The Life of Anna, Part 4: Ensnared (30 page)

The movements continued for what seemed like
an eternity. Anna watched in fascination as Vlad leaned his head
back and Irina pushed his mouth back onto Halima and held him
there. Patya’s movements quickened and suddenly he roared and
stiffened as he came. Vlad let out a primal scream, his back
arching and face looking almost straight up, despite Irina’s hand
in his hair.

They stayed in that position until Patya
relaxed and slowly slid out of Vlad, kneeling behind him with his
head hanging down for a moment. Vlad resumed his feast on Halima
and thrusting in and out of Irina until both women screamed out
their release.

Patya stood and spoke loudly in Russian. He
pulled Vlad to his feet and seemed to make some sort of declaration
to which everyone in the room applauded.

Vlad spoke a bit, and then motioned for Peter
to come forward. Peter undressed and knelt in front of Vlad. Vlad’s
still hard cock disappeared slowly into Peter, who stiffened and
panted but didn’t cry out. Peter’s cock was hard and Anna licked
her lips as she watched it bob up and down as he moved. Vlad
released himself with a cry into Peter and then stood and pulled
Peter to his feet. He put his arm around Peter and made a
declaration and the room broke out into applause again. Vlad
grinned and put his hands in the air. He motioned to the
Elder-Mistresses and then around the room. He shouted and the other
men shouted and cheered.

Anna was shocked to see the room break out
into a great orgy. The only women in the room were the Elder
Mistresses, but that didn’t seem to matter. The men seemed to like
each other as much as they liked women. Anna turned to look at
Sakue but just saw her disappearing into the crowd. Anna felt a
hand on her shoulder and turned to see Peter standing next to
her.

“Peter,” she sighed in relief. “What...?”

He shrugged. “It is how these things end.
Bonding and brotherhood and the like.” He pulled her close and
kissed her. “I want you, though.” Peter kissed her and pulled her
to the ground.

He kissed his way down to her breasts and her
eyes fluttered open and saw Kurt looking at her with hurt in his
eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, but he turned around and
walked away. Tears stung her eyes, but she wiped them away quickly
and pushed the emotion aside. The only thing she was good at as a
Mistress was sex. This was the duty she knew and could perform
well. She clutched at Peter’s hair and sighed as he made love to
her.

“I didn’t think I’d get another night with
you,” Anna said softly as she and Peter lay in his new bedroom at
his uncle’s Manor. She traced his bare chest along his pectorals
and then lightly ran her fingertips over his nipples, turning them
hard and dark. He’d brought her here after they’d made love on the
floor of the Hall. Everyone else was occupied and he told her he
wanted time with her again. One last night.

“Me either,” Peter said, shivering under her
touch. He caught her hand and pulled her on top of him, her hands
propping up her chin on his chest. He put his hand behind his head
to look at her and smile. “I wish you didn’t have to go back.”

Anna smiled sadly. “I’m sure Dariya’s happy,”
she said changing the subject. She didn’t want to leave either.
She’d been with him for so long, it hurt to think about not being
with him every day.

His smile was wry. “Yeah. She is.”

“I’m going to miss dancing with you.”

“I’m going to miss everything about you,
Anna. I wish...things were different.”

“I’ve wished that so many times about so many
things. It never does any good.” She spoke softly, but the
bitterness still came through.

“Don’t be bitter, Anna. It will just make you
miserable. You’ve had enough misery.” He smiled. “At least you can
see Wilhelm and Kurt again.”

Her heart pained at the mention of Kurt’s
name. The hurt in his eyes last night still haunted her. He had
told her long ago that he didn’t want to share her with anyone. But
that was long ago. Did he still feel that way? He had sent her over
to be with Wilhelm their first night together, so what did that
mean? She had her duties. Devin would never allow her to stop.
Surely Kurt knew that.

“You like him, don't you?”

Peter’s voice snapped her out of her
thoughts. “What?”

“Kurt. You like him.”

Anna shrugged. “I think I hurt him last
night.”

“It takes a while to get used to the sexual
aspects of the Brotherhood.” He smiled. “It’s not easy being in
love with an Elder-Mistress.”

“Peter, you shouldn’t—” A knock on the door
interrupted her.

