"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

The encroaching darkness of the forest seemed to close in on us, mirroring the shadow that our discord cast over the alliance. Elara Windrider's eyes flicked between Alpha Markus and me, her expression taut with concern, while Gamma Thorne's steady gaze bore into us both, a silent plea for cohesion against the looming threat. Eden shifted restlessly at my side, his youthful face etched with the fear of the unknown. 


"Markus," I said, my voice cutting through the tension like a claw through flesh. "If we cannot stand united, The Black Faes will tear through us like we are nothing but scattered sheep." 


His jaw tightened, a muscle ticking in his cheek as he looked out toward the darkening horizon. "I know my pack, Luna Queen. I know their strengths, their weaknesses. My strategy protects them—our way of life. The cost of unity might be too high, if it means sacrificing what makes us who we are." 


Hung in the balance