Ex-Mate Wants Me Back (Seraphina and Mortimer) novel Chapter 71

Chapter 71

Third Person’s POV

“Not happening.” Mortimer’s face was a stone mask as he took a predatory step forward

His eyes, glowing with that jagged wolf-light, locked onto Seraphina. His aura came down like a physical weight, crushing the air out of the room.

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His voice was a flat, lethal line. “You signed for three years Seraphina. Not a minute less. Not a second short.”

He spat the words like a threat, but inside, his wolf was screaming.

Barton was clawing at his subconscious, a frantic, high-pitched howl of pure terror.

The mating bond-already frayed and bleeding-reacted to Seraphina’s will to cut it. It snapped back, lashing Mortimer’s soul with a white-hot agony.

It hurt so bad he could barely keep his human skin from tearing open.

“But-”

“I’m a man of my word. I value a contract,” Mortimer barked, cutting her off with a blunt, brutal efficiency. “I suggest you start doing the same.”

He didn’t wait for a rebuttal. He turned on his heel and retreated toward the master suite, his exit looking more like a desperate

escape.

He slammed the door so hard the walls hummed, a violent punctuation mark to his unhinged rage.

Seraphina stood in the silence, genuinely baffled.

What the hell was he so mad about?

The split was a win-win. Why was he acting like she’d just set his house on fire?

She didn’t get it. Honestly? Neither did Mortimer.

He was back inside his room, leaning against the door, breathing like he’d just run a marathon.

He’d fled because he was terrified-terrified that if he stayed, she’d say something even more final.

He’d set the three-year limit himself, but in his head, those three years were just a formality.

He’d just assumed they’d go on like this forever.

How could she? How could she be the one to bring up the end? 1

The panic was rising, a cold tide in his chest.

He looked down at his right hand. The white gauze was already a sodden, dark crimson.

He’d gripped his fist so hard during the standoff that the fresh stitches had torn right through the fascia.

He didn’t care about the blood.

The physical pain was a distraction from the soul-deep ache of the bond being ripped apart.

He remembered the video file she’d sent him.

He had not opened it yet.

The “evidence” of her bullying Vivian.

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Chapter A

+15 Bonus

He pulled out his phone and hit play.

“If you have any shame, tear up the contract and get out of Blade territory!”

The first thing he heard was Vivian’s voice.

It wasn’t the soft, fragile whisper she used around him.

It was sharp, entitled, and ugly. A demand, not a plea.

So this was the face she showed Seraphina?

It wasn’t enough that she’d spent three years pulling him away with “emergencies”; she was actively hunting Seraphina in public?

No wonder Seraphina suddenly became so cold to him.

Mortimer watched the rest.

He saw the crowd turn on Vivian, calling her a home-wrecker. He saw Seraphina standing there, cool and detached, watching the show like she was at the movies.

She hadn’t lifted a finger to help.

From a distance, it looked like she’d steered the mob right into Vivian’s path.

Mortimer stared at the screen, and then he let out a sharp, joyless laugh. He finally got it.

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