Hakona: Dragon Warrior: Dragon Warrior, #1

By Jamie Phoenix and Ashley West

Allison Harper has long lived with the constant reminders that Earth has become overpopulated. So, when she's chosen to join a research team sent into space in search of a new planet to occupy, she's eager and excited to start the journey.  When she's taken by a hostile group of the planet's native people, however, she gets a lot more adventure than she ever bargained for. 

The Samou are a group of dragon shifters and Allison's captors. Hakona, the man responsible for kidnapping her, is harsh, rude, and intimidating. But, when Allison finds herself trapped in a world filled with secrets, lies, and hate, she turns to the one person she shouldn't for comfort—the man who took her. As the Samou's lead warrior, Hakona will have to choose between the woman who's captured his heart and the people he's sworn allegiance to.

The deeper they dive into their forbidden relationship, the more complicated their situation becomes. Sworn enemies, Allison and Hakona can't fight the feelings quickly forming between them.

The tension between the two opposing groups is building quickly, as the heat between Allison and Hakona grows, as well. Will she choose him over the safety of her own people? Will he risk losing everything to protect the one person he shouldn't?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Monster Media LLC
• Release date: Dec 27, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386676201

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HAKONA

Dragon Warrior

Jamie Phoenix

Ashley West

Chapter 1: Taken

Being selected for the research team was one of Allison Harper's childhood dreams come true. Her entire life she had lived with the constant reminder that Earth was becoming overpopulated. She had distant memories of food that wasn't artificially manufactured and being able to walk down the street without falling into a slowly moving line of people. But they were faint—very faint.

The events that transpired only a week after her arrival to Planet 48-Z, however, were not what she was expecting. She didn't even hear them coming. She had no idea that she was not alone in that clearing. It happened quickly and took her completely by surprise. She didn't even have the chance to fight back.

They swooped in on her, as if they had fallen out of the sky and descended on her with no warning. The last thing she remembered was a hand reaching around and pulling her back forcefully. She felt a pair of arms wrap around her and hold her down while another set of hands worked to restrain her. There were only two of them, but even just one would have been enough to overpower her. They were massive in size and terrifying in strength.

Then, she passed out. Her body shut down in response to the fear and horror that had gripped itself tightly around her chest and caused her breathing to become heavy and labored.

That was, of course, her normal response to a situation like that. Allison was always reserved, nervous, and weak. She had always been shy and quiet by nature—outwardly at least. On the inside, Allison’s mind was always running back and forth, filled with observations, questions, opinions, and the occasional smart-ass remark that never dared escape her lips.

When she woke up again, she found that she was in a small, stuffy room, completely alone. The walls were all stone. It was as if they had been carved into the side of the mountain because there were no seams of mortar that held the structure together. There were no windows and only one door on the far end of the room.

There was a torch mounted on the wall next to the large wooden door frame. Allison found herself sitting on a mat of some sort, suspended as if it were a hammock, but not quite. It was flat, and not overly comfortable. Running her hands on it slowly, she realized it was made of animal skin. The fur was unlike any she had seen before—soft, but rough in places.

Allison pushed herself up and crossed the small distance to the door. Pressing her ear against it, she heard voices on the other side. They were deep and low, and hard to make out. But, she was certain of one thing, they were speaking a language she had never heard before. It sounded more like clicks and chatters than words.

When they came to Planet 48-Z, they were unaware of any indigenous people already living there. They had spent 6 months on their mission before deciding to land there. They had ventured farther out into space than anyone had before, finding planets and testing them to see if their atmosphere and conditions would support life.

After continuing to get negative test after negative test, they decided to return to Earth, heads in their hands and failure heavy on their hearts. That's when Dr. Cooper, Allison's long-time mentor, recommended that they try one more place.

Planet 48-Z was on their trajectory home. It was Gary Cooper who decided to pass over it on their way to the other planets, and no one thought to question their lead researcher’s judgment. That’s why, when he announced his decision to investigate it further, everyone was slightly surprised. It turned out that it was just right, however. The atmosphere, the plant life, everything seemed to be the most similar to what one would expect to find back on Earth.

