The Life of Anna, Part 3: Embraced (41 page)

“Hey,” she whispered. “Let me help.”

The girl looked at her with wide eyes.
“You’re the Mistress,” she whispered.

Anna nodded. “Can I help you?”

The girl grimaced. “It won't do any good,”
she said with tears in her eyes. “I’m all torn up inside. I’m not
gonna make it.” She sounded so defeated it broke Anna’s heart.

“No,” Anna said suddenly. She could help. She
was an Immortal. She could heal. She didn’t know how she knew this,
but she was sure of it. “No. I’ll help you.”

She gently reached into the girl’s body and
pulled the blood-covered rocks out. When Anna had removed all of
them, she put her hand on the girl’s belly and closed her eyes and
concentrated. Warmth flowed from her body and into the girl.

The girl gasped and her eyes widened. “I feel
better,” she exclaimed softly. “Why...?”

Anna smiled. “Because I could. Who do you
belong to?”

“My Master is Brandon.”

Anna was relieved that at least she had a
nice Master. “See those bushes over there?” she pointed to her
hiding place.

The girl nodded.

“Go hide in there. No one will find you.”
Anna heard the men behind her. “Go. Hurry.” She helped the girl to
her feet and she scrambled away and disappeared into the
bushes.

Anna looked around. She saw the flashlights
of the men. She had lost her hiding spot. She ran in the opposite
direction.

The moon was full but the trees were thick.
More than once she tripped on something and fell to the ground. A
beam of light found her and she froze, but when the shouts reached
her she ran again. But she couldn’t run fast enough in the dark
without shoes. She fell and was caught.

The light shined in her face. “Isn’t that the
Mistress?” one man asked.

“I think it is,” said another man.

“Nice,” said the first man and she was
grabbed and thrown to the ground. She fought back, but the men were
too powerful for her. Her legs were spread and her pussy filled
shortly after.

That was only the beginning. As soon as they
finished with her, another man caught her. This night turned out to
be as miserable as the previous night. By dawn, she could hardly
move and fell asleep under a tree.

*****

The room was long and narrow. The walls
were paneled in wood and the floor was carpeted in green.

She stood in the entryway. A narrow door
stood closed to her left. In front of her, with its side along the
short wall was a twin bed. A credenza sat along the long wall
across from her with a tall, but narrow, window at the far end. At
the opposite end of the room was a fireplace with a wing chair next
to it. Opposite the window was a bookcase filled with
books.

The room was empty.

Waiting for someone.

*****

Anna sat up before she opened her eyes. The
room. Something about the room haunted her. She shook her head and
opened her eyes. Her head hurt. So did the rest of her body.

She stood on shaky legs and looked around. In
the distance, she saw naked women walking towards her. There were
also several women laying in strange positions on the ground. She
looked away, not wanting to think about what might have happened to
them. The tree in front of her had a sign with an arrow pointing to
her right. Was that the way back to the field? Since other women
were coming towards her, she guessed it to be so and began walking
in that direction.

The sun was high and warm on her chilled
skin, but it did nothing for her emotions. She was grateful for the
numbness in her heart; she didn’t want to feel the pain of the loss
of her baby.

Within half an hour she walked out of the
trees and onto the grassy field. Ian approached her as she walked
across the field.

“Devin wants you to clean up and see him in
the pavilion.”

Anna nodded. “Yes, my lord,” she said
quietly. He walked with her to the pathway to the dorm and then
left her.

She cleaned up in the dorm and then made her
way to the pavilion to greet Devin. He had meetings all day and
Anna spent the day giving blowjobs and being fucked.

Anna spent the night with Devin in the
pavilion—more brutal sex—and the next morning they drove back to
San Francisco.

As Devin drove her home, the numbness in her
heart started to disappear. Anna blinked back tears as she stared
out the window. How would she tell Alex the baby was gone? Was
there something she could have done to prevent it? Should she have
fought harder? Could she have fought harder? Maybe if she had run
farther away....

Anna dug her fingernails into her hands to
keep from losing it in Devin’s car. He pulled up in front of her
house, and she took her suitcase and ran from the car without
saying anything to Devin.

