Warnings - General This series covers the subject of child abuse - both physical and sexual. While a lot of it is 'off screen' and depicted as part of the past storyline, there are sections in these stories which do describe it more graphically.

Warnings - The Test: As always with this series, this story covers the subject of child abuse - both physical and sexual - but this time I've also written about subjects such as incest, pedophilia and the OC's characters in this story are involved in a m/m relationship. While a lot of it is 'off screen' and depicted as part of the series history, there are some scenes in this story that are more graphic than what I have written in the past.

Authors Notes - The Test: This story is very dark in sections, but I felt in order to explore and stay true to nature of the characters there were just some issues I couldn't skirt around. But as with all my stories, the endings do offer healing and hope.

So please take heed of the warnings and if you have any doubts reading about the above subjects, please hit the delete button now. This story has not been written to suit a child or teenager audience.

There are also lines quoted in this story from the wonderful children's book. "Where the Wild Things Are," by Maurice Sendak.

Prologue

In the jungles of Peru, a lone warrior fought for his sentinel, his composed voice breaking with anger as he addressed a circle of his peers. "I will not allow this to happen. The Guide is too young."

"That is why he has been given a guardian, Incacha. Do you not have faith in the ability of the Guardian?"

Incacha whirled in anger, addressing the speaker. "The Guardian is but a boy himself. He is not ready."

The speaker approached the centre of the circle. "If the Guardian is not ready, then perhaps it is time for him to be removed."

A black jaguar, which had been prowling restlessly around the outside of the circle, let its disapproval be known, its voice joined by that of a young cougar.

"Enough!" ordered the speaker, his command silencing the animal spirits. "A decision has been made. The test will take place. If the Guardian is strong, then he will succeed." The speaker turned to Incacha. "If he does not, then the Guide will be removed."

One by one, without any further discussion, the council of peers disappeared into the night. A lone Chopec warrior stood by the fire, the jaguar beside him in unwavering support. The shadows flickered upon his defiant face. His heart could not allow this to happen. "I cannot do this alone, Enqueri. You must find your strength. You must embrace your gift. The life of your guardian depends on it... as does the life of your son."

Without taking his eyes from the flame, Incacha spoke. "The Guide must be protected at all cost."

A silent agreement was reached. When the time was right, Incacha and the jaguar would stand side by side. Together, they would take on the power of the council.

~oOo~

"Watch, ring, wallet, keys. That all?"

Robert Wilder picked up the items from the bench and nodded.

"Sign here."

He took the pen thrust at him and scribbled his name.

The guard retrieved his clipboard. "You're a lucky fuck, Wilder. I would'a bet a whole year's wages that you'd be doing life for this one."

Wilder sneered at the guard. "Innocent men don't do life." He picked up his personal belongings from the counter. "Now, excuse me if I sound rude, but open the god damn, fuckin' door."

Wally Michaels shook his head in despair. He'd seen a lot of cold-hearted bastards come through those doors in his time, but it hit him in the pit of his stomach when he had to let one of those bastards back out onto the street. "I gotta think of retiring," he muttered to himself, pressing the button that released the door.

Wilder walked out into the main yard. A set of heavy steel gates was the only thing that stood between him and freedom. A chill raced through his body, despite the warmth of the afternoon sun.

In the corner of the courtyard, a lone warrior stood. "And so it begins."

~oOo~

The Test

Robert Wilder drew deeply on the crudely-rolled cigarette that was poised between his thumb and nicotine-stained index finger. Watching with an enthralled fascination, he slowly breathed out, lazily following the smoke trail as it floated up toward the ceiling. A sudden, deep-seated sense of pleasure rippled through his strong body as the gentle, ribbon-like pattern was strewn apart by the pulsing action of the overhead fan. With his eyes still trained on the whirling blades as they cut nosily through the air, he absently reached under the coarse cotton sheet and roughly scratched his crotch. The burning itch that had surged through his body only hours before was little more than a pleasant tingle now, his lurid need having been satisfied by the man lying in the bed next to him.

Stubbing out the butt in the overflowing ashtray on the side table, Robert's attention moved toward the still body of his brother, his jet-black eyes roaming slowly across the expanse of Max's perfectly smooth, seductive chest, - a chest that had been prepared exactly as he had ordered.

Stimulated by the visual delight before him, Robert flicked the sheet completely away. His breathing hitched, his wanton desire fed by the sight that was revealed to his wandering eye. In a display of seeming innocence, his brother lay before him, clean-shaven and bare, painting a perfect picture of obedience and submission.

