Page 119 of Redemption Road

She settled back onto the couch with Jake’s arms wrapped around her. “Shut down all the other bonds,” Jake said quietly. “You probably don’t want this conversation leaking out. And you need to conserve your energy for this one conversation. Are you sure you can’t just call him?”

“He’s on a bike,” she reminded him. “And he can ignore a phone.”

Jake nodded. He hugged her. “Go,” he said simply.

Abby closed her eyes, focusing on her links and bonds. She cranked down the weirs that controlled the flow between her and the pack, reassuring them first. She had Benny to thank for this visualization, she thought suddenly. He’d taught her so many things that helped keep her sane. She couldn’t lose him. She rested her hands on her belly. She wasn’t going to lose him, she thought grimly. No matter what she had to do, Benny was coming home to her.

She tamped down the bonds to the inner circle, the links to all the Alphas she’d connected to as Council Chairman, and even blocked her mate bond. There seemed to be some extra links, she thought with a frown. Oh. The girls she’d brought through first shift. Definitely needed to block those from this conversation. She sent a warning to Okami. She didn’t know how to block that one, and she didn’t bother to try. Actually, if she needed energy, he’d be the first to know — and know what to do.

She left her bond with Jake open. She didn’t like to be without it.

And then she tapped her link with Benny. He felt bruised, she thought. Beaten. Her heart hurt.

Hey.

Benny sighed.Someone ratted me out?

How horrible. You have people who care about you,she teased back.

He snorted.I don’t know how they can. I’m just beginning to realize the magnitude of what we did, Alpha. It ought to carry a death penalty.

Abby:For?

Benny:For uprooting all of you women with such callous disregard? Then throwing them away when we were done, as if they didn’t matter? Throwing them to Jedediah Jones, no less. We put them through hell, because in our arrogant opinion, their lives weren’t worth anything. I can’t....

Benny trailed off.

Abby:True. I’m not going to lie. That’s exactly what Wolf Harbor did —what Stefan did. But Benny, you’ve done more to make amends than anyone else. You need to remember that too.

Benny:Not enough, Alpha. I’m the one who didn’t protect them in the first place. I could have. I could have insisted we build a center for the women to learn to be wolves right there on the island. I could have run it — I was a psychologist for God’s sake! But I didn’t. I was having too much fun being the carefree camp counselor teaching yoga classes and having threesome’s in the hot tub.

Abby:Come home, Benny. Come home, and we’ll talk more about it. You’re on your way, right?

Benny sighed.I’m on my way,he agreed wearily.I wanted to talk to you about bonds and links, remember? Are you OK with this link? We’re farther apart than usual.

Abby:I seem to be. I’m cuddled on the couch with Jake, and he’s got beef jerky, chocolate and coffee to feed me if I flag. Lay it on me.

Benny:So, it’s obvious that we’ve got a lot more kinds of links and bonds than we’ve been taught as shifters. Jessie likened it to comparing a child’s drawing of a house with a door, windows on either side, and a chimney to the near-mansion Duncan McKenzie lives in.Benny sent her an image of it and felt her laughter. He grinned and went on:So we’re taught about pack bonds, mate bonds, Alpha-Second bonds, employment bonds, and family links. But this last month we’ve experienced all kinds of new links. And I’ve asked myself what do they all have in common?

Abby:And?

Benny:The hub is a woman. Women make all these kinds of links and bonds. Women can create a dandelion burst. Women can create a near-pack like Margarite did with potlucks and conversation. Or her household. And you should see all the links Jessie makes! So here’s my theory. We’ve speculated that the packs of the New World are so patriarchal because that’s what Anton Vuk wanted them to be — male-dominant, isolated, small. And women pay the price — in large part because Anton Vuk was a sadistic son of a bitch. And he lifted up pack Alphas who were equally sadistic, patriarchal bastards.

Abby:I would agree with that conclusion.

Benny continued on:But I started thinking, what if we aren’t going back far enough in shifter history? Margarite got me thinking about it, actually. She said she’s seen paintings of warring packs — and I’d like to know where she’s seen those, because I’ve never heard of them —and there’s always a woman off to the side. Someone of power, she thinks. A dònglì diànchí.She thinks it’s a real thing, Abby. A woman who could connect to the earth itself for her power. But I think women in that epoch — a period of time before the world as we know it — could make all of these links that we’re seeing now. And it scared the men who wanted to rule. I don’t think men can make them. Men are hierarchal by nature.Benny paused.Is that always true?he demanded.

Abby gave a mental shrug.Not completely,she said.But for a generalization by a layperson? Close enough.

Benny snorted.Trust the professor to hedge the conclusion,he muttered.Fine. Given I’m a layperson, I’ll go with it. Men —especially shifter men who run on dominance —want a hierarchy. Me, the Alpha, a link to the pack, and to the pack Second. A pesky link to a mate, if one appears. And done. But if you get women close together, or if you let women have any power, then they start making links that the Alpha can’t control. Hell, I’m not even sure that the women can control them. Which scares me. But I don’t think it scares Jessie —she just seems to think that being connected to everyone is a good thing.

Abby:When you think about it, why isn’t it a good thing? As long as you don’t burn out.

Benny:She gets as much energy as she gives. Did you know? She and Ryder have a mate bond and an Alpha-Second bond! And they can share energy and dominance. It was wild.

Abby:I look forward to hearing more when you get here.

Benny:Right. Well, I think that’s what terrified Anton Vuk. It wasn’t just that he personally wanted the feeling of dominance and power over people, particularly women. It’s that he knew if women were allowed to connect, they’d have shared power that was more than any one shifter man could muster.

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