Tempted and Claimed by her Forbidden Alpha

Chapter 2: Kestrel

Chapter 2

Kestrel's POV

I locked the door and turned to face him. Sophie was now asleep, and he quietly tucked her in, making her lie on the sofa.

Kane was a beast, and I made him that way. I ripped out his existence and fed it to the vultures eight years ago when I refused to listen to him and got our mum in trouble—a trouble that led to her death. A death that traumatized our existence so badly it enveloped into goddamn hatred.

Why did I run?

He was going to kill me, and I couldn't wait. I couldn't bear to see my stepbrother, who was my anchor, turn into a beast after her death. He conquered territories like a bloodthirsty animal. When he realized that father had been hitting Mum but hiding it for our sake, he killed him the day he yelled at me for adding too much sugar to his coffee. There was nothing funny about the way Kane slammed Dad against the table so hard, repeatedly, until blood was splattered on his face.

There was nothing cool about hanging his beta's head on the roof of the mansion after he found out he was stealing from him to please his enemies in Black Mosaic Pack, then going to that very pack to set it on fire. Despite everything he was turning into, I loved him. He was the sweet big brother I had—my own bunny, as I called him. He said he'd claim me as Luna because he hated the thought of another man touching me, and I would laugh it off as a joke, thinking he was just blabbing until he cut Alpha Keil's hand the night I sneaked out to meet him.

He was powerful and handsome. I just had a feeling he might be my mate, so I went to see him, but it cost him his own hand. So tell me, how on earth was I going to stay in the same pack with him after getting lost on the roof of the Owls?

We called it the roof of the Owls because we saw the birds on the tall trees with their big eyes each time Kane and I sat there to watch the stars. It was like our little hideout. To climb there was very dangerous at first, as we would have to use knives to stab the walls—an old, abandoned property left in the thick woods by Kane's grandfather, whom I never knew. I was just an adopted daughter in the family.

"Where did you think you were going, Kestrel?" His voice jolted me out of my thoughts, and my body felt like ice.

"Nowhere... I was just..." I gulped, not knowing what to say.

"You were just trying to enter a Vampire Clan where they would have ripped you to shreds the moment you entered their borders?" He growled, coming closer to me while I stepped backwards until my back hit the wall. How the hell did he know that I was going there? I had a friend there, and she knew about my struggle and told me to come over since her father was the King. How she perceived my scent that I wasn't human and how we connected remained a mystery for another day.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Alpha. I just want to be alone... please. Don't hurt us."

"I'm going to ruin you, Kestrel..." He breathed into my hair and ran a hand through it. "I'll take everything away from you the same way you took mine, make you cry and beg, and watch you collapse, but I'll definitely revive you." His words were poison to my ears as I shook against him.

"Go to the room. You have to draw some tattoos on my body." I opened my mouth in horror and shook my head. My hands were clammy and red with sweat, and he tilted my head to stare at the bottomless darkness in his eyes with a demigod face that made tears spill. His sharp jawline was perfect, with a nose and lips so sinful, so humankind.

"Look here, Kestrel, I'm not f*****g stupid. The reason why I allowed you all these years was to watch you make a fool of yourself, thinking you had the upper hand each time you ran away from me. I know every f*****g thing about you." He bit his lips and c****d his head, making the tension in the room so palpable that I scratched the walls to be sure I'm still on this side of the world while he continued.

"I know you owned a tattoo shop in New York, and I know you worked in a hospital in California as a nurse, using your wolf abilities as a disguise as if you knew s**t about medical knowledge. I know you hated your asshole husband whom you married four years ago, but I ended up killing him. I know what you eat and drink. I know what you fed that crotch c*m lying over there. I know you think you're free and all you'll do is run, but you made me bored when you decided to go to a Vampire Clan. You don't have the right to die, baby. I'll do that honor. Now go inside that room, except you want your baby to witness something that would scar her innocent face for life."

Goddess!

I couldn't breathe. I couldn't argue or say anything. All I did was let the tears pour on their own accord. I'll do anything—I'll do anything to keep my baby safe. I looked at Sophie; she was so peaceful, not knowing the chaos her mum was about to face. Would he kill me before killing her? Will he kill her as punishment for what I did to his mum instead?

The moment we entered the room, he locked the door and began to take off his white shirt. His cufflinks came off first, then in one swift move, he took it off to reveal a sinful art of tattoos... those abs were lean and fire.

He unzipped his pants and took them off, and I didn't understand why he was hard, why he was shamelessly showing his bulge. I screamed when he took off his briefs and his c**k jumped out, pointing directly to his abs.

"Get your f*****g appliances and draw a tattoo on my c**k, Kestrel."