LET GO OF ME STEPBROTHER! I'M NOT YOUR LUNA

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.