Page 21 of The Right to Bear Claws (Hollow Oak Mates #6)

ELIAS

T he note felt like ice in Elias's hands.

He'd arrived at the inn just after dawn, expecting to find Kaia still sleeping off the emotional weight of their conversation from the night before. Instead, he'd found her room empty, the bed cold, and a piece of paper that shattered his world with neat, careful handwriting.

"No," he breathed, reading the words again as if they might change. "No, no, no, she wouldn't?—"

But even as he denied it, his enhanced senses were telling him the truth. Her scent was hours old, fading from the room like she'd never been there at all. The wind chimes he'd carved for her hung silent and still, as if they were mourning her absence.

"Elias?" Miriam's voice came from the doorway, cautious and concerned. "Is everything all right? I heard you come up the stairs like—" She stopped when she saw his face. "Oh, honey. What's happened?"

"She's gone." The words came out hoarse, like they'd been torn from his throat. "Kaia's gone. She left this note saying she had to face Tobias alone, that she was protecting us by leaving."

"Let me see that." Miriam moved into the room, taking the note from his shaking hands. "That stubborn, self-sacrificing, foolish girl. She thinks she's being noble."

"Where would she go? If she's planning to confront Tobias, where would she do it?"

"The lake," Miriam said immediately. "That's where her connection to the dream realm is strongest, where he's been pulling her every night. If she's decided to face him willingly..."

Elias didn't wait to hear the rest. He was already moving, taking the stairs three at a time while his bear roared with desperate fury beneath his skin. Find her. Protect her. Bring her home.

The morning air was crisp and still as he ran through Hollow Oak's empty streets, following Kaia's scent trail with single-minded determination.

She'd taken the forest path, avoiding the main roads where she might be spotted by early morning patrol members.

Smart, even in her misguided attempt at self-sacrifice.

But her trail led exactly where Miriam had predicted—straight to Moonmirror Lake.

"Kaia!" he called as he reached the shoreline, but the only answer was the echo of his own voice bouncing off the water. Her scent was stronger here, mixed with fear and determination. And something worse.

Dream magic. The acrid, otherworldly stench of barriers being torn between realms.

"Damn it, where are you?" He searched the area systematically, looking for any sign of where she might have gone. Footprints in the soft earth by the water's edge, leading right up to the lake itself. But no footprints leading away.

"She went into the water," he said aloud, the horrible realization settling like lead in his stomach. "But why isn't there a body? She couldn't have drowned without leaving?—"

That's when he saw her.

Twenty feet from shore, floating face-up in the shallows like some tragic water spirit. Her hair fanned out around her head, but she wasn't moving. Wasn't breathing. Wasn't responding to his shouts as he crashed into the lake and hauled her limp form against his chest.

"Kaia! God damn it, wake up!" He carried her to shore, laying her carefully on the grass while his hands searched for a pulse. Weak but steady, her heart still beating even though she felt cold as marble. "Come on. Whatever game you're playing, it's not funny anymore."

But even as he spoke, he knew this wasn't a game. Her body was here, alive but unresponsive, while her consciousness was somewhere else entirely. Somewhere he couldn't follow.

"Elias!" Lucien's voice cut through his panic, the panther shifter appearing on the path with several other Night Guard members behind him. "We saw you running through town like the devil was chasing you. What's—" He stopped when he saw Kaia's still form. "Shit. What happened?"

"She left. Tried to face Tobias alone to protect us." Elias's voice was raw with helpless rage. "But he got her anyway. Her body's here, but she's not. She's trapped somewhere in the dream realm."

"You're sure?"

"Look at her, Lucien. She's breathing, her heart's beating, but she's completely unresponsive. This is what happens when a dreamwalker gets pulled across into the unconscious realm while their physical form remains anchored here."

The Night Guard members exchanged grim looks, understanding the implications immediately. Lucien knelt beside Kaia's still form, pressing his fingers to her throat to check her pulse for himself.

"How long has she been like this?"

"I don't know. Hours, maybe? Her scent trail is old, and the bed at the inn was cold when I found her note." Elias gathered her against his chest, unwilling to let her go even though he knew it wouldn't help. "Can we get her back? Is there some way to follow her into the dream realm?"

