Page 26 of The Right to Bear Claws
"Ah." Understanding flickered across his features. "You think running away will solve the problem."
"Won't it? If I'm not here, if there's no anchor for this thing to use..."
"Then it finds another anchor. Or follows you wherever you go." Lucien moved from behind the counter, heading toward a section of books that seemed older and more worn than the rest. "Dreamwalkers aren't easily replaceable, Kaia. If this entity has invested time and energy in claiming you, it's not going to give up just because you change geographic locations."
"So what are you saying? I'm stuck with this thing forever?"
"I'm saying running away rarely solves supernatural problems. It just relocates them." He pulled down a leather-bound volume that looked like it belonged in a museum. "But there might be other solutions. What exactly has this entity told you about your connection?"
Kaia hesitated, then decided honesty was her only option. "It says I made a bargain when I was young. Promised to serve as its anchor in exchange for understanding my abilities. But I don't remember making any such deal."
"Memory suppression is common in childhood supernatural encounters," Lucien said, opening the book carefully. "Especially when the deal involves future consequences the child couldn't possibly understand. Here, look at this."
He showed her a page covered in dense text and intricate diagrams. "Historical accounts of anchor bonds. Most of them involved children who were desperate, isolated, or in immediate danger. The entities promised power, knowledge, or safety in exchange for future service."
"That sounds about right," Kaia said grimly. "I was all three of those things when I was little."
"The good news is that childhood bargains aren't legally binding by most supernatural law. The bad news is that the entities don't usually care about legal technicalities."
"So how do I break it?"
"Several methods are documented here. Ritual cleansing, spiritual intervention, power transference..." Lucien paused, studying one particular passage. "Or anchor replacement."
"What does that mean?"
"Instead of breaking the bond entirely, you replace the entity's anchor with something else. A stronger connection to the physical world that overrides the original bargain."
Kaia felt a flutter of hope. "Like what?"
"Like a mate bond with a supernatural being. The emotional and spiritual connection provides an alternative anchor that's much harder for dream entities to corrupt or control."
The hope immediately curdled into dread. "You're talking about Elias."
"I'm talking about options. If you chose to pursue a mate bond with him, it would create a protective barrier around your consciousness that dream entities couldn't easily penetrate."
"And if I chose wrong? If the bond didn't work, or if I made things worse?" She closed the book with more force than necessary. "I won't risk his life because of my problems."
"What makes you think you have that choice?"
The quiet question made her look up sharply. Lucien's green eyes held sympathy but also uncompromising honesty.
"Elias is already involved, whether you like it or not," he continued. "He's claimed you as his mate in every way that matters except the formal bonding–”
“He’s what?” Kaia asked not really understanding or believing what she was hearing.
Lucien looked regretful for a moment as if he said too much. “All I mean is he… He doesn’t want you to go anywhere. He’s very… attached. And if this entity decides to use him against you, it won't matter whether you've officially accepted the connection between you both or not."
"Then I definitely need to leave."
"Or you could stay and fight. Accept what’s already formed and use it to protect both of you."
"I don't know how to fight something like this."
"You don't have to fight it alone." Lucien's voice gentled. "That's the whole point of pack bonds, community connections, mate relationships. They make you stronger than you could ever be on your own."
Kaia stared at the closed book, mind churning with possibilities and fears. She thought about Elias's patient courtship, the way he remembered her coffee preferences and carved wind chimes to help her sleep. The way he made her feel by simply being near.
"I need to think about this," she said finally.
