was an alpha and already convincing kids to do what she wanted? Yeah, I was going to need a little advice here, but there was one thing I could deal with.
"This kid," I said, gesturing to her torn pants. "Mason, right?"
Both girls nodded.
"Did either of you report him to the principal or a teacher?"
"Mom..." Gabby groaned. "We can take care of ourselves. The last thing we need is him saying we ratted him out. It'll just make it worse."
I knew she had a point, but I also didn't care. If the boy had already pushed her hard enough to tear her jeans, then what was next? How much was she not telling me? I'd already figured out that my sweet little girl wasn't nearly as sweet as I thought.
Gabby could lie with the straightest face. That wasn't a talent she'd inherited from me. I'd been the kid who did what my parents wanted. The one who felt guilty if I broke a single rule. My daughter, however, was nothing like that. She'd meticulously planned the ordeal to get herself turned. I now knew that she'd been waiting for Roman back when that juvenile wolf had shown up in our backyard. That was why she'd been so upset when Red had gone after it. Never mind her lying to my face about him protecting her at school when his black eye had been from Lane chasing him home!
So what was she leaving out? Olivia would tell me if I asked, but then Gabby would just stop telling her. Since the girl had already proven that she'd come to me if something got dangerous, I was willing to keep her out of the middle of this. In fact, I had a feeling that the only reason Gabby had come to my office instead of home to hide this from me was because of Roman and Olivia. My daughter probably would've tried to handle it on her own.
But I was the parent here. I might be out of my depth, but I knew one thing: bullying was not ok. What that boy was doing was dangerous, never mind the whole supernatural aspect. Could Gabby take care of herself? Maybe, but what problems would she bring down with it? She was fourteen years old, and while she was too old to treat like a baby, she certainly wasn't an adult, and she did make a lot of bad decisions. My mind spun, trying to think about this from a completely human perspective, and that made it easier.
"I'm calling the school," I decided.
"Mom!" Gabby hissed.
I snapped my finger and pointed at her, cutting off the whine before it could start. "You do not get to skip class, have your clothes ruined, and think I'm going to ignore it, young lady. You are a teenager, but you are still my daughter." I looked at Olivia, including her in my next warning. "I don't care if you kids think you can somehow 'handle this' on your own, your responsibility is to get an education and not expose the pack. Am I understood?"
"Yes, Alpha," Olivia mumbled.
Gabby just glared.
"Am I understood?" I pressed, taking one step toward her.
My daughter's eyes jumped to the side. "It's not fair, Mom. It's not your problem."
"You are my daughter, and that makes it my problem. This is our pack, and making sure it's not discovered is both of our problem. Keep your buddy system. Take care of each other, but this is not a secret that's going to help you. If the school knows that you're being bullied, you're less likely to get in trouble if things do get physical." I crossed my arms. "You, Gabriella Sofia, will avoid a fight if you can. You are allowed to defend yourself, but you will not provoke this kid. You will not seek revenge." When she kept looking at the corner of the office, I took another step toward her. "No hiding it from me, am I clear?"
"Yes, Mom," Gabby mumbled.
So I looked at Olivia. "And if she tries, you will tell me. If Roman tries to hide it, Ian will remove his family from the pack."
"Mom!" Gabby whined. "You can't do that."
"Oh, I can," I reminded her. "I'm the Alpha Female. I am the second in charge of this pack, and Kim will respect that. So, think before you try something stupid. Or, you can stop trying to get around the rules and accept that your mother is more lenient than most, and appreciate