Page 80 of Kidnapped By the Beast

Lexi blinked.

“If they survive?”

V’rin nodded gravely, lowering himself into a chair opposite the couch. The firelight glinted off his pale hair.

“The Soul Bond between a Warrior and his mate is profound. When she dies, her loss tears him apart. Some warriors follow their lost mate into death within hours, their bodies giving out from grief. Others linger, but they are little more than shadows.”

Natalie pressed her hand to his, her pretty face stricken.

“Oh, honey—I didn’t know that! I don’t want you to die if I do!”

V’rin leaned close, cupping her cheek with his large hand.

“But I would want to die, my beloved,” he murmured, his voice low and fierce. “The very thought of losing you…” His ice blue eyes went dark with emotion. “I cannot even speak of it. Life without you would lose all color and savor. It would be gray shadows, nothing more.”

Lexi’s heart twisted as she watched them. Their love, their devotion—it was beautiful. And it made her feel more broken than ever.

She cleared her throat.

“Maybe I should go.”

“No, stay,” Natalie said quickly. “We’re not done yet.”

“But why would you ask me such a question?” V’rin asked his wife, frowning. “What put that thought in your head?”

Natalie looked at Lexi.

“Can I tell him?”

Lexi hesitated, but then nodded.

“Go ahead.”

So Natalie explained—how Lexi had been kidnapped, how Brandt had taken her to Bio-Terius Centra to get her infected with the Bacillus Aurum, and how he had claimed he couldn’t be with her because of his vow.

V’rin listened, his expression unreadable. Finally, he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

“If Dr. Brandt truly made such a vow before the Goddess, then yes—it is binding. To break it would be blasphemy. Such oaths are forever.”

Lexi’s throat closed.

“So…there’s no chance? Not ever?”

His gaze softened with pity.

“I am sorry—I know that is not what you wished to hear. But it is the truth.”

She nodded numbly, though her insides felt like shards of glass grinding together.

“No—it’s all right. Thank you. That clears things up a lot.”

But it didn’t clear anything up. It only crushed the tiny, fragile hope she’d been clinging to—the hope that maybe Brandt might change his mind and tell her he wanted her after all when she saw him in a week for their milking session.

But apparently he wasn’t lying. He wasn’t just pushing her away. His vow was real and it meant there was no hope.

Not now, not ever.

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