Gabriella Hemingford walked through the halls of the local Middle School. This was always the worst part of the day. The stares and whispers she could hear.

"F@ck me she's a baby Sherman tank."

"Why is she so big?"

"No way she's a wolf...who could find that gorgeous as a mate?"

"She's got such a cute face but girl got too much curves."

She heard it every day. Of course, the fact that she was 5' 7" & 12 years old did not help at all. She knew she wasn't small.

She was too big for her age. Her father had insisted that she attend school with her age mates after she'd completed her first Master's degree and Momma had agreed. Daddy got killed by rogues and now it was just her and Momma.

Momma was a bit of an eccentric. As the Pack Doctor, she got a lot of respect. Now with Daddy gone, she'd all but buried herself in her work.

Gaby sighed. Picking up her books from her locker she went to her first class. As she sat at her desk she felt eyes on her. It was the future Alpha, Jerome Wilder.

He was beautiful...everything she ever imagined an Alpha should look like. He reminded her of his momma who was friends with her momma. His eyes burned into her.

She looked up. His eyes were almost sparkling as if they were on fire. She frowned, her heart beat faster.

She tried to remember what she could have possibly done to anger him. She must have left the door to his room open after she cleaned it this morning. She cringed.

The first bell rang and he disappeared as quickly as he had appeared. Dread filled her. The Alpha and his family were really nice people as long as you didn't get on their wrong side.

She just knew she'd gotten on his bad side. She sent a text to her momma just in case. Momma worried when she got home late.

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"What crawled up your butt and died?" Pieter De Wit asked his future Alpha.

Jerome grimaced. He'd found his mate. When he got back from his run he'd found the sweetest scent all over his room. It was even on the fresh sheets of his bed.

It was driving him nuts...He followed it to the Middle School. It belonged to the Amazon. He was freaking out because she was way underage and she wouldn't know for another four years that they were mates.

He called her Amazon because she was tall and lithe. He hated the fact that she actually looked 16. He'd seen other guys from his school looking at her. He was a guy, he knew what they were thinking.

"Anytime this century Alpha Wilder." Pieter teased.

"I found my mate. She's really young." He frowned.

"Is she hot?"

Jerome closed his eyes groaning. "I can't say yes without sounding like a pervert. But yes, her scent alone drives me wild. I'm going to have the wildest dreams tonight." He shivered.

Pieter smirked. He couldn't wait to meet the future Luna. He felt for his friend; in their pack, a male could only fully mate with his mate when he was 21 & or his mate is 18.

"Let's get to class." Jerome put his hand on Pieter's shoulder and they appeared in two separate stalls in the boys' toilets closest to their next class. They rushed out seconds before the final bell and sat down just as the final bell rang.

Her scent was like berries and yogurt he decided. He licked his lips. Kissing her would be...He shook his head, he could not start thinking about how magnificent it will be now.

The day raced past, and he found himself heading straight to his father's office after school.

"Father, may I speak with you?"

Jacob Wilder nodded and pointed to one of the chairs on the other side of his desk. Jerome swallowed. His father was scary, in a good way.

He smiled recalling how angering father was the worst thing any one of the Wilder siblings could imagine doing. His father raised a greying brow at him. Even seated his father was imposing.

"Father, I've found my mate."

"You still smell the same."

Jerome couldn't tell whether that was a good thing or not. Fully mating before time was heavily frowned upon. Even for an Alpha. He cleared his throat.

"Yes, Sir. I want her to have a proper childhood."

His father's eyes lit up with an almost unnatural light. He smiled. "Ya tink dat is vital?"

Jerome knew that he was treading on very thin ground. When his parents spoke with the island accent they were close to True Nature. Usually, they were overcome with emotion. Anger usually his father's first emotion.

"She's a baby!" Jerome exclaimed in the same island accent. "We will wait for our mate." He answered gruffly sounding half beast and half man.

"No need to shift to prove the point, boy." His father warned sternly.

Jerome knew that he could take on his old man but he also knew that humility won one time and allies. He reigned in his deep emotion and lowered his head. His father chuckled. Jerome looked up in question.

"Your self-control is admirable. Speak, child."

"I would like to ask that as I go to train you will protect her."

Jacob Wilder narrowed his eyes at his son. "Who is she?"

Jerome opened his mouth and shut it...If he said it out loud then a few of the guys who had bones to pick with him could target her. He shook his head.

"I tole you be careful who ya offend. Now your mate is in danger." The island accent was back with a sneer.

"I see that now more than ever Father." Jerome hung his head.

The only thing that had stopped his reckless ways was when his father's enemy had threatened to kidnap his mother. The sheer panic the pack had felt with the Alpha before he prepared fully to defend her was almost debilitating. It had been horrible.

"Whichever girl you leave in your room I will watch over."

"Thank you, Father." Just as he stood he felt his legs buckle.

He felt a deep pain on the side of his face and his ribs as if he'd been dealt two blows at once. He had his mental walls up; he hadn't wanted to be interrupted as he spoke to his father.

'Mate! Danger!' He used the pack link to see what she saw. She was at the playground at the Middle School.

