Submission is Not My Style novel Chapter 4

Kali

"You did what?" My mother’s voice comes out in a sharp whisper, her eyes wide with fear. She rushes to shut my bedroom door behind her, glancing over her shoulder as if someone might be listening.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair, already drained from the night. Caspian had left a while ago, returning to his night patrol. His heartbreak was still fresh in my mind, but I hadn’t had the time to dwell on it before my mother asked question that I didn't want to answer. When she had happily asked if Caspian and I were mates, I told her the truth—Travis, the future Alpha, was my mate, and I rejected him.

"I rejected Travis, Mom," I say again, firmer this time, locking eyes with her. "I didn’t want to be his mate, and I wasn’t going to pretend otherwise."

Her lips part, but no words come out for a moment. Then, she shakes her head.

"Kali, you should have thought this through!" she hisses, pacing the room in short, frantic steps. "Do you realise what you’ve done? You rejected the future Alpha—Travis, of all people! There will be consequences."

"I know," I say simply, because I do.

Travis isn’t the kind of man to take rejection lightly. His ego is as big as the moon itself, and if there’s one thing I’m certain of, it’s that he won’t let this slide.

"Then why?" She breathes out desperately. "This was your chance, Kali. You could have been Luna—you could have had real power. Everything you’ve ever wanted. You could have changed things for the women in this pack, made them equal to men—"

"But at what cost, Mom?" I cut her off, my voice rising. "I would have had to submit to him! Do you think Travis would ever let me rule beside him as an equal? He doesn’t respect me; he never has! How could I fight for equality when I would have to bow to him?"

She stills, her shoulders tense, lips pressed into a thin line. "You only had to submit to one man, Kali. Just one."

I laugh bitterly. "And that’s exactly the problem. If I have to kneel for one man to get power, then what’s the point of the power in the first place?"

Her expression falters, and for the first time, she looks uncertain. I shake my head. "I don’t care if it’s an Alpha, the Alpha King himself—I will never submit to anyone who doesn’t respect me or see my worth. I would rather face the consequences than live my life as someone's shadow."

A heavy silence stretches between us. She exhales shakily, her shoulders sagging in reluctant defeat.

"I should have known," she murmurs, more to herself than me. "You’re exactly the same as the little girl I found that day."

I frown. "What are you talking about?"

She hesitates, looking at me as if she’s debating whether or not to say more as she takes a deep breath.

"I found you in a dark magic hut," she says suddenly.

I blink. "What?"

She swallows hard. "You weren’t abandoned in the forest like everyone says. I heard witches whispering about you. They said you were a sacrifice—an offering to the Moon Goddess.They said your blood was the strongest of our kind."

"That doesn’t make sense. Beta Logan said you found me in the forest, alone—"

"And I let him believe that," she interrupts quickly. "I let the whole pack believe that because if anyone knew the truth, they would have questioned why I was even at the witch’s hut to begin with. And if they knew what kind of power you held, they would have killed you, Kali. I had to keep you safe. And I couldn’t let that happen."

I feel like the air has been sucked out of the room. "You lied to protect me?"

She gives me a sad smile. "At first, I was going to mind my business and leave. But then… you called for me."

I frown. "I called for you?"

"You didn’t say a word," she says, her voice distant, like she’s remembering something long buried. "But you made me come to you. You made me and my wolf submit." She shudders. "A ten-year-old girl made a grown woman fall to her knees. I didn’t know how you did it. But I knew one thing—I couldn’t leave you there to die."

My knees feel weak. Who left me there? Who wanted me dead? And why did my own mother—no, my real parents—want to sacrifice me?

"So you took me," I whisper.

"Yes," she murmurs. "And then I lied to my mate. I lied to the whole pack. Because I knew if they found out how powerful you really were, they’d fear you. And fear makes people do terrible things."

I feel lightheaded as I stare at her. All my life, I believed I had been found in the dirt, abandoned and unwanted. But now…

"I never wanted children with my mate," she says, her expression darkening. "He was abusive. A monster. And I refused to bring a child into that kind of life. So I went to the dark witches and had my womb removed."

A sharp gasp escapes me. "You—"

She nods. "Logan didn’t deserve to be a father. That was my punishment for him. No matter how many times we had sex, I knew there would never be a child."

For a long moment, I say nothing. I don’t know what to say.

I’ve always thought of my mother as someone who endured, who put up with the abuse because she had no choice. But now I see her in a different light. She wasn’t just a survivor—she was a fighter.

And she had risked everything to protect me.

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