The Lycan's Healer Mate

Chapter 8 Ready

Mia's POV

It has been ages since the last time I put on makeup, for applying cosmetics is strictly prohibited by the Council. They assume females, especially omegas who wear makeup have evil intentions. In essence, they fear that we'd use our beauty as a kind of weapon and seduce nobles who are superior to them. The established order they were desperate to maintain will fall apart and they'd no longer be the men in charge.

To a certain extent their worries are not groundless. Rumors have it that an omega from River Pack has been chosen as Luna because she was too gorgeous to be ignored by the Alpha of the River Pack. Then she persuaded the Alpha to dissolve the Council and made a new one consisting of members of different ranks.

Most Council, including ours considers her a horrible woman and Old Mike even calls her madwoman underhandedly. He would show his respect to her when there is a face-to-face meeting, though. According to Gamma Jack, Old Mike had been caught staring at her t**s once and was asked to leave the party by a maid, after which Old Mike hated the Luna more and called her a shameless w***e. Young children in our pack never doubt his words, as the Council represents authority, which shall never be challenged. We've been taught to be obedient since the day we were born and only few of us still have the guts to disobey after years of brainwashing.

*Remember your place.* That's Alpha Xavier's pet phrase. One day he heard the saying from the Mysterious Box. He adored it so much that the following day he asked a blacksmith to engrave those letters on a huge plaque and the plaque is now hung on the wall of his office, towering each every visitor.

Old Mike compared the plaque to a sacred eraser, helping naughty kids to correct their mistakes by erasing their sins. The sacred eraser functioned well for most children, reminding children to behave themselves from time to time. But very unfortunately, I happened to be the daughter of rouge and the obedience was in my gene, which couldn't be eliminated so easily. I didn't tremble at the sight of the plaque, which made Alpha Xavier very unsatisfied.

He no longer invited me to his office and had a monthly chat with me (which he promised my mom before she died). He explained to other children that he had lost something valuable after his meeting with me and he didn't want things like this to happen again, which was why he wouldn't invite me to his office anymore. His accusation was indirect, yet it succeeded in earning me another title, Mia the Thief. I was so young and naive that I believed Alpha Xavier was frustrated about his loss and didn't mean to hurt me. I even offered to help him find his so-called valuable stuff back, hoping this would clear me of charges. After years of fruitless investigation, the turning point appeared as one night Alpha Xavier got drunk and he warned Gamma Jack to stay away from me, asserting that I was as reckless as my mom and both of us stole his

authority.

I didn't know why Gamma Jack would tell me this, but I felt grateful for him because what he told me relieved me of the meaningless search.

"Mia?" the sudden touch on my back makes me jump a little. I turn back and recollect myself when I recognize her as my roommate Lynci, a real thief they caught at a gala. They found more than 10 necklaces from her pocket and arrested her on the spot. Lynci asked for forgiveness and her sincere attitude moved the owners of the lost property. The aristocrat agreed to give the poor child a second chance, asking her to pick up a pack to serve to redeem her sin.

Back then our pack was short of workforce, so Old Mike volunteered to take her in. At first, Lynci was Old Mike's assistant and got along well with him but one day she was fired and forced to leave the Council Accommodation. Word has it that Lynci stole again yet what she told me was on the contrary. According to her, she was kicked out because she refused to steal wine for Old Mike. To show her sincerity, she even placed her hand on her favorite comic book and vowed that she was telling the truth. They didn't believe her and that's why she ended up being my roommate. A thief to a thief, quite a reasonable arrangement.

"What are you looking for?" Lynci gives me a sheepish smile.

"I need my lipstick and concealer." I keep rummaging in the drawer. I should have spent some time tidying it up. It is stuffed with numerous knickknacks.

"Ok." Lynci yawns and suddenly wakens from her daze, "Wait, what? You can't do that without the Council's approval."

"It takes them forever to approve an application and I don't have time to wait for their decision. There will be a costume ball tonight and I am going. Would you mind helping me turn on the light? It is so dim here and I couldn't see my cosmetics."

