Gathering up the little strength left in her body, Carol made her way inside the cellar to confront him. Her anger boiled over when she saw him drinking leisurely.

"What are you trying to do? You hate me, so why stop me from leaving?"

Noah turned to her, his eyes blazing with intensity.

"If you are bothered that I might have taken things that don't belong to me in the house, then you can inspect my bag and see for yourself," she went on, breathing hard.

"I left everything behind," she told him, assuming it could be a reason he was keeping her.

Noah raised his eyes away from his glass the second time, his face held the usual cold demeanor, and he got close to her faster than Carol's brain could process her escape from the room.

He stopped an inch close to her, and she held her breath.

"Go back to your room, sister."

The word hung in the air like a challenge, and Carol's heart skipped a beat from the fear of getting hit.

Noah stepped away from Carol when he was sure she got his message and strode towards the door with the bottle still in his hand.

A loud sound from Carol's stomach defiled the atmosphere.

"Remember to eat something before going to bed," he added, and Carol's mind whirled.

Was this a trick? Or had his grief momentarily softened his heart? He even called her sister-twice!

Carol made her way back to her room and collapsed onto the bed, exhausted.

Her packed bag remained beside her.

Once Noah came back to his senses, he would throw her out in the cruelest way possible.

It would be a hassle to unpack before then.

Ignoring her grumbling stomach crying to be fed, she let the darkness claim her.

Noah made his way into the large office, the bottle of wine still in his hand, and he dropped it on the big table before proceeding to sit in his father's seat he had been occupying for a few months now.

Picking his glasses from the table, he put them on and turned on his computer. Numerous messages filled his email.

He had left work for the past three days to attend to a lot of other emergencies that came with Lockhart 's death.

He had been dealing with issues regarding the company for a while, so it wasn't much work, but the pack issue required more.

Lockhart 's leadership had maintained peace among the various factions.

He needed to carry on that duty now along with maintaining order at the company and controlling several other outlets.

Noah's phone beeped to notify him of an incoming call, and he answered it quickly.

"It appears the Shadow Pack is really responsible," Cole said immediately the call connected, and Noah nodded knowingly.

It wasn't a coincidence that his father was poisoned, and no cure could be found to save him after a hunt with the Alpha of the Shadow Pack.

If it was really the doing of the Shadow Pack, then he couldn't let them go scot-free with their actions.

"I will deal with them when things are settled down in the pack," Noah told Cole, then added,

"Make sure you follow everything that goes on in the Shadow Pack from now on," he instructed and went quiet for a while.

"Should I arrange a meeting with the shareholders tomorrow?" Cole asked, sharing his concern about handling everything all at once, and Noah affirmed, then ended the call.

His stomach grumbled in protest of the alcohol he had fed it for two days, and he stood to find something good he could eat from the fridge in the room and found doughnuts.

As he took a bite, his mind contemplated what Lockhart could have possibly left in his will for Carol, knowing how much he adored her, especially after losing her mother.

He almost felt like the stranger in the family.

Whatever it was, he wouldn't hesitate to throw Carol out once it's clear.

---

Carol woke up in the middle of the night from dreaming of a memory that had now turned into a bad memory for her.

She couldn't believe Noah would even come to torment her in her dream. She shook her head furiously as she remembered the content of the dream again.

Maybe it was because that night was her first and last night with a man, she couldn't get it out of her mind, and as always, every time Noah taunted her, she ended up dreaming about the night they shared together, but it always ended in a way that terrified her.

Her wolf had never harmonized with anyone, even her ex-boyfriend, but it easily accepted Noah that night...

like he was her fated mate.

Carol's body shuddered as she thought of it now that she was awake and immediately shook it off and got out of bed.

Feeling thirsty after such a nightmare, she walked straight to the fridge to get some water to clear her head.

She was probably too hungry.

Carol gulped down some water, but after drinking, the images refused to clear from her head.

Deciding not to go back to sleep again or she might end up having a heart attack in her dreams, she grabbed the remote and sat down to find something on the television to distract herself.

It only took a few minutes before the television started to watch her instead, and she dozed off till daybreak on the sofa.

The noise of plates being set on the dining table and feet moving woke Carol from her slumber four hours later.

She opened her drowsy eyes to see it was morning. She looked over her shoulders and saw that the maids were back in the house again,

including Riki, whose voice she could hear giving orders in the kitchen.

