Azan: The Pride Chronicles Book 1: A SciFi Shifter Romance Read online

  Azan

  The Pride Chronicles, Book One

  Penny Rose

  Copyright © 2019 by

  All Rights Reserved. This book may not be reproduced or used in any manner without the permission of the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Other Books by Penny Rose

  The Pride Chronicles

  Book One: Azan

  Book Two: Jorran

  The Arena Saga

  Book One: Cade

  Book Two: Arc

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  About the Author

  Other Books by Penny Rose

  Chapter One: Jane

  I sat on the damp ground and wiped budding perspiration from my forehead with the back of my gloved hand. My shirt clung to my back, already drenched in sweat. I glanced over at Dave, one of the fellow humans on my research team.

  “It’s not even nine o’clock yet,” I groaned.

  Dave’s brown eyes flickered with acknowledgment. “The humidity is unforgiving.”

  We were both crouched on the ground, digging around in the soil. I mopped away more sweat off the back of my neck, relieved that I’d opted for the ponytail today. As a biologist dedicated to examining the plant and wildlife on the outer rim planet Lutania, I didn’t have time to fuss over my looks. I had too much work to do, and most of the time, the work was dirty as hell.

  A silver hawk flew overhead with an inspired caw. A pair of vibrant, fire-engine red parrots squawked, perched on a low-lying branch a few meters ahead of us. They blinked at us with beady, black eyes as if they were curious about what we were doing in their designated dwelling space.

  “I think they like us,” Dave said with a chuckle.

  “The parrots? They must be entertained by us.” I returned Dave’s smile.

  It wasn’t our intention to disrupt the peace of the natural wildlife that inhabited the area.

  “Well, at least someone is having fun out here in the jungle,” Dave quipped with a sigh.

  I glanced out at the lush rainforest. In all honestly, I loved being out here in the wild, being one with nature. It was serene and provided my mind with some much-needed tranquility. A few beams of yellow sunlight light shone down from the canopy of thick leaves on the towering treetops. The sound of exotic birds from different species fluttered through my eardrums like a song.

  I nudged Dave’s shoulder spiritedly. “We are on a new planet. Just try to remember that there are exciting things to come.”

  Anna, the only other female researcher on my team, playfully scoffed behind us. “I’m just trying to resist the temptation to plunge into that waterfall over there.”

  She pointed straight ahead. There was a wonderfully gushing waterfall hammering water into a perfectly oval pool off in the distance.

  I smiled. “I’m not gonna lie, it’s enticing.”

  I swallowed hard, suddenly overcome with thirst as I stared at the water flowing down from several feet of slippery boulders. The sound of the plummeting water was relaxing indeed. A prism of rainbow light shimmered through the waterfall itself as sunlight bounced happily between it.

  I glanced down at the soil, ready to zone back in and focus on my tasks. An interesting plant was right in front of me. Curiosity prickled on the back of my neck. I reached out to touch the plant because it had pointy fronds and brilliant lavender petals.

  “What are you doing?” Dave grabbed my elbow and pulled my arm back.

  I stared at him. “What?”

  “You can’t touch that. You don’t know what species of flora it is.”

  Dave was brilliant, albeit slightly more inhibited than I was when it came to exploration.

  “I’m wearing gloves,” I said with a shrug.

  “You are too reckless for your own good, Jane,” he stated with regret.

  I laughed. “I’m a scientist. I’m supposed to be curious. As are you.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Well, hopefully if something happens, we will have a counteracting antidote back at the base.”

  “Don’t be so dramatic,” Anna said, coming to my defense.

  I gave her a grateful smile, glancing at her over my shoulder.

  “Looks like you are outnumbered for the moment,” I said and cast Dave a jubilant smirk.

  I felt the energy of my fellow team members tense around me as I made an executive decision to reach for the plant. Dave slackened his hold on my arm, and I extended it in the direction of the unknown plant.

  I touched the soft petals with my thumb and index finger and waited with anticipation to release the oxygen in my lungs. I had no idea what would happen, and neither did anyone else.

  As soon as I made contact, the luscious petals switched from a pastel lavender to an electric shade of orange.

  “What in the world?” Anna lowered herself to her knees beside me. She stared at me with awestruck blue eyes. “Amazing.”

  I grinned. “Fascinating, really.”

  I let go of the plant. Its coloring immediately shifted back to the lilac shade it was before.

  “We should take a sample,” Dave suggested, craning his neck curiously to inspect the plant more closely.

  “I agree.” I nodded and began to dig around the roots.

  I gently lifted the plant from the dirt as carefully as I could to avoid compromising its structural integrity. I moved it to a plastic container that would accommodate the plant’s size, and then fished out some more dirt to toss in on top of the roots.

