Page 39 of The Right to Bear Claws (Hollow Oak Mates #6)

KAIA

S pring in Hollow Oak was like watching magic come alive.

Kaia stood at the window of her new counseling office above the Book Nook, marveling at the transformation taking place across the town.

Cherry blossoms lined Main Street in clouds of pink and white, daffodils pushed through the last patches of snow, and the air carried the green scent of new growth and endless possibility.

Six months had passed since their mating ceremony, and the life she and Elias had built together felt as natural as breathing.

"Mrs. Vane?" A soft voice interrupted her reverie. "I'm sorry I'm a few minutes late."

Kaia turned to smile at her newest client, a young woman who'd arrived in Hollow Oak the previous week with the haunted look of someone running from more than just bad circumstances.

Sarah Monroe had been referred by Miriam, who'd taken one look at the girl's restless sleep patterns and sent her straight to the town's dream counselor.

"Please, call me Kaia. And don't worry about the time—I was just enjoying the view." She gestured toward the comfortable seating area she'd arranged near the windows. "Can I get you some tea before we start?"

"That would be nice, thank you."

As Kaia prepared the calming blend Twyla had specifically created for her practice, she studied Sarah with the subtle awareness that six months of professional counseling had taught her.

The girl was young, maybe twenty-two, with intelligent eyes that darted constantly to the exits and hands that trembled slightly when she thought no one was looking.

"Miriam mentioned you've been having trouble sleeping," Kaia said gently, settling across from Sarah with her own cup. "Can you tell me about the dreams?"

"They're not really dreams," Sarah said quietly, accepting the steaming mug with grateful hands. "More like... memories that won't stay buried. Things I thought I'd left behind when I came here."

"What kind of memories?"

Sarah sat in silence, clearly struggling with how much to reveal. Finally, she took a shaky breath and began to speak.

"My ex-boyfriend. He was... controlling doesn't begin to cover it. Manipulative, possessive, sometimes violent when he didn't get his way. I finally worked up the courage to leave him three months ago, but he keeps finding me. Or at least, he keeps finding me in my dreams."

Kaia felt her heart clench with sympathy. She'd worked with enough trauma survivors to recognize the particular kind of exhaustion that came from being hunted, even in sleep.

"The dreams feel real?" she asked.

"Completely real. I wake up feeling like he's been in the room with me, like he's touched me or spoken to me.

Sometimes I can even smell his cologne for minutes afterward.

" Sarah shuddered. "I know it's probably just my subconscious processing the trauma, but it's driving me crazy. I'm afraid to sleep."

"What if I told you the dreams might be more than just psychological processing?" Kaia said carefully. "That there might be an actual supernatural component to what you're experiencing?"

Sarah's eyes widened. "You mean like... he's actually reaching me somehow? Through dreams?"

"It's possible. Some people have latent abilities they don't understand, especially when they're in extreme emotional states. And if your ex-boyfriend has any psychic sensitivity..." Kaia let the implication hang in the air.

"Can you help me? Can you make it stop?"

"I can try. But it would involve me walking through one of these dreams with you, helping you understand what's really happening and giving you tools to protect yourself." Kaia leaned forward, her voice gentle but serious. "Are you willing to trust me with that?"

"Yes," Sarah said immediately. "I can't keep living like this. I came to Hollow Oak because someone told me it was a place where people who didn't fit anywhere else could find peace. But how can I find peace if I'm not safe even in my own dreams?"

Twenty minutes later, Sarah was settled comfortably on the small sofa Kaia kept for dreamwalking sessions, her breathing deep and even as Kaia gently guided her into the troubled sleep that had been plaguing her for months.

The dream realm that opened around them was immediately familiar to Kaia—the twisted landscape of someone whose subconscious had been invaded by an outside force.

Sarah's natural mental defenses had been systematically undermined, leaving her vulnerable to psychic intrusion from someone who knew exactly how to exploit her fears.

"There," Kaia said softly, pointing toward a shadow that moved wrong against the dream logic. "That's not your memory. That's an actual projection, someone forcing their way into your dreams."

"How is that possible?" Sarah asked, her dream-self more confident now that she had an ally.

"Some people are natural dream-walkers, though most don't realize it.

Your ex-boyfriend probably stumbled into the ability accidentally, driven by his obsession with controlling you.

" Kaia moved closer to the invasive presence, her own abilities flaring with protective power.

"But he's untrained, which means he's vulnerable. "

What followed was less a battle than a surgical removal. Kaia wrapped the foreign presence in her own power and systematically ejected it from Sarah's dream space, then helped the girl rebuild her natural psychic defenses with techniques that would prevent future intrusions.

When they emerged from the dreamwalk thirty minutes later, Sarah looked lighter, more at peace than she had since arriving in Hollow Oak.

"I feel different," she said wonderingly. "Cleaner, somehow. Like something that was weighing me down is finally gone."

