Page 40 of The Right to Bear Claws
"No." The word came out stronger than she felt. "You're wrong about them. About Elias, about Miriam, about everyone in Hollow Oak. They care about me."
"Do they? Or do they simply pity you?"
The question hit something tender and raw in her chest. The doubt she'd been carrying since arriving in Hollow Oak, the constant fear that she was imposing on people who were too kind to tell her to leave.
"I know what it's like," Tobias continued, sensing her vulnerability. "To be grateful for scraps of attention, to convince yourself that tolerance equals affection. But deep down, you know the truth. You're different, Kaia. Too different for ordinary people to truly love."
"Elias loves me." The words came out desperate, like a prayer. "He told me so."
"He told you what you needed to hear to keep you calm. But love requires understanding, and how can he understand what he's never experienced? How can someone who's never walked in dreams comprehend what it's like to see the world through your eyes?"
The doubt crept in despite her best efforts to resist it. Elias was wonderful, patient, protective—but Tobias was right about one thing. He'd never experienced the weight of other people's nightmares, never felt the crushing responsibility of having power over the realm of dreams.
"I understand," Tobias said softly. "I've lived it. To be loved for the person others think you are, rather than the person you truly are. Come with me, willingly, and you'll never have to hide again."
"And if I refuse?"
"Then you'll learn the hard way that love has limits. That even the most patient protector eventually grows tired of fighting battles for someone who brings nothing but trouble to their life."
The dream garden returned, beautiful and serene and utterly empty of everyone she'd grown to care about. For a moment, Kaia let herself imagine what it would be like. No more nightmares that weren't her own, no more fear of hurting people through her abilities, no more constant anxiety about being too much for someone to handle.
It would be peaceful. Lonely, but peaceful.
But then she thought of Miriam's kind eyes, full of maternal love she'd never experienced before. Twyla's infectious laughter and determination to include her in every aspect of community life. And everything about how Elias made her feel.
"You're wrong," she said quietly. "About all of it. They don't love me because they pity me or because they don't understand what I am. They love me because they see something worth loving, something that has nothing to do with my abilities."
"Pretty words. But words are easy. Actions reveal truth." Tobias's form began to lose cohesion, becoming shadows and smoke again. "We'll see how long their love lasts when the real tests come. When protecting you requires genuine sacrifice instead of pretty gestures."
"We will see. But I'm not going with you, Tobias. Not willingly, not ever."
"Oh, my dear little dreamwalker." His laughter was the sound of breaking glass. "Who said anything about willingly?"
The dream shattered like a window struck by stone, and Kaia jolted awake with a scream caught in her throat. Her room was dark, quiet, normal—but she could still feel Tobias's presence lingering around her consciousness like smoke that wouldn't clear.
And she realized with growing horror that this time, waking up hadn't broken his hold on her completely.
He was still there, whispering at the edges of her mind, and she was no longer entirely sure where the dream ended and reality began.
19
ELIAS
Elias stood outside Kaia's door at dawn, listening to the soft sounds of her waking up and trying to work up the courage to knock. He'd spent the entire night in the chair downstairs, alternating between dozing fitfully and staring at the ceiling while his bear paced.
Three days until Halloween and to convince the woman he loved to trust him with the most intimate bond two souls could share.
"No pressure," he muttered to himself, then finally raised his hand to tap gently on the door. "Kaia? You awake?"
"Unfortunately." Her voice sounded tired, strained. "Come in."
He found her sitting on the edge of her bed, still in her nightgown with her platinum hair tangled from sleep. But it was the expression on her face that made his bear surge—exhausted, haunted, like she'd been fighting battles all night that had left her drained.
"Rough dreams again?"
"You could say that." She managed a weak smile. "Tobias is getting stronger. More persistent. And I think..." She hesitated,then looked up at him with violet eyes full of fear. "I think his influence is starting to bleed into my waking hours."
"What do you mean?"