Peter called something in Russian and the
door opened. Wilhelm stood there with a frown on his face.

“Wilhelm!” Anna exclaimed, blushing slightly.
She didn’t know why she was embarrassed to be caught in bed with
Peter, but she was.

“We need to leave soon, Anna,” he said in a
gruff voice, and looked at Peter. “Will you please bring her down
to the entrance when she is dressed?”

“Yes, sir,” Peter answered hesitantly.

Wilhelm turned and left the room without
another word, closing the door behind him.

Anna looked nervously at Peter. “He’s upset
with me. What did I do?”

“I doubt he’s upset with
you
, Anna,”
he said, but didn’t look especially confident.

Fifteen minutes later, Peter walked Anna
downstairs to the main entry hall. Wilhelm, Kurt and Devin all sat
there and none of them looked happy. Devin stood when she entered
and walked over to her, slapping her on the cheek. She clutched her
cheek and fell to her knees in abject submission, scrambling to
avoid further punishment.

Peter began to protest, but Devin turned his
glare on him. “This is none of your concern, Peter. Go home to your
wife.”

“Devin....” Peter began.

“Go, Peter,” Wilhelm said from his seat.
“Devin is right.”

Peter looked between the two men and lifted
his chin. “I will not leave if you intend to hurt her.”

“She is no longer yours to worry about,”
Devin growled. “You are a Son, not an Elder, and would be wise to
listen to your superiors.”

Peter knelt next to Anna. “I will take you
with me, Anna. Just tell me and we will leave together.”

Anna shook her head with tears in her eyes.
She wouldn’t let Peter get into trouble because of her. “I’m okay,
Peter,” she whispered. “Please go.”

Peter sighed. He kissed her on the temple,
then stood and left. With him left all the warmth in the room. She
trembled at the coolness, especially from Wilhelm and Kurt.

Devin pulled her to her feet by her hair and
glared at her.

“You do not need to get violent, Devin,”
Wilhelm said coolly.

“I warned her if she misbehaved or
embarrassed me, I would punish her,” Devin said in a low voice.

Anna looked up at him. “What did I do?” she
whispered desperately. She didn’t understand why he was so
angry.

“You acted completely inappropriate last
night.”

“I did?” Anna was in shock. “What did I do?”
She normally didn’t ask questions about her punishments, but she
honestly didn’t know what she had done to upset him. Or Wilhelm.
She tried to look at Kurt. “Was it because of Peter?” she asked
softly.

Kurt looked away.

“That and everything else,” Devin spat. “Your
behavior the entire time was an embarrassment. You looked and acted
like a foolish girl who didn’t belong there.”

Tears came unbidden. “I didn’t know what was
going on. I had no idea what to do or how to act.” She started to
cry. “I didn’t know.”

Devin hit her again, but he still held her
hair, which made her take the full impact of the blow. She shrieked
and tried to get away, but he held her tight.

“I tried, Devin, I promise I did.”

Devin growled and pulled his hand back to hit
her again, but Wilhelm grabbed his hand. “What do you mean you did
not know what was going on?”

“I didn’t know,” she cried. “I was sent up to
a room full of women and dressed and sent down to a room full of
men. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t understand what anyone
was saying.” She was blubbering, but she had become so afraid of
Devin’s punishments, she would try anything to avoid them. “Please
don’t punish me, Devin,” she begged.

He frowned. “That’s the second time you’ve
called me by name in this place. If nothing else, that deserves
punishment.”

“She is terrified, Devin,” Wilhelm said
calmly. “Let her go.”

“Of course she’s terrified,” Devin said.
“That’s the point.” But Devin let her go and she fell back to the
floor.

“Nobody told you what would happen yesterday
evening?” Wilhelm asked, crouching next to her.

Anna shook her head.

“You should have known not to sneak out of a
Gathering, Anna,” Devin said. “Even you’re not
that
stupid.”

“I wasn’t trying to sneak. Peter said
it—”

“Peter isn’t your Master!” Devin shouted, his
voice reverberating throughout the room. “I am! You don’t listen to
him. You listen to me!”

Anna winced and huddled on the floor. “I’m
sorry, Master. I didn’t know.”

