Realizing how dangerous his thoughts were, Noah pulled away from a clueless Carol and took a deep exhale.

"Be sure to behave yourself," he said instead and returned to the party without looking back at her.

Carol released the breath she had been holding for a few seconds now and placed a hand over her chest in relief.

She certainly felt the change in Noah but found it unbelievable. He hated her too much to have such thoughts about her. She probably drank too much and mistook his expression.

Carol stepped out to the party as well and ran into Flynn, who was searching for her.

"I heard about what happened earlier," he said.

"Sorry you had to deal with Anthony. He's really a scum," he added, and Carol was grateful there was someone on her side.

"I would like us to meet some other time. Can I have your contact?" he requested, and Carol hesitated.

She had heard of Flynn's reputation as very powerful and ambitious and wasn't sure if it was wise to make friends with him.

Her wandering eyes landed on Noah's, watching her, and Carol called out the digits to Flynn immediately.

Gratefully, the rest of the party went on peacefully, and Carol returned to her room to take off her clothes and get into something comfortable.

Grabbing a cool yellow gown, Carol pulled it on and tried to zip it but couldn't get her hand there. She thought to change out of it but got a knock on her door and paused.

"Come in," she said, turning toward the door and was surprised to see Noah.

He was dressed in different clothes now and seemed tired.

"Do you need me for anything?" she questioned, not concealing the irritation in her tone.

"Hmm," he said and took further steps inside the room.

Carol sighed, worried that there was another issue he wanted to complain about, and used her hand to hold her dress together.

"What for?" she muttered, expecting a lash from him, but his face carried a rare calm expression instead, and he held out a book to her.

Carol took it and saw it was a book on combat training.

"You will start training tomorrow. You need to memorize this book as soon as possible," he explained, and Carol widened her eyes.

"All of it?"

"Yes."

"Tonight?" she queried again, stunned, and flipped through the many pages, forgetting to hold her dress.

"Hold on."

Noah mouthed and swiftly moved to pull the zipper up, taking Carol by surprise.

He moved backward when he was done.

"About earlier..." he began but paused and didn't continue.

"Make sure to study it clearly," he said instead and walked out of the room.

Carol's legs slowly gave way, and she lowered her body onto the bed, staring at the book and pondering on Noah's attitude.

He was unusually gentle.

Still full from the meal at the party, Carol got into bed and thought to read the book for a while before taking a shower but ended up falling asleep while reading it and woke up the next morning with the book resting on her desk.

Not focusing on that, she immediately got into the bathroom and put on clothes suitable for the training, then headed outside the house where Noah was waiting for her, and got into the car with him.

"Did you finish the book?" he asked after a while, and Carol shook her head.

She expected a word from Noah to scold her, but none came, and she wondered why he was still acting strangely.

Maybe he was looking for a better opportunity to upset her.

They soon arrived at the training field, and Carol was surprised to see Flynn.

Exchanging pleasantries, she walked away with him to chat.

Jeff joined them and stared at Noah with a suspicious look.

"I heard Anthony can't be here because he was strangely beaten up by a thief last night," Jeff said, but Noah gave no response, his eyes focused on Carol, who kept smiling at Flynn's words.

"You shouldn't stare at her so much in front of others, or they will misunderstand," Jeff reminded him, and Noah turned his gaze away.

"Why are you here?" Noah questioned, tearing his eyes away from Carol for a second.

"Riki messaged everyone that we should come to training this morning because the Alpha will be joining us for the first time," Jeff answered him, and Noah sighed.

"Okay," he simply muttered and continued to stare at Carol.

She smiled so easily when she was not around him and only showed him a moody face all day long.

"Your eyes are going to create a hole in her head," Jeff reminded him again and called everyone's attention to start training.

"Let's begin now, shall we?" he said.

---

Hearing Jeff's words, Carol became nervous. She actually thought that she would have to train alone with Noah, but seeing others here with them caused her to worry greatly.

Every one of them had their wolf and were strong fighters. It wouldn't take long before they all discovered she had no powers or wolf except her measly healing ability.

"Don't worry, you will spar with me," Noah said as he came closer to her, and Carol was startled.

"Why are you so shocked?"

"I am not," Carol argued and exhaled slowly.

If there was one thing Noah could use to oppose her becoming the Alpha, then it was her wolf-less situation, and now seemed like the perfect opportunity for him to do that.

