Reese had told Nash something similar once. Sex being a natural act in the animal kingdom to strengthen bonds.
“Others involve blood. Those are made between egg-bearers and children when they carry and birth them, blood relations between siblings who shared the same womb. More so with twins.
“Alphas with their betas who are responsible for protecting the pack. And betas who have meta-packs form their ties through dominance and a bite to the bone.”
Reese touched his shoulder.
“But all those involve a connection of choice. One dictated by the Varu. The ones like Luca and Nash—”
“The Anubis made.”
“No, the Anubischose,and Lucaacceptedthe connection. But it wasn’t complete.”
“How do you know?”
“If it was, Isaiah would have simply killed Nash when he overdosed him on the Rakta. Instead, he violated consent and forced a partial tie.”
“Luca would have died if he hadn’t.” It was the only answer.
“Yes. It was wrong, but knowing Isaiah, it was the only choice he had to save Luca. It just didn’t do any good for the unfinished connection between Luca and Nash.”
“Is it permanent?”
“No. Blood tying Luca to his pack would have kept Luca from dying, but it couldn’t force him to stay. The wolves, however… If he’d called them, he would have connected to them, and he wouldn’t have wanted to leave, especially after losing Nash and the Anubis. There would have been no saving Luca if the tie had been complete. Ties made through the wolf are forever. Just like if we die, the Fenrir dies. That’s how close the bond is. But it’s a bond that the wolf is driven to re-establish. Some ties more often than others. And fighting it has the same destructive results as resisting the wolf.”
“Then that’s what they’re doing out there in the woods?” Reese braced himself for the compulsion to follow but it didn’t happen.
“Yes. When they’re done, the completed tie will override anything Isaiah did, making it like it never happened. That’s the beauty of a tie between a Cana and the one or the many he’s chosen. They can control who they connect with and whether they remain connected. No one else can do that. And the only tie that compares in strength is the one formed with an Urja.
“With them, the tie has nothing to do with the host and everything to do with the wolf, so neither the Varu nor Urja has a choice. It’s all about the strongest, and every wolf in the presence of an untied Urja is drawn to them.
“But only the strongest completes the tie.”
“And how do they do that?” Reese said.
“A bite to the bone.”
Reese touched his shoulder again.
“But Paul didn’t tie me because you said those kinds of ties are like the Fenrir to the Varu. I’d be dead if he had.” Reese’s voice trembled.
Seung dropped her gaze.
“He didn’t…” Reese begged her with his eyes to agree with him.
“It’s unfinished.”
“Unfinished? Which makes it sound like it could be finished.”
“I wasn’t completely forthcoming when I said you didn’t die from the bite because you’re not human. You didn’t change into a cur because you’re not human. But you still should have died. Instead, you fevered, which is normal for an unfinished tie. Then you healed.”
“And that’s not normal?”
“Only if the tie can be shifted to another. The only ones I know of that have ever worked are those passed from close familial relations. The closer the better. Like twins.”
The room brightened, and Reese tried not to slide out of his seat. “Like Paul and Johnathan…” The pitch in Reese's voice raised several octaves. “So he’s what, half tied, or incompletely tied, I mean we… I mean…” What did Reese mean? He wasn’t even sure anymore.
“You can’t wait to shift a tie,” Seung said.