The fact that this compliance was aided by the heroin coursing through the sleeping man's veins was of no consequence to Robert. All that mattered was that he was once again in control.

Rolling onto his side, Robert studied the man who'd been his bed partner for as long as he could remember. He regarded his brother with a mixture of conflicting emotions. He certainly felt love, and even expressed it at times with tenderness and affection, but the feeling could twist and turn into vengeful brutality in the blink of an eye. He consistently, and easily, ignored the goad of his own emotions, and placed the cause squarely on Max. His little brother was inherently weak; even though moments of strength occasionally shone through, he had always been able to get his way if he pushed hard enough.

If Robert had to describe their relationship, 'perfect dancing partners' would pretty much sum it up. His brother's fears and needs moved in exact rhythm with the traits that made up the basis of his own personality. Max's fear and insecurities kept pace and perfect cadence alongside his own power and control. Destructive as these qualities were together, they were essential elements in maintaining the status quo.

Strumming a gentle finger across the baby-soft skin that was so easily within his reach, Robert knew that a lifetime living with abuse and neglect had left a profound mark on both their lives. But unlike Max, who had wilted, shrivelling up like a flower under the hot desert sun, he had blossomed. Adapting to the harshness of their environment, he'd laid his roots deep, gathering enough nourishment for them both to survive even the most barren of conditions. He'd fed and nurtured Max, keeping him sheltered within the protective borders of his own resourcefulness and tenacity. But protection came at a price, even for brothers, and this protection had exacted a hefty toll. Max had paid, not with only his own soul, but those of his children.

Running his hand up the length of his brother's inner thigh, Robert's thoughts settled on Max's children.

Lucas and Scotty, his nephews, both beautiful and innocent, but innocent only until fate played its hand and erased from their lives the one woman who, just by her presence, had kept the monster that lurked deep inside of him shackled and bound. Once freed from its chains, the monster's craving had grown until it could no longer resist the feast that was laid out before it. Revelling in the new opportunity to indulge what had been denied to him for so long, old feelings had once again consumed and overpowered him. Even if he'd wanted to, Robert had known that there was no turning back; the monster was out of its cage.

Taking advantage of his brother at his most vulnerable, Robert had focused his attention on snubbing out the light that had shone brightly while Mary had been alive. Wielding his weapons of cajoling, persuasion, and manipulation like an old hand, he had slowly begun to show his brother that, in those most desperate of times, the boys needed their love and that, in return, they needed to learn how to give that love back.

The process had been slow and laborious, and the means to the end had left his brother with an addiction that, from the outset, had not been his intention, but the opportunist in him felt no remorse. He had gained what he'd wanted; nothing else was important. Domination and sexual gratification had been at his fingertips, his for the taking, when, where and however he liked ... except for one major stumbling block – Lucas, his brother's eldest boy.

"Lucas," Robert ground out harshly, his anger rising as memories of the boy's defiance weighed him down with a familiar feeling of failure. Headstrong, wilful and stubborn, the child had never been tamed and, despite his best efforts, he had never managed to gain the control that was essential in keeping everything in balance.

As his inner anger surged upward and boiled over, the gentle, feather-like touch that had been caressing his brother's body changed. Taking a nipple between his fingers, he pinched the nub viciously, the pain causing Max to stir beneath his fingers.

"Shh, shh," Robert soothed, as guilt of his actions surged forward without warning. Bombarded by a wave of different emotions, Robert realised once again that he and his brother were perfectly matched. He was strong, capable and dominant, and Max ... Max was so damn weak.

Even though Robert had been responsible for the death of his brother's boy, Max had still forgiven him, and it hadn't taken much persuasion to convince him who was really to blame for the death of his baby. It was Lucas's fault that Scott was dead. It was Lucas who had reneged on his responsibility, his chore. Lucas was the one who'd taken off into the night, leaving the burden of service upon his young brother's shoulders. And now it was Lucas who needed their ultimate forgiveness.

"Isn't that right, brother?" Robert whispered, leaning in and suckling at his brother's lax bottom lip. "Our boy needs to come home. We have to forgive him for what he did." Rolling on top of his brother, Robert covered Max's body with his own. Leaning in, he devoured the unconscious man's mouth, while his hips rutted to a tune of one against unresponsive flesh. "He will come home, baby brother. As I live and breathe, our boy will come home."

~oOo~

Chapter Two coming shortly