"Do you think I am trying to harm you?" Noah questioned, reading the look on her face, which Carol tried to conceal.

"No, I thought we were going to be training alone," she told him.

"If you are really going to lead the pack, then you will have to show your ability in front of everyone sooner or later," Noah responded.

"Ah, so you really don't have a grudge concerning me becoming the Alpha?" she asked, folding her arms.

"Why don't I spar with Carol instead?" Flynn cut in, interrupting them, and Noah frowned.

"There is no need, she is with me," Noah rejected on her behalf.

"You are not going to make all the decisions for her, are you?" Flynn retorted and turned to Carol.

"What do you think about us working together?" he asked, stretching forth his hand.

Carol turned slightly to look at Noah, who stared back at her, then looked again at Flynn.

"No thanks, I am not a good fighter," she responded to Flynn, who was disappointed at her answer.

"I will just spar with Noah today," she said and inched closer to Noah, her hand touching his finger.

Flynn gave a chuckle, embarrassed, and nodded before walking away from them to find someone else.

"Are you sure you are not going to regret turning him down?" Noah said, unexpectedly taking Carol's hand in his, and she withdrew it quickly.

"It is safer to spar with someone who knows my secret," she replied to him, and a look of disappointment washed over his face.

"I should help keep your secret safe then. At least, for now," he smirked and grabbed a stick for her.

"Here," he threw it at her, but Carol couldn't catch it.

She grabbed the stick from the floor, holding it the wrong way, and Noah closed the gap between them.

He held the stick in her hand and corrected her.

"Thanks," Carol mouthed, a little flustered, and felt her face burn a little.

"Did you not focus on any of the training at school? How come you can't even grab an ordinary stick properly?" Noah scolded, and Carol exhaled. The butterflies she felt a second ago dispersed immediately.

"You must go through every page of the book I gave you to improve faster," Noah went on strictly and grabbed another stick for himself.

"Even if you don't know how to reach your wolf, you can still be strong," he added lowly, and Carol exhaled loudly, ready to fight, but Riki's arrival interrupted them.

Riki immediately found Noah and walked up to him with Lena behind her and smiled brightly at Noah, throwing her body into his arms.

"Why did you text everyone to come to train so early?" Noah asked, pulling away from the hug.

"I figured since you two are coming here, then every one of us might as well come at the same time," she answered with a dry smile and looked at Carol.

"After all, the training field belongs to every extended member of the Lockhart family. We need to train harder to protect our pack from intruders," she added, still staring at Carol, who rolled her eyes.

"Good morning to you also, Riki," Carol voiced, but Riki ignored her and continued to speak to Noah.

"Are you going to spar with her? There are many others at the beginner level who can train her. You don't have to bother yourself with such a low duty," she said, folding her arms.

"Carol will soon be crowned the Alpha. She needs to learn fast and from the best," Noah told her, and Riki raised her brow.

"You are really okay with her being the Alpha?" she asked, perplexed.

She was angry with Carol on his behalf, and he was busy trying to help her take over the pack as soon as possible.

"Wouldn't her weakness be to your advantage?" she was forced to say and tried to keep her voice low, but Carol could still hear her.

"Mind what you say," Noah warned her, and Riki scoffed, annoyed.

"Riki," Lena called to stop her from saying more wrong words.

She had already learned from yesterday's matters that Noah might not necessarily be against Carol like they thought, or he wouldn't be helping her.

"Carol, welcome to join us. You should have become one of us a long time ago, but now is also good," Lena said, and Carol wondered what she was up to.

She was clearly with Riki.

"Since you are here for the first time, we shouldn't skip the rites for newcomers, even if you are the next Alpha," she said, and Riki's face brightened up.

"That's right. We should have the ceremony to welcome you here," she added.

"The rite happens after a few days of membership," Noah reminded them while Carol looked on, confused.

"That's because we were all young then. I am sure Carol has some knowledge in combat, or are you just weak and with no skill?" Riki attacked.

Others who were listening turned to them.

"Lena, shouldn't you be with your mate? I heard he is seriously hurt," Flynn chipped in to stop her.

"He is fine," Lena snapped, grinding her teeth in anger.

Anthony's issue was another score she would have to settle with Carol. It was strange how a thief would beat him up so much.

Like Riki suggested, Carol had something to do with it.

