Snow fell softly over the forest.
Nancy stood outside the Alpha house watching white flakes drift through lantern light while the settlement glowed warmly beneath the winter sky.
Everything looked quieter in snow.
Softer.
Even Leo complained less.
Which honestly felt unnatural.
"You're thinking too hard again."
Nancy glanced sideways as Kai stepped beside her carrying two steaming cups.
She accepted one gratefully.
"I'm observing."
"You've been staring at snow for fifteen minutes."
"It's strategic snow."
Kai snorted quietly.
Warm breath curled through the cold air between them.
The first winter after the Veil war had arrived gently.
No corrupted storms.
No fractures in the sky.
No monsters moving through the trees.
Just winter.
Real winter.
Nancy still wasn't completely used to ordinary things feeling miraculous.
Children raced across the clearing nearby screaming happily while wolves tried—and failed—to supervise them properly.
One pup immediately launched himself into a snowbank face-first.
Leo looked horrified.
"Why would you do that voluntarily?"
"It's fun!"
"It's hypothermia."
Nancy smiled into her drink.
The bond pulsed softly across the settlement, carrying warmth, laughter, and sleepy comfort through the pack.
Peace had its own rhythm.
Slower than survival.
Quieter than war.
But deeper somehow.
Kai gently bumped her shoulder.
"You're doing the look again."
Nancy sighed.
"I hate that you can identify my emotional states by facial expression now."
"You're very readable."
"That sounds fake."
"It's the bond."
"No, it's betrayal."
Kai laughed softly.
The sound settled warmly beneath her ribs.
Snow continued falling around them while lanterns flickered gold through the clearing.
Someone started a snowball fight near the training grounds.
Thirty seconds later it became warfare.
Leo got hit directly in the face and reacted like an assassination attempt occurred.
"WHO THREW THAT?"
A tiny voice yelled proudly:
"I REGRET NOTHING."
Kai watched the chaos thoughtfully.
"You know… this might be the first season we've had where nobody's preparing for disaster."
Nancy looked around slowly.
The rebuilt cabins.
The warm fires.
The wolves laughing without fear hiding underneath it.
For once—
nobody was waiting for the world to end.
The realization hit quietly.
And hard.
Nancy leaned slightly against Kai before she could overthink it.
He immediately relaxed beside her like this had become natural.
Maybe it had.
"You okay?" he asked softly.
She nodded once.
Then admitted:
"I think I finally believe we survived."
Kai looked at her carefully.
Not teasing now.
Just honest.
"We did."
Simple words.
But after everything—
they mattered.
A sudden shout interrupted the moment.
"NANCY!"
She looked up just in time for a snowball to hit her directly in the shoulder.
Silence.
Across the clearing, three children froze instantly.
Kai immediately stepped backward.
"Oh, this is dangerous."
Nancy slowly brushed snow from her coat.
Then smiled.
Not a nice smile.
The children screamed and ran.
War began.
An hour later, the entire settlement looked like a battlefield.
Nancy sat breathless in the snow beside Kai while wolves argued over unfair targeting strategies nearby.
Leo still had snow in his hair and looked personally victimized by winter itself.
"You threw me into a snowbank," he accused Kai.
"You were threatening children."
"They attacked first!"
Nancy laughed so hard she almost dropped backward into the snow again.
Kai steadied her automatically.
Their eyes met briefly.
Warmth flickered through the bond instantly.
Quiet.
Comfortable.
Certain.
For a moment, neither of them looked away.
Snow drifted softly around them while the pack's laughter echoed through the winter night.
No cosmic horrors.
No impossible choices.
Just this.
Nancy realized suddenly—
she didn't need peace to last forever.
She just needed to let herself have it while it existed.
And tonight—
that was enough.