Chapter 357. He’s Not a Quitter

Nicholas’s POV

I’m in the middle of a conversation with three alphas at the banquet, nodding at the appropriate moments, responding with practiced ease, when something deep inside me shifts.

It’s subtle at first—a tightening in my chest, a sudden awareness that has nothing to do with the words being spoken around me. My lycan stirs, restless, alert, his attention snapping sharply in one direction like a predator catching a familiar scent on the wind.

She’s here.

The realization hits me with such force that for half a second, I forget how to breathe.

My gaze lifts instinctively, cutting through the sea of white gowns, polished suits, glittering jewelry, and flickering chandeliers. And then I see her.

Apphia.

The w