Unchained: The Discordant Earth Series Book Two Read online

  Unchained

  The Discordant Earth Series

  Book Two

  Melony Paradise

  Credits & Copyright

  Alpha Reader/Editor: Danielle Romo

  Cover by: Clarissa Yeo of YoclaDesigns

  Edited by: Nick Bowman

  Unchained

  Discordant Earth Book Two

  Copyright © 2017 Melony Paradise

  www.melonyparadise.com

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

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.

  Be sure to check out my other books in this series,

  Discordant Earth

  And my other series,

  Vamp Tales

  Table of Contents

  Credits & Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  New Enemies

  Connect with the Author

  Other Books by Melony Paradise

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to my Pops.

  When life tries to tear him down, he fights back. He is compassionate, courageous, and devoted to his family, and I’m proud to call him Dad.

  Chapter 1

  The rough, splintery cellar door screeched open. Alyssa Rose stooped forward, peering into the blackness below as distant yelling and gunfire filled the arid night. Dirty, emaciated faces stared up from the dark recess beneath the rundown farmhouse, lit faintly by a nearby barn fire. Chains clanked and jingled as human slaves cowered and shuffled into a tight group, shielding the children.

  “We’re here to save you—” Bullets pierced the wall above the cellar. Alyssa dropped to the ground, pulling her best friend, Jess Sanders, down with her.

  “Jess, are you okay?” Alyssa pushed her chin-length, dark purple hair away from her face, feeling the gritty dirt scrape against her light skin.

  “Yeah.” Jess swiped stray strands of frosty blond hair from her sweaty forehead. A smudge of dirt streaked across her temple, stark against her pale skin.

  Glancing over her shoulder, Alyssa spotted silhouettes racing across the yard, backlit by the barn fire. Unable to find the source of the shooting, she looked over at Jess, only to find her handgun lying between them. Stupid, you’re supposed to keep that in your hand! Jess smothered a snicker, clearly keeping a firm grip on her dust-covered pistol.

  “What?” Alyssa grabbed her gun, still not comfortable with the deadly weapon, and pushed up to her knees. “This is our first time on a raid, with guns. Give me a break.”

  “Sorry.” Jess smirked, her hazel eyes flashing with firelight.

  “Come on. We have to get these people to the vans.” She crawled to the cellar door to peer down at the frightened faces.

  “Jess, Aly,” Jordan Michaelson said as he rushed to them, ducking as he moved, “let’s go. Alpha team has most of the Zooks occupied on the other end of the yard.”

  They herded the people out of the dank cellar with Jordan standing guard at the corner of the house. The abused and malnourished humans moved slowly, barely able to hold themselves up as their shackles weighed them down. Jess snatched up a little boy as he stumbled trying to keep up with the others. Alyssa led them through a fallow field to the vans waiting on the other side.

  More shots rang out, sending everyone to the dirt. One of the children began crying and Alyssa crawled over to help, but halted when she caught sight of a body slumped on the ground.

  “Jordan!” She rose into a crouch and rushed over to him. “Jess, help!”

  Kneeling beside him, Alyssa inspected him in the firelight. His new coalition ball cap had fallen off, his jet-black hair plastered to his scalp with sweat. She ran her hands over his black t-shirt, searching for damage.

  When she found the small, ragged hole just below his collarbone with her fingers, they came away coated in warm blood. Jordan moaned and winced at her touch. His blue eyes rolled backward, and he passed out.

  “What’s wrong? What happened?” Jess appeared at her side. “Did he get shot?”

  “Yes, we need Jack.” Alyssa looked back at the farmhouse, hoping the older medic would be nearby. She scanned the yard for his mop of reddish-brown hair, but her eyes landed on a familiar head of shaggy black locks instead. “I see Sebastian. Stay here. I’ll see if I can get help.”

  “What about the people?”

  Alyssa turned to find the slaves watching her and pointed to the vans. “Go that way, now. There’s people there to drive you to safety.”

  Without checking to see if they followed her orders, Alyssa dashed back to the yard. Her boyfriend, Sebastian Roberts, and two others hunkered down behind a picnic table, rifles aimed and firing at enemies behind the house, out of her line of sight.

  “Sebastian,” Alyssa shouted over the noise, “Jordan’s been shot. Where’s Jack?”

  “Fuck!” He ducked down, turning to face Alyssa as she crouched beside him. His wide, cobalt eyes pierced her heart as he shoved a hand through his hair. “Jack’s somewhere on the other side of the farm with Cecily. Take me to Jordan.”

  “Don’t they need you here?”

  “No. We’re down to two Zooks on our side. These guys can handle it.”

  Alyssa led Sebastian to his injured brother. Jess hovered over Jordan’s limp form, her hands pressed against his wound.

  “Fuck. Okay, let’s get him to my SUV. We need to get him to HQ.”

  ***

  “Move it, people! He needs help now!” Sebastian jumped out of the SUV, hollering at the medical team waiting in the warehouse garage. He jogged around to the back of the vehicle, not bothering to close the driver’s side door.

