son. I’m not a fool. I started with next to nothing.”
 
 Dante’s eyes glazed over. His mouth moved in time with his
 
 father’s. He had obviously heard the tale about a million times, but
 
 then, so had Beck.
 
 “Just a hundred head of cattle and a dream,” Alex was saying as
 
 he poured himself a Scotch, too. “A dream to refine their blood into
 
 an easy-to-swallow nutritional pill that made storage problems a thing
 
 of the past.”
 
 Susie was mouthing the familiar conversation as well. Alex
 
 continued his story of building Dellacorp into a giant of the industry.
 
 Alana slid her arm around Beck’s shoulders as her husband lectured
 
 their children about how easy they had it. “Come along. He’ll be at it
 
 for hours now.” She led him onto the balcony. The air was cool and
 
 the night calm, though in a city as large as this, it was never quiet.
 
 “Tell me about your bride. How did she make it out of Tir na nÒg?”
 
 “She didn’t.” Beck looked out over the city, feeling the distance
 
 between himself and his wife. It weighed heavily on him. Had he
 
 done the right thing? Should he have brought her with him? “She’s
 
 from the Earth plane.”
 
 Bound
 
 157
 
 Alana stepped up to the railing. She didn’t seem to have the same
 
 problem with heights that Beck had. “I had heard the Planeswalkers
 
 were taking advantage of Torin closing Tir na nÒg. Human females
 
 are close to the Fae. Some historians believe we originated on their
 
 plane, after all. It follows that some would be suitable as bondmates.
 
 She must have been terrified.”
 
 “To say the least.” A vision of tears running down her pretty face
 
 when he left her at the cottage haunted him. She would never
 
 understand all the reasons he left. He could have put off this business