"Son, there is a fight at the Middle School. Please go break it up. Ramona's daughter is being picked on." His father asked gravely.

Keeping his heart rate normal he nodded and teleported to just inside the school building at the double-door entrance that led to the playground.

He walked out angry. 'How dare anyone strike his mate.'

"Enough!" He roared. The crowd that was gathering and chanting stopped and stood in silence. On the ground, in a fetal position, his mate lay on the gravel.

Her opponent gave her one more kick. Her opponent was a girl, Alexa, the Beta's daughter who was two years older. He growled a warning. The girl backed off.

"Why are you beating up a baby?" The island accent slipped in and out of his question as he fought to control his temper.

"That freak," the Beta's daughter shouted pointing at Gabriella, "looked at me!"

Jerome nodded. Pieter shook his head at his sister's behavior. He took her by the shoulder and led her to where the Alpha's guard stood.

By now the Alpha had driven up.

"Take the child to the hospital, Jerome. I will deal with this." Jacob instructed.

Jerome nodded and drove the Alpha's car to the hospital. She was unconscious.

The Alpha presided over the matter then and there.

'Which of these two girls will you protect and leave in your room?' His father asked.

'The one I have before me.' He told his father telepathically.

Seconds later, there was an Alpha decree that Gabriella Hemingford would be custodian and occupant of future Alpha Wilder's room until he returned from college.

Jerome breathed with relief. Messing with her physically would cause anyone from the pack who tried physical pain.

'Are you sure you'd rather have Ramona's daughter safe than your mate, boy?' His father's voice asked quietly.

'Let the pack know I defend the weak and expect them to do the same. We have enough enemies without stirring up trouble for ourselves. This is the third time this week I've had to intervene. Let them hurt as they would seek to hurt her.' Jerome replied as he held her limp body.

The nurse pointed to the bed and he gently laid her down. He sighed as he reluctantly let her go. He couldn't remember the drive or how he sought help.

"I'm going to ask that you leave, Sir." The nurse told him apologetically.

He nodded and went out into the hall. He had requested a private room. He stood at the door almost as if on guard.

His father found him leaning against the wall, his posture very relaxed. Jacob watched his son. He didn't seem upset. 'Had he guessed wrong on his child's mate?'

"How is she?"

"The nurse is doing the first examination." He answered softly.

Her mother came running down the hall. Her strawberry blond hair streamed behind her. Jerome stood in front of the door while holding his arms out. She couldn't see her daughter like this.

"What did you do Jerome?" Ramona asked groaning. She was panting.

"I picked her up from the ground and brought her here," Jerome answered slowly.

Mothers with injured pups were always on the dangerous side of sanity. He didn't like the fact that Ramona was suggesting he hurt Gabriella. He kept his emotions completely hidden.

The door to the hospital room opened. The nurse peeped out of the door. "Alpha, please come in here."

Jacob looked at his son. His instincts told him the boy should handle this. He nodded in the direction of the room.

Jerome walked in. He towered over the 5' 8" nurse as if she was a child. He waited for her to speak.

"She needs a transfusion. Preferably her mate marking her first so that she does not feel alone. The next best would be for you to at least give her the Alpha's Mark then your blood since she was hit with wolfsbane and silver.

"That would only give her a fighting chance. She needs her mate close by at all times. The power of that bond will help her heal faster."

"She's 12. Won't marking her stop her from enjoying childhood?" Jerome asked.

The nurse looked up nervously. "It's either that or she dies, Alpha Wilder."

Jerome nodded.

"Should I call your father and ask him to handle this?" the nurse asked gently. She was literally asking a teen to share a part of him that was generally reserved for his mate first.

The Mark of an Alpha left one protected. It had a drawback. Unmated females had the disadvantage of taking the scent of the Alpha. Sometimes, that made it difficult for the females to find mates unless the Alpha himself was mated.

Giving anyone the Alpha's Mark was also a privilege that was not given lightly. It gave protection to the bearer no matter who they came across. Jerome could not believe his luck.

He could mark his mate and have her protected without raising suspicion until she turned 18. He'd have to be around her then to complete the bond. A shiver of anticipation ran through his body.

It was alarming for him because he'd never actually desired after a girl. He'd had a few crushes but none of that was ever this intense. He wanted to care for her and do things that he'd heard other guys talk about.

"Sir?"

"I'll speak to my father."

'She needs the Mark of the Alpha. I'd like to be the one to give her that protection. May I?' Jerome asked his father mentally.

'Well, if she's yours son, why ask?' Jacob asked amused. The difference between giving someone the Mark of the Alpha and marking them as a mate was very thin.

'Because you are Alpha and she's your pack member. The only true way to protect her is with your permission. I may have your blood in my veins and share some of the power but your permission would truly keep her safe.'

His father chuckled out loud outside the room. 'As you wish my son. Wise of you to leave no chance in the matter.'

Jerome felt a possessiveness that overwhelmed and threatened to consume him. He looked at the sweet child on the bed and clenched his fists when he looked at the drip and her deathly countenance. He just wanted to take away her pain.

"Sir, we have to act fast. She might not make it if one of you doesn't give her the Alpha's Mark soon." The nurse pressed.