Alpha’s Black Furred Slave Mate
Chapter 86

The longer Marlon stayed in the castle; the more fury rose through his body. The silvery aura of his wolf was turning a hazy red as he thought about what he was going to do to Alex once he was released from this prison of a castle. He couldn't believe his own son was capable of such a heinous crime as imprisoning his own father. And for what? What was the purpose of this? He was never going to be the sole heir. Regardless of what happened to Marlon, Bob, and even Mateo. Alex was never going to be the sole heir.

Bob had just reached out to him and told him that he watched Alex kill Kamala. Marlon didn't know the girl that well, only a little bit from when they freed the slaves together and escaped to the kingdom. But what he did know about her was that she was strong- willed and eager to fight. He didn't think he would die so quickly at the hands of Alex.

It was almost laughable when he thought about it.

Alex wasn't the strongest; he would have bet all his money that Kamala could beat Alex single-handedly if she really wanted to. There must have been something else going on that none of them was aware of. Something they couldn't see.

Marlon didn't want to waste much more time pondering the ideas of something else going on. He needed to figure out what it was. While he was trapped in the castle, he figured he could use this opportunity to search around and see if they were hiding anything here.

If Alex and Petra didn't hide anything, maybe Frederick and his family were.

Marlon already knew that there was some connection with Deonna when it came to the duke's family. But the connection was unclear.

He made his way through the foyer and up the stairs of the castle; he already knew where the duke's room was from exploring earlier that day. But he wasn't going to look in Frederick's room. Marlon wanted to look in the past duke's rooms.

He walked down the narrow hall that led to the bedrooms; he skipped over Frederick's room and went to the room directly after his. A large rustic bedroom with a large maroon carpet on top of a deep meadow wood floor. The bed was neatly made with a maroon comforter and maroon silk pillowcases. The pillowcase had small golden swirls that matched the golden swirls around the rug.

He walked around the room, tracing his hand across the wooden vanity that sat in the far corner of the room. It looked to be handmade; it was made from the same wood from the floor with small flowers engraved around the frame of the mirror. On the side of the vanity, the name Elianna was engraved.

Marlon traced his fingers across the engraving, nearly splintering his finger. He pulled back as the wood snagged onto his thumb and a small trail of blood dripped from his thumb to his wrist. He wiped his hand on his pants and continued looking more thoroughly at the vanity.

His wolf was tugging him towards the vanity for whatever reason. It was drawn to this vanity; it felt some kind of connection he couldn't explain. The silvery haze of his wolf's aura would grow stronger the longer he looked at it. Eventually, his eyes found a small drawer hidden under the vanity, reminding him of a desk drawer, except more hidden.

As he went to pull it open, he realized the drawer was clocked. Marlon grew frustrated that it seemed as though his search in this room was coming to a dead end. But his wolf seemed persistent for him to keep trying. As Marlon tried to pull away from the vanity, his wolf kept him grounded.

It seemed as though his wolf was getting stronger with each passing day.

Marlon sat at the small chair that appeared to be made specifically for the vanity and he felt around the undercarriage of the vanity. Just as his wolf had guided him, he felt a small key taped under the drawer.

He held the small golden key firmly in his hand as he unlocked the drawer. Whatever was in this drawer, they didn't want anyone knowing about it, or else it wouldn't have been locked. Marlon grew eager at the waiting secrets that were locked within the vanity. As he opened the drawer, the only thing inside of it was a journal.

On the journal was an image of this beautiful woman with long curly light brown hair that fell around her large cleavage. Her eyes with large and dark green with long lashes; her upper cheekbones were rosy-pink, and the pinkness went across her small, freckled

nose.

To Marlon, she almost seemed familiar.

Under her picture was the name Elianna.

In the journal, she wrote in beautiful cursive handwriting. He flipped through a few pages, rubbing his fingers across her writing until he landed on an entry that caught his wolf's eye.

