The Life of Anna, Part 5: Emerged (60 page)

He was next. Mortality was staring him in the
face. He thought he had done enough to prevent this—he'd been so
careful, made Tyler be so careful—but it hadn't made a damn bit of
difference.

For the first time, he had to acknowledge
that he was afraid.

Alex watched through binoculars from the
rooftop across the street with satisfaction as Devin was told about
Tyler’s death. The gray face, the shaking and sweating; yes, he
enjoyed seeing Devin in anguish. The only thing that would be more
satisfying was the look on Devin’s face when Alex walked into
Devin’s Manor next week, showing himself alive to the world Elders
and putting the blame at Devin’s feet.

Devin’s world was crumbling at his feet, and
Alex savored every moment.

Anna heard the door open and forced her
swollen eyes open. She was lying on the floor in the cold dungeon.
Everything in her body hurt and she couldn’t move, even if she
wanted to.

Devin walked over and stared down at her. She
tried to brace herself for a blow, but he didn’t move.

He was pale. No, his face was gray, his eyes
wide with...terror? Anna had never seen him afraid, much less
terrified, but she couldn’t ask him what was wrong. Her jaw
wouldn’t move.

“Tyler is dead,” he whispered and fell to his
knees in front of her.

Anna looked up at him, unblinking. How should
she react to the news that Tyler was gone? She certainly wasn’t
sad. He had proven himself an adept torturer these last two
weeks.

But the other Elders died a few days after
their Sons did. Did that mean Devin would be dead soon? Hope lit in
her heart and Devin narrowed his eyes.

“You’re hoping I’m next, aren’t you?” he
growled.

Yes! Yes, I hope you’re next!
She
screamed in her head, almost wishing he could hear.

“I won't let that happen,” he said in a low
voice, as though her unspoken defiance gave him the strength he'd
been looking for. “I will not let my family line die. My family
brought the Brotherhood to this country and I will not let the line
die with me. You will give me a son.”

Anna’s eyes widened. The thought of having
Devin’s son revolted her.

“I will regain my powers and you will help
me.” He stood and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind
him.

Devin watched with satisfaction as Val healed
Anna’s body and then raped her. Val wasn’t as powerful as Kaveh,
but with Kaveh missing, Val had gladly accepted the opportunity to
rape Anna for Devin. Anna screamed as Val plundered her pussy,
drilling deep so he could plant his essence in her for Devin to
partake of.

He could almost taste the sweet nectar.
Tomorrow morning was his son’s funeral. He had to gain some sort of
control to be able to dodge the bullet, both literally and
figuratively.

Tyler. He regretted his son’s death. Devin
could imagine all sorts of reasons why someone would want to kill
him, but why his son? What had Tyler done? What had any of the Sons
done to warrant an assassination?

He could feel himself giving in to despair
and shook himself. He couldn’t lose it. He had to maintain control
or he would be shot tomorrow. Get through the funeral. Get through
the Gathering, and then impregnate Anna before she left to go with
Wilhelm.

Wouldn’t that just kill Wilhelm? He laughed,
imagining the look on Wilhelm’s face when he found out. And the
German, being the honorable man, wouldn’t do anything about it.

Devin took Anna home with him that night. Val
raped her once more, giving Devin a second dose of essence. Val was
confident that Devin would know when the bullet was coming with the
double dose. Anna wasn’t feeling well, but then again, she wasn’t
supposed to be feeling well. She was supposed to be hurting from
punishments.

Most of her bruises were gone, though she had
received some new ones earlier in the day. Devin was trying to
control his feelings about the loss of his son. It wasn’t working
very well and Anna bore the brunt of it. Devin really didn’t care
if the other Elders didn’t like the bruises on her face. They knew
she was being punished. She could walk and talk now. It was better
than she looked a few days ago.

Wilhelm sucked in a deep breath when he saw
Anna at Devin’s side. Beside him, Kurt cursed, and Wilhelm grabbed
his arm to keep his son from going to her. He understood Kurt’s
desire, however. Anna looked terrible.

