Forbidden: Her Step-Brothers, Her Mates

I stubbornly looked out of the window at the fluffy clouds, refusing to turn and look at the pleading face seated opposite me. Usually I would be excited to be traveling on a private jet as it was a novelty for me but I was too mad at my mother to enjoy the luxurious trip. I could not believe that she could do this to me, and to think that I had been so happy that she recently looked better and seemed happier than she had been in years when all that while that she told me that the frequent trips she had started taking were concerning her interior decor jobs when in truth she had a boyfriend who she had been seeing behind my back and had even gone on to marry him before telling me. I angrily wiped the traitorous tear that rolled down my cheek as I remember my best friend Andrea and I hugging each other in tears at the house before mom made us leave for the airport. I would never forgive her for uprooting me like that from everything that I had known all my life, never! I petulantly rejected the snacks that I was offered by the air hostess and ignored my mother’s sad sigh and put on my headphones before curling up in the chair and covering myself with the blanket I had been given by the hostess before promptly falling asleep, moving vehicles did that to me. I woke up to my mom’s gentle prodding before she pulled down the headphones away from my ears. “We are here sweetie.” She said softly, a look out of the window by my side confirmed that we were indeed on land. Grumbling I pulled out my backpack from the overhead bin and followed my mother out the plane and down the stairs where a black SUV sat waiting along the tarmac of what appeared to be a private airstrip. The trip to my mom’s new husband’s house took about twenty minutes and as we drove past stretches of thick forest and very little evidence of civilization I wondered what backwoods hillbilly town my mother had brought us to and I almost burst into fresh tears. After a little while the seemingly endless rows of trees gave way to a gated estate which we entered. The estate was a pleasant surprise even though I refused to let my mother see how dazzled I was by it, it seemed well planned and executed and the sprawling houses I saw on the way looked like they belonged to wealthy people. We eventually drove down until we got to a close and went down a long driveway and stopped in front of a house that looked even more impressive than the rest I had seen. “It’s beautiful isn’t it?” Mom asked and I ignored her, following her up to the admittedly gorgeous mansion. The private jet should have keyed me into the fact that my new stepdad was a wealthy man but the house had me in awe. As we approached the door it opened and a handsome dark haired, bearded giant came out of the house with a smile plastered on his face, I watched with irritation as my mom jumped into his arms and he swung her around while she giggled like a school girl. It’s not like I was not happy that my mom had found someone who made her happy, it’s just that it had always been just the two of us and now all of a sudden she got married without even telling me and to add insult to injury she now forced me to come live with her and this stranger, who knew what kind of man he was. When he dropped her on her feet she turned around and looked at me with a blush on her cheeks and stars shining in her eyes. “Li, meet Zachary, Zach, this is my daughter Lia.” She said proudly and the smiling giant came close and held a hand out to me which I reluctantly shook. “I am so happy to have you here, i have wanted to meet you for so long, your mother has told me so much about you…” “And told me nothing at all about you.” I muttered under my breath while mom glared heatedly at me. “…I want you to think of this place as your home. Do you like swimming?” He asked pleasantly without missing a beat. “we have a massive pool at the back that I am sure you would love.” “I am not going to be here long enough to enjoy it, can you just point me in the direction of my room please, I am very exhausted.” I said snarkily and watched my mother’s eyes narrow at my rude tone but before she could scold me I saw Zachary touch her arm lightly and her lips tightened but she kept quiet. “How inconsiderate of me, of course you are tired from the trip, come on then let’s go in and let me show you to your room.” He said and tugged my mother’s hand, pulling her through the door while I trudged in behind them reluctantly. If I had thought that outside the house looked nice I was in for a shock, inside looked stunning, the foyer just spoke of an understated opulence with its lush carpeting and beautiful paintings and expensive looking vases filled with tulips and lilies in different colors and I gasped softly “You like it?” He asked. “It’s okay I guess.” I muttered and shrugged uninterestedly. I was lying. The house was more than okay, it looked like it was furnished by Martha Stewart and belonged on the pages of Architectural Digest, living here must feel like a dream. It was very little consolation though, it was out in the boondocks away from the friends I had had for more than fifteen years and the school I knew and had grown up in. We climbed up the curved staircase past some doors until we stopped at one and Zachary opened it and pushed it open for me to go in. I went forward and took a look and marveled at the spacious room done up in mint green and golds, the room was bigger than our entire living room in San Francisco and had brand new furnishing. "Your mother tells me that you are an aspiring gamer so i set up a little something for you." he said and i turned in the direction he was looking at and had to physically restrain myself from running to the little nook he had set up with a complete gaming set up, there was even a chair with in built system. if this man thought that he could buy my affection with expensive gadgets then he was sorely mistaken. “Wow!" mom exclaimed as she walked around the room. "You did not have to do so much Zach, it is really so beautiful. Thank you so much.” she said, scowling at me when i did not say anything and I looked away while Zachary just smiled a knowing grin. “Your bathroom and walk-in closet are that way..” he said pointing to a door by my left. “.. I really hope that you will enjoy being with us.” He said gazing at my mother soulful and I barely managed to hold back making a barf sound. “Well, we will leave you to get acquainted with your room while i show your mom around the rest of the house, I am sorry that the boys were not with me to welcome you as they went out but you will meet them at dinner time.” He said. When they left I ran to the closet and stared at the large space in awe, all my possessions would not even fill up a quarter of it, I went next to the bathroom with its porcelain sink and claw foot tub and a shower stall that had so many gadgets and buttons that I did not understand. I pulled out my phone and videocalled Alicia and when she picked up the call I looked mournfully at the screen. “This is a disaster!” I exclaimed tearfully. “How bad is it?” She asked, looking as woeful as me. “There are no malls, no parks, no stores, just lots and lots of trees, I’m not even sure they have a school here.” I grumbled. “Ohmygod, please don’t tell me you are living in a tent.” She said sounding horrified. I flipped the camera around to show her my background, walking around the bathroom then the closet and the bedroom before turning it so I could see her face. “Is that all yours?” She asked “Yeah.” I said disgruntled. “You did not tell me your stepfather is rich.” She said flabbergasted. “I did not know that he was, I don’t care. I just want to come back home.” I said tearfully. “Don’t worry, you will soon be back, you have just one more year of school and then you can come this way for college and we will be roommates.” She consoled me and I nodded skeptically, I don’t know how I was going to be able to spend a whole year in this place. “I gotta go Lia, mom has to take me last minute shopping for school, I miss you so much.” She said “I miss you too.” I muttered sadly before ending the call and sitting forlornly on my bed. Soon I heard a knock on my door and I went to answer it and found a pretty older looking lady with grey hair tied in a chignon, dressed in all black waiting. “Hello, you must be Lia, I am Agnes..” She said warmly. “..I have been asked to bring you down to dinner.” She explained and I nodded and followed her down the stairs, across the hall and into a dining room that could conveniently seat twenty four people at once but we did not stop there, she opened a door that led into an almost industrial sized kitchen with its white marble countertops and shiny silver electronics. At the side of the kitchen was a much smaller round dining table heaped with a feast, it stood beside a wide window that looked out into a garden and my mother and Zachary were already seated and holding hands. I joined them, sitting beside my mother and staring at the empty chairs opposite us. A few minutes passed and the door opened and I stared transfixed as the same person came in three times. I watched with my mouth agape as they walked to the table in sync and filled the empty seats, their startling green eyes hostile eyes trained on me then i blushed uncontrollably when Zachary burst into laughter. “They always get that reaction.” He said proudly.