Alpha’s Black Furred Slave Mate
Chapter 64

I woke up feeling as though I was punched in the face repeatedly. Blood was dripping from my features and pooling on the cold concrete ground around me. I was no longer chained from my neck, neck, and legs, but my arms were still cuffed. I struggled to sit up and gather my surroundings. I was in a concrete cage-like cell; the area smelled of mildew and feet. It kind of reminded me of the dungeon in the Roessler manor, but more open and less wet. Kamala was staring at me from the corner of the cell; her body was trembling as she sat with her knees pressed against her chest. She had tears running down her features and she had some bruising along her jawline. There were no windows, so I had no idea the time of day and I wasn't sure how long we were here. But from the looks of Kamala's fair complexion and thinned body, I could say we were down here for a while.

"|

I thought you were going to die..." she whispered as I adjusted my eyes to the darkened lighting.

"Can't take me out that easily," I struggled to say; my voice was raspy, and my throat burned from being so dry. "Where are we?"

"The castle..." she whispered.

My eyes widened.

We were in the king's castle, which means we were in his holding cell. There was only one fate for when you enter the castle as a prisoner, you don't typically leave.

"Mateo?" I asked; the thought of Mateo being harmed broke my heart.

I was hoping Marlon or Bob had gotten to him in time to save him. I wasn't sure where the duke was planning on taking him.

"I know as much as you do," Kamala answered.

"How long have we been here?" I asked.

"Less than 24 hours," she answered; I gasped.

We were here for that long? Was the war over? Did we win? Did we lose? The fact that we were still prisoners wasn't a good sign.

"Has Marlon been here?" I asked.

She shook her head sadly.

"I don't know anything, Deonna," she croaked.

I knew it pained her to talk about; she was terrified, and I felt awful that she was thrown in this kind of position. She spent so long getting out of being a prisoner and now she was thrown back into it because she got mixed up with us. I had no words to comfort her, but I had no time to comfort her.

We needed to figure out how to get out of here and quickly. I needed to get my son back. My wolf would typically be able to feel it if something had happened to Mateo. I knew he was alive; I just couldn't tell where he was. My wolf was being quieter than usual; it might have been because of the chains that were binding me in this cell. They were blocking my wolf from me.

I heard light footsteps coming from the stairway across the jail. I stepped back, afraid of what was about to show up. I could smell a faint rosy perfume coming from the doorway and then a thin figured woman came into view.

Her hair had to have been as long as Marlon's; it went down in blonde waves to her waistline. She wore a pink gown that hugged her body perfectly and expanded around her legs, flowing flawless and lacily around her feet, dragging on the ground around her. Her fair features were bright, even with the little makeup she wore. Her eyes were the color of an emerald and were equipped with long and dark lashes. Her full lips were slightly pink, matching the pink tint around her cheeks and nose.

She was one of the most flawlessly, beautiful women I had ever seen in my life.

I looked over at Kamala and even she was in awe of this woman.

The queen.

I knew her name to be Natasha, but nobody would ever dare address her by her first name. She was the royal highness and would be addressed to as such.

As she strolled into the prison area, she turned to the guards who were standing nearby.

"Let me be," she ordered them; her voice was velvety and sent a strange warmth through my body.

They looked amongst one another, hesitantly. But they wouldn't dare argue with the queen; they nodded and stepped outside the jail. The queen straightened her back and began walking toward our cell.

I backed up into the same corner that Kamala was sitting, hoping the shadows would cover my damaged features.

Why would the queen be wanting to see us? This wasn't making any sense.

She stopped in front of our cell and appeared around the caged area. She had a frown upon her lips, and she squinted at the shadow regions of the cell; at first, I could tell she was having trouble spotting us. But then her eyes flashed over me, and they locked onto my eyes.

After a pause that felt like a lifetime long, she finally spoke.

"You sure made a mess out of things, slave," the queen said, keeping her voice low to not startle the guards. "Tell me, why disrupt the kingdom?"

Was she talking to me? Do I speak to her like she was any other person? Am I supposed to bow?

I was so confused as to why she was addressing me. From my understanding, the queen never addressed anyone who didn't rank nearly as high as the royals.

"Are you going to speak?" She asked, sounding annoyed.

Kamala nudged me to speak; I took an unsteady step forward and out of the shadows.

"It wasn't my intention," I answered, my voice hoarse. "I never meant to disrupt anyone..."

"You dare lie to me?" The queen asked, her voice rising only slightly. "You are the slave that intruded in the noble academy. You got pregnant by a nobleman. You started a war on the kingdom. Killing thousands of slaves and commoners; killing and injuring nobles and royals."

I flinched at her words; thousands of slaves and commoners died because of me. I felt sick to my stomach.

"I never meant for any of it to happen," I repeated, staring down at my feet.

"My kingdom is destroyed. The kingdom we worked so hard to build. The commoners are in protest; there aren't any slaves left to use. It is entirely your fault," the queen hissed.

My heart shattered at the thought of all the slaves dying because of me.

"You are just lucky we haven't killed you already."

"Why haven't you?" I found myself asking.

She frowned and stared around my face for a moment.

"Because I wanted to know what makes you so special," the queen said, straightening her back.

She was talking about Marlon; she wanted to know why he was choosing to protect me. I didn't have an answer for her; at least not one that she would like.

I opened my mouth to say something, but she held up her hand to keep me silent.

"Don't speak," she hissed. "I don't care what you have to say. I just wanted you to know that because of you, a lot of wolves have been hurt and the kingdom is destroyed."

She turned away and began walking towards the door.

My breath got caught in my throat as I allowed her words to weigh on me; I blinked away a few tears and I could feel my anger rising through my body. I bit my bottom lip to keep from screaming because I knew no good would come from that.

I ran towards the cell gates and placed my hands around the bars, squeezing until my knuckles turned white.

"I did what I had to do for my son," I told her; my voice sounding stronger than I felt. She stopped walking and turned towards me; her eyes wide with surprise at my outburst. "You're a mother. You should know that as a mother, we would do anything for our young. You are right when you said that all of this is my fault, to begin with. I should have never allowed myself to get close to Marlon. It started because we were drugged, and we had sex. We didn't expect to have feelings for one another but even you should know that when a wolf mates, there's no stopping the process of that. Mateo is the result of that, and I would do anything to protect him."

Tears began flooding down my cheeks; I bit my lip to keep from sobbing.

"I love my son and would do anything for him. I'm sorry that things got so messed up for your kingdom. But I would do it again if it meant protecting my son. He's, my family. As a mother and a queen, you should understand that..." Her mouth hung open slightly as she processed my words; I couldn't read her expression.

"How dare you speak to me like that," she said, her voice heavy. She was still trying to process what I said. "I'm the queen..."

"With all due respect, your highness, my son comes first to me. Above all; including you. I don't care who I must cross to get him back. But I assure you, I will get him back," I told her as I backed away from the cell bars.

She stood there for a moment longer; still staring in my direction even though she could no longer see me.

I heard her exhale a shaky breath before turning on her heel and out the door.

I fell back against the wall and buried my face in my hands; my body trembling and tears pouring down my features. Kamala stared at me with an open mouth, shocked by what I had just done and said to the queen. "I can't believe you said that..." she whispered. "She's going to kill us."