Ex-Mate Wants Me Back (Seraphina and Mortimer) novel Chapter 288

Chapter 288

Third Person’s POV

“Shh. Quiet,” Caldwell whispered, cutting her off.

“Pull my glasses off and hand them to me.”

Seraphina breathed through the hammering in her chest. She forced her mind away from the protection zone, focusing on staying calm.

Leaning in, she caught the frames in her teeth and pulled them off his nose. Shifting her weight, she maneuvered the glasses down into his hands, which were tied behind his back.

Caldwell popped the lenses out of the frame, snapped one in half, and used the sharp edge to saw through the thick rope binding his wrists.

The second he was free, he slipped behind Seraphina and made quick work of her restraints.

“I checked outside. Just two guards,” Caldwell murmured in her ear. “Stay put. I’ll handle them, and then we move.”

Seraphina nodded, following his instructions to the letter so she wouldn’t slow him down.

Their kidnappers had underestimated them, assuming they were ordinary doctors. Leaving only two guards was a mistake-tapping into his werewolf speed and agility, Caldwell took them out in silence.

They covered a lot of ground before stopping in a quiet, secluded spot.

Unable to hold it in any longer, Seraphina asked, “Did something happen to the protection zone?”

Earlier that evening, she’d stepped out of the medical tent after treating a patient when Caldwell flagged her down.

He told her they’d found several severely injured civilians just outside the protection zone, and he needed her to grab some supplies for on-site treatment.

She hadn’t thought twice about it. She’d grabbed the meds and followed him.

Halfway there, a massive explosion had ripped through the air from the direction of the zone. Seconds later, she’d blacked out.

When she came to, she and Caldwell were tied up in that house.

She didn’t care who had taken them or why. She only cared about what had happened back at the camp.

Her colleagues, her best friend Trista, the Ukrainian civilians they’d spent weeks treating…

She needed to know if they were safe.

Caldwell’s expression darkened. He looked away, his voice dropping. “When I woke up, I overheard the guards talking. Our protection zone was bombed.”

The news hit Seraphina hard; she stopped processing her surroundings.

She stood there in the silence, paralyzed, her mind going blank.

“Toasty…”

Caldwell frowned, looking at her with concern.

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Seraphina looked up, meeting his worried gaze. Her lips trembled as she forced herself to speak.

“They… they were all there.”

It took physical effort to get the words out. The second she did, the tears started falling.

Caldwell stepped forward and pulled her into a gentle hug, rubbing her back. “I know you’re upset,” he said softly, “but we have to get out of Ukraine. Our rescue team is in the country, and we need to regroup with them.”

Seraphina was overwhelmed by a wave of grief. The sadness was a physical ache in her chest, triggering a deep, instinctual distress within her werewolf nature.

Yesterday, she’d been laughing and talking with Trista. Her best friend had been killed, and she couldn’t accept the reality of it.

“No, I have to go find Trista,” she said. “I can’t leave her here alone.”

Seraphina shoved Caldwell away, stumbling through the thick smoke toward the protection zone.

“Toasty, it’s not safe,” Caldwell said softly, grabbing her arm. “Rescue teams are already out there looking for bodies. Please, come with me to the safe zone. We can figure things out when we get back home.”

Seraphina pulled out of his grip, her face calm.

“I’m sorry, Caldwell. Go on ahead. I can’t leave Trista out there alone.”

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