Page 76 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 1

“How would you feel about having your own place to live?” he asked, breaking the silence like a stone hitting a window.

“I—‍” She blinked. “What?”

He smiled. “I would prefer it if you didn’t live here at the Manor. I think you’ve been cooped up for too long, and I want you to experience some freedom.”

Freedom? What did that mean? And what would Devin think of such a thing? He liked her here, where she was safe and available. She bit her lip and stared at her plate. Alex was her Master, too, though. A spark of hope lit in her chest at the thought. But... “I don’t know if I would know how to live on my own. And I don’t have any way to support myself.”

His eyes softened. “Part of being a good Master is taking care of those who belong to him.”

Anna looked down at her plate. A good Master? There was only one sort of Master. And she was supposed to please her Master, not be a burden to him. “I’m content here, Master. You needn’t waste your money on me.”

“I wouldn’t consider it a waste of money. Besides, you’d be closer to both me and Devin if you lived in the city.”

“Oh.” Of course it would be more convenient for both of them if she wasn’t on outside the city. The Manor was many miles from Alex’s house. She folded her hands in her lap and bowed her head. “Whatever would please you, Master.”

Alex silently berated himself. He’d made it sound like he didn’t want to be inconvenienced by having to come all the way out to the Manor to see her. Yes, he wanted her close by, but more importantly, he wanted her to learn to be independent. To experience life as a normal young woman should. She was twenty years old and knew nothing of real life. She’d been cooped up since she was sixteen, abused and tortured, and made to believe she had nothing to offer anyone except her body.

How could she freely choose him—or better, love him—if she thought she had no other choice? She would do anything he asked, even if she didn’t want to. If he wanted her to go out with him, she would. If he wanted her to make love to him, she would.

Alex sighed. He didn’t want her obligation. He wanted her to wholeheartedly choose him, when the time was right. And if she experienced nothing but what Jack and Devin had done to her, how could she learn to be a normal young woman? She needed to go out with friends and go to parties and... other stuff.

He frowned at the thought of “other stuff.” He didn’t like the idea of her being with anyone except him. If she went to parties, men would flock to her like flies to honey. It was only to be expected. She was beautiful and sweet, and any man would count themselves lucky to spend time with her.

Not to mention, he wasn’t her only Master. Devin would have his way with her, and probably not nicely. Alex would have to share her until he figured out how to free her.

He lifted his chin. He would show himself different from that bastard Devin. And giving her freedom was the first step. She needed to experience life. To do that, she had to be out of the Manor. “Anna, I want you to have your own place so you can learn to be independent.”

She looked up at him with those sad eyes of hers that made his heart ache. “Why does it matter if I’m independent or not? I’m just a slave.”

Not to me, you’re not. “You’re not supposed to be a slave and I refuse to treat you as such.”

She frowned at him. “Why am I not supposed to be a slave?”

Alex stared at her for a long moment. Was it possible she didn’t know what she was? Why wouldn’t Devin...

Anger burned in his chest once more at the San Francisco Elder. Devin had never told her what she was. By keeping her unaware of her heritage and powers, Devin could keep her defeated and weak. If she knew the truth, she would be empowered. Shit. She needed to know, and soon, but this was not the place to tell her. He needed to get her away from Devin before he told her, otherwise that man would never let her out of his sight. Alex needed to be smart about the whole thing. He needed to speak to Vati before he said anything.

“Like I said before, you weren’t born here. You don’t belong here.”

She gave a single nod and took a bite of eggs.

Alex sighed and stared at the top of her head, bent over her plate. This was going to be more difficult than he ever could have imagined.

“Kurt mentioned you take ballet classes.”

Anna glanced up at him at the change of subject. Her mouth smoothed into a soft smile. Was she remembering the time she’d spent with Kurt? “I do. Twice a week. Though I missed my last class.” She shuddered and shook her head at some memory, clearly not wanting to remember.

“Anna, what’s wrong?”

“I...” She shook her head and forced a smile as she opened her eyes. “Nothing. It’s not important.”

“Please tell me.”

He didn’t command her, and she studied his face as if wondering why he wanted to know. “Devin had said something about letting me dance more...” She shook her head.

“What did he say?”

“He asked if there was something he could do to make up for... what I went through the last four years.” She chewed the inside of her cheek.

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