Page 32 of The Right to Bear Claws (Hollow Oak Mates #6)

KAIA

T he first thing Kaia noticed as they sat together by the lake was how different everything felt.

Not just the obvious things—the way Elias's solid warmth anchored her to the physical world, or the profound sense of peace that had settled over Hollow Oak now that Tobias's ancient hunger was finally at rest. It was something deeper than that, something fundamental about the way her dreamwalker abilities had changed during their ordeal.

"The nightmares are quiet," she said wonderingly, testing her expanded senses as she tried to reach with her consciousness. "I can still feel them—everyone's fears and anxieties, the things that go bump in the night. But they're not overwhelming me anymore."

"What do you mean?" Elias asked, his arm tightening protectively around her shoulders.

"Before, it was like trying to drink from a fire hose.

Every nightmare, every terror, every moment of someone else's fear would crash into me whether I wanted it or not.

" She leaned into his warmth, marveling at the way her abilities now felt controlled, purposeful.

"But now it's different. I can choose what to engage with, can actually help process the fears instead of just absorbing them. "

As if to demonstrate, she gently touched the edge of a nearby resident's sleeping mind—Mrs. Morgestan, who lived above the bakery and suffered from recurring nightmares about losing her late husband.

Instead of being dragged into the woman's grief, Kaia found she could offer comfort, weaving threads of peace and acceptance into the troubled dreams until they transformed from nightmares into gentle remembrance.

"That's incredible," Elias breathed, somehow sensing what she'd done through the bond they had created. "You're not just walking through dreams anymore. You're healing them."

"It's what I was always meant to do," she realized, the truth settling in her chest like a warm ember. "All those years of running from my gift, thinking it was a curse or a burden, when really it was just... undeveloped. Like a muscle that needed proper training before it could be truly useful."

Around them, Hollow Oak's Halloween celebration was reaching its peak.

Even after the supernatural crisis they'd just survived, the townsfolk were determined to mark the holiday properly.

Jack-o'-lanterns flickered with protective light, children ran through the streets in elaborate costumes, and the cheerful sounds of community celebration drifted across the water.

But Kaia barely noticed any of it. Her entire world had narrowed to the man beside her, to the miracle of his presence and the certainty that they'd both survived what should have destroyed them.

"I can't believe you followed me into that realm," she said, turning to study his profile in the moonlight. "When I realized you were there, when I felt your consciousness in that place... I was terrified and grateful and furious all at the same time."

"Furious?" His mouth quirked in amusement. "That's not quite the reaction I was hoping for."

"You could have died, Elias. Actually died, not just physically but in every way that matters. Your soul could have been lost forever in that nightmare realm."

"But it wasn't." He turned to meet her eyes, his silver gaze steady and sure. "Because you wouldn't let it be. Because our connection was stronger than anything Tobias could throw at us."

"This time. But what if?—"

"No what-ifs," he said firmly, echoing words he'd spoken in the dream realm. "We faced the worst possible scenario and came through it together. That's what mates do, Kaia. They face the darkness as a team."

The word 'mates' sent a flutter through her chest, carrying weight and promise she was finally ready to embrace. "About that..."

"Yeah?"

"Earlier, before everything went to hell, you mentioned the claiming bond.

You said it would protect me from dream entities, but that it had to be my choice.

" She took his hand, threading their fingers together with deliberate intention.

"I want to know more about what that means.

For both of us.Without danger driving a choice. "

Elias went very still beside her, his bear's presence suddenly more noticeable through their connection. "Are you sure? After everything we've just been through, you don't need to make any big decisions tonight. There's no rush."

"There's no uncertainty either," she said simply.

"Elias, when I was gathering the pieces of your scattered consciousness in that realm, when I thought I might lose you forever.

.. I knew with absolute clarity that I wanted to spend whatever time we have building a life together.

Not because I need protection or because fate says we're destined, but because I choose you. All of you."

"Even the bear?" he asked with a slight smile.

"Especially the bear. Your protective instincts, your quiet strength, the way you love so completely that you'd sacrifice yourself without hesitation." She lifted their joined hands to her lips, pressing a soft kiss to his knuckles. "I love all of it, Elias. I love you."

"I love you too," he said, his voice rough with emotion. "But Kaia, the claiming bond... it's permanent. Not just until death do us part, but beyond that. Across lifetimes, across realms. Once we're bonded, that's it. There's no undoing it."

"Good," she said without hesitation. "I'm tired of temporary things. Tired of connections that can be broken by distance or fear or misunderstanding. I want something that lasts."

"The physical marking can be intense, like I said," he continued, clearly determined to make sure she understood exactly what she was agreeing to.

"My bear will need to claim you in shifted form, leave permanent scars that mark you as mine.

It's not just symbolic—it changes you on a fundamental level. "

"Changes me how again?"

"You'll be able to sense my emotions, my location, whether I'm in danger. And I'll be able to sense yours. There won't be any secrets between us, any walls or barriers. We'll know each other completely."

The thought should have been frightening, and days ago it was—she'd spent so many years guarding her privacy, protecting herself from being truly known. But instead, it felt like welcoming.

"When?" she asked simply.

"When what?"

"When do we do the claiming ritual? Tonight? Tomorrow? I know it has to be soon—I can feel your bear getting restless every time we talk about it."

Elias laughed, the sound carrying surprise and delight. "You can feel that?"

"The bond's already half-formed, isn't it? Has been since the moment you pulled me from this lake." She gestured toward the water where their story had begun. "The claiming ritual just makes it official, permanent, unbreakable."

"Tomorrow night," he said after a moment's consideration. "Give us both time to recover from the ordeal, time to prepare properly. The claiming should be special, meaningful, not something we rush into because we're high on surviving a supernatural crisis."

"Tomorrow night," she agreed, then grinned at the look of stunned happiness that crossed his features.

"What? Did you think I'd need weeks to decide?

Elias, I've been making this choice every day since I got here.

Every time I stayed instead of running, every time I let myself care about this town and the people in it.

The claiming bond is just the formal acknowledgment of what's already true. "

"And what's that?"

"That I belong here. With you, with your family, with this impossible community that somehow saw something worth protecting in a damaged dreamwalker who showed up dripping wet and half-dead.

" She leaned up to kiss him, soft and sweet and full of promise.

"That I'm ready to stop running and start building something permanent with the man I love. "

The Halloween celebration continued around them, full of laughter and community joy, but they might as well have been alone in the universe.

"Tomorrow night," he said again as he pulled away, as if testing how the words felt.

"Tomorrow night," she confirmed. "And Elias? Thank you."

"For what?"

"For seeing me. For choosing me. For following me into hell and refusing to let me face it alone." She smiled, feeling lighter than she had in years. "For showing me what home feels like."

"Thank you for letting me," he said simply, pulling her close as fireworks began to explode over the lake, celebrating the successful end of Hollow Oak's most dangerous Halloween night in centuries.

But for Kaia, the real celebration was just beginning. Tomorrow night, she would officially become Elias Vane's mate, permanently and irrevocably bound to the man who'd seen her broken pieces and helped her forge them into something stronger.

Tomorrow night, she would finally, truly, be home.