Lynci switches the light on and warns me in a serious tone, "You'd better go there without makeup, or you'd be punished if the Council found you've applied cosmetics without informing them in advance."

"I am not afraid of them." I ignore her warning and smile at the concealer hidden in the corner. No wonder I failed to find it.

"Well, I do." Lynci retorts with her arms across her chest, "Your action might bring me into trouble. The Council would blame me for shielding you."

"Why don't you go back to sleep and pretend that you didn't see me?" I shovel my lipstick and eyeshadow palette into the pocket and open the wardrobe.

"Will there be any differences?" Lynci snorts, "They wouldn't bother to listen to my explanation. You know these people. You'll get us beheaded."

"Easy, Lynci. Nobody is gonna die, alright? I am not that stupid and I won't wear makeup until I arrive at the Red Mansion. The Council can't do anything about that." I assure her while taking the two evening dresses from the hangers and show to her, "Which one suits me better?"

"The beige one. It looks more delicate."

"That's what I was thinking too. It was my mom's wedding dress. Can you believe she made it out of curtains?" I can't help but smile.

"No way!" Lynci exclaimes in disbelief and reaches out to touch the fabrics, "It feels so soft. I love the embroideries. It will look adorable on you. Come on, take off your clothes and put the dress on! Ugh, have you been to a mire? There are so many muddy dots on your clothes. It will be hard to clean."

"Don't worry about that. I'll handle it tomorrow." I put on the evening dress and spin around, appreciating the flying hemlines.

"Save your dance for the ball, princess." Lynci rolls her eyes and mumbles, "I wondered if I should steal a necklace or earrings from Angelina for you. The shiny little thing will make you the focus of attention."

"Yeah, great idea. Then they will notice what I wear were Angelina's belongings. You will get us beheaded." I kindly remind her, "And people might think we deserve this because we stole things from the future Luna."

"Angelina is not our future Luna." Lynci snarls, "She is nothing but a puppet of the Council. She is wishy-washy and obeyed whatever they asked her to do."

"Don't you get it?" I shake my head and lower my voice, "Obedient women are exactly what they seek. They want us to be seen rather than be heard. Judged by this standard, Angelina is a perfect candidate, not to mention she has a crush on Jack. The mating ceremony will be held sooner or later."

"What if Angelina is not Jack's mate? We can never tell until his coming-of-age ceremony. What's his birthday, by the way?"

"How am I supposed to know? You can ask him yourself." I shrug and mutter, "If what you suggest really happens, you will hear Alpha Xavier curse the moon."

Lynci giggles and sends me a wry smile, "I kind of looking forward to that."

"Don't forget to take a picture and send it to me," I smirk, "I'd put it on the wall of my bedroom."

The smile on Lynci's face falls. She narrows her eyes and muses, "You won't be here then?"

"Yeah." I nod and telll her my decision, "I am leaving the pack."

"Why?" Lynci is taken aback by my words. Her eyes widens.

I tell her about what I experienced last night as well as the invitation Ryan sent me.

"What if the man didn't mean it and he just invited you out of politeness? What if you go to his pack and he says this is a misunderstanding? Men are untrustworthy."

"I trust him." I blurt it out.

"Even if he is a man of his words, are you ready to pay the cost to leave the pack?"

"Yes."

"Do you know what the Council will do to you?"

"I am fully aware of the consequence. I knew the deal many years ago when they offered it to my mom." I answer with a bitter smile, "The Council will lay a heated iron on my cheek and the scar would symbolize my service to the pack is terminated."

"And you will wear the scar to the ball? You may scare them to death!"

"I will wear a mask to ensure that won't happen."

"What if someone asks you to take off your mask?"

"I will reject. Easy peasy."

"And you expect the man will take you in when he sees the scar on your face?"

Her challenge makes my heart pound furiously in my chest and I quickly maintain myself and reply, "I wish he could keep his promise. If not, I will be a rouge. And let me tell you, either way I won't regret my decision. It will set me free."