"What happened with Anthony?" Carol asked.

"Someone beat him up last night, and he couldn't get out of bed this morning, or he would be here with us," Riki answered with an accusing tone.

She didn't care who hurt Anthony-there was more than one person who had a grudge against him anyway, and it worked just fine for her.

"So, Carol, are you going to chicken out?" Lena said, charging forward a little.

"I do not allow it," Noah stepped forward to refuse on her behalf.

"I think a combat between Lena and Carol is fair. We can also see how capable our Alpha is at leading us," Riki interjected quickly, and others kept quiet.

"I'm in," Carol said, her eyes locked on Lena's, despite Noah's attempt to intervene.

"No, you are not," Noah said, his voice firm, and Riki cut in again.

"If you keep protecting her, Noah, none of us are going to trust or respect her," she told him, and Carol also insisted.

"I don't need anyone to protect me."

"I'm not backing down," she said, her voice steady, and watched the glare from Lena.

Lena sneered, confident in her own abilities.

"Let's see how long that bravery will last," she said, charging at Carol, but Noah stopped her.

"No powers. Fight with your normal ability and strength," Noah imposed sternly, and Lena reluctantly accepted.

Carol and Lena clashed, their sticks meeting in a flurry of movement. Lena charged at her aggressively, but Carol was quick and dodged her attack, weaving around Lena's attempts to hit her.

Others looked on anxiously. Riki was surprised Carol managed to stay unharmed after two minutes and watched Noah's eyes move to her every second.

Lena's face grew red with rage and frustration when all Carol did was avoid her, and she decided to go all in, knowing she couldn't run for long.

Her stick hit Carol's arm the next second, and Carol let out a loud groan but held onto her stick.

A smile of satisfaction appeared on both Lena's and Riki's faces, but Noah clenched his fist.

"Stop the fight!" he shouted, but Carol refused to give in.

"No!"

"Come on, let's try that again," Lena mocked, targeting her other hand this time. But as she charged toward her with a powerful strike, Carol feigned a stumble, and Lena took the bait.

With a swift and precise move, she knocked Lena's stick out of her hands and sent her stumbling backward.

The ground fell silent, with all eyes on Carol in surprise. It took a second for Lena to realize she was on the floor and Carol stood over her with her stick pointed at her neck.

"You lose," she said.

"What?" Lena widened her eyes at the realization and was mortified. Her eyes blazed with anger and humiliation.

Riki sighed in disappointment. Even though Carol used a trick, she still couldn't believe she won.

"How embarrassing," Riki said, folding her hands over her chest.

"Do you need us to help you get up?" Jeff said in mockery, and Lena shamefully stood to her feet.

Carol's eyes first rested on Noah's as she smiled with relief but was surprised by the look of anger on his face, and her eyes fell on Flynn, who looked at her proudly.

"Good job, Carol," Flynn praised, clapping his hands, and Carol smiled.

Lena's anger boiled over as she watched the smile on Carol's face and transformed.

With a fierce growl, she jumped to attack Carol.

Both Noah and Flynn jumped in to stop her, but Flynn was closer, and he used his hand to block her, holding her back.

Lena struggled and snapped, but Flynn growled back, his eyes turning, and she transformed back into her human form, her eyes still blazing with fury.

"Have you lost your mind, Lena?" Noah yelled angrily at her and grabbed her by the arm, while Carol rushed towards Flynn.

"Oh my gosh, Flynn, are you okay?" she asked and held his bleeding arm.

"You will be punished for this," Noah said to Lena and had others take her away.

He turned to Carol, whose eyes were focused on Flynn, and heard her offer to bandage his wound.

"Don't worry, it will heal in a few hours anyway," Flynn said, but Carol was still concerned.

She wanted to heal his wound with her ability but was afraid it would be useless again and did not.

Noah's eyes narrowed slightly, watching the way Carol touched Flynn gently, with a tender gaze in her eyes.

He scoffed in anger to see her worry about others when she could have gotten seriously hurt herself.

"Noah, let's go get some breakfast," Riki said, placing her hand on Noah's shoulder.

Noah nodded, his eyes still fixed on Carol, before turning to follow Riki.

As they walked away, Flynn looked up at Carol, a hint of a smile on his face.

"Want to grab some breakfast with me?" he asked, and Carol realized that everyone was gone.

"No, thanks," she declined.

