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

KAIA

T he shame was almost worse than the terror.

Kaia sat curled in the overstuffed chair in her room, wrapped in one of Miriam's quilts while Elias moved quietly around the space, checking window locks and adjusting the protective charms Miriam had placed around the room.

He hadn't said a word about finding her barefoot by the lake, hadn't asked why she'd been sleepwalking or what had made her scream like the world was ending.

He'd just carried her back to the inn, settled her in the chair, and started making her safe.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, clutching the quilt tighter around her shoulders. "You probably think I'm completely insane."

Elias paused in his inspection of the window wards, silver eyes finding hers across the softly lit room. "I think you're dealing with something most people couldn't handle. And I think you're braver than you give yourself credit for."

The kindness in his voice nearly undid her. Kaia had spent so many years being treated like a burden, like someone whose problems were too complicated and exhausting to deal with. The fact that Elias seemed to see her struggles as strength rather than weakness made herself blush.

"It's happened before," she admitted quietly. "The sleepwalking. Usually when the dreams get really bad."

"What kind of dreams?"

Kaia hesitated, studying his face for signs of judgment or disbelief. But all she saw was patient attention, like he was prepared to listen to whatever she needed to say.

"They feel more real than being awake," she said finally. "Like I'm actually there, wherever 'there' is. Sometimes it's places I've never been, sometimes it's people I've never met. But I can feel everything they feel, see what scares them most."

Elias settled into the chair and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. "Like you're walking through other people's nightmares."

"Exactly." Relief flooded through her at his understanding. "I thought I was going crazy for years. Doctors said it was stress, trauma from childhood or whatever. But it's not just stress, is it?"

"No," he said gently. "It's not. What you're describing sounds like dreamwalking. It's a rare gift, but it's real."

"Gift." Kaia laughed, but there was no humor in it. "That's a generous way to put it. Feels more like a curse some days."

"Gifts often do, until you learn how to use them properly." Elias's voice held something that sounded like personal experience. "The important thing is that you're not alone anymore. Hollow Oak has resources, people who understand what you're going through."

"People like Twyla?"

"Among others." He smiled. "Twyla's fae-blooded, which gives her insight into things most humans miss. But there are others in town who deal with supernatural abilities. You're not the only one who's different here."

Different, but not alone. It was more than she'd dared hope for in years.

"The dreams have been getting worse since I got here," she said, needing to be completely honest. "Darker. More focused. Like something's trying to pull me deeper into them."

Elias's expression grew serious. "That's why I've been keeping an eye on things. Whatever followed you to Hollow Oak isn't giving up easily."

"You believe me?" The question slipped out before she could stop it, tinged with the kind of desperate hope that came from too many years of being dismissed. "You don't think I'm just traumatized and making things up?"

"Kaia." Elias leaned forward, his voice firm with conviction. "I've seen enough strange things in my life to know when someone's telling the truth about supernatural experiences. What you're dealing with is real, and it's dangerous. But you're not dealing with it alone anymore."

The promise in his words made her throat tight with emotion. When was the last time someone had offered to stand with her instead of telling her to figure things out on her own?

"Thank you," she whispered. "For believing me. For not making me feel crazy."

"You're not crazy." He stood, checking his watch. "But you are exhausted, and you need real sleep. I'm going to talk to Miriam about strengthening the ward protections around your room."

"You don't have to do that. I've already imposed enough."

"You haven't imposed anything." The growl that crept into his voice surprised her. "Taking care of you isn't an imposition, Kaia. It's what you do for people who matter."

People who matter. When was the last time she'd mattered to someone?

Elias moved toward the door. "Try to get some rest. I'll be close by if you need anything."

After he left, Kaia found herself staring at the closed door for a long time, processing the conversation and the way Elias had looked at her. Like she was worth the trouble.

Sleep, when it finally came, was mercifully dreamless.

The next morning brought unseasonably warm October sunshine and an invitation from Maeve Cross to join her for lunch at the Silver Fang Tavern. Kaia wasn't entirely sure how the invitation had come about, but Miriam had delivered it with the kind of maternal insistence that brooked no argument.

"Maeve doesn't extend invitations lightly," Miriam had said, bustling around the inn's common room. "Means she's taken an interest in you, and that's not something to ignore."

Now, standing outside the rustic tavern with its weathered wood siding and carved wolf heads flanking the entrance, Kaia wondered what she'd gotten herself into. The place looked like it catered to people who could bench press small cars and weren't afraid to prove it.

The woman who greeted her at the door did nothing to dispel that impression.

Maeve Cross was compact but powerful, all sharp angles and controlled energy. Her short black hair was styled with casual precision, and her dark eyes held the kind of directness that suggested she didn't waste time on small talk or social niceties.

