Page 35 of The Right to Bear Claws (Hollow Oak Mates #6)

KAIA

K aia stood at the window of their small apartment above the Hollow Mercantile, watching Elias work on the inn's front steps three blocks away.

Even from this distance, she could feel his contentment through their connection, the satisfaction of wood fitting perfectly into place, the warm autumn sun on his shoulders, the way his bear hummed with happiness knowing exactly where she was.

Sometimes the intensity of it made her dizzy.

"Still getting used to the constant connection?

" Twyla asked from behind her, the fae woman's musical voice carrying knowing amusement as she set down a tea tray.

"Edgar told me you'd asked to use his workshop today.

Figured you might need some caffeine before your first official counseling session. "

"Is it that obvious I'm struggling with it?" Kaia turned from the window, accepting the steaming cup gratefully. The tea smelled like chamomile and something else—clarity, maybe, or just Twyla's particular brand of magical comfort.

"Honey, you've been staring out that window for twenty minutes with a look like someone trying to solve advanced calculus." Twyla settled into the opposite chair with her own cup. "What's got you so twisted up?"

"It's just... a lot." Kaia took a careful sip, letting the warmth ground her.

"Don't get me wrong, I love being connected to Elias.

But sometimes I can't tell where his emotions end and mine begin.

This morning I got inexplicably irritated at Finn, and it took me fifteen minutes to realize it was because Elias was annoyed that his brother had used the last of the good coffee. "

"Ah, the classic newlywed adjustment period. How long has it been since the claiming?"

"Four days."

"Give it time, sugar. Most mated pairs take a few weeks to learn how to maintain their individual identities while sharing a soul connection.

" Twyla's eyes sparkled with mischief. "Though I have to say, watching Elias try to concentrate on construction work while feeling your emotions has been highly entertaining.

Yesterday he nearly nailed his own thumb because you were reading a particularly steamy romance novel. "

Heat flooded Kaia's cheeks. "He felt that?"

"Loud and clear, according to Thorin. Poor man had to take a cold shower during his lunch break."

"Oh god, I'm never reading anything romantic ever again."

"Don't you dare. The sexual tension between you two has been keeping half the town entertained for weeks. Now that it's resolved, we need some way to live vicariously." Twyla winked. "Besides, learning to navigate shared desire is part of the bonding process. You'll figure it out."

A knock at the workshop door interrupted them, and Kaia felt her stomach tighten with nervous anticipation. Her first official client as Hollow Oak's dream counselor—Mrs. Morgestan, whose nightmares had been getting worse since her husband's death six months ago.

"You ready for this?" Twyla asked gently.

"I think so." Kaia stood, smoothing down her skirts. "My abilities feel different now. Stronger, but also more controlled. Like the bond with Elias gave me an anchor that helps me stay grounded when I'm walking through other people's dreams."

"That makes sense. Having a mate provides spiritual stability, especially for someone with gifts as powerful as yours."

The knock came again, more hesitant this time. Kaia opened the door to find Mrs. Morgestan standing in the afternoon light, clutching a handkerchief and looking thoroughly uncertain.

"I'm sorry to bother you, dear," the older woman said. "But Miriam said you might be able to help with... with the dreams that won't leave me alone."

"Of course. Please, come in." Kaia stepped aside, gesturing toward the comfortable seating area Edgar had helped her arrange in one corner of the workshop. "Can I get you some tea?"

"That would be lovely."

As Twyla discreetly disappeared into the back room, Kaia settled across from Mrs. Morgestan and poured fresh cups from the pot. The woman looked exhausted, the kind of bone-deep weariness that came from months of poor sleep.

"Tell me about the dreams," Kaia said gently.

"They started right after Harold passed.

At first they were just... memories, I suppose.

Good ones, mostly. Dreams where he was still with me, where we were young again and planning our future.

" Mrs. Morgestan's voice grew shaky. "But lately they've changed.

Now I dream that he's angry with me, that he's disappointed I'm not moving on fast enough.

He tells me I'm wasting my life grieving for him when I should be living. "

"And how do those dreams make you feel when you wake up?"

