Chapter 82

[ 1,015 words ]

Ivy’s Point of View

The girl standing right before my eyes in the center of the medicine shop is actually Princess Emma. I truly did not expect her face to recover so remarkably well after just one short month since I healed her. Her skin looked absolutely radiant.

If you did not stand right next to her and look very closely, you could not see any scars at all. My shamanic magic had worked absolute miracles for her, knitting together flesh that the regular pack doctors had called completely hopeless.

The little princess smiled so wide. “Thank you so much!” she beamed. She thanked me very happily, clasping her hands together. She was completely filled with genuine joy.

“How is your mother, Queen Rhia?” I asked.

Emma smiled warmly. “She is doing well, thank you for asking.” Then, her eyes sparked with sudden mischief. “I want to unmask you now. I want to look at your real face, Physician Lin”

The moment those words left her mouth, my personal guards, Wolf and Blade, immediately tensed up. They completely surrounded my body, their shoulders blocking her view. They were shielding my secret identity, ready to protect my disguise at any cost.

I quickly waved my hand at them from behind their backs.

“Stand down,” I instructed softly, pitching my voice into the youthful masculine tone of Physician Lin. I signaled for them to retreat so they wouldn’t terrify the her.

Wolf and Blade hesitated slightly, exchanging a protective glance, before stepping back a few inches. But they still watched her warily, their faces alert. But the little princess did not care about them. She completely ignored my co-divine doctors.

She tilted her head, inspecting my face with a curious pout.

“Is it inconvenient for you to show your face?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. “Is it hard to reveal your true appearance to the person you saved?”

“I cannot show my face due to a sacred medical oath.”

Emma tapped her chin thoughtfully, tracking my movements. “Fine. If you must keep your face hidden, can you at least reveal your age? Surely that isn’t a secret.”

I had to think very fast. I could not tell her my actual age, or she might connect the dots back to the palace. So I casually told a total lie with a straight face. “I am twenty years old.”

The little princess nodded her head, her eyes filled with admiration. She was very satisfied with that answer. “Twenty,” she said in awe.

“I’ll take my leave.” She said, as she turned around and left the store with her personal royal guards, completely at peace with what she had discovered.

“What did she mean by all of those questions? Why was she pressing so hard to see your face? Do you think they want to investigate you?” Blade asked.

“What if the people want to dig deeper into your background? If they find your real name, the Alpha King will find out about the prohibited healing methods!” Wolf added.

I slowly shook my head at them. “I don’t know her true purpose yet, but I know her heart. It shouldn’t be to harm me. She is just a grateful, curious teenager who wanted to see the person who saved her life. We do not need to panic right now. We just need to be extra careful and keep our heads down.”

We finished up our work quickly, and I retired to the back room to strip off the disguise robes, wash away the prosthetics, and change back into my normal clothing.

*

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*

Not long after returning to our pack palace, a secret message arrived for me. It came directly from the lower village store via a trusted runner. Dakia, my store clerk, had sent an urgent scroll wrapped in black wax. My eyes went wide as I broke the seal and read the neat handwriting.

Another pack had just reached out to the shop. They had paid an upfront fee of exactly $10,000 in pure gold coins just to secure a medical consultation. They wanted the Divine Doctor to cross the borders and see an anonymous patient immediately.

I was very surprised by this news. The name of this pack was written clearly at the bottom of the parchment. This was the Shadow-Claw Pack. The Luna of the Shadow-Claw Pack was the best friend of Dominic’s mother, Luna Helena. They shared a lifelong bond and were closer than real sisters.

And the connection went even further than that. The young heir of that pack was Dominic’s closest childhood friend. Dominic and the heir had grown up together, trained together, and fought wars side by side. They were completely inseparable, truly just like blood brothers.

For a pack like that to bypass their physicians and send a secret, massive $10,000 bounty to an underground village doctor meant something was terribly wrong.

I knew I could not keep this a secret from my family. I hurried straight to the high council chambers. I reported this situation immediately to Luna Helena and Alpha Alaric. Dominic was also sitting there in his wheelchair.

“They paid $10,000 upfront to my store clerk,” I told them, laying the scroll flat on the table.

Luna Helena gasped loudly, her hand flying to her chest.

“It matches the scroll we just received,” Alpha Alaric said. “We just received a formal invitation from the Shadow-Claw Alpha himself not even an hour ago. He sent a message directly to our pack. Their entire territory is in a state of panic.”

“What happened to them?” I asked quickly.

“Their Luna had a terrible, horrific accident while traveling near the borders. Her life force is fading very fast, and the pack doctors cannot stabilize her. She is on the brink of death, Ivy.” Luna Helena said amidst tears.

Blade’s immediate came in, he bowed his head in respect very quickly.

“Blade, move right now. Go to the pharmacy immediately. Tell Dakia to officially agree to the invitation and accept the $10,000.” I ordered.

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