  “Anybody have any water I could pour over this?” I glanced around.

  Anna handed me a metal cylinder container. “At your service.”

  “Thanks,” I said and breathed in the air. The water was being filtered directly from the waterfall springs around the planet itself so that we could drink it. I trickled the water into the container. Keeping the plant alive for research purposes was essential at this point.

  Calen, the only non-human on our research team, began to slowly approach us, his features set with curiosity.

  “What are we working on?” he asked, scoping around the group.

  His silver eyes panned over us. He had sky blue skin and elvish ears that pointed at the tips. He was from a neighboring planet that clung to allies with our Earth, thus putting him in a good position to be part of our research team for the greater good of the empire.

  “Right now, we are digging in the dirt. I just found this interesting plant—”

  I trailed off when I realized tha
t Calen was no longer paying attention to anything I said.

  I noticed Calen visibly gulp. His eyes were rooted on something off in the distance, flickering with impending paranoia.

  “What is it?” I frowned and glanced between Anna and Dave.

  “Look over there,” Calen said in a whisper that was barely audible.

  He jolted his narrow chin in the direction of a cliff that was at least half a mile away. With slight hesitation, I followed the trail of his gaze until it landed on a lion pride at the top of the cliff in the distance.

  There were at least ten lions in this cluster. The two males of the group stood at the edge of the pride and in the front. I couldn’t see their eyes from this far away, but their manes flowed in the breeze, billowing around them with an air of protectiveness that made my bones tingle with uncertainty. They were unlike any lions I had ever seen, with olive green fur and blond manes. They were a sight to behold.

  “You shouldn’t get too close.” Harold, a brutish, muscular guard with a beefy neck and sausage-like fingers that could strangle a small framed jaguar if he had to, took a step forward, apprehensively flickering his gaze in the direction of the boastful looking pride.

  “They aren’t bothering us,” I said.

  “Yeah.” Dave chuckled nervously. “They are just staring a hole right through us.”

  “Even if you tried to interact with them, they would just run away if approached,” Harold commented.

  I continued to look at the pride with a mixture of allure and circumspection. It wasn’t the first time I had witnessed them from afar, but I had yet to get any closer. I didn’t know what would happen if we attempted to bridge the gap or if Harold’s assumption would prove to be true. Either way, it made my heart pound to observe them in their majestic glory.

  * * *

  Azan

  I stood at the edge of the cliff, watching the humans below. Phen was with me, and I felt his hostile energy seeping from his aura. It penetrated and pulsed through me. My heart beat wildly.

  I glanced at him, and he blinked his black eyes at me. He had a cold, calculated demeanor. Phen was ruthless and unafraid by all accounts. He wanted me to be just like him, following in his footsteps.

  I didn’t mind becoming leader of the pride one day. After all, I was second-in-command. I just didn’t know if I had the capacity to be as emotionally detached about everything and everyone I encountered like Phen.

  He had a scruffy look to his features. He turned his head and swiveled around, padding away on giant paws. That was my cue to follow. I knew he probably wanted to talk about what we were viewing in the valley below. There was much to discuss, and heated debates were more than likely to occur between us.

  I was part of the Anesse Pride. We lived in more advanced areas than some of the other prides on Lutania soil. Different lion tribes remained separated from each other, rarely—if ever—mingling with each other. Most of the other clusters patrolling the planet lived in primitive areas, establishing themselves as hunters to develop their own resources in order to flourish.

  It wasn’t difficult to exist on a planet like Lutania. There was plenty to go around for everybody. We enjoyed a wealth of water, food sources, and plant supply. There was enough shade to keep us from overheating in the unyielding sun during the hotter times of the year.

  I lowered my chin and gazed out at the new research team. Their vessel had only been on the planet for a few days, setting up their camp on a flat-surfaced territory for easier working conditions.

  This wasn’t the first time outsiders had invaded our planet, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.

  As soon as Phen and I were tucked away in the crevice of one of our pride caves, we shifted back to our humanoid form because it was the only way we were able to speak to each other.

  “Do you remember the last vessel crew that flew down onto the planet?” I asked Phen as he anxiously paced the cave.

  “How could I forget?” His voice had tracings of animosity.

  His eyes flamed with scorn. I knew the backlash was directed at the research teams, not me.

  I chuckled at a memory. “They wore spacesuits.”

  “Idiots…” Phen trailed off and mumbled under his breath.

  “I guess they figured out from their allies that the air is safe to breathe here,” I said.

  “Unfortunately, they must have.” Phen sighed laboriously and leaned his back up against the wall.

