establish some rules concerning personal hygiene" Brock cooed, lustily grinding his body against Atticus's before laying his hands on Atticus's slab like pectorals and pushing himself up to glare directly into Atticus's eyes: "Rule one... Brock moaned, spreading his thighs to either side of Atticus's torso, straddling his hips and grinding his balls against his and rocking his chest and belly up and down against Atticus's prodigious swollen shaft before continuing: "After a hard day of training, you are forbidden to shower or bath before reporting to our tent."

The quizzical look on Atticuss' face, spurred Brock to dip his nose into his hairy armpit and begin taking deep whiffs, before raking his drooling tongue over the musky flesh ending by whispering softly in his ear: "I like the way a man smells and taste... Brock rose up again, his cheek brushing against Atticuss' until they were once again nose to nose, his voice now low and lustful: "The sweatier the better!"

Atticuss' first instinct was to laugh off the suggestion, until once again their gaze locked and he could see the burning passion behind Brock's eyes and realizing incredulously that he meant ever word, emphasized by the increasing gyrations of his body against his already oozing, palpitating schlong.

"Rule two..." Brock continued as his fingers lightly traced over Atticuss' hairy chest before clasping both of the eraser sized nibs of his nipples between his index finger and his thumbs, squeezing and pulling them, eliciting a muffled gasp from Atticus: "You are forbidden to wear clothing in our tent..."

Brock could see the questions forming in Atticuss' expressions and stopped him with a cautioning finger to his lips to remain silent: "At home I rule, you obey..." Brock reached down between them and cupped Atticus's huge balls in his left hand, pulling them down until they were taut in their sack and giving them a firm but gentle squeeze: "Let me reiterate, no clothes, at all, anytime, irregardless of who is present!"

Atticus grinned back at him and chuckled: "Yer enjoyin' this way to much Gryzinski"

Brock tugged at his balls again, feeling them protrude over the sides of his palm the tighter he squeezed.

"Rule three..." Brock eased back until his ass sat firmly on Atticus's hairy muscular thighs, still firmly clutching his big balls and using his other hand to grip his massive shaft and hauling it to a vertical position between them, taking a moment to marvel at the sheer majesty of the thing: "These belong to me and me alone is that perfectly clear?"

The seriousness of his tone compounded the intensity of his glaring eyes and the sternness of his expression.

Atticus silently took it all in, processing Brock's growing list of demands and carefully weighing his response, when he felt the grip on his balls tighten, almost to a painful level his own hand shooting to his groin protectively covering Brock's tightening grip on his testicles, responding instinctively to extricate them from potential harm.

Brock's fingers tightened even more around the twin orbs eliciting a gasp of pain from Atticus, whose own hands now firmly gripped his wrist as a guttural growl grew in his chest, his teeth baring into a snarl, his eyes two burning orbs glowering back at Brock.

Without a word, Brock let go of Atticus cock and balls and rolled off the bed to a standing position, turning only briefly to give Atticus a consternated look, shaking his head in disappointment before veering off and descending down the ladder steps and out of Atticus's line of sight.

Atticus stared after him as he sat there on the bed contemplating what had just happened.

As team leader to almost a dozen men, he had grown to expect his men to do as he instructed them, each carrying out the different task he assigned them both as individuals and as a team, on a singular basis it was often a test designed to see if those members who exhibited the highest level of independence had learned the necessity to function as a team and to learn to ask for or seek help from others on the team to accomplish a difficult task instead of pigheadedly attempting to do so on their own; he couldn't help but think that at this moment he himself was now faced with just such a situation and coming to the realization, that what he was doing with Brock was a team building exercise, he had grown use to doing things on his own and he was just now coming to the realization, that he had been expecting Brock to behave as if he was in charge and that Brock needed to take his cues and follow his lead, not taking into account that Brock was a Gunnery Sergeant and expected the same thing from him.

Atticus considered the last couple of days and how Brock readily adjusted his line of thinking when given orders from Max to cede his superior rank authority over to Atticus and accept him as team leader, all of which Brock did without question and now that the roles were reversed...

Atticus rose from the bed and descended the stairs, looking for Brock, knowing now exactly what he needed to do.

He found Brock sitting on one of the bar stools at the island between the kitchen and the great room, his back to Atticus, sipping a beer, deep in thought and paying Atticus no mind as he approached behind him.

Brock stiffened slightly as Atticus's large meaty callused hands gently cupped his shoulders and he leaned his head in to rest his chin next to Brock's left ear: "Rule one..." he whispered, his breath warm against the nape of Brock's neck: "I am not to bath or shower after duty before returning to our tent."

Brock straightened his back, turning his head slightly, listening but not commenting: "Rule two..."Atticus continued, letting the tip of his tongue suave the outer rim of his ear: "I am not to wear clothes in the privacy of our tent"

Atticus turned Brock around and took both his hands in his, cupping his left under his balls and clasping Brock's right hand firmly around his throbbing phallus: "Rule three... Atticus tilted his head until his forehead touched Brock's, their noses gently butting against each others as he stared into his eyes: "My cock and balls belong to you and you alone, I hereby relinquish all ownership to my mate."

Atticus took a step back and bowed his head momentarily, contemplating his next words carefully before speaking: "I can't offer ya more than that at this time and I sincerely hope you understand why..." his voice stammered a bit, his eyes seeking Brock's once again, hoping in part that Brock could see in his eyes what his words failed to express: "Ya know what I've worked for and what I hope to achieve and I may be required to do certain things if I am to be successful."

The smile that spread across Brock's face immediately elevated Atticus mood and dispelled his concerns about their future together.

"I won't ask you to do anything that will compromise you or the teams goals Atticus..." Brock declared boldly but adding mischievously, his grin twisting into a lecherous sneer: "I just hope I get to watch."

"Pervert" Atticus chortled, grabbing Brock in both arms and pulling their groins together as his hands dropped to clutch at the fleshy firm globes of Brock's ass and squeezing them hard.

"True dat country boy" Broke mused, reaching around with one hand to loudly smack Atticus on the rump, before breaking away, still clutching Atticus big dick in his hand and pulling him toward the loft ladder/stairs: "Time to fuck big guy and I ain't takin' no for an answer!"

                                                              * * * * j*

Saturday morning at the Donnelly household was a bustle of activity, Carl had commandeered the kitchen and turned it into command central, establishing from the get go that he was in charge, assigning duties and task to everyone within his orbit, barking instructions like the seasoned military professional he was, even Max wasn't immune from the new command structure he himself had established by ceding household authority to a logistical recon adjutant, and Carl was obviously embracing the role with gusto and enthusiasm.

Upon Billy and Gavin's return and being joined shortly there after by Hank and Jake, Carl began assigning teams and task; Max, Hank and Billy were given yard and exterior duty, Gavin was assigned kitchen detail with Carl, leaving JD and Jake living room and bathroom detail; unfortunately, from JD's perspective, Jason couldn't stay after breakfast, having promised to return his moms car early so she could go check on some student projects at the college, plus his mom had her own list of duties he had to complete at home as part of her conditions for letting him use her vehicle.

For JD, at least at first, it was awkward for him being around Jake, it had been three years since they last hung out together and a lot about each of them had changed.

As kids JD had been more the instigator of their joint activities and though Jake had always been rather shy and quiet around others, JD had always been able to infiltrate that facade and bring out the adventurous side of Jake's nature that he never showed anyone else.

JD had learned quickly that Jake wanted more than anything to be a great fighter like his father, hoping to maybe even surpass him one day, not out of a desire to be better than his dad but to please him and honor who he was and what he meant to him.

JD had always known, though few ever saw, the passion Jake had burning within him, Jake had grown very good at concealing it from others, never wanting to be the center of attention.

A lot of Jake's trepidation's and insecurities centered around his own self body image; he had always been taller and more gangling than others his age, at fourteen he was already as tall as his six foot four father, but his rapid growth left him a bit on the skinny side and that same growth also made him more awkward, even clumsy as he tried to adjust and control his constantly increasing size.

At first JD befriended him because he was the closest to his own age during their families joint outings.

Mike had Kent and Billy always had Baxter with him, so JD just naturally gravitated toward Jake and for that matter, so had Jake, and over the years they had forged a mutual respect for each other, their disparate personalities often augmenting their friendship instead of placing barriers between them.

JD liked to talk and Jake was a quiet, attentive listener and as the morning progressed JD found himself slipping back into that role, surprising even himself with how easily he did so while once again finding himself alone with his childhood friend.

Not everything was the same though, from the start JD realized the awkward gangling boy of his early youth was gone, supplanted by this towering muscular giant in full control of his every movement, the shy disposition replaced by an astute and resolute confidence and despite his growing attractions for Jason, he couldn't help but feel himself reconnecting with Jake, falling back into the familiar roles of their youth.

Outside, Max was orchestrating his workforce, directing them to their assigned task and as Billy mowed the yard, Hank began trimming the shrubs and Max began power washing the outside of the trailer and the back patio.

Back in the kitchen, as Carl and Gavin finished the morning breakfast dishes, they began scrubbing down the walls and cabinets, leaving the floor for last.

Carl used the time to discuss a variety of topics with Gavin, it wasn't without fore thought that he had chosen Gavin as his workmate, purposefully separating him from Billy so he could draw the young man into conversation, hoping to ascertain his level of mental acuity, having already decided, because of his interactions with Billy, that he had already displayed a high level of loyalty and trustworthiness.

"Please don't take this the wrong way..."Carl stated, shifting their casual conversation more in the direction he needed to better assess his level of mental maturity and emotional stability: "How far exactly have you and Billy physically taken your personal interactions?" Of course Carl meant how far have they gone sexually, the question was meant to help Carl clarify what Gavin was hoping to get from their interactions, knowing full well that though it may be physically enjoyable for Billy, Max's son's heart and path lay in a different direction.

Carl was pleased to see that Gavin didn't even seem to bulk in the slightest in either his reaction or response: "He just let me try out a few things, we haven't bumped uglies or anything like that if that's what you're asking."

Choosing his words carefully Carl stated: "While I understand that perspective, my biggest concern is that neither of you are reading more into it than is really there."

Gavin chuckled, giving Carl a slightly sardonic look: "What you really mean is you hope I ain't taking seriously what Billy is only seeing as fun between buds right?"

Of course Gavin was correct, though simply put, it cut to the core of Carl's concerns: "Please understand Gavin, I just don't want to see either of you getting hurt, knowing how fast your friendship has grown in such a short time."

Carl reached over and patted Gavin on the back as he thought about Carl's words for a moment before responding, his words proving once again exactly how insightful the young man could be: "I already know he loves Baxter, even though he hasn't realized or accepted it himself." while Carl wasn't shocked by Gavin's observations about Billy's relationship and feelings for his childhood friend and companion, his next observations took Carl by surprise: "I also know there's a lot more to Billy and for that matter the rest of you than meets the eye.." He paused for a moment, looking Carl directly in the eyes: "I haven't figured it all out yet, but I know that all of you think something big is going to happen and I suspect it has more to do with Billy's birthday than it does his brother Mike's disappearance."

He did his best to mask his reaction to Gavin's observations, knowing now that the boy exceeded his expectations and confirming his prior decision to attempt taking this boy under his wing and mentor his considerable talents.

He had discussed his intentions with Max the night before hoping to garner his approval but half expecting him to bulk at his suggestion of bringing Gavin into the fold as his apprentice, to his surprise Max just simply told him to trust his instincts and do what he felt was best for all concerned, cautioning only that he proceed slowly at first so as not to overwhelm the boy with more than he could handle, even suggesting that maybe Billy, Gavin and even JD might benefit spending time training with Atticus's team now that Hank and Jake would be signing on in an instructional capacity over the next week, adding that he had already arranged for Timmy to join Atticus's team over the next few weeks.

Though their interactions thus far had been rather brief, Carl had already ascertained that the best approach with Gavin would be a direct one: "You have a lot of potential Gavin" he began, maintaining the eye lock between them: "The world is a very old and big place and it contains things you could barely dream of, how would you feel if I offered to expand your horizons and introduce you to a world you never even knew existed?"

Gavin smiled, his eyes beaming with youthful exuberance: "I thought you'd never ask!"

                                                                  * * * * *

Late Saturday morning found Brock Gryzinski lying flat on his belly, still held immobile by the weight of Atticus Walkers heavy muscular limbs draped over him while his hot breath brushed against his sore neck and traps as he slept peacefully, practically laying on top of him.

Brock's head still felt groggy and his vision still slightly blurred as the intense morning light poured through the two windows on either side of the king sized bed they were lying on.

One thing he was absolutely sure of was that almost ever muscle in his body still ached from the relentless pounding onslaught Atticus had unleashed on him the night before, the dull ache in his balls was a testimony to the amount of over use they had undergone during their raucous coupling, his hole still a numb swollen mass of bloated red and raw tissue, the burning feel from his nipples assuring him they fared no better than his hole, his dry inflamed throat joining the chorus of chaffed, abraded flesh.

Brock had always thought that Max was a rough fuck and he had rather expected some what the same from Atticus, but he had never in his wildest dreams anticipated the sheer raw power and stamina that poured from his new mate and despite his bodies aching protestations this morning, he had never felt more drained and satisfied, realizing as he lay there languishing in the bright morning afterglow, how easy Max had been on him during their encounters.

Brock drifted in an out of semi-consciousness, continuing to rest in his lovers arms as he relived the events of their first sexual encounter, how he had led Atticus back up to the loft and shoved him back on the bed.

Atticus had laid there, his upper torso supported by leaning on his elbows in a semi upright position, his feet firmly planted on the floor at the foot of the bed, watching Brock kneel between his legs, their eyes glued to one another subsumed by their mounting lust for one another, Atticus watched as he began stroking his large, hairy muscular thighs, marveling at the sheer bulk and definition flexing and rippling beneath his skin as his nimble fingers traced their way to the two massive gonads nestled between his legs filling the space between the base of his hard shaft and the narrow divide to the mattress.

Brock had a special affinity for really big balls, he knew subconsciously his mind attributed big balls with masculine fertility much the same way he did with big dicks and Atticus excelled in both.

Dropping his head between Atticus's powerful legs while still maintaining eye contact, Brock began slaving his hairy gonads with the flat of his tongue, licking and lapping at the thick skinned sack until they dripped with his spit and mucus.

Giving Max a silent prayer of thanks for the hours of training he had subjected him too, Brock was able to accomplish what few men without it could ever dream of achieving, he stuffed the near orange sized mound of testicles into his hungry, drooling mouth and began sucking on them, savoring the musky flavor all under the watchful, smiling approval of Atticus Walker: "Ya look like a chipmunk with mumps" he chuckled, reaching one hand down to stroke his nut stuffed cheeks, before pulling his head in tighter to his groin, grinding his taint against Brock's chin, moaning his approval despite his comedic observation.

As he had continued to suck Atticus's balls, he could feel them grow denser and tighter in his mouth and as much as he was enjoying the task, he feared that maybe Atticus may be enjoying it a little to much, noting how his massive schlong began to jerk and flex with ever increasing frequency the longer he orally suctioned his testes; fearing that Atticus may very well spew his load just from that simple contact, Brock reluctantly spit his balls out and began licking his way up his thick shaft, tracing the finger wide tube protruding underneath with his flattened tongue, stopping only when he reached his frenulum where he began lightly flicking the nerve cluster there between the flanging head of his palpitating glans, while his fingers wrapped around the base as far as they could reach to circumvent the massive organ, while pulling his prepuce back slowly revealing the very tip of his phallus.

Immediately the piss slit began drooling precum, bubbling out like a slow leaking water fountain, oozing out around the tip and started dripping down between the crevice of his frenulum where Brock's tongue lapped up the seminal fluids before diving the tip of his tongue as far as he could into the wide slit, pursing his lips into a siphoning pucker and sucking up the manly juices and gulping them down with wanton abandon, relishing the sweet tangy nectar.

Brock considered attempting to wrap his lips around the huge bulbous glans and suck it into his mouth and attempt fellating his enormous dong despite it's humongous girth, but once again he noticed the increased moans and groans coming from Atticus and realized that action would most assuredly push him over the edge and while he truly would have enjoyed gulping down what promised to be a huge load churning in Atticus's big balls at the time, he knew that their mutual goal was yet to be achieved and any further delay may result in a premature conclusion.

Releasing his grip on Atticus's cock, Brock pushed him back flat against the bed and flipped around into a reverse cowgirl position and pushed his ass back toward Atticus's face, turning his head as far around as he could to look down on his questioning face, Brock smiled and said: "Rule four, you gotta lick it to stick it bubba."

With that, Brock reached back and spread his buttcheeks and thrust his hole, with pin point accuracy against Atticus's thick lipped mouth.

Brock didn't know whether his muffled groans were an acknowledging affirmation or reluctant protestation, either way he didn't care, he wasn't taking no for an answer.

Hesitantly at first, he felt the tip of Atticuss' tongue make contact with the lips of his hole, Brock immediately willed the orifice to part allowing it into his inner recesses practically sucking his oral digit into the depths past his sphincter; almost instantly the hesitancy shifted into exploration and from there enthusiastic hunger.

Brock sat there rocking back and forth on Atticus's face, grinding his man twat in short circular gyrations, practically fucking himself on Atticus's wide probing tongue and suctioning lips, he felt Atticus' strong meaty callused hands wrap around his waist and tried pulling him down even tighter against his devouring mouth until Brock found himself fighting the urge to unleash his own pent up load.

Close to the edge of his own eminent orgasm, Brock yanked away from Attuicus's grip and rolled over beside him until they were face to face, Brock stared lustfully into eyes already glazed over with desire and ravenous passion: "How do you want it big guy, doggie style or missionary?"

Atticus stared blankly at him for moment before a big lecherous grin spread across his face: "Devil Dawg style of course" he growled, grabbing Brock by the waist and flipping him ass up and face down into the mattress effortlessly, before straddling his upturned hips, shoving a couple of pillows under him to help elevate his ass.

"I thought this was your first time country boy?" Brock giggled in between moans as Atticus rubbed his cock up and down the mounds of his ass, smearing the oozing precum from his dick to slick up his crack and hole.

"It is..." Atticus chuckled: "Doesn't mean I ain't ever watched porn tho"

Brock felt Atticus plant the drooling head of his enormous cock against his ass lips and began rubbing the tip against it flooding it with his viscous dick dribble before slowly pushing forward, parting the slightly distended folds of his slit apart, stretching them taut against the shiny, lavender and pink hued knob: "Dayaaamn..." Atticus practically hissed through clenched teeth: "Your hole looks almost exactly like a fuckin' pussy!"

Brock smiled to himself despite the fact the bulbous apple sized cockhead of Atticus' prick was beginning to feel like it was going to split him in two, wincing more than a few times as he tried several times to push the massive flaring coronal ridge passed his sphincter: "I don't think he's gonna fit" Atticus moaned, leaning forward, placing his hands on the mattress on ether side of Brock's head as he moved into a push up position, adding more pressure with his hips and upper thighs.

Wincing and trying to will his hole to expand even more, Brock arched his ass back as hard as he could against the invading member, the both of them grunting from their combined efforts, Atticus noting it was like trying to cram a square peg into a round hole,

Frustrated, Atticus shoved his left arm under Brock's hips adding his arms strength in pulling Brock's hip upward while baring down even harder with his own hips.

Brock could feel the sweat pouring down his forehead as he strained to contain the mounting pain of Atticus invading member, his lips contorting into a pained grimace as Atticus suddenly jabbed forward and the ginormous throbbing glans popped passed his sphincter and skewered his anal cavity, filling it like a steel piston forced into the cylinder of an engines crankshaft, its massive girth tugging, stretching and expanding his rectal lining until it came to a jarring halt against the tighter recesses of his inner sphincter.

To Atticus, it felt like he was slipping on a to small latex glove then suddenly hitting a brick wall, believing he had found the end to Brock's rectal cavity.

Brock hissed in pain as the tip of Atticus schlong found the tight quarter sized inner sphincter and tried to push passed it into his lower bowel, but barely being able to expand it enough to take just the narrower part of the tip.

Atticus could feel it too, it felt like a tight rubber band squeezing the end of his prodigious cock before changing his tactic, pulling his invading member back a few inches and pushing it back inward.

For some time Atticus kept that up, seeming to be content with two thirds of his dick penetrating Brock's anal canal, enjoying the feel of it's delicate velvety tissue clinging to ever fraction of an inch of his burgeoning phallus.

From Brock's perspective it felt like Atticuss' big schlong was sucking his guts out with each backward stroke as the lining of his hole clung to the thick intruder.

For Brock, the only pleasurable sensation was the rippling waves of stimulation he received as the massive glans raked across his prostate on each inward and outward stroke, the upside was the tight fit was consistently milking more and more of Atticus's precum to lubricate his slow pistoning dong causing less and less friction and abrading of his rectal lining, all of which he knew could only be adding to Atticus's stimulation and building climax.

Moments later, just as he thought it would, he felt a shift in Atticus's quickening pace, Brock knew he was seconds away from orgasm, the overly tight stimulation urging his cock to rapid release when he suddenly felt Atticus' muscles start to tense up, his strokes quickening and becoming more urgent and forceful and just as Brock was sure Atticus's plunging pecker was about to suck his guts out, he heard a deep roaring growl building in Atticus's chest, rumbling inexorably threw his throat and passed his gritting teeth.

Without preamble, Brock felt Atticus entire body slam against him with such force it made the wooden frame of the bed creak so loudly it sounded like it could splinter at any moment, the powerful momentum crushed him against the mattress when he suddenly felt a jolting pain shoot through the nape of his neck, realizing in one pain wracked instant, that Atticus had bit hard into the soft tissue of his neck, eliciting a nanosecond of surprised pain before changing into a shriek of anguish as Atticus's gargantuan phallus ripped through his inner sphincter and plunged tortuously into his lower bowels balls deep.

Brock struggled in agony to twist out from under Atticus, his hands beating furiously at his broad shoulders, his legs instinctively trying to push back against his hairy muscular ravager, to dislodge him from both his hole and tormented neck, all to no avail.

Atticus strength and ferocity over powered any possible resistance he could muster, his actions only serving to increase the intensity of Atticus orgasmic fury as his teeth tightened their hold, snarling and gnashing against his abraded flesh.

Brock could feel deep within his belly, poking tightly against his abdominal lining, well above his navel the throbbing, pulsating apple sized glans blasting his insides with copious amounts of thick viscous sperm and semen, he willed himself into stationary submission as Atticus's explosive climax squirted in one long continuous stream, there were no rocketing blast, no jabbing spurts just one unrelenting spouting flood, a fountaining expulsion of manly seed filling him with hot testicular lava and to Brock's unimaginable dismay, he felt his own cock begin to throb and and surge below him trapped between his belly and the mattress, feeling the hot sticky warmth of his own orgasm as it spewed from the tip of his confined cock.

Long after his own release, Brock could still feel the spurting phallus inside him deluging his entrails with the potency of Atticus's dauntless virility until what felt like minutes instead of seconds gave way to panting breaths snorting into his ear and the subsiding tenseness of Atticus's muscles as his large frame melted on top of his, their sweaty flesh slipping and sliding against each other.

He could feel the grip of Atticus's teeth as it lessened until finally pulling away to rest his panting lips against Brock's ear, his front teeth nibbling at his lobe: "Rule five, this is my pussy and I'm gonna fuck it until you can't walk anymore!"

                                                             * * * * *

Most of Saturday progressed as planned by Carl, he was especially happy that he had tentatively gotten Gavin's approval at his suggestion that he and Billy join them all at the compound for a few weeks of training and exercise with a focus on self defense; his participation of course hinged on his mothers approval but Gavin was certain that wouldn't be an issue, he had finished up his work for his uncle and though he had planned on still working there throughout the summer, he was sure he could get his uncle to agree to both him and Billy taking a few weeks away for a training course, after all, his work for his uncle did save the store a ton of moolah and Gavin was sure his uncle would see it that way too.

Carl held off going into to much detail, preferring to wait until he and Gavin had spent a little more time together and for them to be in a place that would grant them some degree of solitude without the distractions of day to day social interactions and interruptions.

The only slight discord of the day came not long after Timmy arrived and shortly thereafter offering his services in their efforts to ready the Donnelly household, making it presentable for their expectant Sunday guest.

Carl knew Max wanted everything to go as smooth as possible knowing full well the delicate nature of his intent at getting to the bottom of what he saw as a potentially problematic situation concerning Jason Dunne; like Max, Carl knew it was going to be a delicate conversation to approach with his mother and would require some equally delicate planning and timing on their part to address their concerns with her while simultaneously not upsetting either her or Jason; both agreed however, Jason had a right to know who he was and while optimistically hoping his mother would feel the same way, they were cautiously planning on alternative contingencies if it turned out to be otherwise.

Without giving it much thought, Carl decided to send Timmy to help JD and Jake, reasoning JD had already moved past what they had shared and was himself per-occupied with his new relationship with Jason and wouldn't have a problem with Timmy pitching in to help with their work detail.

Part of Carl's intention was so he could spend more time getting to know Gavin, thinking their conversations would be far more productive if there wasn't the awkwardness of a third party, but as the day progressed and he and Gavin decided to take a small break and Gavin used the time to take drinks out to the guys working outside, Carl sat at the kitchen table, sipping a can of pop while casually observing the progress of the trio in the living room.

From the time he had gotten up that morning and made coffee for him and Max and shortly after receiving a message from Billy that he had Gavin were up and on their way over and as he was preparing breakfast for everyone, he had noted the faint smell of honey and freshly dug earth that now persisted through out the trailer, it was faint, but still there, it was later, after Gavin arrived that that scent had increased, but as he sat there now sipping his coke, the house literally reeked of it, but not only was there the scent of honey and earth it was now subsumed by sexually charge pheromones, most of which radiated from Timmy like light from a lamp.

Sitting there from his vantage point at the kitchen table, he watched in amusement the awkward interactions playing out before him between Timmy, Jake and a somewhat oblivious JD.

From the moment Timmy had arrived, Carl had noted the transformation in the golden haired youth; gone was the lumbersome naiveté, and shy, quiet demeanor he once had, Timmy had transformed into a far more confident, talkative and somewhat aggressive persona, barely recognizable to the youth he first met a little over a week ago.

He was bright, bubbly and a whole lot more self aware and confident; self aware in the fact he knew how he affected those of the Heritage around him and that sense of self awareness was now completely focused on Jake.

Carl couldn't help but practically giggle to himself as he watched what was quickly playing out like a comedy of errors.

Timmy was actually doing very little work, spending the bulk of his time trying to get and maintain Jake's attention; constantly touching his arms and shoulders, even being so bold as to place his hand on Jake's chest and letting it linger there as he fawned and flirted with him, complimenting him in anyway he could whether it was about his choice in jeans and how well they fit his body, or how big the muscles were in his arms, right down to the color of his eyes and the size of his hands.

For his part, Jake was obviously uncomfortable, he persistently tried to position himself between Timmy and JD, constantly trying to draw JD into the conversation and take Timmy's focus off of him; what made it even more amusing to Carl was the fact that JD barely noticed what was going on, whether he was doing it purposefully or not Carl couldn't tell, but Jake's frustration and the growing bulge in the front of his already overstuffed bluejeans was a testament to Timmy's unwanted intentions.

Carl let the scenario play out for awhile before he decided to intercede on Jake's behalf, sensing that despite Jake's hormonal attraction to Timmy's pheromonel emissions, he was desperately attempting to make sure JD didn't notice or think that he in any way was interested in anyone but him all while trying not to hurt Timmy's feelings.

"Timmy why don't you go out and give Max and the others a hand outside for awhile, I think Jake and JD can finish up without your further assistance," Carl mused from the kitchen table noting the quick nod from Jake and the silent "thank you" he mouthed from behind Timmy's back.

Without so much as a crack in his bubbly disposition, Timmy smiled, turned back to Jake and JD and stated "Later studs" and bounded off in the direction of the back door.

Timmy had no sooner cleared the back door, when JD turned to Carl, a big shit eating grin on his face and queried: "Did you really have to do that, I was really getting into watching Jake squirm for a change."

Carl could barely contain the chuckle threatening to escape his lips as JD turned back to the now red faced, wide eyed giant and jabbed his finger at his chest: "Guess now ya know how it feels huh!?"

Before Jake could stammer a response Gavin returned announcing loudly as he came through the back door: "Hey Carl, looks like we got a bunch of hungry guys outside wonderin' when they're gettin' some chow"

Gavin's return shifted the focus in the room as JD headed to the frig and grabbed a coke, leaving a befuddled and somewhat crestfallen Jake staring after him.

Deciding that it was probably best to let what just transpired drop, Carl immediately sprung into action instructing JD to go focus his attention on the guest bathroom leaving Jake to finish up in the living room, while he and Gavin started lunch.

After whipping up a bunch of tuna melts and a shit load of pan fried potatoes and getting everyone fed, Carl and Gavin returned to cleaning up the mess and began preparations for the evening meal, marinating a bunch of ribs in BBQ sauce and shucking a bunch of fresh corn for grilling later.

The rest of the afternoon passed fairly uneventfully until Carl went outside to get the grill started for their evening meal and taking the opportunity to inspect the outside work.

Carl soon found Max and Billy cleaning up the yard equipment, stating they were done for the day and informing Carl everything on their to do list was completed. Carl couldn't help but notice the absence of both Timmy and Hank and asked Max where the other half of his help was.

Billy just chuckled as a broad grin spread across Max's face as his head nodded in the direction of the path that headed into the woods behind the far side of the trailer.

"Kiddo here was explaining earlier how there was a stream back up in the woods he and runt sometimes go skinny dipping in when it gets really hot and Hank decided to go check it out." Max sneered bemusedly, winking at Carl suggestively.

Carl just huffed: "And I suppose Timmy just wanted to see it too huh?"

Max smiled back at him, stating: "Boys will be boys ya know.." Pausing briefly before concluding: "It's not like you and I haven't done so many times."

Carl decided that it was probably best to let the conversation drop, especially knowing the direction it was heading by the looks Max was giving him and not particularly being comfortable having it in front of Billy, opting instead to check out the yard work before marking it off his list.

As the afternoon faded into early evening and Hank and Timmy made their reappearance, Carl had Max fire up the grill on the back patio and begin cooking the ribs and corncobs while Gavin helped him finish up the potato salad Billy had requested.

As JD joked around with his brother and Gavin in the kitchen, Carl couldn't help but notice the mood change in Jake as he now seemed to be doing his best not to be noticed while also obviously avoiding JD.  Even after they all moved outside to eat around the picnic table on the patio, he noticed Jake opted to take his food over to the five foot retaining wall across the patio to stand there absentmindedly picking at his food while staring contemplatively into the woods behind the trailer.

It would have been obvious to a blind man that his disposition had grown somber and withdrawn and as the evening progressed Max started shooting Carl quizzical looks, nodding his head in Jake's direction and Carl just shrugged his shoulders and nodded toward JD, who, from Carl's perspective seemed a little to jovial and animated than usual, something Carl had noted over the years he did as a defensive mechanism to keep from having to face something that was troubling him.

It wasn't until Max kicked him under the table and stared him down that he realized Max was fully expecting him to do something about it; without even saying a word he could hear Max's voice in his head repeatedly echoing "the house and kids are your purview now."

Carl only paused for a second, bowing his head thoughtfully before looking back up into Max's bright blue eyes: "JD would you mind giving me a hand in the kitchen please" he heard himself say, trying to mask the seriousness of his thoughts as he stood and walked toward the back entrance with a quizzical looking JD in tow.

Still trying to gather his thoughts, Carl walked over to the kitchen table and unboxed the two apple pies he had bought at the base commissary the day before and began slicing them, silently formulating the way he would approach what needed to be said.

As he turned to face JD, he couldn't help but feel sympathy for the boy as he now stood there leaning against the frig his arms folded below his chest staring at the floor.

Gone was the boisterous happy go lucky facade he was presenting outside for the others, replaced by the confused and overwhelmed sixteen year old who now looked to have the weight of the world riding roughshod on his shoulders.

Waves of empathy washed over Carl as his first thoughts were to reach out to the boy and take him in his arms and comfort him, assure him everything was going to be okay, but Carl knew everything wasn't okay and JD very shortly would be faced with some serious adult choices and decisions to make, far sooner than either Carl or Max had ever wished for him and no amount of wishful platitudes would make his harsh reality fade away.

Carl searched for the words that needed to be said, struggled with the way he knew he needed to present them, knowing full well the effect it would have on the already over burdened youth and as he steeled himself to speak, it was JD that ultimately broke the silence: "I know..." he stammered, the words thick and heavy on his lips: "I know Uncle Carl... I didn't mean to sound so harsh with him earlier, it's just that..."JD paused again, allowing only the briefest of glances up and into Carl's thoughtful green eyes.

The welling emotions within Carl finally moved him to speak, forcing him to finish JD's line of thought, not allowing JD to dismiss the feelings he knew the kid was struggling with: "You have feelings for him and it's confusing considering how you also feel about Jason?!" it was more of an observation than a question, Carl could see the conflicting emotions and desires battling within him.

JD didn't need to answer, nothing could have been more obvious in the way he pushed back against Jake earlier; if he didn't have feelings for Jake he wouldn't have grown so remorseful over the results his words now had on him.

JD and Jake were childhood friends, as close as Mike and Kent or Billy and Baxter; Jake was always the quiet one, always keenly attentive to ever word he said.

Carl and Max had noted numerous times how reserved and withdrawn Jake was most of the times, they knew how he struggled with his own self image, how it ate away at his confidence; but all of that would disappear when he was with JD, he would turn into this happy, laughing gregarious boy willing to tackle anything JD suggested, bolstered by JD's natural exuberance and unrelenting optimism.

Jake wasn't the only one who benefited from their youthful relationship, JD found in Jake what he lacked from the others, the enthusiastic acceptance and camaraderie that he didn't get from the older boys.  With Jake he was seen as an equal despite his age or size, not the runt and annoying little brother who always felt he had to project a big attitude and persona to be noticed among those who were clearly more mature and developed than him.

Carl resisted the urge to touch JD, he knew such an act of tenderness could only offer a temporary false sense of comfort and he knew that what JD really needed was to face his problems, become accountable for his actions; time was too short as his previous choices drew to their inevitable conclusions.

"JD, please take what I'm going to say in the spirit that it is given..." Carl began, speaking low and steady, willing the timbre of his voice to reflect the calm he now wished to impart: "Love is a wondrous thing, at it's inception it burns brightly and often blinds us to the world around us and can potentially cloud our judgements."

Carl could hear JD sigh, how he still avoided his gaze as his thoughts struggled with Carl's words: "Consider this, in just a few short weeks your life is going to change with the birth of your son..." Carl hesitated, knowing full well the path he was now potentially sending him on: "As confusing and extraordinary as Jason seems right now, as promising and hopeful as he may make you feel, you have to ask yourself, in such a short time, do you think he will be prepared for the journey you are about to take?"

Carl knew the weight of his words, could see them reflected in the boys troubled expressions as they pulled at his heart; but Carl also knew he needed to hear it: "Is it even fair to ask or expect him too?"

Carl wished he could say more, he wanted desperately to impart what Max and he suspected about Jason and the chaotic journey of self discovery they were about to put him on, but the underlying point still stood, compounded by the fact that Jason was going to be facing his own life changing events soon enough, double that with JD's tumultuous future...

JD shot him a questioning look, and with a bit of defiance in his voice asked: "What does that have to do with Jake?"

Carl held firm, maintaining his calm composure, positing: "Do you really think that it's a coincidence that Jake is right here, right now, at this time and place, do you really think he came a week early just to attend your brothers birthday celebrations?"

He knew that Billy's birthday was more than just a celebration of his birth, but marked a potential milestone for all of them and that Jake would have attended regardless of what his own intentions toward JD were, but that fact altered nothing about why he was here now, at this moment.

It took a few minutes, and Carl feared JD had missed his point entirely, but slowly watched as his words sank in and JD's eyes widened as they finally met his.

While JD pondered the implications of his words Carl decided to hammer the point home: "Think JD, remember all those times you spent together, do you really believe that the way he would act so differently when he was with you was just because you were friends?"

Carl could see that JD's mind was racing, flipping through and reliving all their youthful experiences together before finally asking the only question he could: "Why didn't he ever say anything?"

He held Carl's gaze, searching him for understanding, desperate for clarification: "Because he was sixteen and you were thirteen and was scared you wouldn't understand..." Carl hesitated again, not certain how JD would respond to his next statement: "Why do you think he's stayed away from you for the last three years?"

He couldn't resist any longer, the forlorn look that swept across JD's face moved him to action as he clasped JD's left shoulder in his right hand and squeezed it reassuringly, watched as JD's eyes welled up, his response barely a soft whisper: "I didn't know Uncle Carl...I...didn't..."

Carl smiled knowingly, giving him the only response he could: "Maybe you should have this conversation with the person who does know?"

JD turned his head and looked furtively at the back door, before once again locking eyes with Carl as he offered his final observation: "Sometimes the best path forward is the one least considered, it's just a matter of choosing which will bring you to the best destination for you."

A faint smile crossed JD's lips even though his brow still furrowed in contemplative consternation: "I get it Master Yoda, my emotions will be my downfall sort of thing huh?"

Carl laughed: "Yeah something like that kiddo."

JD nodded his head and turned toward the back door, looking back over his shoulder before departing, stating: "Ya coulda just started with that ya know , woulda saved a lot of time."

                                                  Chapter Twenty Two:

"Man, this sucks" JD exclaimed, still staring into his closet, hoping for the umpteenth time that something in there would just shout out "wear me" instead of him trying to make the choice himself.

After lunch Sunday afternoon, Carl had made it quite clear that sweat pants and a t-shirt weren't gonna cut it for their upcoming early dinner with Jason and his mom and informed him to "find something nice to wear."

"What do ya think about this?" JD asked, holding up a pair of Levi 501 blue jeans and a dark blue button-up dress shirt, dangling them in front of Jake Bauers, who sat on his bed playing video games on his PS4.

"I don't know..." Jake responded, pausing the game to look JD up and down with a somewhat quirky grin on his face, adding: "I kinda like what you're wearing right now."

There was never a time in JD's life he could ever recall being either shy or bashful and having Jake now ogle him up a down as he stood there in his baby blue Calvin Klein briefs was no exception: "I can see you're gonna be a lot of help" JD concluded, turning slightly sideways and wiggling his butt in Jake's direction.

