Ex-Mate Wants Me Back (Seraphina and Mortimer) novel Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Seraphina’s POV

I walked past him, opened my office door, and stepped inside.

Mortimer followed close behind, his face a mask of cold fury.

As he got closer, a thick, cloying wave of omega pheromones hit my nose. It was Vivian’s scent -fresh and lingering. He’d obviously come straight from her. My wolf recoiled instantly, and I reflexively put some distance between us.

He fixed those dark eyes on me, his voice low and heavy. “Why didn’t you pick up your phone?

I gave him a look of genuine surprise. Honestly, I was confused. What was he even doing here? Hadn’t he left to take Vivian home?

“I called you half a dozen times. I even tried to reach you through the mind-link. You actually blocked the connection?”

There was a trace of something in his voice-something that sounded almost like a bruised

ego.

“Huh? Was there some kind of emergency?”

I asked the question casually as I pulled my phone out of the desk drawer. “Sorry. I didn’t have my phone on me. As for the mind-link? Yeah, I turned it off.”

He went silent at my dismissive, low-effort apology.

He just stood there, his deep gaze scanning my face as if looking for a crack in the armor.

After a long beat, he spoke, his voice dropping an octave. “I told you at lunch. We were having dinner tonight.”

Silence.

I’d forgotten.

Or more accurately, I’d spent too many years taking his word as gospel, only to be stood up every time Vivian snapped her fingers. I’d long since stopped expecting him to follow through on any “plans” he made with me.

So when he’d mentioned dinner earlier, I’d given him a vague “okay” and then completely deleted it from my brain.

But of course, the one time I didn’t take him seriously, he actually showed up.

+15 Bonus

Now, things were awkward.

He looked at my expression and, for once, seemed to read exactly what was going on in head.

I could feel the rage simmering just below his surface-stuck, with nowhere to go. He narrowed his eyes. “You already ate?”

I hesitated for a second, then nodded.

“So you just… forgot our plans?” His voice turned even colder.

my

I wasn’t about to admit to that, so I scrambled for a defense. “I assumed you’d be having dinner with Miss Davis. I figured the plans changed, so I just went ahead and ate.”

After all, he’d pulled that move on me plenty of times.

Luckily, I had forgotten. If I’d actually remembered and sat around waiting for him just to be ditched again, I’d just be hungry and pathetic.

I heard him let out a long, slow breath. “If I say I’m going to be there for dinner, I keep my word.” 1

Then he caught my eye.

He froze, probably remembering the dozens of times he’d blown me off for Vivian. The silence was deafening.

He cleared his throat, looking distinctly uncomfortable. “I came straight here after dropping Vivian off. I… I had no intention of changing the plan.”

It sounded like an explanation.

Maybe even an apology. Since he knew he didn’t have a leg to stand on, the righteous anger in his voice had lost its edge.

I nodded, not really interested in circling back to the argument.

I just wanted to survive the next two months as quietly as possible.

But Mortimer was being so weird today.

Usually, ditching me was his baseline; he wouldn’t even bother with a single word of explanation.

Yet here he was, actually trying to justify himself.

I licked my dry lips. “Sorry I wasted your time. But since I’ve already eaten, you should probably just go grab something yourself.”

2/3

+15 Bonus

was done with him. I wanted him out.

After the session with Tabitha, my physical repulsion toward him had settled a bit.

But the longer he stood there, the more Lily started to pace and growl in my mind.

My fingertips began to burn with an uncontrollable heat. I could feel the fur under my

skin trying to tear through the surface.

I clenched my fists until my nails dug into my palms, forcing the shift back down.

He must have caught the irritation in my voice because he looked stunned for a split second.

A flash of confusion crossed his face. He stared at me for a long time before he spoke again.” You’re coming with me.”

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