Page 78 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 1

He pressed his lips together and growled to himself. She was right. If Devin saw her attempting to be equal to a man by walking next to him, he would certainly disapprove. When she pulled again, he let go. She let him walk ahead a few steps, then followed behind.

Chapter 32

Devin sat in a large black leather chair behind his massive ebony desk waiting for Anna to arrive, fingers tented in front of him. He stared out the tall windows at the leaves of a hundred-year-old maple tree swaying in the breeze. Behind him, floor-to-ceiling ebony bookshelves held valuable antiques, first edition books, and several ancient, bejeweled tomes that helped him achieve and maintain the powerful position he held in the city.

Across the room, Ian sat on a black leather couch, flanked by two matching armchairs. A carved ebony coffee table sat perfectly centered in front of the couch. A dark green rug covered the sandalwood floor.

Devin clenched his jaw, his mind replaying the events of the previous evening, and took a deliberate, calming inhale. Over twenty years of planning had been ruined because of that German. Damn fucking Alex for interfering in his ritual.

And, though he knew Anna couldn’t have played any part in Alex knowing what to do to interrupt Devin’s perfect plan, he couldn’t help but imagine taking her down to the dungeon and working out his anger on her beautiful body. Her screams would unquestionably soothe the fire in his soul.

When Anna had told him that Alex had been cold to her, Devin had concluded with a great deal of certainty that Alex knew nothing of his plans, and nothing of Anna’s true nature.

He’d been wrong. So fucking wrong.

Someone must have helped Alex. There was no way another Elder—let alone a fucking Elder-Son—could have known about that ancient, forbidden ritual, let alone how to interfere with it. Devin had studied for decades and nothing in the old tome mentioned the possibility of a slave bonding with two Masters.

Fucking Germans.

In addition, Alex’s interference had denied Devin the pleasure of fucking Anna after the ritual. He had been looking forward to having Anna in his bed, testing her obedience and lost self-will. It had been a difficult task, maintaining a calm and affectionate demeanor towards her for two weeks. However, the other night, she’d finally let go and surrendered herself to him. She was willing to give herself to him completely on the stone table. He’d been so close...

Devin let out a low growl. So fucking close!

Had he lost everything he’d been working for these last few weeks? These last years?

He didn’t know because Fucking Alex had stolen her away after they’d argued.

The rest of the Gathering had been one of the most difficult Devin had ever presided over. He’d had to play nice and pretend everything was fine. Making a scene would have exacerbated the situation.

Since he couldn’t be with Anna last night, he’d gone into the Red Room and worked over one of his girls so badly, he was fairly certain he’d killed her. He’d taken two more to bed with him and roughed them up as well. He knew one of them was still alive this morning because he’d fucked her hard and made her scream again. The maids were going to have their work cut out for them cleaning up his room, though.

He slammed his fist on the desk, and Ian jumped. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Years of planning down the drain! He’d have to share Anna now. Fuck.

He sucked in another cooling breath. There had to be a way to make the situation work to his advantage. There had to be a way to fix it and not lose all the progress he’d made.

Devin tapped his tented fingers on his lips. He had to get rid of Alex. Somehow. The uptight German would surely protest Devin’s treatment and usage of Anna. He might even teach Anna to defend herself. And that absolutely couldn’t happen. Anna needed to stay ignorant of her true self and abilities. It was the only way to keep her under control. Devin obviously couldn’t kill the Elder-Son—or have someone kill him—but there had to be a way to get rid of the German. At least until after Anna’s twenty-sixth birthday, when the final bonding ritual would be performed. Then Devin could re-perform the ritual as prescribed in the tome—without Alex’s interference—and she would be his forever.

But how did one make an Elder-Son disappear for six years? Especially a well-liked one who had additional duties in The Brotherhood.

It would require some serious thought. And research. He had to be very careful.

Devin leaned back in his chair and inhaled deeply. Having a plan allowed his rage to settle into a dull simmer. Yes, he could do this. He hadn’t failed. Things had just... taken an unexpected turn. He would step back, regroup, and do what needed to be done.

His thoughts turned to his sweet little Anna. Without her, he wouldn’t be able to carry out his plans. How would this double bonding affect her? She was supposed to have been turned into his mindless slave, happy to do whatever he told her to do. Would that still be the case? How independent would she remain? She had to obey him... right?

He would have to find out. Quickly. He’d been planning on taking his obedient little puppet to a company banquet on Wednesday as a test run.

Someone knocked on the door and Ian stood to answer it. He looked up, expecting Anna. By herself. What he got was Alex, followed by Anna.

Fuck.

Just one glance at Alex’s stormy face was enough for Devin to realize that Alex had been deliberately keeping Anna at arm’s length. Fortunately for Devin, looks couldn’t kill. But Alex himself was unquestionably capable of killing and had probably done so many times for The Brotherhood, as evidenced by the unmistakable black diamond ring on his finger that he’d flashed the previous night. For the first time since the ritual, relief flooded Devin’s body at the other man’s obvious concern for Anna. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be sitting in his study watching Alex glare at him.

Devin let out a long breath, then stood and walked around to the front of the desk as Alex strode inside. Anna stood behind him, her eyes wide as she stared at the fifteen-foot-high wall of books behind Devin.

He cleared his throat and Anna tore her gaze away from the books. He narrowed his eyes and pointed to the floor in front of him. She gasped and ran across the room, dropping to her knees in the proper bow before him. As she trembled, he couldn’t help but smile, a rush of warmth coursing through his veins. He moved to kick her in the ribs, but didn’t think that would be a smart thing to do in front of Alex. The man might not be able to kill him without hurting Anna, but he was as big as Ian and could undoubtedly break one of his arms or legs without breaking a sweat.

Devin stepped over Anna and strolled to the seating area. He motioned to Alex and forced a smile. “Please, Alex. Sit.”

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