3. One

My father motioned for Aiden's father, Raphael, to speak, and what he said irritated the bubble inside me.

"We need to make Harper the alpha of the pack."

I didn't know where he got this stupid idea in the first place. I know that he knew that to become an alpha, I needed to have my Luna with me. He also knew that Zara wasn't with me right now, so there was no way I could get the alpha position right now. It was basic werewolf knowledge and not some rocket science shit. 

My father scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. His pale face looked tired and withered and I hated to see him like that. Fragile in a hospital bed. But I also knew that I couldn't do anything about it. I was powerless here. Dad's healing was dependent on his willpower and his wolf's strength. I just hoped that it was enough to get my father in shape as soon as possible because I had a feeling these rogues were not going to rest for a long time. They had done considerable damage to the pack infrastructure and werewolf life, but the high-ranking wolves were still standing. 

"But that's not possible. I can't pass down the alpha position to Harper because his mate is not here." My dad voiced the thoughts I had in my mind.

All eyes were trained on Raphael, who would soon stop being summoned into these pack meetings because by then, Aiden and Samantha would have taken full reigns. I desperately waited for that time. Hopefully, by that time, I would get the aloha position, with Zara, my fated mate, by my side.

"We can do it either way. We can have Harper's alpha ceremony without his fated mate." He had the balls to continue voicing his opinions.

My wolf growled in my head and wanted to tear his throat apart. How dare he say something like that! How dare he even hint at the possibility of me becoming alpha without Zara as my mate! The thought of having another female stand beside me, sharing blood and vowing to protect the pack was too much to bear. 

My wolf suddenly took control of my body, feeling threatened by this man, who had known me my entire life, and was now suggesting I forget Zara and have another female as my Luna. Never going to happen, buddy!

My wolf forcefully pushed me to the back of my body and took over the reins of my body. I leaped from my seat in the small hospital room and punched the old beta in the face. He must have seen me coming but he chose not to do anything, to not respond or defend in any way, which was a good decision on his part. 

I had put much power in my punch and it was no surprise that he fell from the measly plastic chair, provided to us by the hospital so that we could carry on our meeting. Everyone gasped at my sudden attack but my wolf was too far gone to take any notice.

From the back of my mind, I registered that Aiden's mom, Lily, was screaming and shouting at me to let go of her mate. If it had been me, who was in control, I probably would have. But this was my wolf, controlled by primal desires, who was deeply insulted that his beta had the nerve to propose such an idea. To become the alpha without my mate, without Zara!

My wolf was furious that someone had the indecency to even suggest this. I pulled the old man from the ground by hooking my fists into his collar. His cheek was already red and swelling up because of the force of my punch but my wolf didn't seem to care. He wanted the blood of the man who hinted at letting go of our mate.

I pulled my hand back and landed another punch on the man. He staggered back, lost his balance, and landed in a heap on the floor. I moved forward to land another couple of punches on him when two strong arms pulled me from behind. 

My wolf resisted the person who was trying to hold me back and tried again to butcher the slumped man in front of me. 

"Harper, Harper. Easy, man. That's my father." Aiden's voice sounded close to me and I realized that he was the one who was trying to hold me back. Of course, it was him. Apart from him, nobody else could hold me back.

Aiden's voice made me fight my wolf and I fought him to regain control of my body. My wolf was in a murderous rage, and any decision he would make now, he would regret later.

I fought my wolf pushed him to the back of my mind and regained control of my body. My eyes must have shown that I was back in control because Aiden's father relaxed and so did Aiden's arms around me. 

I jerked my shoulders to tell Aiden that I wasn't going to hurt anyone anymore and he stepped back, giving me my space. I held out my hand to the man, who I had known my whole life and who was like a second father to me. He spat blood on the ground, took my hand, and helped himself up from the ground.

"I'm sorry. My wolf took control of me." I apologized and took my seat again.

Raphael grunted in response, took his seat, and wiped the blood off his face. His mate immediately took hold of his face and observed the damage my crazy ass would have done to him.

