Novels by Jaxon Vale

They all looked at me, and I hated it.Not the fear.Not the doubt.The distance.It spread through the room like a quiet wall, even though we stood only a few steps apart.“Say something,” Darian muttered under his breath.I heard him.Of course I did.But I didn’t answer right away.Because every word I spoke now carried weight.Too much weight.“They’re not attacking yet,” Rowan said, trying to steady the room.“Not yet,” Mira added.That word sat heavy.Not yet.Kael stood beside me, close enough to feel, far enough to respect the space I had chosen.“They’re waiting for her,” someone whispered from the back.Not quietly enough.Not far enough.I turned slightly.“Say it louder.”The elder froze.Then straightened.“They’re waiting for you,” he repeated.“Why?” another voice cut in. “What does she have that calls them?”More whispers.More eyes.All on me.Always on me.I stepped forward.The room shifted.Not back.But not closer either.“I don’t know,” I said.Truth.Clear.No c

The blade slipped from his grip, and the younger warrior knocked him flat.A few laughs broke out around the training ring.Kael hit the ground hard, breath pushed from his chest. Dust clung to his clothes as he stared up at the sky for a second.He didn’t move.Didn’t snap.Didn’t command.“Get up,” the young warrior said, offering a hand. “Or are you done already?”Kael took the hand.Pulled himself up.“I’m not done.”The circle tightened.Eyes watched him.Not as an Alpha.Not as a leader.Just another fighter.Rowan leaned against the fence, arms crossed. “You’re slower today.”Kael rolled his shoulder. “I noticed.”Darian chuckled. “You used to bark orders instead of taking hits.”“I deserved that one,” Kael said.The young warrior smirked. “Then come again.”Kael nodded.No pride.No anger.Just focus.They circled.This time, Kael moved first.Faster.Cleaner.He blocked, stepped in, and struck low.The young warrior stumbled but recovered quickly.“Better,” Rowan muttered.Da

He laughed, and it cut deeper than any wound.I hadn’t heard that sound from Kael in days.Not in the middle of tension. Not after everything that had shifted between us.But there it was.Soft. Real.Unaware.I stood at the edge of the upper balcony, hidden in shadow, watching him below.He was with Rowan and Darian, speaking low, relaxed for once.Mira sat nearby, listening, her eyes moving between them.Normal.It looked almost normal.And I stayed where I was.Far enough not to disturb it.Far enough not to belong to it.“Still hiding?”I didn’t turn.“I’m not hiding.”Lysa stepped beside me anyway.“You’ve been up here a while.”“I prefer quiet.”She followed my gaze downward.“To watch him?”Her tone held no judgment.Just truth.I didn’t answer.Because she was right.Kael leaned against the wall, arms crossed, saying something that made Darian scoff and Rowan shake his head.Mira smiled.A simple moment.And I wasn’t part of it.“You made your choice,” Lysa said gently.“I kno

The silence felt wrong.No roar. No impact. No shaking walls.Just stillness.Rowan stood at the gate, blade raised. “Why did they stop?”Darian didn’t lower his weapon. “I don’t trust it.”“Neither do I,” I said.The doors stood closed again. Reinforced. Guarded.But the pressure from outside had vanished.Mira stepped closer to the threshold, eyes focused beyond the wood. “They’re still there.”“How many?” Kael asked.“Enough.”That wasn’t comforting.I moved beside her. “Are they waiting?”She hesitated. “Not like before.”“What does that mean?”“They’re not trying to break in.” She frowned slightly. “They’re… watching.”Darian let out a dry laugh. “Great. Now they think.”Rowan shot him a look. “They always thought. We just didn’t notice.”I placed my hand against the gate.Cold.But steady.No force pushing back.“They felt what happened,” I said.Kael crossed his arms. “You forcing the last one down.”“Yes.”“They learned from it.”“Everything learns,” I said.Rowan lowered his

The arguing started before the blood dried.“You don’t get to decide this alone!”A chair scraped hard across stone as an elder stood.“We follow order, not fear,” another snapped.“And what you saw out there was not order.”I stood at the center of the hall, silent.Let them speak.Let them show themselves.The council chamber of Frostveil felt smaller than usual. Too many leaders. Too much tension. The air held the weight of what they had witnessed outside.Power.Mine.And they didn’t know where they stood with it.Rowan leaned against a pillar, arms crossed. Watching.Darian stood near the doors, blocking any quick exit. Also watching.Mira sat quietly beside him.Listening.Learning.Kael stood apart from the main circle.Not at my side.Not among the elders.Somewhere in between.That alone told them everything.Elder Varik slammed his fist against the table.“We cannot allow one person to hold this much control!”A murmur spread.Agreement.Fear.Support.All mixed.Another eld

The second creature didn’t hesitate.It burst through the broken ground and slammed into the outer wall before anyone could react.“Positions!” Rowan roared.The impact shook the tower beneath my feet.“More coming,” Mira said, her voice tight.I didn’t look away from the ridge.Shapes moved under the snow.Fast.Too many.Kael stepped beside me. “We can’t hold this line if they all surface at once.”“We don’t let them,” I said.Darian barked from below, “Gate team ready!”I turned. “Open halfway. Funnel them in. Same formation.”Rowan glanced up at me. “Again?”“Yes.”“That worked once.”“It will work again.”Kael’s jaw tightened. “You’re risking yourself every time you step into that lane.”“I know.”“That’s not a plan.”“It’s the only one that gives us control.”The gate creaked open.A second creature lunged forward immediately.Faster than the first.Sharper.It didn’t pause at the threshold.“Brace!” Rowan shouted.Spears met its charge.It slammed into them, snapping two shafts

