Wireless Sensor Network is an infrastructure-less and self-configurable network. With the advancement of technology, wireless sensor networks are widely used in various applications.WSN consists of hundreds to thousands of nodes, and they can interact with each other without any physical medium. As nodes are distributed across the network, any malicious node can enter the network, known as an external attack, or an already existing node can be compromised, known as an internal attack. Different mechanisms can be applied to design security solutions in WSN. So, this study introduces an Adaptive Trust-Based secure routing Protocol (ATBSRP) aimed at improving secure communication in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) through the dynamic evaluation of node trustworthiness. ATBSRP assesses nodes by analyzing their packet-forwarding behaviors, focusing on the amount of packets received and forwarded to determine reliable routes. The protocol identifies optimal pathways by evaluating calculated trust values, guaranteeing secure and reliable data transmission. Compared to the standard Ad hoc On-Demand Distance Vector (AODV) routing protocol, simulations show that ATBSRP effectively stops attacks. This results in a noticeable drop in latency, less packet loss, and better energy efficiency. The findings highlight the potential of ATBSRP as an effective solution for secure routing in WSNs.