"Keep that up and you're not gonna have to worry about what to wear" Jake laughed reaching over and smacking JD's firm left ass cheek hard, causing JD to yelp, dropping his clothes as his hands shot to his smarting ass cheek protectively, rubbing the stinging flesh where Jake's hand had made contact.

"You're asking for it Bauers" JD retorted, before throwing himself at the massively muscular nineteen-year-old, thrusting him backward on his bed until he was straddling his hips, thrusting his fingers into Jake's armpits, and began tickling him.

Jake laughed, squirmed, and giggled, trying to pivot his body away from JD's wiggling fingers.

"Oh no, no no, big guy, there ain't no escape, I know all your weaknesses" JD chided playfully, his thighs tightening around Jake's hips as he mercilessly continued his tickle torture.

Jake finally thrust his hips up, snatching both of JD's shoulders in his large hands, bucking JD sideways on the bed, reversing their positions as he now held JD's wrist firmly against the mattress, the full weight of his body pressing tightly against him, making escape impossible.

As the playful laughs faded, the close physical contact started to have another effect on both of them, eyes locked together, they lay there like that for a few breathless moments staring into each other, fully aware of the growing heat in their connected loins.

As quickly as it had started it ended when Jake abruptly rolled off of him into a standing position beside his bed, glancing briefly down at JD, but not making eye contact: "Maybe I should go see if Carl needs some help so you can get dressed before your friend arrives."

Before JD could comment, Jake had crossed the distance to his bedroom door, opened it and left, closing it behind him, leaving him there on the bed alone with a confused look and a throbbing erection.

JD lay there for a moment trying to clear his head and catch his breath, before looking down his body at the tenting bulge in his light blue briefs, noticing the dark wet patch that was spreading outward as the head of his seven-inch erection drooled dick snot into the straining fabric.

Once again JD found himself wondering what was going on, clearly, Jason wasn't the only guy he was now sexually attracted too, a realization he had come to last night during his talk with Carl resulting subsequently in his discussion with Jake afterward.

What was it about Jason and Jake that he was now finding himself attracted to, for that matter what was it about Timmy that he found alluring?

He realized that what he felt for Timmy was different from what he felt for Jake and Jason, with Timmy, he never once thought about Timmy's dick, for the most part, he completely ignored it, knowing that on some level inside his head he had compartmentalized Timmy, basically seeing him on the same level as the girls he was attracted too; but Jake and Jason were the complete opposite, he didn't know two more masculine guys, and though he had never seen Jake's dick, he found himself wondering what it would be like, actually speculating how it would compare to Jason's, the first and only dick he had ever sucked or wanted too.

In his head, he began running through all the guys he knew and coming to the conclusion he wasn't attracted to any of them, with the possible exception of Baxter Whitmore, his brother Billy's best bud.

He had always brushed off his appreciation of Baxter's body as just an admiration thing but was now coming to the realization that maybe it was more than that.

As he pondered it all, he came to the conclusion that even amongst those he was attracted to there seemed to be disparities; With Timmy and girls, in general, being the lowest level of attraction, then maybe Baxter, with Jake being marginally more so and Jason being the one he was most physically attracted too, though even then, with Jake there was the familiarity, the lifetime shared experiences that seemed to counterbalance the strong physical attraction to Jason, putting Jake and Jason nearly neck to neck on his desirability scale.

As he struggled to bring order to the chaos in his head, JD found himself dwelling on the things his Dad, and Carl for that matter had discussed with him about his future; his dad had said there would be consequences for his actions for breaking the code, and though JD didn't fully understand what that had fully meant, he was certain his dad wasn't just referring to his indiscretions with Andrea but in having sex with a girl period.

What he didn't understand, other than the obvious teen pregnancy thing, is why it didn't matter if he had sex with Timmy or even Jason for that matter, but fucking a girl did and why wasn't it okay?

And then there was Jake; it was becoming increasingly apparent that both his dad and Carl thought, that in addition to Jason, he shouldn't be writing Jake off as a potential interest, in fact, they both seemed to be encouraging it.

Most confusing of all was Carl basically stating that what one needs and what one wants are two separate things and as he pondered that now he almost simultaneously heard his dads voice telling him that a way forward had been prepared for him and that there would come a time he would have to make a choice; was this the choice he was talking about?

Carl had told him Jake was here for a reason, his dad had implied the same the first night Hank and Jake arrived.

JD found his thoughts drifting back to the night before, right after his conversation with Carl in the kitchen, which drove him to seek Jake out and apologize for his aggressive taunts earlier in the day.

Having found Jake were he last saw him, still leaning against the back yard retaining wall staring somberly into the darkening shroud of the evening woods, JD had just walked over to join him, standing by his side for a moment, before breaking the silence, striking up a conversation with him.

"Ya know what pipsqueak, I'm kinda pissed at you too," JD said, bumping his shoulder against Jake playfully.

Jake just cast him a quick sideways glance, acknowledging his presence but offering no retort to his comment.

JD continued anyway, reminded how his grandfather Marcus had always said "better out than in", and though true, it was usually stated right before he'd let one rip, but there were those rare occasions he meant discussing problems one might have with another person openly to their face, instead of allowing it to fester inside, either way, the analogy worked and both tended to cause a stink when deployed but once exposed to the open air, more times than not faded away, affording the person who had been keeping it in a measure of relief.

"It's been three years since I've seen or heard anything from you and when I finally do, you're staring at me like a starving man ogling a steak." JD exclaimed, with a hint of irritation in his voice: "Exactly how did you expect me to react?..."JD's tone shifting from a query to supposition: "I thought ya just got old enough to think ya had better things to do than hang out with some snot-nosed kid."

That had hit a nerve, Jake's head swung around, the full force of his gaze boring right into JD: "I would never think that about you if you only knew..." Jake's voice faltered, averting his gaze to stare nervously at the ground between them, his face a mask of conflicting emotions.

JD brought his left hand up, cautiously placing it on Jake's right arm: "I know that now but I shouldn't have had to hear it from someone else..." JD paused for a second letting his words sink in: "I get why you didn't say anything back then, but why not now?"

Jake lifted his head, staring intently into JD's eyes: "Do you really have to ask me that, I would think it's rather obvious all things considered."

"Jason" JD whispered; this time it was his turn to avert his eyes and stare at the ground.

JD considered his words and for a moment, allowed it to cloud his judgment before thinking better of it, punching Jake in the arm...hard: "Here I thought ya was this big ol tough jarhead when what you really are is nuthin' more than a big ol pussy!"

Jake's eyes lit up as his lips parted into a toothy sneer: "You hit like a girl, you limp wristed pansy."

JD had burst out laughing throwing his arms around Jake as he did the same to him, they stood there hugging each other, giggling like two small schoolgirls before JD had pulled back to look his old friend in the eyes once again: "I've really missed you ya big dufus" he had exclaimed, before dragging him by the arm into the house where they had preceded to spend most of the night laughing and joking, reconnecting and renewing their friendship.

The warmth of the memory from the night before rejuvenated JD as he scooped up his clothes from the floor and hurriedly dressed before exiting his room, determined now to put his best foot forward and let the chips fall where they may.

                                                             * * * * *

As things got down to the wire before the expected arrival of Jason Dunne and his mother, Carl had turned into a whirling dervish of activity, juggling between setting the large wooden patio picnic table with eight place settings, all while mentally visualizing who should sit where and placing corresponding wine glasses at the appropriate sittings, temporarily discarding, for the sake of propriety, Max's general rule about underage alcohol consumption which was basically if a boy was sixteen or older and was under the direct supervision of an adult, that there was no problem and it was nobody else's business, but with Jason's Mom joining them, Carl had managed to illicit a more tempered tone with Max for the evening.

Not knowing exactly what Jason's Mom might find appetizing, Carl had decided to prepare both a slow-cooked roast with potatoes and carrots and stuffed roasted chicken.

When Jake joined him in the kitchen and offered to help, he had been pleasantly surprised when he revealed a palatable level of culinary skills; informing Carl it was purely out of his youthful survival instincts, stating his Dad couldn't even boil water without burning it.

In no time Jake had added seasonings that elevated Carl's dishes and whipped up gravy's for both meat courses and a large salad worthy of being a meal unto itself, leaving Carl to just finish the dinner rolls and putting the finishing touches on his table settings.

From the moment Jake had entered the kitchen to offer up his services, Carl couldn't help but notice the dramatic change in his disposition, noting the stalwart six foot eight youthful brute was now in a far more jovial mood as compared to the day before, he could also detect his elevated pheromone levels while simultaneously catching the faint whiff of JD's on him as well.

As he and Jake finished their preparations out on the patio and while momentarily out of earshot of either Max or JD, Carl decided to make use of the situation, hoping to garner more insight into the inner workings of the young Marines mind and to fill him in on the main reason for this get together: "So, I take it you and JD are getting along better?" Carl posited, meaning it more as an observation than a question, knowing full well the boys had spent half the night giggling and laughing together in the living room, well after he and Max had gone to bed and his own Dad had left with Timmy in tow.

"Better yes" Jake smiled, adding: "But still not quite the reception I had expected, I wish Max had been a little more informative when he invited me, it would have been nice to know all this beforehand."

Carl could hear the disappointment in Jake's words and responded as best he could: "The whole Jason thing broadsided both of us to be truthful" he thought for a moment before extrapolating, grateful Jake himself had provided the avenue for the very topic he wanted to bring up with him next: "Once you meet Jason I think you will understand JD's sudden attraction to him, Max and I are absolutely certain he is of the Heritage."

Jake's expression shifted from minor disappointment as his heavy eyebrow raised quizzically: "JD's only sixteen, his senses shouldn't be that developed"

Carl couldn't help but chuckle a little: "You're missing the obvious here.." Carl fomented, not wanting Jake to underestimate what he was potentially up against: "It isn't that JD is further along than he should be, it's that Jason is far more than he himself is aware of."

A look of surprise swept across Jake's face before positing: "If Jason hasn't claimed his Heritage yet and he's already projecting, then that would mean he's almost assuredly an..." Carl halted him by interjecting: "Exactly, that's why I'm cautioning you now, so you understand the potential risk you yourself may be facing this afternoon when he and his mother arrive."

Jake just stared back at him blankly for a few seconds, before his countenance shifted into slight incredulity: "I'm not that new to the Heritage or that undisciplined that I can't control myself, Uncle Carl."

"Nor have you met Jason, let alone spent hours around him, and let's not forget young man..." Carl paused, drawing the young Marine in for a slight hug before whispering in his ear: "You are still a virgin and JD isn't, and look how he's affected" Carl concluded by pulling back giving him a knowing wink and a playful smile masking his underlying but very real concerns and misgivings.

"Ahem!" Max Donnelly interposed as he stepped through the back door onto the patio pavement, whimsically eyeing the pair up and down as they parted from their hug to stare back at him.

Carl shook his head bemusedly as Jake blushed, timidly casting his eyes down, daring only furtive glances from under his brow at Max as he uncomfortably shifted his weight from foot to foot.

Max sauntered over to them as Carl highlighted their previous conversation to him, noting bemusedly the playful, mischievous mood Max exuded as he continued to torment the trepidatious youth.

"Be that as it may..." Max noted, speaking calmly in low tones as his eyes completely focused on the now somewhat nervous young man before him: "Doesn't explain why he had his arms around you and acting like he has every right to do so."

Carl fought the urge to chuckle out loud as the color drained from Jake's face as his eyes went wide, gulping fretfully as he tried stammering a response: "I meant no offense...I ...I wasn't tryin' to..."

Max laughed out loud, smacking Jake on the shoulder before pulling him into a hearty hug, draping his arm around the shoulder of the youth, pulling his head down, and planting a kiss on his forehead: "Relax pup, I'm just fuckin' with ya." Max emphasized his jest by reaching up with his other hand and ruffling Jake's chocolate brown, short-cropped hair.

"But you should take notice of your reaction when I confronted you about Carl..." Max said flatly, his tone taking a more serious timbre as Jake eyed him quizzically: "Carl's right about Jason, and you had better prepare yourself for what might happen when he gets here and he and JD start interacting."

Jake's expressions took on a more thoughtful countenance as he considered Max's warning: "I won't become violent with him if that's what you're afraid of."

Carl shook his head as Max just rolled his eyes at the erstwhile young man.

"That's not exactly what Max is implying here Jake..." Carl said haltingly, trying to frame his thoughts carefully: "If what we are certain is true about Jason, Max and I are concerned you may feel compelled to back off when Jason is around, just as you did when Max confronted you just a minute ago."

As Carl's words sank in, their meaning took hold as a sudden realization swept across Jake's facial expressions like a light switch being flipped.

"But you said he hasn't been through his ceremony yet" Jake quipped, his voice tempered with doubt.

"That's the point" Carl explained, pointing first to Billy as his example and then relating his personal struggle to contain the boy the other night when he thought him an intruder.

Again, Jake's expression took on a grimace of concerned amazement as he obviously struggled with the implications of Carl's and Max's words.

"But that would suggest his sire was from one of the elder lineages, like Max's." Jake noted, as he continued to search his memories, recounting the limited possibilities before drawing the same conclusion both Max and Carl had already come to: "There isn't anyone in the country that's alive that could fit that description unless you're wrong about his age."

"We aren't and you'll see that for yourself when he gets here," Max said, summing up: "Which should be sometime soon I would think"

                                                                 * * * * *

Elizabeth Dunne stood before her bathroom mirror still debating on whether she should wear her hair up as she normally did during the week when she was working or whether she should try to be less formal and let it hang down.

She had already decided to go as minimal as she could with her makeup and even chose to wear her contacts instead of her glasses, noting the latter made her seem more matronly, which, just for the day wasn't the image she wanted to project.

She had tried multiple times to beg out of the dinner commitment her son Jason had maneuvered her into, but as the time drew nearer, so did his unrelenting insistence.

It was moments like these, that were growing more frequent over the last couple of years as her son was becoming less the boy she raised and more a young man asserting his own autonomy, that reminded her of his father, Bannor Griffen.

At times she would marvel at how much he resembled his father, both in looks and mannerisms, and though he lacked the mental sharpness and intellect his father had possessed, she knew he was capable of doing so; she had hoped she had brought out her exes better qualities over the four years she had studied and processed Bannor's DNA samples before impregnating herself.

To date, she considered Jason the crowning glory of her past success but had recently been kicking herself in the backside for not obtaining larger sample sizes of his blood when he was younger, to compare to where his development was today.

The unknown variable quantities she had noted and mapped in Bannor's DNA comprised the sum of her life's work today, she had even considered expunging them from the sample she used to impregnate herself with, but had for sentimental reasons, left them in place, ultimately desiring to preserve the uniqueness that was the man she loved.

She had done some tweaking, however, just not to Bannor's DNA, instead she had opted to expunge her own DNA from the egg she had harvested from herself, leaving it as blank a slate as she possible could yet maintain it's viability, the result wasn't exactly cloning, but her sons DNA mirrored his fathers more than any naturally born human child; Jason was as close to being a replication of his father as her considerable skills had managed at the time.
The outcome, to her amazement, had exceeded her expectations, there wasn't a day that went by that she didn't notice the ever-increasing similarities encapsulated in her son's physical and mental developments, down to even many of his personality quirks and mannerisms.

Physically, he was damn near a complete replication of his father and she marveled daily at how much like him her son was becoming, most notably of late his capacity for empathy and his near insatiable desire for physical development and self-discipline.

She had always thought that Bannor's drive to forge himself physically into a honed weapon had been instilled in him by his familial upbringing, a patriarchal driven manifestation passed down from father to son by daily interaction and a sense of familial obligation and traditions, but her subsequent observations denoted that what she thought was externally motivated male bravado and simple psycho/social dynamic structures and interactions, had in fact turned out to be more of a genetic trait than she had previously surmised.

Jason's birth and subsequent blood work had revealed as much; in her quest at approximating her lover's physicality, she had thought to combine the recumbent genetic traits that normally develop and activate at different intervals and stages through the natural progression of age and physical development.

She had in fact comprised a process to combine those developmental progressions by splicing Bannor's more maturely activated genome markers by distilling them from his blood samples with those age recessive traits in his spermatozoa.

At the time, she had thought it a sound and practical way of preserving Bannor's developmental traits and characteristics, factors that lay dormant in the DNA but present in his spermatozoa and would only develop, by random selection, as Jason grew older if left to the natural order Jason's development would have veered in a plethora of permutations, as was the case with any normal child developmental markers.

She knew that the random activation of those genes, though close to Bannor's, would have the same random variables present in most child growth; activating or not as the child grew to maturity, random genes like hair/eye color, body type, and metabolism, she knew what most geneticists knew, within each of us is a random selection of gene markers and traits that are randomly selected during gestational fetal progression.

That was unacceptable to her at the time, in her grief at the loss of her mate, she had chosen to subvert that random selection by injecting his matured genetic traits into the DNA markers of his spermatozoa, thus assuring a more replicative outcome, and she had succeeded, to a degree.

What she had failed to calculate into her equations was the recessive genes activated by Bannor's Heritage ceremony, genes her infant son inherited newly born, ones that became problematic enough that she felt compelled to sequester him as a toddler until she developed a treatment to inhibit their effects, which she had to administer to him, masked as a daily supplemental vitamin.

It had taken a while to take effect, but eventually, the affected genes were eventually muted enough for him to function in normal civil society; oddly though, her studies revealed that those RNA sequences that were normally dormant until released by the Heritage ceremony, weren't fully active at the time of his birth, suggesting that though her son had the full effective change his father had experienced at the time of his Heritage ceremony, which presented themselves as full-on physical attributes and manifestations in his progeny, yet remained inert awaiting the catalyst the Heritage ceremony proffered.

Jason was born with most of his fathers fully manifested attributes after his ceremony, muted by his daily supplements but still had the recessive genes that could be activated by the ceremony, meaning, if her son ever underwent the same ceremony, it was reasonable to assume he would expand upon those attributes he already inherited, the effect of which was completely unpredictable and more than a little unsettling to her and were the main source of her trepidation's about keeping her sons paternity a well-guarded secret.

She had also begun to suspect, that the closer Jason got to his eighteenth birthday, the more pronounced his fathers legacy was having on him, she feared that the daily supplements she had been giving him, were either becoming gradually ineffectual, or his body was adapting to it more rapidly the closer he got to his maturity.

Without bringing him into her lab and doing a complete assessment of his physiognomy, she was reluctant to up the dosage and was resistant to hazard a guess as to any potentially deleterious effects that may incur and being equally concerned how she might explain such a barrage of test to her offspring that wouldn't trigger his suspicions as to their purpose.

"C'mon Mom, we need to get goin' we're already running late" came her son's booming voice from the other side of the bathroom door, startling her into action.

Elizabeth Dunne stared at her own reflection and tried to consciously will the worry lines away that permeated her face as she steeled herself for what she was sure would be an awkward, boring evening with her son's recent love interest.

                                                              * * * *  *

The afternoon/early evening was progressing rather well in Carl's opinion, he was particularly pleased about how the meal had turned out, both the roast and chicken seemed to go over well, but more importantly, Jason's mother, Elizabeth seemed to progressively become more at ease as they ate and enjoyed some light dinner banter.

Equally astonishing and even more surprising was the way Jake and Jason seemed to be hitting it off.

At first, Carl just assumed Jake was just putting his best foot forward for JD's sake, but as the meal and conversations progressed the two boys seemed genuinely to connect, exchanging sports stats and comparing favorite football teams and players, finding they shared many similar favorites; Jason as well seemed to have a very keen interest in what Jake did in the Marine Corps, grilling him in earnest for details about his training to become a hand to hand combat specialist.

Carl couldn't also help but feel rather relieved that JD, though initially anxious and a little pensive at the meeting of the two guys he had conflicting feelings for, now seemed to be well on the way to becoming friends.

It wasn't hard for Carl or Max to see, as the meal progressed, the tension and worry casually slip away from JD as he sat at the opposite end of the table smiling and laughing, sandwiched on either side by the two large young men, as he effortlessly weaved himself into their conversations.

The only negative of the evening thus far was the obvious absence of Hank and Timmy and though he really wasn't that bothered Timmy wasn't there he was getting miffed with Hank since Carl and Max had made it clear they wanted him to meet Jason as well and get his opinion on the young man.
Jake had offered up his observations earlier, shortly after Jason and his Mother had shown up; initially, Jake had been rather visibly taken aback at their first encounter.

The intense look of studious consternation that permeated his visage when JD made their introductions, left no doubt in Carl's mind that Jake was as surprised by Jason's "presence" as was both Carl and Max were previously.

Jason exuded almost the same hormonal and pheromone levels of someone who had already been through the Heritage, but at the same time, it was clearly obvious that that hadn't happened yet.

There was only one other person they had ever known to "broadcast" on that level and that was Billy and though it was nowhere near the same level of intensity that emanated from Billy, it was still rather jarring that he did so at all.

After Max had escorted the group out to the back patio and was doing his best to charm and engage Jason's mother, Jake had held back and offered up an observation that neither he nor Max had taken into account, though obviously apparent the moment Jake proffered it; what he sensed, when close to Jason, felt muted in some way, masked by something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

Carl had agreed but cautioned Jake about appearing to be too obvious, indicating it was probably best for both Jason and JD if he just comported himself as relaxed and easy-going as possible and asking Jake at some point right after dinner if he would suggest to both JD and Jason they go hang in JD's room for a while, affording Max and him time alone with his mother, both being determined to garner more info from her about Jason's paternity and determine if she had any knowledge of who her son was or could be.

It had been a good half hour later Jake got the indicative nod from Carl when he suggested they let the old folks talk while they go do a few rounds of Street Fighter 11 on JD's PS4.

Carl used their subsequent departure as an excuse to fetch another bottle of white wine from the kitchen and to send a quick text message to Hank telling him to hurry his ass up and get there.
Upon his return to the patio, Carl noted that Max had already started to steer their light-hearted dinner conversation more in the direction they had planned to discuss, he also couldn't help but notice the general demeanor of both Max and Elizabeth as their continued but restrained body language diametrically opposed the increased rate of their respiration and subsequent hormonal and pheromone elevation.

It had been a while since a woman had drawn that kind of physiological response from Max and Carl couldn't help but find amusement in how hard Max was now trying to mask his attraction from him while simultaneously trying to maintain the mutual, somewhat subcutaneous physical admiration passing between them noting to himself that even at the age of forty-three, Elizabeth Dunne was still quite the handsome and striking woman she had always been, made even more so by her unassuming attractiveness that most attractive women lacked.

From her perspective, she to found Max a refreshing change from the usual weak-willed, self-aggrandizing males her profession seemed rife with, men who talked endlessly about their achievements, the type of men who constantly sought to elevate themselves while diminishing the hard work of others and who constantly sought validation by disparaging others contributions.

She also couldn't help but draw mental comparisons to her deceased lover and father of her son Bannor Griffen, how they were almost identical in both physicality and attitude.

Bannor had exuded confidence and an underlying innate intelligence, but without the faux bravado and arrogant self-absorption many men like him had and though Max was obviously more hirsute, his mental and physical responses mirrored those of Bannor's and despite the fact she still keenly missed his presence in her life she couldn't help but find the similarities in Max Donnelly appealing.

Bannor had always been able to make her feel at ease around him while simultaneously making her feel on the verge of losing control, mostly where her inhibitions were concerned, it was more than physical, more than emotional, their time together was both comforting and exhilarating, he brought out the best in her, challenged her to be more than she perceived or had previously allowed herself to even consider.

She had often found herself angry with him as well, realizing early on that he often orchestrated emotional and mental upheavals that more times than not challenged her perceptions of accepted norms, but she also came to realize he didn't do these things to control her or in malice, but to help her grow as a person and as an individual.

There were times his machinations drove her to a furious, emotional outburst, ending ultimately in her seeing how his methodology had helped her better understand and build upon her own sense of reliance and personal achievement, often ending with her in his arms thanking him for helping her see herself the way he did, something she hadn't felt from a man in years, not since Bannor's tragic death.

They didn't always see eye to eye though, she just couldn't grasp his near slavish devotion to the Heritage and often railed against the more deleterious patriarchal nature subsumed within the Codex he and his men abided by.

She was glad he had placed enough faith in her and their relationship that he slowly, over time entrusted her with the knowledge of who he and the men under him were and the subsequent revelations of the Heritage dating back to antiquity.

The scope of it all was and still is mind-boggling to her, but she had kept the secret, but she also didn't forget or forgive how she felt it had ultimately claimed his life and most of the men she had come to considered as her extended family.

Only two of the original eight had survived and she now felt a sudden pang of relived grief as she pictured herself that last day, standing there with Henry and Russ, mourning the loss of their brethren and the man she had loved more than any other, at their graveside.

They did their best to comfort her and each other, but long before that day, Elizabeth had already decided her future course, that despite her loss she still wanted what had now been denied her, resolving that if she couldn't have the life they had envisioned together she could at least take some solace by finishing her studies and accomplishing through science what was now denied her by nature.

She also allowed her distaste for the Heritage to take deeper root, she knew that what she planned would more than likely be met with enthusiasm by both Henry and Russ, but she also knew that they would insist on being part of it, even drawing Bannor's father into it and she wanted no part of that life for her future son and it had been with those dire thoughts in mind that she had moved away and changed her last name, deciding to finish her schooling at Duke University instead of the University of North Carolina, learning all she could about genetics before carrying out her plan to impregnate herself with Bannor's progeny.

Carl had broken her somber reverie by popping the cork of the bottle of wine he had returned with.

He couldn't help but notice the slightly startled jump she gave before smiling, extending her glass as he held the bottle up, offering her a refill.

"It's interesting that you specialize in the field of genetics Liz," Max said, drawing her attention back to their conversation.

"Oh..." she mused: "I didn't know the Marine Corps held any specific interest in the topic?"

The smile on her face indicated a certain playfulness to her observation, but Max got a distinct feeling there was more to her statement than met the eye.

Max smiled back: "You'd be surprised what the Corps is interested in these days, but my observation was of a more personal nature"

Elizabeth looked over the rim of her glass at him as she took another sip before asking: "Have you studied the topic Max?"

Max merely smiled back at her somewhat whimsically, leaving Carl to respond before he did: "Actually Max's ex-wife is a geneticist."

That news seemed to pique Elizabeth's interest, her eyes narrowing inquisitively as she looked back and forth at both Carl and Max: "That's fascinating.."Elizabeth noted, before asking: "Did she have a particular field of interest?"

Max's grin faded as he simply stated: "She was still working on her dissertation for her doctorate when she decided to abandon us..." His tone was clinical, but Elizabeth knew there had to be more to it than he was saying: "I do believe however her dissertation was on hybridization." He added, the look in his eyes suddenly so intense Elisabeth felt a sudden twinge of anxiety as she asked the next and obvious question: "Where did she matriculate, not many universities specialize in that topic."

Max just responded bluntly: "The University of Georgia."

Elizabeth felt another twinge in the back of her consciousness pull at her before stating observationally: "So her field of interest in hybridization was animal-related and not plant-based then?"

Max just shrugged his shoulders casually, but his gaze seemed to intensify again as he seemed to pause for what he was sure would be her next question making him grow even more pensive when she veered in another direction: "Is there any chance of meeting her, I think she and I might share some common interest in that particular field of study."

Carl interjected at that point, effectively heading her off that particular path of inquiry: "She didn't exactly leave a forwarding address after abandoning her husband and three children."

The pained look on her face denoted the genuine shock and remorse she now felt for having been so curious: "I'm so sorry Max, I meant no offense.." her hand reached out and casually touched his forearm, a comforting gesture, one Carl noted Max didn't seem to mind: "As a mother, I couldn't ever imagine abandoning one child let alone a husband and three children."

Carl saw an opening their exchange presented them and decided to broach the topic straight up: "It must be difficult for you as well, raising a son on your own..." Carl paused momentarily, letting the shift in topic take hold, while also noting the slight stiffening of her posture before asking: "Jason has told us he doesn't know who his father is and JD says it really seems to bother him..."

Both Max and Carl could sense it instantly, her heart rate jumped dramatically, her entire demeanor hardened as well as the expression on her face and the narrowing of her eyes came into laser-like focus as she withdrew her hand from Max's forearm: "Well that's a personal matter between my son and I, it really shouldn't concern you or JD..."
Max braced himself and Carl could feel the mounting pressure building in him as his own gaze intensified, drilling everyone of his perceptions into the woman, Carl knew this was always his response when he knew someone was lying to him and for her part, her next words couldn't have been more poorly chosen, nor more deliberate in their intent: "I would think that both your son and you would have bigger concerns all things considered..." her words trailed off, but her implication still hung there, the cold haughty expression on her face a mask meant to ward off further intrusion, which Max completely ignored: "Please, don't mince words, we're all adults here" he retorted calmly, matching her now cold icy stare, which Max knew belied the rising heat of her respiration, with calm dispassion and cold calculated focus: "I would have thought that obvious by now..." she continued, shifting her weight sideways, setting her wine glass down on the table: "From everything I have heard, your son is nothing but trouble and he now seeks to drag my son down with him..." She took a step toward Max, glowering at him now, bringing her hand up and jabbed a finger into his chest: "It will be a cold day in hell before I ever allow that to happen."

Carl could sense the near panic brewing within her and knew Max could too as he stood there like an immovable rock, allowing her anxiety to play out in the direction of his choosing, both of them now absolutely certain she was hiding something and knowing it had to be something big for her to make this much of a fuss to try and deflect them from their course.

It was the following few moments that often made both Max and Carl question anyone's outright dismissal of the thing that one could only call fate or karma and it was moments like this one that made Carl more reflective of the possibility of divine intervention, for it was at this opportune moment that Timmy and Hank rounded the far corner of the trailer and made their way toward them, Hank shouting his usual cheerful greetings before coming to an abrupt halt not six feet behind Elizabeth Dunne, his nose in the air sniffing in her direction, as a shocked expression subsumed his facial features before cautiously observing: "As I live and breath, Liz Haskel is that really you?"

                                                    Chapter Twenty Three:

"Dayaam baby, you're drivin' me crazy" Atticus Walker moaned as Brock Gryzinski sat there on the leather couch, in his lap facing him, his arms around his neck, knees splayed out on either side of his thighs, as he ground his hole against the base of his fourteen-inch cock.

"Whatsah matter country boy, am I wearin' you out?" Brock hissed through clenched teeth as he caused the muscles of his hole to undulate along the length of the beer can thick member as the loose, swollen folds of his anal ring sucked loudly at the expansive, wet flesh at the root of his turgid, bloated manhood.

They had been fucking all morning, ever since they woke up; in fact, they had slept together with Atticus' cock buried balls deep inside Brock's hole since they collapsed in exhaustion somewhere around 3 or 4 am.

Brock had always felt that Max had always held back during their infrequent get together's and this first night with Atticus only confirmed his suspicions; that the men of the Heritage were not only virile and potent, but they had a vitality and stamina that far exceeded normal limitations.

Long ago, Brock had read somewhere that the average human male could only sustain an erection for 4 to 6 hours maximum, but this limitation didn't seem to apply to either Max or Atticus and he couldn't help but wonder if it was applicable to all those within the Heritage and if it was, how could he sign up!

"Not gettin' tired Gryzinski juz takin' it easy on ya, don't wanna wreck your cunt since junior here seems to have takin' a shine to his new home." Atticus flexed his turgid rod inside Brock's throbbing quim, making it dance and jerk inside him to emphasize his point.

Brock squeezed his hole tighter around Atticus's cock: "Oh really..."Brock quipped as he pulled his ass up, the vice-like grip of his sphincter practically pulling Atticus' hips upward with him, before slamming back down to crush his ass cheeks against Atticus' orange-sized ball sack: "From where I'm sitting, you look like your the one taking it easy while I do all the work."

Atticus snarled between gritted teeth, bringing his head forward until their foreheads touched, his large calloused hands gripped Brock's muscular bubble butt as his eyes bored into Brock's: "Playtime's over..." Atticus growled, lifting the two of them into a standing position, with Brock's legs wrapped around his waist and his arms encircling his broad thick neck to help maintain their balance while simultaneously keeping his phallus impaled inside Brock's overstuffed hole.

Brock felt Atticus's grip tighten even more on his ass-cheeks as he lifted Brock's hips effortlessly up the length of his steely thick rod before slamming him back down with such force that the sound reverberated off the walls of the cabin.

Brock gritted his teeth in pain at the sheer force of that thrust but was determined not to let Atticus get the best of him, as he practically head-butted him, his gaze burning fire into Atticus's eyes as his left hand gripped the back of his head, grinding their noses together: "Don't mind me if I take a nap while you work up the steam to throw a real fuck into me country boy."

Atticus's face contorted into a lecherous grimace, baring his teeth in a broad toothy, wicked grin: "I'll be sure to wake ya when I'm done fuckin' your brains into the top of your skull."

With a bassy growling roar, Atticus unleashed the full power of his driving hips into Brock's already abused hole, relentlessly thrusting and pounding into him in rapid succession until Brock's head just lolled backward and his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

Atticus drove into him, walking them all over the room as he did so, pounding and humping with Herculean force, leaving Brock feeling very much like a rag doll in his powerful arms for the next ten to fifteen minutes.

Hard as he tried, Brock could not maintain the tight, strangling grip his hole once had; after the relentless hammering ripped away the last of his resistance, all Brock could do was surrender to the pummeling invasion of Atticus's monster schlong, his hole yielded all opposition and became an open gaping maw sucking noisily at the sticky girth of Atticus's rock hard member.

As Brock succumbed to the onslaught of Atticus's pulverizing thrust, time became disjointed, he lost track of how long his lover pounded into him, before he lowered him on his back on the table on the other side of the room, hauling his legs up over his shoulders before leaning on top of him, burying his face in Brock's neck and began nibbling at the tender flesh of his throat as his hands gripped his tits pulling at the hard pert nubs of his nipples, his thick full lips gliding wetly down his body, over his sternum and pecs until his mouth wrapped around his left nipple, sucking it into his ravenous mouth, feeding on the tender silken flesh until it was swollen, puffy and distended before moving over to the other one and repeating the process.

Atticus's thrust became less urgent and more purposeful as he noted the effect the massive head of his dong had as the coronal ridge raked across Brock's ass clit, feeling his entire body quiver beneath him as he zeroed in and centered his movements on stimulating the gland until Brock was squirming and moaning in rapturous pleasure, squealing out his delight in whimpers and grunts, repeatedly groaning "fuck me."

Once again Atticus brought their foreheads together, staring into the lustful abyss of Brock's glassy eyes, the heat of their breath mingling hotly against each other's lips, but never touching.

Brock yearned to press his pouting lips against Atticus's but held back, not wanting to dare the rejection he felt he would face at just such an attempt.

He knew in time Atticus would adjust, would succumb to his own passions, and relent to the desires of his flesh and the wanton delight of reckless abandon; patience and time were all that was required, Brock himself having experienced much the same thing in his first fumbling encounters.

Instead of dwelling on what he knew would inevitably be, he chose instead to allow his hands to wander over the rippling sweaty flesh of his lover's hirsute body, pulling him closer and swabbing his neck and hairy chest with his tongue, lapping at the moist musky perspiration that now covered his entire body like a patina of glimmering masculinity worn to seduce and entice his senses.

Atticus smiled wickedly to himself, noting the exuberance and building desires as Brock licked randomly at his sweaty skin, remembering his lover's command forbidding him from bathing before he comes home after a day of training and his subsequent acknowledgment of finding his scent intoxicating.

With that in mind, Atticus pivoted his body slightly, maneuvering his hairy, sweaty armpit directly over Brock's mouth before clutching the back of Brock's head in his large hand and pulling his face into the musky depths of his pit: "Lap it up bitch" Atticus growled, grinding Brock's mouth against the odoriferous hairy trench and watched in delight as he lapped incessantly slurping up the plethora of porous secretions contained within.

Atticus detected almost instantly the heightened arousal Brock experienced and increased the speed of his thrust against his prostate, observing how it made Brock's cock jump and twitch with the increased dual stimulation.

In mere moments Atticus manipulations pushed Brock over the edge, drove him into a quivering mass of orgasmic spams as his hard six-inch cock exploded between them, spurting what little juices remained after their morning long couplings, the undulating spasms of his constricting, slick hole gulped hungrily like the suckling mouth of a starving baby siphoning greedily at his tumescent pecker drawing Atticus into his own tumultuous climax, practically making him piss in an almost continuous spurt of thick, viscous ropey sperm and semen, coruscating in rapid succession into the deepest depths of his bowels flooding him to overflowing.

As the blazing chiaroscuro of dizzying sensations ebbed into the smoldering embers of post-coital bliss, Atticus slowly withdrew his slowly deflating dong, its long thick length covered in the lathered gooey emissions he had just ejaculated into Brock's smoldering twat.

Atticus watched in fascination as the loose folds of Brock's swollen, distended orifice clung wetly to his shaft, pulling inches away from his body like a fleshy condom, before finally, with a slight plop, slipped free to smack wetly against his hairy muscular thigh.

Taking a step back, Atticus watched as Brock slipped down from the table in one slow continuous fluid movement to kneel before his deflating prick, looking hungrily up into Atticus's eyes, locking sight to sight as he began to lick the semi-erect phallus, in long broad strokes with his tongue, scooping up the patina of fuck muck before gulping it down greedily until his entire member was lapped clean as a whistle.

As if right on cue, a loud rapping on the cabin door broke the lusty spell that lingered after their coupling.

Gathering his wits, Atticus shouted over his shoulder in the direction of the door: "Be there in a moment." before leaning over and helping Brock to his feet and guiding him over to the couch, assisting him as he lowered himself, then reaching for the blanket that draped across the back of the couch and spreading it across Brock's lap.

To his delight, Brock watched as Atticus crossed the room, his large, spit wet semi-erect schlong swinging side to side pendulously as he approached and opened the door, completely unphased by his nudity.

The handsome Barin Young stood there framed in the doorway, a large covered tray in his arms.

Brock watched with amusement as Atticus stepped aside, allowing the young Marine to enter and carry the large tray to the table they had just fucked on, and set it down.

"We thought y'all might be gettin' a bit peckish so we whipped ya up some vittles" the stalwart sandy blond bemused, in his deep Texan drawl, before lifting the cover to reveal two large plates heaped with large thick rare steaks, baked potatoes, and corn on the cob.

