Chapter 94: A Rot Beneath the Skin

KAEL

The room felt too small for the weight pressing against my chest as my heart seemed to be pounding very loudly with each second that was passing.

I stood by the window, fingers braced against the wooden frame, staring out at a territory that no longer felt entirely mine.

The night stretched wide beyond the walls, thick and heavy, swallowing the edges of everything it touched. Usually, there was comfort in that darkness but tonight, there was none.

A sharp knock broke through the silence that was enveloping the room and before I could respond, the door creaked open and two healers stepped in.

Their presence alone told me this wasn’t routine. They didn’t meet my eyes immediately, and that alone was enough to send something cold settling deep in my gut.

“What is it?” I asked, my voice coming out flatter than I intended.

They exchanged a glance. That felt almost like hesitation, it was brief but also at the same time it was unmistakable.

It irritated me more than whatever news they carried.

“Speak,” I snapped.

The older of the two finally stepped forward, her hands clasped tightly in front of her as though she needed to steady herself.

“My Alpha… it’s spreading quickly.”

My jaw tightened. “What is?”Even if I knew what it was.

“The illness,” she said carefully. “The one we thought was contained, it is killing everyone that …”

A humorless breath escaped me. “We thought?” I cut her off.

Her gaze dropped. “It’s no longer limited to that area.”

Something sharp flickered behind my ribs. “Explain why you all can't do a simple task…Why is it that difficult?” I demanded

“The symptoms are worsening faster than expected,” the younger healer added, his voice uneasy. “Fever, weakness, loss of control… and then—”

He stopped and looked at the much older woman. The fact they were acting this silly was starting to annoy me and I was close to losing it. I drew in a deep breath to control the rage I was known for .

“Then what?” I demanded.

Silence stretched just long enough to feel like defiance. “Death, my Alpha,” the older one finished quietly.

The word hung in the air like a blade. I pushed away from the window, pacing once across the room before turning back to them.

“How many?” I asked.

“Sixteen confirmed,” she said. “But more are showing signs.”

Sixteen? I thought to myself. It felt too much.

“That’s not possible,” I muttered, more to myself than them. “It doesn’t move this fast.”

“We don’t understand it either,” she admitted. “We’ve tried everything we know, herbs, binding tonics, isolation but nothing is slowing it.”

I ran a hand through my hair, frustration building with every word. “Then try something else.”

“We are,” she insisted quickly. “But—”

“But what?” I asked again.

“We may not have what is needed to stop this,” she said finally.

My gaze sharpened. “Are you saying you’re incapable?”

“No,” she replied carefully. “We’re saying… this may require a different kind of healer.”

The implication was clear and I didn’t like it.

My expression hardened. “You’re the healers of this pack.”

“Yes, my Alpha,” she said. “But this… this is unlike anything we’ve seen before.” She stuttered.

For a moment, none of us spoke as the room felt colder while I processed all of this.

“Do what you can,” I said at last, my voice controlled again, even if everything beneath it wasn’t. “Contain it. Isolate anyone showing symptoms. I don’t want this to spread further.”

“Yes, my Alpha.” They bowed their heads slightly before turning to leave.

The door shut behind them with a soft click that echoed louder than it should have.

Silence followed but it didn’t last long.

“You’re being too hard on them.” I didn’t turn. I didn’t need to as I knew who it was.

“Eron,” I said.

My beta stepped further into the room, his presence steady in a way that usually calmed me. Tonight, it only irritated me further.

“They’re doing everything they can,” he continued. “This isn’t their fault.”

I exhaled slowly, forcing some of the tension out of my shoulders. “People are dying.”

“And blaming them won’t stop that.” He explained.

I turned then, fixing him with a look. “So what would you suggest? We just wait?”

“No,” he said evenly. “We find what we’re missing.”

A bitter edge crept into my voice. “And what exactly is that?”

He held my gaze, unflinching. “A true healer.”

The words landed heavier than I expected.

I looked away first, jaw tightening again as I moved back toward the window.

“That’s what they meant, isn’t it?” he added.

I didn’t answer as I didn’t need to. The silence said enough.

“They’re right,” Eron went on. “Things have been… different.”

Different. That was one way to put it but unstable was another.

I leaned my weight against the frame again, staring out into the darkness.

“Say what you want to say.” I gritted through my teeth.

There was a brief pause before he did. “We haven’t been the same since she left.”

My fingers curled slightly against the wood as I gritted my teeth.

There it was, the unavoidable and at the same time unwelcome topic about Nyra that would always come up at times like this.

Her name didn’t need to be spoken. It was already there, hanging between us like something unfinished.

“That has nothing to do with this,” I said.

Eron didn’t even try to pretend he believed that. “Doesn’t it?”

I turned sharply. “This is a disease, not some consequence of…”

“Of what?” he cut in. “Of driving away the one person who might have been able to help?”

The words hit harder than they should have.

Because part of me, no matter how much I tried to bury it, had already thought the same thing.

I forced a cold smile. “You’re exaggerating things.”

“Am I?” he asked quietly.

Silence answered him. He studied me for a moment before shifting slightly.

“I asked around.”

That caught my attention.

“And?” I said.

“There’s been a word,” he continued, “of another pack.”

My focus sharpened. “Go on.”

“They haven’t been affected,” he said. “At least not like this.”

Something in my chest tightened again, this time for a different reason.

“Where?” I demanded.

He hesitated, just slightly. “Northwest territory.”

My mind was already moving ahead, connecting pieces before he even finished speaking.

“Gues who is also there?” He asked, though I already had a feeling.

Eron held my gaze. “Nyra.”

The name settled into the room like it belonged there. Like it had always been waiting. For a moment, I said nothing.

Then, quieter muttered. “You’re sure?”

“As much as I can be,” he replied. “She’s there. And whatever is happening to us… hasn’t touched them.”

A bitter thought flickered through my mind as my jaw clenched.

“Find out more,” I said.

Eron nodded. “I already have people looking into it.”

“Not enough,” I said. “I want everything. Their defenses, their alliances, their movements… and her.”

His gaze sharpened slightly. “Her?”

“Yes,” I said. “I want to know what she’s doing. Where she is. Who she’s with.”

Eron studied me carefully, like he was trying to read something beneath the surface.

“Understood.” He muttered.

He turned to leave, but paused at the door.

“For what it’s worth,” he added without looking back, “it’s not too late to fix things.”

I didn’t respond because I didn’t know if that was true.

The door closed behind him, leaving me alone again but the silence this time felt louder. I remained where I was for a while, staring out into the night without really seeing it.

Nyra…

The name echoed in my mind, dragging memories along with it whether I wanted them or not.

It started from the way she used to stand beside me, not behind and finally ended the way she questioned things no one else dared to.

My grip tightened as a slow breath left me.

Had I made a mistake?

The question came uninvited but it stayed even as I pushed away from the window, pacing once more across the room as if movement alone could shake the thought loose.

I had my reasons at the time, they had made sense but now. It was looking like o might have made a grievous mistake

A distant scream cut through the night breaking through my thoughts. I froze for a second while listening as it came again, sharper this time.

My chest tightened as I closed my eyes briefly, the sound lingering longer than it should have.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. My pack wasn’t supposed to be vulnerable. Yet here we were dying from something we didn’t even understand and the one person who might have been able to—

I stopped the thought before it could finish.

But it was already there regardless. It was too late to ignore.

I exhaled slowly, opening my eyes again.

We have to find her and bring her back home.