She opened the door to the house, walked
inside, closed the door, and collapsed onto the marble floor with a
scream and a sob.

*****

Aaron heard the door close and a scream a
second later. He ran from the great room to see Anna curled up in a
ball next to the door, sobbing hysterically. He ran over and
skidded on his knees to gather her into his arms. What had that
fucker Devin done to her?

He wasn’t even sure she knew he was there,
but he held her and rocked her, hoping she would calm down enough
to tell him what happened. But she didn’t calm down. She kicked her
feet and slammed her fists into the floor. Every once in a while
she would scream an unearthly scream that gave him chills. God,
what had happened to her?

Frau Gersten came in looking concerned. He
looked at her helplessly. She pointed upstairs and he nodded.

“Anna, I’m taking you up to your room,” he
said in a quiet voice.

He carefully picked her up and carried her up
to her bedroom. Frau Gersten pulled the covers back and Aaron lay
her down gently on the bed, then lay behind her, holding her as she
continued to sob.

Suddenly she stopped crying. She took a deep
breath and then was still. Aaron leaned over to make sure she was
still breathing. Her eyes were closed and her body relaxed. She’d
fallen asleep.

Aaron sighed in relief. He held her for a
minute longer and then untangled himself from her. He needed his
phone. Travis had been there. He might know what had happened.

Fifteen minutes later, after talking to
Travis, Aaron dropped into a chair near Anna’s bed.

No wonder she’d been hysterical when she got
home. He glanced over at her sleeping form, thankful she’d managed
to fall asleep and get relief from her pain.

Aaron wanted to find Devin and strangle him
with his bare hands. How dare he hurt Anna like that! Alex had said
that he and Devin had come to an understanding as to how Anna was
to be treated. Did Devin think that just because Alex was out of
town he could get away with something like that? What kind of sick
son of a bitch tore a baby from a woman’s womb?

God, he needed to call Wilhelm. Alex said if
something happened to call his dad. Well, this was definitely
something. He searched his contacts for Wilhelm’s number and
dialed. He hoped it wasn’t too late in Germany, but didn’t think
Wilhelm would care once he found out what happened.

*****

Wilhelm jumped slightly as his phone vibrated
in his pocket. He’d been absorbed in a political document and had
lost track of time. He pulled the phone out and looked at the
screen. Why would Aaron be calling him?

“Hello, Aaron,” he said, leaning back in his
chair. “Is everything all right?”

Wilhelm listened in escalating horror as
Aaron told him what had happened over the weekend.

He walked quickly out into the sitting room
where Ilsa sat, rocking Otto to sleep. The baby had colic and Ilsa
was very good at calming him down. Wilhelm paused for a moment,
taken back twenty-eight years to when Ilsa had held Alex in the
same way.

Ilsa looked up at him and saw the concern in
his eyes.

“Thank you for calling me and letting me
know, Aaron.”

“Sir, I hate to ask. But...I think Anna might
need you here. With Alex out of town....”

“Yes. I think you’re right.” Wilhelm thought
for a moment. “I will be there as soon as I can. Keep her calm if
you can. If she’s willing to dance tomorrow, take her. You know how
dancing helps her.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’ll call you when I land.” They said
goodbye and Wilhelm looked sadly at his wife.

“What’s wrong, Wilhelm?” Ilsa asked with
concerned eyes.

“It’s Anna. She’s....” He sighed, not even
wanting to say the words. “Devin took the baby. It wasn’t Ben’s.
Devin did it all for some disgusting purpose.” Wilhelm ran his hand
through his hair. “I think I need to go to her. At least until Alex
gets home.”

Ilsa nodded. “Yes. She needs you.”

“Will you be all right if I go?”

Ilsa smiled. “Of course. I have Kurt and
Liesl and Greta. Anna doesn’t have anyone.”

Such a wonderful, understanding wife he had.
“She has friends now.”

“But she needs you, Wilhelm. I’m sure of it.
You’re the closest thing to Alex she’ll have. You can be strong for
her, especially if Alex is delayed. I’m sure she’s clinging to the
hope that Alex will be home tomorrow....” Ilsa trailed off.