It seemed the house had changed in the few hours she was asleep.

Carol got up slowly, ready to return quickly to her room, but was taken aback to see Noah standing near the fridge.

"You are awake," Noah muttered, and Carol rubbed her ears to be sure she didn't hear wrong.

His gaze on her was different from last night when he threatened to lock her in.

"Morning," she responded, knowing there was nothing good about this morning, and turned to see Jane and Mary bowing respectfully to greet her.

"Carol," she heard another voice and turned to see Paul, Lockhart 's best friend and beta, sitting on another couch.

"Seems you had a good night's rest," Paul greeted with a smile, and Carol returned the same gesture.

"Good morning," Carol greeted.

Everyone that went away immediately after Lockhart 's death seemed to have returned.

Picking up the bottle of water she didn't finish before falling asleep, Carol turned to leave the room.

"I will be in my room," she said, but Paul stopped her.

"I am here to speak to the both of you," he told her, and Carol raised her brows, puzzled.

"Both of us?" she repeated, and Paul nodded positively.

"I will get dressed first then," Carol replied and went up to her room, brushing her teeth and washing her hair before taking a shower and picked a shirt from her packed bag, with a black trouser.

She returned looking quite different from earlier, and the little water in her hair made them dampen and lie flat on her face.

Carol noticed prying eyes on her as she made her way down and saw Noah staring sharply at her.

His eyes followed her moves, and she almost mistook the look in them for tenderness, but his icy stare followed, and she hurried over to join Paul on the couch.

"Before Alpha Lockhart died, he left a will," Paul began, going straight to the point, and Carol looked on.

She placed her hand on her elbow and rested it on her chin, not fazed. Without much guessing, everyone could figure out what the will entailed.

"Alpha Lockhart made some changes regarding the title of the next Alpha and ruler of the pack before passing away," Paul continued, and they both listened quietly.

"You are named as the new Alpha of the pack, Carol Lockhart ."

What!

Carol yelled in her head, trying to understand what he had just said.

Alpha?

Carol repeated the word in her head and tried to find another meaning for it. Her body suddenly turned cold, and she moved her head to see Noah's darkened gaze on her.

"Noah Lockhart , you are to be conferred the title of the Alpha's guardian," Paul went on to give more details.

Noah's head turned to Paul, who tried not to look scared and quickly reminded him that it was his father's will.

He was only doing as told.

"Let me see that." Noah grabbed the papers from Paul, his expression shooting fire as each second passed.

"You get to manage all the businesses, though," Paul said, hoping it pacified him, but silence ensued.

Cursing under his breath, Noah threw the papers to the floor and stormed away from the room.

Paul and Carol held their breath until he was out of the room and sighed in relief that he didn't tear them apart.

"Did Lockhart really..." Carol's words trailed off as she turned to confirm from Paul again.

"I am as surprised as you," Paul told her, and Carol's heart dropped.

She tried to understand why Lockhart would do that, but it just didn't make sense.

"Then I will reject the will. I don't want to be the Alpha," Carol said firmly.

The last thing she wanted right now was something that would cut her life short.

"You can't reject the Alpha's will, Carol," Paul told her.

"It can only be as he decided," he added.

"But no one in the pack will accept me as their Alpha," she voiced with worry.

"Do not worry about that. I will handle it," Paul assured her and stood up to leave.

"I will advise you to stay out of Noah's sight, just to be safe," Paul warned, then made his way out of the house.

With her head spinning from the unexpected news, Carol made her way into the kitchen, deciding to eat first before her body fainted.

She stopped at the door, hearing whispers between Mary and Riki.

"Will Alpha Lockhart really do something like that to his own son?" Mary's eyes shot out in surprise, while Riki clenched her fist in anger.

She had just broken off her engagement with the hope of marrying Noah and becoming the Alpha.

"If Carol really becomes the Alpha, then what will happen to us?" Mary questioned. They had always acted horribly toward Carol because of Noah. Having a mere Salutar rule them was a disgrace!

"No one will ever agree to make her the Alpha," Riki said firmly. Not even Noah would accept it, talk less of the rest.

"She is really a parasite who reaps where she doesn't sow," Mary hissed, and Carol stepped in.

Shocked, they stopped talking and turned away, but Carol ignored them and found some bread and meat with a glass of milk to eat.

