Behind The Alpha Book 8 ADAM

ADAM

As we walk into the Security Unit, I side eye Jesse.

“I cannot believe you had the cross and pawned it.” I growl.

“I didn’t know what it was! I needed the money. Git off my balls.” He pulls his toothpick out and snarls. “At least Dagin didn’t git it.”

I stop. “He must of at some point. It’s how this started. 5000 years ago, someone gave a satanic tribe of men a cross to raise Death. That was the first event, meaning after you pawned it, Dagin got the cross, went back in time and used it.”

“How did it end up in a church in the middle of nowhere then?” Graham asks.

I shake my head. “It traveled through time like I did. Moved, used, moved again. It landed in Ash's hands and it’s purpose was completed, but that didn’t stop the Vamps from using it.”

“I would love to know what reason a 5000 year old tribe would have to raise a demon vampire.” Graham asks as he rubs his beard.

Astrid holds up her hand. “Wait. Before we get to that. Traveled time like you did?”

Shit. I forgot she was here.

I lean to her and put my hand on her shoulder. “Trust me. I will explain everything later. Right now, I need to figure this out.”

She narrows her eyes. “You better. I’m getting tired of waiting for answers from you.” I can see her irritation.

I gently kiss her lips. “I’ll have all the answers. Just please, be silent.”

She nods and allows me to talk.

“He wasn’t a vampire or Lycan at first. He is an extremely strong demon. Death is one of the four world enders.” I eye them all.

“He’s a horseman.” Oliver states.

I nod. “He is. The lycan/vamp hybrid came many years later. The people rose him for the selfish need to claim power, but what they didn’t realize is that couldn’t control him. He spread death across the land until we showed up.”

****

EURASIA – 2900 B.C.

“FREDRICK'S FLANK RIGHT! PRESTON SHIFT! FERGUSON, WINGS NOW!”

I run through the battle field as I smash possessed people with my club.

Lefu laughs maniacally from the sidelines as we fight to get to him.

A demon hits me and I lay two punches to his head.

I drop my fangs and rip out his throat. He explodes in black smoke and the body he was in, fell to pieces around us.

Hundreds of tribal men attack with spears and arrows.

Blood spills and people roar in anger. The ground quakes with the heavy hits of men, wolves and demons clashing.

“RILEY NOW!”

He stands with several men he helped build catapults and they launched rocks at the demons.

The rocks soar through the air and crush men where they land. Black smoke explodes from underneath them.

“RELOAD!” He orders. The men do as told, carrying large boulders to the baskets.

“SHIFT!!”

Preston, Raven, Fredericks, Andrews and I shift to our lycans.

The demons cry out and run at us. Their black eyes flash and they all twist their faces in a crazed look. We clash and our lycans rip them apart.

“KILL THEM!” Lefu orders as he throws an arm out to the battle. The hill he’s on fills with Dires. They pour past him and leap into the air. They land and start to rip through bodies almost immediately.

Shit!

‘RIP THEIR HEADS OFF!’ I yell through the link.

We grab Dire heads in our arms and try to kill them, but they’re too strong to face in hand to hand.

Fredericks went down first when a Dire impaled her chest with its tail.

Preston was next.

I see Ferguson with the cross. She swoops in and strikes Lefu. He stumbles and swings. She hits him with her wings and he rolls down the hill he’s on.

She spreads her wings, jumps with cross above her head. She lands on him and he covered in her black feathers.

Then she’s exploded back by an intense white light.

Lefu holds the cross, buried in his chest and his body starts to rip apart. He screams a loud, piercing demonic growl and the ground shakes.

He looks back as a black iron bar prison rises out of the ground.

“NO! NOOOO!” He protests in a panic. He tries to claw the ground as the iron door flies open and a wind picks up, sucking him in.

“NOOOO! I WILL RISE!!” He screams as his fingers leaves deep claw marks in the ground.

He’s lifted off the ground and thrown into the cage.

“YOU CAN'T! NOOOOOO!”

The cage is violently sucked into the earth and the cross falls from the sky and lands upside down in the spot where Lefu disappeared.

“FERGUSON! THE CROSS!” I point to it.

She runs after it, but she's grab at the waist by a Dire. She screams as he bites her in half.

In shock, I quickly turn and see a large set of jaws engulf my head.

The next thing I know, I’m wildly looking around a medical room.

“Spencer! Spencer…What happened?”

In the confusion, my eyes met Genesis as she watches my bed.

“That wasn’t 10 years.” I choke.

I hear explosions as my team lands in their beds.

“WHAT THE FUCK?!”

“THAT WASN’T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN!”

“WHERE…WHAT THE HELL?!”

“Spencer…Is he dead? Did you kill him?” the doctor grabs my attention as Genesis waits.

“No, I didn’t kill him.” I scrunch my face in disbelief that he would ask me that for a field test.

“WHA…WHAT'S GOING ON?!! FUCK, IT HURTS!”

“PRESTON!” I yell just as his atoms explode.

“NOOOO!” Raven screams.

My blood starts to boil. “No! What’s happening?” My fists white knuckle the sheets as I arch. My skin is on fire and Genesis' head whips from bed to bed.

“STOP THE TEST! GENESIS! STOP PROGRAM!” The doctor commands the hologram.

She looks to him. ‘I’m sorry, doctor. I cannot. The program must continue.’

Her eyes meet mine. ‘Complete the mission.’ Her echoing voice follows me into the bright supernova of my body.

“SHUT IT DOWN, DAMMIT!”

“AHHHHH!”

