Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 75578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75578 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
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.
“No! I’ll call my mom,” I lie. “I just want to be alone.” That part is true.
I take off running, away from the stadium.
“Rayne!” I hear Wilde’s booming voice behind me.
I ignore him and keep on running. The moon is full, and my legs feel strong in a way they never have before.
Of course, it’s not long before I hear his feet pounding behind me. I may be fast, but Wilde is a full-grown wolf and an athlete. “Rayne!”
I stop and whirl. “Leave me alone, Wilde.”
He catches me and bands an arm around my torso, trying to lock me in against him.
I wriggle out of his grasp. “I said, leave me alone!”
“What is it? What’s the matter? Everyone’s waiting for you back there, Rayne-bow.” When I meet his gaze, his brow furrows at my tear-streaked face. “What is it, baby?”
“No.” I shake my head. I don’t know where it comes from, but I finally find my strength. My sense of self. My pride. “I’m not your baby. We’re not doing this anymore, Wilde.”
His brows pop. “What? What’s going on? Talk to me, Rayne.”
“Why did you tell everyone to vote for me, Wilde?”
His shoulders drop. He’s in a coach’s jersey, his broad chest stretching the fabric across his muscled trunk. He looks beautiful. “I wanted you…I wanted to change things for you.”
“Right!” I exclaim in outraged triumph. “You wanted me to be something different than what I am.”
He spreads his hands. “Rayne, I–”
I shake my head. “Admit it. Why are you trying so hard to get me to shift? It's because you can't stand that I'm the pack omega. You need to better me to make it okay that you're having sex with me. Because fate forbid anyone find out that you dropped so low as to dip your dick in a defective runt.”
He winces. “That's not true.”
“It is, Wilde. You can’t accept me for what I am–the lowest-ranking non-shifter in the pack. You couldn't stand that my mom married your dad and dragged me into your life, and now that you've decided I'm worth fucking, you're trying to change me.
“Well, what if I don't want to change? I was perfectly happy before you came along, Wilde Woodward. I don't need you to fix me. I don't need you to teach me how to shift. I don't need you to change my position at school. Because the truth is nothing changes that. Not you telling them to vote for me. Especially not that!