Aria’s POV
I drove like a maniac.
Every red light felt like an eternity. Every slow car in front of me was a personal attack. My hands gripped the steering wheel so tight my knuckles went white.
Lina. My baby. Something was wrong with my baby.
Cassius had said she was fine. Not hurt. Safe. But the word "incident" kept echoing in my head. What kind of incident? With what student? Had someone hurt her? Had she hurt someone else?
The school finally came into view. I barely remembered to park properly. Barely remembered to turn off the engine.
I was out of the car and running before my brain caught up with my body.
The front gates were open. Parents milled around, dropping off their children. Normal Tuesday morning chaos. Except nothing felt normal anymore.
Where was she?
My eyes scanned the crowd. Looking for that familiar dark hair.
There.
Near the entrance. Partially hidden behind a tall figure with silver-white hair.
Cassius stood with his back to me, his posture protective. And behind him, almost invisible, was a tiny shape.
Lina.
My heart clenched.
Even from this distance, I could see something was wrong. She wasn’t bouncing. Wasn’t chattering. Wasn’t doing any of the things my energetic three-year-old usually did.
She was just... standing there. Head down. Shoulders hunched. Making herself as small as possible.
"Lina!"
I called her name as I ran. My heels clicked against the stone pathway. My bag bounced against my hip.
Cassius turned. Relief flooded his face when he saw me.
"Aria. You made it."
I barely heard him. I was already dropping to my knees, already reaching for my daughter, already scanning her body for any sign of injury.
"Baby. Baby, look at me." I cupped her face. Tilted it up. "Are you hurt? Did someone hurt you?"
Her eyes met mine.
Those beautiful black-gold eyes. Filled with something I’d never seen there before.
Shame.
"Mommy." Her voice was tiny. Broken. "You came."
"Of course I came." I was already checking her arms. Her legs. Running my hands over her body, searching for cuts or bruises or anything that might explain why she looked so devastated. "Where does it hurt? Tell Mommy where it hurts."
"I’m not hurt."
I stopped. Looked at her face again.
No bruises. No scratches. No physical damage at all.
But something was definitely wrong.
"What happened?" I pulled her into my arms. Held her tight against my chest. "Baby, what happened? Tell me."
She didn’t answer. Just pressed her face into my shoulder and went still.
I looked up at Cassius. Desperate.
"What’s going on? You said there was an incident."
He crouched down beside us. His gray eyes were troubled.
"I’m not sure," he admitted. "She was like this the whole morning. I’ve been trying to get her to tell me what’s wrong for twenty minutes. She won’t say a word."
I pulled back slightly. Looked at my daughter’s face.
Her bottom lip was trembling. Her eyes were wet. She looked like she was using every ounce of her tiny strength to hold herself together.
"Lina." I kept my voice gentle. Soft. The voice I used when she woke up from nightmares. "Sweetheart. It’s okay. Whatever it is, you can tell Mommy."
She shook her head. Quick. Desperate.
"I can’t."
"Why not?"
"Because." Her voice cracked. "Because you’ll be sad."
My heart shattered into a million pieces.
"Oh, baby." I pulled her close again. Pressed my lips against her hair. "Nothing you say could ever make me sad. I love you. No matter what."
She sniffled against my shoulder.
"Promise?"
"I promise."
We stayed like that for a long moment. Just holding each other. I could feel her little heart racing against my chest. Could feel the tension slowly leaving her small body.
I brushed the hair from her face. Studied her expression.
She was calmer now. Less frightened. But that shadow was still there. Lurking behind her eyes.
"Lina." I took her hands in mine. Squeezed gently. "Can you tell me what happened? Why don’t you want to go to school today?"
Her whole body tensed.
"I don’t want to talk about it."
"I know, sweetheart. But I need to understand so I can help." I stroked her cheek. "Did someone say something to you? Did someone do something?"
She looked down at her feet. Her little fingers twisted together nervously.
"Can I just... can I not go today? Please?"
"Lina—"
"Please, Mommy." Her eyes shot up. Pleading. Desperate. "I’ll be good. I’ll stay home with Uncle Cassius. I won’t cause any trouble. I just don’t want to go in there."
My chest tightened.
"Baby." I pulled her onto my lap. Wrapped my arms around her small body. "Listen to Mommy, okay?"
She nodded against my chest.
"I can accept you not wanting to go to school today. If you’re feeling sad or scared or just not up for it, that’s okay. We all have days like that." I tilted her chin up. Made her look at me. "But I need you to tell me what happened. I need to know so I can help you. Can you do that for me?"
Her lower lip wobbled.
"Lina." I kept my voice calm. Patient. Even though my heart was racing. Even though a thousand terrible possibilities were flooding through my mind. "Whatever someone said to you, it’s not your fault. And it’s not true unless I tell you it’s true. Okay?"
She considered this. That serious expression she always wore when thinking hard.
"Okay," she whispered finally.
"Good." I squeezed her hands. "Now. Can you tell me what happened?"
She took a deep breath. Let it out slowly.
Then her head lifted. Her eyes focused on something over my shoulder. Something in the direction of the school entrance.
I felt her whole body stiffen.
"Lina? What is it?"
She raised one small hand. Pointed at someone.
"They are there. They said I don’t smell like a wolf at all," she whispered. "They said I only have... a human stink..."