Chapter 5 A Clan Plagued

The thick air in the pack's medical tent was suffocating. Moans of pain echoed from every corner, while the scent of herbs and desperation clung heavily to the space. People shuffled between makeshift cots, trying to tend to the sick, but it felt like battling an invisible enemy that grew stronger with each passing day.

Kade stood in the center of the tent, his face unreadable but his hands balled into fists by his sides. He hated feeling helpless, and right now, that's exactly what he was.

"How many more?" he asked, his voice low and tight.

Doctor Caden, the pack's lead medic, looked exhausted. His dark hair was disheveled, and the lines on his face were deeper than usual. "We've lost three more since sunrise."

Kade's jaw tightened. "That makes eleven. Eleven in two weeks."

"And if we don't find the source or a cure soon..." Caden didn't finish the sentence. He didn't need to.

The illness had started slowly-one or two wolves reporting fever and chills. But within days, it spread like wildfire. Symptoms ranged from fever to uncontrollable fits of coughing and finally, a strange paralysis that left victims unable to move or breathe. Even their strongest warriors had succumbed, and no one could explain how or why.

Kade rubbed a hand over his face, trying to think. "What about the doctors we called? Any of them make progress?"

Caden shook his head. "The specialist from the south left last night. Said he's never seen anything like this. The healer from the East River pack sent word-they're dealing with something similar and can't send help."

"So we're alone in this."

"For now, yes."

The tension in the Alpha's manor that evening was palpable. Kade called a meeting with the pack elders and higher ranks to figure out their next move.

"We can't afford to lose any more wolves," Elder Viktor said, his voice trembling with frustration.

"What do you suggest?" Kade asked, leaning against the heavy oak table.

"We reach out further," Viktor said. "Send word to every healer, herbalist, anyone who might know something about this. Surely someone out there can help us."

Freya, however, was less optimistic. "Do you think healers will just drop everything to come here? Especially when they know this sickness could kill them, too?"

"Would you rather we sit here and do nothing?" Viktor snapped.

"Enough!" Kade's voice cut through the argument like a blade. Everyone fell silent.

"We'll send word to every corner we can. Offer payment if we have to. Someone out there knows how to stop this, and we'll find them."

Three days later, a young wolf burst into the Alpha's office with news.

"Alpha!" she panted, her face flushed.

"What is it?" Kade stood from his desk, a mix of urgency and dread washing over him.

"We've received word of a healer-an herbalist," she said between breaths. "In the human town beyond the river. Her name is Lila. They say she's worked miracles."

Kade's brow furrowed. "Lila?"

"Yes, Alpha. Should we send for her?"

Kade hesitated for a moment. There was something about that name, something vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place it. Shaking off the thought, he nodded. "Do whatever it takes. Bring her here."

The messenger arrived at Lila's modest home a day later. The knock on the door startled her as she measured dried herbs into a jar, and she quickly wiped her hands on her apron before answering.

A young woman stood on her doorstep, her face pale with exhaustion and desperation.

"Are you Lila, the herbalist?"

"I am," Lila said cautiously. She had been living quietly in the human town, avoiding any mention of her past life with the wolves, and she wasn't sure how this woman had found her.

The young wolf fell to her knees. "Please, our pack is dying. You're our last hope."

Lila's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't been around wolves in years, but she could never forget the loyalty and pain that came with belonging to a pack. Seeing the woman's desperation stirred something in her she thought she had buried.

"Tell me everything," Lila said, guiding the woman inside.

Over the next hour, the young wolf explained the plague and how it was tearing through the pack. Lila listened carefully, asking questions about symptoms and treatments that had been tried.

"It sounds like nothing I've ever heard before," Lila admitted, her mind racing. "But I'll do what I can."

"You'll come with me?"

Lila hesitated. She hadn't stepped foot on pack lands in years. After everything that had happened, after she'd run away to protect herself and her son, the thought of going back filled her with dread.

But if she didn't go, more lives would be lost.

"Let me gather my things," she said finally, her resolve hardening.

When Lila arrived at the pack's territory two days later, the air was heavy with tension. She could see the strain on every face, feel the weight of the illness pressing down on them all.

As she was led to the medical tent, the memories of her past began to creep in. The faces, the smells, even the way the trees looked felt painfully familiar. But she pushed those thoughts aside.

The moment she stepped into the tent, a silence fell. Wolves stared at her with a mixture of hope and suspicion.

"You're the herbalist?" Caden asked, stepping forward.

"I am," Lila said, meeting his gaze.

"I hope you're as good as they say," he said gruffly. "Because we're running out of time."

Lila went to work immediately, examining the sick and asking endless questions. She spread out her herbs and remedies on a table, the smell of earth and healing filling the space.

As she worked, Kade entered the tent, his presence commanding as always. Lila froze for just a moment before forcing herself to focus. He didn't seem to recognize her, and for now, that was a relief.

"You're the healer?" Kade asked, his tone skeptical.

"Yes," she replied without looking up.

"Can you help them?"

"I'll do everything I can," she said firmly.

Their eyes met briefly, and something unspoken passed between them-an echo of a past neither of them could fully remember in that moment.

For hours, Lila worked tirelessly. She mixed tinctures, brewed teas, and administered treatments while instructing the other healers on what to do. But as the night wore on, her exhaustion began to show.

"What if it doesn't work?" one of the wolves whispered.

"We have to trust her," Caden said, though doubt clouded his voice.

"She'll help us," Kade said suddenly, his voice steady and full of belief. All eyes turned to him. "We called her here for a reason. Let her work."

By dawn, there was a glimmer of hope. One of the patients-a young warrior-showed signs of improvement. His fever broke, and his breathing eased.

"It's working," Lila said, a small smile breaking through her exhaustion.

But as the pack began to breathe a tentative sigh of relief, she knew the battle wasn't over yet. The illness was far from gone, and the hardest days were still ahead.