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TO BE MATED 1340
"Absolutely." Ethan nodded. "I'm not going to pretend I'm all doe-eyed in love, but you're a wonderful woman. Maybe it's because of our bond, but I think there's something between us that's worth exploring.""You should marry her anyway. I'll be fine, really." She said, although she looked just the opposite. "Besides, I'll outlive her by a century or more. Maybe in a few decades when she dies...""That's optimistic." Ethan replied without humor.Alana stared into his eyes for several seconds. She moved her hand up to touch his face, but then stopped, took a deep breath, and let it fall back to her side. She looked down at the floor and shook her head slightly. "With the lives of Beth and her family on the line, I don't see another choice. Do you?""I wish I did.""Me too.""What about our bond?" He asked. "I don't like the idea of being married to one woman and bonded to another.""Maybe it'll break if you bond with her?" She suggested, but didn't sound convinced."You really think it
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Beth skipped down the corridor, which was no small feat considering she was carrying an armful of books. She hummed a joyous tune as she went; she was engaged to a good man! Finally! In the months since she'd become eligible, her suitors had been of increasingly questionable character.It was ironic. She had always dreamed of being rescued from an evil dragon by a gallant knight. Instead, she had been rescued from an evil knight by a gallant dragon. And despite being a dragon, Ethan seemed as wonderful as any man.And -- if the stories were true -- she was in for quite a treat on their wedding night. She felt a familiar sensation in her loins at the thought. Her fingers were nice, but her maids were clear that fingers were no match for a man who knew what he was doing. She hoped Ethan knew, but she was more than willing to let him practice on her after they were married.She imagined lying in bed as her gallant dragon lay on top of her kissing her and telling her how much he adored he
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The dragon kissed her tenderly, but very briefly. It was long enough to be a proper sealing of the betrothal, but stopped short of a couple in love. Rachel could see a flicker of disappointment on Beth's face. While their lips had been joined she had worn a look of bliss though."The betrothal is complete," Lord Borden announced. The crowd erupted into cheers and applause again. He waited until they died down before continuing."Please join me in wishing them the best. May Illuminar watch over you both and bless your marriage with wealth, health, and many children."After that, everyone on the platform bowed and left, while the crowd slowly dispersed to go about their day.Rachel was conflicted. Her heart went out to Beth for that kiss. It was clear to her that although the dragon liked her, he wasn't in love with her. However she was clearly smitten with him with the man she would marry.Then something inside of her clicked.The dragon would marry Beth.Instantly, Rachel felt an over
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"No, I don't think anyone would.""Good. As requested, you'll start as a night guard in the vault. Eventually, you'll need to learn the other positions if you are to manage The Bank effectively. Understood?""Yes sir.""Good, then follow me," Lord Borden stood. Ethan and Beth followed the older man out of the dining room through the house and into the night air. The town was mostly silent apart from the sounds of drinking and singing coming from the pubs.To his left, Ethan saw the mast of a sailing ship poking up in the distance. He thought that was strange as there weren't any large bodies of water nearby."What's that?""That's daddy's new airship," Beth replied. "I can show you in the morning, if you'd like.""An airship? Yes please!"Lord Borden led the way up the long flight of steps to The Bank. The stairs had no railings and were only six feet across. They were wide enough to be comfortable but narrow enough to prevent a lot of men from attacking at once. The stairs ended and
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Beth's face could've illuminated all of New York City the way it shone. "Enjoy your night and may Illuminar keep watch over you,"She left the vault and took the elevator up with Heinrich, who shouted for the elevator to rise. Beth gave him a hopeful smile as they ascended out of sightEthan took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He hadn't considered what Beth must be going through, knowing that he was attracted to someone else but marrying her anyway. She seemed to take it well though, and her enthusiasm was just short of infectious.He was glad she was happy.He turned to look at the gold around him and the sight cheered him up immensely, though not completely. His dragon body might be responding to the gold with bliss but his mind was still mostly human. He missed Alana and he wanted to make Beth happy.She was a wonderful girl. She was smart, inquisitive, and a joy to be around. She had an infectious exuberance that was almost like a balm to his dark mood. He could learn to lov
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The moment Alana suggested that the gold belonged to someone else, a mask of pure rage and hate covered Ethan's face. She saw too late that Ethan's dragon nature had fully taken over."HOW DARE YOU!" he shouted as his face twisted into a mask of rage.This wasn't Ethan.This was the dragon.He raised his spear and lunged forward, the tip pointed straight at her heart. But the spear's tip stopped just short of her breast. She could feel the tip just brushing her dress.She stood her ground.He was breathing heavily, which came out as a series of noises that were halfway between a grunt and a snarl. He seemed to be fighting with himself, and the turmoil coming over their bond was proof.Just two weeks ago, if someone would've told her a dragon could restrain itself around gold like this she wouldn't have believed them. After all her conversations with Drousin, she didn't think one could. Yet Ethan was doing it.She smiled.When she did, the dragon blinked several times as if to clear it
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She couldn't come up with anything else to say, so she sat down next to Ethan and laid her head on his shoulder. He seemed startled at first, but didn't make any attempt to move her. After a moment, he relaxed slightly at her touch and put his arm around."I need to respect her wishes," he said after a few minutes."What do you mean?""She asked me to leave her alone," he replied. "To give her some space and distance so our bond could weaken.""I don't think bonds work like that Ethan. It may never get stronger, but they don't go away.""She thought if I bonded with you it might break the bond," Ethan said."Maybe," Beth replied. "I've never heard of a bond being broken that way. I suppose it might, but it just seems more likely to create a second bond."I suppose two bonds would be better than not bonding with my wife, right?"She nodded. "I'd rather it break your bond with her but..." Beth trailed off.She really didn't want her husband bonded to another woman, even if it was someon
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Beth turned and started walking. Not long after, they arrived at what looking like a large training room in one of the buildings close to The Bank. The walls of the room were covered with both training weapons and real weapons. There were also several types of padded armor for training.She asked Ethan to wait a moment and then she went and talked to Heinrich. After a minute or two, he glanced in Ethan's direction with a surly look on his face. Beth talked to him for another minute, and then the guard captain grabbed two training spears and a training sword and walked over to Ethan."You understand you're never going near the vault again." Heinrich saidl it wasn't a question.He nodded glumly."Beth convinced me you'd make a reasonable outer guard," he continued, though his tone made it clear he seriously doubted it. "It's my job to bring your fighting abilities up to snuff."He tossed a training spear to Ethan. It was a seven foot long shaft with a bundle of cloth tied to one end for
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