Heat flooded Winslet’s cheeks despite the frigid air seeping through the walls. The memory of his ice-blue gaze, the way her body had responded to his proximity, suddenly took on new meaning. She’d been attracted to an apex predator without even knowing it.
What the hell have I gotten myself into?
The snowmobile’s engine soon cut through the Arctic silence like a chainsaw through glass, its mechanical roar the only sound brave enough to challenge the wind’s relentless howl. Winslet pressed closer against Ellie’s back, her arms wrapped tight around the scientist’s waist as they carved a path through the deepening snow. Each bump and jolt sent vibrations through her body, but her mind had already traveled miles ahead to the warm cabin waiting at their destination.
Polar bear shifter. And I’m about to have dinner alone with him.
The thought sent heat spiraling through her despite the frigid air slicing across her exposed skin. Korrak wasn’t just devastatingly attractive in that rugged, untouchable way—he was literally built to dominate. Blonde hair that caught light like spun gold, shoulders broad enough to block out the world, and a stillness that spoke of coiled power waiting for the right moment to strike.
This is insane,she told herself as the landscape blurred past in shades of white and gray.I shouldn’t be attracted to a man who can turn into a twelve-foot killing machine.
Yet the knowledge only intensified the pull she felt toward him. There was something intoxicating about the idea of being close to that much raw power, of being chosen by someone who could have anything—or anyone—he wanted.
The snowmobile began to slow, and Winslet lifted her head to see warm light spilling from windows ahead against the twilight. Korrak’s cabin materialized from the storm-darkened landscape—solid, imposing, and utterly masculine. Smoke curled from the chimney, promising heat and shelter from the elements that seemed determined to freeze her to the bone.
Get it together,she commanded herself as Ellie brought them to a stop near the front entrance.You’re a capable adult. You’ve handled boardroom negotiations and high-stakes event planning. You can manage one dinner with an Alpha polar bear shifter.
The pep talk felt laughably inadequate.
“Here we are,” Ellie called over the wind as she helped Winslet dismount. Snow immediately began accumulating on her shoulders, nature’s reminder that this environment didn’t negotiate. “He’s expecting you, so don’t be nervous.”
Don’t be nervous.Right.
“You’ll be fine,” Ellie continued, her voice warm with encouragement as she guided Winslet across the icy path toward the front door. “Just... be yourself.”
Be myself around a powerful alpha who could snap me in half without breaking a sweat?
The advice seemed woefully insufficient for the situation at hand.
The cabin’s windows glowed with invitation, casting rectangles of amber light across the snow-covered ground. Each step toward that door felt weighted with significance, as if she were crossing some invisible threshold that would change everything.
Ellie squeezed her shoulder once before heading back toward the snowmobile. “Have a good evening, Winslet. And remember—he invited you. That means he wants you here.”
He wants me here.
The words sent another flutter through her chest as Ellie’s engine roared back to life and disappeared into the storm, leaving Winslet alone on Korrak’s doorstep.
She stood there for a moment, gathering her courage and trying to ignore the way her body thrummed with anticipation. The door before her was solid wood, weathered by countless Arctic storms but still standing strong—much like the man who lived behind it.
Here goes nothing,she thought, raising her gloved hand toward the wood.
FOUR
KORRAK
The cabin’s wooden floor bore witness to Korrak’s relentless pacing, his boots wearing a path between the stone fireplace and the kitchen counter. Hours had passed since he’d returned from the outpost, since he’d shaken Winslet’s hand and felt his entire world tilt off its axis. The memory of her touch still burned through his palm like a brand, marking him in ways that defied his carefully constructed defenses.
Fated mate.
Those two words echoed in his mind with the persistence of the arctic wind, impossible to ignore or silence. For thirty-five years, his existence was built on control—knowing every variable, anticipating every threat, maintaining absolute dominion over his emotions. Yet one handshake with a dark-haired woman had shattered that foundation.
His polar bear prowled restlessly under his skin, its claws scraping against his restraint with increasing agitation. The animal wanted to claim, to mark, to drag her back to their den and never let her leave. Every rational thought Korrak possessed warred against those primal urges, reminding him that attachment meant vulnerability, that love was a luxuryhe could not afford in a world where survival hung by frozen threads.
Why now?The question tormented him as he stalked past the dining table where he’d spent the last half-hour arranging their meal with meticulous precision.
Suddenly, a snowmobile’s mechanical growl cut through the growing storm outside, its sound penetrating the cabin’s thick walls and jolting him from his spiral of internal conflict. His pacing stopped abruptly, his eyes fixing on the front door with predatory intensity.
She’s here.
