Ex-Mate Wants Me Back (Seraphina and Mortimer) novel Chapter 160

Chapter 160

Seraphina’s POV

When Mortimer looked up again, the corners of his eyes were rimmed with a suspicious, raw red.

“Whether Vivian exists or not, the fact that we are locked in a business contract remains unchanged. Since it’s a contract, there’s an expiration date where this mating bond gets dissolved, isn’t there? As soon as we go to the Moon Goddess’s temple and erase the mark, we’ll go back to being complete strangers.”

“No!” Mortimer denied it instantly. His tone was hard, his volume spiking with a desperate edge, almost as if he was aggressively trying to convince himself.

His rationality completely collapsed in that moment. His voice vibrated with a primal, guttural wolf’s growl.

“No! The contract can be renewed. We can renew it for a lifetime! I can fully mark you, and make you mine for this life and every life after!” 2

He stared at me with burning eyes. A feral, beast-like glow flickered in the dark depths of his pupils, completely filled with a level of terrifying sincerity and submission I had never seen from him before.

“A lifetime…”

When those words dropped, a suffocating, aggressive wave of Alpha pheromones crashed down over the room.

For a split second, the usually freezing soul bond between us actually felt searing hot, scorched by his violent, desperate affection. It made my mind blank out for a fraction of a second.

But it was literally only a fraction of a second before I snapped back to reality.

The Moon Goddess doesn’t bless a mating with zero trust.

I couldn’t help but let out a light, cynical laugh, ruthlessly resisting that primal, biological pull. “Mortimer, stop. You’re being ridiculous,”

“You don’t believe me?”

Mortimer looked incredibly stubborn right now, like he absolutely had to prove his sincerity and desperation.

I just waved my hand dismissively. “It doesn’t matter if I believe you or not.

t.”

“It does matter! It matters entirely!” Mortimer panicked, his voice rising in volume.

I realized he was completely spiraling down his own rabbit hole and was incapable of listening to reason.

I didn’t want to waste my breath anymore.

I stood up straight from the sofa, scooped Dash up-fluffy dog bed and all-and turned back to him. “I’m tired. Just wait here for George to bring your clothes. Make sure the door locks behind you when you leave.”

Mortimer obviously saw that I was done with this conversation. A flash of anxious, angry suppression crossed his eyes.

What he didn’t know was that it wasn’t that I couldn’t understand him; I just had absolutely zero interest in his dramatic explanations anymore.

“Fine. We’ll drop this. Let’s talk about Dash,” he said, taking a deep breath and forcefully pivoting the conversation.

“What else is there to say about Dash?” I asked defensively.

Since he had clearly stated he wasn’t going to demand I get rid of the puppy, what was left to discuss?

“Dash is barely a month old, and he’s currently dealing with a fractured rib. How exactly are you planning to take care of him

1/3

+15 Bonus

during the day?u

I looked at him with suspicious eyes, waiting quietly for the punchline.

“The healing center allows pets in the lobby, but I highly doubt they let you bring a puppy into your actual shifts.”

The second he dropped that reality check, my heart sank

He was right.

He had hit my exact weak spot.

Even if the healing center was accommodating, once I started my rounds, I’d have zero time to supervise Dash.

Patients cycle through the clinic all day-who knows if someone is terrified of dogs? Plus, I specialize in cardiac patients. If a sudden bark startled a patient and triggered a fatal heart attack, the consequences would be catastrophic.

But Dash was way too small. Before he got hurt, I could barely justify leaving him alone in the apartment. Now that his ribs were compromised? Leaving him unsupervised all day was completely off the table.

When I originally rescued Dash, it was partly because I couldn’t stand seeing him freeze to death, and partly because I desperately wanted long-term companionship. I just completely failed to factor in what I’d do if he had a medical emergency.

Seeing me fall into a heavy silence, Mortimer pushed his advantage. “Why don’t you let me take care of Dash for a while? I’ll have the PR department leak some strategic photos of me with the dog. It’ll naturally kill the separation rumors, neutralizing the negative impact on the Craig Corporation, and Dash gets proper round-the-clock care. What do you think?”

I had to admit, the deal was extremely tempting.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify