Alpha’s Black Furred Slave Mate
Chapter 65

Deonna was gone; the kingdom was nearly destroyed. Thousands of slaves had gotten their fatal ending and some of Marlon's men also met their fates. The war lasted for over 72 hours; it got to a point where he didn't think it would ever end. The duke was dead at the hands of Marlon. As soon as he got wind that Deonna and Mateo were taken, he knew it was because of the duke and he needed to do what he could to avenge Deonna. He wasn't thinking much about it when he attacked the duke. He fought a fair battle but, in the end, Marlon was still stronger.

The king had finally called for a cease war and the troops retreated to where they came from. Some of the commoners that survived were left to clean up the bodies of the slaves that fought. To Marlon's surprise, there were a couple of survivors. But not enough to battle again if needed.

Marlon made his way back to the manor once he killed the duke. He stumbled upon Bob who was just waking up from being knocked unconscious. He had a nasty gash on his forehead, and he was looking around wildly confused. He was relieved to see that most of his workers, including Winston, were unharmed.

At least the duke and his men had some decency to leave them be.

But Deonna, Mateo, and Kamala were gone.

"I tried to save them..." Bob explained, his voice sounding broken. "They ambushed us. I had no idea they were already here when we returned. I was attacked and by the time I woke up, they were gone."

Marlon didn't need Bob to tell him where they had gone to; they knew that there was only one place the duke and his men would take them.

The king's jail.

They must have been in the king's holding jail, awaiting certain death.

Being Deonna's mate, he could still feel her alive. He knew she couldn't be dead yet, the same thing with Mateo. But the question remained of how he was going to get them out of the jail. There was no way the king would just release them.

Before he could say anything more to Bob, the door of the manor swung open and some of the king's guards stood in their place He knew it was only a matter of time before the king sent for Marlon. The king would never allow Marlon to get away with this unpunished.

...

The castle was just on the outskirts of town; the silver pillars of the gates were seen from the far distance; the cobblestone roads that lead up to the doors were hand placed. Marlon walked alongside the guards; his eyes tracing every aspect of the castle trying to get a glimpse of Deonna or Mateo.

They climbed the pearl steps of the castle and stepped into the foyer. His feet instantly sunk into the maroon carpet that was placed near the door and then cluttered against the marble flooring. The walls were filled with different royals that once occupied the castle, including a giant portrait of the king and queen themselves.

Marlon noticed some injured men being taken care of by the king's workers. He avoided all eye contact knowing he was to blame for their injuries.

The guards lead him towards the back of the castle through a large set of wooden doors. He knew the area to be the king's study. This wasn't the first time he was inside the castle; the king held most of the noble and royal meetings inside the study. It was large and fit over a hundred wolves of all shapes and sizes.

The king sat at his desk with his luna by his side. She was as beautiful as ever; in a different lifetime, Marlon would take the opportunity to flirt with her. They've exchanged some flirting in the past under the king's nose, but Marlon couldn't stop thinking about worrying about Deonna. He couldn't think about another woman at this time.

The queen straightened her back as Marlon approached the desk. The looked up from his work and motioned for the guards to leave them.

They did as they were told.

"Want to explain to me what this was all about?" The king asked; his voice was much deeper than Marlon's and even Marlon found him to be a bit intimidating.

"I feel you already know what this is about," Marlon said; he was done pretending to be something he wasn't.

"You mean to tell me this has to do with one slave?" The king asked; eyeing Marlon carefully.

"She's not just a slave," Marlon shot back; he kept his eye contact with the king.

"Then tell me, Marlon. What is she?" The king asked. "Your lover? The mother to your child? All of the above?"

Marlon stayed silent; he pressed his lips in a thin line to keep himself from saying something stupid.

"When the duke came to me and told me of the rumors speculating around the kingdom, I didn't' want to believe him. I thought to myself 'Marlon is my highest ranked nobleman. There's no way he would betray the kingdom in such a heinous manner.' And yet, here you are. Betraying the kingdom."

"I would hardly call this a betrayal," Marlon said.

His words were cut short though because the king slammed his fists into his desk, loudly, and shot up to his feet. His eyes darkened and his lip curled up in disgust.

"The kingdom has been destroyed!!" The king roared. "Thousands of slaves and commoners are dead. My men and your men are injured or dead. It's because of you that all of this happened."