"I should get going," she told him and wondered why Noah didn't inform her before leaving.

She definitely needed a ride back.

"Let me drop you off then," he offered, and she gratefully accepted.

Dropping her off at the pack house in a few minutes, Flynn left in his car.

"Sir, are you okay? That bite looks deep," Flynn's driver asked as they headed back, his eyes wide with concern.

Flynn smiled, a glint in his eye.

"It's worth it," he said with a smirk.

...

Carol opened the door to the house, ready to go back and get more sleep, but jumped when she saw Noah standing in the living room with his back to her.

Flynn told her on their way to the house that he saw him leave with Riki and thought they went somewhere together.

Carol approached him gently, wondering what he was staring at outside the window.

"Noah," she called softly, trying not to startle him.

Noah turned around, his eyes narrowing slightly as he stared at her.

"Why are you here? I thought you left with Riki," Carol queried, but her words irked him.

"I live here, remember?" he retorted and stared at her, his jaw clenched in anger.

Carol felt a shiver down her spine as Noah's eyes seemed to bore into hers. She couldn't understand why he was upset when she was the one who should complain about him leaving her at the training ground without a means to go back.

"Also, stay away from Flynn," he warned and turned around to go inside.

"Why should I?" Carol asked, surprised he was making unreasonable demands now.

"Because I said so," he replied with a glare.

Carol's eyes rolled in annoyance. "What is wrong with Flynn? He has been nothing but nice to me," she retorted.

"Nice? Why exactly would he be nice to someone like you?" Noah asked, his face darkened, and Carol felt a spark of anger ignite within her.

He had always been like this, looking down on her.

"I know you think you are so much better than me and everyone else, but I don't need you to tell me what to do," she yelled.

"That is not what I meant," he said, but Carol wasn't listening to him.

"Oh really? Please explain it then-why you think I am worth nothing for anyone to truly care about me," she responded, and Noah sighed, frustrated.

"Fighting with Lena and getting involved with Flynn is not something you should be doing right now. You are only going to get yourself in trouble," he said, his voice menacing.

"I see, you are just not satisfied with anything I do," Carol nodded her head fiercely and turned to storm away.

Noah's face twisted in anger, and he grabbed her arm, spinning her back around to face him. His eyes blazed with anger, and for a moment, Carol thought he might actually hurt her.

But instead, he thrust her arm backward, pinning her against the wall. His body loomed over hers, his chest heaving as they stared at each other.

"Let go," Carol said when she caught her breath, but he only released his hold on her arm a little so she wouldn't get hurt and continued to stare at her. The look in his eyes turned tender.

Carol's heart raced, and she struggled to free herself, but her strength was nothing compared to his.

"Noah," she called in a whisper, but he wasn't listening to her.

His face descended toward hers. Carol felt her heart skip a beat. She turned her face aside, not able to hold his gaze any longer, and closed her eyes in fear of what he might do.

She felt a release on her arm instead, and Noah pulled away a little. His cold hand touched her face, and Carol flicked her eyes open.

Noah's face came close again, and he whispered in her ear, "Stay away from him."

He turned away and left the house immediately, while Carol stood on her trembling feet and let out a long exhale.

"He is crazy," she muttered, not sure why she closed her eyes instead of running away.

She was the crazy one for getting excited even in such a situation.

Carol heaved again, hitting her head, and heard the door open again.

"Why are you-"

She held her thoughts when she saw it was Lisa instead.

"What are you doing?" Lisa queried, referring to the blush on her face.

"Nothing. Just tired and want to get breakfast," she answered, and Lisa waved a bag of sandwiches in her face.

"Thought as much, so I bought some food over," she told her, and Carol thanked her.

"How did you know I needed this right now?" she questioned as they settled in the dining.

"I heard news of you defeating Lena at the training ground today," Lisa responded, and Carol was surprised by how fast the news had traveled.

"Although it isn't much of a defeat, others won't totally look down on you as a weak Alpha," Lisa told her, and Carol's mood lifted a little.

She didn't understand why everyone else was praising her fight with Lena while Noah alone was upset about it.

He just couldn't seem to see her happy.

"After the meal, we have a number of things to attend to," Lisa informed her, and Carol nodded in understanding.

Her phone beeped for a message, and she was thrilled to see it was from Emma, her best friend.

"Girlfriend, I'm back from my trip."