Tempted and Claimed by her Forbidden Alpha

Chapter 1 Kestrel's POV I zipped the last side of the box where my undies were stuck and wiped the sweat off my face. My baby sat on the bed, blinking her beautiful sapphire eyes at me with a sucker stuck in her mouth. "I'm so sorry, princess, but mummy has to leave immediately. It would be okay, I promise." I told her as if she was going to understand a dime, but she giggled and babbled some words known to her. It was more than okay to give me assurance. My flight would be in one hour, and I had to get the f**k out of here. My wolf cackled in fear too. Nessa knows we'll be doomed if he finds us. We've been doing this hide-and-seek for years, trying to escape this, but how he knows everything and the air I breathe made me weaker. Adam came inside and took my baby and the box to the car. He was the only person in my life who was so loyal to me. He managed my bakery, drove me to work even when I usually insisted otherwise, and took care of Sophie, who was comfortable with him. He came back and stared at me with sadness in his eyes, and my heart broke when I heard his voice. "So... you're leaving? For good?" I bit back the tears that were threatening to fall down and nodded. "Yeah, for good. Take the car and the bakery shop, Adam. I don't know how to pay you, but I promise everything will be fine, and I'll appreciate your generosity." "That's not what I want, Kestrel, and you f*****g know it. Why can't you face this shitty fear of yours? What the hell are you running from... why are—" I raised my hand to stop him. It was stupid trying to talk me out of it. I've been doing this for years, and I would say that I've been lucky to stay here in Johannesburg for two years without being caught and hiding my wolf to fit in as a human. "It's none of your business, Adam. It's meant to happen. I told you I won't last. I told you it's just temporary, and now it's time to leave." "Who is he?" he asked hoarsely. He was persistent and stubborn. Hiring him as my driver would have been a mistake, but no—Adam was way too good. He loves me, and I would say it's the most stupid thing ever. He was way too hot to stick with me, with the body of a model, ginger-colored hair, and smooth skin that would drive any girl crazy. He was supposed to be a model, and the bullshit excuse he gave me about wanting anything to do with settling down was just an excuse. Adam was anything but poor, but the selfish me needed him around for Sophie's sake. "Take my baby to the car. Please don't call me, Adam... it would be so useless the moment I enter that plane. Who I'm running away from or what I'm afraid of will not change anything. It's so scary that it could destroy my life. I know you care, but there's nothing you or anyone can do about it." I wiped the tears angrily, not waiting for another response from him. I went to the mirror to fix my hair, brush the tangled blonde waves, and added some concealer to hide the eye bags. I added red lipstick to match my red nails and added some lip gloss to make it better. "We can't keep doing this. Adam is right," Nessa growled inside me, her image reflecting in the mirror to show me how angry and frustrated she was. But I pushed her back and shut the mind link. We are not having that conversation, even though I know she's been through a lot by me locking her in for years. I grabbed my purse and hoped that I had a little cash to get some diapers at one of the stalls and warm milk for her. We'll be leaving for a different place entirely, where he won't be able to find me and my baby or trace me with that stupid wolf of his for life. My friend Jenna would be worried, but she would understand that I had no choice. My good neighbors will understand that too. With that, I took a deep breath to meet Adam and my baby in the car. However, the moment I opened the door, life drained out of me. My purse fell down, and my knees buckled to the ground. My lips trembled, and I stood there as if I was in a trance—unmoving and shocked as I stared at the man who haunted my life. My baby was in his arms, playing with his hair. She turned to me and babbled some words, giggling and staring at the man who would ruin us. "P... pl... please don't hurt my baby, Kane. I'll do anything." Hot tears poured down my face in torrents as I sat there on the floor, watching my life. My horror smirked at me. "That's not a way to welcome your big brother, Kestrel." His voice sent deep tremors of death through my bloodstream as he entered inside like he owned the damn place all his life and played with Sophie's fingers. "She has your eyes, Kestrel. So f*****g beautiful. Your driver was being an ass too, so I painted your car red. Don't worry... my men will clean that up." I froze and stood up, shaking my head in horror. My lips trembled as I spoke. "You didn't kill Adam, right? You... you didn't do it!" I yelled so loud that my baby started crying loudly. I wanted to run outside and see for myself, to be sure Adam was safe. "Take one step out of here, and I'll crush this pretty little thing here, even though I hate to do so." I swallowed hard and turned to him, trembling hard. "What do you want, Alpha?" "A little chit-chat with my baby sister. Now go lock that door and be a good girl." I'm f*****g doomed.