The Rejected Alpha (Book 1 of the Rejected Series)

Chapter 43

After I finished my shower, I quickly got dressed in some training clothes before I left my room, stuffing my phone into my pocket, even though there wasn't a need for it because I was only going to be on pack ground and not somewhere else. "Grams?" I called out in the empty house, wondering if my grandmother had come back from wherever she was doing the night before.

"Kitchen," my grandmother replied in the direction of the kitchen. "Come down and get some tea before you are planning on doing anything else, Alexandra Dear," she said in a tone that told me not to argue and do what she told me to do.

I bit back an annoyed sigh and rolled my eyes while I scowled. I had a feeling that was what she was going to say when I called out for her, even though I had no idea why she wanted me just to drink tea before I did something else. I moved a hand across my arm and cleared my throat while I walked into the kitchen.

My grandmother was at the stove counter beating the shit out of some piece of meat. Her whole body was tense, and I could tell that something happened last night that she didn't like.

Annoyance and anger filled her body, and I grew tense because I had no idea who caused her to be this way and felt very protective of her.

"Grams?" I asked and raised an eyebrow. I studied her back and narrowed my eyes while I scowled. "What happened?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing," she said and brushed me off while she kept beating the piece of meat. She cleared her throat and gestured in the direction of the kitchen table. "Go and sit down, Sweetie. I will bring you a cup of tea in a bit."

I gave her a weird look but did what I was told to do and walked over to the kitchen table. I sighed while I sat down and rubbed the bridge of my nose when a headache appeared out of nowhere, even after I took care of the first one.

I wanted to ask my grandmother my questions and why my memories felt like they had been changed, but I decided against it in the end. I had no idea what she would do and didn't want to cause any "trouble" to the party that had done it... if it wasn't by my own hand, of course.

"So, how was your night last night?" she asked and set down the thing that she used to pound the meat. She washed her hands before she grabbed me a cup of tea, keeping her head cocked in my direction.

"Fine," I grunted and leaned back in my seat. I folded my arms across my chest and scowled while I watched my grandmother pour the tea into a cup.

My grandmother didn't meet my gaze while she finished what she was doing and walked over to me. "Drink, drink," she said and set the tea in front of me. "Let's get yourself warmed up and take care of that headache of yours."

I bit back a scoff and rolled my eyes while I scowled at her. I didn't touch my cup and kept staring at her, praying that she would answer my question even if I didn't ask it.

My grandmother still didn't look at me and kept working on the meat after she made it back to the stove. Her whole body was tense, but her heart pounded at its normal rate, so I couldn't tell if she was nervous or not.

I huffed and shook my head before I grabbed my cup, annoyed. I knew that she wouldn't answer me even when I wanted her to because she was very stubborn, something that I had gotten from her.

The smell of mint was strong in my nose, but I couldn't place what else was in the cup by scent, so I took a sip. There was a taste of mint and something else, and I couldn't help but wonder what special concoction she had made for me today. However, I knew better than to ask because she wouldn't tell me and would just tell me to shut up and drink every last bit.

I took another sip of my drink and stayed silent. I looked around the kitchen, wondering if I left myself any clues, and stopped when I saw the notebook pad on the table flipped open to a blank page.

My hand twitched while I looked at the notebook pad, wondering why it was still there and not put up in its normal spot. I didn't reach for it yet but finished my tea like the good granddaughter that I was.

However, as soon as I was done, I pushed the cup away from myself and stood, pushing the chair so hard backward that it fell over, and my grandmother jumped up, startled, and turned my way.

I didn't pay attention to her and grabbed the notebook pad before I twisted around and started to go back to my room again, even though I knew that I would have to be leaving soon to go to training.

"Alexandra May!" my grandmother exclaimed, shocked and appalled at my behavior. "What is the meaning of that?"

"Sorry," I yelled from up the stairs, still continuing on my way to my room. "I have to do something first before I go to training."

"That didn't mean you should have done that," my grandmother muttered under her breath. She cleared her throat and walked out of the kitchen until she was directly under the stairs. "What about your teacup and its message? Don't you want to know what it says?"

I rolled my eyes and scowled. "You can tell it to me later, Grams," I said. "I know that you will remember it when I get back." I want to see what this has to say first, I added silently because I knew that I had left it for myself, having a feeling that this was going to happen.

I had no idea how I knew it, but I knew that my memories were going to get changed or erased, so I was prepared for it. Hell, I didn't even think the person who knew about the information I found knew about this, so there was a high chance that I would be able to find what was hidden.

Closing the door behind me, I went to my window and pulled down the blinds, praying that no one would be near so I could remember whatever this was this time, even if I couldn't remember it the first time.

I opened one of my drawers while I placed the book on my desk and lifted the slab where other stuff was hidden from my past. I took out a glass vial filled with a flammable liquid that the King's Guard had made, a small stone dish, and pulled out my matchbox.

Silently, I went to work and tore out two pieces of the paper, knowing full well that if I wanted the full effect, then that was what I had to do. I opened the lid of the vial and doused the torn pieces of paper with it before I set it down again and took out a match.

My heart pounded hard in my chest while I struck a match and lit the pieces of paper on fire.

In a puff of smoke and small pop, the fire ignited and then was out, leaving behind burning ashes, and I leaned back in my seat while I stared at the symbol, not remembering what had happened but knowing that whatever happened was because of this.

There was a circular symbol with what looked to be an eye in the middle, and the rim of the eye was red. There was a diagonal line in it, and my heart grew heavy and filled with the weight of the world because I had a feeling that this was the reason why whoever did what they did.

They didn't want me to figure out what this symbol meant and how it affected me and the packs that I swore to protect.

However, going against their "advice," I was going to figure out what this symbol meant, even if it would kill me in the end.

The only thing was, I couldn't go to the house where dead things lay and get the information that that house held.