Brock smiled broadly as the young Marine winked at him before, nodding in Atticus's direction, giving his prodigious phallus a sideways glance, rolling his eyes skyward and wickedly shaking his head before turning and exiting the way he came.

Before shutting the door he exclaimed: "If'in y'all need anything..." He paused briefly, winking once again at Brock: "Be sure to holler, I'd be more than happy to assist ya anyway I can."

Brock almost burst out laughing as he watched him slowly shut the door, giving him one final wink before closing it completely.

"I think someone has an admirer" Atticus bemused, smiling lasciviously at Brock and nodding his head in the direction of the door.

Brock just shook his head as he rose from the couch, quipping: "He's cute but I doubt nowhere near as much fun as you are."

Sitting at the table and pulling one of the plates toward him as Brock crossed the room to join him at the table by taking the seat adjacent to his, Atticus responded: "I'm sure you wouldn't have any problem training him to be useful in all sorts of ways."

Atticus leered at him, his teeth baring in a sardonic grin as he winked mischievously before tearing into the large juicy steak in front of him.

                                                             * * * * *

It had been over twenty years since Elizabeth Dunne had seen Henry Bauers, twenty-odd years since she, him, and Russel Whitmore paid their last respects to Bannor Griffen at his graveside.

She could almost still feel the tears running down her cheeks as they lowered her lover into the cold ground and the honor guard handed the flag that had draped his casket to his distraught father, whispering quiet words of solace and the usual platitudes of "he died with honor in service to his country" words she had heard aplenty those last few days in Jacksonville North Carolina, as they buried all the others who had died along with him that day in Iraq.

Henry and Russel did their best to comfort her, despite contending with their own feelings of loss, especially Henry, who had spent his life being Bannor's closest friend and confidant.

She also knew the special connection between him and all the others they now mourned, brothers not only in service but in the Heritage as well; Hank, as Bannor had always addressed him, now stood before her, in the back yard patio of the Donnelly residence staring back at her like a ghost risen from the grave.

Elizabeth stood there transfixed and wide-eyed, the world around her seeming to swirl into a vertiginous cacophony of flooding memories and the ever-increasing pounding of her heart.

Fear subsumed her, the natural instinct to flee what she perceived as a threat, one she had spent over twenty years avoiding, now stared back at her; Henry Bauers, Bannor's most trusted friend, and companion, stood less than six feet away from her, a surprised questioning look on his face.

She could hear his voice, knew by the fact of his moving lips, that he was talking to her, but his words didn't register, their meaning lost as focus and reason abandoned her in her near panicked state.

Adrenalin coursed through her body, and she did her best to suppress the primal urge to scream and run, knowing full well the very thing she had sought all these years to avoid, to protect her son from, was inexorably embodied in the mere physical presence of the man before her.

Horror and trepidation filled her being as Hank took a step toward her, his hand extended in supplication, a look of concern written in his visage as she subconsciously found herself backing away from him seeking to distance herself from his proximity with each additional step forward he made until she felt her body bump against the stone-like presence of the man whose home she had allowed her son to drag her too.

"Don't touch me!" she commanded as she veered away from Max Donnelly, backing away from him as if his presence was a personal affront to her: "And you..." she snarled at Hank, raising her hand to point her index finger at him, almost accusatory: "Stay away from me!"

"Liz, it's me, Hank Bauers, surely you remember me, I'd never do anything to harm you." she heard Hank say, his soothing baritone voice a melodic combination of both concern and confusion.

She glowered at him for a moment, before looking from him to the others; the one called Carl eyed her dubiously, his face a reflection of the studious, almost clinical nature she often comported when assessing one of her students and then to Max, who stood there emotionless, his arms folded over his chest as his steely eyes drilled into and through her, once again reminding her so much of her former lover, Bannor Griffen.

It was at that moment it hit her; what a fool she had been, she had allowed her love for her son to blind her, she had given in to him and let him lure her right to these people, brought her right back to the one thing she had always done her best to avoid, to protect her son from... they were all of the Heritage.

"You can't have him!" she blurted, almost absentmindedly, her voice barely a whisper, as a myriad of potential futures expanded within her consciousness, each and every one now verging into a singularity of thought, they know who her son is and they are going to take him away from her!

"YOU CAN"T HAVE HIM!" she shouted frantically as she dug into the purse she had been clutching to her stomach, producing the Glock 26 Gen5 subcompact 9mm pistol she kept for her self protection, brandishing it before her, challenging any of them to disagree with her.

Bannor had taught her well, insisted she be able to protect herself in his absence, warned her how there were those in the world if they learned of her connection to him, might see her as a way of getting to him, cautioning her, that even within the Heritage there were those without honor and wouldn't hesitate in causing her harm if they felt it a tactical advantage over him.

He had trained her himself in the use of firearms, had even taught her some self-defense moves with and without weapons, she was no expert by any means, but as Bannor had said, even a handgun can bring even the strongest of the Heritage down if wielded properly, and after his death, she had made it a point to become proficient in the use of her little equalizer.

Elizabeth Dunne had no intent in shooting anyone, all she wanted at this very moment was to collect her son and get him as far away as she possibly could, to keep him safe, to make sure they didn't seduce him into the Heritage and put him on the same self-destructive path her dead lover had followed.

She was also kicking herself for not having seen it earlier, noting how even she had thought how similar Max was to Bannor, how everyone around him seemed to focus on him, she had even seen it earlier, right after they had arrived, when her son introduced her to Max, she saw the way her son looked at him, the admiration in his eyes for a man he barely knew; but it was also the little things, like when they sat down to eat, how everyone at the table waited, looking to Max, holding back to begin consuming their meal until he took the first bite of food, even the way he let the one called Carl draw her into conversations as he sat there studiously observing them like he was gauging their responses, or like now, how they all looked to him, waiting for him to speak or take some action as she pointed the gun directly at him.

One of Bannor's primary lessons was, in the eventuality of a group situation, always secure or take out the leader first, that it would throw the group into disarray, it was why she was not surprised at all when Max spoke first.

"Just as I suspected, you do know who your son is" Max declared, leveling his bright blue eyes directly at her, his calm demeanor relaying the fact, that even though she had a gun pointed directly at him, he still didn't see her as a real threat.

To her surprise, it was Henry Bauers who spoke next, taking her a bit off guard, after hearing the obvious, questioning concern in his voice: "Liz, why are you doing this?"

Before she could stammer a response, Max interjected: "Because Hank, she has a son that's just about the age to come into his Heritage and she thinks she can stop that from happening."

"Correction, I will stop it" She hissed at Max, not once taking her eyes off of him, knowing she couldn't allow anything or anyone to distract her now, not before she got Jason out of there.

"Why would you do that Liz?" Hank queried, again the inflection of his tone denoted his underlying concern for her and the very real confusion surrounding her current actions.

She felt a pang of remorse for Hank, of all of the men that followed Bannor, he was the one she felt closest to, the one that was ever by Bannor's side and subsequently hers as well.

She had only fond memories of their times together, his jovial disposition, his silly quips and banter with all the others, the often affectionate regard and esteem in which Bannor held for his childhood friend, she had even suspected they had even been lovers but hid it from her, she had often felt that Bannor held such feelings for many of the men in his squad.

At the time, it didn't bother her, she had thought it more a fraternal camaraderie type of situation, neither Bannor nor any of the others ever made her feel as if what he had with her was felt any less profoundly than what he had for any of them, they had always tried to make her feel a part of their group and in her way, she cared for each and every one of them, but they were gone now, as dead as the man she gave her heart too, in what seemed a lifetime ago.

But that was then, this was now; she knew the history of the Heritage, had debated her misgivings and fears for his and the others safety with Bannor over and over again, to no avail.

She had tried hard to understand why none of his men had girlfriends, why the Codex forbid them to even seek sexual pleasure with women as long as they were bound to Bannor.

Elizabeth had often asked him if she could read the text herself, thinking perhaps she might find a loophole they didn't see, but always got the same response, the Codex was for the eyes of those within the Heritage only.

"Why would I do that?" she retorted angrily to Hank: "Are you seriously asking me that question after what happened to you and the others and too...?" she couldn't even bring herself to speak Bannor's name and she didn't have to look at Hank to know the effect her words had on him, his physical and emotional response was almost palpable.

She glared at Max as he dropped his hands from their folded position across his broad chest to clench into a fist at his side, her eyes darted to Carl as he now looked poised at any moment to bound across the short distance between him and her, his eyes glued to the barrel of her revolver.

"Make one move toward me..." she spat at Carl, her eyes two daggers, full of intent and purpose: "And I'll put one right between Max's eyes."

Carl froze in place, but she could feel the mounting strength building in Max, it emanated from him in almost visibly perceptible waves of force and it subconsciously made her take a couple of steps backward.

She knew full well the strength and speed he had at his command, knew that even from this distance, his abilities might exceed any physical response she could muster, but she'd be damned if they thought she would give up without a fight.

But right now, even at this moment, her greatest fear wasn't the physical threat Max and Carl presented, no her greatest fear lay in Hank potentially coming face to face with her son Jason.

She knew neither Max nor Carl realized the full truth of Jason's lineage, they might suspect she deduced, but there was no way they could know for certain, but Hank... Elizabeth dreaded what she might be forced to do if the two came into contact.

It was that overwhelming realization that made her quickly pivot and aim the gun at Hank, training it squarely at his head as he now slowly moved closer toward Carl, eyes fixed on hers, his face a questioning grimace of concern and doubt.

"Liz I would never hurt you or your son" Hank plead, his voice subsumed with sincerity: "I have two boys of my own now, both older than yours from what I've heard"

Elizabeth steeled herself, picturing the large youth that went into the house with her son and JD, she mentally derided herself for not catching it earlier, that the large muscle-bound young man they called Jake was indeed Hank's progeny was now obvious to her.

Questions began to swirl within her head making her feel slightly vertiginous: "I thought you and the others weren't allowed to be with women, let alone marry them?" she queried, trying to reconcile what she knew of the Codex and what Bannor may or may not have revealed to her.

"After we lost..." Hank began, but couldn't bring himself to say his name aloud, letting his words hang in the air, his voice thick with sadness and remorse at his remembrance: "We were bound to him Liz..."Hank finally continued: "But after he was gone and there were no others to take his place, we were no longer subject to the rules of the Codex, we were forced to exist outside of it."

Elizabeth pondered his words, digesting their meaning, and found it rather troubling that Bannor's death had in some way set the others free, had in fact allowed them to pursue relationships of their own and to even have families.

"So I guess Russel did the same thing huh?" she spat, almost mockingly, hating the fact that the two sole survivors of her lover's squad got to have the life that she and Bannor had never got to share together.

She regretted almost instantly the spiteful tone of her voice when Hank quietly responded, with a look of forlorn sadness: "Russel Whitmore died eight years later in Afghanistan."

Hank's words hit her like a punch to the face; Russel held a special place in all their hearts being the youngest of Bannor's squad, she had always thought how sweet and ofttimes naive he was, how the others loved to tease him for being the newbie, not taking into account he often bested a lot of them out in the field during their endless training exercises.

She snapped out of her reverie when she heard Max interject: "Russel Whitmore has a son too and if I'm not mistaken he and Jason was born just days apart from one another."

Without taking his eyes off the gun now pointing at him, Hank responded: "That would mean he's seventeen..." his voice trailed off as his brow furrowed in thought before asking the one question they all wanted the answer to: "If that's the case, who is Jason's father?"

His eyes searched Elizabeth's as if supplicating her for an answer that would make sense, that would explain why she now held a gun pointed directly at him; Hank may have initially been slow on the uptake, but the fact she was singling him out as the potentially most threatening person to her and her son, indicated that there was a lot more here than met the eye and minute by minute he was increasingly certain he needed to know what that something was.

'WHO is your son's father Liz?" Hank demanded, instinctively taking a step toward her, completely ignoring the gun she aimed at him.

Elizabeth Dunne faltered for a second, her hand shook as her resolve wavered and the world seemed to swirl around her, consuming her consciousness, before one sobering thought brought her back to the stark reality that faced her now, Henry mustn't get anywhere near her son or she could lose him forever: "Take another step toward me Henry and the paternity of my son will be the least of your worries!" to emphasize her point, Elizabeth grasped the gun in both her hands, the index finger of her right hand tightening on the trigger, noting at this point a single breath could set the pistol off.

It was at that moment, Elizabeth caught a brief flash of white in her peripheral vision, at first she thought it some trick of the light, like the late afternoon sunlight dancing off a blowing sheet in the wind accompanied by the corresponding rustling sound of sheer fabric, gently rustling in the breeze.

She felt no sense of trepidation from it, no impending or looming menace, it was barely of notice to her as she stood there with her gun aimed intimidatingly at the three men who could menace the life she had crafted for her and her son, but she also sensed she had forgotten something, like a morning dream drifting away in the periphery of awakening consciousness.

It was then, in a bustling, florid motion that came tumbling down from the sky to land a couple of feet to her right, was the form of a pale but beatific, angelic like creature and one of the most handsome young men she had ever laid eyes on.

His sparkling sapphire blue eyes twinkled back at her as her startled perceptions took in his boyishly cherubic features, his cute button nose, and full pouty lips, the golden tight curls of his soft hair, sheared tightly to the sides of his head but left slightly longer on top leaving small ringlets to bounce across his forehead.

He smiled disarmingly back at her for the briefest of seconds before his left leg shot straight upward into the air, crashing against her forearms, close to her wrist, forcing them to jolt upward, while almost simultaneously causing her finger to flex against the trigger of the pistol, discharging the weapon in a cacophony of staccato booming shots into the late afternoon sky.

In another motion of shear fluidic grace, his body seemed to lift effortlessly from the ground as his right leg pirouetted toward her chest, knocking her backward on her ass into the soft grass beside the patio, his hands shooting forward, as his body came to rest on his knees before her, to clasp the gun in her hands with his own before he yanked it effortlessly from her grasp tossing it far to the side.

Timmy Anderson stared her right in the eye, his own glowing with mischievous mirth: "Didn't your mother teach you any manners, it's not polite to point!"

                                                               * * * * *

"You're goin' down Lurch" Jason Dunne postulated enthusiastically, as he thumbed chaotically on the PS4 controller as he fought for dominance after unleashing a successful combo attack against Jake Bauers.

Both young men sat on the edge of JD's bed as JD himself sat on the floor between them rooting for each in turn, decidedly cheering on the one who was winning at the moment, reasoning it was the only way he could remain neutral and not show favoritism.

"Dude, I know ol' ladies that fight better than you do" Jake mused, matching Jason's combo by blocking most of it and releasing a salvo of combo attacks that readily defeated Jason's chosen game character.

JD hooted and pumped his fist in the air, cheering Jake on: "That's three in row Peewee, looks like you be takin' another dirt nap."

"I'd like to see you do better Donnelly" Jason teased, casually tossing the controller into JD's lap, while still shaking his head in disbelief at the superior skill the massive young Marine had just dished out against him.

"Now ya know how it feels every time you've whipped my ass playin' this stupid game" JD taunted, turning around and getting up on his knees grasping Jason's head between his hands and planting a kiss against his forehead with a loud smack of his lips.

"Oh sure.." Jake moaned in feigned indignation: "The loser wins the prize while the winners left twiddling his thumbs."

Without so much as a thought, JD smirked: "Awwww, poor baby..." then leaned over, planting his lips against Jake's for a quick kiss.

The surprised look on Jake's visage and the subsequent deep red blush of his face was worth the minor pang of guilt JD suddenly felt having kissed someone other than the guy seated next to him, Jason Dunne.

Those feelings faded rapidly when he rather demurely cast a glance toward Jason's face and finding only a large toothy grin glaring back at him.

"Dayamm..." Jason mused, leaning back on the bed until he was propped upright by his elbows: "That's kinda hot."

It was JD's turn to blush as Jason winked at him seductively before lowering his gaze to the growing, tenting bulge in the front of his blue jeans and then suggestively back to JD's widening eyes; a bold move JD found to be simultaneously both shocking and arousing at the same time.

At first, surprised by Jason's initial response, JD's thoughts spiraled into a myriad of directions, most of which was now fueled by his burgeoning teenage hormones and libido, his thoughts drifted into the realm of fantasy as he pondered the possibilities and implications of Jason's overtly acquiescent approval.

For days now, JD had allowed himself to be subsumed with feelings of guilt for his awakening attraction for Jake, fearing Jason's possible jealous reactions if he suspected JD harbored feelings toward anyone else but him.

Even now, with that somewhat tacit approval by Jason, JD still felt a twinge of trepidation at possibly unsettling the careful emotional balance he had maintained between what he felt for and desired from Jason and what he had always felt for Jake.

But now, with that one simple reaction from Jason, JD now began to consider other possibilities, mentally taking stock of viable options that potentially laid before him, he had never allowed himself to consider before, and slowly those possibilities began to take root in the back of his mind, driven and feeding off a potential paradigm he'd never given pause to consider, until now.

But before he could allow himself to consider that path he had to know for certain that course wouldn't lead away from the one he had allowed to be set and wanted with Jason.

It was with that thought in mind he heard the familiar voice of his father running through his consciousness, an ephemeral, bodiless presence imparting his sagely wisdom in moments of need, assuring him that when the moment arose he'd know his path forward and all he had to do was accept and embrace it, to hold on with both hands as hard as he could.

JD felt that such a moment could be now, but first, he had to talk to Jason, he had to know his thoughts on what he was considering, to better gauge and possibly traverse a road he had only now considered a viable option.
"Hey Jake, would you mind getting us some Coke's from the frig?" JD asked, turning his head to smile as innocently as he was capable of doing.

"Can do, need to take a leak anyway" the giant said amiably as he rose and stretched, before heading out the bedroom door.

As soon as Jake left the room, JD nuzzled in close to Jason and planted a quick kiss on his lips bringing a large smile that now dominated his face: "What was that for?" Jason queried, adding quickly: "Not that I'm complaining or anything."

"Because I wanted to butter up my boyfriend before I ask him something that might be a little bit touchy" JD smiled as demurely as he could, throwing in a touch of the sardonic by scrunching his nose and batting his eyelids in a playful, over-exaggerated way.

Jason chuckled: "Oh boy I'm in for it now aren't I?" it was really more of a statement than a question and JD just smiled back at him, placing his hand on Jason's chest, toying with the top button of his light green dress shirt as he pondered his next question and hoping Jason didn't take it the wrong way.

He must have taken to long considering how he would frame what he had in mind because Jason reached up with his right hand and started gently stroking the side of JD's left cheek, drawing JD's gaze toward his own: "If you're wondering if I'm cool with you possibly messin' round with Jake the answer is yes."

The surprise he felt after Jason said that must have registered on his face, it was in part exactly where he wanted their conversation to go and JD was a little caught off guard and even slightly impressed with how in tune they often were when they were together.

Add in the fact that there was always just a little bit of that out of control spontaneity about Jason, that just made JD enjoy being with him more and more.

"Listen, he's a really cute guy you've got some history with..." Jason said softly, slowly wrapping his left arm around JD's shoulder and pulling his head down next to his, affectionately stroking the hair on the side of his head, before adding: "We've already established that we're boyfriends and I definitely don't wanna come across as some sort of stereotypical jealous and possessive douche bag most guys turn into when they date someone."

Jason planted a soft kiss on JD's forehead before concluding: "Besides, I can tell how attracted the two of you are to each other and truthfully I do kinda find it to be a bit of a turn-on, and..." He paused for a second, looking directly into JD's eyes seductively: "I am hardly in the position of being able to complain since you didn't bust my balls about doing coach Tuck."

JD pulled back and gave Jason a cocky half-grin: "Well, technically we weren't boyfriends at the time, so..."

"Even so..." Jason interjected, ruffling JD's hair: "You didn't make a big deal out of it as most people would."

JD saw that as his opportunity to bring up what he really wanted to talk to Jason about.

"I'm glad you feel that way too Jason..." JD began, hoping against hope Jason's open-mindedness would leave him just as agreeable to what he was about to suggest.

Again, JD toyed with the top button of Jason's shirt, as he moved in a little closer to press his body against Jason's: "Did I hear right, did you say that you thought Jake was really cute?" He queried, briefly allowing their eyes to lock as they exchanged glances.

"Well duh..." Jason chided playfully: "You'd have to be blind not to think so, have you ever seen a dude with muscles stacked that big before?"

JD snickered jovially as Jason fanned his own face mockingly.

"Ya know..." JD purred rather coyly: "I was thinking that maybe that you and I could... I don't know, maybe...kinda..." Jason sat up abruptly looking down at JD, his eyes growing a bit wide before narrowing inquisitively his lips spread into a lustful sneer: "Are you suggesting we do him together Mr. Donnelly?"

JD smiled back at him, baring his teeth like a Cheshire cat, before sprawling out on the bed his hands behind his head, staring daringly back at Jason: "Ooohh, what a wonderful suggestion Mr. Dunne."

Jason threw his head back in a hearty laugh before diving on top of JD, crushing his body with his own, grinding the massive erection throbbing in his pants against the tenting bulge in JD's.

"Dayaam, you naughty boy, here I was working up the courage to ask you if I could watch the two of you go it and you go and do me one better," Jason said enthusiastically, leaning in to plant a hard wet kiss on JD's pouting lips.

"Funny that..." JD mused, adding: "I was kinda hoping to watch the two of you do the same thing."

Jason growled wickedly, his eyes burning lustfully as he stared into JD's eyes: "Well he ain't exactly my cup of tea if you know what I mean, but if it turns you on, I'm game if you are?" he posited, rubbing the tip of his nose against JD's, letting the tip of his tongue slip out and rake across JD's luscious lips, parting them before slipping in to fill JD's hungry mouth.

It was at that moment their lustful coupling was interrupted by the sound of two loud gunshots coming from the back yard patio.

They both instantly shot to their feet, running toward the bedroom door, where they met Jake; the three looked ominously at each other, concern and shock registering on each of their faces, not saying a word before they each darted toward the back door.

                                                               * * * * *

After hearing the gunshots from inside the house and JD and Jason joined him as he had just exited the bathroom, Jake made sure to keep the two behind him as he cautiously opened the back door, being careful to bar the exit from JD and Jason.

His Marine Corps training had instantly kicked in and realized his number one priority was first to protect his two young companions, despite their eagerness to discover what had happened.

"You two stay back while I check things out" Jake ordered, his voice barely a whisper, but firm enough for both boys to understand he meant business.

Normally JD's first instinct would have been to brush Jake off and push past him, knowing full well that either his Dad or Carl could be hurt or worse on the other side of that door, but one look at the near panic on Jason's face as he too feared much the same for his mother, he reconciled himself to show restraint, letting Jake's age and training be their guide, as he knew either his father or Carl would have expected him too.

JD also knew, that if he didn't hold on to Jason's arm the way he did right at that moment, Jason would have probably already rushed past Jake and charged headlong into whatever awaited them on the other side.

As Jake discreetly slipped out the back entrance, the first thing he saw was Jason's Mom, sitting in the grass with Timmy Anderson kneeling beside her, his hand on her shoulder in what appeared to be a comforting gesture as she seemed to babble incoherently about keeping them away from her son.

She looked frazzled, her hair now disheveled, eyes frantic, her eyeliner running down her cheeks mixed with the tears that poured from her eyes.

Off to the side, Max Donnelly stood with Carl McGregor and his Dad, Hank Bauers, who cradled what appeared to be a Glock pistol in his right hand.

Max was first to notice him: "It's okay Jake, nobody's been injured."

Jake noticed that Max's tone was cool and measured, exactly what he would have expected from a man with years of experience, his demeanor calm and collected, as he innately took charge of the situation.

Having heard his Dad's voice, JD slipped out the back door with Jason close at hand, until they stood beside Jake, both anxiously surveying the situation around them.

At first, JD's eyes sought out his Dad and Carl letting out a sigh of relief when he saw them huddled together with his Uncle Hank, all three talking in hushed whispers to each other while glancing across the patio into the side yard.

Before he had even noticed her, JD heard Jason cry out: "MOM are you okay!?"

JD could feel Jason tear away from his grip and rush to his mother's side, noticing her himself for the first time and realizing why Jason's outburst sounded so concerned, she looked awful, a condition that only worsened upon seeing Jason kneel before her grasping at her hands, fear, and trepidation dominating his facial features as his eyes searched her body for any signs of physical damage.

"No, no, no..." she kept repeating over and over again as her eyes widen at Jason's sudden appearance before her.

Jake watched as she snatched Jason's hands between her own as she struggled to stand up dragging Jason with her: "You've got to get out of here Jason, it isn't safe..." she babbled almost hysterically, maneuvering herself protectively between Jason and the group of men less than ten feet away from them.

The wild panic in her eyes gave way to near madness as she began frantically tugging at Jason's arm trying to pull him further away from the group of onlookers.

What was now clear to Jason was that something or someone had freaked his Mom out or hurt her in some way, he resisted her incessant and desperate pulling to brush past her, intending to confront the trio of men in whose company he had left her in.

"What did you do to my Mom?!" Jason demanded, his voice only slightly less than a yell, aimed directly at Max Donnelly, every muscle in his body now taut, poised for action at the slightest provocation.

Max took a step toward Jason, a look of concern on his face, looking as if he meant to embrace the young man and soothe away his concerns.

But just as Max was about to speak to him, Hank Bauers cried out behind him: "Baa...Bannor...is that YOU!?"

Before Max could even turn to glance back at his old friend, Hank had pushed past him until he stood just a few feet away from Jason Dunne, who now glowered back at him, his rage partially suspended as he glared into the ashen-faced man now scrutinizing him up and down with a near manic look subsuming his visage.

"No this can't be..."Hank jabbered, his mouth nearly hanging open, squinting his eyes as if he was having trouble focusing: "I watched you die..... Russel and I were there when your father buried you!"

Max reached out to Hank, his hand clasping his shoulder tightly, he had never seen Hank Bauers this shaken before, looking at the boy before him like he was some kind of ghost, risen from the grave.

Jason reared backward a step, wondering who this man was that seemed to be babbling incoherent nonsense at him.

"Who the fuck are you?" Jason demanded, his own face a questioning grimace as he felt his mother's familiar hands clutch at his left arm and once again began tugging at him desperately.

"Jason don't listen to him, we have to get out of here..." her voice sounded maniacal and disjointed, completely devoid of her usual calm, clinically detached composure.

He turned toward her briefly, noting instantly the near terror written in her eyes, as she repeatedly urged him to leave with her.

Jason's face contorted into a scowl of concern as he tried to focus her attention back on him instead of on the man who stood just a few feet away from him staring at him with watery tears in his eyes.

"Mom..,?" Jason implored: "Who is this man and how do you know him?" what he really wanted to ask her, was why did he think he knew him.

Jason suddenly felt a large comforting hand clasp his shoulder from behind and he turned slowly as if time itself was coming to a standstill until his eyes inexorably locked with Max Donnelly's, whose calm, deep soothing voice assuaged the frenetic chaos around them: "Jason, I think I know enough now to answer all of your questions."

With JD by his Dad's side peering worriedly at him, Max gestured toward the house.

Jason also saw Carl and Jake embracing the man who had confused him with someone else, watched as the man sobbed in their arms.

He quickly turned toward his mother's still pleading, tear soaked face, which was now succumbing to a forlorn look of anguished despair as Max Donnelly gently guided him away from her and toward the back door of his house.

He watched as Timmy Anderson wrapped his arms around her consoling her and wiping away the tears from her face as Max escorted him and JD through the back door and away from all the drama and turmoil, Max's hand firmly pressed against his back comfortingly, his deep soothing voice filling his ears with words he had often longed to hear: "Jason, I think it's time you learned who your father is."

                                                     Chapter Twenty Four:

"This all sounds like the plot to some sci-fi movie" Carl McGregor mused idly, as his eyes searched the faces of the people that sat around the wooden picnic table in the back yard patio of the Donnelly residence.

He noted silently to himself how Max stared off thoughtfully into the woods, obviously contemplating/absorbing everything that had just been imparted by Elizabeth Dunne at the insistence of her son Jason after his conversation with Max concluded about half an hour ago.

Thankfully, after that conversation, JD, Jake, and Timmy decided to hang out in his room affording Jason some privacy as he confronted his mother.

Jason now sat across from her at the table, the expression on his face stony and blank, his eyes two glassy daggers that bore right into his mother demanding nothing less than the absolute truth.

Elizabeth gave up that truth under the cold icy glare of her son, her own eyes cast downward staring at fidgeting fingers, unable to make even the briefest of eye contact with her offspring.

Hank Bauers sat at the far end of the table staring diligently at Jason, his own face running a gambit of expressions as he seemed either unable or unwilling to take his eyes off of him.

Carl had never met Bannor Griffen, but from Hank's reactions, it was obvious that his son was the spitting image of his sire and judging by the account Elizabeth had just detailed, tracing back the history of what all she had done to conceive her son using his fathers adapted DNA, it was clear that Hank was struggling to differentiate between the man he grew up with and the seventeen-year-old boy that sat just a couple of feet away from him.

There were several occasions, Carl could see Hank fight and resist the urge to reach over and clasp Jason's hand or perhaps just to touch his arm as the young man grilled his mother for answers, answers that obviously troubled Jason from time to time as he tried taking it all in.

There were several times Max interjected and halted her alliteration, steering her away from revealing things Carl understood Max knew the boy wasn't ready to hear, mostly about the Heritage, or more specifically about what happens or will happen upon his eighteenth birthday, something Carl also realized wasn't that far away.

It didn't surprise Carl at all when Max put a halt to their conversation after she finished recounting the method of his conception; it was obvious to everyone, maybe even perhaps Jason himself, that there were far more details than she was revealing, but it was clear that Max shared, at least for the moment, her trepidation in revealing too much.

Even to the casual observer, despite whether she may have wanted to disclose more or not, Max now controlled this conversation and his mere presence was a substantiation that every word that exited her mouth were cautiously crafted and meant solely to satisfy Jason's need to know more about his paternal parentage and nothing more.

"Perhaps this would be a good time to cease this conversion..." Max said, raising his hand in a supplicating motion preemptively halting any protestations Jason may have had of that notion before Max continued: "I know you have more questions Jason, but I think it's best for all concerned..." looking first to Jason and then to his visibly shaken mother and even to Hank, who was still reeling from Jason's physical presence and proximity before adding: "Maybe it would be a good time for everyone to take some time to absorb everything that was just said before we get too far ahead of ourselves."

It was obvious from Jason's body language that he had a lot more he wanted to say to or ask his mother, but one glance into Max's gaze and Jason backed down.

Carl knew what Max was doing, the air around them was charged with his pheromonel presence, he doubted that anyone of the Heritage would have been able to resist his slightest whim let alone a full-on command from him at that moment, he could only speculate how it must be affecting Elizabeth, the woman's attitude had changed completely now, as she acquiesced to every directive Max made of her.

There was still fear in her eyes, but that fear was more out of concern for what her son was thinking and feeling right now, a concern that showed on her weary face and in her red watery eyes.

Carl could feel the waves of apprehensive dread radiate from her as she tried repeatedly to meet her son's solemn glare, her inner turmoil bubbled to the surface written in every crevice and line of her facial expressions, her lips trembled in nervous anxiety as she fought to formulate words that might assuage the mounting tension brewing in her offspring and in the end she just sat there, silently fumbling with her folded fingers on the table before her, wishing that somehow she could rewind the events of the day and whisk her son away from all the pain, anger and angst that now subsumed him, the pain she had caused by the plethora of secrets she had withheld from him.

Worse of all, it wasn't just the disapproving glare of her son staring back at her, but the haunting memory of her lover Bannor Griffen that now glowered back at her through him.

One resounding thought pulsed throughout her consciousness, Bannor would have despised what she had done, he would have felt just as betrayed as she now knew her son must feel, which was now reflecting back at her through eyes that matched his fathers almost perfectly.

Almost absentmindedly her hand reached across the table to touch her sons, a subconscious effort perhaps to plea for his forgiveness and understanding, one hopeful gesture of reconciliation that was dashed away as Jason's hand recoiled from hers to disappear under the table as his gaze turned from her, rejecting any form of comfort or affection from her.

She watched through pleading eyes as her son rose from the table and asked to speak to Max alone for a few minutes.

An uneasy and wary pall washed over her as she watched the two chat together, just out of earshot; she bristled at the thought of what they could be discussing, consumed with dread at the frequent, heated glances cast her way from her son until they finished their conversation and Jason disappeared into the house through the back door and Max returned to the table to reclaim his seat at the head of the table.

"Give him time Elizabeth..." Max said, his voice calm and collected, both soothing but firm at the same time: "This is a lot for him to take in and he's going to need time to process it all." he concluded, eyeing her speculatively, waiting to see if she would make a response.

"I can't lose him" was her only counter, her voice barely a whisper, full of anguish and loss before adding, managing to briefly meet Max's gaze: "He's all I have left in this world."

"That's not true!" Hank Bauers interjected abruptly his left hand reaching over to cover her clasped hands laying on the table in front of her, his eyes reflecting the compassion behind his words.

"All of us cared for you Liz... Bannor's father and the rest of us would have taken care of both of you, we would..." Hank's voice trailed off as she pulled her hands away from his, her eyes locking on him: "How would you have done that Hank, all of them but you are dead now?!" the timbre of her voice cracked whip-like, full of accusation and defiant innuendo.

Hank's eyes grew wide in dismay and stared back at her as she fumed: "Bannor's father, like you and the others, would have filled his head with bold tales of his father's valor and honor, you would have led him down the same path Bannor was duty-bound to undertake with little or no regard for the damage you all leave in the wake of your never-ending pursuit of your Heritage."

They all watched silently as fresh tears streamed from her eyes to wash down her face, her voice breaking as she vented her anguish and trepidation's: "I sacrificed everything I knew and loved at the time to something I wasn't even allowed to be a part of..." her words grew more heated, her face a scowling, contorted grimace of mixed anger and sorrow: "Bannor was the love of my life, the only man I've ever loved as a matter of fact and he'd still be here now if it wasn't for his sense of duty to the Heritage."

"It was you and his father and the others that took him from me, ripped away any life we ever could have had together..." her voice softened as she began to brush the tears from her face before firmly concluding: "What I did, I did out of love for him..." she paused momentarily, turning her head away from Hank to stare defiantly at Max: "I wanted Bannor to have the life he could never hope or dreamed of because of what his father and those of the Heritage and that stupid fucking Codex of yours demanded of him!"

Max glowered back at her and for an instant she swore she caught the bright blue iris's of his eyes flash brilliantly before he leaned across the table, his gaze drilling right into hers, boring into her consciousness, his presence subsuming hers, whatever will she had left crumbled into dust as his deep guttural voice practically growled at her: "And exactly what have you done to make such a thing happen!?" Max demanded as all eyes now turned on her expectantly.

Elizabeth Dunne gulped involuntarily, realizing in her grief and anger how she had just unwittingly allowed herself to be manipulated into laying too many of her cards on the table, revealing more than she had ever intended to ever be known to anyone but herself.

She felt the walls that guarded her deepest secrets melt away under the scrutiny that was the unrelenting onslaught of Max Donnelly's will.

She felt small and insignificant in his presence; Bannor and his father had marginally made her feel that way at times, but compared to what she faced now, it paled in comparison and it was at that very moment, with every fiber of her being now filled with an unabating dreadful realization of who and more importantly what she was facing, that now caused all the blood to drain from her face in disbelief, as she was barely able to utter the words that came grovelingly past her quivering lips: "You're him aren't you!?"

As if in answer, the universe seemed to blink out of existence as his presence filled her, she felt like a drowning swimmer caught in a whirlpool whose overpowering presence filled her and was pulling her inexorably down into the deep murky depths of nothingness, there was no fighting it, she lost all control of herself completely to him as he slowly brushed aside every fiber of resistance, willing her to expunge her innermost thoughts and secrets to him, before it all became too much for her and the darkness claimed her and awareness faded behind the thinly veiled walls of self-control and determination into blissful unconsciousness.

                                                               * * * * *

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure my Dad won't mind if you spend the night" JD said, sympathetically to Jason, who now sat on his bed beside him, holding his hand tightly in a gesture meant to show support and comfort.

It was obvious to them all, Jake, Timmy, and JD, that Jason was struggling emotionally and mentally with his mother's revelations as the startling events of the afternoon and evening had unraveled the long-held secrets that were now rattling the foundations of his life to its core.

"It's not all bad news..." Timmy Anderson offered, sitting on the floor smiling haltingly at the handsome classmate he knew only sparsely from school, whose eyes now darted to his own, his face a questioning grimace, one that unspokenly conveyed his dismay, wondering how things could possibly get any worse.

Timmy only smiled warmly back at him, his gaze only reflecting the warmth and sincerity behind his handsome cherubic visage: "You at least now know who your father is."

Jason took that in for a moment, as he felt JD squeeze his hand reassuringly before a faint smile broke across his face.

What Timmy said was true, something he had long pined for and dreamed of since he was a small child had finally been, if not belatedly and begrudgingly revealed to him.

"Bannor Griffen..." he whispered as if saying his father's name aloud for the first time might invoke his presence in the room or bring back some distant, long suppressed, or lost memory he had somehow forgotten. But that was just it, he hadn't forgotten his father, he had never known him and that thought alone now welled up inside him, bringing pangs of sorrow, regret, and anger, anger most of all, anger that he could only direct toward one person now, his mother.

Max Donnelly had filled in the gaps earlier, telling him what he knew of his father and revealing to Jason how he had lost his life years before Jason's conception.

He had also told him about Hank Bauers and Russel Whitmore, the man he now knew was the father of his classmate Baxter Whitmore, best friend to his boyfriend JD's older brother Billy.

He now knew they had served alongside him and were there the day he had lost his life in service to his country, him and several others that served under him in his squadron, that his Dad, in fact, had been a Sergeant in the Marine Corp, all truths his mother had kept from him.

There were so many unanswered questions that now swam around in his mind, but for now, he was trying his best to suppress them, he just wanted the comfort of JD's touch, he wanted nothing more than to curl up next to him on that bed and feel the warmth of his body next to his, to take solace in his comforting embrace, to silence the raging fury, building like a snarling beast within him, one he now needed desperately to contain, one he knew if unleashed could do untold damage to everything and everyone around him.

He had faced this monster before, to a lesser degree than this and he had always managed to control it, though he had vague, distant, and surreal memories from his early childhood of uncontrolled rampages unleashed during moments of childish tantrums.

