Chapter 20 Korrak
TWENTY
KORRAK
The Jeep’s engine roared to life beneath Winslet’s steady hands, cutting through the Arctic silence like a blade.
Korrak settled into the passenger seat, his jaw clenched against the fire racing through his shoulder and arms where grizzly claws had found their mark.
Blood seeped through the hastily applied bandages, but his shifter healing had already begun its work—tissue regenerating and pain dulling to a manageable throb.
He should have insisted on driving despite his injuries. Should have taken control the moment they’d abandoned his destroyed cabin. But Winslet’s hands hadn’t trembled when she’d demanded his keys, and her voice had carried the steel of someone who wouldn’t be argued with.
My brave, fierce mate.
“Northeast toward the industrial sector,” he directed, watching her navigate the treacherous ice road with careful precision. “Keep the speed steady but don’t push it. These roads will kill you faster than Bracken if you’re reckless.”
She nodded, her knuckles white on the steering wheel but her breathing controlled.
Through the mate bond, he felt her emotions—fury and fear braided together into something deadly focused.
She wasn’t the terrified woman who’d fled Seattle anymore.
This was someone who’d claimed her strength and refused to let anyone threaten what mattered to her.
The thought of what Bracken had tried sent fresh rage coursing through Korrak’s veins. The bastard had assumed he could manipulate an Alpha’s protective instincts, send his rogues to snatch Winslet while Korrak rushed off to defend the southern border like some inexperienced leader.
“He underestimated me,” Korrak growled, his voice rough with controlled violence.
Winslet’s eyes flicked to him briefly before returning to the road. “But you saw right through it.”
The trap had still sprung, though. Even recognizing Bracken’s manipulation, they were being forced to play his game. Her parents and uncle remained hostages, leverage designed to strip away every advantage they might have gained.
“He told me if I came back willingly, he wouldn’t hurt them,” Winslet said quietly. “But then he sent rogues to drag me away anyway. Why offer a choice if he was planning to take me by force?”
Korrak studied her profile—the determined set of her jaw, and the way her green eyes tracked the road with predatory focus. “Because Bracken doesn’t actually want compliance. He wants complete surrender. Wants you to fear him so that he can have total control.”
The truth tasted bitter on his tongue.
“And if I don’t surrender?”
“He’ll probably lock you away somewhere.” The words came out harder than he’d intended. “Not to protect his criminal empire from exposure—to ensure you can never choose anyone else again.”
The mate bond carried her spike of fear, quickly suppressed beneath layers of determination. His mate was brave to the point of recklessness, and that both impressed and terrified him.
Korrak’s focus split as they navigated deeper into the frozen wasteland.
Half his attention tracked terrain and distance to the warehouse, calculating approach routes and defensive positions.
The other half remained locked on Winslet’s pulse through the bond—steady, controlled, dangerous in the way soldiers got right before battle.
That calm worried him more than panic would have. She was preparing for war, and wars claimed casualties.
“We’re getting close now,” he said as familiar landmarks appeared through the windshield. “Another mile, then we stop. Can’t risk them detecting the engine.”
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.
“It’s not surrender. It’s strategy,” she explained, her voice crisp and efficient. “Bracken wants me afraid so he can control me. He doesn’t want me dead. He wants to watch me lose everything I thought I could have. And he wants to watch you lose your mate to him. He wants to win.”
She leaned forward, intensity radiating from her like heat.
“If I offer myself up, but demand my family be released first, I play right into what he wants and it buys us time—time you and the clan can use to position, isolate, and strike.”
The logic was sound. Korrak hated that it was sound. His polar bear paced, snarling at the very thought of allowing his mate within reach of another Alpha. Bracken didn’t play fair. Didn’t bargain honestly. Didn’t deserve even the illusion of trust.
“Absolutely not,” Korrak said, his refusal carved from ice and blood. “I will not offer my mate as bait.”
Winslet’s eyes flashed, and through the bond he felt her own surge of determination.
“This is my family,” she said, her voice cutting through his protests. “My past. My choice. I know Bracken better than anyone. I understand how to manipulate his ego, his possessiveness, his need to feel superior.”
She reached across the space between them, her fingers finding his clenched fist.
“I’m not helpless, Korrak. I’m not asking permission. I’m asking you to trust me.”
The bond hummed painfully between them—her fear braided tightly with devotion, his protective fury warring with grudging respect for her courage.
She was right. The plan had teeth. And the only way to save her family without triggering immediate bloodshed might be to let her walk willingly into Bracken’s grasp.
“If you do this,” he said finally, his voice rough with suppressed violence, “I need constant surveillance through our telepathic link.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Telepathic link?”
“Try it now,” he replied. “Communicate to me without speaking.”
Winslet closed her eyes. A moment later, her voice whispered through his mind like silk: Can you hear me?
Perfectly, he responded, relief flooding through him. Again, but don’t close your eyes this time.
This is incredible, her mental voice carried wonder and determination in equal measure. I can feel your emotions too. Your fear for me.
Then you understand what you’re asking of me.
Her physical hand squeezed his fist. I understand. But it’s the only way.
Korrak exhaled slowly, accepting the inevitable. “You give the signal when your family is freed. I’ll coordinate with Kol for positioning. The clan spreads out to prevent all-out war.”
“Agreed,” she said without hesitation.
That willingness—that complete absence of fear at walking into mortal danger—scared him more than anything.