VANESSA'S POV
The days that followed the breaking of the curse were the most peaceful I had ever known. It was a deep, profound quiet that felt earned, a collective exhale after centuries of held breath. The pack moved through their days with a lightness I'd never seen before. Laughter came easier. Smiles lingered longer. The constant, low-grade tension that had hummed under the surface of pack life was gone, replaced by a vibrant, thrumming serenity.
My new connection to the pack was a constant, humming awareness. It was like hearing the territory's heartbeat, a steady, reassuring rhythm. I could feel a mother's joy as her child took their first steps, the quiet contentment of an elder warming themselves in the sun, the focused determination of warriors training on the field. It was ove