They had always seemed to be disembodied nightmares that had only incurred in his dreams, but now he couldn't help but feel that there was more to it than that and his mother's revelations had unlocked the cage door to something he had suppressed since his childhood.

"Ya know..." Jake Bauers spoke to him softly, breaking the internal turmoil going on inside his head: "My Dad has spoken about yours for as long as I can remember, they grew up together, went all through school, and even joined the Corps at the same time."

Jason just stared at him as his imagination tried to picture the two together, fabricating shared childhood experiences and youthful camaraderie, from sleepovers to combat training, ever by each others side, facing and challenging the world together, a lifetime of fraternal companionship ending abruptly on the streets of Iraq in an explosion that would forever separate them from each other.

Jason's imaginative tour of his father's life ended when Jake offered up something he hadn't even thought to consider: "My Dad has lots of pics of him and Bannor together..." Jake paused briefly, sensing the rage building within the young man start to subside, just as he hoped it would by distracting him with the potential of more positive possibilities to dwell upon.

From the moment he met him, Jake knew there was something different about Jason, and until now he couldn't quite pinpoint what that difference was, but what he was sensing building within Jason staggered the imagination; he knew that Jason was only seventeen, knew he hadn't undergone his Heritage ceremony, yet, if what every one of Jake's senses was telling him now could be trusted, Jason was mere moments away from invoking what only one who had undergone the ceremony was capable of doing and if he couldn't distract Jason now, calm him down and get himself under control, then he knew he would have to get both JD and Timmy away from him as quickly as possible, they were too young and naive, to understand or cope with such an event.

Jake knew, if he couldn't calm Jason down then he'd have to get the boys out of there and fetch Max as soon as possible, he was certain, despite all his formidable skills and training, he wouldn't be able to constrain him for very long.

As Jake continued to verbally engage and distract him with the hopeful potential of actually seeing visual proof of his father's existence, Jake felt the rage fade within him, but it was odd, it felt artificial, like throwing a damp blanket over a raging fire, a simple bandaid over a gaping wound to constrain it temporarily...

"I never really paid too much attention to those old pics, but I know my Dad has a photo album packed with them" Jake concluded, leaving Jason to ponder the significance of seeing visual proof of his father's life through the shared experience of someone who had been so close to him.

Jake was thankful when JD interjected, pointing out that Hank had said that Jason looked exactly like his Dad, he watched as Jason's eyes lit up and took JD in his arms, hugging him close, he breathed a sigh of relief as he sensed all the rage fade from Jason's consciousness to be replaced with an almost overwhelming affection toward JD.

It was at that moment that Timmy tugged at Jake's arm, his beautiful blue eyes beaming enthusiastically before positing in his most bubbly lilting tones: "If Jason doesn't want to see his mother right now, why doesn't he come with us to the compound for the week?"

Both JD and Jason stared questioningly back at him as Jake reached over and ruffled Timmy's curly golden blond hair: "That's actually not a bad idea, it would give you plenty of time to talk to my Dad about your father"Jake mused.

For the first time that evening, a smile spread across Jason Dunne's face especially when JD added: "We could talk to my Dad, I bet he'd let us both go, Billy and Gavin are going and so are Timmy and Jake."

Jake snickered mockingly, cocking his head, grinning ear to ear: "I'm going as an instructor to help my Dad to train a bunch of Marines how to kick some serious ass..."He paused briefly, his eyes narrowing into a sardonic sneer before concluding: "I'm sure we could include you too and whip you pansies into shape in no time!"

They all laughed as Timmy batted his eyes at Jake exaggeratedly: "The whipping sounds kinky will we be doing that before or after we go skinny dipping with all those hunky Marines?"
 
                                                               *****

A gentle nighttime breeze blew through the loft window of the cabin at the Devil Dawg Compound, the soothing sound of crickets accompanied by croaking bullfrogs, a choral lullaby that aided in the slumber of Brock Grysinski who slept peacefully encompassed in the arms of Atticus Walker.

Atticus lay there beside him spooning his companion, his massive fourteen-inch dong still fully embedded balls deep inside his slumbering lover, pulsating and throbbing.

They had been fucking for hours until Brock finally succumbed to exhaustion.

Atticus continued to lay there motionless. allowing him to sleep undisturbed as his large callused hands continued to caress the soft flesh of his muscular, hairless body, marveling at the nearly blemish-free pale skin and the sheer sexual stamina of the man he had taken as his companion.

He couldn't help but be impressed that someone not of the Heritage, could have endured such a relentless pounding, and even though Atticus knew he had still needed to hold back the full force of the passion he was capable of unleashing, he still marveled that he had lasted as long as he had, while simultaneously realizing that he should not have been able too at all, leading Atticus to the invariable questions of how and why?

Atticus didn't have the answer to either and as he lay there whimsically waxing rhapsodic as he inhaled the musky, masculine perfume of his lover's skin, he caught the familiar scent of someone who he was certain would know...Danal Cornelius.

It was late at night, Atticus guessed roughly around midnight or shortly thereafter, most of the camp was assuredly fast asleep except for those standing guard, but he also knew that Danal often would rise late at night to walk and contemplate, usually ending in a few hours of quiet study at the reliquary located in the ceremonial grounds.

Unlike Brock, all the sex had only invigorated Atticus and after having caught Danal's scent, he reasoned now was as good a time as any to have a long conversation with the compounds Green Father and perhaps get a few answers to not only Brock's surprising sexual stamina, but how and why had Danal and Max thought pairing one of the Heritage with someone who wasn't, stood any chance of enduring, knowing full well, such couplings seldom, if ever worked long term.

He had trusted Max this far and was the sole reason why he had agreed to undergo the Coaptandas with Brock, but just having spent nearly forty-eight hours with him, and knowing, despite his surprising endurance thus far, it was still well below the full capacity he or any other born of the Heritage would expect from a mating expected to last a lifetime, no matter how attracted those of the Heritage were to the scent of honey and freshly dug earth that emanated from men like Brock, he now suspected there must be more to Max and Danal's reasoning than they had revealed thus far.

Atticus slowly shifted his weight as he eased the fully embedded length of his cock from the confines of Brock's cum sloppy hole, he still thrilled at the feel and sight of the clinging swollen and distended lips of his rectal ring around the shaft of his thick member.

Despite the fact Brock still slept soundly, his hole clung and sucked hungrily at the girthy club as it withdrew, clinging to it like a suckling babe desperate to feed, pulling the sticky gooey flesh of his abused hole along with it, until the bloated orifice was distended inches from the round melons of his muscular buttocks.

With one final yank of his hips, Atticus's schlong plopped noisily from the suckling maw which instantly clamped shut like two swollen, pursed lips.

Atticus was surprised at how cleanly that hole had sucked the juices from his extricating appendage and though it was still shiny and slick, the copious amounts of fuck juices he had ejaculated into it had been suckled neatly from it, and the sight and scent of Brock's still gulping twat brought a nearly uncontrollable primal urge from Atticus to plunge back in and renew his assault on the orifice.

He resisted those urges, fought them down, and caged the primordial beast of his animalistic cravings, struggled to contain his almost instinctual need to at least bury his face between the palpitating lips of the near vaginal-like folds of his bloated rectal tissue.

His mouth salivated uncontrollably at the mere prospect of devouring Brock's pussy, desiring nothing more than to slip the full length of his tongue deep into the inviting depths of his twat and fill his mouth with the puffy folds of his gooey cunt, to suckle, feast and orally ravage Brock's sweet honey pot.

With one final snarling grunt Atticus leaned over and kissed the pulsating lips of Brock's puffy pussy, allowing the tip of his tongue one single swipe before he stood, turned, and descended the ladder steps of the cabin loft, vowing silently to himself to return and reclaim his prize.

Atticus didn't even bother to dress, he and his men had acclimated to being naked around each other after their usual evening swims in the cleansing cool waters of the compounds lake.

They were proud warriors and men who were now growing accustomed to shedding the contrived pruriently modest conventions of modern civil society; during the day they donned the garb of fighters and combatants and trained tirelessly to hone their skills as a cohesive fighting unit, working as one to face any possible assailant or contingent brought to bear against them, but at night, they were brothers and comrades with little need or desire to placate the feigned sensibilities of puerile prudish oppression.

To Atticus and his brothers, there was nothing more freeing than an evening run through the woods of the compound, nothing more liberating and natural than a return to their primal roots, racing and romping adorned only in the vestments they were born to wear as they bonded in fraternal camaraderie.

As he opened the door to the cabin and exited, shutting the door behind him, he felt no sense of false modesty as an on-duty, fully dressed in his desert camo, Barin Young snapped to attention beside him, taking little regard in his lack of attire other than the sly crooked grin and playful glance at the still deflating but swollen and slickly wet appendage that swayed like a fleshy pendulum, side to side against his hairy muscular thighs.

"Resume your post private" Atticus growled, without so much as a sideways glance at the sandy, golden-haired youth before he darted off at a jaunt toward the cobbled path that led toward the ceremonial grounds.

As the cool nighttime air brushed against his hirsute body as he ran, he gave himself a mild rebuke for allowing his possessive bestial nature to snap at the young Pfc. now standing guard back at the cabin.

He knew it had stemmed from the young Marine's obvious arousal and attraction brought on by his proximity to Brock and the alluring commingled scent of honey and freshly dug earth with the overwhelming pheromonel aroma of their coupling, it was a minor thing not worthy of such a jealous response.

It was equally obvious, that Brock was affecting him more than he had previously allowed himself to consider as well.

He knew what Brock was, he understood through the Codex the connection their two groups once shared, but until now he hadn't considered himself capable of such primal responses over someone not of the Heritage, such possessive urges only came as a response from a full merger to ones mate.

Atticus had never heard or known of anyone born of the Heritage to achieve such a thing outside of it. He knew a mate wasn't chosen, it was a natural development based almost solely on the hormonal chemistry between two mutually attracted members of the Heritage.

Yes, he had been attracted to Brock, anyone born of the Heritage found men like Brock's scent alluring, but he had always understood that to be mere sexual attraction; throughout the centuries his kind have often gratified themselves with their availability, most of them were naturally submissive toward them and easily seduced, but their physical frailty precluded any full coupling associated with mating.

Yet here he was, bound to Brock via the Coaptandas and though the rules of the Codex that addressed such a pairing and now afforded Brock full access to the privileges afforded to those of the Heritage, Atticus had never imagined it would also lead him toward thoughts and desires reserved to those naturally mated, evidenced once again by the elongating tumescence of his phallus at the meager recollection of their fornication.

Atticus needed answers, not only to salve the burning doubts within him but to assuage the fears that his mounting desires might unwittingly unleash if he were to lose control of himself while in a heated moment of coupling with Brock, potentially causing him irreparable bodily harm.

That thought alone was more than enough to warrant him seeking this late-night council with the only person remotely available to address his concerns.

As Atticus shortly found himself entering the Reliquary, having barely broken a sweat from his run there from the cabin, he quickly located Danal, who hardly took note of his presence as he sat stooped over the large center table pouring over the content of the large ancient tome he knew to be the Codex.

"I find it odd that you would be out on an evening constitutional unaccompanied by your companion..." Danal noted bemusedly, glancing only briefly up from the text he had been immersed in, only to grin broadly as he openly ogled a naked hirsute Atticus Walker: "Unless of course he grew bored with your immature fumbling's and sent you in pursuit to educate yourself with someone more adept in the fine art of fornication."

Atticus chuckled lightly at Danal's playful barb as he joined him at the table, taking a seat on the small wooden bench opposite his elder.

"Brock rests comfortably back at the cabin, I didn't want to disturb his slumber, he needs the rest to regain his strength if he's going to survive his first day of training tomorrow." Atticus imparted, choosing not to take the bait and exchange jabs in casual, familial banter.

Danal's gaze returned to the pages of the book, having noted the somber seriousness that seemed to distract the young Marine seated before him: "Knowing Hank Bauers, I doubt he'll make it here before noon leaving you plenty of time to have a nice morning round of vertical exercises with Brock before our guest arrive."

"Actually Green Father I wanted to speak to you alone without him being present." Atticus stated getting straight to the point: "I have a few concerns that have come to light as a result of our pairing."

The tone of Atticus's voice coupled with a timbre of distress and the formal use of his title of Green Father drew Danal's focus away from the ancient passages he had been studying.

Marking his place with a slither of suede leather and closing the book, he turned his full attention on Atticus, indicating with a nod of his head for him to continue and querying: "What's troubling you son?"

Atticus paused for a moment, taking time to consider how to frame and convey his rambling thoughts and fears into a cogent supplication: "I do not want you to think that I'm questioning Max's suggestion that Brock and I bind ourselves to each other through the Coaptandas, I understand his desire to bring our two groups back together in the hopes of fixing the bond that was severed by the Progenitor with the inception of the Codex..." Atticus took a deep breath, locking his gaze with Danal's, hoping in some way his eyes could help impart the trepidation's mounting in the recesses of his mind: "But doing this with someone like Brock has somehow started to make the primal urges of my Heritage to rise within me with the same expectations that would do so with someone else born of the Heritage."

Danal held his gaze, as his right-hand reach across the table to cup the side of Atticus's face and stroke his cheek gently, like a father comforting a small child in distress: "You fear the compulsion to mate will overwhelm you and you will cause bodily harm to Brock?"

Atticus fought the urge to cast his eyes downward, as his face flushed with the sudden feeling he was somehow embarrassing himself like an inept teenager traversing the awkward path toward manhood, a fumbling virgin in the throws of a first-time experience unable to distinguish love from lust; but those doubts faded quickly with Danal's poignant response.

"Max and I suspected this might inevitably happen, but we never dreamed it would do so this quickly, Brock must be truly exceptional, either that or we have greatly underestimated their kind"

Danal's words piqued Atticus's interest, a myriad of questions formed randomly in his head, swirling a cacophony of suppositions and potentialities within his consciousness: "Surely you're not suggesting that a full mating is possible between Brock and I or for any of the Heritage with their kind?!"

Having spoken the foremost question that surfaced first to his mind, he nearly chuckled at the ridiculousness of the notion before he shivered at the thought of such an outcome; Brock was truly exceptional for what and who he was but as things stood, there was no way such a thing could even be remotely thought possible without serious injury or even possibly worse...

That thought most of all made Atticus cringe as the feeling in the pit of his stomach made him suddenly nauseous.

Danal sensed the sudden rise of panic well up within the youth, he could smell the fear mounting, inexorably driving his thoughts to dark conclusions, forcing Danal to take the only action he could to stem the tidal flow of tsunami-like proportions of hysteria building within Atticus; he slapped him...hard: "Get a hold of yourself pup, or I'll fetch a rolled-up newspaper and tan the hide off your snout!"

More than the blow, Atticus's recoil at Danal's reproach nearly knocked him off his chair, but his actions had the desired effect, Atticus recovered his composure, centered his thoughts, and quelled the churning beast within his belly as he bowed his head in supplication to the Elder.

"That's better" Danal cooed disarmingly as he ruffled the short spikey auburn hair on top of Atticus's head.

"Your concerns are valid Atticus, but it might interest you to know, there is a solution to your dilemma, we just expected we had more time for it to take effect."

Atticus stared back at the old man quizzically: "I've read the Codex cover to cover multiple times, I've never read of such a thing being possible" he said dubiously, but as respectfully as possible.

Danal's hearty laugh reverberated off the stone walls of the great room of the Reliquary: "The some of our knowledge is not limited to the Codex silly boy" he smiled almost gleefully at Atticus as he stood and walked over to a wooden rack that held a plethora of scrolls and books, selecting one and spreading it out before them on the tables wooden surface.

"This document is almost as old as the Codex itself, it was written by one of Brock's kind and clearly outlines the steps he and his mate took to overcome the disparaging inequities inherent in their physiognomy." Danals eyes grew mirth-some and thoughtful as he absentmindedly scratched his short grey beard, raking his fingertips through it repeatedly: "The Coaptandas ritual has already started you down the right path with the passage and exchange of blood between you, that is what binds you now and is probably why you are more acutely feeling the tethering bond between you."

Atticus scowled thoughtfully burrowing his thick heavy brows in concentration: "So all we need to do is wait until it takes full effect, will there be changes in Brock or maybe the both of us in some way?"

Danal shook his head: "It's Brock's physiognomy that will alter to adapt to those of the Heritage."

Atticus frowned at the suggestion of Danal's response: "Does that mean he will become potentially compatible with anyone from the Heritage?"

Chortling suggestively to himself, Danal reached up and patted Atticus on the back: "Yours and his blood has bound the two of you together, he will not seek to mate with someone else, although..."

Atticus steeled himself, not liking the sound of that "although" finding that it annoyed his somewhat possessive disposition seemed to amuse Danal.

"You misunderstand Atticus" Danal giggled: "what is needed you are already doing, though I fear that maybe it will take longer than you may have before you are no longer able to withstand the compulsion to fully mate with Brock."

Atticus was beginning to grow impatient, he dreaded such an outcome and pressed Danal for a solution to the dilemma, sensing the Elder might have a viable alternative that might speed the desired outcome.

"What am I doing that is helping the process and what do I need to do to quicken the pace?" he asked in consternation to the potential response.

Danal's smile broadened again: "He is already attuned toward you, now all that is needed is for him to absorb as much protein-infused Heritage DNA until the process is complete."

Danal jabbed him in the ribs with his elbow: "The best part, it doesn't have to be exclusively your protein-enhanced DNA to accomplish this."

"Sperm!?" Atticus fumed, glowering incredulously back at a wickedly grinning, mischievously mirthful Danal.

"And lots of it" Danal guffawed, barely able to contain an outburst of riotous laughter.

Atticus groaned audibly: "That's gonna be a problem, it's only been forty-eight hours since we've started and already I can feel the struggle of holding back, I fail to see the humor in any of this."

Danal tried to stifle himself, he could see the genuine concern that consumed his charge: "That's because you're not listening to what I said" Danal stated, emphasizing his point by jabbing the bony fingertip of his right hand at Atticus furrowing forehead: "It doesn't have to be exclusively yours, anyone from the Heritage can help supplement the absorption rate."

Instantly Atticus bulked at the idea, readily rejecting any notion that he should allow any outsider to mount Brock.

Danal held up his hand to halt his protestations: "I am certain Max would not mind, considering the circumstances, if you selected one from your squad to claim as your own, allowing you, in turn, to direct his actions, after all, doing so would make your causes his as well and just so you know, I didn't say he had to fuck him, feeding will suffice."

Atticus drew silent as he considered Danal's words, such an action had been previously unthinkable to him, but with Billy's approaching ceremony and the justifiably heralded changes in his and his men's status that that event entailed, he now felt compelled, by the expediency of his need to secure Brock's safety, to reconsider.

If what they knew came to pass with Billy, it was only a matter of days before he would never second guess taking such an action necessitated by the natural order such a change afforded.

Danal shot him a confident look: "Something tells me you already have a viable candidate in mind"

As his newfound resolve swept over him, and his growing need to protect his potential mate subsumed any reservations he once held, Atticus growled his response: "Your not wrong Green Father" before he pivoted in an about-face and double-timed back toward the compound.

In half the time it took him to traverse the distance a short while ago, Atticus found himself coming to a halt at the double steps leading up to the porch of the compounds singular log cabin, where Pfc. Barin Young stood motionlessly at ease guarding the entrance to the cabin.

As Atticus climbed the steps to the porch and approached the five-foot ten-inch golden-haired Pfc, he snapped stiff-armed to attention, chest out, chin held high, belly tight and legs locked and straight, butt clenched.

"Report private" Atticus barked as he came to a full stop less than two feet in front of him.

"All's clear Corporal" came the familiar retort, made only slightly unusual by the deep Texan drawl that had often enticed some playful jabs and barbs from his teammates.

"At ease private" Atticus said, far more softly than his initial command.

As the youthful Pfc. relaxed into his normal parade rest position Atticus inquired: "Is there someone on guard duty back at camp private?"

Barin shot him a quick quizzical look before responding: "Affirmative Corporal."

Atticus ignored the questioning look, he knew without a shadow of a doubt that the private was wondering if this was some sort of test since it was common knowledge that there was always someone on guard during the night back at the bivouac.

"Good" Atticus shot back at him jovially, adding: "Then there's no reason for you to be standing here all alone is there?"

Again, Barin shot him a quizzical look, not sure exactly how he should respond or even if he needed to respond at all.

"The Green Father ordered us to keep guard so no one would disturb you and the gunny this weekend."

Atticus noted the hint of a decidedly wicked grin at the corners of the handsome, pug-nosed, squared-jawed Pfc.

"Danal's no Marine private, I think that what you meant to say was that he suggested y'all do that instead ain't that correct?" Atticus's tone was more suggestive than commanding, which he fortified by winking at the private.

"Affirmative Corporal" Barin answered, the grin on his face broadening slightly.

Atticus smiled back at him: "Ya know what private, I think I feel like a swim, how's that sound to you?"

"Sounds like a plan Corporal" Barin chuckled, wondering what had spurred the more playful banter now transpiring between them.

"Strip private" Atticus commanded, his tone leaving no doubt there was nothing playful about his order, and as he started to unbutton his camo blouse Atticus quickly added, this time obviously teasing: "You don't expect your Corporal to go swimming unattended do ya private?

"Wouldn't dream of it Corporal" came the beaming toothy smiled response as Barin rapidly began shucking his fatigues, slowly revealing the condition hardened golden furred flesh of a battle-ready Marine, bulging with striated muscles rippling in the moonlight with each successive movement.

Just as the last pair of boots and socks came off, Atticus bolted toward the lake, shouting over his shoulder: "Last one in washes the others back."

Despite his obvious head start, the smaller yet not so diminutive Barin was right on his heels in seconds.

It didn't escape Atticus's notice that the speedier private maintained his rear position as they both dove for the water in near-perfect unison where they splashed and swam playfully for the next fifteen to twenty minutes before dragging their dripping wet bodies from the cool crystal clear waters up onto the small wooden pier that extended out into the lake.

Without hesitation, Atticus turned away from the young Marine and headed for the grass-covered shoreline, yelling once again over his shoulder at him as he did so: "Follow me private."

As he came to stop a short distance from the banks of the lake he turned to face the golden-haired private, standing fully erect, chest out, chin high, legs apart in a combat-ready stance: "Come at me Marine with everything ya got" he barked, his deep southern raspy Kentucky drawl making it sound more like a commanding guttural growl.

With barely a glint of acknowledgment from Barin's golden brown eyes, he launched himself furiously snarling at Atticus's muscle swollen legs.

Atticus almost beamed with pride at the ferocity of the private's assault, his tactics were sound and almost perfectly executed, something that was only attainable by diligent and repetitive self-discipline and adherence to training.

If nothing else, Barin showed him his constant barrage of combat training had been grilled almost instinctively into every movement the private made.

He could only imagine how great they would all improve under the tutelage of an expert like Hank Bauers and his son Jake.

It was with no small regret he countered every move Barin made, the kid had heart and he knew for a fact few among them wouldn't have been hard-pressed to best the tenacity of his unrelenting assault.

But Atticus was on a mission, he had a point to prove and now found himself reluctantly not only countering Barin's attacks but wearing him down until ultimately bringing enough force to bear to overcome his defenses, which led inexorably to his pining Barin down on his knees, Atticus powerful forearm locked around his throat as his knee dug into his spine the young Marine finally relented. tapping his free hand against Atticus shoulder, signaling and acknowledging his defeat.

Atticus released his hold and stood up, his chest still heaving from the effort, his body glistening with a thin patina of sweat that made the thick hair of his body cling wetly to his flesh.

Barin fell forward catching himself one-handed extended from his torso before hitting the ground, his other hand rubbing at his neck, soothingly massaging away the after-effects of Atticus's effective chokehold.

Still, on his knees, Barin turned his head toward him an indication that he would soon recover, that he suffered no pervasive deleterious effects from what he had assumed was yet another training bout.

Atticus towered over him, his legs shoulder-width apart his arms folded over his chest as he now glowered down at Pfc. Barin Young.

"Submit!" came the unexpected booming command snarling past the thick broad lips of his team leader, accompanied by waves of pheromonel emissions compelling him to comply.

Slowly Barin pivoted on his knees, his head bowed as he rested the twin globes of his hairy muscular ass on his back haunches, almost instinctively spreading his legs to expose his vulnerable belly and genitals as the almost palpable glare of Atticus Walker bore down on him until he heard himself whimper signaling his compliance.

Barin knew from his own studies of the Codex, that submitting now to Atticus meant he would forever share his fate, but Atticus was strong, worthy in his own right to claim any of those who trained under him and Barin knew most would consider themselves fortunate in being where he was right now, on his knees forever surrendering his choices to the man he had grown accustomed to calling team leader.

He knew what was expected of him now and though he had paused to consider his fate, he now decided to embrace it as he inched forward on his knees until he knelt at the feet of Corporal Atticus Walker team leader of the newly formed Devil Dawg compounds security task force.

"Look at me" Atticus commanded, his voice as solid and demanding a presence as the formidable strength contained in every fiber of his physical being.

Barin slowly, cautiously tilted his head backward, until his eyes locked with Atticus's hazel colored gaze, he felt the will drain from his body, subsumed by the compulsion to obey the man towering before him, a man as resolute and solid as anything he had ever encountered in nature, a force he felt was equal to any challenge set before him, one he would share, even if only vicariously if Atticus chose to do so.

"Open your mouth" came the booming third command as the dauntless resolve of Atticus's vision bore into him supplanting his will with his own.

He watched as if in slow motion as Atticus hefted his massive limp phallus in his huge callused, hairy knuckled hand and placed the slightly exposed tip of his foreskin encapsulated glans against Barin's lower lip.

"I claim you as my own from this day forward, my will is your will, my fate your fate, drink and accept my burdens as your own"

It started as a dribble and Barin quickly wrapped his lips around the tip of Atticus's dong so not so much as a single drop of Atticus's pungent bodily fluids dripped wastefully to the ground, a task made more difficult as his stream grew to splash relentlessly against the back of his throat.

Sensing Barin's dilemma, Atticus brought his right hand to rest behind his head and forced more of his member into the suckling, gulping depths of his mouth until the girthy length of his prodigious endowment thudded against the back of his throat, smashing his uvula snuggly against the delicate soft tissue right below his nasal cavity.

Atticus grunted above him as he smiled wickedly down at him releasing the full force of his streaming piss, nearly overwhelming Barin's capacity to swallow.

Determined to make sure that didn't happen Atticus grunted again and stuffed the remaining length of his flaccid bloated phallus into the tight entrance of his esophagus, effectively blocking the portal with his meaty prick as the relentless onslaught of his hot acrid urine poured unencumbered down into his stomach.

Barin gulped and sputtered, his head locked firmly in place as Atticus added his second hand to grip his head firmly in place as he deluged his tonsils in the pungent tsunami of his hot wiz.

"That's it Marine drink it all, take every last tasty drop."

Barin didn't think Atticus would ever stop pissing, he struggled uselessly to extricate himself at times as the massive flow of piss threatened to overwhelm him and spill over into his windpipe, his chest gurgled noisily several times as he coughed up the acrid flood threatening to drown him.

After an interminable length of time, the flow began to lessen and become more manageable, and Barin found himself wondering if it would ever completely end, thinking the man must have the bladder of a horse to contain such quantities, and as the flow ebbed into a trickle Barin was sure he had swallowed nearly a gallon of Atticus's urine, which now weighed heavily in his stomach making him feel bloated and full and more than a little queasy.

As Atticus finished, he eased the tightness of his grip on Barin's neck and allowed him to back away until only the head of his cock was resting in his oral cavity as the last drops of piss dripped onto his tongue to be whisked away by his undulating tongue to join the rest in the pit of his stomach.

Barin thought the worse behind him as he dutifully swirled his tongue around the now exposed glans, cleansing it of all traces of his tart bitter piss.

He was taken a little by surprise when Atticus ripped his dong from Barin's suckling mouth and patted him on the head.

"Good boy private, now get on your feet and follow me as I explain what your number one duty will be from now on."

Barin wasn't sure how to take that exactly, but he had come this far and he knew that the belly full of hot piss that sludged around inside him marked him as Atticus's to any within the Heritage just as assuredly a male dogs piss marked his territory, he was now tagged by his team leader.

As he stared at the stalwart muscle rippling back of his leader he couldn't help but ponder what duty he could possibly perform that warranted his personal attention, but whatever it was he hoped it afforded him at least some alone time to relieve himself of the massive load built up in his balls over the last couple of days doing guard duty to the adorably cute and attractive Brock Grysinski.

                                                Chapter Twenty Five:



It was a little after midnight, what some called the witching or bewitching hour, but to Carl and most of the men in the Donnelly household that night, it was the Zero hour.

Just a few hours ago, Max Donnelly had broken through Elizabeth Dunne's defensive barriers and had gotten a detailed accounting of what all she had done, revealing the changes she had made in the sperm samples DNA so that it more accurately allowed for a more complete replication of her lover's attributes and the cleansing of her own DNA markers from the egg she had fertilized with it.

As amazing and brilliant as her skills were in accomplishing what she did nearly eighteen years ago, it was also reckless and more than a little terrifying.

It was inconceivable to them that she had given birth to an infant fully vested of its sires Heritage while simultaneously having never undergone its own, none of them could even remotely imagine the effect that might have on him.

It was also more than a little unnerving she had figured out a way to suppress the gifts of his father's Heritage masking it as a daily vitamin supplement that she had been giving him for nearly fifteen years now. The fact it was now starting to show signs of becoming ineffectual was worrisome, but considering his age, Max, Carl, and Hank all came to the consensus that they were certain, that though it may be a little tricky, they thought with their help and guidance it should be manageable.

It was during that discussion that Elizabeth had broken down completely, tearfully declaring she didn't need or want their help, that given time she could work out a solution on her own, that her son never needs to know about the Heritage, expounding again her fears about losing her son, to lose all that she had left of Bannor.

Carl was both surprised and impressed with the sympathetic way Max handled her fears, assuring her that they had absolutely no intention of taking Jason away from her, while also making her aware that the decision to undergo the Heritage ceremony was neither theirs nor her decision to make, but Jason's.

Max had pulled no punches however when he informed her that because of what she had done, he was now forced to reveal more to Jason than he had previously thought to do, stating that he had a right to know not only who his father was, but that Max was going to have to explain about the Heritage to him before his eighteenth birthday so he might better understand their concerns, not only for him but for the safety of those around him, especially now that the supplement she had been giving him was showing signs of becoming ineffectual.

In the end, faced with the fact she didn't at this time have an answer or timetable of when she might be able to offer a solution to Bannor's Heritage manifesting in his son, she had to concede, after Max outlined the many horrifying things that could potentially happen, that for now and the foreseeable future, Jason would need to be mentored and monitored by someone of the Heritage at all times and considering who his sire was and Jason's lineage through him, Max thought it best if that guardian was himself.

The concession Max offered her, was his promise that he would do his best to help her mend the bond of trust that was now broken between mother and son, repeatedly assuring her that it wasn't his or anyone's intent to take him from her, offering even the one thing that had never been done before, letting her come to visit him at the compound.

To Carl's knowledge, no woman had ever set foot there and he couldn't begin to imagine how those of the Heritage not in their immediate circle, might take that, let alone that of the Council of Greges, which Carl was certain would most definitely take exception.

It hadn't been long after that, Max suggested that perhaps Elizabeth get some rest, offering up Billy's room for the night, knowing full well that she would have balked at any notion that she leave the premises without her son in tow.

She had reluctantly accepted his offer and Hank had helped her get settled in, being the only familiar face she knew amongst them.

As they then sat down at the kitchen table to discuss their plans for the next morning and about how best to approach Jason about coming to the compound, Jake happened to poke his head out of JD's room asking if it was alright if they could all get some drinks, snacks, and do a bathroom run.

Max immediately gave them the okay, having decided now was as good a time to talk to Jason as any.

Carl was thankful and could visibly see the relief Max had when both JD and Jason asked if it would be okay if Jason joined them all at the compound for a week or so, or until he could come to terms with everything that had just come to light.

Having agreed that Jason was more than welcome to join them, Carl had handed the keys to his truck to Jason and JD instructing them to make a quick run, noting the time was about ten-thirty and told them to grab what Jason might need at Jason's house for a week or two stay and to get back PDQ so they could get some rest, that they would be leaving first thing after breakfast the next morning.

Surprisingly Max suggested that Timmy drive them, citing the emotionally taxing events of the evening might be weighing on Jason and possibly impairing his concentration, JD of course being intuitive enough to realize that what his Dad really wanted was to have all but the adults otherwise occupied while they discussed their next course of actions.

The boys had no sooner left than Max reached over and placed his left hand over Hank's: "How are you holding up old friend?"

Hank Bauers had sat there most of the evening, completely subsumed in thought about Jason and reminiscing about his former leader and lover Bannor Griffen, Max's unexpected intrusion into his contemplation's, refocused his attention, drawing him back into the present to stare thoughtfully back at Max: "I know it's not him Max.." Hank said softly before casting his gaze downward to stare at Max's large callused hand now gently cupped over his own sending warm waves of comfort radiating throughout him: "But he looks and even smells almost exactly like him..." pausing for a second, as the focus of his eyes momentarily glazed over as if he were trying to see something in the distance, before adding: "Even some of his motions are just like his, and his voice..."

Hank's eyes met Max's again, and smiled faintly back at him: "It's a lot to take in, but I'm getting there."

Jake had come over and sat next to his father putting his arm around him, in a show of support: "I talked to him briefly about his Dad and told him you were the one to talk to about him, he seemed very interested in seeing some of the pictures you have of his Dad in that scrapbook you keep."

"Of course.." Hank had said, smiling broadly at his son: "I can only imagine how curious he must be and there is so much I could tell him..."

"All of which can wait for a more appropriate time" Max interjected, drawing everyone's attention back to the matter's at hand: "I think one of the first things we need to discuss is how and when we should notify Marshal Griffen that he has a grandson."

Hank's eyes had immediately grown wide: "Dear God, I can't believe I haven't even considered that!"

Hank turned to Max excitedly, his voice full of conflicting emotions: "Max, we have to tell him immediately, you know he plans on representing his territory at Billy's ceremony at the end of the week."

Carl had agreed with Hank: "Especially so since Bannor was his sole heir and his intended replacement as leader of his territory."

Max had eyed them dubiously, stating: "I agree Marshal needs to know, but I don't think you're taking into account how problematic the sudden appearance of an heir to Marshal's territory is going to be."

"Oh shit..." Carl had groaned: "Paul Lakatos." the name hissed past Carl's lips as the memory of his last encounter with the man flooded his consciousness.

Everyone at the table knew that Lakatos was named as successor to Marshal Griffen's territory by the Council of Greges after the loss of Marshal's sole, legitimate heir. None of Marshal's other sons had met the requirements to succeed him as a leader and it was decided that it would fall to the Lakatos family upon either Marshal's retirement or death.

"Wouldn't it fall to Paul's father first though?" Carl queried, hopefully.

"No..." Max responded: "Gerard Lakatos has suffered several health setbacks over the last couple of years and stated he had no desire to take on more obligations and that it would fall upon his son Paul to take up the mantle should need arise."

"Why does any of that matter Uncle Max, you're the leader of the Devil Dawgs southern region, not the Griffen's." Jake had noted naively.

Max just shook his head as Carl attempted to explain to him: "Though Gerard Lakatos is a fairly reasonable man, his son is not. Paul Lakatos is old school, he epitomizes everything that is wrong within the Heritage and exemplifies how a large portion views the Codex."

"Not to mention that he has been expanding his inner circle the last few years with some other like-minded and unsavory characters," Hank added.

"Young Lakatos craves power and when all is said and done, it's not likely he's going to take the news of Marshal Griffen all of a sudden having an heir apparent lightly."

"Making Jason potentially his number one target," Carl concluded solemnly.

Jake had thought for a moment before offering optimistically: "Jason's strong and getting stronger by the day from what I can tell, and he's not old enough to accept a direct challenge."

Max glowered at him slightly, explaining further: "Jason is strong but he's also very inexperienced, his eighteenth birthday is just a month away, Paul on the other hand has years of training under his belt and you can rest assured the day Jason claims his Heritage Paul will press that advantage soon after his ceremony by issuing a formal challenge to Jason's potential claim of the Griffen territories."

It was at that time Hank stood up and proclaimed: "Then it falls to us to make sure we get Jason as ready as we can, Lakatos may have the advantage of age and experience on his side but he hasn't had the expertise present in this room grooming him either and there's nothing in this world I like more than a good challenge."

"Damn straight," Carl and Jake said simultaneously adding their voices to his chorus, while all three had looked to Max, awaiting his response.

Max had leaned forward in his chair his hands flat on the table's cool surface, his eyes two bright blue burning embers, smoldering with intent: "Then I guess we have a consensus gentlemen, now all we need is a plan!"

For the next hour, they put their heads together, laying out a strict regimen of incrementally progressive training that they would put Jason Dunne through, each of them having their role to play in getting Jason ready both mentally and physically for what they were certain would come.

They shelved their discussion when the boys made it back, Carl and Jake helping them to organize the various items Jason had packed to take along with him to the compound, before Carl ordered them all to bed, JD in his room, Jason on the couch, with Jake taking a spot on the floor in the living room, close to Jason.

Watching the two large youths interact brought a smile to Carl's face, as they joked and bantered back and forth playfully, like two old friends instead of prospective romantic rivals of Max's youngest son JD's affections.

It came as no surprise when after Hank bid them all good night, that Timmy Anderson followed after, leaving with him to spend the night at Carl's house.

But now, at this zero hour, laying there in Max's arms, his twelve-inch pulsating cock buried balls deep within him, resting comfortably and securely after nearly an hour of passionate fucking and now feeling Max's warm breath on the back of his neck as they both started drifting off to sleep, Carl's thoughts turned toward Max and him, going for a long run, naked in the woods before collapsing into each other's arms all hot, sweaty and out of breath and making love over and over again, under the stars in the middle of the night without a care in the world while the boys slumbered peacefully back at the cabin of the compound... one thought repeated itself over and over again...God this family could use a long vacation.

                                                              * * * * *

Early Monday morning found a still slightly aching Brock Gryzinski groggily waking to the slightly musky scent combination of the forest that surrounded the cabin at the Devil Dawg compound.

The smell was laced with a hint of wildflowers, morning dew, and... bacon.

The scent elicited a slight grumble from his empty belly as he woke to realize that not only did just about every muscle and joint in his body ache but he was starving.