Dr. Gary Cooper was much more than a mentor to Allison. He was like a father. He had helped to guide her during her education, encouraged her to enter fields that would prove to be beneficial if any drastic measures such as the one they were taking ever arose. He was the one that pushed her to become a biologist, and he was at her side through the entire process, helping her advance quickly to the head of her field.

He had a shiny, bald head with a single strip of soft, fluffy white hair that wrapped around it, starting just over one ear and ending over the other. His light blue eyes were kind, and his face covered in wrinkles etched deep into his skin. Overall, he was a jolly man. He would talk for hours, everything he said seeming to be dripping with wisdom and experience. Allison admired everything about him—from his cheerful personality to his stunning intellect. She wanted to be like him, and he had taken her under his wing to help her achieve that goal.

Aside from Dr. Cooper, there was one other man who had a big say in their mission—Commander Peterson. Commander Peterson was in charge of the military unit. He was very tall, standing at about 6’3". His hair was shaved, which exposed a long, gruesome looking scar running along his scalp and disappearing behind his perfectly round head. It only added to his imposing and fear inducing nature. Allison found herself becoming nervous by simply being in the same room as the man. He seemed to notice the effect her had on not just her, but everyone—and he loved it. He and his fleet of military personnel were brought on their journey to serve as protection.

At the time, Allison thought it was ridiculous. And when they landed on Planet 48-Z, she continued to find their presence annoying and unnecessary. Everything there was beautiful and peaceful. The images they had collected from the drones did no justice to the overwhelming beauty in front of her. They had landed in a small clearing, surrounded completely by trees. They were trees unlike any she had seen before. They seemed to reach up and brush the sky. The trunks were huge, the smallest appearing to be at least eight feet around. Scattered throughout the trees were different plants—none of which were familiar to her. The colors were bright, and different shades of pink, purple, blue, red, and orange.

Now, however, her opinions of both the planet and Commander Peterson’s presence there had changed. She was frightened, terrified really, but she felt somewhat comforted knowing that they were out there, somewhere, looking for her.

Sitting in the tiny cell where they brought her, she continued to sit on the ground by the door, breathing as quietly as possible, and pressing her ear to the rough wood. When she heard heavy footsteps growing closer, she pushed herself back quickly, returning to her mat in the corner, pulling her legs up to her chest and hugging her knees tight. With each loud step, her heart began to beat faster. She felt like she was going to pass out again when the door finally came flying open.

Behind the figure that appeared there, all she could see was light. It wasn't coming from the sun that much was for certain. But the space behind him was definitely brighter than her small cell and made it so that only his massive outline was visible. He was a huge man. That's what surprised her the most—he was a man. She was surprised to see that, physically, he looked like any other man she had met before. He had two arms, two legs, and a muscular chest and even though his neck was enormous, it supported a head that seemed to possess the same basic facial features one would expect.

What is your name? he demanded. His voice seemed to fill the room completely, echoing off the stone walls and bouncing back at her.

You speak English? she asked, leaning forward.

Name! he yelled.

Allison, she squeaked.

Good. He took a step into the room, leaving the door open and letting the light pour in behind him.

As he moved, the fear that his demanding nature had instilled in her only increased. She was able to see him more clearly now, and she realized that while he may be built like a human, he didn't look like one at all. His skin was blue, and as he walked quickly towards her she saw the light catch and reflect off of patches of scales that ran up his arms and down the right side of his face. There was a clump on his chest as well, and spiraling out of the multi-colored disks were ornate designs that appeared to be etched into his skin.

She pushed herself away from him as far as she could before she felt the cold stone on her back. By the time he was only a foot away from her, she felt like she was suffocating—fear closing off her airways and making her feel faint. She gasped for breath, tears streaming down her face. Even through her blurry vision, she could see his massively toned body. The only clothing he wore were tight-fitting animal-skin shorts that reached to his knees but did very little to hide the curves his muscular legs and the bulge between his thighs.

What do you want from me? she begged between sobs.

He let out a soft, mocking laugh. You will find out in time.

He stood over her, crossing his arms at his chest. He continued to observe her, examining her. He leaned forward, sending a chill running down her spine. She tried to push herself back again, but the wall prevented her from moving any further away from him.

