All Chapters of The Rejected Plus-Size Mate: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Elara's POV "Left, Elara! Keep your weight on the balls of your feet!"I grunted, pivoting just in time to catch the wooden training staff against my own. The vibration rattled up my arms, making my teeth ache. "I’m trying, Elias! You’re just faster than you look for a man who spends half his day reading scrolls."Elias laughed, his eyes bright with a competitive glint I’d grown to love over the last three weeks. "Is that an insult to my physique? I’m wounded.""You’re distracting," I corrected, lunging forward.He parried effortlessly, spinning his staff with a grace that shouldn't have belonged to a wolf of his size. "Good. The world is distracting. If you can’t focus while I’m talking, how will you focus when a rogue is snarling in your face?""I’ll just tell the rogue you’re more annoying," I huffed, stepping into his guard.For a split second, I thought I had him. I saw the opening—the slight tilt of his shoulder—and I swung. But Elias was a shadow. He dipped, his movement a blu

Nathan's POVI couldn't get the sound of their voices out of my head. Every time I closed my eyes, I heard the warriors chanting her name. *Elara.* It wasn't the name of the discarded girl I had rejected at the altar. It was a title. A prayer."Nathan, you aren't listening to me," Isabella snapped, her heels clicking sharply against the marble floor of the study. She slammed a stack of papers onto my desk, her face flushed with a calculated sort of frustration. "The Silver Moon delegation arrives in three days. We need to be seen. Together. The gala isn't just a party; it’s a statement of our authority."I stared at the paperwork without seeing a single word. "The men are calling her a True Healer, Isabella. Did you hear Kael this morning? He said he felt the Goddess’s touch when she took his hand."Isabella let out a sharp, mocking laugh. "Kael was delirious from blood loss. He doesn't know what he felt. It was a fluke, Nathan. A surge of adrenaline, perhaps a latent gift that finall

Nathan's POVI gripped the edge of the mahogany table so hard the wood groaned. Through the open doors of the dining hall, I could see them. Elara was laughing, a genuine, melodic sound that used to belong to me, and Elias was leaning in close enough to catch the scent of her hair. My wolf was a frantic, pacing weight in my chest, clawing at my ribs to get out, to tear that look off Elias’s face.“The trade routes for the southern corridor are finalized, Nathan,” my father said, his voice cutting through my haze. “We just need your signature on the final draft so the Alpha of the Crescent Moon can head home.”“It’s not ready,” I snapped, not looking away from the doorway.My father paused, the scratching of his quill stopping. “Not ready? We’ve been over the logistics four times. Even for you, this is excessive.”“The security protocols for the border crossing are lax,” I lied, finally turning to face him. My heart was thundering. “And I’m not satisfied with the wording on the joint-d

Nathan's POVThe stone path of the palace gardens felt like it was shifting beneath my boots. I had spent the last hour pacing the perimeter, watching for the flash of her white dress against the dark hedges. When I finally saw Elara, she was walking slowly, her fingers grazing the lavender bushes. She looked peaceful. It was a peace I had personally tried to dismantle, and the weight of that realization felt like a lead collar around my neck."Elara," I called out, my voice sounding desperate even to my own ears.She stopped but didn't turn around immediately. Her shoulders stiffened, a physical wall rising between us. "It’s late, Nathan. I thought we said everything that needed to be said near the lake.""I didn't," I said, stepping closer, though I kept a respectful distance. "I haven't. Not really. I’ve spent every night since the mating ceremony replaying that day. I see your face when I said those words. I see the way you looked at me when I told the entire pack you weren't enou

Nathan's POV The heavy oak doors of the study slammed shut with a crack that echoed through the stone rafters. I didn’t care if the entire palace heard me. My blood was boiling, a physical heat that felt like it was melting the marrow in my bones.Isabella stood by the window, her silhouette framed by the moonlight. She didn’t even turn around. She just smoothed her silk dress with hands that I could see were shaking."Do you have any idea how transparent you’ve become?" I snarled, crossing the room in three strides. "I just spent the last hour hearing about 'rumors' that originated from your handmaidens. I’ve seen the work logs, Isabella. You’re burying Elara in enough paperwork for three High Councilors. Why?"Isabella turned then, her face a mask of wounded innocence. "I don’t know what you’re talking about, Nathan. If Elara is struggling with her workload, perhaps she isn't as capable as Elias claims she is. I was only trying to ensure the transition went smoothly.""Don’t lie to