When she was done, she picked up the plate to return to her room but bumped into Riki, staring daggers at her.

"Do you have anything to say?" Carol asked, knowing she was looking for trouble, and Riki scoffed.

"How shameless," she remarked and walked away in anger.

Carol sighed, wondering why all their anger was directed at her instead of the person who wrote the will.

How she wished she had known about it beforehand and convinced Lockhart not to.

...

A few hours later, Carol received a call from Paul and answered it.

"Can you make it over to the resort right now? There are some things you need to do," Paul asked, and Carol nodded positively.

"Of course," she answered and finished her meal quickly, then went over to the resort.

Carol had only visited the resort once but still found her way easily, and someone walked up to her.

"Hello, I'm Lisa. I will assist you from now on," Lisa introduced, and Carol took her hand, then followed her to a room where she waited for Paul.

Paul read out the will to everyone in the room, and their voices of disapproval rose high.

"How come the Alpha expects someone of low status to rule us?" Flynn was the first to speak.

All of them in the room had a relationship with Lockhart , either close or distant, and they stood as the council in the pack. Flynn had recently taken over from his father, hence the youngest.

"She is the late Alpha's legal daughter," Paul reminded him, but he scoffed along with a few others.

"Everyone knows she is a Salutar, and her biological father isn't from this pack," Flynn dissed.

"How is someone without much power going to keep the pack safe?" Dylan, another member, questioned.

He was slightly older than Paul and also Lockhart 's close friend.

"Alpha Lockhart already stated that Noah will guide her for the time being, and when it's time, she can get married to any of the male members in the extended family," Paul answered, and they kept quiet at the mention of marriage.

If allowing a Salutar as the Alpha meant an opportunity for one of them to rule, then...

"That could do, then," Dylan said, and others nodded their heads in agreement.

"Does she get to handle the big chain of businesses as well?" Flynn chipped in with another question.

"Just this resort," Paul replied.

Flynn let out a grin.

The resort was said to be losing profit in recent months and didn't earn much yearly, but that was enough.

Plus, all he needed was the position that followed the mate of the Alpha.

"What about Noah?" someone else mentioned, and others turned to Paul for answers.

With Noah's pride, there was no way he would allow Carol to take over the throne without a revolt.

"I will handle that," Paul assured them, and they ended the meeting quickly.

They all stepped out of the room, but Dylan stayed behind to speak with Paul.

"The mention of the new Alpha's marriage will definitely create an uproar in the pack," Dylan noted, and Paul agreed.

"The likes of Flynn are already thinking about it," he said.

Apart from Noah, there were five other male members who qualified to be the Alpha, and Flynn was one of them.

Although two among the five were already old and could no longer fight, there were still three others.

"We will handle that when the time comes. First, we have to make the announcement to the whole pack far and wide and also pick a date for the coronation," Paul said, and then Dylan also left.

Having waited for a while, Carol was relieved to see Paul step in finally and bowed slightly to greet him, but he immediately rejected her bow.

"You are officially accepted by the council as the Alpha. You can't do that anymore," he told her, and Carol was flabbergasted.

Speechless, she watched on as Paul gave more information and placed a bunch of papers in front of her.

"The next thing we have to focus on is your coronation and training," he said, then pointed to a place for Carol to sign.

"Noah will teach you many things you need to know as per the will, and the coronation will probably be on the night of the next full moon," he told her, and Carol nodded her head like a statue.

"Lisa here will assist you with whatever you need," Paul finished and took the papers from her.

"Allow me to pay my first respect to you, Alpha Carol," Paul said with a smile and bowed his head deeply alongside Lisa.

Carol's knees felt weak on the chair, and she exhaled deeply.

In just a day, she had become the Alpha of her pack!

"I will introduce you to some people you have to meet soon, and then you will take over the resort's affairs," Paul told her, but Carol raised a hand to stop him.

"Give me a minute," she told him, and he nodded, then signaled to Lisa to follow him, but as he made to step out,

Noah stormed in, followed by Cole, his assistant.

Carol jumped to her feet, seeing his fierce look, and Lisa immediately stood in front of her.

Glaring at Paul, he noticed the signed papers in his hands and questioned with much anger,

"The council accepted her?" Noah said in disbelief, and Paul affirmed.