His eyes were dark. They looked almost black, as black as his hair that fell loosely around his shoulder. There was no kindness in the way he looked at her, no sympathy, no pity. His face twisted into a menacing smile.

You're scared, he said to her, a very clear hint of satisfaction in his voice.

She creased her eyebrows together and looked up at him. Even though the tears were still flowing from her eyes, she tried to appear strong. When she opened her mouth to answer, however, the only thing that came out was a soft squeak.

He tilted his head back and laughed, a bellowing laugh that made her blood run cold with fear. Looking back down at her suddenly, he said, If you think you’re scared now, you have no idea what scared really is.

Leaning his face closer to hers, he closed his eyes tight, and upon opening them, held her stare, waiting for her reaction. They had changed, transformed in an instant. They were no longer black, but yellow. The irises were huge, covering almost all of the white. There was one tiny, thin black slit running horizontally through each one. They didn't look like human eyes; they looked like they were the eyes of some reptile.

Chapter 2: Meeting the Samou

What are you doing here? the man demanded.

She had been held captive for a few days. She had no real way of knowing, but she relied on her body’s natural rhythm to judge the passage of time. She had been provided with a change of clothes. The outfit given to her matched what she assumed they all wore there—tight, animal-skin shorts and a top that was more like a bikini top than a real shirt, also made from the pelt of some animal.

During her days there, the large, fear-inducing man was the only person she saw. He came to her room every day, providing her with the minimal amount of food she needed to survive, and questioning her relentlessly.

I told you already, she said quietly. We came to find a planet to support life.

He never seemed to relax while he questioned her. She didn’t either. She sat, huddled up in a ball on her mat while he paced back and forth in front of her.

Lies! he yelled at her accusingly.

His voice was loud and harsh. Whenever he became angry, his words filled the room and bounced back and forth off the hard stone walls. He didn’t seem to flinch when his booming voice brought tears springing to her eyes.

I don’t know what you want me to say! she begged. I’ll tell you anything! Just please let me go.

He continued his pacing. How many of you are there?

In total, there were about four dozen people on their mission—two dozen military personnel with Commander Peterson and two dozen scientists who came with Dr. Cooper.

Thinking about her team made her chest tighten again. Besides her, there was only one other woman on their mission—Tory Vasquez. She was a bundle of energy that never seemed to stop. She was almost completely unable to stand still, and her dark brown eyes constantly darted back and forth, analyzing her surroundings and making quick observations. Whenever she walked, her short, bobbed-cut black hair bounced up and down around her round, childlike face. She was short, like Allison, but carried at least 20 lbs. more on her sturdy frame.

She was the opposite of Allison in every way. Not only in regards to personality—Allison lacked her boisterous energy and hell-if-I-care attitude. Allison had long, blond hair that she often wore tied back in a loose bun that flopped to one side of her head or the other and large green eyes that were almost always pinched closed, slightly, in thought.

They had been friends for years. They both worked together on multiple occasions and were ecstatic when they were both selected to go on the mission together.

I told you, about 48 in total, she squeaked.

And more will be coming, he said, eyeing her suspiciously.

I don’t know, she sobbed. Probably not now.

What does that mean?

It means we were looking for somewhere safe to live. This, obviously, is not the place.

Through her talks with this man, she had learned very little about him or others of his people, now holding her captive. He had informed her that they learned English easily. The language seeming almost childlike compared to their intricate native tongue.

Ending up where she was, was her own fault, and she knew it. Commander Peterson had established very strict rules for how they were to go about exploring the area outside of the safe-zone they had set up. None of the scientists were to leave without a military escort. Both she and Tory found the rule to be foolish. They hadn’t been on the planet long enough that they were foolish in thinking they were safe.

That's why, the morning she was taken, Allison slipped out on her own. It was tricky because Commander Peterson and his men had set up an electric fence running all around their camp. And, the only ones able to turn it on and off were one of his men.

That morning, however, she had planned everything out perfectly. She told the marine on guard, First Lieutenant Ryan Gordon, that she had overslept, just slightly, and she needed to get out and catch up with the group that had just left.

Ryan was a pig—she hated