Alpha’s Black Furred Slave Mate
Chapter 83

This was never anything Bob wanted to do; he never wished to fight his brother. He never thought he would ever have to prepare to fight his brother. The opportunity had come to him at one point, but he chose to not take it and let his brother go without a scratch. His only condition was that Alex didn't return to the kingdom. But he seemed to have broken that condition and was back with a vengeance. He trapped his own father in a castle with some of the guards and was working with Petra to get Deonna and Mateo.

Bob never thought he was going to be the one to defend the dirtballs, but here he was. Preparing to fight his brother to protect a couple of dark-furred wolves. Except now it was even worse because he was starting to have feelings for a dark-furred wolf. He was never the type to have feelings for anyone, let alone a dirtball. But Kamala snuck up on him and he hasn't been able to get her out of his head since she arrived. The thought of any harm coming to her caused him to feel unsettled.

As much as he hated to admit it, he wasn't going to let anything happen to her.

The guards were preparing their weapons and meeting towards the front of the manor; Bob was alongside them. They weren't sure what to expect, but he could feel his brother's presence closing in on them.

But it was only his brother's presence; he couldn't sense Petra at all, or anybody else. Bob found that to be weird and made his way to the front of the guards.

"Hold your weapons," Bob announced to them. "I don't think he's looking for a fight at this moment."

They all looked amongst one another, confused. Bob couldn't blame them because he too was confused. He saw the faint shadow of his brother nearing them through the front gates of the manor. It was a small shadow, so he knew his brother was in his human form.

The silence was growing thicker the longer they waited.

Soon, Alex appeared on the other side of the gate. As he approached, he stopped walking and looked amongst the confused faces of the guards. His eyes eventually found Bob's and he rose his eyebrows.

"What's going on?" Alex asked, he sounded a bit too innocent.

Bob pressed his lips into a firm line and took a step closer to his brother.

"You tell me, brother. What brings you here unannounced?" Bob asked; trying to keep his tone even.

"I can't come to visit my brother?" Alex asked, a cocky grin spreading across his face.

It was infuriating to Bob that Alex was playing stupid like this.

"We know you locked father in the castle," Bob told him. "And that you've been working with Petra."

"She only thinks I've been working with her. Brother, you need to trust me..." Alex tried to explain.

"How can I trust you after everything you've done?" Bob asked, fury rising through him.

"Everything I've done? You mean bailing you out of trouble our entire lives?" Alex shot back, taking another step closer.

The guards around Bob began tensing; Bob shot them to look to tell them to stand down.

"I know what you are after; I know what you've always been after. I have direct orders from father to keep you away from Deonna and Mateo. You aren't the sole heir, Alex," Bob informed him. Alex looked taken back for a moment as he allowed Bob's words to process.

"That doesn't matter to me anymore," Alex finally said after a long pause. "I only want to be around my family. I care not for the estate."

Bob wasn't going to buy that; all Alex ever wanted was to become the sole heir. That wasn't a dream that he'd just give up so easily. There was an ulterior motive to this, and Bob was worried about what it was. "Alex, you need to leave," Bob nearly begged. "Please, brother."

"Why is it so hard for you to believe that I'm only here for good intent?" Alex asked. He looked around for a moment. "Can't you see that Petra isn't even here?"

"Where is she?" Bob asked, hesitantly.

"I don't know," Alex stated.

"Liar!!" Bob growled.

"I swear, I don't know her whereabouts. She ditched me miles ago," Alex insisted.

Bob still wasn't convinced. He knew his brother better than that and he knew not to trust a thing that comes out of his mouth.

"Please, brother. Let me in so we can talk," he paused to glance at the guards surrounding him. "Alone."

Bob looked around at his guards as well, after a moment of thinking about it, he finally nodded to them to disperse.

They all looked unsure, but Bob assured them that he was going to be fine. Soon, the guards took off to patrol the rest of the area and Bob was opening the gates for Alex to enter.

Alex stepped onto the Roessler soil with a grin that didn't meet his eyes.

"Feels good to be home," Alex said as he walked past Bob.

...

Bob and Alex stood in the kitchen of the Roessler manor; Bob had told all the workers to take the rest of the evening off and to take cover so he knew the kitchen would be empty. For a long while, Alex stood silent; Bob wasn't sure what his game was, but it was worrisome. Just because Bob allowed his brother back into the manor, it didn't mean that Bob trusted him. In fact, it was the opposite. He held onto the mindset of "keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

As of right now, Alex was an enemy.

