Page 11 of The Right to Bear Claws
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. Thefact 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 morningbrought 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.
