It happened on the fourth day.
Not with noise.
Not with conflict.
With a change so small it almost went unnoticed.
Denise felt it first in the morning air.
Less tension.
Not gone.
Just… redistributed.
Like the pack had stopped circling one question and started circling something else.
Liam noticed it too as they crossed the inner path toward the training grounds.
“They’ve moved on from the question,” he said.
Denise glanced at him.
“That sounds like progress.”
Liam didn’t sound convinced.
“It depends on what they replaced it with.”
Denise slowed slightly.
“What did they replace it with?”
Liam’s eyes stayed forward.
“Whether you were the problem…”
A pause.
“…or the beginning of something.”
Denise exhaled slowly.
“That feels like a worse question.”
“It is,” he said.
T