Despite that, he found himself laying there next to Atticus Walker, who had his enormous phallus still fully embedded in his hole, with his left arm and leg draped over him, his warm breath caressing his neck as the morning stubble of his chin scratched the surface of his skin.

"I was beginnin' to think you were gonna sleep in all mornin'" Atticus whispered in Brock's ear in his soft raspy baritone voice.

"What time is it?" Brock responded groggily, wiping the sleep from his eyes as he gave Atticus's cock a firm squeeze with his constricting hole, while mentally noting how rigid and firm his dick still was.

Brock was no virgin and he had experiences with multiple men during the course of his lifetime, but he had never known any man, with the possible exception of Max Donnelly, that could sustain an erection that hard for so long a period of time, especially considering the number of times he had orgasmed.

"Does that thing ever go down?" Brock asked playfully, as he tightened his sphincter once again causing Atticus's cock to throb inside him.

"Nope..." Atticus snarled lustfully in his ear, letting his tongue slip between his lips to lick at the soft flesh of his earlobe before his teeth nibbled at it friskily: "He likes his new home and he plans on spending as much time as he can there."

Atticus pulled Brock against him tighter, flexing his phallus inside him causing it to engorge even more: "As for the time..." he said hoarsely in that deep, gravely southern diphthong Brock was growing to like more and more: " I think it's half past fuck this pussy time or there 'bouts."

Brock could feel Atticus shift his weight as he maneuvered himself on top of him, shoving Brock face-first into the mattress as he wrapped his arms around his shoulders and chest, his knees and thighs splaying sidewise on either side of Brock's hips before withdrawing his dong a few inches and slamming back into Brock's clenching hole.

Despite the soreness of his swollen, aching hole from the sound thrashing Atticus had given it the night before and over the last forty-eight hours, Atticus's renewed morning fervor elicited moans of pleasure from Brock: "Be careful big guy, I could get used to this kinda morning wake up call and expect it every day."

Atticus growled softly into his left ear: "Oh, I think you can pretty much expect that's a given, but if it makes ya feel more in control ya can always make it one of them rules ya like spoutin' off every five minutes."

Before Brock could respond, Atticus pulled his massive dick completely out of Brock's clutching, puffy hole, hovered over his ass for a few brief seconds before pile driving balls deep back into the deepest depths of his taut twat.

Brock tried to wiggle and twist his ass around to secure a more comfortable position beneath him, but Atticus held him securely in place as he pummeled his hole relentlessly.

Each piston-like stroke of Atticus's cock ripped past all his defenses as he continued to pull all the way out before jabbing back into him.

All Brock could do was groan and moan, ofttimes gasping for breath, as the assault on his anus went unimpeded as the unrelenting ache in his rectum gave way to grunts of pleasure as the mounting waves of passion drove them both to the precipice of preorgasmic bliss.

Brock fell into an almost hypnotic fugue-like state listening to the rhythmic continuous thworping like sound that hissed air between the slams of Atticus's hips smacking against his ass cheeks, to Brock, each outward stroke of Atticus's gargantuan schlong comically reminded him of the sound a plunger made while deployed declogging a sink drain before being slammed back into him, with such force it felt like it was jarring his teeth loose inside his skull.

The passage of time became almost imperceptible to Brock as Atticus's pulverizing thrust drove them both inexorably over the edge into a climatic release; he had barely even perceived his own erection before the first waves of orgasm subsumed his consciousness until he felt the warmth of his cum spill between his body and the sheets of the bed as Atticus's driving cock spewed thick ropes of sperm into his bowels.

Each pulsating spurt of Atticus's throbbing member shot with such force within him, it felt like someone had shoved a super soaker up his ass and was firing hot water deep within him, each shot coming in rapid succession, over and over again, until their morning passion gave way to post coital euphoria.

They lay there, breathing heavily, Atticus's warm body crashing down on Brock's, the sweat of their morning fornication mixed together as they lay there together letting the waves of their lust ebb and wane, ending unceremoniously when Atticus suddenly rose off of him pulling his massive cock from his gasping, twitching hole until the enormous head finally popped free.

A rush of cool morning air gushed within his gaping anus as Atticus's retreating dong left him, leaving Brock both temporarily satisfied while simultaneously making him feel profoundly empty, and though he longed to feel him slip back in and fill the void it had made and left, he was nonetheless content by their post-orgasmic coupling.

"Alright, Gryzinski..."Atticus barked as he pivoted sideways on the bed before standing and stretching: "As much as I'd enjoy playing with your pussy all day, we got work to do."

Brock laid there, languishing in the afterglow, wishing for nothing more than to slip back into slumber.

Attics bent over the bed and gave Brock's ass a resounding whack with his hand: "I said get up Marine, it's Monday morning and your first day of training starts right after breakfast, so get it in gear!"

Brock side-eyed the hirsute Corporal dubiously before grunting and hauling himself into a seated position on the bed's edge opposite to Atticus, who was now on the floor doing pushups: " As sure as I am that you would love nothing more than to put me through my paces training today team leader, don't you think my top priority should be in getting the communication system and network set up today?"

Atticus stopped for a moment, sitting upon his knees to eye him for a moment: "Good point Gryzinski, our guest will be arriving sometime today and I'm sure Max would like everything you brought up and operational before they get here."

Brock nodded in agreement stating: "It should only take a few hours to get everything going, do you want me to hook up any additional lighting anywhere other than the communication center?"

"Not sure 'bout that one, I'll run it past Danal, but other than that I'd say leave that decision up to either Max or Carl" Atticus responded.

Nodding his head, Brock stood up to stretch with his back to Atticus, pausing only as he realized Atticus was still staring at him; he turned to shoot him a quizzical look.

Atticus locked eyes with him, a stern grimace on his face before he finally spoke: "Do you really think I intend to lord it over ya and bust your balls while training?"

Brock lowered his gaze thoughtfully considering Atticus's words: "Yeah kind of..." he exclaimed before elaborating: "I get that I'm the newbie and that I'm not like the rest of the team..."

"So you think I'll rub your nose in it or something like that?"Atticus interjected abruptly.

He didn't know how to respond, so Brock just returned his steady gaze, shrugging his shoulders slightly, watching as he stood up to glower back at him, his brow furrowing before he stated dispassionately: "I am gonna bust your balls, not because you're not one of us, but because you are."

Brock didn't answer at first, but in his head, his inner voice was doubtful of his sincerity; how could he, a regular guy compete one on one with one of them?

His inner dialogue reminding him how readily Atticus had thwarted his best attempts the other night during the hunt, and he couldn't help but wonder what Max was possibly thinking when he decided that this was a good move for him, yeah, sure, the sex was great, but seriously, the idea of him ever being able to match one of them in a combat situation was almost farcical.

As if reading his mind Atticus walked around the bed to move directly in front of him, his steely blue/green eyes drilling right into his: "I'm not gonna lie to you Brock, it ain't gonna be easy, you're gonna have to push yourself twice as hard as the others just to marginally keep up."

Something in either his gaze or expression must have communicated his forlorn sense of inadequacy and the humbling doubt he kept envisioning as he watched Atticus eyes narrow as his right hand lifted to jab his index finger at his forehead: "Your advantage is right up here, Max obviously saw it and Danal too or else you wouldn't be here."

The confident way Atticus stared back at him as if there were no doubt in his mind that what he said was true, bolstered Brock's confidence slightly, though the very same thing he just lauded was what was still forcing him to face the very real fact that physically, he could never hope to stand a chance against any of them let alone achieve some sort of equalizing parity with them.

All that said, however, he did admire Atticus's confidence in him and he decided he would do whatever he could to not disappoint him or Max.

Atticus sensed the change within him and though he was certain Brock's head wasn't exactly where he wanted it to be, noted he was probably agreeing out of some false sense of duty to either him or Max, Atticus knew, after his conversation with Danal the night before, that though Brock could never match one born of the Heritage physically, there was a way for him to at least boost his own physicality enough to achieve goals exceeding those of other men.

Brock was going to take some work, Atticus thought to himself, but with him pushing him and acting on the info Danal had revealed, he was confident he'd soon have Brock doing what needed to be done and doing it for himself and his own sense of pride and not just to please someone else.

Atticus ruffled Brock's hair and gave him a slap on the ass before placing his hand on his back and gently nudged him toward the ladder steps: "Before we do anythin' else, I say we gets some coffee and food down our necks, then tackle what the day brings us, what do ya say to that Gunny?

Brock smiled, looking back at him over his shoulder: "I say there better be some of that bacon left I keep getting a whiff of or there's gonna be hell to pay."

After descending from the loft Atticus suggested they step out through the back door of the cabin and slip down to the lake for a quick dip to freshen up before they hit the bivouac for breakfast.

Brock chided himself for not thinking to bring a clean uniform to wear, noting to Atticus how he had done the same: "I can fix that PDQ" he said before marching over to the main door and issuing some instructions to the young private posted there, standing guard over the cabin while they used it for the weekend.

Brock didn't recognize the Marine that was standing watch and was kind of disappointed it hadn't been Barin Young, whose company he found he was starting to take a liking to; Barin maybe a bit on the quiet side but Brock appreciated his down to earth sense of humor and of course his Texan accent, plus, Brock begrudgingly admitted to himself, though not much taller than himself, Barin was quite the rugged, boyishly handsome guy.

Normally Brock went for guys much bigger than himself, but then there were those few exceptions, men like Barin, that he knew could rattle his cage any day, men that exuded confidence without arrogance and masculine through and through.

"We'll have some clean BDU's in a few minutes, probably just in time for us to finish taking a quick dip" Atticus stated as he opened the back door and led Brock down to the small peer behind the cabin.

True to his word, they had no sooner made it back to the cabin when the Pfc showed up with some fatigues and clean boots for them to wear.

As they finished dressing and headed out the door, Atticus instructed the Marine to get a couple of guys to help get the place cleaned up before their visitors arrived.

Though they both knew Max had loaned them the use of his cabin for the weekend, neither of them thought leaving it anything less than as pristine as they found it, appropriate, considering the generosity of thought behind its use.

After a short brisk walk down the path leading to the cabin, they soon found themselves entering the wooded area off to the side of the main parking where the team made camp, once there they soon met up with Danal Cornelious who sat at the campsites makeshift fire pit where another youthful Marine crouched preparing food for those that wandered in.

Danal smiled broadly and beckoned them to join him as he sipped a large mug of coffee while comfortably seated in what appeared to be one of the hand-fashioned Adirondack chairs usually found down by the lake.

Brock couldn't help but take note of the devilish smirk and mischievous twinkle in Danal's eyes as he openly ogled them as they sat in rather close proximity to one another on a large log some of the men had dragged from the woods to use as a makeshift place to sit close to the fire.

"You must be feeling quite proud of yourself this morning Brock" Danal said impishly to him, his grin broadening slightly as he winked at him almost giddily.

Brock met his gaze and noted simply: "A little worse for wear actually Sir, but nothing I can't handle."

Danal giggled lightly: "Oh, I'm sure you can but that's not what I'm talking about."

There were about half a dozen men gathered around, all of whom had been either eating or engaged in casual conversation to each other, but now stared at him and Atticus as Danal had started to address the both of them.

Not sure where this conversation was going and mindful of the fact he now had to show a little more caution in what he said so as not to be perceived as speaking out of turn.

Brock turned to Atticus first, wondering if Danal was now somehow testing him to see if he could trip him up or not, either way, Atticus seemed to ignore the conversation as he eyed the bacon and eggs cooking on the open fire, leaving Brock to fend for himself: "I'm not sure I follow your meaning Sir."

"It's simple my lovely..." Danal chirped whimsically: "It's not every day one of the boys entrusted to my care makes the final passage into his manhood."

Brock stared wide-eyed at the handsome but grey-haired older man staring mirthfully back at him as he awkwardly realized what he was meaning and feeling all the pairs of eyes now on him and Atticus.

"I assure you Green Father I was a man well before I met Brock Gryzinski" Atticus stated confidently, his expression a blank canvas revealing nothing, his tone matter of fact and direct to the point.

Tapping his nose, Danal pressed on despite Atticus's assertion: "Physically that is most assuredly true, but traditionally and spiritually you aren't a man until you've mated for the first time, a subtle difference for sure but one everyone present can now testify as having happened."

There were a few nervous chuckles from those gathered which quickly ceased with one icy snarl from Atticus followed by Danal chiding him: "Don't be so uncivil, they all envy your good fortune and rightly so..." Danal winked at Brock again: "Considering the beauty of your catch, I would think you a bit more grateful and humbled by the experience."

At first, Brock thought to interject on Atticus's behalf but stopped short of doing so, instead, he joined the others as all eyes quizzically now centered on their large hirsute leader who glowered speculatively at Danal, then to Brock before, tipping his head in deference to the Elder: "I am of course humbled, grateful and honored to be joined to Brock Gryzinski." he stated simply, chin up, head held high.

The smile on Danal's face almost seemed to split his face in two as he quickly chimed back at him: "Then perhaps a quick kiss to show all present the sincerity of your words and devotion might not go remiss?" he posited, clearly backing Atticus into a corner.

Atticus glowered back at him for a moment before visibly gulping, turning and pivoting his head toward Brock, feeling every pair of eyes in the camp now clearly centered on the two of them, Atticus placed his quivering lips firmly against Brock's, kissing him for the very first time.

As the camp erupted into a few jaunting choruses of Ooo-rahs, Brock brought his right hand up to encircle Atticus's broad, thick neck and slipped his tongue between his lips to swirl passionately against Atticus's.

Far quicker than Brock would have wished for, their lips separated as their teammates surrounded them, giving them hearty pats on their backs while offering their congratulations.

Brock quickly sidestepped over to Danal who was beaming joyously at him as he drew close to his ear: "See, I told you he would come around, and now that he has had a taste, rest assured he will eventually come back for more, just be patient with him, he has the heart of a lion and the soul of a poet and sooner than you think, you won't be able to keep him off of you."

Smiling giddily back at Danal, the taste of Atticus's lips still fresh on his own, Brock felt a wave of warmth sweep over him as he came to the realization that he finally, for the first time in his life felt as if he belonged somewhere and knowing, with Atticus by his side, there was nothing they couldn't do or face together.

                                                                 * * * * *

It was Monday morning. at roughly 6:45 AM at the Donnelly household, Carl McGregor stood there, leaning against the refrigerator in the kitchen solemnly observing as his lover Max sat at the kitchen table with both Elizabeth Dunne and her son sat side by side opposite to him.

Elizabeth had risen about a half-hour earlier when Carl and Max did and after a night of troubled sleep, Elizabeth had come to face some hard truths.

Despite her misgivings about her son being part of the Heritage, what was clear now was the fact that genie was out of the bottle and no amount of wishful thinking on her part, would ever undo that.

Jason knew about his father, knew who he was, and knew he served in the military, what he didn't know is what his father was and why what his mother had done, now warranted the concern of the man sat across from her.

Max had forced her to accept the reality that what she had done was now having a potentially deleterious effect on her offspring, she could see it too, had observed the effect he was having on those around him and most importantly, the measures she had devised to control those effects and their subsequent behaviors, were now becoming more and more ineffective.

True, she was certain given time she could come up with a more effective treatment, but the closer her son was getting to the biological age signaling his rite of passage into the Heritage, the more his fathers DNA infused Heritage became more prominent within him.

As Max pointed out to her, despite her wants or desires or even her faith in her skills as a scientist, Jason's need was rapidly becoming an imperative; time waits for no one Max had pointed out to her and what Jason needed now was the structure that only those of the Heritage could give him, that and one more thing...

Jason sat quietly at the table, his hands folded together as he listened to Max outline what was to be expected of him going forward and how he now needed to move past the harm he felt his mother had done him by keeping his paternity a secret all these years, insisting now that he sit there and listen to her and try to understand her motivations for doing so.

It was clear to both Max and Carl that she loved her son, and no matter how wrong the inevitable outcome of her previous actions now played out, nothing changed the simple fact, that like most parents, she thought what she was doing would be in the best interest for both him and her.

Elizabeth knew now what Max was and how her initial reaction was one made from a lack of understanding, fear, and desperation.

Max was a leader, a true leader, not only by choice or by the environment he grew up in, nor the simple expectations of his parental or community influence, he was born to be one, made manifest and more effective by all those other subsequent actions.

She had noted such qualities in Bannor and after learning who and what he was, her knowledge of the evolutionary biological imperative became, even more, self-evident and despite her youth at the time, it was evidential to her throughout the high schools and college campuses all over the world.

Almost ever female she knew was physically attracted to men like them, she had seen it play out every time a female friend or associate would meet him, and despite knowing his connection to her, how they would consciously or subconsciously flirt with him, try, even only if it was momentarily, to lure him away from her.

Survival of the species, the biological need to attract and mate with the fittest male.

Elizabeth even recalled her own initial attraction for Max, though she was practically surrounded by likewise fit males and logically realizing her body knew on some instinctual level, that Max was heads above the rest.

How often had she seen the same scenario play out throughout her academic career?

Normally reasonable females practically throwing themselves at athletes or even males with superior intelligence.

As a modern woman, she knew that relationships were built by communication and a lot of hard work and compromises, but none of that negated the biological imperative, it was always there, seething right underneath the surface.

She could even feel it now as he spoke to her son, as he got him to do what no amount of pleading and supplication on her part had thus far accomplished, yet, a few words from Max and her son sat there, docilely obeying the directives of a man he barely knew.

It was true, she had panicked when she realized who and what Max was, but her reaction was one born of fear, fear of the unknown quantity and variables he potentially presented as one born to lead, but in the brief time she had been exposed to him and by the course of the actions he took, she came to see the true qualities of a leader, the same qualities she had seen exhibited in Bannor's interactions with others.

As a true leader, Max inherently understood, that the true test of a group's survival wasn't reflective or dependent on the strongest amongst them, but in lifting up the weakest, guiding and pushing them to better themselves thus improving the outcome of the group as a whole.

It was what Max did for all those within his sphere of influence, it is what he had done for those around him and for her son and yes, he was even doing it for her now as she was attempting to explain the fear that had driven her actions to keep her son from following in his father's footsteps.

"You didn't do it for me!" Jason practically spat, eyeing his mother like she was some sort of demoness: "You're a selfish, manipulative, cold-hearted bitch who thinks I'm just another one of her experiments that she can control and mold into what she want's"

Jason glowered at her, Elizabeth could feel the vehemence radiating from him in waves, his eyes burning with anger, and not since he was a toddler, Elizabeth feared her son might physically lash out at her at any moment.

A sudden low guttural growl came from across the table where Max sat as both Jason and Elizabeth's eyes turned simultaneously toward him: "ENOUGH!" was the single one-word command uttered resolutely past Max's lips.

Instantly they both fell silent, their heads bowed, in an attempt to avoid the expectant severity of his glaring eyes.

"Look at me Jason!" Max commanded, the tone of his voice, though calm and steady, left no doubt that Jason now had no choice in the matter but to obey and he did, though certain of the fiery stare his eyes would meet.

As their eyes locked, Jason's fears faded to both relief and confusion as what he saw reflected through Max's eyes wasn't anger or rage but concern: "Your mother is merely attempting to explain how she felt and how it shaped her actions, she is not attempting to justify them, she knows she has hurt you."

Max reached across the table and placed his hand over Jason's comfortingly giving him a gentle reassuring squeeze: "Imagine this Jason, what would you do if somehow JD was suddenly ripped away from your life and you knew you could never see or hear from him again how would that make you feel?"

Jason bowed his head slightly, averting his gaze once again as he pictured Max's scenario in his mind's eye: "I'd feel sad and angry."

Max squeezed his hands again: "Now imagine you learned of a way you could have some part of him back in your life, that you could continue the promise of his legacy at least in part and even though you knew you couldn't have him back completely, you could at least share the love you once felt with what you could have, that is what your mother has done."

Elizabeth had never believed that someone, especially someone from the Heritage could ever possibly understand what she had gone through, of what she had lost until that moment, she looked toward Max with watery eyes as his words, his understanding, and empathy conveyed what her aching heart could not.

Elizabeth Dunne made no attempt to hide the tears that ran down her cheeks, not only for what she had lost or felt she was about to lose, but for the comprehensive perception behind Max's eyes and the sudden realization that she could have very well misread those within the Heritage, that her grief for Bannor and the promising future she had hoped to share with him was in part her desire to be part of his family, a family she abandoned in the hopes to build her own, to selfishly control and resurrect the man she loved only to hoard his love for herself, to control what can't be controlled unless it withers and dies from suffocation, void of the freedom to grow and flourish as true love must.

Through her tears, Elizabeth now saw more clearly the pain she both suffered and caused, brought to light by a man she had just met only the day before, one who, in only a few hours, had discerned what she could not or would not face about herself for the past twenty years, a man who was a true leader, encompassing all that it entailed; noble, proud and most of all a man willing to bear the yolk of leadership, accepting the burdens of a steward and guiding the strong to protect the weak until they to could stand for themselves, no matter how painful that transformation may be.

It's why she know knew what was expected of her, when Max's eyes met hers before speaking to her son: "Jason, I think there is something your mother wants to tell you..." Max paused, nodding in her direction: "She has something to tell you about your family."

There was no panic this time, her fears about the Heritage faded as she came to the realization that she didn't need to build a family of her own to hold onto that piece of love she had shared with Bannor, she had needed only to embrace the one he had left her with.

Elizabeth Dunne turned toward her child, faced his questioning eyes head-on: "Jason, there is something you need to know..." her heart skipped a beat as she struggled with the possible pain her next words might inflict: "You have a grandfather."

                                                           * * * * *

"So, you're seriously considering going through with this plan of yours are you?" Heinrich Voigt grumbled, annoyed at his protege's petty impulsiveness.

"I am indeed" Ryker Von Krause bemused smugly, adding: "Did you think I would just let Max Donnelly get away with that little stunt he pulled, do you have any idea how much we lost when Gunther was forced to do that system-wide data dump when the Federal Intelligence Service raided our Qiagen facility?"

Heinrich glowered back at him: "So you're actually willing to put all our plans at risk just so you can lash out at him a month or so earlier than we have prepared for, how does that make sense?"

Ryker chortled arrogantly: "I think you're becoming addled in your senior year's Elder." he paused long enough to gloat on how clever he thought he was being: "Even if they aren't all successful, there's no way Donnelly can see what's coming if anything it will make him pull in his resources and bunker down, which only plays right into our hands unless of course, you're starting to believe this nonsense about his middle brat."

Heinrich snorted with a huffing sound, shaking his head: "He and that doddering fool Danal can believe whatever fairy tales they wish too, but that's all it is, wishful thinking."

Ryker smiled lecherously back at him: "Then imagine how sweet the revenge will taste when we strike at him on his home ground and his precious pup lies in a puddle of his own blood mere moments after his ceremony when the boy's at his most vulnerable and has revealed he's actually nothing more than the mongrel he was sired by."

Heinrich looked at him dubiously: "And if your people fail?"

"Then Max pulls his forces in locking himself and his inner circle there with him, making them easy pickings for when she's ready to strike, I almost wish I could be there to see his face when it happens."

Heinrich still wasn't as convinced as Ryker and still felt they should hold back until she was ready, everything else was just juvenile and petty: "Max is what's important, with his fall, the rest of our plan will come to fruition and we will gain control of his territory via our inside operative, why lash out at the other boy and risk tipping our hand prematurely?"

Ryker grimaced, his brow furrowing threateningly: "Because of that little meat sacks interference on Max's son's behalf, he nearly exposed our operations at Qiagen and caused the premature release of the test subjects, not to mention the detention of that useful idiot major."

Ryker snarled between clenched teeth: "My people have already tracked his location and soon enough, he will wish he had never been born!"

                                                    Chapter Twenty Six:

"Oh shit..." Hank Bauers boomed as he exited the driver's side door of the large SUV: "The people you see when you forget your gun!"

"Aww Hank, I'll never forget the first time we met..." Danal Cornelius posited as he approached the vehicle that had just arrived at the Devil Dawg compound: "But no matter how long it takes I'll keep trying."

A broad smile spread across Hank's face as he approached his old mentor, his arms spread to embrace him: "Likewise old man, I've treasured the time I've spent far away from you."

As the two men wrapped their arms around each other in a hearty hug, patting each other's backs, the rest of Hank's companions watched on dubiously as they began filing out of the vehicle.

Danal pushed Hank back, his hands firmly gripping his shoulders as he gazed up and down his former charge as if gauging the differences since the last time they had seen each other: "You know Hank, you've had your entire life to be an idiot, why not take a day off?"

Hank laughed boisterously: "Danal, does your ass ever get jealous of the shit that comes out of your mouth?"

"Droll as always pup..." Danal chortled, affectionately smacking Hank on the ass before concluding: "I'd give you a nasty look, but I can see you already have one."

"Do you two ever stop?" Jake Bauers asked, his golden-brown eyes beaming as he made his way around the front of the vehicle from the passenger side, before throwing his large muscular arms around Danal, hugging him closely.

It had been almost two years since they had last seen each other, not since Danal had conducted Jake's very own Heritage ceremony, on these very grounds on his eighteenth birthday.

"By the Progenitor boy, every time I see you, you just get bigger and bigger" Danal chortled bemusedly as he reached up patting Jake's cheek: "Fortunately, you also inherited your mother's good looks."

It was about that time Timmy Anderson slid out of the back hatch of the SUV with Gavin Hollis following right beside him, causing Danal to slip around Jake to eye the golden, curly-haired youth admiringly: "And what diaphanous vision of loveliness is this?" he cooed, as he grasped Timmy's left hand, as he bowed his head to kiss the back of it.

"His name is Timmy sir," Billy Donnelly noted as he emerged from the driver's side backseat along with his younger sibling JD, smiling from ear to ear as he and his brother greeted the man who they had grown up considering more of a grandfather figure than a mere friend of the family.

Danal's face lit up like a beacon of mirth as he opened his arms to embrace them both, squeezing them tightly as he kissed them both on the cheeks: "William...James, I am so happy you both could finally join us..."

Looking around at all the new faces, Danal queried: "Where are your father and Carl, will they not be gracing us with their presence today?"

As Billy explained how his father and Carl would be along shortly with another guest after they assisted in helping them prepare for the extended stay, the hairs on the back of Danal's neck stood up and his eyes almost instantly shifted from twinkling merriment to rapt, cautious alertness, his nose crinkling as he sniffed the air around him, before falling upon and glaring at Jason Dunne as he made his way around from the other side of the vehicle: "What trickery is this?!" Danal demanded, as he almost subconsciously ushered Billy and JD behind him protectively as his steely grey/blue eyes glowered ominously at him.

JD swung around Danal to place himself between the two, as he reached over and took Jason's hand in his, but before he could utter a word, Hank Bauers coughed, stepping up to Danal, placing his hand on his shoulder cautiously: "Seems old man we have a lot to discuss.." he began, looking around behind him, offering Jason and JD a thoughtful nod of reassurance before returning his gaze to a bewildered Danal.

Hank waved at the trailer they had towed with them: "Perhaps we should let the boys start unloading the provisions while you and I have a brief chat together somewhere a little more private."

Danal just shook his head, nodding in the general direction of the lake, while simultaneously continuing to glower at Jason: "I am absolutely certain I am not going to like anything you're about to say am I?

Hank craned his neck sideways, nodding slightly, giving Danal a cockeyed sneer: "Why should now be any different than any other time we talk old man?"

Jake took their temporary departure toward the lakeshore as his cue to rally his companions and start unloading the equipment and provisions they had towed with them in the flatbed trailer now parked behind their SUV in front of the compounds Lodge.

"I thought there was supposed to be an entire unit of Marines here training?" Billy asked as he and Jake began loosening the straps that secured their cargo to the trailer.

Jake turned his nose up in the air taking several casual sniffs before turning nonchalantly back to Billy saying: "It's about eleven hundred hours so I do believe their team leader has the unit doing training exercises up the trail to the ceremonial grounds."

Jake had no sooner said that than GySgt. Brock Gryzinski stepped out of the main door of the Lodge and sauntered over, eyeing and assessing each of them individually and collectively as he approached Jake, who turned to face him and assuming the stationary drill stance in deference to Brock's superior rank: " Specialist Sgt. Jake Bauers reporting as per instruction Gunnery Sargeant.

Brock smiled back at him offering his hand in a less formal salutation which Jake took and shook vigorously.

"No need for formalities with me Sargeant I'm not team leader here, that honor belongs to Corporal Atticus Walker." Brock mused casually. Jake couldn't help but notice how the gunny's eyes dropped momentarily to check his crotch out causing him to smile broadly back at him.

"No need to explain gunny, Max has already explained the arrangements here," Jake said, noticing how Brock was eyeing his Dad and Danal down by the lake.

"That's my Dad Hank Bauers catching Danal up on a few recent events," Jake said before drawing Brock's attention back toward him: "We've brought a few items Carl wanted to be set up inside the Lodge as soon as possible, most notably this large double wide refrigerator he said needed to be hooked up in the kitchen immediately upon our arrival." Jake patted the large standing oblong unit at the front of the open transport trailer as he began loosening the straps to the tie downs securing it in place.

"I hope ya brought some food with ya too Sargeant 'cause I didn't factor in this many extra people joining us so soon," Brock exclaimed as he started helping Jake remove the straps and canvas tarps covering the contents of the flatbed trailer.

Jake laughed: "No prob there gunny, I think half of what's here is food."

They all watched bemusedly as Timmy Anderson saddled up next to Jake, coyly batting his eyes at him: "There better be chocolate chip cookies in there somewhere or there's gonna be hell to pay."

Shaking his head, JD quickly took Timmy by the arm escorting him away from Jake: "Why don't you come help the rest of us unload our personal gear from the other end and leave the Marines in charge of the big stuff, okay?"

Jake shot JD a quick wink and mouthed "thank you" while a newly distracted Timmy practically bounced over to Gavin, Billy, and Jason, humming Britney Spears's Work Bitch to no one in particular.

Within short order, assisted by Brock Gryzinski, they had successfully unloaded their cargo without further distractions other than a slight resurgence of Timmy's almost comedic flirtations with Jake as he almost single-handedly lifted the double-wide refrigerator from the trailer before setting it on the ground to be trolled off to the kitchen by Jason and Billy.

They were eventually rejoined by Hank and Danal while they sorted through the various items, separating the equipment and food from their personal gear.

Billy had gathered his and Gavin's duffel bags and backpacks with the intent of hauling them to the cabin where he had assumed they would be staying when Hank abruptly stopped him, informing him that he and Gavin, along with Jason and Timmy would be stowing their gear with the rest of the men at the bivouac set up in the small clearing right off the left-hand side of the path that leads down through the woods to the cabin.

As JD picked up his stuff and moved to join Jason and the others Hank abruptly stopped him as well: "Sorry sport, Carl's orders, you'll be staying at the cabin with him and your Dad."

Shooting Hank a quizzical look, JD was just about to protest when he felt Danal's right hand gently clasp his left shoulder: "All these young men are either eighteen or close to it, you on the other hand are only sixteen and it was difficult enough for Carl to get your father to agree for you to train with the others while your here, this being the compromise he made to gain your father's reluctant acceptance."

JD's brow furrowed in consternation as he pondered sardonically: "In other words, don't rock the boat or I won't get to play with the big boys?"

JD let out a startled yelp as Danal smacked his ass unexpectedly: "Exactly!" Danal exclaimed jubilantly: "I knew you'd be intelligent enough to figure it out on your own."

Hank Bauers shook his head as he guided JD down the path toward the cabin: "Subtle as ever old man" he retorted, before whispering in JD's ear: "Danal's like an old slinkie, not really good for much, but can still occasionally make you smile when you push them down a flight of stairs."

Danal of course heard every word and just stuck his chin up in the air and smiled broadly as he gathered the others and led them to the campsite where he divided them into pairs to their assigned two-man tents so they could stow their gear.

Again, to the surprise of everyone, Danal paired Billy with Jason and Gavin with Timmy, and while the others began putting their stuff away, Billy approached Danal, thinking to question their sleeping arrangements, only to be slightly flabbergasted when Danal dismissively waved him off with the flick of his hand stating: "You're all here to train young man, not fondle and grope your bunkmates, can you imagine what would happen if I paired that beautiful little golden-haired seductress with either yourself or Jason?"

For a moment Billy stammered for a response, but then thought better of it, realizing that Danal was absolutely correct in his assessment; of everyone in their group, Gavin was least likely to succumb to Timmy's constant flirtations knowing, if anything, that it would more than likely annoy him more than entice, plus he knew additionally that pairing Jason with JD's brother was at least in some small part an acknowledgment of Jason's affections toward his little brother and could quell any potential jealousy or hard feelings that may ensue with either his or Jason's pairing with Timmy.

After securing their gear, they all gathered around Danal who was busily setting about building up a small fire in preparation for their lunch.

"The unit will soon be on their way back for their mid-day repast and I think it would make for a good introduction to the team if you young men would assist in its production."

To everyone's surprise, Timmy jumped up and enthusiastically began going through the coolers and storage containers pulling out a sundry of cooking utensils, meats, and vegetables.

In no time flat he had assumed the role of chef and began chopping onions and garlic to saute in a saucepan before thrusting a couple of cans of tomato sauce at Billy: "Open please" was all he said, smiling demurely at him before returning to his task and began adding hamburger to his concoction.

In minutes, Timmy not only had a large pot of doctored pork and beans stewing, but had laid out several packages worth of hotdogs on the grill before enlisting Gavin's assistance, instructing him to keep turning them to prevent any from burning.

On the far end of the fire, Timmy thrust a large cast-iron kettle partially filled with water into the hot coals and brought it to a rapid steaming boil before plucking a large bag of prepackaged halved corncobs into it, covering the top to steam cook the contents.

Hank and JD returned shortly and joined the others as they bemusedly watched as Timmy conducted his near symphonic meal prep, concluding with him adding a couple of sticks of butter to the steaming pot with the corncobs.

In what appeared to be a perfectly timed coincidence, twelve hot, sweaty Marines came jogging into view from the path leading from the ceremonial grounds in two perfectly syncopated rows, wearing only their PT olive drab silkies and corps issued exercise canvased footwear.

"Stand up boys.." Danal barked: "It's time to meet the man that's going to be busting your balls for the next few weeks, and might I suggest..." he paused as he stepped out in front of the gathered youths to greet the large, muscular hirsute man in front: "That you acclimate yourselves to the usage of the words Yes Sir."

                                                                  * * * * *

"He'll be here shortly Liz, and despite your reticence, I still think, all things considered, that it would be best if the news came from you directly," Max said stoically.

This wasn't an easy decision for him to make, he and Carl had spent much of the night before and most of the morning debating how best to proceed before ultimately deciding that revealing to Marshal Griffen that he not only had a grandson via the delayed surrogacy of his son's former lover but that he now had a viable heir to his territory.

Elizabeth Dunne or more correctly Liz Haskel as Marshal would remember her and how her lover Bannor had known her, wasn't as certain as Max and Carl that Marshal would be as understanding let alone forgiving as they appeared to be, and despite what they believed he would see as a boon to his family and household.

How could he, she reasoned, knowing full well she had deliberately intended to deprive the man the progeny he had always expected and encouraged from Bannor, not to mention, that at no time did he ever try to be anything other than accepting of her as his future daughter-in-law.

She had known full well, at the time, that he would have supported her decision to carry Bannor's child, he would have done anything to help assist or aid her and probably would have provided whatever resources she required, but she also knew, he would have insisted the child be raised not only by her but by him and the rest of Bannor's family.

How was it then that she couldn't now convince Max or Carl that upon hearing what she had done to keep Jason to herself, hear how she knowingly rejected all that Bannor and his father and family stood for, just so she could keep them from influencing and seducing her son into following in his father's footsteps, to keep him from what they most assuredly would have seen as his rightful Heritage, not loath the very space she occupied?

As certain as Max and Carl were that penultimately he would be both thrilled and relieved to find he now had a grandson and heir, she could only see the outcome being the complete opposite and on no small level she even now feared for her own safety as well as that of her sons.

Max studied her, he could discern the plethora of conflicting emotions that played across her facial expressions, he could read it in her nervous and fidgeting body language, he could even smell the fear and doubts that radiated off her in waves, but he was also a father, and on that level, he knew what this would mean to Marshal Griffen. True, initially he'd be upset that the boy had been kept from him for so long, but the restoration of something he had thought long lost would greatly outweigh any past perceived transgressions, they were both certain of it.

What she had accomplished went far beyond just baring his grandson, she had in almost every conceivable way practically physically replicated Marshal's deceased son, Hank alone was testimony to that fact, they assured her. No, Max had no doubt that the moment Marshal laid eyes on Jason, stood within a few feet of his son's progeny, he would feel nothing less than elation and joy.

As she contemplated their assurances Elizabeth practically jumped out of her skin when the phone on Max's desk rang, she felt her heart race within her chest as she broke out in a cold sweat as Max calmly listened to the person on the other end of the receiver before instructing them to allow his guest through the front gate and to escort him to his office, knowing full well she was now mere moments away from facing the one person she had spent half her lifetime avoiding and living in fear of.

The only thought that now raced through her mind... for better or worse, her moment of truth was finally at hand.

                                                                 * * * * *

Hank Bauers patted his stomach appreciatively, having just enjoyed the picnic-style lunch Timmy had just prepared for everyone. His chili dog, baked beans, and corn on the cob combo had really hit the spot for everyone and Timmy was thoroughly enjoying the many compliments he received, using the moment as an opportunity to get to know and flirt with every young Marine he encountered.

Having finished his meal, Hank decided to walk it off by engaging Atticus Walker, pulling him to the side so that they might talk a little more privately, Atticus himself, after being introduced to everyone, seemed a little anxious as well, especially after being in close proximity to both Jason and Billy, the latter of which seemed to be drawing particular interest by all of Atticus's men.

Hank couldn't help but notice, no matter what task or function they were now going about doing, all of them, including Atticus, kept staring at Billy in particular, it was like they couldn't keep their eyes off of him.

"I take it, you have never met him personally have you?" Hank asked him, observing how even now he could barely pull his eyes off him long enough to meet Hank's gaze.

"No sir, none of us have..." Atticus's voice trailed off as his eyes once again turned back to stare at Max Donnelly's middle son.

Hank smiled whimsically: "You sense it too don't you?

Atticus turned and locked eyes with him. Hank could see the yearning behind those eyes, but he could also see that glimmer of hope, the same look he saw in all their expectant eyes.