"Guilty. Ashamed. Like I'm failing him even in death." Tears spilled down the older woman's cheeks. "I know it's probably just my own fears manifesting, but they feel so real. Like he's actually trying to tell me something from wherever he is now."

Kaia reached out with her dreamwalker senses, gently touching the edges of Mrs. Morgestan's troubled psyche.

The grief was there, heavy and pervasive, but underneath it was something else—not guilt, but fear.

Fear of letting go, of moving forward, of what her life might look like without the man who'd been her companion for forty-seven years.

"Would you be willing to let me walk through one of these dreams with you?" Kaia asked. "Not to change anything, just to help you understand what they're really trying to tell you?"

Mrs. Morgestan looked uncertain. "Is it safe?"

"Very safe. I won't alter the dream or your memories. I'll just be there as a guide, helping you see patterns you might have missed." Kaia kept her voice calm and reassuring. "And if you get uncomfortable at any point, we can stop immediately."

"All right. I trust you, dear. Miriam speaks very highly of your abilities."

The dreamwalk itself was unlike anything Kaia had experienced before.

Instead of being pulled into the chaotic swirl of someone else's subconscious, she found herself able to step carefully into Mrs. Morgestan's dream space, maintaining her own identity while observing the emotional landscape spread before her.

The dream version of Harold Morgestan was indeed angry, but as Kaia studied him with her enhanced abilities, she could see the distortion clearly.

This wasn't Harold at all—it was Mrs. Morgestan's own internal voice, the part of her that had internalized decades of his gentle encouragement to try new things and embrace life fully.

"He's not disappointed in your grief," Kaia said softly as they stood together in the dream version of the Henderson kitchen. "Look at his face more carefully. What do you see?"

Mrs. Morgestan studied the dream figure, her expression growing thoughtful. "He looks... sad. Not angry. Sad that I'm in pain."

"Exactly. Your subconscious mind is trying to process his loss by imagining what he would want for you. But it's getting tangled up with your fear of dishonoring his memory by eventually healing and moving forward."

"So the dreams aren't really him trying to communicate with me?"

"They're you trying to communicate with yourself," Kaia explained gently. "Your heart knows that Harold would want you to eventually find joy again, but your grief is so overwhelming that the message is getting distorted."

When they emerged from the dreamwalk twenty minutes later, Mrs. Morgestan looked lighter somehow, as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

"I understand now," she said quietly. "The dreams weren't telling me to stop grieving. They were telling me that it's okay to start living again when I'm ready. That loving him doesn't mean staying frozen in the moment I lost him."

"Grief isn't something you get over, it's something you learn to carry," Kaia said, the words flowing from some deep well of understanding she hadn't known she possessed. "The dreams will probably continue for a while, but now you'll be able to hear what they're really saying."

After Mrs. Morgestan left, clutching a small sachet of herbs Twyla had prepared to encourage peaceful sleep, Kaia sank into her chair with a profound sense of completion.

"How did it go?" Twyla asked, reappearing with fresh tea.

"Amazing. Overwhelming. Perfect." Kaia shook her head in wonder. "I finally understand what my gift is really for. Not just walking through dreams, but helping people decode the messages their own psyches are trying to send them."

"Healing the spaces between conscious and unconscious, between fear and understanding."

"Exactly." Kaia felt Elias's curiosity through their bond and sent back a wave of satisfaction and accomplishment. "I spent so many years thinking my abilities were a burden, when really they were always meant to help people find peace."

"And now that you know your purpose?"

"Now I get to work." Kaia smiled, already thinking about the other residents who'd approached Miriam about similar troubles. "Hollow Oak is about to have the best-rested supernatural community in the Blue Ridge Mountains."

Through the window, she could see Elias looking up from his work, his silver eyes finding hers across the distance with unerring accuracy. Even from here, she could feel his pride in her accomplishment, his joy at seeing her embrace her gifts fully.

The mate bond hummed between them, no longer overwhelming but simply... complete.

She was exactly where she belonged.