NICHOLAS'S POV
The morning had been a blur of calculations and movements, but as the first light of dawn crept across the sky, I felt the weight of everything pressing in. The remnants of the boardroom’s chaos still lingered in my mind, but there was no time to dwell on it. Bayley was still out there, and I had no intention of letting her slip through my fingers.
Sophia stood on the balcony, her gaze lost on the horizon. I knew the weight she carried—everything that had happened, everything that was still to come. She had come a long way from the girl who had first walked into my pack, vulnerable and uncertain. Now, she was fierce, resilient, and dangerous in her own right. And as much as I admired that, a part of me hated seeing her wear that burden.
Her posture was stiff as if the wei