"What are your thoughts on Jason?" Hank asked, shifting gears, refocusing the topic of their conversation: "Let me rephrase that..." Hank added: "What do your senses tell you about him?"

The faraway look of contemplation that had permeated the corporal's vision moments ago now came into razor focus: "I sense a great amount of power and strength, but..." Atticus paused momentarily, to glance over at the stalwart youth who now sat docilely next to the youngest Donnelly, JD.

"Go on.." Hank prompted, but knowing full well what his response would be.

"It seems muted somehow, but it's there nonetheless, even more so now that Max's son has joined them." Atticus's eyebrow raised quizzically: "I mean no disrespect, but are they "together"?"

Hank knew what he meant by "together", the thought of it lingering in his mind's eye as he watched the two of them interact: "I think left unchecked, it is most definitely heading in that direction.", he said flatly, not wanting to sound negative by his choice of words, meaning it quite literally.

Hank knew of his youngest son's interest and intent toward JD, like Max, he had noticed it since he hit puberty, both choosing to let the boys mature at their own pace, but knowing there was more there than either had previously been acknowledging.

What had become most perplexing, is the growing bond between all three: Jason, Jake, and JD.

At first, Hank had assumed Jason was just impressed with his son's physicality and personal achievements, but he was also becoming increasingly aware of the mutual attractions growing between all three of them and considering the reason Jake had agreed to take a leave from work was so that he could get closer to JD, to renew the closeness they once shared, it seemed a little strange it was playing out the way it was.

Max had put Jake down this path, encouraged him to pursue it. Hank didn't think that even Max could have anticipated this outcome.

Hank had feared, after seeing JD and Jason together, that his son was heading for potential heartbreak, that view was now changing the more he saw the three interact together, he didn't know what to make of it, but knew better than to try and interfere, these things were best left to sort themselves out, fate would soon decide and guide their actions.

Atticus and Hank stood there silently contemplating the trio, when the sound of a door slamming, boomed behind them, coming from the Lodge.

Throughout the ages and in most cultures around the globe, in almost every language, there was one phrase common to all "If looks could kill."

Hank didn't know the young Gunnery Sergeant that now shot seething beams of fire at Atticus from the porch of the Lodge, but by the way Atticus's face now went pale, he did.

"Ya know I can almost understand, with all the excitement going on with the arrival of our new guest that my teammates might forget to let me know it was lunchtime.." the words poured like pure sardonic malice from the Gunny's mouth as he walked toward them, glaring straight at Atticus, their eyes locked: "But there is one person here, above all others that better be hoping and praying that there's at least a crumb or two left to feed his starving mate!"

Hank looked between Gunny and Atticus, whose eyes had grown wide as he glanced desperately over at Hank as if to beseech him silently for help...

Knowing that look all too well, Hank stepped away from Atticus, his hands coming up defensively: "Sorry Corporal, you're on your own with this one!"

Hank pivoted away, a large grin spreading across his face as he beat feet double time to get away from the duo, knowing, through experience, he didn't want to be anywhere near the carnage that was about to ensue.

He couldn't be certain, but he was fairly sure he could hear a faint whimper as Atticus began almost inaudibly stammering, blubbering incoherently, desperately surrendering what was left of his sanity for a response he already knew would never suffice.

                                                                * * * * *

Elizabeth Dunne sat silently in the back seat of Max Donnelly's truck, contemplating the events of the morning and their meeting with Marshal Griffen just slightly over two hours ago.

All in all, it had gone better than she had expected, in fact, Marshal and his youngest son Merrick had shown up mere minutes after Max had approved their entrance on the base, she barely recognized him as he made his way through the office door.

He was still impressive physically, standing nearly as tall as Max himself, but the white hair and beard and the cracks and crevices of age-worn skin compounded by decades of loss and mourning weighed heavily on his visage. She had even noted the slight slump of his posture as if he carried the problems of the world upon his shoulders.

There was no mistaking it, he had aged a lot in the twenty-some years since she had last seen him. She of course remembered Merrick, though now at roughly forty years of age, he too looked a little worse for wear compared to the youthful and exuberant teenager she had known back then.

Still, despite appearances and much to her dismay, the old mans face lit up jubilantly upon sight of her, even Merrick's eyes shifted from burdened stoicism to twinkling mirthful twin emeralds, smiles plastered on both their faces, hands, and arms extended in hopeful, familial greetings of a long-missed loved one.

"Elizabeth it's been so long" Marshal Griffen crooned as he threw his once-powerful arms around her, hugging her tightly to him: "We've missed you so much my dear, having not heard from you in so long we feared the worse had befallen you."

Liz backed away slowly, until she was an arm's length away from him, her eyes cast downward unable to meet the warmth of his gaze with her own.

It was still hard for Elizabeth to feel regret over what she had done, but she did feel the weight of her guilt over what she must now impart to him.

She never hated Marshal Griffen or any of Bannor's brothers, they had all been so welcoming of her, they did all they could to make her feel part of their family, but it was through that connection that she saw and knew what they would have done had they ever found out what she did.

She had spent years telling herself that she would never let such a moment as this happen, that she would keep her son away from them, protect him from the type of patriarchal love that would have forged her son into what they expected him to be. She had thought, that all this time she was allowing her son to choose his own fate, but Max had made her see that that wasn't true at all, she had in fact done to her son what she told herself she was protecting him from, by not revealing who his father was, or of the family that had raised him.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she now struggled to find the words that could ease the pain she was now certain she was about to inflict.

Both Marshal and Merrick stared at her with concern in their eyes, there were so many questions they wanted to ask her, but now feared that there was something even more troubling bothering her.

Liz was thankful when Max interceded, she knew by his tone that the litany of questions they were about to lay upon her would have broken her resolve, she was barely keeping it together as it was.

Max had turned to Carl and instructed him to take Merrick down to the lounge area so that Elizabeth could have a few moments alone with Marshal.

Merrick was about to protest, but Carl took his arm assuring him everything was going to be alright and that he would tell him all about it over a cup of coffee as he escorted him from the office.

Once they left, Max had motioned for Marshal to sit on one of the chairs adjacent to his desk as Liz took the one next to him. Max leaned against the edge of his desk between them before telling Marshal that Liz had something very important she needed to tell him, that it would be a lot to take in, asking him to please listen carefully but save whatever comments or questions he may have until after she finished telling him everything she had to say.

Marshal had looked at him questioningly but merely nodded his acquiescence as he pivoted slightly in his chair to face her, patiently waiting to hear what she might have to say after so many years apart, not knowing whether she was alive or dead and often wondering if they had somehow offended her.

She didn't know where she found the courage to begin, but she surprised herself at how concisely she laid it all out, from her frame of mind before and after Bannor's death, rehashing their promise to marry and start a family upon his return, her feelings of impending danger that led her to save the numerous condoms after their last day and night together, how she preserved and later froze the contents for later and everything she felt after his death, from how her plan had changed from simply impregnating herself with Bannor's sperm to applying all that she had learned in her genetics studies that allowed her to envision much more than just a simple surrogacy style impregnation to a more replicative outcome.

Through it all Marshal had sat there in stone silence, staring off into space as if seeing the events she laid out one by one on an imaginary screen in his mind's eye.

Even after she concluded, bringing him completely up to date, including even the concerns Max and the others now had over his well being going into the future and the possible effects of him going through his Heritage ceremony in a little over a month while simultaneously already embodying Bannor's full Heritage and how she had been able to suppress it most of his life, that is until recently as the effectiveness of the treatment seemed to wane the closer he got to his eighteenth birthday.

As she finally concluded and stared expectantly at him, Marshal's eyes remained deadpan, his face frozen, completely devoid of expression, until Max reached out and placed his hand on his shoulder.

Upon contact, Marshal's eyes had blinked twice before his lips parted, trembling slightly as the faint sound of four words slipped past them, barely a whisper, but full of determination: "Take me to him."

"We're almost there Liz" She heard Carl say, drawing her out of her recollection of the morning's events, just as they turned off the main highway, heading down the winding dirt road to the Devil Dawg Compound, followed closely by Jason's grandfather and youngest uncle.

                                                                 * * * * *

"Am I the only one who thinks that's nuts?" Dark-haired Cpl. Scott Taylor said quietly, to no one in particular, as the small group still gathered around the campfire watched on at the unusual spectacle that unfolded before them.

"It is, but not as nuts as the way my boy parts are throbbing in my britches just watchin' him," responded Pfc. Austin Davis in his deep, throaty Texan twang.

"That's what I'm sayin'" chuckled Rex Wilson as he and Austin fist-bumped.

Jason Dunne had to agree with Scott, what he, JD, Jake, and the others were watching unfold before them, was one of the most unusual and bizarre things he had ever seen before, but there was no denying it, Timmy Anderson sure looked good doing it.

"You know him better than the rest of us JD, does this kind'a thing happen a lot with him?" Jake queried, as mesmerized as the rest of them, unable to take his eyes off the sultry golden-haired angelic youth.

It had seemed like mere moments ago after they had all finished the meal Timmy had prepared for them and after Timmy had made sure to introduce himself to every one of the appreciative Marines who had enjoyed his repast, that Jason and the others had watched him veer off from the group to a small clearing in the underbrush and trees, no less than forty feet from the bivouac, and began doing a near dance like stretching routine.

From the start, his fluidic movements, coupled with the bright rays of dappled mid-day sunlight that broke from above through the leaves of the surrounding tree's to bounce off the fabric of his white, loose-fitting sleeveless t-shirt and conforming white gym shorts, were almost hypnotic as the sun-baked the morning dew from the grass, and foliage, in a soft mist, lending to the defused ambient glow reflecting from his garments and pale golden skin, giving him an almost ethereal appearance.

All of them had sat there silently admiring as he seamlessly transitioned from stretching to twisting, flipping, and midair tumbling. Everyone would have agreed that Timmy was grace in motion personified.

As much as they enjoyed watching him perform his routine it was what came after that had them all now perplexed and mystified.

Upon completion of his exercises, Timmy had sat down on a large-sized moss-covered rock and stretched his legs out in front of him with his ankles locked with his chin raised skyward as the sun reflected like sparkles on the beads of sweat that now cascaded down his torso and limbs.

As he sat there silently and blissfully unaware of all the eyes upon him, a rather sizeable brown rabbit hopped into view, stopping just short of his feet as it nibbled on the sweet grass growing there.

They watched incredulously as Timmy sat up and after taking note of the rabbit near his feet, casually reached down and started stroking it gently behind the ears right before picking it up and sitting it down in his lap and began petting it in long full body length strokes.

Even more bizarrely, the rabbit seemed to love the attention, craning its neck against Timmy's torso and rubbing its whiskered, chubby cheeks against his abdomen.

Moments later several brightly colored iridescent hummingbirds swooped down and began fluttering around him, causing him to laugh joyously before reaching out with his free hand, his index finger extended, allowing one of them to perch there, fluttering its wings rapidly as Timmy began to hum a hauntingly lilting tune to it.

Seconds later, a couple of smaller rabbits hopped into view to take their place at his feet, each vying for his attention, followed by a large grey squirrel, that seemed to appear from somewhere behind him only to climb up his body to perch on his shoulder and chitter as Timmy continued to hum and giggle.

The whole strange encounter ended abruptly when two trucks pulled into the parking area of the compound and came to a halt in front of the Lodge in a cloud of shifting gravel dust.

"That ones my Dad's truck," JD stated, as he nodded his head toward the lead vehicle, right before he and the others stood to watch as Max, Carl, and Jason's mother exited it.

A hushed silence fell over the group as all eyes turned from Timmy to now stare at the small group that now formed around Elizabeth Dunne.

Jason watched as Max and Carl greeted the two men that climbed out of the second vehicle, noting that one of them appeared to be close to Max's and Carl's age while the other seemed to be in his mid to late sixties.

Without even looking, Jason could tell when their eyes all turned toward him, he could almost physically feel it on his skin.

Frozen to the spot, all he could do was watch as the two unknown men took their place behind Max and Carl as they escorted his mother toward him.

Jason barely noticed as Hank and Danal exited the Lodge to stand at the end of the porch, his mind dismissed the glowering grimace of Danal's icy stare as it locked on his mother.

Time seemed to come to a crawl as they inexorably made their way toward him, the normally faint shuffle of their feet on the gravel of the road crackled and crunched in a near deafening cacophony in the silence that now subsumed the entire compound, until they finally came to halt a scant ten feet in front of him.

Even from that distance, Jason could make out the red puffy circles under his mother's eyes; it was apparent she had been crying a lot and even now her eyes welled up, ready at any moment to deluge her cheeks in fresh tears as she stared expectantly back at him.

Max took her arm and pulled her gently to the side handing her over to Carl's care as Max motioned forward the eldest of the two men that accompanied him.

Jason could feel JD's left hand slip into his, squeezing his right hand firmly as he also felt the warm supportive weight of Jake's right hand upon his shoulder, tenderly massaging the flesh beneath his shirt.

"I'm here Jason..." JD whispered in his right ear: " We both are..." Jake breathed softly in his other.

He could feel the strength of their support pour into him and he marveled and succumbed to the warmth of it as it spread throughout his body even as his eyes locked with those of the grey-bearded, white-haired, elderly man now standing less than ten feet in front of him.

Jason remained motionless, not being able to decide what should happen next, so he just stood there staring into the man's deep blue eyes, eyes that closely resembled his own, except older and more experienced.

They were eyes that had seen more than his had, lived and loved a lifetime, eyes that also knew great joy and had suffered unimaginable loss, and right now, as Jason stared back at him, he watched those very same eyes grow wide, saw how they just as quickly glossed over, grew watery as his eyelids began to flutter slightly and his brow furrowed, his quivering lips parting as if to speak but had somehow suddenly lost the capacity.

Jason watched as the man attempted to take one faltering step toward him before his shaking hands shot up to his face and a huge groan seemed to well up from his chest as his knees suddenly buckled.

Jason thought to leap to his aid but saw that Max and the other man, that had come with him, grasped his arms on either side and held him up upright, steadying him until he found his legs again.

He stared into the man's face as he dropped his trembling hands and Jason could see the tears that now flowed down his cheeks, on a face contorted with both joy and sorrow.

Jason felt a nudge from his side and knew instantly it was JD: "Go to him Jason..." he heard him whisper and without a thought, Jason almost robotically complied.

The moment he moved forward the older man moaned and swiftly lunged forward, closing the distance between them and as they came together, threw his arms around him, pulling him in to hug him tightly against his trembling body, cradling the back of his head with one hand while the other locked firmly around his back.

For the longest time, Jason stood there being held and hugged as tightly as the man could, before he reluctantly pulled back, though not totally severing the physical contact completely, to lock stares with Jason once again as he finally found his voice: "Hello Jason..." his shaky voice managed to stammer, adding, as he clasped Jason's hand tightly in his own clutching it against his chest, and near his heart: "I'm Marshal Griffen, I'm your grandfather and I am so very pleased to finally meet you."

                                                              * * * * *

"Okay, I get the blindfold..." Brock Gryzinski mused as Atticus guided him down behind the Lodge, leading him to what had to be the shed on the lake shoreline where they stored a couple of canoes and an assortment of outdoor wooden chairs: "But why do I have to be handcuffed as well?" he queried, though enjoying what he assumed was a kinkier side to his new partner than he had given him credit for.

"Do you want your surprise or not?" Atticus taunted in that deep, gravely southern twanged voice Brock found ever so sexy, as he brought him to an abrupt halt and began fumbling with what Brock was sure was the latch to the shed door, singlehandedly.

Just a little while ago, Brock had been tormenting him about not only forgetting to notify him about lunch but not even thinking to save him any.

Atticus had just smiled lecherously, informing him that he had already prepared a "feast" for him, but he wanted it to be a surprise, insisting that Brock let him blindfold and handcuff him before he served up the "vittles".

Brock, of course, thought that "vittles" was code for his cock and that this "feast" he spoke of was of course one of Atticus's mind-blowing fucks, his hole, though still sore, was beginning to hunger for.

What Brock didn't know, was that Atticus had pre-arranged for Barin to meet him and Brock in the shed he now maneuvered him into, where Barin was to wait naked, ready, and silent.

"Get on your knees" Atticus practically growled, though his voice was barely a hoarse whisper as he moved in front of him with his hands on his shoulders, pushing him downward as he signaled for Barin to step in front of him.

Atticus slipped behind Barin and clasped his hard thick cock in his hand, right at the base, noting admiringly how his large fingers couldn't completely circumvent its massive girth.

Comparatively, Atticus observed that though Barin's cock was considerably shorter than his own, estimating it at about eight or nine inches, it more than matched his thickness, maybe even more, noting how it had to be at least as thick as a beer can, with the widest part being the huge bulbous helmet-shaped glands that could have easily filled his entire palm and being roughly about the size of an apple or large peach.

Using his thighs, he shuffled Barin closer to Brock's face as he brought his free hand to grip the back of Brock's head pulling it forward toward the tip of Barin's pre-cum drooling dick.

"Open wide babe, here comes the gravy train" Atticus chortled lustfully as he crammed the massive glands right into Brock's fully gaping mouth.

Atticus chuckled slightly watching over Barin's should as Brock's fully parted lips latched onto Barin's dong and instantly started suckling away like a starved baby calf on its mothers teet, greedily slurping up the copious amounts of dick dribble oozing from his piss slit.

He released Barin's cock and the hand from behind Brock's head, before guiding Barin's hands to lock behind his neck, his forearms blocking his ears and forcing another inch of his dick into his overstretched mouth before whispering in his ear: "This dick is not to leave his mouth until I personally instruct you to do so" Atticus commanded, adding: "You are to fuck his mouth continuously, do not hold back, feed him every drop of jizz those big nads of yours can make, understood Marine?"

Barin nodded his head silently complying as he began feeding more of his cock into Brock's loudly slurping mouth.

Atticus patted him on the ass before he departed, closing the door to the shed behind him. Atticus had chosen Barin not only because he already had the hots for his mate, but because he had the biggest balls he'd ever seen on a guy before, guessing his whole testes filled sack had to be at least the size of a grapefruit, compelling Atticus to conclude that Barin was the likeliest candidate to produce the most amount of nut juice to feed Brock, something Danal had informed him, would speed along the transformation already underway throughout his body as a result of the Coaptandas ritual.

"Chug it down Brock.." Atticus sneered wickedly to himself: "The more you feed the sooner you get to where you need to be to handle a full-on mating with yours truly... and then I can ride you the way you were meant to be!"

                                                  
                                                 Chapter Twenty Seven:

"Atticus has done an admirable job setting up the training course don't you think?" Carl McGregor noted, glancing over at Max Donnelly, who stood there with his feet planted shoulder-width apart, his strong arms folded across his broad chest, a near unreadable expression painted stoically across his visage, with only his eyes betraying the pride he felt watching Billy push himself for yet another pass through the course with Jason Dunne not far behind him.

There were sixteen obstacles in total, interspersed throughout the field off to the left side of the ceremonial grounds, typical in style and layout to the ones most Marines train within boot camp.

Starting with the horizontal ladder overhead incline hand walk to the rope climb and pit jump straight into a reverse incline climb to the twenty-foot wall and rope climb, all before tackling the various log obstacles such as the belly robber, the balance log run, and of course the island hoppers to finally finish off with a vertical cargo net climb and the barbed wire belly crawl to the finish.

It was Billy and Jason's eighth pass, two more than Atticus had the rest do that day, in deference to the newbies just starting, six being standard for new recruits with twelve full course runs, nonstop being the end goal.

Carl had observed the pride in Max's eyes as his youngest, JD had completed his sixth pass, though the boy was obviously winded, he never faltered or lagged behind, maintaining a center position in par with Atticus's trained unit.

It was no surprise when Gavin had dropped out after only two passes, struggling especially with the log course, but the biggest surprise of the day, Billy and Jason notwithstanding, was Timmy. Despite his poorer showing on the six-lap track run around the course before actually beginning the course itself, he quickly made up for lost time, even keeping up with Atticus's unit at times, especially shining in obstacles that required the most dexterity and though it didn't seem to surprise Max at all, it left Atticus and Jake both scratching there heads in wonder and bewilderment at the young man's physical capabilities and the ease in which he learned and mastered the course.

"Either my senses have faded with age.." Carl heard Marshal Griffen exclaim to Danal, as they stood off to the side watching the unit's afternoon training exercises: "But I do not sense the Heritage within that boy." he concluded.

"He is not of the Heritage, that is true..." Danal posited, calmly stroking the short hairs of his beard as he was want to do while deep in thought: "But I think there is far more to him than meets the eye."

Carl noted the way Danal's voice trailed off but found himself thinking much the same thing and mentally filing his concerns for later conversations with both Danal and Max, returning his focus and attention back to the two competitors still traversing the course and almost completing their eighth pass without any sign of slowing down.

Both Billy and Jason had long ago shed their t-shirts and wore only their grey sweatpants, their upper bodies wet and shiny with the proliferation of sweat that now drenched the waistline fabric of the loose-fitting garments, and though Billy maintained his lead on Jason, neither showed signs of slowing down anytime soon and Max seemed content with allowing the duo to push themselves to their limit.

Carl was almost relieved when Hank stepped forward stopping the two from beginning a ninth pass of the training course, directing the pair toward the rest of the group, where Jake and Atticus stuffed bottles of water into their hands and instructing them to drink slowly and to join the rest of the team as they began their cool down stretches before concluding the days training.

As Atticus wound things to a close, Hank Bauers stepped forward, after a nod from Max, and ordered everyone to gather in a large circle around him and as everyone maneuvered themselves into position, Hank clapped his hands together to get their attention before announcing: "Tomorrow will officially begin the unit's hand to hand combat training..." Hank looked around the circle of men and boys as they stared at him expectantly: "With that in mind and because we have several new members joining your team I think we'll end the day with a little demonstration.."

With that, Atticus called Rex Wilson front and center and then pointed to Gavin Hollis to join him there, and as Gavin cautiously moved where indicated, facing Rex, he couldn't help note the difference in both their size and age.

Gavin was only seventeen and he estimated Rex at about twenty or twenty-one, he was also taller than Gavin as well as a lot more muscular, and while Gavin appreciated the dark, hirsute man in front of him, he couldn't help but feel ever so slightly mismatched, looking at Hank with a questioning, expectant grimace.

Hank clapped Gavin on the back, smiling profusely at the boy's trepidatious glower before positioning the two in the standard start position, with their arms extended, their hands clasping each other's biceps while leaning toward, each of them with their feet planted shoulder-width apart.

"When I give the signal gentlemen your single goal here is to unbalance your opponent and either land him flat on his back or face down in the grass."

"Is that all?" Gavin whispered under his breath, noting how Rex gave him a toothy cock-eyed grin and a quick wink with his left eye right before Hank lowered his raised hand and shouted: "Begin!"

To say it was over before it began would have been an understatement as far as Gavin was concerned, in the span of probably less than three seconds he found himself staring up into the late afternoon sky as a ruggedly handsome, dark-haired Rex Wilson looked down at him smiling even more broadly than before as he unceremoniously pivoted sideways flipping Gavin over his knee to land with a thud on his back.

Rex reached his hand down toward Gavin before gripping his forearm and hauling him up to a standing position, leaning his head toward Gavin with that big toothy cock-eyed grin again and whispered in Gavin's right ear as his left hand squeezed Gavin's right butt cheek: "You smell real nice" and winking at him flirtatiously as they parted.

Hank indicated to an embarrassed Gavin to take a seat as he called Timmy Anderson forward, again aligning the two facing each, other arms locked: "I want to remind everyone, this exercise deals more with leverage and balance than it does with strength and size." Hank boomed, raising his arm into the air, and with a nod from a grinning Max, he dropped it shouting once again to "begin."

As before, Rex started to pivot but found Timmy had released his grip and had rapidly shifted his weight downward using both gravity and momentum to curl into a ball and roll quickly between Rex's splayed legs and before Rex could swing around, Timmy's legs darted upward, the flat of his feet planting firmly against Rex's buttocks and shoved him forward causing him to lose his balance and stumble forward, giving Timmy enough time to spring to his feet just as Rex turned to face him.

Before Rex could swing his arms up defensively, Timmy lept at him, the flat of his feet striking him dead center to his chest with the full force of his body weight knocking Rex flat on his ass as Timmy landed on top of him, his thighs spread on either side of his torso and his ass planted firmly on his chest.

The single clap of Max's hands broke the stunned silence as everyone began congratulating Timmy for his unexpected win.

Shaking his head in disbelief, Atticus stepped forward and patted Timmy on the back: "Great job their kid!" he exclaimed loudly, hoisting Timmy's right hand into the air victoriously.

"Ahem, gentlemen..." Hank Bauers coughed loudly, interrupting the minor celebration: "We ain't done yet... Billy... you're next."

The entire group fell instantly silent as all eyes fell on Billy as he slowly rose and entered the circle to take his place.

To everyone's surprise, Hank indicated for Rex to take a seat as he motioned for Billy and Timmy to face each other.

This time Max wasn't smiling as he studiously glowered at the two youths, there was no forthcoming nod as Hank's arm lingered in the air momentarily before slicing downward, accentuated by the sudden gasp of air from the surrounding observers, mesmerized expectantly as all eye's locked on Billy, expectant of his actions.

Carl knew instantly, when Hank called Billy's name, that Max had pre-arranged this moment. Ever since Billy's arrival, Atticus and his entire team's attention seemed to center solely on Billy, watching his every move, expectantly talking in hushed whispers at every motion or movement he made, and while he understood their motivations and expectations, it wasn't going unnoticed by Billy and it was making him seriously uncomfortable, self-conscious and nervous.

Blissfully unaware of his father's machinations, Billy responded instinctively as Hank's hand dropped and he sprung into action, only to find his actions thwarted as Timmy rapidly spun around evading Billy's grasp on his arms as the spinning force of his body slammed into Billy's chest.

It wasn't enough to knock Billy down or even through him off balance, but it was an unexpected maneuver that bought Timmy enough time to accomplish his next move, and with the grace of a ballet dancer and through his years of strength training as a gymnast, Timmy shot upward, wrapped his calves around Billy's chest as his torso flipped forward over Billy's head, his hands planting firmly on Billy's broad shoulders as his locked legs slung upward and forward with all his strength, pulling Billy off balance, before releasing his leg hold to go into a full handstand on his shoulders, dropping behind him as Timmy slipped his hands and arms downward to lock under Billy's armpits, the lower body weight of his legs and torso forcing Billy further off balance as he practically rolled backward over Timmy's back until he landed face first in the grass with Timmy doing one more quick backflip and landing feet first on Billy's upper back.

Everyone stared on in stunned silence, their mouths hanging open in awe as Timmy took a bow before stepping off Billy's back.

"That...was... AWESOME!!!" JD shouted joyously, jumping to his feet excitedly as he clicked stop on his cell phone camera, breaking the ominous spell-like hush that had befallen the group before they started chanting Timmy's name with a few ooh rahs thrown in for good measure: "And I got it all on VIDEO!" JD concluded dancing around in circles as he hit repeat on his phone to watch it again as others gathered around him to watch along.

Billy rolled over on his back, looking up at his Uncle Hank: "Okay...." He sighed: "That hurt."

Hank reached down to assist Billy up as Billy began brushing the dirt and grass from his sweaty torso and cocking his head side to side stretching his sore shoulder and neck muscles.

"Sorry kiddo" Hank whispered in his ear: "Your dad has been having me instruct Timmy in a few moves over the last week or so, he's got it in his head Timmy's skills as a gymnast can be incorporated into a new fighting style for the team." Hank slapped Billy on the back before declaring happily: "If that was any indication, looks like he may be onto something huh?!"

Billy chose to ignore the expanding grin on Hank's face as he lumbered back over to Gavin, still rubbing his neck and shoulders and picking random pieces of grass from his sweaty skin.

"Don't say a word!" He cautioned Gavin as he took his place by his side as everyone around them continued to congratulate Timmy as his little brother took great pride in repeatedly showing everyone the video of his defeat over and over again.

"Look at it this way dude..." Gavin offered solemnly: "At least they aren't all staring at you all creepy like anymore."

Billy offered his friend a faint smile as Atticus, their team leader, ordered everyone to head back to base camp, and as they shuffled toward the path back to the Lodge and the lake, Billy jabbed Gavin in the ribs lightly with his elbow and nodding his head to his left, directing Gavin's attention in that direction: "They may not all be staring at me right now, but someone sure seems keenly interested in one of us and I don't think it's me."

Gavin glanced over in the direction Billy's head nodded and his eyes instantly met Rex Wilson's, whose sultry dark stare and cocky half-grin beamed flirtatiously back at Gavin before bursting into laughter as Gavin's face flushed red with both excitement and embarrassment making him wish he could just turn invisible as he forced himself to look away: "I don't think I'm going to be able to handle a whole month of this dude..." he stammered meekly in Billy's direction.

"Month?!" Billy said sardonically before stating stoically: "I don't think we're gonna survive the week at this rate."

Gavin smiled halfheartedly back at him, nudging Billy slightly: "Ya know Billy, I think we both have had a perfectly wonderful day.." Gavin posited, adding: "Unfortunately, that day just wasn't today!"

                                                                          * * * * *

He didn't know how long he had been lying there on the wooden shed floor that normally housed several canoes and Adirondack chairs down by the lake, but if he had to hazard a guess, it would have measured in hours. More importantly though, the thick, fat cock relentlessly pounding his mouth and throat was yet again spewing another massive load of hot jizz down his throat for what seemed like the umpteenth time.

Hours ago, when this all began and Atticus had blindfolded and handcuffed him and led him here, he had assumed the plump juicy dick invading his mouth was that of his new lover Atticus Walker, but shortly after hearing the door to the shed open and shut again and he felt the strong hands of the man behind this ever hard cock shoving its way down his throat, he had quickly realized that it didn't belong to the man he was mated too.

While he had nothing to substantiate who the owner of that cock was he did have his suspicions and if it was who he thought it, he wasn't at all displeased with his mate's selection, but couldn't help wonder why he had done so in the first place; he didn't figure Atticus as the sharing type, not that he was complaining, the rock hard phallus pummeling his oral cavity, though challenging to manage due to its tremendous girth, was still quite tasty, and even though his throat was getting quite sore and his lips now felt swollen from all the sucking and constant pounding thrust and hip grinding jabs, it hadn't deterred him from enjoying the copious amounts of sperm and semen that it had ejaculated down his gullet.

He had thought his mate the most virile man to date to pump cum into him, but this stallion was beyond the pale. Brock had lost count, hours ago, of the number of orgasms he was being forced to ingest and gulp down and couldn't help having a comic mental image of himself with a huge bloated belly from extremely fertile emissions spewed tirelessly straight down his aching, overstretched esophagus, to fill and engorge his stomach.

All afternoon, his one major thought was how could one man produce so much cum, each and every orgasm was a barrage of thick ropy strands of potent, manly juices, that shot from the burgeoning, palpitating head of his engorged member like a spewing fire-hose of raw masculinity.

If he had to hazard a guess, he was certain each volcanic like eruption would be best measured by shot glasses than a teaspoon or tablespoon sizes, coupled with the fact that each orgasm fucked down his throat and filling every available space of his mouth was as voluminous as the first, it was easy for him to picture the full rounded belly that jiggled like a bowl full of jello he imagined as he greedily sucked and slurped down each delicious drop like he was doing right now as the wiry, spit-soaked pubes of his oral assailant ground against his swollen, nearly raw bloated lips.

It was during this latest orgasmic feeding that he heard the shed door open again and the shuffling steps of a third party entered the space they occupied.

For the first time in hours, he felt the hefty, chunky schlong slip past his lips extricating itself fully from his mouth as it withdrew out of his reach.

He heard the rustle of clothing as someone dressed while strong hands fumbled with the lock of the handcuffs that had bound his wrist behind his back all this time.

Those same large hands lifted him effortlessly from his supine position on the floor, to prop him up as his wobbly legs adjusted to the renewed weight of his previously confined and immobile body.

He rubbed his aching wrist in his own hands as the ones that had just released him lifted the blindfold from his eyes to reveal the smiling face of his mate Atticus Walker.

"Did you enjoy my little gift today?" he cooed, running his large thick fingers through Brock's sweaty hair with one hand while he drew him close against his massive, hairy, sweaty body with the other before running his hand down his back to squeeze the left cheek of his buttocks, like a baker kneading bread dough.

Brock had to cough several times to clear his throat before he could make any form of articulate sound and even then sounding like someone who had smoked heavily for decades.

"Your idea of little and mine are two completely different units of measurement." he finally managed to utter in a hoarse and raspy tone as he pivoted his torso to look around the hirsute giant blocking his view to gaze into the eyes of a very satisfied looking Barin Young, whose lips parted into a cocky half toothy grin, still adjusting his PT silkies in an attempt to contain his still bloated semi-erection.

"You didn't answer my question" Atticus persisted, moving in closer to Brock, his large sweaty body coming into contact with Brock's, both hands now clutching his bubble butt by both cheeks, and grinding their groins together.

Brock locked eyes with him, staring deeply into his mischievous gaze: "That depends, was it a one-time favor, or is he a gift that I can keep and enjoy whenever I want to?"

Atticus brought his forehead forward to press against Brock's, so close his hot breath warmed the skin of his already flushed face and he could feel the sweat from his mate's forehead mingle with his own and drip like tears down his cheeks: "Which would you prefer?" Atticus responded in a low guttural growl.

Brock smiled lecherously, stating: "It's not a gift if it's just on loan, a gift is something that belongs to you forever."

Atticus pulled his head back to lock eyes with him again, a somewhat serious expression crossing his face: "I can't promise he will be a permanent gift because I don't know what the future holds for us, but he is yours to use as long as he is able..." He paused for a second, turning his head to exchange a grin with Barin: "Rest assured though, he is very interested and enthusiastic in providing whatever services you may require of him, for however long that may be."

Barin winked at Brock, the cocky toothy grin broadening, practically consuming his ruggedly handsome features: "I aim to please." he chuckled in his throaty Texas twang, tipping his head in Brock's direction, eyes twinkly lustfully.

It was at that moment Atticus's stomach rumbled and as he rubbed his hairy belly suggestively, announcing that they all should go get something to eat and perhaps discuss this further after they fill their bellies.

Brock chortled as he looked down at his own: "Truthfully, I'm feelin' rather full right now, but after the last few hours, I'm sure a certain someone must be just as hungry as you are."

Atticus thrust the door of the shed open, ushering them out: "Then by all means let's get some food down his neck so he can be ready just in case you get a bit peckish later on and need a late-night snack or two."

"Maybe three," Barin said with a knowing wink before quickly adding: "Just to whet the appetite before the main course is served."

Shaking his head in feigned indignation Brock sighed: " I do declare, what have a got myself into?"

                                                                             * * * * *

"Where has the week gone?" Carl thought to himself, as he mentally recalled the events of the last few days, noting how things just seemed to go from bad to worse, ending this Thursday evening, the night before Billy's birthday, when his thoughts should be dwelling on the hope and happiness such an event should entail, instead, finding himself grappling with this dark somber mood that now subsumed him as he slowly walked down the path toward the ceremonial grounds just minutes away from midnight.

Carl tried to center his thoughts on the few good things that had happened, like the continued improvements both Billy and Jason exhibited with each passing day, but even then, he couldn't help but foster a degree of trepidation over Jason's ever-increasing changes as the medications his mother had been giving him worked out of his system and the effects of his father's Heritage were becoming ever increasingly more prominent and difficult for Jason to control.

Both his grandfather Marshal and his uncle Merrick were proving to be extremely helpful in disguising the real truth from Jason, whom they all felt was still too emotionally immature to know the full truth about what his mother had done, especially since they had made such progress with their relationship since then, again, in no small part due to Marshal and Merrick's influence and of course Max's persistent and frequent chats with both Jason and his mother, separately and together.

There were also small high points as well, that being the continued improvement of Timmy, Brock, and Gavin, the latter being mostly Carl's and Danal's growing admiration of the young man's cognitive abilities and tech-savvy, something Brock, in particular, was really appreciating, finding he had someone he could relate too and trust with the expensive technology he was continuously tweaking and adjusting, and then there was Brock himself, who seemed day to day to physically improve with his strength, speed and stamina; somehow, Carl thought to himself, that Danal possibly had something to do with that and Carl was certain it had something to do with the Coaptandas ritual both Brock and Atticus had undergone together, noting how even Brock's scent seemed to be changing.

Timmy, of course, continued to mystify them all, excelling and ofttimes exceeding in both the combat training and the obstacle course, but not really showing much improvement in their teamwork exercises and of course, anything to do with running, which he seemed particularly loath to do, not to mention his apparent inability to remain focused for long periods of time on anything other than his ceaseless flirtations with just about everyone on the team.
The best high points of the week were concerning Billy. What could Carl say, he continuously surprised everyone; after his failed first attempt when he sparred with Timmy, it seemed to have awakened something within him and he worked tirelessly, often with Jason and Jake in tow to spar with, to master Timmy's gymnastic fighting style. Timmy still seemed to endlessly pull some new trick out of nowhere, but even he was finding it ever increasingly difficult to match Billy let alone best him.

Still, despite all the positive things that were happening, Carl still felt that the overall general atmosphere was becoming more solemn, in particular, it pained Carl to watch as JD's obvious affections continued to grow for both Jason and Jake and though both seemed to mirror those sentiments, for now, Carl knew, with the impending ceremony so close at hand, that what would come as a result of it, was more than likely going to leave one, if not all of them forced to make choices that could and probably would jeopardize that growing intimacy and closeness, and no one understood that more than Carl himself did, having lived through similar circumstances in the past and now finding himself feeling, at least as far as he was concerned, that his past was coming back to haunt him again.

He found his thoughts drifting back to the time just about a month before Michael's birth; for months after Max had revealed that Monaca was pregnant with his firstborn, he had come to realize that no matter how hard he tried to get along with her, that no matter what he did, she was never going to accept a peaceful co-existence, evidenced by her continuous pursuit in finding even the most trivial things an insufferable affront to her disposition and constantly blaming Carl for it, or at least strongly attributing his continued presence in both hers and Max's life as the reason for all that was wrong in their relationship and accusing Max of not supporting her by constantly favoring Carl, which was ridiculous, since he had for the most part taken to staying in his room to avoid having any contact with her for almost six months.