She was very pale and her dark hair was dull
and pulled back into a low ponytail. She wore the same black suit
as she’d worn at Oscar’s funeral, but it seemed almost big on her.
Had she eaten at all since she’d been here? Even more disturbing
were the bruises on her cheeks. Devin was not hiding what he’d been
doing to her. She walked with her head down, limping slightly.

When he looked at Devin, his heart dropped
into his stomach. Devin had obviously been partaking of Anna; he
was radiating power again, though not as much as he had before.
Wilhelm was pleased, however, to see his eyes darting around, as if
expecting to feel a bullet at any moment. He saw several Elders
looking very alert as well. Only a handful of people in this area
knew that there was no bullet forthcoming.

Devin greeted people somberly and elbowed
Anna when she didn’t do likewise. Her green eyes were dull and
lifeless and it hurt to look at them.

Wilhelm could only imagine what was going
through Alex’s mind as he watched from his perch across the street.
He could almost feel his son’s anger. Or maybe it was just his own
anger Wilhelm was feeling. This evening could not come soon
enough.

Shaw Wilson was watching Devin and Anna with
wide eyes. Wilhelm walked over to him. “Do you regret your decision
now, Shaw?” he asked quietly. “He probably cleaned her up to make
her presentable.”

Shaw looked at him, horror evident in his
face. “How can he treat her like that?”

“I told you he would ignore you.”

Anna looked up at that moment and met
Wilhelm’s eyes. They were begging for help and Wilhelm found
himself walking to her, even though he knew he could do
nothing.

Devin glared at him as he approached. “Come
to try and steal her away?”

Wilhelm shook his head in bewilderment. “How
can you do this to her, Devin? Have you no heart?”

Devin pressed his lips together but said
nothing.

Wilhelm reached out for Anna, but she stepped
away and looked at Devin fearfully.

Devin smiled grimly. “I still have her for a
few more days, Wilhelm. You will not touch her until then.” He
grabbed Anna’s arm, making her wince, and dragged her away. She
didn’t look back.

Devin sat on his chair in the Great Hall with
Anna trembling and naked at his feet. He had listened to his
friends speak fondly of Tyler, had spoken himself, briefly. He had
allowed tears to gather in his eyes to show his attachment to his
son, but they had threatened to choke him, and he stopped short. He
could not show that kind of weakness in front of these men.

Now, watching as Tyler’s white robe was
brought to the brazier near the edge of the platform, he held
himself utterly still. Burning Tyler's robe made his death seem all
the more real. Devin's eyes darted around the room—anything to hold
back the reality of the moment.

A movement at the back of the room caught his
attention and he saw Wilhelm, Vlad and Tom standing shoulder to
shoulder, their faces impassive. Tommy stood nearby, next to Peter
and Kurt.

What was going on? Why were
those
Elders standing together? They had nothing in common with each
other.

He was momentarily distracted as Tyler’s robe
was placed on the brazier, the smoke as the flames caught briefly
blocking his view of the men. Grief threatened to overwhelm him
again, but he would not cry. He would not show weakness. He kept
his face stoic and stared at the flames that represented the death
of his son.

When the flames died down, he stood to speak
once more, but the doors in the back of the room were thrown wide,
sending them crashing against the walls, and Devin froze. He stared
as a giant of a man in a hooded white robe walked slowly down the
center aisle, followed by four equally immense men in black robes.
He only knew one person who would be that tall and broad, but he
was supposed to be thousands of miles away in Russia. He glanced
over at Vlad and Wilhelm, standing with expectant looks on their
faces. In a moment of clarity he understood everything, and he
looked around for an easy exit.

Alex looked at his men before taking a deep
breath. This was it. The moment he’d been waiting for. This was the
moment Devin’s world would come crashing down around him.

“Ready?”

“You sure I can’t use a meat grinder on his
cock?” Seth asked with a devilish grin.

Alex chuckled. “As tempting as it is, it
would be a bit messy.”

The others laughed softly, defusing the
tension.

He took another deep breath, pulled the hood
over his head to hide his face, and pushed the doors open with a
dramatic flair. Might as well make sure everyone saw his
entrance.

