Alpha’s Black Furred Slave Mate
Chapter 42

Marlon couldn't know what I just found out; I didn't want him to know that I was on to him and that I knew about my parent's death. He had just confessed to me his feelings towards me and then I find out he's been keeping this secret from me. How long has he known about this?

I felt sick just thinking about it.

If I had to guess, I would say he knew about this from day one; the moment I stepped onto the Roessler grounds he probably knew about it. He didn't think to tell me; I get that I was nothing more than a dirtball slave to him, but he didn't think I had the right to know about my own parent's death?

Who am I kidding? Of course, I didn't have the right to know about their deaths. I was a slave. I wasn't anything more than that; except now I was a slave with a child. Marlon's child. He lied to me.

Everything that comes out of his mouth was a lie. Did he really expect me to believe that he had feelings for me? He was known to be one of the racist men in the country and I thought for a second that he could have feelings for me?

It was almost laughable to think about now. I felt like such an idiot.

My question was: what did he have to gain from this? Why was he playing me for such a fool? Did he mean for me to find this chart? Was that why it was just left out on his desk for anyone who had access to his study to find?

I wiped the tears from my eyes with the back of my hand; I wasn't about to allow anyone to see me weak. I learned the hard way that the weak are easy targets and I refused to be a target anymore.

I quickly scrambled to put all the documents back in the folder and put them back where I found them.

It made me wonder if he always lied to Ashley as well and that was why she felt no love for him. I wanted to search through her journal some more and see what the real cause of her pulling away from him was. There had to be more to the story than he was saying. But it would have to wait until later because I knew Marlon was going to return soon. He went to get Mateo from Dr. Lovewitt's office. I wasn't even fully trusting Marlon with Mateo; he obviously had some ulterior motive going on that I didn't know about, and I had a feeling it involved my son.

By the time Marlon returned, I was shaking. I no longer wanted to be around him. I tried to act as normal as possible, minus the flirting, but I'm sure Marlon could see it on my face that something was terribly wrong. Thankfully, he had Mateo with him, and it helped distract me. Mateo was looking much better; the redness around his face had ceased to exist and his fever was broken. He had a small stitch around his torso where Dr. Lovewitt pumped the poison from him, but it was bandaged neatly and looked to be clean. Relief flooded through me as I held Mateo in my arms once again; words couldn't express how much I missed him. It felt as though a part of my heart was missing as well. No amount of pain could endure how I felt without him.

A small smile was on his lips as I planted kisses around his face.

My sweet baby boy.

"We need to keep you both hidden," Marlon said, interrupting my moment with Mateo.

His voice sent a chill down my spine as I remembered what I had just learned; I couldn't keep the aggravation off my face.

He definitely noticed it that time.

Marlon cocked his head in my direction, a frown placed upon his mouth as he stared around my features. I tried to remain as normal as I could, but I couldn't help how I was feeling toward him. I also knew that now was not the time to bring it up with everything going on.

"What?" He finally asked after a beat of silence.

I wasn't going to answer him, so I defected the question.

"Where do you suppose we hide?" I asked; trying to keep my voice even.

He stares around my face some more, trying to assess it, and figures me out. I wouldn't meet his eyes; I kept staring down at Mateo and rocked him gently in my arms.

"The grocery room," he finally answered.

I frowned.

The last time I was in the grocery room was when Bob hid me in there my first night at the manor. He wanted me to help him cheat and he figured the best place to hide me would be the grocery room. It might have worked if I wasn't so hungry and wanted to grab food from the kitchen. After that night, Bob started hiding me in his room instead. Which worked out better because then I was able to hear the lesson's going on and understand the work he needed to complete.

Marlon didn't know I already hid in there previously though; at least I didn't think he knew. That room was probably less safe than the shack; I wasn't sure how he figured that was going to keep us protected.

"I have a key to the door," Marlon answered my unspoken question. "I'll lock it once you guys are safely inside."

My eyes widened.

He was going to lock us in a room?

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. I mean, he was Marlon.

"You'll be safe there," he assured me.

However, I wasn't so sure. I had an uneasy feeling in the bit of my stomach, and it wasn't just because of his betrayal.

He led me through the manor and the kitchen; in the back of the kitchen, he pushed open a pair of doors that lead us into the open foyer-type room. It was the same room that the grocery room door was held in; I could see the other hallway on the other side of the room which lead to the door that went outside into the garden. That was the hallway Bob had snuck me in with.

The grocery room was exactly how I remembered it; even the bed was slightly unmade from when I was in here. Thankfully, Marlon didn't seem to notice.

"It's only for tonight," he told me. "Once I get rid of the duke, you'll be released from this room."

I wasn't sure what to say to him; I didn't even want to look at him. My back was turned from him as he came up behind me. He placed the palm of his hand on the small of my back and I automatically jerked away; it looked as though it startled him. He had a timid frown on his face as he tried to figure out from my face what was going on.

"Deonna?" He asked; there seemed to be concern in his tone.

It was a tone that I wasn't familiar with and wasn't sure how to react to. So, I just stood there silently, staring down at Mateo who was now sleeping comfortably in my arms. I knew I should put him down on the bed so he could sleep properly, but I couldn't bring myself to let him go.

"Why won't you look at me?" Marlon asked, surprising me.

I turned to him, keeping my expression hardened and unreadable.

"I understand what this is, Mr. Roessler," I heard myself saying; he frowned and looked confused. "I know I'm nothing more than a slave to you and I know you want Mateo to be part of your family. But let's face it; we are nothing but dirtballs. Mateo will never be accepted as you wish him to be. He can't possibly be the sole heir of your estate."

His frown deepened at my formal response.

"Where is this coming from?" He asked.

"It's just how it is," I told him, keeping my eyes locked on his. I swear I could see a flash of disappointment going through his gaze. "After tonight, it's probably best if I go back to my duties as a worker on your residency. Mateo and I can go back to the shack or reside with the maids in their courters again. I don't know how they would react to Mateo, but we can't keep him hidden for long. I'm sure there are already rumors speculating. The maids like to talk, you know."

He was silent for a long moment; staring at me with such intensity, I thought he was going to burn a hole through my skull. It got so weird to a point that I had to look away; I turned back to Mateo and cradled him.

A pounding sound from the main entrance made its way through the manor and echoed off the walls, startling us both. Marlon snapped out of whatever trance he was in and straightened his back. "So be it," he answered, hardening his expression.

He turned his back to me, and I watched him walk out the door.