Page 2 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 2

They were both tall and thin, with the same hard brown eyes beneath heavy brows. The older man’s gray hair was cut very short and his beard was pointed, making him look like the evil villain he seemed to truly be. The younger man, near Vati’s age, had dark hair sprinkled with silver and a matching beard. He stood a few feet behind the older man and looked at Alex with disdain.

The older man smiled and Alex curled his lip. “Vitaly and Vlad Ivanov,” he growled under his breath.

Vitaly smiled and pointed to him. “Make him stand.”

Two men pulled Alex to his feet and pushed him forward. Alex sneered and stood his full height in front of him, glaring down at the elderly man.

“Welcome to my home, Alex,” Vitaly said in Russian. He leaned to look around Alex at his men. “And friends, of course. I am so glad to have you as my guests.” He paused. “Permanently.”

“Zhopa,” Alex spat in Russian, calling the Russian Elder an asshole. He didn’t know many Russian curse words, and it wasn’t incredibly insulting, but it felt good to say. Russian was always good to curse in.

Vlad chuckled. “You really need to improve your insults, Alex. I have a book I can lend you. You’ll have plenty of time to read it.”

Alex clenched his teeth. “You fucking bastard. How long have you been in Devin’s pocket?” He spat in the older man’s face and lunged at him.

Someone grabbed him from behind and tried to push him to his knees, but even with his hands tied behind his back, Alex was a good deal stronger. Only after several minutes of struggling and a hard kick behind the knees did Alex finally go down.

The guard pulled at his hair to make him look up at Vitaly and Alex sneered. “You better watch your back,” he spat in Russian. “Both of you. I will spend every moment I am awake deciding how I’m going to kill you.”

Vitaly laughed, and Alex jumped back to his feet and rammed himself into the old man. Vitaly fell back into Vlad’s arms and Alex smiled... just before someone cracked him on the head and he slumped to the floor.

Chapter 2

Two Years Later

Anna felt herself rising to a stark and brutal level of consciousness, only dimly aware that she lay flat on her back on her bed at the Manor. Along with lucidity came a dull, aching pain that grew with each breath she drew.

Devin had taken her baby. A child conceived out of love with Alex. The last vestige of Alex she had clung to. And Devin took it. Again.

Again?

No. It couldn’t be Alex’s baby. Alex was dead. He’d been dead for so long. How long had it been? But why did Devin tell her it was Alex’s baby and upset her so much?

She rubbed her face, trying to dispel the fog of confusion smothering her mind. These days, she was always confused. Sometimes Devin said Alex was alive. Other times, he smiled and told her Alex was dead. Why did he say such conflicting things? It was hard enough clinging to reality when Devin wasn’t around, but when he was, she became even more confused.

Focus, Anna. What happened?

She just returned home from another Spring Gathering. How many had there been? Two? Three, maybe? She’d been pregnant before they left. She was not pregnant now. Devin had told her before they left that it was Alex’s baby and she’d believed him. She’d fought tooth and nail to keep him from taking it, but now it just seemed foolish. Alex had been dead a long, long time.

Alex! A sharp pang in her chest hit hard and she rolled to the edge of the bed, groaning as her strength failed. She stumbled into the bathroom and opened her relief cabinet, but it was empty.

“No!” She fell to her knees and curled over her legs. “No!” She’d been a good girl. She’d done everything Devin had asked. Why was he punishing her?

Crawling to her feet, she limped to her bedroom door and pounded on it with all her strength, screaming Devin’s name in a pathetic, mewling shout. She didn’t care if he came to punish her. She just needed him to come. Screaming his name always made him come. And he came angry.

But no one came. She pounded on the door until her fists were bruised and bleeding, and still no one came.

Devin always came when she screamed. Why not this time?

She curled into a ball on the floor and sobbed. Where was everybody? She’d been a good girl. She’d been obedient. Why was he punishing her? What had she done wrong?

Devin had few requirements for her. She no longer attended the Friday Gatherings, and he didn’t take her to the Summer Gatherings anymore. The only thing she needed to do was be somewhat coherent during the Spring Gatherings so he could take her baby in the spring. A baby to do terrible things to.

She shuddered and shoved the images aside.

The drugs kept memories of Alex at bay. She hadn’t left the Manor, except for the Spring Gatherings, since she’d returned from Alex’s funeral. She hated the Gatherings. Devin and his friends did terrible things to her and the memories haunted her dreams for months after. But that was the only time she was called upon for her duties, so she supposed it was bearable. Four days a year, she was tortured and abused within inches of her life in exchange for being left alone the rest of the time. It wasn’t a bad deal. She could handle four days.

Aaron had been at the Gatherings, but she managed to avoid him. Tommy and Travis, too. The three of them seemed inseparable. She’d watched them from afar, sadness and loneliness creeping in and hating it.

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