He stepped through the doors and walked
slowly towards the platform where Devin stood, frozen with his
hands lifted halfway over his head. Anna huddled next to Devin’s
chair, bruises looking much worse than they had this morning. She
didn’t look up as he approached. Alex stopped a few feet from the
edge of the platform and looked up. He could tell when Devin could
see part of his face because he went grayer than he already
was.

He lowered his hands slowly and lifted his
chin. “What do you want?” His low voice failed to convey the
bluster he'd surely been trying for, and he visibly swallowed,
looking behind Alex at the black-robed men.

Alex flashed a wicked grin before lowering
his hood. “I want you.” He pointed to the floor at his feet. “On
your knees.”

Anna heard the murmurs spread across the room
but didn’t dare look up. Devin had warned her that the slightest
hint of disobedience and he would make sure she wouldn’t be able to
move for the next week.

But a warmth began to spread into her body as
the murmuring got louder. She heard Devin say something, though she
couldn’t understand his words. Then a voice spoke. The voice from
her dreams. Was she sleeping?

It couldn’t be, could it? She was afraid to
look up. It was probably just Wilhelm. Thoughts of Alex had plagued
her since she’d woken this morning and it had to be just her
imagination.

But then she heard a name being spoken around
the room.
Alex.

“Did you like the way your son died, Devin? I
did it especially for you.”

Anna gasped and looked up. “Alex!” she cried
and scrambled to her feet, ready to run to him.

“Stop!” Devin commanded and she froze, nearly
falling over.

“You
dare
forbid
my wife
from coming to me?” Alex asked, his tone scathing. A few voices in
the room called out in anger.

“You are supposed to be dead,” Devin
spat.

“You would like that, wouldn’t you? It would
have been a lot easier if I was dead, but you couldn’t kill me
without destroying Anna, so you just had me ambushed and taken out
of the equation.”

The murmurs around the room rose to an
alarming volume and Anna saw Wilhelm, Vlad, Peter, Kurt, Tom and
Tommy walking towards the front of the room.

“That is absurd! You can’t prove that. How
could I do such a thing?”

“You had my father help you,” Vlad said, his
voice carrying throughout the room. “Even I was enlisted to help,
manipulated into thinking Alex was a threat.”

“You betray me?” Devin snarled.

“I consider it correcting a grievous wrong,
Devin,” Vlad answered.

“Tom?” Devin said, clearly shaken at the
thought that his friend would take sides against him.

“You’re destroying our country, Devin. I
can’t allow that to happen.”

“Tell Anna, Devin,” Alex said in a low growl.
“Tell everyone how you had me captured and held in St. Petersburg,
while you used my wife to further your plans.”

Alex continued speaking, but Anna could only
stare at him, heart reaching for him. Alex glanced at her and gave
her such a loving look she started to cry.

As the words sank in, she slowly turned to
look at Devin.

Devin had taken her beloved Alex from her,
and tortured her and used her and—

Anna’s jaw clenched and her vision was
blinded by a white light of rage. She balled her hands into fists
and screamed in primal fury.

Alex flinched at the scream that came out of
Anna’s mouth. The entire room froze and every eye turned to her.
She was trembling as she had the night she’d almost raged in front
of him. Her pupils were disappearing and her eyes began to glow as
she turned towards Devin.

Devin turned to look at her and his eyes
widened in terror. “Fuck,” he whispered and began to back away from
her. She walked forward as he walked backwards and he shrieked as
he tripped over his robe and fell on his ass.

Alex bit back a smile at Devin’s girlish
scream. He knew he couldn’t let Anna kill him, but he was truly
enjoying Devin’s terror.

“Help me,” Devin whispered, looking at Alex
with wide eyes. “Please. She’ll kill me.”

“I will show you as much mercy as you’ve
shown her.”

Alex actually saw tears in Devin’s eyes as
Anna stalked over and stood above him. And then he shook his
head.

“Anna, stop!” Devin commanded, but she
ignored him and a wicked smile formed on her face. She knelt down
next to him and looked to be about to stroke his hair back, but
instead she rested her hand on his forehead and closed her
eyes.