Alpha’s Black Furred Slave Mate
Chapter 40

Marlon fears that he had said too much to Deonna. He found himself being more open and vulnerable to her and now she was feeling more comfortable speaking with him. Not that it mattered anymore; he already adapted to the fact that she was loosening herself up to him and not feeling as threatened.

He came to realize that he didn't really want her to fear him. His wolf didn't want her to fear him. His wolf was drawn to her in a way that he's never been drawn to anybody before. He thought his world was going to crumble when Deonna found Ashley's journal. He couldn't help but feel worried that she was going to start seeing him as Ashley saw him.

Unlovable. Unchanged. Disgraceful. A money machine. Cold. Unbothered.

Thankfully, it didn't seem as though Deonna read too much of the journal and stopped after a couple of entries. She was right about Ashley's confliction in her feelings towards him, but he knew that Ashely didn't love him, and he wasn't even sure if he loved Ashley. Though, Deonna was correct in saying that he did love her at one point. Or else he would have never married her.

Talking about his affair and the night of Ashely's death was hard. He never would have thought Natasha, his handmaiden at the time, was the kind of wolf that would murder another being in such an ill manner. He didn't think he was worth killing over. But she proved him wrong.

Telling from Deonna's face, it displeased her knowing that he had sex with another. In a way, it pleased him knowing that she was feeling some sort of way towards him. It almost seemed like hidden jealousy, but he could be reading too much into that. He didn't want to think of Deonna being jealous over something so stupid; if she were to be jealous, it would be that she would have feelings for him and that wasn't allowed.

She wasn't allowed to have feelings towards him just as he wasn't allowed to have feelings towards her. The thought was supposed to be sickening for him, but his wolf would no longer allow him to deny his attraction toward her.

He hasn't touched her in over a month and he would be lying if he didn't say he was longing for her. He's been trying to keep his distance when it came to being physical, though they came close the other night when they almost kissed. He had to stop that before it escalated to anything more.

However, he could feel his wolf tugging at him and begging him to give in to his desires; but he refused to do so. He didn't want to complicate things even more than they already were.

Mateo was still with Dr. Lovewitt; the last Marlon has heard was that it was indeed the milk that's been poisoned, and it was making its way to Mateo's lungs. Which explains why he couldn't breathe on his own. Thankfully. Dr. Lovewitt thinks it can be stopped and Mateo will be undergoing surgery soon.

Marlen grew worried about Mateo's well-being, but he also trusted that he was in good hands. He hasn't been keeping Deonna updated on the situation because he didn't want to worry her any more than she already was.

Deonna had recently mentioned something about having a family that she loved back when she lived with the commoners. Marlon had no idea that Deonna was ripped from her family at such a young age to be placed on a slave farm. He's never really thought about it. He couldn't help but feel responsible for what had happened to her.

He didn't know that by signing that treaty he would be signing away Deonna's life, or maybe he did know and just didn't care. It wasn't until Deonna arrived on the manor grounds that Marlon's entire perspective of the dark-furred wolves changed. He grew his entire life thinking one thing and now he was thinking something completely different. He felt a bit deceived.

Approaching Winston just outside his study, he had a task for him.

"Winston?" Marlon said, exiting his study.

"Sir," Winston greeted Marlon in his proper tone.

Marlon knew he was already suspicious of the slave being his handmaiden and always being around; not to mention how she was allowed to leave the manor grounds. It didn't matter that she was able to leave the grounds; with the cufflink on her, she wasn't allowed to leave the kingdom's borders without it not only stunning her to wear it'll paralyzing her, but also alerting the castle guards and Marlon.

Not that he was worried she would do something stupid like that; or attempt something like that again. But he wasn't sure why Winston worried so much about it. It wasn't his place to worry about things like that unless Marlon gave him orders to do so. "We received a report on Deonna's background, did we not?" Marlon asked.

Typically, with new slaves, the guards from the farm will hand off a report stating any medical issues, family background, and any other issues the slave owners might need. Marlon doesn't typically keep slaves for that long, so he doesn't usually read the reports. If he receives a report on a slave, he most likely hands it off to Winston and Winston deals with it as he sees fit.

Winston nodded; questions were obvious in his eyes.

"Yes sir," he said almost hesitantly.

"Can you bring it to me?" Marlon asked.

Winston nodded again. Without saying anything he left the foyer. Marlon wasn't sure where he was going or where the reports were kept, but he figured he'd wait for Winston in his study per usual.

Getting back to his study, he wondered why it mattered to him in the first place. Deonna had mentioned not knowing what happened to her family after she left, and he guessed it got him curious as to what did happen to her family.

He had a guess. But part of him was hoping that he was wrong.

However, if they put a fight while Deonna was being taken by the king's army, they most likely killed them on the spot. Hearing of her parent's death would destroy Deonna and he didn't want to destroy her like that.

Even Marlon had to admit, at this point, he cared for her deeply.

His wolf grew proud of him for admitting that to himself.

Before he could get too lost in his own thoughts, the doorway of his study flew open. Bob and Alex stood there breathless; both looking as though they had just seen a ghost.

Marlon looked amongst his boys with a questioning gaze.

"Father," Alex began. "We were in town, and we got word that the Duke of North-Valley is making his way to the kingdom. He will be here within sundown tomorrow."

Marlon slammed his fists down, hard on the desk. The Duke of North-Valley was anything but a friend to Marlon. He's been wanting Marlon's ranking for a long time and wasn't going to stop at anything until he got it. He was also good friends with the king and Marlon feared he had something cooking up his sleeve.

He also feared that with the duke's presence, a war was going to break loose soon enough.

There was only one reason why the duke would be making his way to the kingdom unannounced. He was planning a takeover.

If he arrives, there's a good chance he will catch Deonna and Mateo. He couldn't allow that to happen.

Looking at his sons, they both appeared to be worried. Probably for different reasons, but Marlon needed them to stay alert.

"Gather the strongest men," Marlon ordered them. "Guards, the army, anyone you can. I fear war will breakout by sundown tomorrow and we cannot allow for that to happen."

Neither Alex nor Bob hesitated.

"Yes, father," he both said in unison as they marched out of the study.

Sitting back at his desk, he rummaged through his papers to see if there were any notifications of the duke's arrival. There was none.

The duke would most definitely have Deonna and Mateo killed on the spot. If he hated anything more than he hated Marlon, it was dark-furred wolves. He wouldn't even allow for them to be slaves; he just wanted them off the planet altogether.

He didn't want Deonna to get mixed up in that. At that moment, Marlon made a promise to himself that he was going to do anything he could to protect Deonna and Mateo, even if it cost him his own life.

After a short while, Winston arrived with a small manilla folder. Inside the folder were the documents on Deonna's history, including her medical history. Her heart condition was listed, and it even said that the condition proves to be fatal; she wouldn't live past a certain date.

They knew about her condition, and they failed to tell even Deonna? They didn't even care. They were basically just waiting for her to die.

He grimaced at the thought.

Then he came across her background; the commoner village she grew up in, the school she attended, where she lived, and then her adoptive parents.

Walter and Mabel Jones.

He had no idea Deonna's last name was Jones.

As he kept reading, he came across the day that Deonna was taken. Mabel, her mother, put up a fight, just as Deonna had stated. Only rightfully so, she was watching her daughter being brutally chained and thrown into a cart for potential death.

However, it seemed as though one of the guards had enough of Mabel's fighting and gave her a fatal blow to the head. She died on contact. Her husband Walter went after the guard that killed his wife and was killed instantly as well. Marlon dropped the documents as sadness washed over him. Something like this was going to destroy Deonna.