Mated To My Obsessive Foster Brother

3

OLIVIA

I swear I saw a look of desire cross Mark’s eyes as his lips parted to say something. However, the door to my hospital room burst open, and my foster mother, Nancy, walked in with her daughter, Emily.

Their eyes landed on Mark and me. We stayed so close together on my bed.

*Oh no! Not again,* I thought as my heart pounded in my chest.

To my surprise, Nancy did not yell at me as I expected. I remembered Dr. Sam’s warning to Mark that he would have my foster mother arrested if she harmed me again. Still, that did not stop her from glaring at me contemptuously.

“What’s going on here, Mark? Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be on the basketball court preparing for today’s match?” Nancy asked as she glared at her son.

“Good morning, Mom. I already called my coach, and he said the match won’t start until noon,” Mark replied calmly, but his mother frowned.

“Hmm. So why are you here checking on Olivia? You should stay away from her. You can have any girl in this pack that you want. Why are you hovering around this wolfless girl? Do you want to bring shame to our family?” Nancy demanded as she stood glaring at Mark.

My head ached, and I held it as I remembered every word Nancy had used to insult me throughout my life.

I wasn’t the only child born on a moonless night, but I was the only one whose parents had rejected her. I had ended up being adopted by a family that never failed to taunt me about it.

“Mom, you have no right to tell me how to treat Olivia. She is still my sister. I’ve grown up with her around. If you don’t have anything good to say, then leave!” Mark spat as he pointed toward the door.

My jaw dropped.

“What? You’re sending me away because of this girl?” Nancy shouted. “You’ll bring her home, and I’ll deal with her myself. Let’s go, Emily! We shouldn’t have come here to check on this slut!”

She reached for her daughter’s hand and led her away.

Emily wore a short black dress and a pair of brown shoes. She glared at me when our gazes met, but she feared Mark’s presence, so she held her tongue and ran after her mother.

“You don’t have to be scared of them,” Mark said. His deep voice broke my chain of thought, but it did little to calm my rapid heartbeat.

“But they’re your family and are right!” I cried. “If you keep causing problems for me and your family, how do you expect me to cope? Just stay away from me!”

I yelled at Mark and sent him away too. He couldn’t be acting as if he cared about me when he was clearly making his mother hate me even more.

“Hey, relax. I’m still here, and I haven’t left,” Mark said.

He refused to leave, so I began to shed tears.

“Get out! Leave me alone!” I screamed at him.

Dr. Sam and another female nurse rushed into my hospital room.

“What’s going on here? Mark, you have to leave. You’re not helping your sister recover by staying here. Do you want to put more strain on her head? Leave!” Dr. Sam’s voice sounded harsh as he pointed toward the door.

Mark looked from me to Dr. Sam.

“Fine. I’ll leave,” he replied calmly.

He walked to the door, pulled it open, and exited the room. I burst into tears on the bed.

“It’s okay. Everything will be fine,” Dr. Sam said soothingly, but I didn’t want to hear him.

“Everything can’t be fine, Doctor. What will I do if my family sends me away? I have no family or friends who can accommodate me.” I sobbed on the bed.

I could feel Mark’s presence behind the door.

Dr. Sam heaved a sigh and asked, “Can you come and stay with me? I can offer you accommodation in my home.”

“No…” Before I could finish, Mark stormed back into the room and grabbed Dr. Sam by his shirt. He lifted him off the ground with a strength I didn’t know he possessed.

“You fụcking ásshole! Why are you trying to snatch my adopted sister away and make her live with you?” Mark growled.

“Mark, let go of Dr. Sam!” I yelled, shocked by his sudden entrance.

Mark glared at Dr. Sam, before releasing him.

“You shouldn’t listen to him. I’m sure he has ulterior motives for asking you to come to his house. Don’t worry. I’ll speak to my parents when I get home, and they won’t hurt you again. All right?”

Mark’s eyes locked with mine. Something in his expression made me want to believe that he could convince his family to change. But wouldn’t that worsen the situation?

I looked between Mark and Dr. Sam, who adjusted his shirt after Mark had grabbed him.

Dr. Sam said sharply, “Mark, I don’t understand why you won’t allow Olivia to move out of your parents’ home. She’s almost eighteen—or perhaps already eighteen, since we aren’t sure of her real date of birth. You can’t act like a controlling brother. I’m only trying to help her, and your threats won’t stop me from offering her help. As a doctor, my duty is to save lives, so my offer still stands.”

“Olivia,” Dr. Sam continued as he turned to me, “whenever you’re ready to move out of your foster parents’ home, you can come to my place. My sister has told me so much about your academic performance. I wouldn’t want your intelligence to go to waste. When you feel ready to move out, you can reach out to me.”

“Hmm…” Mark glared at Dr. Sam, who remained unfazed as he spoke softly to me.

“Okay, Doctor. I’ll consider your offer later. Thank you,” I replied, feeling relieved.

Dr. Sam smiled, glared at Mark, and walked out of the room with the nurse.

As the door closed, Mark looked at me intensely.

“You aren’t seriously considering moving to his house, are you? He’s a man. What makes you think he doesn’t have ulterior motives?”

I pursed my pink lips, unable to reply.

Mark moved closer to me on the bed, surrounding me with his forest-grass scent.

“Trust me, Olivia. I’ll speak to my parents.”

“Fine, but if they don’t change, I’ll move out,” I replied, shifting my gaze to meet his.

He was so close that I could feel my heart beating faster.