All Chapters of Rejected as the Fat Mate: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

POV: Tahlia I stood in front of the mirror while my mother wrestled with the zipper. "If you'd just lost the weight like I told you," she muttered, yanking harder, "I wouldn't be breaking my nails on this dress." The fabric pinched the soft roll of my stomach. I kept my eyes on my reflection and said nothing. Twenty-five years had taught me that answering only made it last longer. "You're going to embarrass us tonight, Tahlia." She gave one final tug and the zipper scraped into place like a small protest. "Nadia looks like a Luna already. You look like you stole her leftovers." Nadia's laugh floated in from the hallway, light and perfect. "Mama, leave her alone. She's trying." Trying. The word tasted like pity. My father appeared in the doorway, already dressed in formal black. He didn't look at me when he spoke. "Smile. Eat less at the banquet. Stay away from the Alpha family. We don't need any more attention than necessary." "Yes, Father." "And if anyone asks why yo

POV: TahliaMy heart raced so fast I could barely hear anything.For one foolish moment I believed he was about to accept me. The way he'd walked across the entire courtyard. The way he'd stopped so close that his scent wrapped around me like a claim. The way the bond still sang between us, bright and desperate and alive. I told myself the cruel curve of his mouth was only nerves, that the whiskey on his breath was only the courage he needed to do the right thing. I told myself maybe, just maybe, this was the night the Goddess finally decided I was allowed to stop being the joke.He laughed.The sound was loud enough to silence the entire festival.Every conversation stopped mid-sentence. Every instrument faltered and died. Every eye turned toward us as if the Moon Goddess herself had dragged a spotlight across the stones and left us standing in the center of it. The floating crystal lights felt suddenly too bright. The air felt too thin. My lungs forgot how to work.Ronan looked me u

POV: TahliaI spent the morning hiding in my room with the curtains drawn and the door locked.For the first time in my life, I stopped crying.Something inside me had gone completely numb. The tears had run out sometime before dawn, leaving only a hollow quiet that felt almost like relief. I sat on the edge of the bed in the same torn green dress from the festival, scraped palms resting on my knees, and understood the rejection hadn't just broken my heart. It had burned out the part of me that kept hoping people would eventually love me if I was useful enough, quiet enough, small enough, apologetic enough. That part was gone. I could still feel the empty space where it used to live.I stared at the thin scabs on my hands. They would scar. I decided I didn't care.I would never beg for acceptance again. Not from my parents, who had looked at me the next morning like I'd personally ruined the family name. Not from this pack, which had laughed while I collapsed on cold stone. Not from a

Tahlia's POV "I want you in Ember Crest."Alaric said it without preamble, standing in the small side room the council had given us after the courtyard. No build-up, no performance—just the words, steady and certain, like he'd already decided the outcome and was waiting for me to catch up.I stared at him. "As what?""Chief Financial and Development Adviser. Full authority over the ledgers, the trade routes, the farm recovery plans, and negotiations with neighboring packs. You report directly to me. No one overrides your numbers or questions your recommendations in open council."My mouth went dry. "You're serious.""I don't waste time on things I'm not serious about." He set a thin folder on the table between us, Ember Crest's crest stamped cleanly at the top. "Terms are already drafted. Your own housing. Salary that reflects the work. Protection under Ember Crest law. You'd leave Briar Hollow within the week."I opened the folder. The pages were clean, precise, signed at the bottom

ahlia's POV “Tahlia Osadebe. Step forward.”The council chamber was already full when the guards brought me in. Every seat along the long table was occupied. Elders in formal dark robes. Senior warriors with their arms crossed. Two representatives from the royal contingent sitting rigid near the head. My parents sat near the center, faces set like stone. Nadia sat beside them, hands folded neatly in her lap, eyes lowered in perfect, practiced sorrow that had always worked on everyone else.I stopped on the marked stone in the middle of the floor. The air felt too thick. My wolf pressed close under my skin, silent but alert.The head of the council, Elder Voss, did not waste time.“You are summoned to answer for your involvement in the systematic theft of royal and allied funds totaling more than two million coin over the past four years. Do you understand the charge?”My mouth went dry. “I understand the words. I do not understand why they are being spoken to me.”A low murmur ran al