Page 13 of The Right to Bear Claws (Hollow Oak Mates #6)

ELIAS

E lias found Kaia sitting by Moonmirror Lake just after sunset, her knees drawn up to her chest as she stared out at the still water. The sight of her there, so close to where he'd first pulled her from the depths, made his bear pace restlessly.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked, settling onto the wooden dock beside her without waiting for an answer.

"Free country," she said, but her voice lacked its usual warmth.

They sat in silence for several minutes, watching the last light of day fade behind the mountains. Elias could feel the tension radiating from her, the careful way she held herself like she was preparing for battle.

"You've been avoiding me," he said finally.

"I've been busy helping with festival preparations."

"That's not what I mean, and you know it." He turned to study her profile, noting the dark circles under her eyes and the way her fingers worried at the anchor stone around her throat. "Talk to me, Kaia. What's got you so spooked?"

"Besides the supernatural entity that's been hunting me through my dreams?" She laughed, but it came out brittle. "Can't imagine why I'd be spooked."

"It's more than that. You're pulling away, putting distance between us. Why?"

For a moment, he thought she wasn't going to answer. Then she sighed, her shoulders slumping with exhaustion.

"Because caring about you makes everything worse," she said quietly. "Because the closer I get to people, the more weapons he has to use against me."

"He?"

"Tobias. That's what he calls himself, anyway.

The thing that's been stalking my dreams." Kaia's voice grew hollow.

"He showed me visions, Elias. Horrible things.

You trapped in nightmares, the whole town consumed by darkness, everyone I care about suffering because I brought this monster to their doorstep. "

Elias felt his bear surge with fury, not at Kaia but at the creature that dared threaten his mate. "What exactly did he tell you?"

"That if I don't honor that bargain by Halloween night, he'll make everyone I care about pay the price."

"That’s not going to happen."

The growl that accompanied his words made Kaia turn to look at him directly. "That's exactly what I'm afraid of. He specifically mentioned you, Elias. Said he knows what you are, what you mean to me. He's going to use you to get to me."

"Let him try."

"You don't understand. This thing is ancient, powerful. It feeds on fear and nightmares, and it's been planning this for years. What can we possibly do against something like that?"

"We fight," Elias said simply. "Together."

"Together." Kaia's laugh held no humor. "You keep saying that, but I don't think you understand what you're up against. This isn't some normal threat you can punch or intimidate into backing down."

"I know exactly what I'm up against." He reached for her hand, covering her cold fingers with his warm ones. "And I know that you belong here, Kaia. In Hollow Oak, with people who care about you. Whatever bargain you made as a scared child doesn't change that."

"But what if?—"

"No what-ifs." His grip tightened gently. "You're part of this community now. Part of my life. And I'll be damned if I let some dream parasite take that away."

Kaia stared at their joined hands, conflict written across her features. "Tobias said you were a bear shifter. Others have hinted at it too. I've heard of shifters before, but..."

"But you want to hear it from me."

"Yeah."

Elias was quiet for a moment, considering how to explain something that had been part of his identity since birth.

"My family are grizzly bear shifters. Have been for generations.

It means I can take the form of a bear, that I have enhanced strength and senses even in human form, and that my bear consciousness shares space in my head with my human thoughts. "

"That's why you found me so easily that first night. Enhanced senses."

"Among other things." He studied her face, looking for signs of fear or revulsion. "Does it bother you? Knowing what I am?"

"No," she said immediately. "It explains a lot, actually. The way you move, the protective instincts, that growl you do when you're angry." A small smile tugged at her lips. "I kind of figured something was different about you. And everyone else in town, for that matter."

"Hollow Oak is a sanctuary for supernatural beings. Shifters, witches, fae, gifted humans like yourself. We're all refugees from the normal world in one way or another."

"Which brings me to something else I need to ask you about.

" Kaia's expression grew serious again. "When I was talking to Lucien at the bookstore, he mentioned something about mate bonds.

Said they could provide protection against dream entities.

But when I asked what he meant, he got all weird and evasive, like he'd said something he shouldn't have. "

Elias felt his stomach clench. This wasn't how he'd planned to have this conversation, but Lucien's slip had forced the issue.

"Mate bonds are... it's complicated," he said carefully.

"Try me."

"In shifter culture, we have destined mates. One person who completes us on every level—emotional, physical, spiritual. When we find that person, there's an immediate recognition, a supernatural connection that's deeper than normal attraction or love."

Kaia was very still beside him. "And you think I'm...?"

"I know you are." The words came out rough with honesty. "I knew it the moment I touched you that first night. My bear recognized you instantly."

"Your bear."

"The animal part of my consciousness. He's been going crazy since you got here, wanting to claim you, protect you, make sure everyone knows you're mine.

" Elias rubbed the back of his neck, feeling heat creep up from his collar.

"I've been trying to give you time, space to get comfortable with the idea.

But yeah, you're my mate, Kaia. Whether you accept that bond or not is entirely up to you. "

She absorbed this information in silence, violet eyes searching his face. "Is that why you've been so... attentive? The coffee, the wind chimes, always being nearby when I need you?"

"I've been courting you, yes. But not because I feel obligated to. Because I can't imagine my life without you in it."

"And the mate bond Lucien mentioned? It could really protect me from Tobias?"

"According to the research, yes. A completed mate bond creates spiritual armor that's incredibly difficult for dream entities to penetrate.

But Kaia, I need you to understand something.

" He turned to face her fully. "I'm not offering this bond as some kind of supernatural solution to your problems. I'm offering it because I care about you.

Because I want to build a life with you, not because you need protection. "

"What if I can't feel the same connection you do? What if this bond only works one way?"

"Then we figure it out. But I don't think that's the case." His thumb brushed across her knuckles. "You feel it too, don't you? The pull between us, the way everything feels right when we're together?"

Kaia's breath caught. "I feel like I've been wandering my whole life and suddenly I'm home. Like you see parts of me I didn't even know existed."

"That's the bond."

"And if I accept it? What does that mean, exactly?"

"It means we're partners in every sense. Connected on levels most people never experience. It means I claim you as mine and you claim me as yours, and nothing in this world or any other can break that connection."

"Even death?"

"Especially death." His voice grew fierce. "Mate bonds transcend physical existence, Kaia. Whatever Tobias thinks he can do to us, he's wrong. Love like this doesn't break."

Tears gathered in her eyes. "I'm scared, Elias. What if I'm not strong enough, or good enough, or?—"

"Hey." He cupped her face in his hands, thumbs brushing away the tears that had started to fall. "You're perfect exactly as you are. Brave and kind and stronger than you know. And you're not facing any of this alone anymore."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

Then, before he could stop it, he leaned in.

The kiss happened without conscious thought, born from weeks of growing tension and the desperate need to prove that what they had was real. Kaia's lips were soft and warm under his.

She melted against him, fingers tangling in his hair as she kissed him back with a passion that stole his breath.