Chapter 319

I watched Dane take the kids away, clicking my tongue in a pout. That was just a small cut, barely bleeding. I knew Tristan was stronger than that and would be fine with some ointment and a bandage. I knew he’d prefer my care to the pack doctor's, but Dane doesn't understand.

I shook my head, waving at Sera, who looked at me. I feigned a smile; when she turned away, I saw Tristan watching from Dane's shoulder. I waved, and he waved back, pressing his lips into a smile. I sighed as Dane rounded a corner, out of sight of the children. There was no longer any need to fake my smile.

I frowned and dropped the sword. Frustration bubbled up; I was about to step on it when I heard whistling nearby. I raised my gaze to see Trajan approaching. He bent down, picking up the sword. “Poor sword,” he said, “suffering for someone else’s mistake.”

I shook my head, looking away. His jokes weren’t hitting the mark right now. “I saw what happened,” he said. “You can’t blame Dane for being protective, can you?”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, protective is different from unreasonable… he’s acting like I don’t care about my kids.”

Trajan nodded, a good listener as always. I pursed my lips. “I hate that Tristan got hurt, but it was a simple mistake… I was training the kids safely.”

Trajan nodded again. “I agree, you were… but Dane didn’t see that. All he saw was Tristan fall, right? You can’t blame him for being a caring father.”

I nodded, groaning. “You’re right.” I bent down, picking up the swords the kids had dropped. “How’s the training going? Any issues?”

I heard no reply. Had he left? I turned to see Trajan behind me, his gaze elsewhere. Following his look, I saw Joclyn in the garden, doing yoga. I smiled softly. “Isn’t she beautiful?”

“She is so… beautiful,” he whispered.

Dane and the kids crossed my mind. I sighed. I needed to check on them. I went inside the training equipment storage room, dropped the wooden swords, and left the training ground.

Piper was training the warriors in archery. She nocked an arrow and fired a perfect shot, splitting an apple in the tree. Piper is good; she’s always been so good. I smiled, turning to see Evander watching her from a corner.

“Hey bud,” I nudged him. He turned.

“Good morning to the greatest luna of them all,” he replied.

I chuckled. “Isn’t that going too far? Don’t anger the moon goddess by comparing me to her.”

Evander shifted his gaze back to Piper. “No, it isn’t… some ladies are extraordinary… it’s just mortality that made them less… so.”

I looked at Piper, then at him. He’d shifted the conversation from me to Piper as a case study.

I gulped, seeing Warrick sitting near Piper, glaring at someone—me. “Warrick,” I muttered. Evander didn’t know he’d have Warrick to contend with if he wanted to reach Piper. I sighed, looking at Evander. He seemed dazed, staring at her. I felt bad for him; he wanted something he couldn’t have. I knew who truly held Piper’s heart. Warrick has it, but their stubbornness kept them apart.

I patted Evander’s back and headed towards the pack doctor’s. I found Tristan alone, sitting in a chair.

“Tristan?” I called, entering. “How are you feeling?”

He smiled. “Mu…” He coughed, trying to speak. I grabbed a cup of water from the table and offered it. He took it, but before he could drink, Dane took the cup.

“No… don’t drink that,” Dane said, handing him warm herbal tea.

“Dane?” I asked. “When did you get here?”

“Just in time to save you from giving this sick child cold water.”

“Sick?” I repeated, eyebrows raised. I turned to Tristan; he coughed again, his eyes red and dim, his skin pale. “How is he sick all of a sudden?”