Ex-Mate Wants Me Back (Seraphina and Mortimer) novel Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Seraphina’s POV-

Caldwell sent three messages for every one of mine.

It was a habit I’d noticed back when I was stuck in the Alaska healing center.

He never sent long paragraphs; he broke everything into short sentences. The notification pings hit my phone like rain against a window-persistent and rhythmic.

I couldn’t help but picture him as some obsessive, stubborn old scholar, probably peering through thick glasses to make sure I took my meds on timę.

The thought made me let out another soft laugh.

Mortimer sat across from me, but he never found an opening to jump into the conversation.

Suddenly, the air grew heavy with a scorched, bitter scent of pine.

“Who is it? Messaging this early?” He asked the question casually, but there was an undertone of suppressed violence in his voice.

“Huh?” I’d barely looked up when Mortimer slammed his fork onto his plate. The sharp metal clang made the table vibrate.

I flinched, my finger slipping and accidentally hitting a voice message.

“Got an emergency patient. Talk later,” Caldwell’s clear, bright voice echoed through the small dining room. It felt jarringly out of place.

“Okay, get back to work,” I messaged back.

When I looked up, I met Mortimer’s eyes-they were dark, cold, and utterly lethal.

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In all our years together, even if he’d never given me love, he’d never looked at me with this kind of blatant Alpha aggression.

I knew he hated being interrupted during a meal.

I flipped my phone face down. “Sorry. Did I ruin your breakfast?”

I stood up and grabbed some plastic wrap, quickly bagging my sandwich. “Actually… I’ll eat on the way. I won’t get in your hair. Enjoy your meal.”

I didn’t want the next two months to end in a screaming match.

I turned to leave, feeling his gaze burning into my back.

I guessed he thought my quick exit was a slight to his authority, but I was done trying to

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soothe him.

I took a bite of my sandwich as I walked toward the door.

I used to think eating on the go was “unbecoming” of a Luna.

I’d spent so much energy maintaining a fake image of the perfect mate, thinking it was the price of keeping our bond alive.

But now, those rules had crumbled right along with my expectations.

The elevator doors shut, cutting off that suffocating scent of pine.

I let out a long breath. The weight on my chest felt a fraction lighter.

I’d just stepped out of the Blades’ main villa when I heard heavy, fast footsteps behind me.

“Seraphina.”

I stopped and turned.

Mortimer was coming down the steps, looking every bit the formidable Alpha in his tailored

suit.

He walked up to me, his gaze fixed somewhere in the distance. “There’s a breach in the north perimeter. The sentries reported rogues nearby. I’m heading out to handle it, and the healing center is on my way. I’ll drop you off.”

His excuse was perfectly logical. Handling rogues was an Alpha’s duty; dropping off his mate was just “looking after” a member of his territory.

But I knew better. This was just another way for him to track my movements.

I looked at him, pushing down my irritation at being “managed.” I shook my head. “No thanks. The subway is faster. My colleagues are waiting for me to start my shift-I can’t be late.”

I used the one reason he couldn’t argue with and shut him down.

He didn’t expect such a blunt rejection. His brow furrowed.

I looked at him and could almost feel the storm brewing behind his eyes.

“I’m leaving,” I said with a polite nod. I didn’t look back as I walked away.

It wasn’t until I reached the subway station that I could finally breathe.

Even though I’d decided to treat him like a regular acquaintance, his proximity still triggered a physical rejection in me.

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My heart raced, but it wasn’t from excitement.

It was biological panic the way a prey animal feels when a predator locks on.

I knew I was messed up, and I wasn’t going to ignore it.

That was why I hadn’t argued when Caldwell suggested I book a therapy session.

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