To compound the matter, Max had even stopped making visits to his room, completely devoting his time to see to her emotional and physical needs in an attempt to assuage her, while still fulfilling his promise, made years before to Carl, after their reunion from their forced separation by Max's father Marcus, that he would never let anything separate them again, even to the point of reaffirming that promise when he started dating and then getting engaged to Monaca.

He was far younger and a lot more naive back then, and he had truly believed that Max meant every word of the assurance he made about never letting that happen again. But time, circumstance, and the devious machinations and intentions of others had finally motivated Max into testing the boundaries of those words and promises he had made him.

It all came to a head one day after work, just days after they found out that Monaca was estimated to be less than a month away from giving birth, that Max had picked him up from his duty station like he did every afternoon.

Carl should have known something was up by the forced smile Max had on his face as he got in the vehicle, announcing he had something he wanted to show Carl, no sooner than his ass had hit the passenger side seat of his pickup truck.

He had tried to guess what it was, thinking maybe Monaca was delivering earlier than anticipated, but Max was being tight-lipped about it, assuring him that it had nothing to do with Monaca, but it was something he had done for Carl, all the while maintaining what Carl could only describe as a forced, put on a display of good intentions.

It was obvious to Carl, Max meant for Carl to be excited by his "surprise" alluding several times to how he hoped Carl really liked what he was going to show him, all the while coming across as being falsely optimistic about whatever it was.

After leaving the base and driving down the road a couple of miles, Max turned off the main road and drove about a quarter of a mile down a poorly maintained narrow road that wound its way through some fairly thick forestry only to abruptly end at an older but fairly well preserved small ranch house, with a two stall garage.

Max pulled right up to the first stall door to the garage and after shutting the engine off to his truck, he turned to Carl and said: "Come check it out."

At the time, Carl had allowed himself to believe that Max had bought them all a real home, something they had talked about before when he and Max were younger and before he started seeing Monaca.

Carl had always figured that to be a pipe dream, knowing full well, that Max being the sole heir to his father and to his territory and his assured succession as leader of the southern district Devil Dawgs, that he would most assuredly be expected to take a wife and start a family assuring that the Donnelly line would pass to the next generation.

But at that very moment, Carl had allowed himself to let his thoughts take him to potentially happier times, with thoughts of them building a future together, with kids, in their own place, even if it was also with Monaca being there as well, he even allowed himself to envision a couple of little Max's running around, playing in the yard or tossing a football with their father, while he and yes, even Monaca where happy, having somehow settled all their differences so that they could all be one big happy family.

Those were the visions that permeated his thoughts as Max ushered him through the front door and into the main front room before guiding him throughout the house showing him each and every room.

The place needed some fixing up, but it had a really nice-sized backyard with a six-foot-high wooden privacy fence circumventing the majority of it.

The kitchen was a fairly good size and had both a working frig and a dishwasher, there were also two bathrooms, one built into the already fully furnished master bedroom and one in the hallway past the kitchen and right before the second guest bedroom.

As the tour concluded with them returning to the living room, and as Carl was admiring the fact that it had a working fireplace, he had noticed how Max had grown more quiet and pensive as he maneuvered himself closer to the front door and laying the house keys on the kitchen island counter.

Carl still remembered how Max grew silent and his eyes seemed to stare off into the distance, avoiding his as Carl pointed out that though he thought the place had potential, it was still no bigger than the house they had on base. At the time, his thoughts on the matter related to where the nursery would be, speculating that maybe adding on an extra room or even converting part of the two attached garage bays into an extra room could solve that problem and how either was well within their capabilities of doing, though he was doubtful they could get it done before the baby arrived.

Carl knew at the time he was rambling anxiously, filling the somber silence emanating from Max with the sound of his own voice and looking back on it now, if he was being honest with himself, he knew deep down why Max had brought him there, but more than anything, he could remember the feeling of his heart sinking within his chest when Max just cleared his throat and pensively spoke those first two words that changed his life in ways he had never considered Max capable of: "Carl... listen..."

Carl remembered how he just froze in place, staring at the man he loved more than life itself, reminding him how difficult and complicated things were getting at home and how something had to give and that for the time being he thought it best, to keep the peace, that maybe it would be best if Carl had his own place.

Recalling it all now, he would be hard-pressed to recollect a single day in his life that hit him harder than hearing Max try to explain why he was banishing him to a life of isolation and solitude.

Of course, Max tried to assure him that wasn't the case, even though he expressed no such sentiment to him verbally, guessing, even then, Max was saying so out of some sense of guilt over breaking his word to him about them always being together and now doing just that.

Max would never admit that that was what he was effectively doing, all the while falsely promising him that they would still spend as much time together as they always had and assuring him that nothing was really changing between them and the biggest lie of all, that it was only temporary.

Sure, Max did drop by rather frequently at first to keep up the illusion, but that didn't last long, mostly ending by the time Michael was born, and though Max always insisted he take part in whatever Holiday celebrations they observed and though he never completely stopped dropping by now and then for a quick fuck, not one time in the ten years of marriage after that, did he ever spend the night with him again, not until Monaca abandoned him and the boys.

Carl shook his head in consternation, doing his best to clear the ghosts of his past from his mind and wondering once again why Max had made the recent concessions he had made toward their relationship, even practically moving him back in with him and the boys, to only undermine it all with his current actions.

Try as he might he couldn't reconcile Max's behavior the last couple of days, culminating in his actions tonight with how he was treating him just last week.

Thinking back to Sunday, when he first noted Elizabeth Dunnes attraction to Max and knowing that Max could sense it too, he had thought at first Max was merely flattered, Elizabeth was an attractive woman, even though she was at least two years older than either he or Max.

But what had confounded Carl the most was how Max left himself open to it, even letting her casually flirt with him more and more over the last few days, to lean on him and occupy more and more of his time as he tried to help her reconcile with her son Jason and even worse, Max's own growing arousal the more she seemed to depend on him as her emotional crutch.

From its inception, Carl reassured himself that this was just part of who Max was, his instinct to help those in need, to bolster them until they could walk on their own, as he had done for Brock and Timmy.

Maybe it was just the fact that she was a woman and in many ways was comparable in his mind with Monaca and he had kept reminding himself that she wasn't the same and even though it was apparent Max was enjoying the time he spent helping her, it hardly explained his growing arousal and his cavalier, and somewhat dismissive behavior when Carl tried to discuss it with him, often just waving off his concerns as if it was just an overreaction on Carl's part, that is until tonight.

It was roughly about ten o'clock Thursday evening and Carl thought it best they all call it a night, mostly out of concern for JD, who was spending his nights sleeping on the large leather couch in the cabins main room so that Liz could have privacy up in the only other sleeping space in the loft opposite to the one he and Max slept in.

JD had been yawning for almost half an hour as both Max and Elizabeth continued to chat away, huddled together on the couch, Max doing what he had been doing for the last four days, reassuring her about her son's emotional state and how to best move forward with Marshal and Merrick Griffen's help.

Carl watched as she beamed when Max praised Jason's recent performances with the unit and how Max ate up her gushing, eye batting appraisals of his insightful understanding and compassion, until he had had enough for one night and pointed out how tired JD must be after a long day of training and how much they still had to do the next day to get everything set up for Billy's ceremony and birthday celebration.

Max had agreed, though albeit reluctantly, and they all bid their good-nights and shuffled off to their respective beds for the evening, allowing JD to stretch out and quickly fall fast asleep before he and Max had barely made it to the loft.

Carl eschewed any thought of deliberating his observations and concerns over the way Max was handling Elizabeth's emotional state and her growing admiration and growing arousal, choosing instead to just keep those thoughts to himself for now, as he cuddled up to Max and allowing his concerns to drift away as they both quietly succumbed to slumber.
But Carl's sleep had become troubled, as his dreams grew restless and finally forcing him to awake abruptly.

He quickly noted Max's absence from their bed causing Carl to reach for his phone to check the time. Eleven thirty-two PM.

He'd only been asleep for about ninety minutes and he began scanning the loft for Max, as he sat up in the kingsized bed they slept in, his thoughts growing increasingly troubled and concerned.

It was then he heard the faint hushed whispers wafting from across the cabin from the loft on the other side of the cabin and Carl focused his attention in that direction as he slowly slipped from the mattress to stand at the foot of their bed and the few feet that separated the bed from the edge of the loft.

Being of the Heritage afforded them certain benefits, one of them being superior night vision and though it was very dark within the cabin at night, he could still make out the shape of Max's broad back as he sat sideways on the twin bed Elizabeth Dunne was lying in, covered in the white top sheet that she clung to her chest as she lay their supine, talking in hushed tones with Max.

At first, Carl grew concerned that something had so upset Elizabeth that Max had risen to go comfort her and was even now trying to calm her as he had done multiple times that week, but as he stood there quietly watching them, he watched in dismay as Max leaned forward and the faint sounds of kissing made its way across the divided space between them.

In that instant, Carl had to clasp his hand over his mouth as he struggled not to gasp out loud from the surprise of what he had just witnessed, he felt his legs grow weak, lowering him almost subconsciously to a crouching position at the foot of their bed, unable to take his eyes off of them as her hands clasped the back of Max's head and the kissing sounds became more fervid.

He watched, as if in slow motion and in total disbelief as Max rose from the bed and dropped the sweat pants he must have slipped on and the outline of his massive erection came into view silhouetted by the faint moonlight coming from the window beside the bed.

Carl's mind raced with a myriad of conflicting emotions, from rage to crushing disappointment as he watched Elizabeth pull aside the sheet covering her body as Max straddled the bed to take his place between her spread legs. Carl noted as she slowly pulled the sheet back over them, up to Max's waist as he lowered his head once again to hers and resumed kissing as she raked her fingers across his broad back.

As the shock of the moment began to fade and anger began to subsume his consciousness, he searched the floor for his clothing and began gathering them as quietly as he could and as he pulled on his sweatshirt he continued to watch as Max began to slide down her body until his head was clearly positioned between her widespread legs.

He watched almost mesmerized as her hands clutched at his head and felt his stomach begin to churn as her moans grew more persistent and high pitched, thrusting her hips to and fro as the wet lapping sounds between her thighs grew louder.

Carl fumed at the sight and his rising anger finally freed him from the almost hypnotic compulsion to watch as the man he loved made a mockery of all the progress in their relationship he had thought they had made in the last few weeks.

It was the sound of his own rapidly beating heart that made the blood within his body surge making a building ringing in his ears as his blood pressure mounted in anger and emotional distress.

Carl quickly shuffled himself into his pants as he moved silently to the ladder steps that would allow him to descend to the ground floor of the cabin.

He turned to look at them one last time only to catch Max rise back up into her arms as barely concealed moans of passion escaped her lips as he drove his manhood into her.

The last sight Carl could bear, as his heart sank within his chest, was that of his lover's hips pistoning up and down as he thrust into her, his grunts a testimony to the shattered illusion of the growing bond Carl had felt they had been forging.

Anger and disappointment had motivated him to slip stealthily down the ladder and out the front door, promising himself that this was the last time Max would ever make a fool of him again.

Words he now repeated to himself as he found his way to the ceremonial grounds to stare up at the almost full moon as it waxed within the evening sky until a sharp rustling sound disturbed his contemplation coming from the entrance to the reliquary.

"Carl... is that you?" He heard his mentor's query, but Carl didn't respond.

For years Danal had repeatedly convinced him that Max loved him and that he did the things he did out of the need to help others, he had done it so many times that he even had Carl telling himself the same thing, time and again excusing Max's behavior as if it justified his actions.

At this moment though, Carl was in no mood for Danal's platitudes, he didn't need someone to champion Max's causes or paint him as just some jealous, possessive lover.

He didn't want to be talked down, reminded of all the things Max did include and share with him.

None of that mattered to him at the moment, his life felt as empty as the bed he had just left.

He knew Danal would penultimately remind him of his duty to Max and the shared cause they all fought for; Carl hadn't changed his mind about that, he was bound by the Heritage to Max, but unless he was going to order him to share his bed, from this moment on, Carl had no intention of debasing himself like that again, he had done it for nearly twenty years now and enough was enough. He would do his duty, complete his assignments and honor his agreements, but he was done pining after something Max kept repeatedly demonstrating he did not want or desire from him.

Without a word Carl turned away from Danal and ran into the woods, as far as he was concerned, it was all the joy he had left in this world, the only thing that never let him down, the joy of the moonlit run and the freedom it invoked in all those within the Heritage. Carl had spent too long away from the healing powers of the great woods, thinking Max, Danal and the worries of his life be damned, he was free now, unfettered and all he desired right now was to spend his first night of freedom doing the one thing that brought him joy, so he ran, ran as fast as he could and disappeared into the night, leaving only the ever-diminishing sound of his footsteps behind him.

Danal stood there dumbfounded, tugging worriedly at his ever-increasingly greying beard, murmuring to himself: "God Dammit Max, what have you done now?!"


                                                          Chapter Twenty Eight:

The morning light was just breaking over the hills of the Devil Dawg compound to find Carl McGregor walking down the path from the ceremonial grounds after spending the night running through the compounds forested grounds.  He had run until every muscle in his legs ached from the exertion, and then he ran some more, he ran to clear his head, and for the sheer joy of it, he ran until he felt free again or at least as free as he could be.

As he slowly lumbered back toward the main parking lot, his thoughts still lingered on the memories of his youth, and the life he had shared thus far alongside Max Donnelly.

All night long he had relived his past, weighing the good and the bad. He recalled their childhood together, where it all began, and how inseparable they quickly became, laughing, playing, and challenging each other, how their fathers teased them, dubbing them the dynamic troublesome duo and laughing at the memory, knowing how true that description had been.

There was no mischief they didn't get up to, no secret they didn't share, up to and including when they hit puberty when they both realized that they were more than just mere friends or brothers.

Carl remembered that warm, fateful summer day most of all, when they were just fourteen, and had snuck away avoiding their chores once again to go skinny dipping in the Flint river in their own private special place that they never shared with anyone else, and never spoke of except in code, and to each other.

He remembered in vivid detail how they had come out of the water and wrestled like they had done a thousand times before, ending as it almost always did, with Max on top of him pinning him down until Carl acknowledged his victory. But on that day it didn't end with Carl's submission, it ended when Max grew still, his full weight on top of him, their body's still wet from their swim, their chest heaving from the exertion of their physical struggle, and Max just lay there on top of him, staring down into his eyes as they panted for breath.

It was then that he felt Max's cock begin to grow and harden between them, and how that made his own response in kind.  As Max continued to lock eyes with him, and their mutual gaze burned into each other ending only when Max lowered his head until their foreheads touched, their noses rubbed together, and kissed him for the first time; their lips barely, and tentatively touching before their mouths tried to devour each other.

They did little more than kiss that day and touch each others body's in a way they had never done before, concluding in their mutual masturbation of each other, followed by even more kissing.

Carl remembered fondly how in subsequent days, and many near sleepless nights, they soon learned how to please each other in a number of different ways, and how that led to the growing feelings they had always shared, and spoke to each other in hushed whispers, swearing they would never let anything or anyone ever come between them.

For years that bond grew between them, until that dreadful night when Danal Cornelius showed up, not to instruct him as Marcus had told him, but to whisk him away, far from Max and the only home he had known since his own father's death during a training mission in 1997 when he was only fifteen years old and Marcus had taken him in, having promised Carl's father he would care for him should anything ever happen to him.

Carl had never known true loneliness until that day, and for four months he could do little more than pine for Max, and wonder what he had done that was so bad that Marcus would punish him like that.

He didn't know back then what Max went through, not until Danal told him a couple of weeks ago, almost on the very spot he was now walking.

He did remember however, the day Danal took him back, how elated, and overjoyed he was at the thought of finally being reunited with Max, and how his gaze sought for a mere glimpse of him when they arrived, and Danal escorted him into Marcus's study on the Donnelly estate, leaving him there alone with him after Marcus asked Danal to wait for him in the lounge.

He stood there almost trembling at the thought of being in his lover's arms, his mind subsumed with the desire to feel his touch, and the warmth of his body next to his own.

They were eighteen, both having been through their Heritage ceremony, Carl's more recent than Max's by almost three months; Carl knew who Max was, and what he had become and he could barely contain himself at the thought of what he could now come to be for Max, and he couldn't think of anything he wanted more than that... to be Max's mate, and to share the rest of his life with the man he loved more than life itself, but little did he know, that Marcus had other plans, and upon Danal's exit, he laid those plans out to him, presenting the short term future for his son, and revealing that the death of someone named Bannor Griffen had forced him to reconsider Max's future, and subsequently his own.

Almost overnight Max had become the only viable candidate as heir to the Southern Devil Dawg District, and Max needed to be prepared for that eventuality upon Marcus's retirement.

It was then that Marcus revealed some hard truths for Carl to take, first and foremost Max would be expected to join the Marines as all others who lead had done before him, and that just as importantly, Max would have to find, and select a woman to become his wife, and Max would have to sire the next generation of Donnelly's, a union that would hopefully produce an heir to replace Max when his time came.

Carl recalled how his heart sank with each new revelation from Marcus, concluding with Marcus taking his hand, and forcing him to look him eye to eye, his tone growing more gentle but still firm and resolute.

Marcus acknowledged Carl's feelings for Max but asked him to try and understand what was at stake, and to put what Max needed above his own wants and desires.

He explained what he believed about the Heritage, and how Max may hold the key to help so many in the future if he could just remain focused, that Max was potentially stronger than any leader he had ever known before, and that with Carl's co-operation, and help, Max could advance their cause further than any had ever done before.

It was on that day, Carl had made his vow to Marcus that he would do his best, that being the concession he had to make to be reunited with Max, thinking that at least he could always be there with him, that they could still be together, and even though he had to marry, and sire children of his own, there was nothing preventing Max from one day taking Carl as his mate, and if he was just patient enough and supportive of all that he needed to achieve, that he could eventually secure his place by Max's side, the only place he had ever wanted to be.

Carl had made that vow back then, secure in his heart that ultimately Max wanted the same thing he did, but as Carl entered the parking lot of the Devil Dawg compound, and after more than twenty years of hoping that one day Max would take him as his mate, Carl was now convinced that that day would never come and that though he had sworn to Marcus he would do his best to assist Max in achieving his goals to help those displaced within the Heritage, he had never vowed he would always share his bed.

As Carl made his way through the parking lot and approached the path to the cabin, he noticed Danal standing by the fire at the bivouac where Atticus, and his men had made their camp. Two young Marines busied themselves beside him, the wafting scent of bacon filling the air as they prepared breakfast for their unit.

Carl could feel Danal's eyes on him as he approached, he shot him a stern look as he took several steps toward him.

Danal stopped in his tracks, a solemn grimace contorting his face as he resumed his spot between the two Marines, but not taking his eyes off of Carl as he passed them by.

Within moments, Carl found himself on the front porch of the cabin, and while he hoped he could just slip in and complete his task without waking the occupants, his hand had no sooner twisted the doorknob than the strong smell of coffee filled his nostrils.

"So much for that idea" he murmured to himself as he opened the door and entered the main room of the cabin.

Instantly he saw them, Max and Elizabeth standing at the island in front of the kitchen, Liz on the far end, in what appeared to be a dressing gown, and Max behind it, fully dressed, sipping a cup of coffee.

"You must have gotten up really early, you were gone when I got up," Max stated, breaking the silence as Carl walked toward them, noticing that JD was still fast asleep on the couch in front of the fireplace.

"So were you when I got up at 11:30 last night." Carl retorted, his face purposefully expressionless, his voice calm and controlled.

Carl half expected his comment to garner at least some reaction from Max, but he didn't get one, instead, Max just gave him a casual, assessing glance and took another sip of his coffee; Elizabeth, however, did appear to become more agitated, pulling the top of her housecoat closer around her neck, as she began fidgeting with the cup in front of her, darting furtive glances at him before looking nervously aside as JD stirred and stretched on the couch.

"Perhaps I should go get dressed and leave you two to talk" Elizabeth murmured softly, glancing first at Max and then cautiously at Carl.

"Don't leave on my account..." Carl said simply, adding: "We're all adults here."

The look of guilt on Elizabeth's face was as apparent as Max's scent all over her as she looked nervously at Max for help or direction but getting neither.

Max was a stone wall, unreadable, his mannerisms casual, as he took yet another sip of his coffee before turning to Carl: "I told Liz you're fairly decent at whipping up a hearty breakfast, I can't speak for everyone, but I for one am fairly famished."

Having said that, Max's eyes leveled on Carl's locking stares with him as he expectantly awaited a response.

If Max was expecting any kind of emotional outburst from his not so subtle goading, he wasn't going to get one: "As I said we're all adults here, if you're hungry maybe Elizabeth could whip you both up something, I'm only here to collect a few things and make sure JD gets up and joins his brother and the others for breakfast back at the camp."

Carl didn't wait for a response from Max, he turned and moved toward JD, who was already making moves toward rousing himself: "Get it in gear sleepy head, I've got a lot to do today, and wrangling you for breakfast is first on the list."

JD grumbled slightly, sitting up on the couch rubbing the sleep from his eyes: "Okay Mom, I'm up!" he taunted as Carl reached over and rustled the hair on top of his head.

Carl watched as Elizabeth stepped away from the kitchen island and headed toward the steps of the loft across the room: "I'm actually not that hungry and I need to get down to the camp to check on Jason." she said as she scampered up the ladder steps to the loft.

When he was sure that JD was indeed fully awake and heading out the door toward the camp, Carl turned and climbed the step to the loft where he and Max had shared a bed.

As he gathered up his duffel bag and began carefully stuffing it with the clothing he had brought and put away in the dresser along with Max's, he noticed Max had joined him and now sat watching him from the foot of the bed.

"Going somewhere?" Max queried, both his manner and tonal inflection deliberately nonchalant.

Carl didn't look at him, instead, he continued to pack the last of his things neatly into the sack on top of the dresser before zipping it closed and hoisting it over his shoulder before turning to Max: "No, I'm not leaving just securing different sleeping arrangements."

Max just stared blankly back at him, responding a bit too blithely for Carl to take seriously: "Why would you do that, is there some problem I'm unaware of that you might want to discuss?"

Carl just shook his head and suppressed a laugh as he made his way toward the steps: "Nice one Max, you're a laugh riot..." Carl thought to leave it there, but quickly added as he began descending the stairs: "The only problem I've ever had, I just took care of."

He had expected to feel more as Max faded from his view and his feet hit the floor, but each step toward the exit of the cabin made him feel freer than he had ever felt before, and as he finally stood there, in the doorway, he turned back to take one more look around, he saw Max standing at the top of the ladder to the loft looking down on him, a somber expression on his face as Carl closed the door and made his way back toward the camp.

                                                                       *****

Danal Cornelious was furious with Max, he had suspected last night, when Carl showed up at the ceremonial grounds, and seeing the pain in his eyes before he veered off, and ran into the woods, that it had to have had something to do with Max, it always did.

His confirmation came by way of seeing Carl stomping away from the cabin that morning, after being there for only a short time, carrying his duffel bag, which Danal watched him dump in the back of his truck before joining Billy, JD, and the others for breakfast.

His immediate thought had been to pull Carl aside and discuss what was troubling him, but Carl repeatedly rebuked his efforts, informing him he had better things to do.

At the time, Danal didn't yet know the reason, but that final piece to the puzzle presented itself in the form of Elizabeth Dunne, as she joined her son for breakfast; Max's scent was all over her, she reeked of their intimacy.

He had noted how Max had been treating her, but he had convinced himself it was just Max supporting her and her son through an emotionally difficult time, but apparently, his assumptions were incorrect and for the life of him, he couldn't grasp why Max would do such a thing, especially with Carl so close at hand, but as he hurriedly made his way toward the cabin, he was determined to know why Max would so wantonly and willfully set out to hurt Carl, especially today of all days, when the fruition of all that they had labored for, now came down to the last few hours before they finally knew if what they suspected about Billy was true or not.

He has known Max his entire life, both man and boy, and he was never surer of anything in his entire life, than that of Max's love for Carl McGregor.

Danal didn't even bother to knock, entering the cabin with every intention of having it out with Max and finding him standing by the twin French doors to the far right side where the large table they usually sat around for a beer, cards, and conversation in the evenings, just staring out over the lake barely even taking note of Danal's presence: "I assume with an entrance like that, you have something you want to get off your chest Councilor?" Max queried, his voice soft, low, and distant, his eyes still focused across the still waters of the lake.

"Let's not play games Max, you know damn well why I'm here." Danal was in no mood to mince words or exchange pleasantries at the moment

Max turned to face him, walking around the table to take a seat on the large leather couch a few feet away in front of the fireplace, where he sat leaning forward with his forearms on his knees and his hands locked together as he thumped his two thumbs together: "How is Carl by the way?" he asked, his voice still sounding distant and methodical as his eyes remained cast down as if to stare a hole in the floor.

Danal huffed: "Surprisingly calm considering, or maybe he's just gotten so use to being disappointed by you, that he's become inured to it."

Danal wasn't done making his point though: "I'm sure it's not as easy as he's making it out to be since that woman still reeks of you and everyone back at the camp can smell it..." he paused for a second as he moved in front of the kitchen island to lean his ass against it as he continued to glower at Max before adding: "Then again, you still stink of her so I guess there is that to also help remind him and drive home whatever point you were trying to make with your little performance last night huh?"

Max's eyes shot up to meet Danal's in a dark scowl denoting his dislike of Danal's tone and choice of wording: "Be careful Councilor, I am not some child you have leave to scold at will."

Despite his show of bravado, Danal wasn't backing down: "Then stop acting like one and explain why you would do that to him!" He demanded, his eyes locked on Max's, his stance never wavering.

Max's eyes flashed for a second, an action denoting a momentary lack of self-control as he blurted gruffly: "You tread on thin ice Councilor, my reasons are my own, I am not answerable to you!"

Danal leaned forward slightly, a sardonic grin spreading across his face: "So there is a reason then and not just you lusting after the mother of your youngest son's playmate!"

Max leaned back on the couch, his scowl dissipating as he fought to regain his composure: "I did what I had to do, just like always." he murmured, his vision going distant again, like someone recalling past transgressions.

Danal didn't know if he meant to or not, but he just picked up on something he hadn't considered before or had ever heard Max admit too: "What do you mean by just like always?" he asked, his synapses firing now in full force, more determined than ever to get to the bottom of all this drama, once and for all.

Max just grew silent, his face expressionless and unreadable, which only confirmed to Danal that he was hiding something and judging by the sheer amount of times he had had to help Carl come to terms with something Max had done to upset him over the years, he was beginning to see a pattern to it all.

"Well..."Danal stated, as he turned and made his way back toward the door, feeling Max's eyes glued to him as he traversed the short distance: "If you're not going to answer that question maybe I'm just asking the wrong person, maybe Carl has the answers I seek."

Danal opened the door and moved to exit when he heard Max's faint "Don't."

That one word contained more emotion than he had heard from Max in a very long time, its timbre forlorn and somber all at the same time and as Danal turned back to face him, shutting the door behind him, he could see the effect of its utterance had on him; his shoulder was now sagging, his head hung and he looked like a man who bore the weight of the world upon his shoulders.

"Please Danal, I'm asking you to drop this, if not for me, then for Carl," Max muttered, his voice thick and almost pleading, barely making eye contact.

"No Max, I can't, this has been going on for far too long, and time and time again you have left me to pick up the pieces and talk Carl down, but this time..." Danal paused, crossing the distance between then to take a seat beside him: "I can't fix this one Max, he has completely shut me out."

Max turned to stare at him: "Don't you get it?" He stammered: "I don't want you to fix it!"

Danal couldn't believe what he was hearing, didn't he understand what he was saying, that if he didn't take action now, he could lose Carl for good this time.

"You can't possibly mean that Max, this isn't you, it doesn't even sound like you, if I didn't know better I would swear I was talking to your fa..."

A light suddenly went off in Danal's head, while his mind raced backward in time, reliving the pivotal events of both Max's and Carl's lives together and a repeating pattern began to take form and come together like pieces to a puzzle, all the way back to the day Marcus called him and told him to bring Carl back, that he had changed his mind and decided to let the two of them see each other again.

He remembered how odd he thought that Marcus would change his mind so abruptly, after months of keeping them apart, even going as far as to sedate and chain Max to keep him from finding Carl, only to suddenly relent, out of the blue, or was it?

He looked at Max with newly formed insight, he now saw what had been long kept from him and worse, he had failed to notice, because he was so relieved for both Max and Carl he couldn't see the forest for all the trees.

"Oh Max you poor bastard, what the hell did Marcus make you promise?!"

Max didn't even look at him, he just sat there shaking his head back and forth: "It doesn't matter, he was right, my love for Carl makes me weak."

Hearing those words come from Max's mouth infuriated Danal, not only at Max, but most of all at his father Marcus for putting them in his head in the first place.

"How can you say that let alone believe it after all this time?" It was Danal that was pleading this time, trying to appeal to Max's sense of reason.

Max shot to his feet, his face contorted in anger: "I'll tell you how Danal, let me count the ways shall I?!"

"Carl knew I had to take a wife, I had to honor the Codex and my father by producing an heir, after Bannor's death it left me no option but to fill the void his death left for our district..." Max began to pace back and forth as he laid it all bare: "And the entire time I dated and sought Monaca's hand in marriage, doing what I had to do, there was Carl, sad and forlorn, his distress a constant reminder of how he felt I was betraying him."

Danal watched him ramble on, reliving the day of his marriage and Carl spending the entire day looking like a jilted bride.

Max let it all out, from how hard he had tried to make both Carl and Monaca happy, only to end in him feeling like he had failed them both until it got even worse after Monaca got pregnant, that he was forced to move Carl out just to maintain some semblance of peace and failing at even that,

He explained how miserable he felt every time he went to see Carl or tried to spend any time alone with him, it became nothing more than a constant reminder of how much he was hurting and failing him.

Danal stopped him, having heard this all before and knowing that there was one thing he could have done that would have put Carl at ease, would have made the time more bearable for both him and Max and Danal began to see it all clearly now, growing ever more certain with each passing moment what Marcus had made Max promise him before he would allow the two of them to be together again and the thought of it made him so furious he couldn't bear not knowing if it were true or not, wishing more than anything that Marcus couldn't have been so cruel: "Marcus made you promise not to take Carl as your mate didn't he?"

The words came out softly, but their impact was almost like a physical blow to Max as he dropped back onto the couch covering his face with his hands before letting them drop to his lap with a sigh of resignation: "When we were in Europe, right before Carl and I joined the Marine Corps, my father went to see an old gypsy seer who told him many things, all of which came true, all but one, that his son's seed would produce a leader that would surpass the Progenitor and unite the Heritage as no other had ever done before."

That wasn't all, Max added as Danal looked at him quizzically: "The seer said to make that happen, I had to walk the path of the Heritage alone until I saw him through his own Heritage or it would never happen and any person who I took to walk my path with me would most assuredly die that night along with him."

Max turned to lock eyes with Danal, his face a dower grimace, full of purpose: "That's why I never took Carl to be my mate and it's why he can't stand with me tonight as Billy comes into his Heritage."

                                                                                 *****

"I don't think there's a single part of me that doesn't ache right now." Gavin Hollis moaned as he attempted to squat down on the log next to Billy Donnelly, who just smiled sympathetically at the dusty-haired youth.

"By the way, Happy Birthday dude!" Gavin added, handing Billy a small gift-wrapped package no bigger than the palm of his hand.

"Thanks, little buddy" Billy beamed back at him, the broad grin on his face, dimpling his cheeks, making Billy look even more adorable to Gavin than he normally did.

Billy ripped the gift-wrapped package open and pulled the lid off the small white box, pouring its contents into his left hand, then lifted up the strand of macramé and beaded crystals to look at it quizzically.

Gavin took it from him and grabbed his right wrist, and after opening the small metal clasp on the one end, secured it around Billy's right wrist: "this doesn't mean we're going steady or anything like that.." Gavin paused to look into Billy's eyes, giving him a playful wink: "It's a friendship bracelet and just my small little way of saying thanks for ...well... just being a friend when I needed one."

Billy held his wrist up to look at it in closer detail as Gavin explained the color of the three green crystals: "The green beads represent Alexandrite which is your birthstone color, I could have chosen pearls, but somehow I didn't think that suited you as much."

"No, you're right, this is perfect Gavin, thanks" Billy chuffed, throwing his left arm around Gavin's shoulders, pulling him in for a quick hug, when his phone, that was sitting next to him, dinged with a message alert.

Billy picked it up, wondering who would be messaging him this early until he saw who it was from, his face practically exploding with the width and breadth of the toothy smile that permeated his facial expressions as he hit play on the video file just sent to him.

Instantly Baxter and his mom's image appeared on his screen holding a cupcake with a single lit candle as they began singing Happy Birthday to him, concluding with Baxter's smiling face, telling him he really missed him before frowning and saying how sorry he was that he couldn't be there with him on his Birthday, but was looking forward to seeing him later that weekend when he and his mom got back home: "See'ya when I see'ya bro...later's" the message concluded, going blank.

It was a few seconds before Billy realized it was over, staring almost absentmindedly at the now dark screen and it wasn't until that moment that he suddenly remembered how much he really missed his lifelong best friend and now wishing more than anything else, that he could be there with him right now.

As he felt a familiar arm go around his shoulder, he turned his head to look directly into the bright green eyes of his Uncle Carl: "You really miss him don't you?" Carl murmured softly to him and Billy just bowing his head and nodding slowly in agreement.

"It's okay to admit that you know, I'm betting he'd love to hear that you missed him as much as he obviously misses you." He added, patting Billy's back and shooting him a half-grin, before turning away to leave Billy alone with his thoughts for a moment.

The rest of the morning went pretty much like that, with plenty of birthday best wishes and playful quips and jabs from his brother, Jake, and Jason and even a very wet smooch on the cheek from Timmy that made him blush several shades of red.

Through it all, he noticed the absence of two people, his Dad, and Danal, the latter of which, finally making an appearance later that morning, right after Atticus had announced that Max had suspended the usual training for the day in celebration of the occasion, to the cheers of everyone in the camp.

Shortly after joining them, Danal had made his way over to him, adding his best wishes amongst the many others that morning, before imparting to him that his Dad had instructed him to tell Billy to come and meet with him right after breakfast.

It wasn't long after that, Billy found himself at the front door of the cabin with a small degree of timidity and hesitation.

Usually, his birthday mornings consisted of his brothers, Baxter and his Dad enjoying a large waffle breakfast served with strawberries and whipped cream with a side of sausage (Billy's favorite breakfast) prepared by his uncle Carl, followed by a day of family fun usually consisting of swimming and canoeing at the compound.

This break in tradition seemed more than a bit out of place and a little unexpected as Billy opened the door and entered the cabin while announcing his arrival.
"Over here kiddo" he heard his father say as he emerged from the kitchen, holding a cup of coffee.

Billy smiled, wishing his Dad good morning and being slightly surprised when his Dad set down his coffee and embraced him heartily, hugging him close.

Though his Dad was not prone to such displays of affection, Billy didn't feel it that out of place considering the circumstances and just hugged his father back, enjoying the warm comfort his embrace offered.

"Danal said you wanted to speak to me?" Billy said as they separated from their hug, his Father doing what he usually did, ruffling his hair and stroking the back of his neck before responding: "I did indeed kiddo, we have a few things we need to discuss before the ceremony tonight."

Billy noted the dichotomy of the warm, visually apparent smile and lightheartedness of his tone, but noting that underlying it was this almost somber otherness to his demeanor, which seemed to denote to Billy that there was something he was trying to suppress, something that troubled him.

"Is there something wrong Dad?" Billy asked timidly, wondering whether he was reading more into the situation than was actually there, but every one of his senses telling him there was.

His Dad just gave him a fainthearted smile: "There's nothing that should concern you son, today is a day of celebration and I just wanted to kick it off with telling you how proud I am of you."

Billy didn't know whether it was the fact his Father had then leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead, something he hadn't done since the days from his early youth when he would tuck him in bed at night or the fact he could smell the familiar scent of Elizabeth Dunne underlying the coffee on his fathers breath, but the feeling that he was missing something, nagged at his consciousness.

Before he could summon the courage to query his Dad further about it, Max turned away from him and pointed to the island countertop: "I have a couple of gifts for you, to help mark the occasion." His Dad smiled again, as Billy's eyes traced the direction his hand indicated.

Walking over to the counter and picking up the large set of keys sitting there, and recognizing that it was his Fathers key ring that held the keys to both the trailer and his truck, Billy turned a questioning eye back at his Father, Max's smile broadened before declaring: "That's right, those were my keys, now they're yours."

Billy's questioning grimace spurred his Dad to explain further: "You're eighteen, a young man and this is my way of recognizing that."
Billy's speechlessness seemed to amuse his Dad, as he clapped his arm around his shoulder, hugging him close again as he explained further: "The trailer and the truck are yours, and while I will continue to pay the insurance on both and the utilities on the trailer, I do so under the provision that you use them responsibly and you keep your grades up until you graduate."

As the weight of what his Father was saying sank in, questions formulated in his head: "What about you and JD will you still be there too?"

He could feel his Fathers hand on the small of his back urging him toward the cabin door as he spoke: "Don't worry about JD and me, I've made other arrangements, you'll be on your own at the trailer."

As his father opened the cabin door and gently pushed him over the threshold: "Take it for what it is kiddo, independence, responsibility, and a start on a future you can shape for yourself."

Before closing the door on him, his Dad issued two instructions to him, one was to relax and enjoy the day and the second was to meet him back at the cabin at eight PM and to come alone.

He didn't explain further and by the urgency of his dismissal, Billy didn't get the chance to question his Father any further and as he walked away testing the weight of the keys in his hand before shoving them into the pocket of his board shorts, he couldn't help but wonder if the rest of the day was going to go as strangely as his encounter with his Dad just had.

The rest of the morning went pretty much as Billy expected. He watched as Carl and Atticus orchestrated and supervised the group into building four large fires near the bivouac, setting up spits over the hot coals with four large pigs skewered upon them.

Billy still wondered why they would possibly need that much meat for his birthday meal until roughly about noon, as vehicles began to arrive, more times than not, loaded with men he didn't know or had only met in passing over the course of his lifetime.

There were familiar faces as well, none more so than the elderly, white-haired Corwin Lakatos and his son Paul Lakatos, who was accompanied by a smarmy looking, hawk-nosed Cajun sounding man named Remy Deveaux and a mountain of a man whose size and musculature rivaled that of Jake Bauers. named Dalton Becker.

