Page 27 of The Right to Bear Claws
"Don't think too long," Lucien warned. "Halloween's in seven days, and if your dreams are accurate, that's when this entity plans to make its move. Whatever you decide, decide soon."
The walk to the inn felt longer than usual, weighed down by the knowledge she'd gained and the choices she faced. Stay and risk everyone she cared about, or run and face the entity's wrath alone.
Either way, someone was going to get hurt.
"You're brooding again," Miriam observed when Kaia entered the inn's common room. "Did Lucien's books give you bad news?"
"Complicated news," Kaia corrected, settling into her favorite chair by the window. "I'm not sure there are any good options left."
"There are always options, dear. Sometimes they're just harder to see when you're carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders."
"What if the weight belongs there? What if I really am dangerous to everyone around me?"
Miriam set down her knitting and fixed Kaia with a stern look. "I've been running this inn for thirty years. I've housed runaway werewolves, reformed vampires, and at least three witches who were actively being pursued by supernatural bounty hunters. You know what I learned from all of them?"
"What?"
"The people who worry about being dangerous to others are usually the least dangerous ones. It's the people who don't care about the consequences who cause real harm."
"But what if caring isn't enough?"
"Then you find people who care about you and let them help carry the burden." Miriam picked up her knitting again, needles clicking with quiet efficiency. "That's what family does, sweet girl. And like it or not, you've got one now."
Through the window, Kaia could see Elias across the street, helping Finn and Thorin install decorative lighting around the town square. His movements were efficient and careful, and every few minutes his gaze would drift toward the inn like he was checking on her even while focused on other tasks.
Seven days to figure out if she was brave enough to stop running and start fighting for the life she'd found in Hollow Oak.
13
ELIAS
Elias found Kaia sitting by Moonmirror Lake just after sunset, her knees drawn up to her chest as she stared out at the still water. The sight of her there, so close to where he'd first pulled her from the depths, made his bear pace restlessly.
"Mind if I join you?" he asked, settling onto the wooden dock beside her without waiting for an answer.
"Free country," she said, but her voice lacked its usual warmth.
They sat in silence for several minutes, watching the last light of day fade behind the mountains. Elias could feel the tension radiating from her, the careful way she held herself like she was preparing for battle.
"You've been avoiding me," he said finally.
"I've been busy helping with festival preparations."
"That's not what I mean, and you know it." He turned to study her profile, noting the dark circles under her eyes and the way her fingers worried at the anchor stone around her throat. "Talk to me, Kaia. What's got you so spooked?"
"Besides the supernatural entity that's been hunting me through my dreams?" She laughed, but it came out brittle. "Can't imagine why I'd be spooked."
"It's more than that. You're pulling away, putting distance between us. Why?"
For a moment, he thought she wasn't going to answer. Then she sighed, her shoulders slumping with exhaustion.
"Because caring about you makes everything worse," she said quietly. "Because the closer I get to people, the more weapons he has to use against me."
"He?"
"Tobias. That's what he calls himself, anyway. The thing that's been stalking my dreams." Kaia's voice grew hollow. "He showed me visions, Elias. Horrible things. You trapped in nightmares, the whole town consumed by darkness, everyone I care about suffering because I brought this monster to their doorstep."
Elias felt his bear surge with fury, not at Kaia but at the creature that dared threaten his mate. "What exactly did he tell you?"
