Chapter 8 Rite for newcomers

"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.