"Not safely. Dream magic isn't something most of us can access, and even if we could..." Lucien's expression was grim. "The risk of getting trapped ourselves, of making the situation worse, is too high."

"So what do we do? Just sit here and hope she finds her own way back?"

"We protect her body and try to find another solution." Lucien stood, already pulling out his radio. "All units, this is Alpha Seven. We have a Code Red supernatural emergency at Moonmirror Lake. Need all available Council members and medical support immediately."

Within minutes, the quiet lakeside became a hub of frantic activity.

Varric Thornwell arrived with the rest of the Council, their faces grave as they assessed the situation.

Magnus Vane brought the entire Vane clan, surrounding Elias with protective family energy while keeping respectful distance from his vigil.

Even the Tansley brothers appeared with arms full of protective charms and ward stones, muttering about insufficient dream realm defenses.

"We need to move her somewhere more secure," Elder Bram said, his usually cold demeanor cracking with genuine concern. "If her consciousness is trapped in the dream realm, her physical form is extremely vulnerable to possession or worse."

"I'm not moving her," Elias said flatly. "This is where her connection to the dream realm is strongest. If she's going to find her way back, it'll be from here."

"Son," Magnus said gently, "you can't just sit by the lake indefinitely. She needs medical attention, proper monitoring?—"

"She needs me here when she wakes up." Elias's bear surged close to the surface, protective instincts overriding rational thought. "I'm not leaving her. Not when she's fighting for her life in a realm where I can't help her."

"Elias," Miriam's voice was soft but firm as she approached with a thermos of coffee and a pile of blankets.

"Nobody's asking you to abandon her. But if you're going to maintain a vigil, you need to do it right.

Eat something, stay warm, keep your strength up so you can actually help her when she needs you. "

"What if she doesn't come back?" The question escaped, raw and desperate. "What if I lose her?"

"She's family now, which means we don't give up on her. Ever," Thorin said firmly, settling beside his brother with the kind of solid presence that had anchored Elias through childhood crises.

"The claiming bond," Finn said suddenly, earning sharp looks from the assembled Council members. "If they were bonded, couldn't Elias use that connection to follow her consciousness? Or at least communicate with her across realms?"

"Theoretically," Varric said slowly. "But the bond would have to be completed first, and she'd have to be conscious enough to accept it. In her current state..."

"It's too risky," Lucien finished. "A forced claiming could shatter what's left of her consciousness completely."

Elias looked down at Kaia's peaceful face, noting the way her breathing remained steady even though her eyes showed no sign of awareness behind their closed lids. She looked like she was sleeping, except for the complete absence of the dreams that usually flickered across her features.

"She's fighting," he said quietly. "Whatever's happening in the dream realm, she's not giving up. I can feel it."

"Then we don't give up either," Magnus said firmly. "We set up proper protection around this area, establish shifts so someone's always watching over her, and we research every possible solution until we find one that works."

"I'll take first watch," Elias said, already settling more comfortably beside Kaia's still form. "And second watch, and third watch, and however many it takes until she comes home."

"You can't stay awake indefinitely," Miriam pointed out.

"Watch me."

The older woman studied his face, reading the stubborn determination written in every line of his body. "All right. But you eat the food I bring you, you accept help when it's offered, and you remember that she's going to need you strong when she wakes up."

"When she wakes up," Elias repeated. "Not if. When."

As the sun climbed higher over Moonmirror Lake, Hollow Oak's supernatural community rallied around their newest member with the kind of fierce loyalty that had protected the town for generations.

Ward stones were placed in protective circles, medical equipment was set up in a nearby tent, and a rotation of guards was established to ensure Kaia's physical form would never be left unprotected.

But in the middle of it all sat Elias, holding his mate's hand and willing her to find her way back to him across whatever dark realms she was fighting through.

"Come back to me," he whispered against her cold fingers. "Whatever you're facing in there, you don't have to face it alone. Come back to me, and we'll figure out the rest together."

The wind chimes in town sang their protective melodies, but here by the lake, the only sound was Elias's steady heartbeat and his quiet, desperate prayers that love would be strong enough to guide her home.