Page 33 of The Right to Bear Claws (Hollow Oak Mates #6)

KAIA

T he Vane family cabin felt like a sanctuary wrapped in timber and starlight.

Kaia had spent the day helping clean up from Halloween night's festivities, sweeping candy wrappers from Main Street and helping Twyla organize leftover pumpkins from the festival.

But as evening approached and she'd made her way up the mountain path to where Elias waited, everything else had faded into background noise.

This was the night they'd both been waiting for.

The cabin itself was rustic perfection—all warm wood and soft lighting, with a stone fireplace crackling against the November chill.

Elias had spent hours preparing, she could tell.

Candles flickered on every surface, filling the space with vanilla and cedar scents, and he'd laid out thick furs in front of the hearth that looked impossibly inviting.

"You didn't have to do all this," she said, turning to find him watching her from the kitchen doorway, two glasses of wine in his hands.

"I wanted tonight to be perfect," he replied, crossing to offer her a glass. "You deserve romance, not just claiming instincts."

She accepted the wine but set it aside immediately, stepping into his space instead. "Elias, everything about this is already perfect because it's us. You don't have to prove anything or make grand gestures. I just need you."

Relief flickered across his features before heat replaced it. "In that case," he said, setting his own glass down, "come here."

The kiss that followed was different from any they'd shared before. There was reverence in it, yes, but also hunger—the knowledge that tonight would change everything between them, permanently and beautifully.

"I've been thinking about this all day," she admitted against his lips. "About what it will feel like to be yours completely."

"You're already mine," he said, hands framing her face with gentle possession. "Tonight just makes it official."

"Then make it official," she whispered, fingers working at the buttons of his flannel shirt. "But first, let me do something for you."

He stilled as her meaning became clear. "Kaia, you don't have to?—"

"I want to." She pushed the shirt off his shoulders, revealing the broad expanse of his chest with its scars and dark hair. "You saved me, Elias. You followed me into a nightmare realm and brought me back. Let me show you what that means to me."

The groan that escaped him when she sank to her knees was pure need made audible. His hands tangled in her hair as she worked open his belt, then his jeans, freeing his cock with reverent hands.

"God," she breathed, taking him in her mouth with slow deliberation.

The taste of him was intoxicating—salt and musk and something uniquely Elias that made her pussy clench with want. She worked him with tongue and lips, loving the way his breathing grew ragged, the way his fingers tightened in her hair without pulling.

"Kaia," he gasped when she took him deeper. "If you keep doing that, this is going to be over before it starts."

She pulled back with a wicked smile. "We can't have that. Not tonight."

His answering growl was pure bear as he lifted her to her feet, claiming her mouth in a kiss that tasted like desperation and promises. Her dress disappeared under his hands—dream logic made manifest in the waking world—leaving her bare and trembling with anticipation.

"My turn," he said, sweeping her up and carrying her to the furs by the fire.

The next hour was a symphony of sensation.

Elias worshipped her body with hands and mouth and tongue until she was writhing beneath him, begging for release, begging for him.

When he finally positioned himself at her entrance, she was so wet and ready that the first press of his cock inside her made her cry out with relief.

"You feel incredible," he breathed, sinking into her with careful control.

"You're so big," she gasped, her body stretching to accommodate him. "So thick. I can feel every inch of you."

"Good," he said, beginning to move with slow, deep thrusts. "I want you to feel me everywhere. Want you to know exactly who you belong to."

She clawed at his shoulders as pleasure built inside her, her nails leaving marks that would fade by morning. But the scars he would leave on her tonight—those would last forever.

"Harder," she pleaded, meeting his thrusts with her own. "I need more."

He gave her what she needed, driving into her with increasing intensity until she was balanced on the knife's edge of climax. When it hit her, she screamed his name, her pussy clenching around his cock as wave after wave of pleasure crashed over her.

But instead of following her over, Elias slowed his movements, letting her ride out the aftershocks while staying hard inside her.

"Not done with you yet," he said with a predatory smile. "Turn over."

She obeyed eagerly, positioning herself on hands and knees before him. The angle was deeper, more primal, and when he thrust back inside her from behind, she felt him hit places that made her see stars.

"This is how my bear wants you," he said, his voice rougher now, more animal. "Claimed and marked and mine in every way."

His thrusts were fevered now, fast and demanding, driving her toward another climax with ruthless precision. She could feel his control fraying, could sense his bear pushing closer to the surface with every stroke.

"Are you ready?" he asked, his hands gripping her hips as he continued to pound into her. "Ready for me to mark you, to make this bond permanent?"

"Yes," she gasped, pushed beyond the ability for anything but honesty. "Please, Elias. Make me yours."

"Last chance to change your mind," he said, though his voice suggested he might die if she did. "Once I mark you, that's it. Forever."

"Forever," she agreed, turning to meet his eyes. "That's what I want. You, me, this connection—forever."

The change that came over him was immediate and magnificent. His bear surged forward, not enough to shift him completely but enough that she could see claws extending from his fingertips, could feel the wild power radiating from his skin.

"Hold still," he commanded, his voice carrying harmonics that spoke directly to her soul.

She felt the first scratch across her right hip like a brand of fire and pleasure combined. His claws were careful but deliberate, carving three parallel lines that would heal into permanent scars—the mark of his claim, the symbol of their bond.

The moment the marking was complete, the world exploded.

The mate bond snapped into place with a force that stole her breath and remade her understanding of everything.

Suddenly she could feel Elias not just physically but emotionally, spiritually—his love and need and desperate relief that she was finally, permanently his.

Through their connection, she could sense his bear's satisfaction, the animal's certainty that his mate was properly claimed and protected.

But it went beyond that. She could feel their connection extending across all the realms—waking, sleeping, dreaming. No matter where her consciousness traveled, she would always be able to find her way back to him. No nightmare could take her from him now, no fear could make her feel alone.

"I can feel you," she whispered in wonder, tears streaming down her face. "I can feel all of you—your love, your bear, your absolute certainty that this is right."

"And I can feel you," he replied, gathering her against his chest as his cock still pulsed inside her. "Your strength, your courage, your love that's so bright it puts the sun to shame."

They stayed joined like that for long minutes, both overwhelmed by the magnitude of what had just happened.

When he finally withdrew from her body, she felt the loss like a physical ache—but the bond between them only grew stronger, as if their temporary separation had taught it to reach across any distance.

"How do you feel?" he asked, pressing gentle kisses to her shoulder.

"Complete," she said simply. "Like I've been walking around with half a soul my whole life and you just gave me the missing piece."

"That's exactly what you did for me," he said, pulling a soft blanket over them both. "The moment I saw you in that lake, I knew my life was about to change forever."

"And now?"

"Now we build something beautiful together. Now we protect this town and each other and see what kind of adventures a dreamwalker and her bear can get up to."

She laughed, the sound bright with joy and possibility. "I love the sound of that."

"I love you," he said simply.

"I love you too," she replied, settling into his arms as the fire crackled and the stars wheeled overhead. "My mate. My anchor. My home."

Outside, Hollow Oak slept peacefully under her unconscious protection, its dreams safe and sweet. But inside the cabin, two souls celebrated their perfect union, bound together by love, choice, and ancient magic that would last beyond the ending of the world.