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."

Carol's face lit up with excitement as she read the message from Emma. She quickly typed a response, and they made plans to meet up in her live-in vehicle in the evening.

She called Emma before leaving the house and she opened the door to the vehicle for her when she arrived.

Emma's curly brown hair was packed in a messy bun and the space looked a bit messy. She opened her arms wide and Carol rushed over to hug her with excitement.

"Oh my, I have missed you a lot," she grumbled softly and then pulled away, catching up on the details of Emma's trip for the next hour.

Emma stood up to prepare a cup of drink for Carol and set it down in front of her, and the room felt silent.

"I'm so sorry about Lockhart, I heard the news as I arrived last night," Emma said, reaching out to take Carol's hand.

"I know how much he meant to you after you lost your mother."

Carol nodded, wiping the tears that had already gathered in her eyes and nodded slowly.

"I can't believe I couldn't save him too, I really feel useless," she said but Emma stopped her.

His injuries seemed to heal but he still died.

"You can't blame yourself for his death. You did everything you could to save him," she consoled, but Carol shook her head, feeling a lump form in her throat.

"I know. It's just...I couldn't save him, just like I couldn't save my mom."

Emma heaved, knowing she must have been blaming herself for the past three weeks and squeezed Carol's hand.

"You are not responsible for their deaths, Carol. You have to stop beating yourself up over this."

"Also, have you tried using your healing ability since then?" she queried.

"No, I don't ever want to," Carol answered, the ability is already so useless to her.

"Okay, let's forget about things that will make us sad and talk about something exciting," Emma said and changed the topic.

Her eyes suddenly sparkled with excitement and Carol could guess what she wanted to talk about.

"So, tell me how it feels to be the Alpha of a big pack like Moonlight pack?" Emma asked, her eyes full of excitement.

Carol chuckled in between her tears and wiped them off.

"I don't know," she said shaking her head, and Emma pouted her lips disappointed by her response.

"Really? Don't you have some things that have changed like having everyone bow and respect you?"

"Hmm," Carol answered, nodding her head and Emma laughed.

"It's actually complicated. I'm still getting used to it but I have to admit, it's kind of exhilarating. It doesn't feel real yet," she explained.

Emma grinned,

"I bet you are going to make an amazing Alpha. And hey, now that you are in charge, I can finally become a member of your pack without having to follow the complicated procedure."

"I would love to..." Carol said hesitantly and Emma stared at her.

"Actually, according to Lockhart's orders, I don't have full control over the pack until I find a mate and get married. Until then, Noah pretty much has the power to give such orders in the pack," Carol explained.

"Noah?"

Emma's eyes widened in surprise, she completely forgot about him.

"As in, Noah-the pack's most-feared warrior and your stepbrother?"

Carol nodded, and Emma let out a low whistle.

"Wow, you are really in deep, aren't you?"

Carol rolled her eyes.

"You have no idea."

She usually told Emma about everything since she is the only friend she has and she knows clearly the issue between her and Noah.

"I think Lockhart did this to protect you from him," Emma said and Carol nodded in agreement.

She couldn't think of any other reason why he would do that although she thinks it's extreme.

"Carol," Emma called, her expression turning serious and Carol looked at her.

"So, have you and Noah ever mentioned what happened between you two in the past?"

Carol's heart skipped a beat as she felt a flush rise to her cheeks. "Why would you bring that up now?" she said, a little loudly and heaved.

"Why are you so defensive? It's been almost four years since the night you two...you know," Emma replied.

"It was three years and five months ago, Emma, and there is no way we will ever talk about something like that," Carol breathed as her face grew hotter.

She couldn't believe Emma would refer to her one-night stand with Noah so casually.

"Wow, you are really exact with the timeline, seems like you haven't forgotten about it," she teased and Carol shrugged, trying to play it cool.

"I just like to be certain with things, that's all."

Emma leaned in, a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Do you still think about it?"

Carol felt her heart skip as she met Emma's gaze. She didn't respond, but Emma's knowing smile told her she already knew the answer.

Emma suddenly jumped up from her seat seeing the horrified look on Carol's face.

"You know what? Forget about the past. Let's go to the club tonight and erase the ugly memories," Emma said and Carol laughed, feeling a reason to go there and get rid of her stress and worries.

"You are on," she agreed.

Emma opened a big bag where she stashed all her clubbing outfits and they both changed their dresses, and headed out in a cab.

As they arrived at the club, Emma and Carol grabbed a glass of cocktail each and moved their bodies to the rhythm of the music, laughing and joking as they sipped on the cocktails.

Carol finished the drink in her hand quickly and made her way to the bar to order another round when she bumped into someone and jolted with surprise.

Ian Griffin, Alpha of the Red Oak pack, stood in front of her with an equally surprised smile resting on his face.

"Ian," Carol said, trying to sound casual despite the surprise.

She was trying to get away from her concerns and didn't expect to run into the author of that problem.

Of all places to run into her ex-boyfriend.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

Ian's eyes locked onto hers, and for a moment, Carol felt like she was transported back in time.

They were together for a year, and Carol had thought they were the perfect match for each other until the day she turned eighteen and nothing happened.

They were not bonded by the moon goddess as mates and he broke up with her. That led to her meeting Noah at the bar and acting reckless with him.

"I could ask you the same thing," Ian said, his voice low and smooth like Carol remembered.

"I didn't know you were into clubbing."

Carol shrugged, trying to play it cool.

"I'm just trying something new," she told him.

Ian's eyes narrowed slightly, and Carol could tell he was trying to read her like before.

"Ah, I came together with Emma. Remember her?" she said, letting a smile cover her face.

"Emma," she called out and Emma came to join her, and she seemed more shocked to see Ian.

"Carol, let's leave. I'm getting tired," Emma said, pulling her along but Ian placed a hand over her to stop them.

Emma's eyes flicked to Ian and for a moment, Carol thought she saw a flash of annoyance. But then, the look disappeared.

"We can get one more drink together, can't we?" he said, not minding the looks from Emma and Carol nodded slowly.