Six weeks in, I noticed the compound was different.
Not loudly different. Not in the way of events or crisis or the specific drama of the months preceding Rowan's arrival. Quietly different, in the way of things that shift gradually and then you turn around and the shift is complete and you cannot locate the exact moment it happened.
The pace had changed.
Not slowed — the territory's work continued at its usual tempo, Cole's briefings ran their efficient twenty minutes, Aldis's perimeter coverage was active and Neva's supply chain restructuring was producing results and Marcus was attending board follow-ups and Soran's eastern route improvements had already saved the outer packs significant transit time. The work did not slow.
But around the work, something had changed.
People moved t
