Chapter 292
Chapter 292
Third Person’s POV
Elias nodded, his gaze lingering on Trista and his son for a moment before silently following them.
When Xander first introduced Trista, Elias had been skeptical–she looked far too young.
But after that brief interaction, his opinion had shifted.
Though she was early in her career, she carried a natural, grounding stillness that pacified the pup. She was flexible, too.
Even if she couldn’t fully cure Sayer, the fact that he didn’t reject her was already a miracle.
At this stage, getting Sayer to voluntarily open up to anyone was nothing short of a feat.
Ten minutes later, Trista arrived at the inpatient ward with Sayer in her arms and Elias by her side.
As the elevator doors slid open, she came face–to–face with Cassian and Samantha standing guard outside a
room.
The sight of Trista holding a child while walking shoulder–to–shoulder with a strange man made Samantha’s day.
To her, this was perfect ammunition. To Cassian, it was a blatant provocation.
Cassian stared at the pup in Trista’s arms, then shot a dark, lethal look at Elias. His Alpha pressure began to leak into the marble hallway like a thick fog.
He stepped forward, his voice as cold as ice. “Do you two know each other p>
Trista caught a glimpse of Samantha hovering behind Cassian and remained silent.
So much for his “devoted husband” act this morning. He didn’t want to drive her to work; he wanted to keep tabs on the victim’s family.
For Cassian to blow off core Ironthorn business to handle a schoolyard scrap personally, it could only be for Samantha and her son.
Looking at the players involved, there was no doubt: Algernon was the one who had attacked Sayer.
Trista didn’t say a word. Cassian’s expression was terrifyingly grim, while Samantha’s eyes glittered with a strange, frantic excitement.
The air was heavy with the friction of clashing pheromones.
Elias broke the silence, politely asking Trista, “Miss Holmes, and this is p>
Before Trista could open her mouth, Samantha jumped in. “Mr. Manwaring, Trista and we are very old acquaintances p>
Elias gave a polite, shallow nod of acknowledgement,
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“Mommy p>
Sayer clung to Trista’s shoulder like a frightened cub, burying his face in the crook of her neck and nuzzling her for comfort.
Trista patted the pup’s back and walked right past Cassian without a glance, heading straight into the patient
room.
Samantha gasped, grabbing Cassian’s arm. “Cassian, did you hear that? That kid just called Trista ‘Mommy p>
Cassian brushed Samantha’s hand off without looking at her. “You misheard,” he said coldly.
He knew who Elias Manwaring was, but they moved in different circles.
Elias was a titan of the legal world, a man who spent his time on international M&A and rarely appeared in the local L.A. pack social scene.
If Cassian hadn’t been able to secure a personal connection with the man, there was no way Trista knew him.
In his mind, this was strictly a doctor–patient interaction.
When Cassian and Samantha entered the room, Trista was already sitting by the bed, soothing Sayer.
Samantha approached Elias, her previous arrogance completely gone.
“Mr. Manwaring,” Samantha began, “my son definitely made a mistake. He’s still young and doesn’t understand how serious these things can be. I hope you can be the bigger person and not hold it against him p>
Elias stood by the bed, holding a child’s water bottle. His tone was calm, yet he radiated a suffocating level of authority. “Miss Fernandez, I recall our first phone conversation sounding quite
different p>
Samantha shifted uncomfortably, avoiding his eyes.
Yesterday, the teacher had only said there was a fight.
When she got to the school, she had tried to hand over a thousand dollars to make the problem go away. Not only was she rejected, but the school demanded both sets of parents show up in person.
She had planned to play the “tough mother” to force the other side to back down and accept their bad luck.
She never imagined the “other side” would be someone she couldn’t even afford to look at.
Samantha looked at Cassian for help.
Cassian spoke up. “Mr. Manwaring, I know who you are, but there’s no need to blow a playground scuffle out of proportion. We will pay double for all medical expenses and emotional distress. I’ll also have Algernon issue a public apology. We’d like to settle this privately p>
Elias turned to Cassian, his gaze sharp as a needle. “Alpha Cassian, are you the boy’s father p>
Cassian instinctively looked at Trista.
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Chapter 293
His eyes flickered with hesitation. He struggled with himself for a long moment, but ultimately, under the weight of the situation, he gave a slow, forced nod.
Elias turned to Samantha and said with practiced grace, “So you are his Luna. My apologies for the oversight p>
A smug, uncontrollable smile spread across Samantha’s face.
Trista caught the expression out of the corner of her eye and thought it was pathetic.
Elias was being “humble and polite” because he had world–class breeding; Samantha was too thick to realize that in the eyes of an Alpha of his caliber, she didn’t even register as a blip on the radar.
Cassian stood frozen, his eyes glued to Trista.
He had shown up today as a father. Since he had claimed the child, he couldn’t exactly deny it when Elias called Samantha his “Luna” in public.
A sharp pang of irritation and helplessness tightened his chest.
He gripped the foot of the bed so hard his knuckles turned white.
“Mommy p>
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