  A darker memory trampled through my brain. I looked up and noticed that Phen was watching me astutely.

  “Remember that other time, when another team came through? The mercenaries?”

  Phen’s jaw visibly clenched. “When they tried to abduct some of the pride? Why do you think I’m so short-tempered when it comes to these foreigners on our land?” He breezed past me. “They cannot be trusted, Azan, no matter what lies they might try and feed us otherwise.”

  “Well, the lot down in the valley doesn’t look like they are on a mission to hunt us down,” I retorted. “They had scientific gear. That must mean they are here for something other than to study us.”

  The Anesse Pride tended to be faster and stronger than the other species on this planet. We had superior abilities to run and hide among the dense vegetation on land. Everywhere I looked, there were plush bushes, overgrown forest, and dense woods to conceal ourselves between.

  The fact that we harbored these advances over the new researchers gave me a little extra consolation, but it didn’t seem to faze Phen much. We knew the land, these scientists did not. We could outrun them, quite easily. We had done it before, and we could do it again if necessary.

  Phen spun around. “I want to launch an attack.”

  I felt my mouth drop open. “What? Don’t you think it’s a little premature for that—”

  “No,” he curtly interrupted. “Do you want to survive, to show those crude people who is the boss of Lutania? Lest you forget, we were here first.”

  “That doesn’t mean that they are here to spiral into battle with us,” I said. “They might be here on another mission. They might need vital resources that they can’t harvest on their own planet—”

  “Oh, save it,” Phen snapped with a huffy growl.

  “Look.” I slowly approached him. He could be like a loose cannon sometimes. “I’m not saying that I’m defending them. I just don’t know if a full-out war with total strangers is something we need to explore right now.”

  “And what are you, the lion with all the answers?” Phen scowled.

  “I’m second-in-command for this tribe,” I said confidently. “I would hope that brings a certain level of respect for me among the others, and certainly you.” I met his gaze and was surprised that his brutish features had softened somewhat.

  When he trudged away in the opposite direction again, I took my opportunity to talk him down. “We don’t have to make a decision right now. They seem harmless at the moment. Let’s just see what happens.”

  “And if the danger looms closer, I’m going to hold you fully accountable.” Phen’s eyes flashed with warning.

  “As you should.” I nodded. “I, of course, am willing to take full responsibility under those circumstances, should they arise.”

  I took a deep breath as Phen grumbled something under his breath and wandered off, probably to take a swim through the waterfalls. He always did that when his stress level soared to maximum heights.

  I couldn’t put my finger on it, but there was something different about this new team that made me want to label them with more of a passive demeanor. I didn’t feel looming danger, but I would keep my guard up to defend my tribe and my home planet. It was what I always did. I didn’t make it to second-in-command for nothing, after all.

  I carried my weight and owned my purpose. I would act with as much appointed nobility and honor as I could. There was no reason why two races couldn’t coexist, at least not until I was given a reason to believe otherwise.

  Chapter Tw
o: Jane

  Push, pull, pluck.

  That was the methodical rhythm of my afternoon under the blinding jungle sun. Every so often, a gentle breeze would whisper through the air and send a refreshing prickle against the surface of my skin.

  Push, pull, pluck, again taking samples from the soil and sealing them in plastic storage bags or taking entire plants and tucking them into potted containers to bring back to the base for testing.

  Part of my team’s initiative on Lutania was to determine which kinds of plant life could be used for medicinal purposes and which ones could be used for purposes of consumption. We would take them back to our research facility on another planet in the middle of the galaxy that was a home base for most of our field studies.

  Our work on Lutania was supposed to take roughly six to ten months, depending on the success rate we moved at on a day-to-day basis.

  I glanced up at the sky, grateful to be sitting in a relatively shady area. The trees were lush in this area. A few fronds from palm trees billowed in the wind, dancing with their slender arms and tickling the side of my cheek when I got too close.

  “Hello, little fella.” I crouched down next to a lime green caterpillar that was scrolling across the edge of a stump.

  I watched it skirt its way to the other side before moving on to gather the rest of my samples. Nature was fascinating. I glanced over my shoulder. The rest of my team was engaged with their own set of tasks. They weren’t paying attention to me even though I had wandered a few meters away.

  I scanned the area for Harold, our crew guard. I found him standing stiff and statue like, leaning up against one of the nearby pine trees. His other hand was placed on his gun holster, always ready for action.

  Harold had a relatively distracted attention span. He didn’t understand the research we were doing. He was just there to warn and protect us from any of the lion tribes, should they prove to be aggressive.

  A couple of black and yellow butterflies gracefully danced past me, playfully flapping their wings as if they were content and nothing in the world could burden them.