He almost felt compelled to read this specific entry. Whatever his wolf was tugging him towards, he knew it had to be this. Dearest Diary,

I'm afraid I've made a terrible mistake. If anyone were to replace out, it would be my head on a stake. I never meant for anything to happen, but it did, and I can't take it back. It was a stupid night of passion. Robert and I got carried away in the heat of the night. I never had anyone look at me in such a way that he does. He made me feel more like a woman; that's more than I could say about my husband. He hasn't looked at me like that in ages. Since I birthed our children, I've hardly felt like a woman at all. But then Robert came along, and it enlightened all my senses. It was something I hadn't felt in so long.

I don't know what to do.

If they replace out about this affair, I won't live to see tomorrow. Elianna.

Marlon put down the journal for a moment so he could grasp what he had just read. This Elianna woman must have been the duchess at the time. According to the dates listed in the journal, it appears that it was around the time that Frederick was a small child. Which meant this must have been his mother. The duke's name at the time was Jeremy, so this must have been Jeremy's wife.

Marlon didn't know much about Jeremy and his wife Elianna; in fact, he didn't know anything about Elianna. He just knew that Jeremy had a hardened exterior and was feared by many. It was something Marlon had always admired about him. However, as the dukes, they've always been after Mooncrest and some of the other kingdoms, so Marlon had to keep his enemies closer than he kept his friends.

So, if Jeremy was Elianna's husband, then who was Robert?

His wolf tugged him towards the journal again, urging him to flip a few more pages before landing on another entry that caught his wolf's eye. Dearest Diary,

My mistake has come forth to bite me in the behind. I was foolish to think I could hide something like this. I have found out that I am pregnant with Robert's child. When Jeremy replaces out, he'll have both Robert and me killed. Robert says he wants to be a part of this child's life and be a father. I laughed because of how ridiculous that was. As soon as this child leaves my body, Jeremy will know that it's not his. This child will come out dark-furred like Robert. It will come out looking like a slave. I can't hide something like that from Jeremy.

However, Robert says he wants us to run away together. He wants me to break him from the slave shack and take off with him. I laughed at that too because Jeremy would replace us quickly. If not him, then his men. I told Robert that he was not the only one imprisoned in this castle.

Neither of us can leave.

Elianna.

Marlon gasped as he finished reading the entry. So, Robert was a slave.

Frederick's mother had an affair with a slave and then got pregnant by him. None of this was making any sense; he had never heard of such a thing happening. How did they manage to cover something like that up? And what happened to this baby? He didn't waste any more time; he flipped to another entry. Dearest Diary,

I told Jeremy that I was having a baby. He thinks it's his. He hasn't touched me in a long time, so I made a move to have sex with my husband. A few days later, I told him I was to have a baby. I don't know what I was thinking. As soon as this baby comes out, he's going to know that it isn't his. But there's still a small glimmer of hope that maybe this child will come out with a bit of lighter fur. Maybe, just maybe, not all is lost.

Robert isn't happy with this idea. He doesn't want a duke, especially one as cruel as Jeremy, to raise our child. He's still persistent that we run away together, despite me telling him that it wasn't possible. At least with my plan, we have a small chance to live. Running away would stamp our timecard on life.

I just can't do it.

Elianna.

So, she told Jeremy that she was having a baby and he thought it was his. it still wasn't making sense though.

He flipped a few more pages until he started reaching the end of the journal. His wolf was guiding him and seeking out the entries for him to read.

Another entry caught his eye.

Dearest Diary,

I'm having a girl. I wanted to be with Robert when we decide what to name our daughter. I was worried he wouldn't want anything to do with me after I brushed him under the rug. He's hurt by me because I won't run away with him. But he also understands how impossible that task would be.

I told him I'm only doing this to protect him. My love for him outweighs anything. I can't lose him altogether. I'd rather keep him as a slave than nothing at all.

Does that make me an awful person? I feel like an awful person.

Robert wanted to name our daughter after his mother, Deonna.

It's a beautiful name; I could get used to it. I will present that name to Jeremy in the morning. Deonna.

Elianna.

Marlon nearly dropped the journal on the ground.

Elianna and Robert's daughter was Deonna.