  Elank’Sha, the Szu’Kara doctor, rushed over, scowling. “Where is he injured?”

  “He got shot in the shoulder. We’ve slowed the bleeding, but he’s been unconscious for almost an hour. We drove back as fast as we safely could, but the roads are fucked up.”

  Sebastian swung open the backdoor of the SUV, revealing an exhausted Alyssa and Jess hovering over Jordan’s unconscious body, bloody rags scattered about. Edward and Kelly rushed into the garage with a stretcher. They worked together to get Jordan out of the SUV without causing more bleeding.

  “Take him to triage.” Ela stalked away, yelling over her stiff shoulder. “I will prepare the necessary equipment.”

  “Go tell Kora what happened, but keep her there, if
you can.” Alyssa pushed Jess out of the SUV, climbing out after her. Everyone filed through the door behind Sebastian and Edward as they hauled Jordan through the hallways at a light jog. Alyssa slapped the button to shut the rolling garage door.

  “What do I tell her?” Jess’ hazel eyes drooped with exhaustion.

  “Tell her that Ela’s handling it and she would only be in the way.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “I’m going to help.”

  Kelly’s dark blond ponytail flipped as she spun around to face Alyssa at the end of the hallway. “No. Go clean up. We have Nait and Maira. They can help us. I’ll send Bas to you as soon as we get Jordan to triage.”

  “Okay.” Alyssa stifled a yawn with a hand covered in dried blood. “Let us know when Jordan’s stable. Kora will want to be with him.”

  “I will. Now, go shower. You both look like crap.” Kelly smiled softly as she turned down the hallway that led to the infirmary. Jess and Alyssa trudged the opposite direction, to the guest wing of coalition headquarters where they’d recently taken up residence.

  The coalition had occupied an abandoned mill ten miles outside the cozy town of Hamlin, in the middle of the plains of eastern Washington State. The Command Compound sat a mile and a half away on the other side of town, surrounded by miles and miles of wheat and onion fields. Hamlin had survived largely untouched by the war that nearly destroyed humanity and drew the Szu’Kara to Earth.

  Ever since Alyssa first came to coalition headquarters, she’d stayed in the same room. Sebastian had moved in with her soon after she joined the rebellion. Gradually, her friends moved into the surrounding rooms. When Kora gave birth to baby Lyssa, they all decided to continue living in the guest rooms, taking mercy on the other residents living in the dorm.

  Lyssa was an amazing baby, much quieter than they’d all originally thought she’d be. The first few weeks had been rough on Kora and Jordan, who had no experience with babies, and Lyssa had a decent set of lungs. With a structured routine, the little family settled into a comfortable life with the precious angel baby drawing frequent visits from the dorm residents.

  The gang favored spending time in the recreation room or outside in a small courtyard where they watched Lyssa roll around on the grass. At almost two months old, Lyssa did things that a six-month-old human baby would be doing. Since her father was a Szu’Kara, she grew faster than a human infant. In between raids and ambushes, Lyssa provided much of the entertainment for the permanent residents of the coalition headquarters.

  “What time is it?” Jess asked as they forced their tired legs to propel them in the right direction.

  “Ugh, it’s late. Probably close to one in the morning.”

  “Is Lyssa usually asleep now or is it a feeding time?”

  “I think she’s starting to sleep through the night but I’m too tired to remember.”

  “Do you mind if I go shower first? I think I got more blood on me than you did.”

  “Yeah, go shower, but come get me so I can get a quick shower too. After that you should just go to bed. I’ll stay with Kora.”

  “Maybe. I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep until I know if he’s going to be okay.”

  “We might have news by then.”

  “True. I’ll be back in a few.” Jess disappeared in her room on one side of the hallway and Alyssa stopped at Kora and Jordan’s room on the other side. She knocked lightly, hoping she wouldn’t wake the baby.

  Alyssa’s head drooped as she waited for Kora to answer, her wavy, purple bob brushing against her cheeks. The hard door bashed her forehead when she nodded off and fell forward. Unsure of how long she’d waited, Alyssa turned the knob and slipped inside.

  A halo of light shined near the sofa where Kora’s tiny body sat propped up with a wiggling Lyssa in her arms. Alyssa tiptoed over to find Kora’s head laid back against the sofa with her eyes closed and her mouth open a little. The baby looked up at Alyssa with her glittery, sky-blue eyes, waving her tiny, pale arms around, the shimmer of her opalescent skin glinting in the dim light.

  Alyssa reached over to shake Kora awake. Lyssa giggled when her body rocked in Kora’s arms as Alyssa shook her mother again. It took three attempts to get a response from Kora.

  “Alyssa?” She blinked slowly, as if coming out of a trance.

  “Yeah. You were really out, girl. You didn’t feel Lyssa moving in your arms?”

  “Uh...no, I didn’t. I was having the strangest dream.” Kora brushed a hand over her blinking eyes as Lyssa grabbed onto a hank of her mother’s straight black hair.

