Page 355 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 2

Edwin interrupted his morbid thoughts. “What will you do?” Edwin asked. He knew of their plans, but hadn’t participated in the actual planning.

Wilhelm shook his head. “I don’t know. We can’t do anything until the funerals are over. Devin would notice if we were talking. He likely blames me for her disappearance. I hope we can accelerate the plans, though, instead of waiting the month. Alex will be unable to wait that long, but he will wait for instructions.”

Edwin nodded. “You have a good son.” He glanced at Kurt, who had walked outside to the balcony. “You have two good sons.”

“Thank you. I am very proud of them both.” How long would it take for Travis to get in touch with his father? The wait would surely kill him.

“Don’t leave marks on her,” Devin called as the new, younger Elders took Anna to the side of the room. “She needs to look healthy on Sunday.”

Anna screeched as Noah plowed into her ass and took hold of her hair. Serves her right. She would likely look back on tonight with fondness once he got her home to San Francisco. It was good to see the new Elders took after their fathers.

Another scream from Anna brought a smile to Devin’s face as he chatted with his friends. He’d missed hearing her scream. He hadn’t used her yet, as he’d been more focused on reviving his powers from her pussy juices. Maybe tomorrow. He’d have all day to play with her.

He couldn’t do too much with her, though. Kaveh hadn’t responded to his summons since he’d retrieved Anna. The other American Immortal that he had semi-regular contact with, Val, was not as loyal to him as Devin would have liked. Val wasn’t as interested in Anna as Kaveh was, which made it difficult to manipulate him—as much as a human could manipulate an Immortal. Kaveh had been with Devin from the beginning and had influenced Val and the other Immortals into helping him. With Kaveh gone, would Val step in and rape Anna so that Devin could have their combined essence?

Brandon’s phone rang, bringing Devin out of his thoughts. The L.A. Elder smiled. “Travis.” He stood and walked out to the balcony.

Devin rolled his eyes. He didn’t understand why an Elder would be so interested in a bastard son. But Brandon was soft. He hoped Ethan wasn’t, though it didn’t look hopeful. Tommy and Ethan sat on the opposite side of the room from where Anna was being used. Tommy winced every time Anna screamed. He’d always had a soft spot for Anna. Probably always would. Weakling.

Alex paced the length of his terrace. There was no damage to make his heart twist every time he looked at it. Poor Anna, poor Aaron. Poor Anna, poor Aaron. The knife in his heart stabbed his chest with every beat. He felt impotent in the face of this waiting, but any other course would mean ultimate disaster.

If he went after Devin now, he risked the death penalty for going after an Elder without permission. His claims, his confrontation with Devin, would be invalidated because of his rogue status. The world Elders would question everything he’d done. To save Anna in the long run, he had to stay away from her.

And it was killing him.

His phone finally rang and Alex sprinted across the terrace to answer his father’s call. “Vati! Anna’s been taken!”

“I know, Alex. I know.”

Alex fell to his knees, hot tears streaming down his face, his head hanging low. “I’ve failed her, Vati. I let her get taken.” Saying the words, confessing his failure, made the grief even more excruciating. He wanted to stab his own heart to dull the pain.

“Alex, it’s not your fault. You were doing your assignment to rid the world of Devin. He shouldn’t have been able to sense her as strongly as he did.” He paused. “I spoke with Travis a few minutes ago.”

“Travis?” Why would . . . “His father?”

“Yes. Brandon was in Devin’s suite with her. She’s... doing alright.”

“What does that mean?”

“She’s strong, Alex. You know this.”

“That’s not comforting.”

“Devin will not hurt her too severely until he gets her back to San Francisco.”

Alex clenched his fists. “Can’t you do something, Vati? Can’t you take her away from him?”

“I can try, Alex—and I will try—but I am unlikely to succeed. She ran away from Devin, and Devin has the right to discipline her.”

Alex threw his head back and screamed in helpless rage, the sound echoing off the neighboring buildings. Dogs barked in response. The echoes had scarcely died away before he spoke again. “You can’t... you can’t let him do that, Vati.”

“I will do everything I can to prevent him from taking her home, but I will be contested. Like it or not, she is a slave. Devin’s slave. As much as the others find it distasteful, they won’t contest his right to take her.”

“Then let me confront him now. Let me come up and?—‍”

“You must get rid of Tyler first. Otherwise, Anna’s ownership passes to him and you will be no better off than you are now.”

“Then give me the order.”

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