Page 5 of The Right to Bear Claws (Hollow Oak Mates #6)
ELIAS
T he wrongness started subtle, like a discordant note threading through Hollow Oak's nighttime symphony.
Elias adjusted his patrol route for the third time in an hour, his bear agitated as he catalogued the small disturbances rippling through the town's supernatural ecosystem.
A flock of ravens that should have been roosting instead circled the church spire in agitated loops.
The protection crystals embedded in Main Street's lamp posts flickered sporadically, their steady glow interrupted by moments of unsettling darkness.
Even the autumn wind felt different tonight, carrying whispers that made his enhanced hearing strain to decode words that vanished before he could grasp them.
But it was the shadows that really set his teeth on edge.
They moved wrong, sliding across buildings and pooling in doorways with deliberate purpose instead of following the natural dance of moonlight and streetlamps.
Twice now, he'd caught glimpses of darkness that seemed to watch him back, pressing against the edges of his vision before dissolving when he turned to confront it directly.
Whatever had followed Kaia to Hollow Oak was getting bolder.
His radio crackled to life, Lucien's voice tight with controlled tension. "Alpha Seven to Base. Got reports of disturbances on the south side. Mrs. Morgestan called about shadows moving in her garden, and the Tansley brothers are complaining about their ward stones going haywire."
"Copy that." Elias keyed his mic, already altering his route toward the reported incidents. "Any injuries?"
"Negative, but everyone's spooked. Whatever this thing is, it's affecting the sensitive residents worse than the others. Twyla had to leave the café early because her fae senses were going haywire."
That explained the unusual darkness emanating from the Griddle & Grind's windows. Twyla Honeytree had weathered supernatural storms that would send lesser beings running for the hills, but even her considerable abilities had limits.
"I'm heading your way," Elias said, but his feet carried him in the opposite direction, toward the inn where Kaia slept under Miriam's protective wards. His conscious mind knew Lucien could handle the south side disturbances, but his bear had other priorities.
Protect the mate. Everything else is secondary.
The inn sat quiet and peaceful in its pool of warm light, windows glowing like beacons against the restless shadows gathering in the surrounding streets.
Miriam had reinforced the building's natural protections with decades of careful spellwork, creating a sanctuary that could withstand most supernatural threats.
But most wasn't all, and the darkness hunting Kaia felt older and hungrier than anything Hollow Oak had faced in recent memory.
Elias positioned himself across the street, settling into the deep shadow cast by Moonlit Meadow Restaurant.
From here, he had clear sightlines to all the inn's entrances and enough concealment to avoid drawing attention from whatever prowled the night.
It wasn't an official patrol position, but nobody would question his decision to maintain extra security around their newest resident.
Especially not when the wrongness in the air continued to thicken with each passing hour.
His radio buzzed with periodic updates from the other Night Guard members. Unusual animal behavior near the Council Glade. Residents reporting nightmares so vivid they woke up screaming. A street lamp on Elm Avenue that had started bleeding shadows instead of casting light.
"Base to all units," came Varric Thornwell's gravelly voice, the Council leader's tone carrying the weight of centuries. "We're implementing Condition Yellow as of 2300 hours. All sensitive residents are advised to remain indoors and avoid sleep if possible until further notice."
Condition Yellow. The last time they'd implemented that level of supernatural alert was when a coven of blood witches had tried to establish a foothold in the territory three years ago. That had ended with bodies buried in unmarked graves and questions nobody wanted to answer.
Elias hoped this situation wouldn't require similar solutions.
Movement in the inn's second-floor window caught his attention.
A pale figure in flowing white, barely visible through the gauze curtains.
Kaia, probably unable to sleep despite her exhaustion.
He couldn't blame her. The supernatural pressure building over Hollow Oak would affect anyone with even a trace of sensitivity, and everything about her suggested she was far more gifted than she realized.
The figure moved again, and something cold settled in Elias's stomach. There was something wrong with her posture, her movements. Too fluid, too purposeful for someone who should be safely asleep in her bed.
"Shit," he breathed, already moving before his conscious mind had fully processed the threat.
Kaia was sleepwalking.
But not just sleepwalking. As Elias sprinted across the street, he could see the faint silver glow emanating from her skin, pulsing in rhythm with her heartbeat.
Her bare feet moved with impossible grace across the inn's front porch, and her violet eyes stared straight ahead without seeing the physical world around her.
She was walking toward the lake. Toward the same water where he'd first found her.
"Kaia." He kept his voice low and calm, falling into step beside her without making physical contact. "Kaia, you need to wake up."
She didn't respond, didn't even acknowledge his presence.
Up close, he could see the intricate silver markings that decorated her wrists like living tattoos, pulsing brighter with each step she took toward Moonmirror Lake.
The air around her shimmered with otherworldly energy, and her scent carried new undertones of night-blooming flowers and distant thunder.
The realization hit him. Dreamwalker.
He'd heard of them, of course. Humans born with the ability to navigate the realm between sleeping and waking, to walk through dreams as easily as others walked through doorways.
But true dreamwalkers were incredibly rare, their gifts often driving them to madness or worse.
Most never lived past their twentieth birthday.
And now one was walking straight toward the lake that had nearly claimed her life less than twenty-four hours ago.
"Kaia, please." Elias matched her pace, every instinct screaming at him to grab her, to physically prevent her from reaching the water.
But he'd heard enough stories about dreamwalkers to know that violent intervention could trap her consciousness in the dream realm permanently.
"You're not dreaming anymore. You're in Hollow Oak. You're safe."
Still no response. They were fifty yards from the lake now, close enough that he could see moonlight reflecting off the still surface. Whatever was calling to her had grown stronger, the silver markings on her wrists pulsing so brightly they cast their own shadows on the ground.
Thirty yards. Twenty.
Desperation overrode caution. Elias reached out and gently touched her shoulder, pouring every ounce of warmth and protection he could muster into the contact. "Kaia."
The effect was immediate and violent.
She jerked like she'd been struck by lightning, a scream tearing from her throat as her knees buckled.
Elias caught her before she could hit the ground, gathering her against his chest as her entire body convulsed with terror.
The silver markings on her wrists flared once more, then faded to nothing, leaving only pale skin that felt ice-cold under his fingers.
"No, no, no," she gasped, clutching at his shirt with desperate fingers. "He's coming. He knows where I am now. He's coming and I can't stop him."
"Who's coming?" Elias stroked her hair with one hand while scanning the darkness around them for threats. "Kaia, who's after you?"
But she was beyond rational conversation, caught in the grip of whatever terror had driven her from sleep.
Her violet eyes were wide and unfocused, seeing horrors that existed beyond the physical world.
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she pressed closer to his warmth, seeking anchor in the solid reality of his presence.
"The shadows have eyes," she whispered. "And they're hungry. So hungry."
Around them, the night seemed to hold its breath. Even the lake had gone unnaturally still, its surface reflecting the moon like a mirror that refused to be disturbed. But in that perfect reflection, Elias caught a glimpse of something that made his bear roar with protective fury.
Eyes. Watching from the depths.
And they were fixed on the woman in his arms with the patience of something that had waited a very long time to claim what it considered rightfully its own.