Silence reigned in the room for a few seconds where everyone was studying everyone and waiting for someone to speak up.

"He is right, you know. We could make Harper the alpha, with a chosen mate. The best thing about it was that it wouldn't be permanent, if both the parties agreed. The pack would have a new leader and it will be stronger than it is now. It will give us the boost to face off our enemies, fight with me, and finish them off." Lily advised, voicing out her opinions.

It was true. I guess it was another loophole in the werewolf world, and maybe the moon goddess had created it to solve fucked-up situation like mine. If under any condition, any alpha had to take over his pack and he hadn't found his mate, he could pick out a chosen Luna. Most of the werewolves wanted to wait for their mates but sometimes circumstances demanded immediate transfer of power, landing the pack in danger and making the alphas helpless. So, if an unmarked alpha were to perform the alpha ceremony with a chosen and un-mated female, they could break the bond in the future if they so wished.

In my case, if I were to be the alpha of my pack without Zara by my side, I would have to pick a female, who hadn't found her mate yet or was mate less. We would perform the alpha ceremony, and become the alpha, and Luna and the pack would experience a surge of energy to facilitate the change in authority and power. After the ceremony, a bond forms between the alpha and Luna, so there will be a bond between me and my chosen Luna. It need not necessarily be a bond of sexual attraction. Then, if in the future, the aloha or Luna wanted to dissolve the bond between them and the pack, they could do so. The only thing that could undo or reverse the ceremony was the mate bond. In my case, if my chosen Luna found her fated mate, accepted him, and marked him, her bond with me would break and her position as the Luna would dissolve. All her Luna tendencies would dissolve and I would be left as the alpha of the pack without a Luna, while my Luna would be a normal pack member, with her fated mate. 

This method was risky, however, because of many reasons. Firstly, as the alphas have always been male, he got to choose who his Luna would be. Sometimes, the chosen Luna would become power-hungry and refuse to leave her Luna position. The Luna would reject their mates and choose to stay with the alphas. Sometimes, the alphas would do the same, reject their fated mates, and choose to stay with Luna. Apart from power-hungry she-wolves, there was also the immediate bond formed between the alpha and Luna. It pushed the two people together and they felt things that they didn't before. These feelings caused great concern in the fated mates, because they became insecure and jealous, which they had every right to be. This created great rifts between mates and the pack and caused great unease within the pack.

So, if I would choose a Luna, I would immediately feel a bond form between us. This bond was to facilitate the ascension of power of two individuals so that they could get used to rule the pack. Because of this bond, my chosen Luna might now want to give up her Luna position, even after she found her mate. 

If she did find her mate, accept him, and mark him and get marked by him, there would be a lingering bond between us, which could be a cause of concern for my mate, Zara, and her mate. 

It was all so complicated and all so risky, that this way was never really used, until and unless there was an emergency attack by rogues or neighboring packs or there was a sudden death of the reigning alpha and the Luna. 

Apart from all the already mentioned reasons, I could never do this ceremony with a chosen mate. This ceremony without Zara felt like an act of betrayal and I wasn't going to put strain on our already strained mate bond. Our mate bond was fragile and I didn't want to do anything that could further complicate things between us.

I calmly took a deep breath and sat down on my designated seat in the hospital room. My wolf was restless and desperately wanted to go out for a run, to ward off the uneasiness and nervousness from this suggestion.

"Harper already has a mate and it's Zara. He won't be participating in the alpha ceremony without her and that's final." Dad said and a huge amount of tension left my body as I took in his words.

I watched him turn his gaze around the room as if daring anyone to argue with him or try to convince him otherwise.

Dad's eyes landed on me and softened for a bit. I nodded at him in thanks and he returned the nod by giving me a small tilt of his head. But that was all I needed. I didn't need to step up right now and take over the position of the alpha with a chosen Luna. I was safe. For now, both I and my wolf relaxed.