NewEarth Mating Bonds
My epic fantasy NewEarth Series has dragons, humans, and a planet with a mind of her own. She, the planet, is busy matching up the dragons and now the humans because she knows that a mated dragon is more stable and motivated to protect her and her interests.
In some cases the matches make perfect sense, in others they seem to almost be mistakes, but it is up to the individuals to make it work. The problem with the mating bond that it links thoughts, emotions, memories, dreams and sensations. That leaves no room for privacy at all, which can cause friction of all different kinds.
The other hiccup of course is that if the mates attempt to pry the bond apart by sperating their powerlines after they are joined, they both die. In extream cases pairs have been known to live close, but separate, craving and denying one another. Boy, that would make me cranky.
Seperation pain is when there is a physical seperation between mates and it starts with a hollow feeling like being hungry, and progresses causes chest pain, body aches, fever, and eventually death. It can be tollerated for short periods, but not for long.