The Lycan's Healer Mate

Chapter 14 Healer's Tenets

Mia's POV

"My lady, "Patrick bows slightly and hands a scroll to Madam Agnes.

"Thank you, Patrick." Madam Agnes nods at him.

"The pleasure is mine," Patrick answers with his right hand on his chest.

Madam Agnes gives the scroll to me and says, "Go ahead, read it yourself and tell me your decision."

I take the scroll from her and sniff the fragrance of rose the moment I unfold the paper. I lower my head to inhale the scent, finding it comes from the ink. The odor smells good and tempting, which drives me to go through the paper. It is someone's manuscript and the handwriting is not only neat but also elegant. I am distracted by the cursive style and fail to focus my attention on the content.

"Your handwriting is so beautiful," I tell Madam Agnes.

"Thanks but this wasn't written by me." Madam Agnes smiles," It was written by Zander, a friend of mine. He leads the council of our pack. You may encounter him in the future if you decide to stay with us."

"I can't wait to meet him in person." I reply politely, but I know what I said was different from what I thought. The truth is I'll avoid seeing this man no matter how elegant his handwriting appears to be. Old Mike's handwriting also possesses an air of glory, yet it doesn't qualify him to be a decent man.

"So do I!" Aurora exclaims and asks curiously, "Why haven't I met this guy? I've been staying here for one year."

"Because he usually stays in the library, and the library is the last place you want to visit." answers Madam Agnes curtly.

The silent accusation makes Aurora blush and tugs her fingers. She clears her throat and stands away from Madam Agnes, coming to my side and encouraging me to look at the tenets and she will be very glad to answer my questions. I thank her and look at the scroll, which reads:

Ten Tenets of Healers

1. Thou shalt believe all that the Wing teaches and thou shalt observe all its directions.

2. Thou shalt be loyal to the pack in which thou serve.

3. Thou shalt perform scrupulously thy duties, if they be not contrary to the laws of Moon Goddess.

4. Thou shalt never lie, and shalt remain faithful to thy pledged word.

5. Thou shalt respect all weaknesses, and shalt constitute thyself the defender of them.

6. Thou shalt not recoil before thine enemy and thou shall accept the challenge from others.

7. Thou shalt be generous, and give largesse to everyone.

8. Thou shalt never turn down a request from elves.

9. Thou shalt never use thy power to heal the following kinds: vampire, dragon, human (above three-year-old)

10. Thou shalt be everywhere and always the champion of the Right and the Good against Injustice and Evil.

I blink at the scroll because the information is too much and when I find it difficult to memorize all of them.

"It's overwhelming, isn't it?" Aurora senses that and sends me a soothing smile, "It's simpler than it appears to be. I'll use one sentence to summarize it for you—be a decent person, treating our friends with kindness, our enemy without mercy."

"Thank you. Your version sounds much more clearer." I nod at Aurora and ask, "But I don't quite understand the ninth. Why can't we save vampires, dragons and humans?"

"Human above three-year-old." Aurora kindly informs me and frowns, "You asked a silly question. We shall never heal them because they are our enemies. I just told you that!"

"Please forgive my foolishness." I apologize, "I understand the part that we cannot show mercy to our enemies, but I don't know what makes them our enemies."

"The question never occurred to me," Aurora admits shyly and turns to Madam Agnes, expecting the latter to explain it to me.

Before Madam Agnes can say anything, Ryan speaks first and the coldness in his tone surprise me. He says with a disdainful expression, "The hatred between vampires and us has lasted for centuries. They feed on others' blood and I don't think this brutal action can be tolerated."

But they were born to be long for blood. I hold the urge to argue against him and ask, "What about the dragons?"

Ryan clenches his jew and snorts, "Despicable traitors."

The mention of dragons seems to trigger Ryan's memory as his face darkens.

"I don't quite understand—" I am about to ask him more about the unhappy past but Madam Agnes gives me a pinch, signaling me to stop.

She seems to know my stubbornness won't allow me to let it go so easily, so she assures me quickly, promising that she will explain to me later.

I take the advice and suppress my curiosity, moving to the next question, "And I suppose human beings are also horrible in some way?"

"That's half-true." the storm in Ryan's eyes fades and his voice becomes gentle again, "Human beings are complicated creatures. Some of them are good while the others are not. They're so cunning that it is difficult for us to tell good from bad, which is why we stay away from the human adult but show our mercy to the babies."

"That's too soft. We could have killed them all." Aurora complains, "Human beings didn't spare babies when they hunt for witches. They have passion for burning all of us to death."

She pauses a while and there is a wry smile on her face, "And the most ironical thing was sometimes they mistook their own people for us, and burn them, too. I wonder if they'd regret it afterwards."

"That's what they did in the old days. Things are quite different in the new era." Ryan shakes his head, "The Council advocates for peace with human beings. Zander has spent years in the human world and I trust his judgment."

"Fine." Aurora pouts her lip unhappily and waves her hand, "You're the boss. After all, it is you not me who rules the pack."

It occurs to me that I've never asked Ryan about his title. According to what Aurora says, he could be a Gamma or Beta in his pack, responsible for catching suspicious trespassers. I don't think Ryan is an Alpha. Otherwise, he will proudly introduce his rank to threaten me when he mistook me for a spy.

Aurora's words amuse Ryan and he teases, "What if I ask you to rule the packs on behalf of me?"

"Absolutely not. I have little interest in being a leader. Besides, Madam Agnes' homework has already driven me crazy." Aurora shakes her head.

Ryan smirks, "What if I do the homework for you and you rule the packs for me?"

There is a light flashing across Aurora's face and she eagerly reaches out her hand, "Deal."

Madam Agnes' face darkens and she gives Ryan a smack on his back, hissing at him angrily, "What are you? Twelve? Ruling packs is a serious thing and you shouldn't have made fun of it, Your Majesty."

She puts so much emphasis on the last two words that it downs on me why the deal Ryan offers to Aurora states "rule the packs" rather than "rule the pack".

"Wh-at-" There is a c***k in my voice as I am too shocked to pronounce a word.

Your Majesty?