Korrak reached for the walkie clipped near the dashboard, static crackling as he adjusted the frequency. “Kol, respond.”
His Beta’s voice came through immediately, tense with controlled urgency. “Korrak. Report.”
“Cabin breached,” Korrak said, his tone brutal and efficient. “Two rogue grizzlies attempted a snatch-and-grab on Winslet. Threat neutralized, but the damage is significant. Send someone to dispose of the bodies and assess what can be salvaged.”
A pause. “Understood. Are you good?”
“For now. But the southern border activity was a diversion.” Korrak’s voice dropped to arctic coldness. “Bracken has hostages—Winslet’s family—at the main warehouse in the northern sector. This ends today.”
Through the radio, he heard Kol’s sharp intake of breath. Every member of the Icefang clan knew what it meant when their Alpha’s mate and family were threatened. Blood would flow.
“How many do you need?” Kol asked.
“Bring twenty to the north,” Korrak ordered, his voice carrying the weight of absolute command. “Tell them my mate’s family is in grave danger. Move silent—no engines, no unnecessary noise. We’ll meet you at the ice cliffs, one mile out from the target.”
“Copy that. ETA fifteen minutes.”
Kol didn’t question the orders or demand more details. He heard the sound of an Alpha whose mate had been targeted, whose territory had been violated, whose restraint was hanging by threads. Questions could wait until after the blood dried.
Korrak clipped the walkie back to the dashboard and watched Winslet pull the Jeep behind a cluster of ice-covered rocks that would hide it from casual observation. Her movements remained precise and controlled, but he felt the tremor of anticipation running through the bond.
“Your clan will follow us into this?” she asked as she killed the engine.
“Without question.” His ice-blue eyes met hers. “Clan protection is absolute.”
The words carried more weight than simple loyalty. She was his mate, and that made her safety a sacred trust. Human or not.
Korrak sat rigid in the passenger seat, his ice-blue eyes scanning the frozen wasteland ahead while his enhanced hearing tracked the approach of his clan members. Beside him, Winslet gripped the steering wheel, her green eyes fixed on the industrial silhouette rising from the permafrost like a scar against the Arctic sky. Through the mate bond, he felt her emotions shifting—fear giving way to something harder, more dangerous.
“Bracken must have been here longer than we thought,” she said, her voice carrying the cold precision of someone assembling puzzle pieces. “Days, at least. Maybe even before Viktor was captured.”
His polar bear grew restless, fury building at the implications.
“Viktor said Bracken was patient when he needed to be. That things were already in motion,” Winslet continued, turning to meet his gaze. “I thought I was safe here, but he was always watching. Always waiting to unleash his grand plan.”
Korrak’s jaw clenched so hard he heard his teeth grind. The calculated nature of the attack today—the southern border diversion, the cabin assault, the hostage situation—it all reeked of meticulous planning. Bracken hadn’t stumbled into this territory just today. He’d orchestrated every move with the precision of a chess master.
“I don’t understand why he just didn’t take me,” Winslet said, frustration bleeding through her controlled tone. “Or kill you outright. He clearly had the resources.”
“Because he enjoys the game.” The words emerged from Korrak’s throat like shards of ice. “The challenge. The thrill of watching you get close to happiness and then ripping it away when you thought you had control.”
His hands curled into fists on his thighs. Every instinct screamed at him to shift, to hunt down the grizzly bastard who dared threaten what was his.
“This was always about power and control and fear,” he continued, forcing his voice to remain steady. “Bracken wants to break you. Wants to prove he owns you.”
Winslet’s expression hardened, her green eyes flashing with something fierce and uncompromising. “I’m done. Done being controlled. Done being played. Done being afraid of him.”
She turned fully in her seat. “I have a plan to end this,” she said, her voice carrying the steel of absolute certainty. “Get my family to safety and take out Bracken for good.”
Every protective instinct Korrak possessed flared to life. “What kind of plan?”
“I go into the warehouse alone,” she said without hesitation. “Tell him I’m coming back to him. Make him believe I’m choosing him over you.”
The mate bond exploded with violent rejection. Korrak’s bear surged so close to the surface that his canines extended, his vision sharpening to predatory focus. The idea of his mate walking willingly into Bracken’s grasp sent primitive fury roaring through his veins.
“No.” The word emerged as a growl, absolute and uncompromising.
But Winslet didn’t flinch. She met his fury with steel of her own, her chin lifting in defiance.
