Chapter 5

That night in the Alpha’s residence had been another exercise in quiet torture for Elara.vThe grand wooden halls felt cold and unwelcoming. Servants offered her food and clothes with polite but pitying smiles, their eyes lingering too long on her soft, generous curves as if silently wondering how someone like her had become Luna.

 Kai had barely spoken to her. He sat at the head of the table during dinner, jaw tight, answering her hesitant questions with short, clipped replies. His gaze rarely met hers, and when it did, it carried the same mix of duty, frustration, and reluctant pity that had haunted her since he accepted her. 

Every minute spent under that roof reminded her of her place that she was not wanted. She was only tolerated.

As soon as the household settled, Elara slipped out through a side door, her simple nightdress clinging to her full breasts and rounded belly. 

She ran into the forest on trembling legs, sobs already wracking her generous frame before she reached the trees. Her thick thighs rubbed together painfully, her soft belly bouncing with each step, but she didn’t stop until she collapsed near the same ancient oak from that first devastating night that became her favorite spot 

She slid down against the rough bark, hugging her knees to her chest as best as her soft body allowed. Her mind replayed Kai's words with every tear that soaked her nightdress.

 Even my own mate only keeps me out of duty. He only pities me. Lila is everything I’m not strong, lean, capable. She fought beside him today while I sat in the dirt like a useless lump.

The mate bond pulled painfully in her chest, a constant, throbbing ache that refused to let her forget Kai. It whispered of his presence somewhere in the pack lands, but she ignored it, pressing her face against her knees. 

“Why won’t it just let me disappear? Why did the Goddess do this to me?”

Her full breasts heaved with each broken breath. She ran her hands over her rounded belly and thick thighs, hating how soft and heavy everything felt. 

“This body… it’s all I am. Weak and slow.”

As she sobbed, more memories of the battle flooded her mind of Lila shoving her aside, Kai’s furious command to get back, the warriors’ mocking glances. Tears spilled faster.

The moon above began to darken. Slowly at first, then completely. A total eclipse swallowed the silver light, plunging the forest into an eerie, unnatural shadow. Elara looked up through blurry, tear-filled eyes just as a brilliant column of pure moonlight pierced the darkness and shone directly down upon her.

The beam enveloped her completely.

Hope flared brightly in her chest, for the first time in days. She prayed silently, lifting her arms as the light lifted her gently off the ground.

“ Let this change me. Let me become worthy of him. Please give me strength and power. 

Warm, electric energy surged through her soft body. It filled her full breasts, her rounded belly, her thick thighs, reaching into every curve. For one shining, beautiful moment, she believed the Goddess had finally heard her prayers. The power felt ancient and vast. 

“This is it,”  she thought as tears rolled down her cheeks mixed with joy. “I’ll descend as a true Luna.”

The light held her suspended for long, dramatic moments, swirling around her like living moonlight. Then, slowly, it began to lower her back to the earth.

Slowly the glow faded. Elara’s bare feet touched the ground. She opened her eyes excitedly and stared at her feet first then her hands, she then slowly touched her hips. Nothing had changed.

Her full breasts, rounded belly, thick thighs, and curvy frame remained exactly the same. There was no transformation or visible power. There wasn't even burst of strength or command. She was still the same heavy “unworthy” Elara Voss.

The pack many of whom had gathered after sensing the powerful eclipse stared in stunned silence. Then the silence shattered.

“She’s still the same fat Luna!”

“Nothing happened! The Goddess did nothing!”

“What kind of joke is this? The Eclipse was supposed to awaken her!”

Mocking laughter and cruel whispers spread like wildfire. Elara stood there trembling violently as tears pouring down her flushed cheeks in rivers. 

Her hands moved instinctively to cover her soft belly, as if she could hide her body from their judgment.

Kai pushed through the crowd, his expression a raging storm of fury and bitter disappointment. He grabbed her arm, fingers digging into the plush flesh. “Elara!” he growled, voice low and dangerous. “What is this? The Eclipse was supposed to awaken your power as Luna. Why are you still… like this? Still soft? Still useless?” he said angrily.

His words broke her completely. A strangled sob escaped her lips as she shook her head, unable to form any defense.

Kai’s frustration finally boiled over. He released her arm roughly and turned sharply toward Elder Mira, who had approached with the elderly blind woman from the tent. “Why, Mira?” he demanded, his voice raw with anger that echoed through the clearing. “Why did the Goddess curse me with a Luna who can’t even help in battle? She has nothing, no powers, no strength, nothing but this… this fat body and that makes her a liability to the entire pack!”

The words cut deeper than any blade ever could. Elara crumpled to her knees in the dirt, heart-wrenching sobs. Her  belly pressed against her thighs as she curled inward, trying to disappear. 

The pack’s laughter and whispers surrounded her like knives.

“Fatty.”

“Useless.” 

“Pity Luna.” 

Kai stood over her,with his chest heaving with fury, but the bond between them betrayed a faint flicker of guilt beneath his rage. Still, he didn’t take the words back or offer comfort.

Elder Mira sighed deeply, her voice calm but weary. “The Goddess works in ways we do not yet understand, Alpha…”

Elara didn’t wait to hear the rest. She was lost in her pain, as she ran deeper into the darkness with the weight of rejection, humiliation, and worthlessness crushing her completely.

Yet somewhere deep inside, buried under layers of heartbreak and overwhelming shame, her wolf whispered faintly through the tears:

“Not yet…”