They hadn’t heard from Alex, and Wilhelm
could safely assume that his son wouldn’t be home tomorrow. This
wasn’t unusual and didn’t warrant concern, but Anna wouldn’t take
it well. Not now.

“You go pack. I’ll go put Otto down and be in
shortly.”

Wilhelm kissed his wife and hurried to his
bedroom, calling the pilot on the way. He wanted to leave as soon
as the jet could be readied.

*****

Aaron kept watch over Anna all afternoon. She
finally woke in the early evening. Her eyes were red and puffy and
so sad that he wanted to cry for her.

He sat next to her on the bed. He could see
faint bruises on her cheeks and arms, which made him sick.

“Hey, Anna,” he said softly, stroking her
cheek.

She looked up at him with such sad eyes. “The
baby...,” she rasped.

Aaron nodded his head. “I know, hon. I talked
to Travis.”

Tears welled up in her eyes and her lower lip
trembled. “I’m such a fool,” she whispered.

“No, Anna. You’re not.” He leaned down and
hugged her. “Devin is evil. But Alex will take care of him.”

Anna wrapped her arms around his neck and
nodded. “Alex,” she whispered.

“He’s supposed to be home tomorrow, right?”
he said, trying to cheer her. If anything would cheer her, the
thought of Alex coming home would do it.

He was glad to see a small smile on her face
and a slight glimmer of hope in her eyes as she nodded.

“He’ll make everything right,” she said in a
determined voice.

“Yes. He will.” He brushed her hair out of
her face. “Why don’t you take a shower and I’ll tell Frau Gersten
that you’ll have some dinner?” He hoped she would agree. He had a
feeling she hadn’t eaten much.

She nodded and sat up. There was a bit of
color in her face now. Thank God for Alex. Without him...Aaron
hated to think what Anna would do without him.

*****

An hour later, Aaron and Anna sat in the
kitchen eating dinner.

“Wilhelm will be here sometime tonight,”
Aaron told her.

“Wilhelm? Why is he coming?”

“To be here for you.”

Anna nodded, appearing to think about it.
Another small smile appeared on her face.

Aaron knew she and Wilhelm were close and was
thankful he was coming. He tried to deny the twinge of jealousy
that ran through him. But Anna’s needs came first. She needed
someone who could stand up for her, and there was little Aaron
could do other than hold her and tell her everything would be
okay.

He studied her as she ate. She looked as if
she’d never been pregnant. Her adorable belly was gone, replaced
with that sexy stomach she had before she’d gotten pregnant. Her
breasts were back to normal as well. Aaron liked her pregnant
breasts. They were full and very nice to peek at when he danced
with her. She had scolded him teasingly about his gaze many times.
Not that her normal breasts were too small or unpleasant. Quite the
contrary. They were very enjoyable. Still....

Stop the inappropriate thoughts, Aaron.
This is not the time to be thinking about Anna’s beautiful
body
.

“Will you come to class tomorrow?” Aaron
asked, getting his mind off the sordid topic.

Anna nodded. “It will help me feel better.”
She gave him a sad smile. “I guess I don't have to worry about not
being able to dance in
Jewels
now, huh?”

Aaron nodded. “I was really looking forward
to dancing with you.”

“And I, you. I love dancing with you,
Aaron.”

Aaron beamed at her. Stephanie, his Sugar
Plum Fairy, hadn’t been very happy about stepping aside for Anna,
but no one could deny her talent. The critics were looking forward
to the opening of
Jewels
and more displays of Anna’s
dancing. She was the youngest female principal in the history of
the SFBC.

They watched a movie in the bedroom after
dinner until Anna fell asleep in his arms. Aaron debated if he
should stay with her or not. He decided to. At least until Wilhelm
came.

*****

The alarm went off and Anna didn’t want to
wake up. She was held in a cocoon of big strong arms. Her mind
registered Alex before she remembered he wasn’t home yet. Besides,
Wilhelm wasn’t quite as muscular as Alex, though his limbs were as
long.

But Alex would be home today, she told
herself. Anna smiled at the thought. She needed Alex. She needed
his assurance that everything would be all right.
Soon
. In
the meantime, dancing would help soothe her soul. And Wilhelm’s
presence as well.