I scream as my atoms are torn apart and I find myself reborn again.

****

I pace the floor of the council room with my arms wrapped around myself.

“Adam. What’s this about?” Astrid asks as she leans on the edge of the council table.

I chew my nail, shake my head and search my mind. “I don’t know. I think it’s an answer. I’m not sure…” I respond while being lost in thought.

“Answer to what?” She asks.

“Just let him think.” My father says to her.

I can’t see how this cross could help me in any way, but I think that it could at least show me if I’m successful. It has to. Why predict the beginning of my mission and my birth in this time. I knew something was off. Every other time had very little road blocks, but here, I feel like I’m hitting wall after wall trying to get in between me and Lefu. I’ve been trying to figure out why. This cross has to give me that answer.

“Son, it may not work. Ash already used it and it was meant for him.” My father says as he watches me walk back and forth.

I stop. “It wasn’t meant for anyone. Just the prison. I need to try.” I look around the room. “Where's Eternity?”

“He’s coming. Be patient.” Hunter says.

“This God. He’ll help you?” Astrid asks.

“I’m hoping so.” I mutter.

“Oh, Come on, Adam. You should know that I always help you guys.”

I turn to a young man leaning on the door frame.

I stride to him. “Do you have it?”

“Well, as you know, hell's not really agreeable when we take their stuff so…” He pushes off the frame and walks to me with a stupid smile on his face.

“Do you have it?!” I scowl.

He waves his hand and a thick, blocky, black iron cross appears. “Yeah. You think I’m incompetent?” He smirks.

“Yes. Give me that.” I swipe at it.

He removes it from my reach and raises a finger to me. “Ah, ah, ah. You need to do something for me.”

“What?” I narrow my eyes.

He steps up close to me and hands me the cross. “When the time comes, promise me. Don’t jump.”

I study his eyes. “What do you…”

He smirks and blinks out.

I turn to my father and Astrid who shrug in unison.

I look to the cross in my hands. I feel the scrolled decorations in the wrought iron. I feel the history of it.

I walk to the table and place it on its back, upright. The green jewel, sitting where the arms cross, almost shines with a dark magic.

I analyze it wondering what I have to do. I pick it up, flip it then put it down. Chewing my cheek, I roll my head to my dad.

“What do I do?” I ask.

“You need a drop of your blood.” He instructs.

I stand and call a vamp nail on one forefinger. I stab my finger with it and force a drop out.

I hover it over the cross and drop the blood. It hits the iron and I see it disappear into the décor of its body.

We all watch it carefully.

It shifts suddenly which caused me to flinch. It shimmy’s and shakes on the table and green light shone out from the dark crevices of the carved pictures.

I back up as it starts to jump around the table. Astrid and my dad back off and the light intensifies. I watch through my fingers as I shield my eyes.

The cross stops shaking and the light dies down.

I drop my hand and scrunch my brow. Just above the jewel, a carving pulses green.

I slowly walk up to it and lean over the cross. I don’t recognize it, but it looks like some sort of letter.

“It’s a rune.” My father informs and I glance at him.

“What happens now?” I ask.

He leans on the table. “You touch it.” Our eyes meet. “But be prepared for a kick ass vision.”

I arch a brow and look back at the cross.

It all happened so fast.

My finger barely touched the rune…

“YOU WILL ALL DIE!!”

Lefus voice rang out in solid black.

My scream overpowers his booming voice as I fall from the black with the long arm of the cross in my hands over my head.

I land on one knee and slam the cross in a puddle of blood which splashes thick, red waves all around me.

As soon as it touched ground, I’m exploded in a bright white light and my skull flies to my eyes with a horrifying scream as it’s black jawbone falls off and it’s black eyes hit my mind.

“AHHH!”

I fly backwards and hit the floor of the council room.

I can barely breathe as my mind tries to catch up.

“Adam!” Astrid drops beside me.

I look around the room, wildly. “What happened?” I pant.

My father stands at my feet, crosses his arms and ticks his head. “Kick ass vision.” He smirks.

He lowers his arm to me and I grab his forearm. He helps my to my feet and I stand confused by what I saw. I gently push past him and pick up the cross of the table. The rune is no longer glowing.

I turn as I hold it in my hands.

“What did you see?” Astrid asks.

I shrug and shake my head. “My skull. The cross. A bunch of blood.” I raise my eyes to her and stitch my brows up. “Nothing. It didn’t tell me anything.”

My father stands to my side. “It told you that this…” He taps the cross. “Must be connected to you somehow.”

“Well, yeah. I already new that. This is the key, but what I saw was not how it’s supposed to happen.” I sigh and slowly shake my head. “A waste.”

“That skull. In your bag.” Astrid starts. “Maybe it has to do with that. Like some sort of omen.”

I nod as I contemplate.

Both have a purpose, but basically I see it as the skull won’t work and I’m left with the cross. Meaning, I lose.

I walk to Astrid’s pack. I open it and place the cross in it. “I’ll have to figure it out later, right now, we need to deploy.” I say as I tighten her straps.

She turns. “Agreed. Let’s end this.”

I smile and cup her cheek.

My father joins us. He smiles. “It wasn’t too long ago that I looked at your mother like that.”

He claps my shoulder and leaves the room as my eyes meet Astrid’s.

I see the pink in her cheeks grow a little deeper as her eyes lower.

I place a knuckle under her chin and raise her lips. I kiss her with everything I feel in my heart.

“Gud være med deg.” She whispers on my lips.

“Gud være med deg, my love.” I whisper back and her eyes widen.