We made it back to Steele territory at dawn. Kade was dying. I felt it through the bond. Felt his life slipping away with every heartbeat that grew weaker. Fainter. Wrong.
“Hang on,” I whispered against his forehead. “Please. Just hang on.”
He did not respond. Could not. The wounds from my father’s undead claws were festering. Rotting. Death magic was eating him from the inside out.
Elena met us at the gates. Her eyes went wide when she saw Kade. “Get him to the medical den. Now!”
We laid him on a stone table. His chest barely moved. His silver eyes were closed. He looked dead already.
“Can you save him?” I asked Elena.
She examined the wounds. Her face went pale. “This is a necromantic infection. It spreads through the blood. Turns living flesh into dead flesh. Most wolves die withi