Marlon tensed; he knew the king was right, but he wanted to believe that it was for the greater good. It was for the greater good it was for his greater good.

"I understand if you want to put me to death. It won't change what I did and nor would I ever take back my wrongdoings. You can do what you will to me, but please release my son. He did nothing wrong," Marlon pleaded.

"He's a dirtball!!" The king yelled between his gritted teeth.

Marlon flinched at his tone.

"He's my son..." Marlon repeated.

"He's already on his way to the farm," the king said, sitting back down in his seat. The queen glanced at him, looking surprised. Which told Marlon he was most likely lying. "There's no room for another dirtball."

"You said it yourself, thousands of them were killed. From my understanding, there's plenty of room for more," Marlon shot back, eyeing him.

"Darling, he has a point..." the queen said, finding her own voice.

The king shot her a look and curled his lip at her.

"Who told you that you can speak?" He snapped at her; she flinched and cleared her throat.

"We need more slaves. Maybe we should hold off on the farms for right now. Allow for the slaves we have now to repopulate," she suggested.

Marlon wasn't sure he liked that idea because it meant that once they were at compacity again, the treaty would be back in place; but he wasn't going to argue for that small window of opportunity.

"What are you saying? You want the slaves released?" He asked her; there was a surprise in his tone.

She glanced over at Marlon quickly and then back at her husband.

"I'm saying, we need to repopulate our kingdoms," she told him.

He snapped a look at Marlon.

"I should have you killed," he hissed to Marlon.

"You know nobody can help lead the kingdoms better than Marlon. Plus, with the duke dead..." the queen began.

"Marlon destroyed the kingdoms!!" The king yelled at her; she flinched again, and Marlon noticed her tension.

She was afraid of him.

"Marlon killed the duke," the king kept yelling. "He isn't fit to be a nobleman. He isn't fit to be alive."

Marlon knew he wasn't going to live to walk out these doors; he was going to be killed on the spot.

"We can rebuild. Sometimes we need to refresh and rebuild for the future to work," the queen argued back; Marlon was impressed with how brave she was becoming.

"Do you hear yourself?" The king asked, standing to his feet again.

She stood her ground.

"I'm thinking of our kingdom too," she assured him. "Clearly the treaty isn't working. Look what it's done already."

"You can't seriously be blaming me for this?" The king gasped.

"Of course not," the queen responded. "But the treaty is what started this. We shouldn't be placing the slave children on farms. We should be allowing them to grow up to become slaves by the commoners as intended. They aren't to work for us, they are to work for the commoners. The commoners work for us." "They populate like rabbits," the king hissed.

"Then we set rules for the populating. No more children for the slaves unless permitted. If they break the rules then they get sent to the farm," the queen suggested.

The king was silent for a long moment as he thought about it.

"I want us to rebuild the kingdom the right way," the queen added. "I don't want to lose anyone else..."

The king looked over at Marlon who remained silent; he couldn't stop thinking about Deonna and Marlon.

"Step out of line again and I won't hesitate to kill you myself," the king barked.

Marlon was taken back; he was letting him live?

Relief fell across the queen's face as her husband sat back down.

"What of Deonna and Mateo?" Marlon asked as the guards opened the door to let Marlon out.

The king glanced up at Marlon and his frown deepened.

"Don't push your luck. The slave will die by sundown and the dirtball infant is still headed to the farm. I spared your life and I owe you nothing more. Leave my castle," the king pointed to the door.

Marlon could feel his heart shattering as the thought of losing Deonna and Mateo invaded his brain.

The queen almost looked sad; she stared at her husband with a look on her face that Marlon didn't recognize.

"My darling..." she muttered to him.

"I will say nothing more on the matter," he barked to her.

She sighed and straightened her back. She accompanied Marlon out into the hallway.

Marlon wanted to fight more; he needed to get Deonna and Mateo out of here; he couldn't bare losing them.

The queen motioned for the guards to walk away and told them that she will take it from there. They did as they were told and released Marlon to her. The two of them walked the halls in silence until they reached the main foyer. She glanced around quickly to make sure no one was looking before she turned back to him.

She reached into the cleavage of her gown and pulled out a small, folded piece of paper.

"Don't open it here," she whispered. "But go to that location in an hour. Try to do so undetected. I will meet you there."

He nodded and left the castle.