"They accepted the late Alpha's will," he told him, and Noah couldn't believe his ears.

He had no idea they would turn against him so quickly and accept Carol.

"The documents have been signed, and everything else has been finalized except the date for the coronation," Paul went on, and Carol's jaw dropped, wondering where Paul's confidence came from.

What if Noah decided to snap both their heads off?

"Is it?" he mouthed, his eyes turning to Carol hiding behind Lisa, and went over to take a seat.

"Then I challenge her to a duel," Noah said, and Carol gasped in fear.

"Noah, you can't do that," Paul rejected quickly, but Noah wasn't listening to him but rather had his eyes focused on Carol.

"The Alpha of Moonlight Pack can't be afraid of a single fight," he said sarcastically, and Carol swallowed down a lump.

He was purposely messing with her.

"Others can challenge her to a duel, but not you," Paul said again.

"Why not?"

"You are siblings, and you are also her guardian. It is absurd to have you two fight openly," Paul answered, immediately thinking up a way to reject, and Noah stayed quiet.

"Then I will be sure to guide the Alpha closely," he smirked.

His words gave Carol and others in the room goose pimples, and Paul sighed tiredly.

"I will communicate with both of you in a few days from now, but before then, you should mourn the late Alpha properly," Paul said and went out of the room.

Carol pressed her eyes on the door as Paul left, wanting to beg him not to leave her here with Noah, but he was gone.

"Are you afraid now?" Noah questioned, standing up, and Carol shook her head.

"I have no intention to become the Alpha," Carol reminded, and he nodded with a mocking gaze.

"Of course. It's a mere coincidence," he remarked.

Although he hated Carol, his anger was more directed at Lockhart and whatever reason he had for doing something like that to him.

Now that things had come to this, it would be foolish of him to fight her openly and let others criticize him. Rather, he would make them see that she could never be the Alpha and renounce the throne willingly.

"You will hear from me soon," Noah told her and left the room with Cole once again.

Carol turned to Lisa when she was sure Noah was out of sight and asked if there was anything else she needed to know.

"For now, you have to wait till the day of your ascension to the throne is determined, and then you meet with the whole council, and..." Lisa paused.

"What is it?" Carol pushed, hoping it's not another bombshell.

"Your marriage will be determined soon as well," Lisa let her know.

"Oh," Carol let out, her head suddenly feeling light, and she stood to her feet.

She hadn't been lucky with meeting her fated mate early, unlike others, and she was already twenty-one.

"That can wait," she said and decided to head back to the Moon-pool house while Lisa escorted her out.

...

"Boss, are you really going to let her take over as the Alpha?" Cole asked Noah as they returned to the office, but Noah was quiet.

"We will play it by ear," Noah answered after a second, and Cole nodded quietly.

"What is the reaction of the shareholders regarding the resort?" he questioned, and Cole submitted the report to him.

"They don't seem entirely dissatisfied and want to meet with Carol first. Luckily, the late Alpha wasn't so cruel as to take everything away from you," Cole said.

They had a lot of other businesses, and the resort was only a small unit.

"Seems like my father did a lot of things behind my back," Noah muttered, checking the file in front of him and turning his computer on.

"Sir," Cole called and gave the phone in his hand to him.

The news of the new Alpha selected had circulated in the pack and was known by everyone.

"Don't bother yourself with that, and let's focus on what's important," Noah said and returned the phone to him.

Since his father wanted him to serve his stepsister, then he should do him a good favor.

"Have the findings concerning the Shadow Pack sent to the new Alpha and let her handle it," Noah instructed.

"But the Shadow Pack is ruthless and cunning. I am afraid she can't do anything about them on her own," Cole advised.

"More reason why she should deal with them. She will be crowned soon and will have to face them sooner or later," Noah responded without care.

"Inform her that will be her first lesson," Noah added, and Cole complied and went away to do so.

Noah's phone rang, and he answered it.

"Where are you?" Jeff, his cousin, asked, and he told him.

"Let's meet at the bar then," Jeff suggested, and Noah hesitated for a moment before he agreed and turned off his computer again, then made his way out of the company.

Letting Cole take care of anything else on his behalf before driving away to BUBBLES,

a bar owned by Jeff, and made his way in through the back door, then spotted Jeff chatting and flirting with a young omega wolf.

"You are here," Jeff called out to him, sending the girl away, and came to Noah.