Page 93 of Step Alpha

“It's you, Runt. Didn't you hear?”

“I'm sorry, Casey.” I shake my head. My legs are trembling. “I don't know what this is about.”

“Come here.” She tugs me. “I do.”

I don't know what's about to happen to me, but I am sure it's awful.

“No,” I whimper.

That whimper throws Lincoln into action. He surges to his feet and grabs Casey's arm. “Hey, let her go.”

For a moment, I think there's going to be a fight. And it's going to be the worst thing ever. Because if Casey swings on Lincoln, it's a lose-lose for him. Either he swings back on a girl, and will be destroyed by everyone in these stands. Or he looks like a wimp getting knocked around by a girl who doesn’t look nearly as strong as she is.

But Casey just holds her hands in the air, palms out as if to show she has no weapons.

“There's no trick, Rayne. You won Homecoming queen.”

“Rayne Lansing. Get down here. Where is our tiny queen?” J.J. says over the loudspeaker.

Everyone turns to look at me.

I literally want to bomb the entire stadium right now, even if it means me going up in flames as well.

“I gotta get out of here,” I mutter more to myself than anyone else.

Casey frowns. “No, Rayne. You need to go down there and get your crown. You really don’t know why this happened?” She has a smirk on her face like she’s in on some kind of joke I’m not getting. “Your new stepbrother did this. I guess he decided to elevate your rank around here.”

That hits me like a punch in the gut.

In fact, I fall back on the bleachers as if I’ve been socked.

Wilde did this. Wilde humiliated me in front of all the school. No, not just the whole school, the entire fucking town is here tonight.

I know it wasn’t to play a joke on me or to hurt me. I’m sure he thought he was doing me a favor, but this is the absolute worst thing ever.

How will I ever hold my head up around here knowing my stepbrother bullied the students into voting for me when everyone knows I’m the lowest in the pack?

And why would he think it was a good idea?

And then, suddenly, I know.

I know exactly why, and I have to clap a hand over my mouth to keep in a sob.

Because he’s embarrassed to be associated with me. It’s the same reason he’s trying so hard to get me to shift.

He needs to elevate my status in order to be okay with having me as a stepsister. Or even, a lover–if anyone found that out.

Tears spear my eyes, and I stumble back to my feet.

“Come on, I’ll walk you up so everyone knows we’re cool,” Casey says.

Now I get it. She’s protecting her own reputation here. Showing that she allowed this vote to take place. That she was a part of it.

“No.” I launch my body past hers and take off running. Not down the concrete steps to the field, but around the back of the bleachers, to the side stairs that lead out to the parking lot.

I can barely see anything through the tears, but I manage to make it down without stumbling. When I hit the pavement, I start running.

“Rayne! Hold up! You want me to drive you home?” Lincoln leans over the back of the bleachers to shout at me.

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