Falling For My Alpha Stepsister (GL)

April

I had no idea what was happening.

My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird, every nerve in my body going on high alert.

All I could feel was Angel’s warm breath as she leaned against my shoulder, wrapping her arms around me.

Her chest pressed flush against my back, rising and falling in heavy, uneven bursts that blew warm air against the sensitive skin of my neck.

Was she really hugging me just to make me stay?

I stood completely frozen, my fingers still wrapped around the cold metal doorknob.

”Don’t go... I never meant to call you out like that. I’m sorry. You’re right. I don’t own any part of your body. They all belong to you.”

Her voice was barely a whisper, stripped of all its usual sharp arrogance. It sounded raw, raspy, and strangely desperate right next to my ear.

I took a deep breath, trying to gather my strength to speak. Having Angel wrapped around me was making it difficult to think.

The scent of her pheromones rolled off her skin, wrapping around my senses until my mind felt completely foggy.

I swallowed hard, trying to keep my voice from shaking.

”I want to go home, Angel. I don’t like it here.”

”Don’t lie. You were enjoying the place. Abigail gave you a tour around the district, and she said you were having the best time of your life.”

”How did you know?” I asked.

”Because I told her to take you around and make you feel welcome. Don’t you like it here more than the mansion you were sleeping in? Just wait until the wedding is over, would you?”

Her grip on my waist tightened just a fraction, her fingers clutching at the heavy fabric of my jersey as if she was afraid I would slip right through her hands.

She was actually begging me to stay.

A strange, quiet warmth bloomed deep inside my chest, making my eyes sting behind my round glasses.

Why did she care about that?

Why would a girl like her care whether I stayed in this district or ran back to my quiet room? She had never cared about me like this before.

Was it because of my body? Does she like it so much that she didn’t want me to leave?

The thought left a bittersweet taste in my mouth, but I couldn’t stop the question from coming out.

”Why did you do that? Why did you shout at me like that? I remember yesterday you were calling my clothes lame and ugly. You said only boring and local people dressed the way I did. You were the one who told me to wear a bikini to the beach.”

Angel let out a short, quiet sigh against my skin. Her chin slid lower into the crook of my neck, her whole body softening against mine.

”I don’t know, but I think it’s because I hated it when they were staring at you. I don’t like it when people look at what I...”

She suddenly stopped talking.

The room went dead silent. The steady rise and fall of her chest against my back abruptly halted, every muscle in her body turning rock hard in less than a second.

”Look at what?” I asked curiously.

I shifted slightly in her arms, my pulse racing as I waited for her to finish that sentence.

Then she suddenly unwrapped her arms from around me and drifted away as if I were some contagious disease.

When I turned to look at her, she looked like someone straight out of a horror movie.

Her crimson eyes were wide, bloodshot, and frantic, staring at me as if I had just grown a second head right in front of her.

Her mouth was hanging wide open, her jaw working up and down without making a sound.

She pointed at me, snapping her fingers.

”Youuuuuuu...”

”What is wrong?” I asked, stepping closer to her.

I held my hands out, completely confused by the sudden, dramatic shift in her face.

But she immediately took a step backward.

”You witch! What sort of sorcery are you trying to pull here?”

I blinked.

My jaw dropped as I stared at her. I couldn’t believe the words coming out of her mouth.

”I will never beg someone to stay! I don’t care if you leave. You can go!”

Her face was flushed a dark, violent red, her chest heaving as if she had just run a marathon.

She pointed toward me again.

”Just so you know, you won’t be able to enter the mansion because I have the keys. Have fun sleeping outside of the mansion!”

”Huh?”

I stood there in the middle of the room, my arms hanging uselessly at my sides.

I had no idea what to do.

Was she serious?

locking the mansion?

Or was she just completely losing her mind?

”You are a disease! You’re trying to infect me! No, it won’t work, lady! I am the vaccine! You can’t contaminate meeeee!”

She waved her hands wildly in the air, backing up toward the door while yelling at the top of her lungs.

Her voice cracked on the last word, echoing loudly off the resort walls.

What the hell was she talking about?

”Angel, stop acting crazy,” I said, taking another step forward. I tried to touch her, but she jumped away.

She literally leaped to the side, dodging my reaching hand like I was holding a hot iron. We ended up going in circles until she finally reached the door.

”Stay there! Infectious you!”

She yanked the door open, threw herself out into the hallway, and slammed it shut with a deafening crash that shook the pictures on the wall.

Then she ran away.

Her footsteps thundered down the wooden corridor, fading rapidly into the distance until total silence returned to the room.

I stood alone near the bed, taking off my glasses and rubbing the bridge of my nose.

I ignored all the ridiculous names she had just called me.

What was she trying to say?

In what way was I infecting her?

My heart gave a soft, strange flutter, a tiny smile almost threatening to break across my face despite how ridiculous she had just acted.

I put my glasses back on, walked toward the door and reached for the handle.

I turned the metal knob to open it and leave.

It didn’t move. I tried again.

I rattled the handle hard, pulling it back and forth, but the latch wouldn’t budge an inch. The deadbolt was firmly set from the outside.

Locked.

I stared at the door in disbelief.

My mouth gaped open as I pressed my forehead against the cool wood, listening to the complete silence of the empty hallway beyond.

That crazy girl had actually locked me inside.