“Read the last line again.”Theo didn’t argue.He handed the phone back to me.I stared at the message like it might change if I looked long enough.NOW YOU’RE EXACTLY WHERE WE WANT YOU.A slow breath left my chest.“They wanted that scene,” I said.Theo nodded once. “Yeah.”Victoria crossed her arms. “Which means we gave them something.”“More than something,” I replied. “We gave them leverage.”Silence.Not the comfortable kind.The kind that pressed in from all sides.“So what now?” Theo asked.I looked up.Straightened.“We take it back.”Victoria’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You think that’s still possible?”“I know it is.”“That’s confidence,” she said.“That’s survival.”I turned toward the mirror again.Adjusted my posture.My expression.Because whatever this wasWhoever was behind itThey were watching.And I was done reacting.“They think they’re ahead,” I said quietly. “Let’s show them what that really looks like.”The room felt different this time.Heavier.Charged.Word ha

“You weren’t invited.”I didn’t turn immediately.I didn’t need to.His voice had a way of cutting through everything else.Sharp. Familiar. Unwelcome.“I didn’t think that would stop you,” I said, still facing the mirror.Behind me, the room buzzed with quiet conversations, clinking glasses, and low laughter. The event was supposed to be controlled. Polished.It was anything but now.Damian stepped closer.I could feel it.That shift in the air.That tension that didn’t belong anywhere else but between us.“You handled the press well,” he said.I met his eyes through the mirror.“You handled showing up uninvited… less well.”A flicker of something crossed his face.Amusement? Annoyance?Maybe both.“I needed to see you,” he said.My grip tightened slightly on the edge of the table.“That’s not a reason. That’s an excuse.”Silence stretched.Heavy.Then he said quietly, “You’re in deeper than you think.”I turned then.Fully.Facing him.“And you think you’re not?”A pause.Then, “I k

The lights flickered once, and my screen went black.I froze.Not panic. Not yet.Just stillness.Then the screen came back on.Same files. Same reports.But one thing had changed.A single line sat in the middle of the document I had been working on.WE SEE YOU CLEARLY NOW.My throat went dry.“Theo.”My voice came out quieter than I expected.He was in my office within seconds.“What happened?”I didn’t answer. I just turned the screen toward him.He stared at it.Didn’t speak for a moment.Then, “That wasn’t there before?”“No.”He moved closer, already pulling up system logs.“Don’t touch anything,” he said.“I didn’t.”Good.At least I still had that instinct.His fingers moved fast across the keyboard.“Someone accessed your system,” he muttered. “But not in a normal way.”“What does that mean?”“It means they didn’t break in,” he said. “They walked in.”A chill slid down my spine.“Inside access?”“Or something close to it.”I leaned back slowly.The room suddenly felt smaller.

“You lied to me.”Lila didn’t even look up.She kept scrolling through her tablet like the words hadn’t just landed between them.“Good evening to you, too, Damian.”His jaw tightened.“This isn’t a greeting.”“No,” she said calmly. “It’s an accusation. Those usually need proof.”He stepped further into her office, closing the door behind him with a quiet but deliberate click.“I’m done asking nicely,” he said. “Start talking.”That made her pause.Just for a second.Then she set the tablet down and leaned back in her chair, studying him.“You’ve been busy,” she said. “Running around. Asking questions. Chasing ghosts.”“I’m not chasing anything,” he replied. “I’m finding patterns.”“And you think I’m part of one.”“I think you’re closer to this than you should be.”Silence.Then Lila smiled.Slow.Measured.“And what exactly is ‘this’?” she asked.Damian took a step closer to her desk.“The leaks. The media pressure. The internal hits on both companies.”Her expression didn’t change.

“They’re calling you a fraud.”I didn’t flinch.Theo stood across from my desk, tablet in hand, eyes sharp, waiting for a reaction.I gave him nothing.“Anything new?” I asked.He let out a short breath. “You don’t want to ask what they’re saying first?”“I already know the tone,” I said. “Give me the damage.”A pause.Then he nodded, turning the screen toward me.Headlines filled it.ELENA VOSS UNDER FIRE, INTERNAL CHAOS EXPOSEDLEAKS SUGGEST MISMANAGEMENT, POWER STRUGGLE INSIDE VOSS MEDIAIS THE COMEBACK COLLAPSING?My jaw tightened slightly.Not at the words.At the time.“They moved fast,” I said.“Too fast,” Theo replied. “This isn’t organic.”Of course it wasn’t.Nothing was anymore.I scrolled.More articles.More speculation.And thenA document.Leaked.Internal audit fragments.Not enough to tell the full story.Just enough to twist it.“They’re framing it like I’m hiding something,” I said.“You are,” Theo pointed out.“Not like this.”“No,” he agreed. “Not like this.”I le

“The leak came from inside your own press circle.”Theo didn’t knock.He never did when it mattered.I looked up from my desk, already tense. “Define ‘inside.’”He dropped a tablet in front of me. “Close enough to hear everything. Far enough to stay invisible.”That wasn’t comforting.I leaned forward, scanning the screen.Articles. Timelines. Publication patterns.All the same tone. Same angle.Too consistent.“That’s not a coincidence,” I said.“No,” Theo replied. “It’s coordination.”My chest tightened.“Walk me through it.”He dragged a chair closer, already pulling up another file.“These stories about you,” he said, tapping the screen, “they don’t just appear. They build. Step by step. First admiration, then curiosity, then doubt.”“I noticed.”“Yeah,” he said. “But look at the bylines.”I scanned quickly.Different outlets.Different journalists.Different names.“What am I looking for?”Theo zoomed in.Highlighted one name.Nina Reyes.My brows pulled together. “She’s just a c