Page 86 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 2

Tyler stood next to his father and grinned. He walked to her and pulled her close, pushing his fingers into the bruises he had given her earlier. “Fucking sexy,” he murmured against her neck before biting it and making Anna cry out in pain.

“Let’s go. You can fuck her up again later. Just make sure she can walk tomorrow.”

Devin took Anna’s hand and they walked down the hallway to the elevators.

They made their way down to the ballroom. As she walked in, she spotted many familiar faces, though the only ones she knew by name were the Americans. Every culture in the world was represented in this room. There were tensions between some groups and friendliness among others. A handful of women in white were dispersed among the more than one hundred and fifty men, mostly wearing dark suits, though some wore clothing more suited to their culture. The other women—the slaves—would come later. Only the Elder-Mistresses were allowed in the room during dinner.

As Devin led her to their table, she saw Wilhelm and Kurt across the room. Kurt smiled at her and nodded, as trying to assure her of something, though of what, Anna couldn’t even begin to imagine.

The other American Elders and their sons joined them at the table. Tommy smiled at her warmly and tried to sit with her, but Tyler slid into the chair next to her, with Devin on her other side. Tyler looked smug and Tommy grimaced and took the seat next to his father, who had seated himself next to Devin.

Dinner was uneventful for Anna. Thankfully, no one tried anything and she could sit quietly and study the room a little. Peter sat next to his uncle at a nearby table. Their eyes met and he gave her a warm smile.

After dinner, Vlad stood and spoke to the men in English, thanking them for coming and announcing the itinerary for the next few days. “Is there any business that needs to be attended to?” he asked when he had finished.

Wilhelm stood and waited for Vlad to acknowledge him. A tiny smile appeared on Vlad’s face before nodding to Wilhelm and sitting down.

“My Brothers,” Wilhelm began in heavily accented English. “You all know that my son, Alex, was killed while performing his duties to The Brotherhood. He left behind a sweet, beautiful wife.” Wilhelm met Anna’s eyes and smiled.

Devin stiffened next to her.

“You also know that she is an Elder-Mistress. What you may not know is that she is also a slave. A slave with two Masters.” He paused and there were murmurs around the room.

Devin growled. “What the fuck is he doing?”

“Devin Andersen is one Master. Alex was her second Master, and when he died, I took his place. I have not been allowed to see or speak to my daughter-in-law in almost a year-and-a-half, because Devin decided I should not have that right. I ask you, my Brothers, to pressure Devin into lifting the ban prohibiting my family to have contact with Anna, and restore my rights as her Master.”

Devin jumped to his feet and threw his napkin on the table. He stabbed a finger at Wilhelm. “You were trying to steal her away from me!”

Wilhelm tilted his head and kept his voice even. “How can I steal what is rightfully mine? I had my reasons for wanting to take her to Germany.” He didn’t go into details, which seemed to surprise Devin.

A tall man with very dark skin stood. “Why is an Elder-Mistress a slave?” His voice was very deep and resonant. A beautiful dark-skinned woman sat next to him with gold threads running through her braided hair. The man put his hand on the woman’s shoulder. “That is not right.”

Wilhelm didn’t comment, and Devin fumed but kept quiet.

A heated discussion ensued about Elder-Mistresses being slaves. The consensus went against what Devin had done, and his rage grew more and more palpable as the minutes wore on. Anna held her breath, dreading the end of the dinner and what would take place in his room after. Would Kaveh be able to come and heal her?

After about ten minutes, Wilhelm raised his hand and the room quieted. “Brothers, I did not bring up the subject to debate the issue of Anna’s slavery. It is done and there is nothing to be done to change it. My sole concern is that I cannot have any contact with her. As you can imagine, I am quite fond of my daughter-in-law, and I simply wish to spend time with her.”

Devin narrowed his eyes at Wilhelm and leaned over to Tom. “Why isn’t he taking advantage of the discussion to contest what I did?”

“He seems to just want to see Anna.” Tom shrugged. “Is that so unreasonable? How would you like to not be able to be with her?”

Devin turned his narrowed gaze on Tom and studied him for a long time. Finally, Devin pressed his lips together and sighed. “You’re right. He only wants to spend time with her. I suppose that’s not unreasonable.” Though he didn’t seem happy, Devin stood and held up his hands. The room quieted again.

“Perhaps I was a bit... hasty in forbidding contact with Anna.” Devin gritted his teeth. “I lift my ban on your contact with her.”

Anna’s heart leaped and she stared up at Devin, terrified to hope his words meant what she thought they might mean.

“And visitations?” Wilhelm arched a brow.

Devin’s jaw clenched and he gave a single, sharp nod.

Wilhelm beamed. “I thank you for your willingness to change your mind, Devin.”

Devin sat down and looked directly into Anna’s eyes. “You may go to him. If you embarrass me or misbehave in any way, I will punish you when we return home.”

Anna bounced in her chair, unable to contain the joy surging through her entire body. “Yes, Devin.”

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