3. Four

~ Harper’s POV ~

I took a deep breath as I contemplated the situation before knocking on the door. I knew what I had to do but that didn't make it any easier. My wolf was restless at the back of my mind, unable to sit still, but even he agreed that this needed to be done. This step was necessary because there was so much resting on my decisions.

Before I could overthink everything and convince myself to walk away, I rang the doorbell of the mansion-style home of one of our esteemed warriors. I knew that both he and his wife were busy tracking the rogues, so there would be only one person in the home who I needed to talk to.

I heard footsteps on the other side of the door and braved myself to face my problems head-on. Giving myself a mental pep talk didn't make it any easier to face Natalie.

She was surprised to see me standing on her doorstep but the clever girl didn't say anything and stepped aside to let me enter.

I entered her home and walked inside to sit on one of the couches in the drawing room. I waited for her to follow me but before he could come into the room, I got up from the chair and paced back and forth on the carpet, wanting to quell my anxiety.

Natalie slowly walked into the room, her hand on her swollen belly. She saw me pacing around but didn't say anything. Instead, she waited for me to get over my anxiety. I tried to say what I wanted to say many times but something stopped me and I ended up resuming my pacing again.

"Stop! You are wearing a hole in the carpet. What's troubling you?" She asked and grabbed a pillow to sit more comfortably. Her baby bump must have been giving her discomfort in everyday activities now.

I sighed. I was so determined when I made up my mind to come here, to talk to her and tell her my solution. I knew it needed to be done but it didn't make the decision any easier. It went against everything in my being but I knew it was necessary. Even my wolf agreed that even though we didn't want to do it, it had to be done. We couldn't put innocent lives at risk any longer. Not if we had the power to change it. 

"The trackers tacked down the rogues who attacked us," I said, hoping that she would agree with me on this plan.

"That's good news. It's high time we kill them." She smiled and I noticed that she had the famous pregnancy glow everyone talked about. 

Yeah, so we are going to attack them." I said, my mind made up. There was no other way to do it. I had these rogues in the palm of me. I had the opportunity to crush them. To let them go now would be a great disservice to all the deaths they had caused, both of the packs and the humans. Letting them go wasn't an option. They needed to die so that hundreds of people could go to sleep in peace, without worrying about the safety of their loved ones.

"That's obvious. We found them. Why wouldn't we attack them? In fact, why aren't we attacking them now?" She asked and huffed before adding another pillow to sit comfortably.

"Because we can't attack a rogue group without our alpha leading us. The wolves derive energy from their alpha, they listen to his leadership during a planned attack and we can't do that if our official alpha is bed-bound in a hospital, fighting for his life." I rambled, hoping she would understand where I was going with this.

"Shit, what are you going to do now? You can't let them get away. That will only risk the lives of the pack members."

"No just the pack members, Natalie. They murdered three human children and left their bodies for us to find. Human or werewolf, no one is safe as long as they are alive."

"They targeted human children?" Nat gaped, as surprised as I was when I heard the news.

I nodded. "I saw the evidence in the morning."

"So, what are you going to do?" 

"Dad can't lead an attack on the rogues, but I can. So, I'm officially going to become the alpha."

Natalie gasped. "But how? Zara isn't here and we don't know when she's going to come back."

"I know Zara isn't here, Natalie. Nobody knows it better than me." I snapped and took a deep breath to calm myself down. "When I last talked to her, she said she wasn't coming back and I'm not in a position to wait right now."

"So, you have decided to have the ceremony with a chosen luna?" She shrieked.

I nodded. My wolf was torn up about it and I was too but there was no other way. I had already exhausted my mind thinking about other options. To get rid of the rogues, we needed to attack them and the attack couldn't happen without the alpha leading the warriors into battle. 

"Harper, are you crazy? How are you going to explain this to Zara? She is already insecure about how you feel about her. She is already hesitant to trust you because of your playboy past. How is she ever going to trust you again?" Natalie rambled as if I already didn't know what she was talking about.

"I know, Nat! But there's no other way. I can't put the lives of hundreds of people before the well-being of my relationship with Zara. What kind of person would I be if I did that? I might be able to reconcile with her after some time but the lives that will be lost if we don't attack the wolves, they will never come back." My wolf agreed with me. He knew that the lives of hundreds of people mattered much more than my relationship drama. If it was in my power to keep the whole town safe, then that was exactly what I was going to do.

"But Harper, what if the girl you choose to be your luna doesn't let go of the title when the time comes? What if you two are trapped with each other for eternity? What then? Are you willing to suffer all through your life? It's a really big decision."

I sighed and sat down in the armchair across from her. "I know it's a big decision, Natalie. That's why I am here. I couldn't think of anyone better to be my Luna. You are going to be the mother of my child and we don't have any romantic feelings towards each other. Which means that you will let go of me when you find your mate. I can't take that chance with any other female in this pack. All of them are either mate-less or I don't trust them enough to become a Luna. I know you will be a good luna and that's exactly what this pack needs right now."

Natalie stammered. "Harper, you can't do this. You are deliberately jeopardizing your relationship with Zara. What is wrong with you?"

"I am not jeopardizing anything, Natalie. The situation has put my relationship with my mate and the lives of hundreds of people in two different directions. What kind of person would I be if I were to choose my relationship over the lives of hundreds of people under my care? What kind of person would want me to choose my relationship over the lives of hundreds of people? What kind of person would want me to prioritize my relationship with Zara over the lives of hundreds of people?" 

Natalie opened her mouth and closed it. "Harper, what will happen if Zara comes back home and watches you prancing around with your new Luna?"

"Natalie, that's exactly what I'm saying. If I don't do this, Zara may not have a home to come back to." I whispered the last part. "What if the rogues randomly decide to kill her brother to send a message? What do I do then? I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let another person die on my watch."

"Harper, I- I...." She looked like a deer in headlights as if she didn't know what to say.

"Natalie, I know what I'm asking is too much for you but I need your help. I trust you and I know that you'll be able to let go of the Luna title when you find your mate. My wolf trusts you and it's all the confirmation I need."

"I will help you." She nodded. "I will be a part of the Alpha ceremony if we can get rid of these rogues once and for all. But on one condition." She looked determined and I wondered what her condition was going to be.

"Anything which is in my power to give you," I promised.

"I want you to contact Zara and tell her that you have made this decision. Give her the choice to come back and be the rightful Luna herself. Let her know what's happening and let her decide for herself." Natalie said. "If she refuses to come back, I will be your Luna."