The Alpha and his submissive wife

The silence inside the van was almost as heavy as the exhaustion that weighed on its three occupants. The dashboard clock read 11:47 p.m. Outside, the road wound through forested mountains—a lonely stretch where only the engine’s roar and the tires’ whisper on asphalt reminded them they were still moving. Susana Miller pressed her forehead against the glass, feeling the cold seeping in from outside. She hadn’t slept a wink during the trip; the excitement and tension of the climbing tournament kept her eyes wide open. It was her first international competition, the one that could mark the beginning of a solid career as a professional mountaineer. But with every kilometer, a strange premonition clung to her chest. Something about that dark night felt… different. Too quiet. "Are you all right, Susana?" asked Javier, her head coach, driving with a frown. She turned her face slightly and forced a smile. "Yeah… I’m just thinking about tomorrow." She lied. What kept her alert were not competition nerves but an unnameable sensation: the idea that something was following them, that every curve was being watched. Daniel, the assistant coach, dozed in the back seat. He mumbled disjointed words in his sleep while clutching a backpack filled with climbing gear. Susana closed her eyes for a moment and breathed deeply. It’s just my imagination, she told herself. Tomorrow you’ll be in front of the mountain, not here inventing ghosts. The engine purred steady, then Javier muttered a curse under his breath. "What was that?" Susana opened her eyes with a start. "What happened?" "I thought I saw something cross the road… too fast," he said, tightening his grip on the wheel. Susana looked forward. Nothing—just the gray ribbon of asphalt and the distant gleam of lights. The blackness of the forest surrounded them like an endless wall. "Javier, it was probably an animal," she tried to reassure him. Even as she said it, her skin prickled. Suddenly, a sharp impact shook the van. Something had struck the side. "What the hell?!" Javier shouted, wrestling to keep control. Daniel woke with a jolt. "What’s going on?" The second blow was worse. The van lurched, and Susana glimpsed, for an instant, a huge, furry shadow sliding past the window. A pair of yellow eyes flashed furiously before vanishing into the dark. "That wasn’t a normal animal!" she shouted, clutching her mouth. The engine roared, but they had only moved a few meters when something slammed into the front of the vehicle. The windshield spiderwebbed with an earsplitting crash and Javier lost control. The van skidded, rolled onto its side, and finally flipped with a metallic thunder that seemed to shake the whole mountain. Glass, screams, and the screech of twisted metal turned everything to chaos. When Susana opened her eyes, her head buzzed and her mouth tasted of blood. She hung by the seatbelt, dazed. Next to her, Javier moaned, his face bloodied. "Susana… are you alive?" Javier asked with difficulty. "Yes," she whispered, though her voice barely sounded like her own. Daniel coughed in the back seat, stunned and hurt, his eyes squeezed shut against the pain. Then the silence broke. Heavy, deliberate footsteps echoed around the van. Susana held her breath. This can’t be real. It can’t be what I saw—a werewolf, she thought. The shadow appeared again, sliced by moonlight. Huge, shaggy, muscles taut, its yellow eyes glowing like coals. A second figure moved behind it, growling with a guttural sound. One of them slipped claws through the ripped metal and tore the door off in a single tug. The shriek was unbearable; Susana’s teeth ached with the sound. Javier tried to put himself between them, raising an arm. "Leave her!" he roared, though his voice came out more like a plea than an order. The werewolf didn’t even look at him. With savage speed, it thrust a furry hand inside and grabbed Susana by the arm. She screamed and fought, but the creature’s strength was impossible to resist. "No! Let her go!" Javier tried to strike the monster, but a swipe of a claw sent him crashing back into the seat, leaving him unconscious. Daniel screamed, trying to get out of the vehicle, but another werewolf shoved him back in and held him with one hand as if he were a rag doll. Susana kicked and wept, her throat raw from screaming. "This can’t be happening! This can’t be happening! Werewolves don’t exist!" she cried in desperation, convinced she was trapped in a nightmare she couldn’t wake from. The creature hoisted her onto its shoulder and strode away. Cold forest air hit her full in the face, and she barely managed to see the blinking lights on the dashboard, Javier’s motionless body, and Daniel’s terrified face before darkness swallowed her. She tried to speak, to beg, but only a broken whisper escaped her throat. "Why me?" The only answer was a savage growl and the crackle of branches underfoot. The forest closed around them, and the mangled van was left behind, shattered and abandoned. After what felt like an eternity, the beast stopped in a raised clearing where the moon poured silver over stones and tall pines. It dropped her roughly to the ground. Susana gasped, her arms scratched and her throat parched from screaming. She tried to crawl backward, but the enormous creature blocked her with a single sweep of its claw, which was so sharp she could see her own reflection in it. The werewolf stretched, showing vast muscles and golden eyes burning with unbearable hatred. "So you…" it growled, pointing a bloodied finger at her. "You carry the stink of that damned man. Your father’s scent is on your skin." Susana parted her lips, trembling. She was stunned—she had never seen an animal speak before. "What are you talking about? I don’t know anything…" The werewolf laughed, a bitter, broken sound. "Your father killed mine. My alpha. My blood. And you…" It took a step closer, looming over her. "You will pay for that crime." Susana’s heart pounded so hard she thought it might burst out of her chest. The werewolf raised its hand, claws gleaming in the moonlight. "You will die right here! A daughter for a father!" Susana screamed and shut her eyes, bracing for the strike. But the claw did not come down. A deeper, more commanding growl resonated behind them. The creature halted immediately, shoulders tensing as if startled. From among the trees another figure emerged, taller still, with a gaze so fierce the night itself seemed to shrink back. Its eyes were the same intense yellow, but there was a control and power in them that imposed itself even over hatred. "Enough, Retis!" the new presence barked, voice heavy with authority. Retis stepped back, baring his fangs. "Ritus, brother… she must die. She’s the daughter of the killer of our father." The newcomer stepped forward, and his shadow fell over Susana. His presence was unbearable, as if the whole mountain were breathing with him. "No," his tone was ice-cold and decisive. "Death would be too little for her."