It all started with one of the younger pack members falling ill. It was quite an unusual happening, as demi-humans did not usually fall ill unless they were afflicted by toxins, or they were just plain weak. Even Mian rarely fell sick unless he had toxins in his body back when he was still without his new power.
At first, everyone just simply brushed off the events as one of the more rarer happenings, but they began to take it more seriously when even more pack members fell ill. The strangest thing about this event was that the afflicted members of the pack regained their health over a few days, and the supposed virus had no symptoms.
Soon enough, waves of ill pack members began to pop up, but they soon recovered. Han immediately instructed the pack to isolate those who were afflicted with the disease in order to try and contain it, but it proved to be pointless, as even those who had not been exposed to the sick still fell ill.
Next, the Patriarch himself fell ill.
...
"The water source? That is plausible, but we have already sent out our best physicians to examine the water. There is nothing strange about it and no one is showing any reactions to the water. Not even my senses have been able to catch a whiff of anything."
Han was currently discussing with one of his advisors on the matter that plagued their pack.
"Even you, Patriarch." The elder shook his head as he examined Han's body, checking for anything that stood out of place. The elder's name as Huan, and he was the chief physician of the pack. He held a complete authority over the medical resources of the pack.
"I am afraid that no one is safe from this virus. If even you, our strongest member, has fallen to it, then there is little hope that the rest of us can resist it." The elder concluded as he stepped back from Han's bed. The man was a middle rank Werewolf with light brown fur and some white streaks running through the fur.
"We can only see hope in the fact that those who have recovered have showed no signs of falling ill again." Han nodded his head as he let his body relax into the soft bed underneath him. His body felt drained of all energy, as though it was intentionally flushing out all the energy that was stored in his cells.
"I will return to my duties now, Patriarch." Huan bowed his head and turned to leave the room.
"Wait, Huan." Han stopped the elder. "How is my son? Daniel?"
"Daniel is doing okay. He is on his was to complete recovery, along with that his friend, what was his name?" Huan squinted as he tried to recall the name of the young middle rank that had been hanging around with the Patriarch's son as of late.
"Mian." Han helped him out.
"Ah, yes, Mian. The boy is also doing alright." Huan nodded his head, but a bit of hesitation appeared in his eyes. Hesitation that Han easily sensed as he was paying attention to the elder's actions.
"I sense your hesitation, old friend. What are your thoughts?" Han leaned up from the bed and balanced his weight against the headboard.
"I... The young middle rank is on my mind, Han." Huan began, resorting to a less formal reference for his old time friend. "That young middle rank... I sense a bit of mystery around him. Perhaps he is the cause of this illness?" He did not hesitate to share his opinion of Mian.
"Hmm..." Han sighed and shook his head. "I doubt it. I could not sense anything from him when he first arrived, and it has already been a couple of weeks since he arrived here. It would have been more reasonable if this illness had arrived as soon as he did."
After sharing his thoughts on the matter, Han and Huan remained to continue their discussion for some time before they separated.
...
"Is it working?" Daniel asked Mian as the two of them sat on a small patch of grass underneath a large tree just outside the Patriarch's mansion.
"Mm, it is. Those people who have fallen ill don't show signs of being under the drug's influence." Mian nodded.
The two boys had used the excuse of needing some fresh air to be granted the permission to leave the mansion. Han had told the guards to keep an eye one them and the guards diligently carried out those orders. Even now, a couple of middle ranking pack members were standing some distance away.
"That's great. That means that dad will soon be back to his usual self." Daniel sighed deeply. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his chest. He had tried to envision this event for a long time, but had never been able to. He was never able to figure out a way out of his dilemma. But now, thanks to Mian, everything was beginning to clear up. He finally felt that the Belmun pack would have a future.