"You must be Kaia," she said, extending a hand. "I'm Maeve. Thanks for coming."

"Thanks for inviting me." Kaia shook the offered hand, surprised by the warmth of Maeve's grip. "Though I have to admit, I'm not sure why you wanted to meet me."

"Because you're the one who's got our resident grumpy bear tied up in knots," Maeve said with a grin that was all teeth. "And I wanted to see what all the fuss was about."

Heat flooded Kaia's cheeks. "I don't know what you mean."

"Sure you don't." Maeve gestured toward a corner booth. "Come on, let's get you fed and we can have a proper conversation."

The tavern's interior was fitting with its dark wood, low lighting, and the kind of atmosphere that suggested serious drinking and even more serious conversations.

But it was also unexpectedly cozy, with a massive stone fireplace crackling merrily and the scent of something delicious wafting from the kitchen.

"So," Maeve said once they'd settled with plates of what she claimed was the best shepherd's pie in three counties, "how are you settling into our little town?"

"Everyone's been incredibly kind," Kaia said carefully. "More kind than I probably deserve."

"Why wouldn't you deserve kindness?"

The question was asked casually, but Kaia caught the sharp attention behind it. Like Maeve was testing her somehow.

"I'm not exactly bringing good things to Hollow Oak," she admitted. "From what I can tell, my arrival has stirred up some problems."

"Problems have a way of stirring themselves up," Maeve said philosophically. "The question is what you do about them once they surface."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean running away doesn't solve anything. Trust me, I've tried." Maeve's expression grew serious. "Whatever followed you here, it's not going to stop just because you leave. These things rarely do."

"You sound like you speak from experience."

"Everyone in Hollow Oak speaks from experience.

The majority of us are refugees from somewhere else, people who didn't quite fit into the normal world.

" Maeve leaned back in her chair, studying Kaia with predatory intensity.

"The question is whether you're planning to stick around and fight, or if you're going to keep running. "

"I don't know if I have a choice," Kaia said quietly. "The dreams... they're getting stronger. More focused. I'm not sure how much longer I can resist whatever's calling to me."

"Then don't resist alone." Maeve's voice was matter-of-fact. "Accept help when it's offered. Especially from stubborn bears who've decided you're worth protecting."

"Elias has been very kind, but?—"

"But nothing." Maeve's interruption was sharp.

"Let me give you some free advice about alpha shifters, particularly the bear variety.

When they decide something or someone is theirs to protect, arguing with them is about as effective as arguing with a mountain.

They're going to do it whether you like it or not. "

"That sounds kind of controlling."

"It can be, if you let it. But there's a difference between protection and possession, and Elias knows the difference." Maeve's expression softened slightly. "He's a good man, Kaia. Better than most. And he looks at you like you hung the moon."

"We barely know each other."

"Sometimes that's all it takes." Maeve shrugged. "The heart knows what it knows. Question is whether you're brave enough to listen to it."

As if on cue, the tavern door opened to admit Elias himself, still in his work clothes and looking like he'd come straight from a construction site. His eyes found her immediately.

"Ladies," he said, approaching their table. "Everything all right?"

"Just having a friendly chat," Maeve said innocently. "Girl talk."

Elias's suspicious look suggested he knew exactly what kind of girl talk Maeve specialized in, but he didn't comment. Instead, he focused on Kaia, silver eyes searching her face for signs of distress.

"How are you feeling today?"

"Better," she said, surprised to find it was true. "More rested."

"Good." He hesitated, like he wanted to say more but wasn't sure how. "I was thinking, if you're up for it, maybe we could take another walk around town this evening. There are a few places I didn't show you yesterday."

"I'd like that." She felt heat rise in her cheeks again.

Maeve cleared her throat loudly. "Well, this has been enlightening, but I should probably get back to work. Kaia, it was a pleasure meeting you. Don't be a stranger."

As the lioness shifter disappeared back into the kitchen, Elias slid into the vacated seat across from Kaia. "What did she want?"

"I think she was checking me out." Kaia said vaguely, knowing it wasn’t entirely false or true. She knew the bar owner had been checking her out for reasons that involved Elias, trying to tell her he was into her and she couldn’t deny her growing affection toward the man that she barley knew.

He didn’t press anymore, just asked her about her day in general, keeping the conversation casual.

But even then in the tavern sitting across someone who made her feel more than safe, she could feel the familiar tug of approaching dreams, darker and more insistent than before.

Whatever was hunting her wasn't finished, and she had the sinking feeling that her growing connection to Elias and Hollow Oak was only making her a more tempting target.