Billy, Gavin, Jason, and JD took a lot of jovial pleasure watching Timmy Anderson as he walked up to the sandy-haired Becker until he stood mere inches in front of him, before looking straight up into his questioning eyes and cooed: "Whoa, your a big boy" and began flirting outrageously with the stolid, mostly expressionless giant, who after an hour or so of that, began to look more and more like a cornered animal looking desperately for a way to escape.

Billy and the others also couldn't help but notice how the tension mounted upon their arrival, most notably coming from the furtive and often hostile glances of Carl, Atticus, Danal, Marshal, and Merrick Griffen.

But the best surprise of all for Billy, came around about one o'clock PM when a white Jeep Wrangler pulled into the already half-full parking lot and his brother Mike and his best friend, and Jake's older brother Kent got out, dressed to the nines in their dress "D" Marine Corps uniforms.

It had been a little over two years since the last time they had physically seen each other and both Billy and JD were beside themselves with excitement at their elder sibling's arrival.

Both Mike and Kent had filled out considerably since the last time they had seen them, their uniforms tight with the rippling muscles barely contained beneath the fabric of their uniforms.

Mike, of course, looked more handsome than ever, his high cheekbones and squared jawline framing his near-perfect pug like nose and full pouty lips, spreading jovially to reveal his bright flawless white teeth upon laying eyes on his younger brothers, his arms spread wide to encircle them as they both ran into his arms to hug him close.

Billy couldn't help noticing, in his peripheral vision, a similar response by Jake and Kent, with the exception of Jake lifting his smaller but older brother off his feet and swinging him in the air as he nearly squeezed the breath out of him in his exuberance.

As all five of them slowly and reluctantly disentangled themselves, they quickly fell into their old normal habit of exchanging barbs and digs in joyful brotherly banter.

"I can't get over how much you've grown Runt." Mike mused to Billy as he walked arm over shoulders between his two siblings as they headed toward the bivouac to join all the others gathered there, Billy anxiously wanting to introduce his older brother to his friends and comrades: "You to Pip" he added mussing JD's hair; pip being short for pipsqueak and the pet name he had often used to refer to his youngest sibling, a nickname JD had always taken exception to but didn't seem to mind at the moment as his broad grin and hearty laughter attested too.

The only break in their otherwise genial reunion came by way of Carl and Danal, both only offering the slightest of nods in Mike's direction as they approached the bivouac arm and arm and Mike rather tartly acknowledging their presence with a somber nod of his own as the pair glowered back at him as he passed them by to meet Billy and JD's friends and comrades.

Billy caught the way Danal's nose sniffed the air when they drew near and his stoic deadpan expression changed to a studious grimace laced with a rather daunting, steely-eyed glare at both Mike and Kent, noting how quickly Danal pivoted away from them and once again headed rather hurriedly toward the cabin.

Billy didn't have to guess the reason, he knew Danal was on his way to report to his Father of the latest arrivals and he began wondering if it had been a good idea on his part not to mention to his Dad that he had invited Mike and Kent to his birthday celebration and began to slightly dread not having done so and the possible ramifications, knowing full well the rift between his father and his oldest brother had still gone unresolved.

Carl thankfully kept his distance but was quickly joined by Hank Bauers and Billy silently observed the duo as they continually observed the two arrivals and talking in hushed whispers to each other, never taking their eyes off the pair.

It didn't escape either JD's or Jake's attention that Hank and Kent seemed to avoid one another, Jake merely grunting as a way of an acknowledgment as JD queried Jake about it, who offered no further explanation other than to shortly thereafter to pull away from the group to join his Father and Carl in what appeared to be a rather heated discussion, ending only in all three staring ominously at the duo.

As odd as Billy found their behavior to be toward his older brother, the real low point of the afternoon came a short while later when the raised, heated voices of Paul Lakatos and Marshal Griffen could be heard over the din of the more jovial banter of the crowd that had been ever-increasing in size as the afternoon wore on.

Corwin Lakatos, Paul's father seemed to ineffectually try to calm his ever-increasingly louder and hostile son as he railed against Marshal Griffen, who stood his ground defiantly putting himself between Paul and his grandson Jason and Jason's mother Elizabeth Dunne.

JD quickly maneuvered himself to stand by Jason's side in a show of support but remained cautiously and uncharacteristically calm as he attempted to assuage the building tension clearly visible behind Jason's eyes as Paul got louder and louder, railing menacingly about Jason's grandfather trying to defraud him from his rightful claim.

It all came to a head despite repeated attempts by Paul's father to calm him down, that Paul's actions went from beyond heated discussion to physical confrontation as he suddenly shoved Jason, who had, up to that point, merely stood there silently fuming, growing angrier by the moment, as Paul continued to spiral out of control.

It took Marshal, Merrick, Elizabeth, and JD wedging themselves between the two, to stop Jason from striking back at Paul, whose own father was pulling at his son's arm as he continued to rage at Marshal and Jason, and as if to make matters worse, Billy watched as Paul's two companions, pushed their way to Paul's side, past his father, in a show of force and support.

Just as it seemed the whole situation was about to erupt into uncontrolled violence and chaos, his father Max Donnelly's booming, growling voice could be heard above the myriad array of angry shouts and bellowing accusations: "SILENCE!" was all he said, but the impact of that command and the sheer force of will behind it, instantly centered everyone's attention on his ominous countenance.

From Billy's perspective, his Dad had never seemed more frightening than he did at that moment, everyone, including the Griffen's and the Lakatos's parted as he made his way between them, only to turn slightly to approach a glowering, red-faced Paul Lakatos.

As Billy observed, with bated breath, he saw the mountainous and near inhumanly muscular Dalton Becker step between his Father and Paul, his chest heaving as if he had just undergone some great physical exertion, his massive fist clenching and unclenching by his side, his head slightly bowed as the iris's of his eyes burned like two golden brown flames beneath his heavy, twitching eyelids.

Undaunted, his Father moved inexorably to a position directly in front of the towering six-foot-eight giant, before lifting his head slowly to stare point-blank into the young, brutish-looking Marines glowing eyes.

An all-consuming hush fell over the entire compound and everyone in it, everyone's gaze transfixed completely and solely on Max as he squared off against the lumbering giant standing between him and Paul Lakatos. He didn't speak a word, but as the air around Billy grew denser with the mounting waves of force emanating from his Father, Billy watched the beads of sweat that rapidly formed on Dalton's brow and began to drip in rivulets down his face.

Slowly, as the pressure continued to build between the two men, Billy stood in open-mouthed aw as Dalton's gaze lowered, and his body began to shake and tremble nervously.

For the first time in his entire life, Billy knew what fear smelled like as the massive Marine dropped to his knees at his father's feet, his body quaking, his arms slowly moving backward leaving his torso open as his head slung upward, turning sideways until his neck was fully exposed, the fire in his eyes now extinguished as everyone silently held their breath in trepidation of Max's next move.

"I think you owe my guest an apology..." Max's calm, deep voice began as his gaze snapped directly to the man standing directly behind the kneeling Marine in front of him, leveling full force on Paul Lakatos's glowering visage.

For a split second, there was something deep within Billy that made the corner of his lips curl into a smile as he found himself almost wishing the handsome, strawberry blond man he knew as Paul Lakatos would say or do the one thing that moved his Father to action, Billy's senses reeled in elation at the foregone conclusion of such an act of defiance, but instead, his heart sank when Paul suddenly bowed his head slightly: "Of course Max, I offer my apologies to the guest of honor." Paul's voice a far more controlled, and sedate baritone now flowing like molasses from his ample lips: "Now is not the time and place for such discussions which can wait until the festivities are concluded."

Billy felt Paul's gaze fall upon him, as he spoke and Billy responded by ignoring him completely, his own eyes now glued to his Father, who stared somberly back at him for a second before raising his arms, a stoic grin spreading across his face: "Then let the celebration continue by giving my son William a few rounds of Devil Dawg cheers."

Billy's face flushed with embarrassment as almost everyone in the compound, both people he knew and the ones he didn't, chanted several oorahs in his direction, concluding with his brother Mike throwing his arm around his shoulder and slapping him on the chest with his free hand: "Looks like the ol' man got at least one thing right don't it Runt?" Mike chuckled, but Billy detected more behind his brothers smile and sudden bravado, he couldn't quite put his finger on it, but for the first time in his life he found himself suddenly having questioning thoughts about his brother's real intentions, wondering if maybe he was here for more than just a show of support for his eighteenth birthday celebration, but just as quickly suppressing those thoughts as JD and the others joined them again, laughing, smiling as the previous jocular banter subsumed his troubled thoughts.

As the rest of the afternoon faded into the early evening hours, and more and more people arrived, Billy grew slightly more nervous, wondering why so many people, most of whom he barely knew or didn't know at all, would be so interested in his birthday and this Heritage ceremony his Dad, Danal and Carl had told him about.

He knew it was a rite of passage all the men in his family, dating back untold generations, underwent on their eighteenth birthday, but he had never truly understood the scope and magnitude of the event until now.

The parking lot had filled well before early afternoon with vehicles and each of those vehicles came loaded with men as varied in age as they were in size; noting most, if not all currently had some sort of military background or had served in the military in some capacity or another, but what was really strange to him, they all seemed to know who he was and each and every one of them greeted both him and his Father with deference and reverent respect, all of which, Billy tried to take in stride.

As the sun began to dip below the hilltops and the large crowd had almost completely decimated the four roasted pigs and the various other foods provided, his uncle Hank and a couple of Atticus's men rolled out a few kegs, and the beer began to flow like water to the hundred-plus men attending the festivities.

Gavin and Billy made their way toward the closest of the kegs hoping to at least get one or two cups for themselves, but were stopped by Carl: "Hold up guys..." he stated flatly, gripping Billy by his right shoulder: "Gavin, you can have one cup, but I'm afraid you Mr. Donnelly must remain completely sober, at least until after your ceremony." Carl winked at him and pushed an envelope into his hand: "This is for you, I know what Max gave you so I thought I'd give you something that would complement his gifts."

Billy opened the envelope as Gavin veered off to get him a beer and to let him and Carl have a moment alone.

Inside the envelope, Billy found a rather lighthearted but sentimental birthday card acknowledging his eighteenth birthday, but inside that, he found a debit card.

The questioning look on his face motivated Carl to explain: "The card is for your use only, and to be used for essential items like food and gas, but only for as long as you go to school and keep your grade point average up."

The generosity of the gift nearly brought Billy to tears as he threw his arms around him and hugged him close, promising he wouldn't use it for anything else unless he got permission first.

It was about that time, as he and Carl continued to discuss the day's events that Gavin and Danal approached them, Gavin's hands carrying two cups full of beer, one he kept for himself and the other he handed to Carl.

"The hour is approaching that we must all make our way to the ceremonial grounds to begin the rituals for your passage from boyhood into the Heritage young William," Danal said, the tone of his voice serious and official but his facial expressions ones that Billy could only best describe as joyful and contented.

Those expressions changed as he turned to Carl and Gavin, taking on a more somber appearance as he addressed them: "Carl, I know it was your wish to attend William during the ceremony..." Danal paused, his hand coming up to grip his shoulder reassuringly, a pensive look permeating his visage: "But Max has decided you will stay at the cabin to guard over JD, Jason, Gavin, Timmy, Brock, and Elizabeth and that Atticus will stand in your stead."

The look in Danal's eyes denoted his reluctance at being the bearer of that news and even Billy could see the way he steeled himself for Carl's response.

Billy could feel the tension build between the two as Carl just stared at him, his face an unreadable mask, but the sudden wetness in his eyes belied otherwise.

Though he didn't fully understand the situation that now played out before him, Billy had always expected that Carl would be there at his Heritage ceremony, that other than his own Father, the man that he had grown to feel as much a part of his family as anyone else, was now, for some reason, being excluded in participating.

Billy was just about to object and intercede on his behalf when Carl suddenly did an about-face, and without a word, walked away from Danal, ordering Gavin to follow as he did so.

Billy could only shrug as Gavin shot him a questioning look before shrugging his own shoulders, and jaunted away to catch up to Carl.

"Why would my Dad do that to him?!" Billy demanded, turning to face Danal head-on, his mood suddenly shifting from the ethereal and lighthearted to agitated and slightly perturbed.

"A question best asked by yourself while you now go join him back at the cabin where he awaits you to prepare you for your ceremony," Danal responded flatly, as his hand shifted from his shoulder to Billy's back as he nudged him in the direction of the cabin.
Billy shot Danal a stern look back over his shoulder as he marched purposefully toward the cabin, noting to himself as he drew nearer, that his father had been acting rather strangely all week, roughly about the same time Jason and his mother had made an appearance in their lives; he had kept his mouth shut about it, deciding it best to keep the peace between him and his younger brother, but it also didn't go unnoticed by Gavin and himself the amount of time and attention he was giving the two.

He still didn't fully understand the full nature of the relationship between Carl and his Dad but knew enough to know that it was more than them just being best friends. Whatever was going on, it was more than obvious it was coming between the two of them, even his brother Mike had noted how the two seemed to be avoiding each other all day and making several snide comments about it.

As he made his way to the cabin and opened the door, Billy had decided he would discuss it with his Dad, at the very least to determine the reason why his father didn't want Carl at his ceremony, or at least a better one than Danal had given him.

Though it was only roughly a little after eight in the evening, it had grown dark enough that the cabin was all lit up with the soft glow of the oil lamps mounted in various spots on the wall all over the large main room.
Billy looked around for his Dad before noticing that one of the twin french doors was open to the back deck of the cabin. Billy approached cautiously to peer out the open door where he found his father leaning butt ass naked over one of the railings on either side of the open area that led down the steps to the stone path that went to the small dock and shore behind the cabin.

Before Billy could even speak, and without so much as looking in his direction, he heard his Dad's deep, calm voice: "Get undressed Kiddo and meet me down by the lake."

Billy stood there in the doorway for a minute, watching as his Dad walked down the path into the twilight, to the sounds of crickets and bullfrogs everywhere.

Silently muttering under his breath, knocking himself for not seizing the moment, Billy quickly stripped off his t-shirt, shorts, shoes, and socks and followed in his Fathers footsteps down the path to the lake.

Once at the shoreline, Billy found his Dad already waist-deep in the cool dark waters, motioning for him to join him with one hand as he held a small bottle in the other.

Obediently, Billy waded into the water until he stood a foot or two away from him to stare his Father in the eyes, his lips already poised to ask the questions that he sought answers to that were foremost on his mind, only to have his Dad bring a finger up to his lips to silence him: "There will be time for questions later William." his Dad said as his hands grasped either side of his shoulders to twist him around until his back was to him: "Lean back into my arms son and close your eyes"

The soothing sound of his father's voice filled him with a sense of solemn trust as he did as instructed, sensing that this was all part of his Heritage ceremony and whatever questions he had had, could wait until later to ask.

Billy felt the strong grip of his father's hands and the strength of his arms lower him into the cool crystal clear water until he was fully submerged.

His Dad held him there for a few seconds before raising him back up and motioning for him to move toward the shoreline until they both stood fully naked and exposed to each other as the shallow shoreline waters licked at their ankles in gentle rhythmic waves.

He watched as his father flipped the top to the small bottle in his hand and began pouring the contents out onto Billy's skin, both front and back, making his skin tingle as the milky, syrup-like gelatinous liquid slowly dripped down his body, Billy noting how the viscous liquid smelled like his Father.

His Dad's rough callused hands began massaging the goop into his back as he spread it out in ever-widening circles to encompass every square inch of his back and waistline, until he knelt to do the same to the back of his thighs and calves, ending up right below his buttocks before his strong thick fingers began to grope and massage the twin muscular mounds.

Without a word, his Dad stood and flipped him around and began doing the same to his front, following the same procedure until his hands stroked the tops of his thighs right next to his cock and balls.

Billy had never been one for being self-conscious about being naked in front of others and he had seen his Dad naked many times before this, he had even wrestled naked with his brothers, Baxter, Carl, and even his Dad while growing up, but this time it felt different, his father's hands on him, gliding over his skin, smearing the lotion like substance over every square inch of his body began to illicit a response he had never thought himself capable of during any of those other times...his cock began to erect.

Even though he felt slightly embarrassed at its sudden, slow but steady growth as his father's large hands began to stroke in small circles around his lower abs and over the protruding cheeks of his muscular bubble butt, at no time did he feel it was a sexual thing that was now transpiring between them, even when his father moved beside him to stroke both his front and back simultaneously, not even as he felt his father's thick digits slip between his butt cheeks and the tip of his index finger swirled against his virgin pucker nor when his other hand slipped through his pubic bush to firmly grasp the base of his now rigid cock, did he have a single sexual thought toward his father or the situation.

It wasn't until he slipped behind him, his powerful, strong arms completely encircling him, pulling him tightly against his own hairy torso as one hand firmly gripped the base of his swollen cock and the other cupped, then clasp his large testicles in his other hand, pulling them down tightly in his grasp as he tugged them gently and began stroking his cock, that he felt the raw sexual energy surge within him.

Billy could feel his father's warm breath on his neck as he whispered softly in his ear: "Let it go, son, give into it, show me how my boy has now become a man..."

His father's grip grew tighter around his cock, his grip on his balls tugged harder as he pumped his phallus faster and faster until Billy didn't know where his father's hand ended and his cock began, the two seemed to become one as the ever-mounting pressure in his balls began to scream for release.

Billy melted into his father's warm furry body, the stench of sex, sweat, and masculine musk assailed his nostrils adding to the ever-increasing flood boiling in his nutsack.

He couldn't fight it anymore, he didn't want to, his father's flailing fist was a pistoning blur on his turgid pole, his tight, bloated balls ached from the tight clutching grip of his father's jerking hand.

With a snarling primal howl from between his clenched bare teeth, Billy's cock erupted in a hail of spewing strands of seething molten cock snot, shooting eight to ten feet straight into the air, rope after thick rope of testicular juices shot upward into the dark evening sky to land unceremoniously across both of them, until they were both drenched in his thick, viscous manly juices.

Billy collapsed into his father's arms as his orgasm slowly subsided, his father's grip on his cock and balls released so his meaty, sticky hands and fingers could stroke his sons sweat and spunk drenched body: "I think we can safely say you pass the fertility portion of your ceremony" his Dad's thick voice chuckled softly in his ear as Billy struggled to catch his own breath.

He felt his father spin him slowly around to face him, their eyes locking together, a huge smile dominating his Dad's face: "Let's say we clean up and head back into the cabin for a while, we have a few minutes to kill before they are ready for us."

Billy could only nod his head in agreement as he continued to catch his breath and recover from what had just happened as they both dove into the water.

After a short time bathing in the lake, Billy found himself alone with his Dad for the second time that day in the cabin.

His Dad handed him a cold soda before he sat down sidesaddle on the large leather couch. They were both still naked and as Billy took a large pull from the ice-cold soda his father handed him, he watched as he now patted the open spot between his spread legs indicating Billy to take a seat between them.

At first, Billy bulked at the idea but remembered how he and his brothers, as kids, use to jockey for that sweet cuddle spot as the others would be left to sit on the floor waiting their turn to snuggle with their Dad.

As he sat down he felt his Dad's arms encircle him again and pull him back until he lay there in the warm comfort of his father's embrace.

It had been years since his Dad had held him like this and he was surprised at how much he had missed it, the sense of security he had felt as a boy came rushing back to him as he relived those moments from his life as a boy growing up in the Donnelly household.

"You don't mind doing this do you?" He heard his Dad whisper as his arms hugged him slightly tighter.

Billy just sighed his contentment as a small grin spread across his face: "Good his Dad cooed, I just wanted one more cuddle with my little boy before he begins his final journey into becoming the man he was meant to be."

Billy chuckled: "I think that ship sailed a few years back Dad."

His father responded by mussing his hair, then stroking it gently: "No matter how big or old you get son, whenever I see you, there will always be that part of you that will always be my baby boy, you'll understand one day when you hold a son of your own in your arms for the first time."

Billy didn't know whether it was the moment or the culmination of the day's events but he felt as if he could not only hear the sincerity of the words his father spoke, but he could feel them through their skin to skin contact, his senses felt so expanded he swore he could even smell the veracity of his father's words and they moved him to ask the one question that had burned within him since he saw that forlorn look in Carl's eyes after being told he couldn't attend his ceremony, he knew not to question one of his decisions, that never turned out well, so he asked the one question, that he and his younger brother had been wondering for quite some time: "Dad, do you love Carl?"

He felt the sudden intake of air, heard it as it sucked through his teeth, felt it in the sudden tension that swept through his body. For a moment Billy didn't think he would answer, he even feared he had crossed a line he shouldn't have, but then his father bowed his head and kissed the top of his head and answered in only one word: "Always."

Like everything else that had transpired between them that night, every one of Billy's senses told him that what his Father had just said was the unmitigated and unassailable truth and while he didn't understand the current circumstances behind whatever troubles they were having at the moment, he was just as sure his Dad meant what he said with every fiber of his being.

It was for that reason and that alone, Billy decided to let it go, at least for now or until he had more of a reason to bring it up again.

For the next few minutes, they just lay there together in their own thoughts until his Dad urged him up, indicating it was time to go.

There was a loud knock at the cabin door and his Dad rushed to answer it, Carl stood there facing him: "It's time" was all he said as he stepped back, allowing Billy and his Dad to exit the cabin, never once looking either of them in the eye as he ushered JD and the others into the cabin and shut the door.

"Well, kiddo, the moment of truth is at hand..." His Dad said, throwing his arm around his shoulder as he guided them off the porch into the cool evening breeze, still naked as the day they were born: "Just remember one thing son..." he said with a look of pride subsuming his bright blue eyes: "No matter what happens tonight, I couldn't be any more proud of you than I am right now."

Billy smiled nervously back at his father: "Just one thing Dad, is this gonna hurt?"

Max smiled back at him, squeezing his shoulder tightly: "Like a son-of-a-bitch"

"Oh great" Billy groaned: "I was afraid of that."

His Dad chuckled, patting him on the back as they walked down the path together: "If it's any consolation, it's been ages since anyone's died from it."

Billy didn't know whether his Dad was joking or not and even less sure if he wanted to know the truth for certain, so he just allowed his Dad to lead him quietly down the path to the ceremonial grounds, lost in his own thoughts and wishing more than ever that Baxter was here with him right now, doing what he did best, making Billy feel like he could do anything with him by his side.

As they drew closer to the ceremonial grounds, Billy could see the bright flames of a huge bonfire through the dense foliage of the surrounding trees and underbrush, he knew it had to have been built in the center of the grounds amphitheater and was probably lighting the entire surroundings.

He could also begin to hear the low, guttural rumble of a rhythmic chant accentuated by grunts and a synchronized thumping sound. He could not make out the words to the repetitive chant but recognized it enough to know it was Latin, a language he had heard Danal, his Dad, and Carl use many times, and one Carl had assured him he would be learning after his Heritage ceremony.

When pressed for an explanation, Carl had finally ceded to acknowledge that those of the Heritage studied their long history through a book that was entirely written in Latin and passed down from generation to generation known only as the Codex; it was all Carl or his Dad would say about it, but this Codex was often the topic of great discussion amongst his Dad and his friends and one that held a great deal of mystery to both Billy, Baxter and his little brother JD.

It was apparent, from the way their father and his friends spoke of this book, that they didn't necessarily agree with everything in it.

Billy tried to push such thoughts from his mind as he and his father made the final turn in the winding stone path and the full scope of the amphitheater finally came into view; Billy found the sight mesmerizing.

Directly before them, at least fifty feet away, was a huge wood bonfire whose flames shot at least twenty feet into the air and whose flames cast an almost eerie orange glow on everything around it.

On either side of the paths ending, was the semi-circular, four-step stone amphitheater which faced juxtaposed to the large stone dais and the Reliquary. Around the stone step seats of the amphitheater, was a throng of men, numbering at least a hundred by Billy's calculations, each of them as naked as Billy and his father and all of them chanting, in a deep, droning and guttural monotone the words "In Bestia Dimittere" emphasizing each syllable with a resounding drumming thump of their chest with their right fist and forearms.

As Billy and his father stepped into the semicircle, all heads turned in their direction and Billy could feel all their eyes upon him as the sound of their chant increased and reverberated throughout the valley, amplified as the cacophonous din bounced off the hillside and boomed throughout the entire valley.

As they approached the steps of the dais, Billy looked up to see a now festooned Danal in all his Green father regalia; the antler headdress, the flowing leaf cape, the animal fur skinned loincloth, and the rams headed staff, which he thumped in cadence to the beat of the chant on the stone surface of the top tier of the dais, standing between the twin two-foot wide, four-sided stone obelisk which had flaming torches attached to both the front and the back, near the top of both.

Billy followed his father up the stone steps, his anticipation building as his imagination kicked into overdrive, fueling his expectations and driving him inexorably forward to meet his destiny.

He had thought, that when the moment arrived, he would feel more trepidation, imagined he would somehow break under the pressure due to nervousness, but now, as he mounted the last step of the dais and moved between the obelisk where his father indicated and turned to face the drumming, chanting throng, he didn't feel any of those things, there was no fear, or self-doubt, not even the slightest bit of embarrassment or angst, what he truly felt at that moment was a deep sense of pride, not for himself, but for the long line of Donnelly's who had stood here, just like himself, generation after generation, to do what he was going to do right now.

Billy took a moment to look around, first to the familiar faces of his Uncle Hank, Jake, and his team leader Atticus Walker and Danal, as they waited on either side of the stone obelisk, just in front of them, they nodded their heads in his direction as his eyes moved from each of them.

Head held high, Billy looked out over the sea of faces, trying to take in each and everyone, when he realized something and began earnestly scanning the droning crowd for the now-familiar faces of the men he had been training with all week, but not finding one of them amongst them.

He mentally conjured up their faces, from the stalwart and stoic Scott Taylor and the goofy, funny Austin Davis to the stolid and determined Rex Wilson and the grounded, down to Earth Texan Barin Young, but none of their faces were among those gathered.

Billy leaned his head toward his father, who was standing there beside him, and whispered: "Where are the Marines I've been training with Dad?"

His Dad cocked his head slightly and winked at him, giving him a lopsided half-grin: "They're doing what they were brought here to do son, what they've been training for, don't let it concern you."

Before Billy could respond, Danal moved to stand directly in front of him and asked if he was ready to claim his Heritage.

Billy just nodded his head yes, though the absence of his teammates still perplexed him.

Danal whipped around to face those gathered and raised his arms above his head, the ram-headed staff clasped in both hands.

Instantly the crowd grew silent, every pair of eyes now locked on Danal, the crackling sound of the bonfire flames and the warm summer evening sounds of crickets and croaking bullfrogs filled the still night air.

"Salve Fratres" Danal's voice boomed loudly across the valley.

"Salevete" echoed the response by all assembled.

Danal lowered his staff, gripping it in one hand throwing his arms wide, and shouted: "Et nos incipere Canem Diaboli?"

Billy knew he had just asked a question, but the only two words he recognized were Canem Diaboli, his Dad had that inscribed across the two swords that were affixed to the wall nearest the inside door of the cabin; as a kid, Carl had explained to him it was Latin for Devil Dog.

Softly at first, but steadily growing in volume, those gathered began chanting "In bestia dimittere" in response to Danal's query.

As Billy watched, Danal joined his Dad and the two of them stood directly in front of him, his Dad stepped forward, placing his large hands on his shoulder: "For this part son, we have to lock you in chains."

His father had no sooner said that than Atticus and Jake stepped to the side and produced a large chest, which they opened and withdrew large metal chains and a couple of pairs of cast iron metal clasp with a large metal ring affixed to the side and began threading the chains through them.

Billy's grimace must have given his Dad cause to add: "It's for your and our safety son, please don't resist."

He held his doubts at bay as he watched the duo carefully seal the metal ringed clasp to his wrist and ankles before threading them through the eyelet rings and stretching them to the four large cast iron rings on the inside surface of the twin obelisk.

Faster than he would have thought possible, Billy found himself splayed and stretched out, his legs slightly more than shoulder-width apart and his arms stretched tautly and slightly above his head height at a forty-five-degree angle and completely immobile, which he tested by gripping the large steel chains and pulling at them as hard as he could, testing their strength.

After he was secured Jake and Atticus took their respective places on either side of the obelisk, his father, Hank and Danal stood directly in front of him, about four feet back and facing toward him, their backs to the gathered crowd.

Danal stepped forward, first moving slightly to the side to retrieve an oblong metal box Billy estimated to be about six inches wide and twelve inches long, and roughly about four inches deep.

On top of the box was a pair of brown leather gloves, which Danal handed to his father, who slide them over his hands and moved with Danal to stand directly in front of him with barely two feet between them and Danal off to his Fathers side facing him instead of Billy, holding out the oblong box waiting patiently.

His Dad cleared his throat, his expression suddenly somber, his eyes sharp and alert as he looked into Billy's eyes: "There are no more words to be spoken William, what will be will be, but please understand this, I will always be your Father and I will always want what's best for you no matter what."

He didn't need to interpret his Dad's other senses, the look in his eyes said it all, and having heard his father's words, he held his chin up high, sighed, and gave his Dad a quick nod: "I'm ready when you are sir." was all he could think to say, after all, he didn't know what to expect next anyway, he just knew that after all this fuss, his Dad and all these others thought it to be important, so who was he to second guess: "Just go with the flow" he muttered to himself over and over, a phrase he had grown accustomed to hearing Baxter say to him whenever he felt overwhelmed by something and finding it now apropos in a cathartic way, that despite his absence by his side at the moment, he had still found a way to be here, at least in Billy's mind's eye, in vivid memory if not physically.

Billy looked out into the gathered crowd until he found his brother Mike and his friend Kent's faces; the somber, glowering expression on Mike's faded as he locked eyes with him, a faint smile dimpled his cheeks as he nodded his approval and gave him a thumbs up.

As an odd sense of calm settled within him at the memory of Baxter's stalwart smiling face, and his brother's apparent approval, Billy observed as Danal lifted the lid to the oblong metal box to reveal, what appeared to be a thick chained silver necklace with a three-inch circumference, medallion which appeared to also to be made of silver.

As his Dad reached over and carefully lifted the necklace by the chain out of the box, Billy could see how old the medallion looked; the surface had, what he was sure was once, intricate carvings on it, faded now with age and worn around the edges.

Billy couldn't make out the details of it, but it looked no thicker than a normal silver dollar but just bigger in size.

His Dad turned to face him again, their gaze locking once again as he lifted it over Billy's head and began lowering it around his neck.

As he did this, Billy could see the faint outline of the full moon, that had risen above the distant hills where they had trained all week, the moon was obscured by incoming clouds, and off beyond the hilltops, Billy could discern the flashes of distant lightning as the faint smell of rain hung in the slight breeze blowing against his fully exposed skin.

Billy's final thought, as his father let the deceptively heavy medallion fall to rest on his bare chest, was that a storm was brewing in the distance, and would probably be upon them in less than an hour.

Soon though, his thoughts began to shift from the approaching storm to the warm tingling sensation emanating and centering around the area where the silver medallion made contact against his skin.

At first, it was slight, but as the chanting grew louder and the slight breeze increased to a mild, but steady blowing wind, the heat began to increase in intensity and the slight heat turned to uncomfortable burning.

The tingling increased as well, spreading further and further across his upper torso; subconsciously his body began to twitch in discomfort and Billy found himself beginning to pull against the chains that restrained him, responding almost instinctively to reach over to his chest and pull the medallion off as it grew increasingly uncomfortable.

Within minutes the heat turned into outright burning and the tingling began to feel like an electrical current passing through the metal of the medallion, spreading outward throughout his torso into his extremities, up to his neck, and into his skull.

Discomfort gave way to outright pain and Billy found himself beginning to panic and began really pulling at the chains restraining him in earnest.

The metal of the medallion felt so hot, Billy looked down his chest in wide-eyed consternation to see if it was indeed searing into his flesh, the once cool metal had a slight faint reddish glow where it touched his skin and Billy was certain he could see his flesh begin to smoke and smolder around and underneath its touch as tendrils of electrical anguish began to pulsate out from where ever it made contact.

Billy began an almost macabre dance, like a disjointed puppet on strings pulled in jerky intervals by an epileptic puppeteer, the pain began to subsume his consciousness as the soaring agony pushed him toward madness and rage.

His father had moved forward and firmly clasped his shoulder, trying to steady him, the rising rush of his blood through his veins and the ever-increasing loudness of his own heartbeat thumped so loudly in his head and ears, he could barely make out the words he saw forming on his father's lips, all the while the escalating din of the throngs chant grew to a near symphonic cacophony of tempestuous fury adding to his confusion and anguish, but he tried through it all to hear his father's words: "William, don't fight it, let it flow through you!" he finally heard him shout, his face a contorted mask of concern, but his eyes were two steady, azure pools of stolid concentration as they boar into his own.

Through the frenzied turbulence that boiled within him, Billy could feel his body began to expand and contort all at the same time, from deep within his brain a synaptic discordance exploded in turbulent waves. ceasing reason and summoning a primordial force so deeply buried within the darkest recesses of his brain's reptilian stem, where animalistic instinct and self-preservation collided.

It was then he felt it, like a distant white pulse at first, a ghostly glimmer consumed by the darkness and the anguish of insurmountable pain as quickly as it had formed, but it was followed by another and another, each coming faster than the one before it, each building to a crescendo, before it finally erupted within his head, spreading throughout his body, causing it to stiffen then bulge as his muscles expanded and thickened, increasing in density and tensile strength.

It was then he felt and heard the rending of gristle within his joints and the sharp crackle of splintering bone until he felt like his entire body was attacking itself, muscles so drawn they snapped his bones and shred his cartilage.

Billy discerned in dismay as the hair on his chest and belly and down his legs thickened, as his muscles expanded and strained against the taut thinning skin to bulge obscenely in striated conformity and definition, his eyes veered to the right to gawk in dismay as the palm of his hand distended and his fingers grew in length and girth as thick talons sprouted from where once his fingernails had been, the muscles of his arms expanded as well, especially up and through his shoulders, all fueled by the flames of primal rage, unimaginable pain and bestial passion that raged within him.

Throughout all the physical changes occurring, Billy felt his senses expanding as well, his hearing grew more acute, his vision sharper and most notably his ability to see in the dark, which now made it almost as clear as day, shapes once lost in darkness, now as visible as they were in the mid-day sun.

Not least of those expanding senses was his sense of smell, and it was that sense that was now picking up something that seemed out of place, not part of what was transpiring here, something that didn't belong; it was vile and corrupted and reeked of malice and as Billy's newly sharpened perceptions scanned for the fading odor of this foul stench, he realized it had centered from where his brother Mike and Kent had been standing, there within the assemblage. His sight zeroed in on that spot and discovered them now missing, he scanned the crowd for them but all he could detect was the fading scent of their trail as it leads back down the path, toward the compound.

It was this perceived wrongness that now fueled Billy's growing angst and increased his urgent need to free himself from the bondage he was constrained by.

Once again, Billy pulled at the chain securing his right arm, he focused all his concentration and effort into the burgeoning muscles and fibrous sinew interwoven and traversing its length willing it to contract and exert enough force to free his arm.

His father and Danal must have recognized the potential of his actions, having grabbed both his arms and his shoulders, attempting to hold him secure as his Dad pleaded for him to stop struggling.

Billy tried to focus on their faces and watched as their features began to shift, he watched in awed wonder as the hair sprouted on his father's face and his brow thicken and extended, he viewed the metamorphosis of his body as it thickened and his corded muscles popped and bulged to new extremes.

His father's neck muscles broadened as veins popped to the surface as hair began to consume his features, sprouting from his skin to cover his neck, shoulders, arms, and torso.

The face he had known since birth, contorted into an animalistic mask as his nose turned upward and protruded from the center of his face as his jaw expanded and his lips thinned into a more rudimentary canine aesthetic, the words issuing through his mouth became deeper and more like snarls, grunts, and growls; his teeth seemed to sharpen and extend beyond his gums as his canines enlarged and lengthened, adding to the overall bestial imagery, but the thing that caught his attention the most was the blazing azure iris's of his eyes.

Blue fire seemed to burn behind his gaze, mirrored by Danal's as they continued to struggle to hold him fast and it was during that moment he saw the dark figures in the distance, leaving the hidden cover of the forest.

From this range, he could only make out that they were fully dressed in black from head to toe, and wore a dark mask and conforming headgear that molded to their scalps with built-in goggles that obscured their eyes. They moved stealthily carrying what Billy could only guess were assault rifles and he could see the bright reddish beams of sight tracers mounted below the guns scopes.

Billy tried to warn them about what he saw, but the shifting shape of his facial construction had altered so much, that his newly sprouted fangs prevented him from articulating words as he had grown accustomed to, making the sounds coming from his mouth and throat more like guttural emissions and snarling grunts than actual words.

In his frustration, Billy visually searched the chanting crowd who also had begun to shift and change, distorting into various half-human, half-bestial shapes.

Almost a hundred pair of glowing iris's, in a myriad of colors, ranging from bright green to amber and gold, to shades of red and orange and a few that burned like his father's and Danal's blue and brilliant azure, still stared at him, but none could see the danger that was approaching from off to the side and behind them.

Billy howled in frustration, a sound so fierce the chanting stopped as all eyes glared in shocked surprise at the ferocity of the sound, and with a flick of his right shoulder, Billy shrugged his father's grip away, casting him several feet back as he brought the full force of his ever-increasing rage and strength to bear against the chain securing his right arm.

For a few seconds, the metal resisted, holding him fast, but then he felt it start to give way, he could feel it twist and rend the iron ringed eyelet that was threaded with the stainless steel chain and with one more bone-jarring tug of his contracting muscles, the weaker metal of the clasps eyelet tore then shattered freeing his arm.

Instantly, Billy's freed arm shoved a still struggling Danal away, throwing him backward through the air, he looked down at his father, who began to rise from the ground and stare at him in dismay as four points of light began to dance on his torso.

For a second Billy watched them move across his skin, he could literally smell the ozone as the charged ions of the infrared beams traced along his body until three of the dots centered shakily on his chest as a fourth worked its way up his body, and his neck to the middle of his forehead.

Before he could react, the massive shape of his father soared through the air and encircled his body knocking him back just as the sharp, staccato sounds of gunfire reverberated throughout the valley of the Devil Dawg compound...

                                      This ends book one of the Devil Dawg saga.