  “Well, I’m sorry I had to wake you—”

  “What’s all over your shirt?” Kora gaped at Alyssa’s blood-stained t-shirt.

  “It’s blood—”

  “Oh my gosh. Did you get hurt?”

  “No, Kora, let me talk, please.”

  “Oh, sorry.” Kora clamped her mouth shut. Since she’d been with the coalition, Kora had gone from an abused, introverted girl who could barely get out full sentences, to a young woman who knew and spoke to almost every resident at headquarters. She was still shy, especially when coalition members visited from other groups, but she no longer hid in her frightened shell. On top of that, she looked so much healthier than she did when Alyssa first met her.

  “Jordan got shot—”

  “What?” Kora yelped, causing Lyssa to start fussing.

  “—and they have him in the infirmary, right now.”

  “Is he going to be okay?”

  “I don’t know—” Alyssa sighed when someone knocked on the door. Can I finish one damn sentence please?

  Sebastian poked his head in and Alyssa flushed, embarrassed by her impatience, as she waved him over. Kora clamped a hand over her mouth, jostling the baby, when she spotted all the blood covering Sebastian’s blue jeans. Her already pale face lost all semblance of color. Lyssa began wailing, so Kora stood up to rock her while pacing in circles.

  “Any news?” Alyssa snatched Sebastian’s calloused hand, pulling him close.

  “He was still unconscious when I left, but Ela says he should pull through just fine.”

  “What happened?” Kora looked at him with pleading eyes.

  Alyssa hugged herself. “He was shot in the shoulder when we were leading the slaves to the vans.”

  Sebastian hung his head, shaking it slowly. “Must have come from the Zooks we had cornered on our side of the house. They were desperate and shooting wildly.”

  There was a time when Alyssa would’ve scolded anyone that used the derogatory term, Zook, in reference to her beloved Szu’Kara friends, but not anymore. The only time it bothered her was when someone said it in front of an alien coalition member. Even then, though, she usually kept her mouth shut. Almost everyone had gotten used to the term getting thrown around now.

  “I should be with him.” Kora lifted Lyssa to her shoulder, bouncing her gently.

  “You’ll have to wait. There’s no room for any more people. You know how Ela gets if she feels crowded. Kelly will come get you when he’s stable.”

  “Yeah, and we’ll stay here with Lyssa.” Alyssa peeked at Sebastian for confirmation. He nodded once.

  “Okay, I guess. He’s going to be okay, right?”

  “We’ll know something soon, I’m sure.” Alyssa leaned her head against Sebastian’s shoulder. Just then, Jess’ frosty-blond head peeked in at them.

  “How’s Jordan?” She went over to grab one of Lyssa’s wiggly hands. Tiny giggles filled the room as Jess made goofy faces at the baby.

  “The same.” Sebastian laid his cheek on top of Alyssa’s head. “Let’s go clean up.”

  “We’ll be back in a bit. Knock on our door if Kelly comes.”

  Jess shooed them away and danced around Kora, playing peek-a-boo with Lyssa. Sebastian and Alyssa chuckled as they left, Alyssa leaning heavily on his arm, her body protesting all movement.

  In their room, Alyssa and Sebastian stripped out of their crusty clothes
and scrubbed each other clean. Too tired for any fun, they quickly dressed and returned to Kora. The four of them took turns napping and entertaining Lyssa while they waited for news of Jordan.

  Chapter 2

  The pillow shifted and bounced under Alyssa’s head. She reached her arm over it to squish it down and stuff it under her ear, but it wouldn’t move, only giving her resistance.

  “Hey, darlin’, be gentle. My ribs are bruised.”

  Alyssa lifted her head, peeking with one eye, to find her pillow was actually Sebastian’s t-shirt-covered belly. After a long night of waiting, Alyssa had fallen asleep on the sofa, her head against Sebastian’s reclined body. His long legs stuck out in front of her face, propped up on the coffee table, muddy boots abandoned at the end of the sofa.

  “Guys, get up,” Jess whispered and jabbed Alyssa in the leg before pointing at the door where Kelly waited.

  The normally jovial nurse looked exhausted. Purple bags hung under Kelly’s blue eyes, and her ponytail sagged near the nape of her neck, strands sticking out every which way. Her sturdy form was hunched, covered in badly wrinkled medical scrubs. Even her white sneakers looked like they’d been through a battle.

  Pushing herself up to a sitting position, Alyssa rubbed an eye with one hand and patted Sebastian’s thigh with the other. His head shot up from the back of the sofa, eyes darting around as he filled his lungs with a huge breath. In the time that they’d been together, Alyssa noticed that Sebastian often woke up the same way, as if constantly on guard and ready to jump up at any moment to fight someone.

  “I can’t believe you fell back to sleep that fast.” Alyssa giggled at an alarmed-looking Sebastian. He sank back into the cushions, tense muscles slowly relaxing one by one. Alyssa leaned over to kiss the corner of his mouth.

  “I’m awake, I promise.” Sebastian wrapped his arm around Alyssa’s waist, pulling her in snug. “What’s the word on my baby brother, Kelly?”