“Anna, you should have at least realized that
leaving was not a good idea,” Wilhelm said. Though his words were
soft, his rebuke was ten times more terrifying than Devin’s
shouting. He
was
angry with her.

She looked up at him with frightened tears on
her cheeks. “I’m sorry, Master. I’m so sorry.”

“She must be punished,” Devin said
firmly.

Wilhelm sighed and Anna held her breath as
she waited for him to speak. “If one of my
Dirne
had left
a gathering without permission, she would be disciplined.”

The air rushed out of Anna’s lungs at his
words and she gasped for air. Wilhelm was going to give her back to
Devin.

“If she is to be disciplined, I will do it,”
Wilhelm said, straightening.

“You?” Devin scoffed. “You think yourself
capable of punishing her?”

“I do not think it takes as much as you think
it will. I will not have her tortured for a mistake in judgment. I
will discipline her and then it will be over.” Wilhelm’s voice was
firm and Anna held back a sob. He would punish her.

Devin grunted, but nodded.

“I will return her to San Francisco the last
Wednesday of the month.”

“That’s almost a month!” Devin exclaimed.

“I have not seen her for a year and a half. I
think I deserve much more, but I know she has rehearsals to get
back to.”

“You can’t keep her away from me that long,”
Devin growled.

“If she becomes unwell, then we will return
to San Francisco. But I will not relinquish her until that day.”
Wilhelm frowned at Devin. “She should be able to be here a month
without becoming ill.”

Devin didn’t answer and Wilhelm’s frown
increased. “
Mein Gott,
Devin. Why do you want to hurt
her?”

“It’s not a matter of wanting to hurt her.
It’s simply a byproduct of what I must do.” He smirked. “I expect
I’ll see you sooner rather than later,” he said as he walked out of
the room.

Anna hunched down on the ground and waited
for Wilhelm to begin.

“
Kommen Sie,
Anna. Let us go back to
the hotel.”

Anna looked up in surprise. “The hotel?
But...” She shouldn’t press it. “Isn’t this place more conducive to
punishment?”

“
Ja
,” Wilhelm agreed. “But I am
going to discipline you, not punish you.”

“What’s the difference?” Anna asked as he
helped her to her feet.

“Discipline seeks to correct a behavior.
Punishment...well, punishment just hurts.”

She glanced at Kurt, who stared at the floor,
and then back at Wilhelm. She didn’t understand. Devin punished her
to change her behaviors.

Wilhelm said something quietly to Kurt, who
stood and followed them out of the building. The drive to the hotel
was long and silent. Anna stared at her hands and tried not to
tremble. The waiting was horrible. She was beginning to wish he’d
taken her to the dungeons at the Manor.

When they arrived at the hotel and went up to
the hotel rooms, Kurt went to his own room and closed the door,
still without speaking to her. Anna’s heart broke. He hated her and
wanted nothing to do with her.

Wilhelm took her into his bedroom and sat her
down on the bed. “Anna, do you know why I am disciplining you?”

“Because I embarrassed you and acted like a
fool,” Anna said softly.

“
Nein
, Anna. You did not embarrass
me. Do you know you are not allowed to leave the Gatherings without
permission?”

Anna nodded.

“Then why did you?” Wilhelm sounded sad.

She glanced up at him and back at her hands.
“I didn’t want to be there,” she said without thinking, and then
realized it was true. She would have done anything to get out of
that room. Not because she didn’t want to do her duties, but
because she was ashamed. “I felt...like I didn’t belong.”

Wilhelm was quiet. “That was quite selfish of
you, Anna. I am disappointed.”

Anna’s heart ached and her shoulders drooped.
She never wanted to disappoint Wilhelm. Ever. He was so kind to
her. And now he had to punish...er, discipline her.

“Remove your skirt and panties, Anna,”
Wilhelm said solemnly.

Anna did so as quickly as she could and stood
before Wilhelm. He looked up at her with sad eyes and then took her
hand and lay her across his lap. “Count.”

He smacked her bare ass with such force she
jumped and cried out in surprise. He was strong.

“Count, Anna,” he said in a low voice.

“One, Master,” she whispered. She was so
humiliated that Wilhelm had to do this.

Smack!

“Two, Master.” Oh, his hand was big and
strong!