Novels by Ashveil

Ronan's Point Of ViewHolding Zane against my chest, listening to his short, shaky breaths stuttering against my collarbone, I felt a massive wave of heat spread through my ribs. This wasn't the burning, angry fire of my Alpha core attempting to patch its own cracked pathways. This was different… a deep, heavy warmth that made my arms automatically tighten around his waist until he let out a tiny, soft wheeze against my skin. The sound should have made me loosen my grip, but instead it only made me want to hold him closer, to prove to myself he was real and here and mine. I needed the physical confirmation, the solid weight of him in my arms, because part of me still couldn't believe he'd chosen me. I looked down at the back of his messy, sweat-stuck hair, and for a second, I honestly wanted to punch myself in the jaw. To clock myself as hard as I could for every stupid thing I'd done to him. Every cruel word, every dismissive glance, every moment I'd made him feel small. The list w

Zane's Point Of ViewRonan didn't move. He didn't even blink. He went completely, utterly rigid beneath me, his whole body locking up as though I'd struck him across the jaw with a silver tray. For a second, the only thing moving in the entire room was the dust motes floating lazily through that streak of sunlight by the bed. His large fingers, which had been gently tracing my hip, clamped down tight, digging into my skin through the sweatpants with an intensity that bordered on painful. Slowly, he pulled his head back against the pillow, his neck muscles straining as he stared up at me. Those gold eyes were completely blown out, looking utterly bewildered, as if he'd forgotten how to read his own name. I watched his pupils dilate, then contract, struggling to focus on my face. The confusion there was almost comical, if it hadn't been so achingly vulnerable. "What..." He cleared his throat, his deep voice cracking on the syllable, sounding like dry gravel kicked down a well. His Ada

Zane's Point Of ViewThe sheets twisted around our ankles, hot and messy, carrying the mingled scent of our bodies. Mid-day sun cut through the heavy velvet curtains of Ronan's private quarters, throwing long, dusty lines of gold across the floorboards. Two weeks. Exactly fourteen days had passed since the arena floor cracked open, fourteen days since I'd nearly watched the light drain from my mate's eyes. The memory still made my chest tighten with phantom fear, my breath catching whenever I let myself remember that moment of pure terror. Everything at the academy was supposedly returning to normal now. Workers mortared the broken stone pillars in the courtyard back together, their hammers ringing out from dawn until dusk. Regular students walked to the dining hall with their heavy leather books tucked under their arms, gossiping about the battle as if it had been some kind of entertainment. And Kaelen... Kaelen had vanished. He'd disappeared into thin air the second the dust settl

The heavy, iron-scented air inside the private medical ward thickened until it felt almost suffocating as the two boys clung to each other. Zane pressed his forehead hard against Ronan's good shoulder, his entire frame shaking with those deep, messy, unpolished sobs that erupt when adrenaline finally drains from your system and leaves you feeling utterly hollow. He didn't care that his uniform was stiff with dried dirt and someone else's blood. He didn't care that his knuckles were raw from clenching them so hard his skin had split. All that mattered was the solid, rhythmic thumping of Ronan's heart against his chest… a sound that, only ten minutes ago, had stopped completely. The silence of that moment still echoed in Zane's mind, a void more terrifying than any darkness he'd ever known. He could still feel the phantom emptiness of Ronan's chest beneath his palms, the awful stillness that had made his own heart seize with panic. "You're a fool," Zane choked out, his voice cracking

Zane's Point Of ViewI grabbed onto that golden vein on the right side of my spirit and pulled. I pulled with everything I had left in my miserable, aching body, every ounce of strength I could scrape together from the bottom of my soul. There was no room for hesitation now, no space for doubt or fear of what this might cost me. It felt like reaching into a furnace with bare hands and dragging out a fistful of melted glass. A loud, ugly scream tore from my throat, bouncing off the clean white walls of the infirmary room. My whole body went completely stiff, toes curling inside my boots, and my spine arched so hard I heard the bones in my lower back click.The pain was blinding, absolute… the kind that makes you forget your own name, your purpose, everything except the agony itself. For a terrifying moment, I thought I might actually pass out, but the image of Ronan's dying face kept me anchored to consciousness. Then, suddenly, the air went wild. Thick, shimmering silver-amber ligh

Zane's Point Of ViewThe latch on the heavy oak door clicked into place with an awful, solid thud, and silence flooded the room. Too quiet. The only sound remaining was that wet, horrible rattling emanating from Ronan's throat each time his chest hitched. It sounded as though he were breathing through shards of broken glass, each inhalation a struggle against something dark and terrible eating him from within. I stood at the foot of the bed, my boots glued to the floor. My mind spun in circles like a wheel stuck in mud… completely blank, unable to gain traction. Where was I even supposed to start? I'd never attempted anything like this before. I was just a student, a hybrid who could barely keep his own wolf from spiraling into madness, and now someone expected me to repair a collapsing Alpha core? The weight of that responsibility pressed down on my shoulders like iron chains, each link forged from the lives depending on my success. I took two shaky steps forward until my knees bum