"The connection is severed," Kaia confirmed. "And the barriers I helped you build will hold against any future attempts at contact. You're free, Sarah. Completely free."

After Sarah left with tears of gratitude and a standing appointment for follow-up sessions, Kaia settled back in her chair with a deep sense of satisfaction. This was what her gift was truly meant for—helping people reclaim their peace, their safety, their right to exist without fear.

"Another successful session?" Elias asked from the doorway, his work clothes dusty from whatever construction project had occupied his morning.

"Very successful." She rose to greet him with the kind of kiss that spoke to souls who'd found their perfect match. "Sarah's finally free from her ex-boyfriend's psychic stalking. She'll sleep peacefully tonight for the first time in months."

"My brilliant wife," he said with obvious pride. "How many people is that this week?"

"Seven official clients, plus three emergency consultations and one group session with the teenagers who were having shared nightmares about the upcoming graduation exams." Kaia grinned. "Apparently teenage anxiety is contagious when you put too many gifted kids in close proximity."

"Sounds like you're staying busy."

"Wonderfully busy. I love this work, Elias. Every day I get to help people reclaim something that was taken from them—peace, safety, the right to rest without fear. It's everything I never knew I wanted."

He pulled her closer, nuzzling against her throat in the way that never failed to make her pulse quicken. "Speaking of things you want, Finn mentioned he saw you coming out of Dr. Martinez's office yesterday. Everything all right?"

Kaia felt her heart skip a beat. She'd been waiting for the right moment to share her news, wanting to be absolutely certain before she said anything. But looking into Elias's concerned silver eyes, she realized there would never be a more perfect moment than this one.

"Everything's perfect," she said softly, taking his hands and placing them over her still-flat stomach. "We're going to have a baby."

For a moment, Elias went completely still, his expression cycling through shock, wonder, and pure joy in rapid succession. Then he was lifting her off her feet, spinning her around the small office while his bear's roar of triumph echoed through their bond.

"A baby," he breathed against her hair when he finally set her down. "We're having a baby."

"In about seven months, according to Dr. Martinez. Right around Halloween, actually." Kaia laughed at the irony. "Our child will be born on the anniversary of the night we defeated Tobias."

"Perfect timing," he said, his hands still pressed protectively over her stomach. "How are you feeling? Are you sick? Tired? Do you need to sit down?"

"I'm fine," she assured him, touched by his immediate shift into protective mode. "A little nauseous in the mornings, but Dr. Martinez says that's completely normal. The baby's healthy, I'm healthy, everything's progressing exactly as it should."

"A baby," he repeated, as if he couldn't quite believe it. "We're going to be parents."

"The best parents," she confirmed, rising on her toes to kiss him again. "Our child is going to grow up surrounded by love, protected by an entire community of people who will spoil them absolutely rotten."

"Dad's going to lose his mind with joy," Elias said with a grin. "His first grandchild. He'll probably start building a crib tonight."

"Let's wait a few days before we tell everyone," Kaia suggested. "I want to savor this moment, just the three of us."

"Three of us," he said wonderingly, his hand moving in gentle circles over her stomach. "I can't wait to meet them."

Through the window, Hollow Oak basked in the warm spring afternoon, its streets alive with the bustle of a community at peace.

Children played in the town square while their parents chatted on nearby benches.

Shopkeepers swept their stoops and arranged colorful displays in their windows.

The scent of fresh bread from the bakery mingled with cherry blossoms and the promise of summer warmth.

"This is where our child will grow up," Kaia said softly, leaning back against Elias's chest as they watched their town go about its daily business. "Safe, loved, surrounded by magic and wonder and people who will teach them to use whatever gifts they inherit responsibly."

"They'll have the best possible life," Elias agreed, his arms tightening around her. "Everything we never had—unquestioned belonging, a community that celebrates differences instead of fearing them, parents who will love them unconditionally."

"And if they inherit my dreamwalking abilities?"

"Then they'll have the best teacher in three states to help them understand and control their gift." He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "They'll never have to feel lost or alone or like their abilities are something to hide from."

As the afternoon light shifted toward evening, painting everything in gold and amber hues, Kaia felt a deep sense of completion settle in her chest. Six months ago, she'd been a lost soul running from nightmares she didn't understand.

Now she was a respected member of a supernatural community, a gifted counselor helping others find peace, and a woman preparing to bring new life into the world with the man she loved more than her own existence.

"I love you," she said quietly, the words carrying the weight of everything they'd overcome to get to this moment.

"I love you too," he replied, his voice rough with emotion. "Both of you. All of us. This whole impossible life we've built together."

Outside their window, Hollow Oak continued its ancient rhythm of protection and community, a sanctuary where the different and gifted could find not just acceptance but genuine love.

And somewhere in the distance, Moonmirror Lake reflected the first stars of evening, still and peaceful and full of promise for all the adventures yet to come.

Their greatest adventure was just beginning, and Kaia had never been more ready for whatever came next.