**DEREK POV**
I watch the pack shift in real time.
Not dramatically. Not with speeches or declarations or visible fractures. It happens the way pressure changes underground, subtle and cumulative, until the surface is no longer where it used to be.
They’re stronger now.
Not louder. Not more aggressive. Stronger in the way people become when they’ve been forced to think for themselves instead of waiting for direction. Stronger because systems had to hold without constant correction. Because trust was tested and, in some places, rebuilt on different terms.
They’re more cautious too.
That’s the part that costs.
I notice it in meetings first.
A logistics briefing runs long, not because anyone is confused, but because no one is rushing to align.
“So what’s the fallback,” someone asks,
