"Hi, yes you aren't dreaming, it's the chubby Kelly," I say inwardly as I see the unhappy face expression of Jason who is disheartened. 

The guests laugh at us. They call our couple all sort of names. "The prince charming and the pancakes' eater Kelly" is one I can sadly remember."

"I, Jason Bentley of the South pack, reject you Kelly Thompson as my mate and the Luna Queen," he declared fiercely.

***
Kelly Thompson, an eighteen-year-old curvaceous and wolfless she-wolf, has been quietly admiring Jason Bentley, the heir apparent to the throne of the dominant South pack, for a number of years.

Unfortunately for Kelly, she doesn't get the same attention in return from Alpha heir Jason, as the handsome daughter of his old father's Gammas, Betty Nord, is already the love of the pack's future Alpha. But, the plump Kelly has an advantage over the skinny Betty because of a strong vow made by Jason's father, the Alpha King Don Bentley, that his son will marry the daughter of his Betas who gave their lives two years ago in a fight against the North pack's fiercest adversaries in order to preserve the life of the Alpha heir.

But clearly, nothing goes as smoothly as Kelly imagines.

The Rejected Curvy Luna Queen

Panting, chests heaving like bellows stoking a forge, we took a moment to gather ourselves in the aftermath. The air, still thick with the residue of magic and combat, hummed with an energy that prickled against my skin. I glanced at Eden, whose youthful face was painted with both exhilaration and uncertainty. He had grown in more ways than one today. 


"Are you hurt?" I asked, touching his shoulder. The concern of a mother clashed with the pride of a queen. 


"I'm fine, Mother," Eden replied, a slight quiver betraying his nerves. "Just... surprised." 


"Surprises can be our allies," Paul Biansky murmured, his eyes scanning the shadows as if expecting them to burst forth with new threats. 


"Indeed," I said, nodding at him. At this point, trust was not freely given, but respect was earned on the battlefield, and Paul had proven himself an ally worth having. 


Moving forward