Page 149 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 1

At least the footage had been silent. Seeing it had been bad enough. Imagining their screams was horrible, and those imaginings would haunt him forever.

A door opened and Alex snapped open his eyes. Devin sauntered in, an amused look on his face, followed by Ian. Devin walked toward him and Ian waited by the door, feet apart, arms crossed over his chest. Did the big man think Alex could free himself from iron chains? If only...

“You didn’t like seeing your work? I’m surprised. You certainly seemed to enjoy it while you were doing it.”

Heat spread through Alex’s body like an exploding volcano, and he yanked against his bindings. “I never would do such a disgusting thing and you know it!”

“Oh, but you did. You just saw it.” He laughed again and leaned against a nearby table. “I normally punish men who rape my little ones. But this time I think it was worth it. The look on your face when you saw it was priceless.”

Alex resisted the urge to search for a camera in the room. It didn’t surprise him that the Elder had watched him. “What did you do to me?”

“I can only imagine what Anna will think when she sees it.”

The thought cooled his body as if someone had thrown a bucket of ice water in his face. No, Anna could never see that. She’d never forgive him, even if he could convince her that he wasn’t in his right mind when he’d done it. Alex growled and glared at the other man. “You wouldn’t dare.”

Devin chuckled. “No, I won’t right now. I just want you to know I have it, should you decide to share anything else with Anna that she doesn’t need to know.” He slapped his hands on his cheeks with an expression of exaggerated shock. “Imagine what your father and the other Elders would think of their precious Alex raping three little girls.” He snorted. “You really tore them up. I think you even tore into one’s ass. I do hope she can be repaired. She’s rather pretty, you know.”

Alex’s stomach heaved again, but there was nothing left to vomit.

Devin leaned back on the table and studied him silently.

Alex glared at him again. “I never would do such a thing on my own. What the fuck did you do to me?”

Devin stood and strolled around the edge of the room. “That’s true. You wouldn’t. I wouldn’t have been able to trick you even if you were in one of those infamous rages of yours.” Devin paused and turned back to look at him, his head cocked. “Maybe you should consider a new nickname. Hulk, maybe? Though you don’t turn green... except at the present moment.”

Devin turned away and trailed his hands on the whips along the walls. “No, I had to get creative. You really angered me, telling Anna the truth. She was afraid of me.”

“She should be afraid of you, you fucking asshole. You’re a fucking lunatic.”

“Lunatic?” Devin smiled, his dark eyes glittering in the dull yellow light. “Hardly. I made my plans long ago and have methodically worked toward their culmination for over two decades. I don’t think a lunatic has that kind of mental capacity.” He turned to Ian. “Get one of the girls to come in and clean him and the floor up. Someone over eighteen.” He raised his brows. “Better?”

Alex growled.

“But you’ll be happy to know that Anna and I are getting along wonderfully now. She spent Wednesday night sleeping contentedly in my arms.”

Alex’s heart pounded, not only with anger, but jealousy. The thought of Anna in Devin’s arms twisted the knife that had been in his heart since he’d met her in real life. “What did you do to her?”

“Nothing that hurt her, I assure you. Well...” He paused and smiled, as if recalling a memory. “I just adjusted the thoughts in her head.” He raised his eyebrows and tilted his head. “She knows how badly I need her and how sorry I am for hurting her.” He flashed a wicked half-smile and wagged his eyebrows. “I think she may even think you lied to her to make me look bad.”

Alex clenched his jaw. How could Devin control her like that? How could Alex compete in a such a wicked arena involving mind control? He preferred his sniper rifle to mind games. The rules were clear in warfare: shoot the enemy. This was a completely different battlefield, one his opponent had been working in for decades. Alex was underpowered, unprepared, and hopelessly committed to the fight—Anna was on the line.

Damn his fucking pride! If he’d just listened to Vati years ago, none of this would have happened. He closed his eyes and pressed his lips together. He was failing. Again. Failing his father. Failing his Brothers. Failing Anna. He couldn’t protect her the way he should; the way he wanted and needed to.

The door opened and two young women wearing short blue dresses entered, carrying a bucket and towels. One set to work cleaning the floor beneath him. The other wiped a wet cloth over his body, starting at his chin and working her way down. He closed his eyes but snapped them open again at the thought of the terror on those girls’ faces. Their silent screams kept echoing in his mind.

“Oh, alright, Alex. You look so miserable.” Devin gave an exaggerated sigh. “Not that it will matter to outsiders, but for your own peace of mind, I drugged you. I gave you Sereniflex, which, if you’re not aware, makes?—‍”

“I’m familiar with what it does.” A favorite of drug cartels, Sereniflex was serum that, in the right dose, turns the one who takes it into a tool, making them do anything and everything, even acting against their natural instincts if told to. The Brotherhood was known to have used it in the past, but it was an expensive drug and they found that seduction worked just as well and lasted longer. “Why would you make me do such a horrible thing?”

“Blackmail is always useful. Plus, I thought it would be an effective deterrent to keep you from telling Anna anything else she doesn’t need to know. If you do, I’ll use the drug again. Maybe I’ll have you rape her.”

Alex studied the older man’s face. How could he be so casual about such terrible acts? He pressed his lips together, irritated at the contrasting sensations of his fiery anger toward Devin and the soft touch of one of his slaves. He growled. “She had a right to know.”

“There are certain things that Anna may have the right to know, but it’s not necessarily beneficial.”

“To you.”

Devin shrugged. “For example, it wouldn’t be beneficial for her to think of me as a heartless bastard who killed her parents.”

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