"Why are you here Alex?" Bob asked; Alex looked unsure for a moment as if he was trying to come up with an excuse himself.

"I just wanted to congratulate you on becoming the sole heir," Alex said with a toothy smile.

Bob scowled at him; this had to be some kind of setup.

"Nothing is set in stone yet," Bob told him.

Alex nearly laughed.

"Trust me, brother, it is. Mateo is hardly a competition," Alex said, waving his hand dismissively.

"He has every right to the heir than we do," Bob shot back.

"Do you hear yourself?" Alex asked, eyeing Bob carefully. "He's a dirtball. He could never be the heir of the Roessler estate. The king would never allow such a thing," Alex told him. "It's not up to the king," Bob told him in return. "It's up to father."

Alex laughed hard to the point where tears nearly escaped his eyes.

"You think the father has more of a say than the king?" Alex laughed. "Father might be the highest-ranked nobleman.... For now... but the king is still the king and he's a royal."

"It's father's estate," Bob hissed. "The king respects that and backs down when it comes to the decisions of the estates."

"That might be true," Alex said, waving his hand dismissively once again. "But father seems to be out of commission as of right now."

Bob shot his brother a look; he knew it. This wasn't a casual visit. He was here to gloat about how he had his father locked up in the castle.

"What did you do, Alex?" Bob asked between gritted teeth.

"Let's just say, father is held up at the castle," he answered with a chuckle.

"I knew it. You are working with her..." Bob said; he wasn't surprised.

"No," Alex said harshly. "She's working FOR me."

"What?" Bob asked in a breath.

"When I got word the duke died, I knew that North-Valley was going to need a proper leader. I figured I wasn't doing anything, so why not," Alex explained.

"You're the new duke?" Bob asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

That wasn't possible. Bob knew that you couldn't just take on the role of the duke. You needed to be born into the family; Frederick was the last known relative of that family and therefore, there isn't another duke of North-Valley. The king was supposed to assign that kingdom to a nobleman or a royal.

"The king appointed it himself," Alex stated as he pulled out a piece of paper from the inside of his vest.

He placed it on the counter and pushed it towards Bob.

It was a legal document signed by the king stating that Alex was formally known as the Duke of North-Valley.

This wasn't possible.

"How?" Bob breathed in shock as he stared at the paper presented to him.

Alex chuckled.

"I'm persuasive," Alex answered with a shrug. "Petra found out and came to visit me. She was looking for a job, so she's now my maid."

"Then why did you call me the other day and tell me you spotted Petra?" Bob asked, trying to keep his tone even. "Was it some kind of joke? Or a distraction?"

"Neither," Alex said, narrowing his eyes at Bob. "That was to get the father out of the house and to the castle."

"Why?" Bob asked, raising his voice. "Isn't being the duke enough for you?"

"No," Alex hissed. "It's not. It was never enough."

"Then, what more do you want?" Bob asked.

Alex smiled; before he could answer, the door of the kitchen swung open.

Bob stood shocked as he stared at Kamala's face. She looked breathless as if she had just run for miles. Her thick dark hair fell messily around her shoulders and strands of hair lay in a damp mess against her forehead and around her narrow features. Her dark green eyes stared amongst the brothers with worry lingering in her gaze.

She was panting and holding onto her stomach as though she was in pain.

The look on Bob's face gave his emotions away almost instantly. Alex stared at Bob suspiciously and then back at Kamala before he realized what was happening.

"Like father like son," Alex laughed after realization struck him.

"Alex..." Bob began, but before he could get any more words out of his mouth Alex's long and sharp fingers were around Kamala's throat.

"This will do," Alex said with a grin that went ear from ear.

Kamala gasped out for air as Alex squeezed her throat, cutting off her air supply. She was growing pale as Alex lifted her off the ground.

"Alex!!!!" Bob yelled to his brother; he went running towards them to save Kamala, but Alex had gotten much quicker since the last time Bob had seen him.

He heard the sound of Kamala's neck snap and then her body went limp in Alex's hands.

"NOOOOOO!!!" Bob screamed.

The last thing he heard was the sound of Alex's laughter and then they both disappeared. Leaving Bob in the kitchen alone, shocked and horrified over what had just happened.