Page 20 of The Right to Bear Claws (Hollow Oak Mates #6)

KAIA

K aia sat on her bed at the inn, staring at the note she'd started and abandoned three times already. Outside her window, the wind chimes Elias had carved for her sang their gentle protection song, but tonight the sound felt like mockery.

I'm his fated mate.

The words echoed in her mind, carrying equal measures of wonder and terror.

During their conversation by the lake, she'd managed to ask intelligent questions, to discuss the claiming bond like a rational adult considering her options.

But now, alone in her room with nothing but her own spiraling thoughts for company, the magnitude of what he'd revealed was finally sinking in.

"Destined," she whispered to the empty room. "He knew from the moment he touched me."

Part of her wanted to laugh at the cosmic joke of it all.

After years of drifting through life convinced she didn't belong anywhere, fate had literally dropped her into the arms of a man who'd been waiting his whole life to find her.

A bear shifter who looked at her like she was the answer to every prayer he'd never spoken aloud.

But the larger part of her was terrified.

What if I'm not worthy of that kind of love? What if my damaged psyche corrupts something that should be pure and beautiful?

She thought about the claiming bond Elias had described—permanent marks that would announce to the world that she belonged to him and he to her. Spiritual armor that would protect her from entities like Tobias, but only if the connection was genuine and freely chosen.

What if I say yes for the wrong reasons? What if I accept the bond out of fear instead of love, and it fails when we need it most?

The questions chased each other in circles until she felt dizzy with indecision.

She loved Elias, that much she knew with absolute certainty.

Loved his quiet strength, his unexpected gentleness, the way he made her feel safe without making her feel caged.

But love and readiness weren't the same thing, and the thought of binding her damaged soul to his perfect one made her stomach clench with anxiety.

He deserves better than someone who brings nothing but danger to his life.

The treacherous thought whispered through her mind, carrying the hollow echo of Tobias's voice from her dreams. She shook her head violently, trying to dispel the lingering influence, but the doubt remained.

The dream started in Hollow Oak's town square, but this version was wrong in ways that made her skin crawl.

The cheerful Halloween decorations had been replaced by something darker.

Jack-o'-lanterns that leaked black ichor instead of candlelight, garlands that writhed like living things in a wind that smelled of decay and fear.

"Having second thoughts about your mate's generous offer?" Tobias materialized beside her, his form more solid than ever before. "How refreshingly realistic of you."

"I'm not talking to you tonight," Kaia said firmly. "My mind is my own."

"Then why are you here, in my domain, instead of safe in your lover's arms?" His laugh was the sound of glass breaking in empty rooms. "You came to me because you know I'm the only one who understands the truth about your situation."

"What truth?"

"That accepting his claiming bond would be the cruelest thing you could do to him.

" The dream shifted around them, showing her the inn's common room where Elias often waited for her.

But in this version, he looked haggard, aged by months of constant worry and sleepless nights.

"Look at what loving you has already cost him. "

"That's not real."

"Isn't it? When's the last time he got a full night's sleep? When's the last time he went a day without worrying about your safety, your nightmares, your endless capacity for attracting supernatural trouble?"

It was true, Elias had been sleeping in chairs and keeping constant vigil, sacrificing his own comfort to ensure her safety. His brothers had mentioned his distraction at work, his inability to focus on anything but her wellbeing.

"He chose to protect me," she said weakly.

"He chose to protect a frightened woman who needed help.

But that was before he knew what you really are, what kind of danger follows in your wake.

" The dream shifted again, showing her visions that made her blood run cold.

"This is what awaits Hollow Oak if you stay, if you bind yourself to him through supernatural bonds that will only make you a bigger target. "

The images were horrifying in their specificity.

Elias trapped in nightmares so vivid they drove him to madness, his bear form twisted into something monstrous by dream magic gone wrong.

The inn burning while Miriam screamed for help that would never come.

Twyla's laughter replaced by hollow wails as her fae magic turned dark and poisonous.

And through it all, the sound of Tobias feeding on their terror, growing stronger with each scream, each moment of despair.

"Stop it," Kaia gasped, pressing her hands to her ears as if she could block out the visions. "Those things won't happen."

"You think your little town is prepared for the kind of attention a claimed dreamwalker attracts? You think your mate's protective instincts will be enough when entities far worse than me come calling?"

"Hollow Oak has protections. Wards, the Council?—"

"Hollow Oak has protections designed for ordinary supernatural threats.

Not for the kind of chaos that follows dreamwalkers who refuse to know their place.

" Tobias stepped closer. "I offered you peace, solitude, a realm where your power couldn't hurt anyone.

But you'd rather drag innocent people into a war they can't win. "

"That's not what I want."

"Then prove it. Choose exile over claiming, solitude over love. Save them from the catastrophe that your presence will inevitably bring."

The visions intensified, showing her Elias's death in a dozen different ways.

Torn apart by creatures summoned from nightmare, drained of life by dream magic turned malevolent, lost forever in realms between sleeping and waking because he'd tried to follow her into places no bear shifter was meant to go.

"His blood will be on your hands," Tobias whispered. "Every drop spilled because you were too selfish to walk away when you had the chance."

"No," she sobbed, the word torn from somewhere deep in her chest. "I won't let that happen. I won't let my problems destroy the people I love."

"Then you know what you have to do."

Kaia woke with tears streaming down her face and absolute certainty crystallizing in her mind. She couldn't stay. Couldn't accept Elias's claiming bond, couldn't continue putting everyone she cared about at risk just because she was too weak to face her destiny alone.

The decision felt like tearing her own heart out, but it was the right one. The only one that gave the people of Hollow Oak a chance at survival.

She dressed quickly in the dark, pulling on jeans and the warmest sweater she owned.

Her hands shook as she packed the few belongings she'd accumulated during her time here—the wind chimes Elias had carved for her, the cookies Twyla had insisted she take for the road, the small photo of the town that Miriam had given her as a keepsake.

The note was the hardest part. How did you explain to someone who loved you that leaving was the greatest gift you could give them?

Elias,

By the time you read this, I'll be gone. Please don't try to follow me or bring me back. This isn't about not loving you—it's about loving you too much to let my problems destroy your life.

I know you'll say I'm being stupid, that we can face whatever comes together. But you're wrong. Some battles can only be fought alone, and this is one of them. Tobias wants me, and as long as I'm in Hollow Oak, everyone I care about is in danger.

I'm not running away this time. I'm walking toward my fate, on my terms, to keep you safe. All of you.

Thank you for showing me what it feels like to belong somewhere. Thank you for loving me enough to let me go.

Forever yours, Kaia

P.S. Take care of the wind chimes. They were the most beautiful gift anyone ever gave me.

She left the note on her pillow, knowing he'd find it during his morning check on her safety. Then she slipped out through the inn's back door, avoiding the main street where Night Guard patrols might spot her.

The forest path that led away from Hollow Oak was dark and treacherous, but Kaia navigated it with the desperate determination of someone who knew that looking back would destroy her resolve. Every step felt like abandoning a piece of her soul, but she kept walking.

Behind her, the town she'd grown to love slept peacefully, unaware that their newest resident had just sacrificed her own happiness to keep them safe.

Ahead lay the unknown, and the confrontation with Tobias that she'd been running from her entire life.

But at least when she faced him, she'd face him alone. And Elias would live to find someone worthy of the love she'd never deserved.

Even if the knowledge felt like dying inside.