SOPHIA’S POV

I ran out of the forest as soon as I heard what happened. I heard Ashley’s crying and got worried instantly.

Everything happened so fast that for a few seconds, nobody moved.

Ashley sat on the ground crying loudly while Klara stood over her furiously like a tiny angry kitten ready to attack again. Leaves and dirt clung to Ashley’s clothes after falling from the rock, and her face had turned red from both crying and shock. The other children nearby stared with wide eyes while several teachers rushed over in panic.

But Klara didn’t look scared at all. She looked furious.

“You’re bad!” Klara yelled again while pointing angrily at Ashley. “You made Boris cry!”

Ashley burst into louder sobs “I hate you!”

“You’re mean!” Klara shouted back.

Then before anyone could react again, Klara lunged forward and grabbed Ashley’s sleeve. Ashley screamed instantly while trying to push her away, but Klara stubbornly held on.

I didn’t move....not immediately.

My wolf stayed quiet inside me while watching the scene unfold. She wasn’t pleased seeing children fight, especially Ashley, but she also understood why Klara reacted that way.

Ashley had crossed a line.

And deep down... I knew it too.

Hearing my own daughter call another child a motherless bastard had shocked me earlier. Even now, my chest still felt tight remembering those words leaving Ashley’s mouth so naturally.

Because those weren’t childish words. Those were cruel adult words. And someone had clearly taught her that cruelty.

Klara shoved Ashley again angrily. “You apologize to Boris!”

Ashley cried harder. “No!”

The teachers finally reached them but before they could separate the girls properly, Tiffany suddenly rushed forward in panic.

“Ashley!” Her voice sounded frantic now.

The moment Ashley saw Tiffany approaching, she cried even louder and reached toward her desperately.

“Tiffany!” she cried.

But before Tiffany could touch Ashley, someone blocked her path - Zade.

He stepped in front of her coldly without even looking at her properly.

“Zade, move,” Tiffany said anxiously. “Ashley’s hurt.”

Zade’s face remained unreadable “She attacked first.”

Tiffany looked stunned by his response “She’s only a child!”

“So is Boris.”

The entire atmosphere became tense.

I stood nearby silently watching everything while my emotions twisted inside me.

Ashley was my daughter, my own child. Seeing her crying like this hurt me deeply whether I wanted to admit it or not.

But another part of me stayed cold, because Ashley truly had hurt Boris and nobody corrected her - nobody except Klara.

Tiffany looked desperate now “She could’ve gotten injured!”

At that moment, Zade finally looked at her properly.

“You should’ve taught her better.” He said.

Nearby, Ashley continued crying loudly while Klara still argued angrily with her from behind one of the teachers.

“You said something bad first!” she screamed.

Ashley cried “He deserved it!”

One of the teachers finally managed to pull Klara backward slightly.

“Klara, enough.” The teacher said.

Klara still looked furious “She bullied Boris!”

Boris stood nearby looking completely overwhelmed by everything happening now.

My heart softened seeing him.

Poor child.

Unlike Ashley, Boris didn’t look angry anymore. He looked guilty, like he blamed himself for the chaos.

Boris walked toward Klara.

“Klara.” He said.

Klara turned toward him “Yes”

Boris grabbed her hand “You should

“She was mean to you.”

“I know, but fighting is bad.”

His voice sounded so soft and sincere that even the adults nearby became quieter.

Klara looked upset now “But she hurt your feelings.” 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Boris nodded “You protected me already. Thank you”

Something in Klara’s expression softened instantly after hearing that.

Klara’s anger slowly faded while she looked at Boris. Then finally, she stepped away from Ashley completely.

Ashley crawled backward and ran to the forest.

Several teachers called out to her when they saw her running. Tiffany screamed as she disappeared through the trees, chasing Ashley desperately.

Soon, the noisy field became quiet. Everyone looked awkward now.

Some parents whispered among themselves while the teachers tried calming the frightened children nearby. The earlier cheerful atmosphere had completely disappeared.

Meanwhile... I stood there unmoving. My wolf whimpered painfully inside me now.

“Go after pup” she whispered.

But I stayed still. I didn’t know what to do anymore.

Ashley hated me lately.

Every time she looked at Tiffany, her eyes filled with love. Meanwhile, every time she looked at me, there was distance....and that hurt more than I could describe.

Zade suddenly glanced at me briefly. I immediately looked away.

After what happened between us earlier, standing beside him now felt unbearable emotionally. My lips still tingled painfully from his kiss.

And my chest still ached from the things we said to each other.

My wolf remained emotionally unstable too. Part of her wanted comfort from him despite everything, while another part remained angry and wounded.

It was exhausting, absolutely exhausting.

One of the teachers awkwardly cleared her throat.

“Perhaps everyone should calm down before the next activity.”

Several parents nodded. Children slowly started returning toward the camping area again, though the mood remained tense now.

Klara suddenly walked toward me hesitantly. The anger from earlier had disappeared completely from her face now. Instead, she looked nervous.

“Auntie Sophia?” she said.

I looked down at her “What is it?”

Klara looked guilty “Did I do bad?”

My heart softened at her words. My wolf softened too.

Despite how fierce Klara acted earlier, she was still only five years old herself. She was still a kid.

I crouched in front of her “You shouldn’t hit people.”

Klara looked sad “But she made Boris cry.”

“I know.”

Klara fiddled nervously with her fingers “I got angry.”

“I know.”

Her eyes became watery “I didn’t like what she said.”

Neither did I, but I couldn’t say that aloud. Instead, I gently brushed some hair away from her face.

“You were trying to protect your friend.”

Klara nodded “Yes.”

“But violence is still wrong.”

Klara looked down again quietly. My chest tightened painfully because honestly...part of me understood exactly why she reacted that way.

Even now, Boris still stood nearby watching us quietly with worried eyes.

I sighed softly “You should apologize later.”

Klara looked surprised. “To Ashley?”

“Yes.”

She frowned “But she was mean.”

“I know.”

Klara looked unconvinced and angry.

I gently held her small shoulders “Being cruel back won’t fix it.”

Klara stayed silent several seconds before finally nodding reluctantly.

“Okay.”

I smiled at her “Good girl.”

Klara hugged me tightly. The sudden affection caught me off guard completely.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered sadly.

I hugged her back “It’s alright.”