111 The weeks that followed settled into something neither Dark Mountain nor Silver Claw fully trusted. Peace. Not the fragile kind that existed between battles. Not the kind that came from exhaustion. Real peace. The sort that made warriors uncomfortable because they had forgotten what to do with it. For the first time in months, Dark Mountain wasn't preparing for an attack. There were still patrols. Still border checks. Still security reports. But they weren't living minute to minute waiting for the next crisis.The constant pressure had eased. The pack could finally breathe. Decker noticed the difference almost immediately. Wolves smiled more. The training yards were louder. Children played outside without their parents constantly watching the tree line. The dining hall stayed full long after meals ended because wolves actually wanted to sit together and talk. Simple things. Normal things. Things that had disappeared during the war. That didn't mean Decker stopped working. Far
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