DAPHNE
I had his full attention now.
Rovian was watching me like I held his entire future in my hands. Which I guess I did in a way. His people were dying and I was apparently the only one who could do anything about it.
I could use that.
"Condition one," I said. My voice came out steadier than I felt. "I'm there as a healer. Nothing else. Not your mate. Not your wife. Not your Luna. Just a hired healer doing a job."
Rovian's jaw tightened but he nodded once.
"Condition two. You don't touch me. Ever. Not without my explicit permission first."
Another nod. His hands were clenched into fists on his thighs.
"Three. I get my own quarters. Far away from yours. I don't want to be anywhere near you when I'm not actively working."
"Done."
"Four. I have complete authority over all medical decisions. You don't override me. You don't question me. You let me do my job."
"Agreed."
"Five. The mate bond is never acknowledged publicly. To everyone else in your territory, I'm just a healer you hired. Nothing more."
Something painful flashed across his face at that one. But he still nodded.
"Six. When I say I'm done, when I've done everything I can for your people, I leave immediately. No delays. No excuses. No 'just one more case' bullshit."
"Understood."
"And seven." I leaned forward and made sure he was looking directly at me. "If you break any of these conditions, even once, the deal is void. But my people still get everything you promised them."
Rovian held my gaze. "Agreed. All of it."
He'd agreed way too quickly.
Which meant he was planning something. He had some angle I wasn't seeing yet.
But I needed to get my people out of here safely. I needed to make sure Garrick and Mira and all the others weren't hurt because of me.
So I'd play along with whatever game he was playing. For now.
I stood up from the chair. "Then we have a deal. When do we leave?"
"Tomorrow at first light."
I nodded once and started to move toward the tent entrance.
"Daphne." His voice stopped me. "There's one more thing we need to discuss."
"What?"
"Us."
I turned back to face him. "There is no us. That's the whole point of my conditions. You need to understand that the past needs to stay in the past. What happened between us is over. Dead. We're not revisiting it."
I moved toward the entrance again.
This time he was faster. He caught my wrist before I could push through the tent flap.
His touch sent electricity straight up my arm. The mate bond sang with approval at the contact.
My wolf practically purred.
I hated it.
I turned to look at him. He was standing close now. I could feel the heat radiating off his body. I could smell that scent that was so delicious it made my head spin.
Pursely him.
We held eye contact. His golden eyes were burning into mine with an intensity that made it hard to breathe.
"What can I do to change things?" His voice was rough, laced with desperation, "What can I do to make you see that I made a mistake I'll regret for the rest of my life?"
I held his gaze without flinching, letting him see exactly how serious I was about this.
"Nothing." The word came out flat and final. "There's nothing you can do. I'll never love you again, Rovian. This time, I'm stronger than that."
I ripped my hand free from his grip.
Then I walked away without looking back.