The Rejected Alpha (Book 1 of the Rejected Series)

Chapter 26

A/N: Idk if this song fits with this story, but I love it, and I want to share it with ya'll, so enjoy it.

~Rissa

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I closed the door behind Levi when he left and looked at my grandmother with a raised eyebrow. A scowl was on my face, and I wondered if she would finally tell me what had happened between Levi, the cups, and me.

"What?" my grandmother asked while she raised an eyebrow and not fazed by me scowling. She continued working on her knitting while she watched me with her piercing brown eyes. "What is the matter?"

"What was that?" I asked.

"What was what?" she asked, even though she knew what I was talking about. "I didn't do anything."

I sighed and sat down in the seat I had been sitting in and placed my arms on the table with clasped hands. "I know you did something, Grams, so what was it? Why did I take a sip when he took a sip, and he took a sip when I took one?"

My grandmother shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe because he was thirsty too?"

I sighed and shook my head before I stood because I had a feeling that she wouldn't answer. I went to where we had placed the cups and picked one up to inspect the tea leaves and the cup itself.

Unlike my grandmother, I wasn't able to read the secrets they held. I didn't have the patience to learn, even though I had the patience to learn multiple things, like waiting for the right moment to make a shot against someone or something.

I had killed many people as the Viper, most of them clean while a few of them had been messy, messier than they should have been.

However, that didn't matter, for it helped seal the name Viper because I played dirty when I needed to and would strike harder and faster if it was required of me. And unfortunately, I knew that the Viper had to come back if I wanted to protect my pack and get answers, answers that even Alexandra couldn't get because there were lines that I would not cross as myself even if I needed to get them.

The cup was white and smooth except for a little piece at the bottom, and it looked like a symbol that I had a couple of times before. It was an etching of some sort, and I wondered if that had to deal with something about the cups, but I knew better than to ask my grandmother because I knew that she wouldn't answer it. However, I knew someone who could get the information for me and prayed that he still worked in the same place I had been in many times before.

"You should hold the other cup, too, Dear," my grandmother said from behind me, breaking me from my thoughts. She placed her hand on my elbow, peeked at the contents in the cup, and pursed her lips while she read the secrets they held. "I want to show you something."

Sighing, I did what she told me to do and took the other cup into my hand, feeling the same mark that was on the other. Studying the tea leaves in both cups, I saw a single thin line of leaves in one while another bolder line laid in the other.

"Make it so that they are connected," my grandmother said, and I did what I was told to do. She pointed at the cup with the thicker line, and I looked at the cup. "That was the cup Levi drank from, correct?"

I furrowed my brows, not knowing where she was getting at. I pursed my lips and cleared my throat before looking at her, trying to read what she was getting at. "Yes..?" I trailed off, not knowing what she wanted me to say.

She pointed to the one I drank from, and I looked at it before I looked at her. "And that one is yours. Do you see the difference in the leaves?"

"The thickness in the lines? Yes, I see that. What about it?"

"The cups symbolize the bond between the two of you and how much you need each other. T-"

"Then why is my line smaller than Levi's?" I asked, interrupting her. I flinched when she smacked me in the back of the head. "Ow, Grams. What was that for?" I scowled and shook my head, trying to make sure that I shook the pain away.

"I would have told you if you didn't interrupt me, Alexandra May. Now, shush and let me speak." She scowled and waited until I closed my mouth before she cleared her throat. Gesturing to the cup, I tore my gaze away from her and looked at it. "You don't need him that much to survive s-"

"I do need him, though, Grams," I said, interrupting him. Panic and dread filled the pit of my stomach once she said that. My heart pounded in my chest, and I felt this sinking feeling as the thought of losing my mate hit me. My hands shook, and I would have dropped the cups if my grandmother hadn't watched and took them from my hands.

"Shhh, shhh," she soothed. She pulled me into a hug after she placed them on the table, and I had to duck down so that I would be able to wrap my arms around her. "That is not what I mean," she soothed. "If you allowed me to talk, then I would be able to tell you what is going to happen and what the leaves mean. You didn't need to freak out because I do not see you losing him."

I closed my eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath before I nodded. Relief washed over me like a gentle wave, soothing some of the tension that I carried in shoulders. I was grateful that I wasn't going to lose him, but I could tell that I would have a hard time getting him back.

My grandmother pulled away and placed her hands on my cheeks. She studied me with her gentle brown eyes, searching for answers that I didn't know I had. Finally, she pulled away and cleared her throat before she turned her attention back to the cups. "The leaves say that you don't need his protection from others. You will be able to take care of yourself and fight those that want to use him to destroy the packs. However, he will need you a lot. That is why his line is thicker than yours."

I picked up the cups again and studied them before I looked at her. "So, his life is in my hands? He survives if I "win," and he dies if I "lose" whatever I am facing. Right?"

My grandmother nodded. "Yes," she confirmed. She cleared her throat and took my cup from me. She twisted it this way and that, studying the contents before she sighed, sadly, and shook her head. "I see death," she said and looked at me. Her brown eyes were darker and filled with pain and sadness. "Death follows you, Alexandra," she said. "I hope you know that."

I sighed and nodded. "I know," I replied gravely. I licked my lips and cleared my throat, debating whether I should tell her that I was bringing back the Viper. I knew that she didn't approve of me as her or that she had so much death on her hands. Setting the cup down, I cleared my throat and shifted on my feet before I looked away because I started to feel uncomfortable underneath her hard gaze. "I need to go," I said before I started to walk to the door where coats were hanging on one side.

"Alexandra," she called when I picked up one coat, and I paused and looked at her. She smiled, but it didn't reach her worried eyes. "Be careful. Do not lose yourself. Ok?"

I nodded and set the coat on a different hook before I grabbed the Viper's leather jacket. "I won't," I promised. I bowed my head and cleared my throat before I licked my lips. "I will see you tomorrow, Grams." I flicked the leather jacket over my shoulder and waited for her to say something.

My grandmother nodded, and her smile grew a little wider. "I will see you tomorrow," she promised. She set my cup down but didn't move towards me. "Stay safe."

I nodded and left with the coat, not knowing what tonight would bring. I prayed that I wouldn't have to kill anyone tonight, but I knew that I would if I had to, to protect either myself, my pack, or Levi.

I would become the monster in the dark that many people feared and whispered to others. I would become the monster to protect those I loved, even if it meant that I lose myself for a little while.

I just prayed that I would be able to put the monster back in its cage when I was done with her.