Flashes of Tyler growing up flitted across his mind. The toddler literally trying to walk in his father's shoes. Winning football games, prom king with the best-looking girl in school. Graduating college with his degree. Demonstrating that his father's strength had passed to him, accepting the mantle of Elder Son and all the responsibilities that entailed.
Devin recalled the first day Tyler came to work in the office next to his. His son. His pride and the beneficiary of everything he'd worked for. His only son—his one weakness—was gone.
His legacy, ended.
He looked up at the Chief. “How?” Maybe it had just been a car accident. After all, today was Thursday. The other Sons had been shot on Mondays....
“I told you, sir. Two shots. One to the groin and the other straight through his head.”
“Two shots?” Devin asked, shaken out of his dreamlike state. “Two?” The others had only been single shots, straight through the head. “His dick?” What the hell was that about?
“Yes sir, a pretty...impressive shot, if you think about it.”
That made it sound personal. The assassin wouldn’t do that on his own; the Elder who was doing this was making it personal. Wilhelm. But why would Wilhelm take out the other Elders? No, that didn’t make sense. Who the hell was behind all this?
“Sir? I need you to come down to the morgue to identify the body.”
Devin stared at his desk, his teeth clenched together to stop them from chattering.
He was next. Mortality was staring him in the face. He thought he had done enough to prevent this—he'd been so careful, made Tyler be so careful—but it hadn't made a damn bit of difference.
For the first time, he had to acknowledge that he was afraid.
*****
Alex watched through binoculars from the rooftop across the street with satisfaction as Devin was told about Tyler’s death. The gray face, the shaking and sweating; yes, he enjoyed seeing Devin in anguish. The only thing that would be more satisfying was the look on Devin’s face when Alex walked into Devin’s Manor next week, showing himself alive to the world Elders and putting the blame at Devin’s feet.
Devin’s world was crumbling at his feet, and Alex savored every moment.
*****
Anna heard the door open and forced her swollen eyes open. She was lying on the floor in the cold dungeon. Everything in her body hurt and she couldn’t move, even if she wanted to.
Devin walked over and stared down at her. She tried to brace herself for a blow, but he didn’t move.
He was pale. No, his face was gray, his eyes wide with...terror? Anna had never seen him afraid, much less terrified, but she couldn’t ask him what was wrong. Her jaw wouldn’t move.
“Tyler is dead,” he whispered and fell to his knees in front of her.
Anna looked up at him, unblinking. How should she react to the news that Tyler was gone? She certainly wasn’t sad. He had proven himself an adept torturer these last two weeks.
But the other Elders died a few days after their Sons did. Did that mean Devin would be dead soon? Hope lit in her heart and Devin narrowed his eyes.
“You’re hoping I’m next, aren’t you?” he growled.
Yes! Yes, I hope you’re next! She screamed in her head, almost wishing he could hear.
“I won't let that happen,” he said in a low voice, as though her unspoken defiance gave him the strength he'd been looking for. “I will not let my family line die. My family brought the Brotherhood to this country and I will not let the line die with me. You will give me a son.”
Anna’s eyes widened. The thought of having Devin’s son revolted her.
“I will regain my powers and you will help me.” He stood and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
*****
Devin watched with satisfaction as Val healed Anna’s body and then raped her. Val wasn’t as powerful as Kaveh, but with Kaveh missing, Val had gladly accepted the opportunity to rape Anna for Devin. Anna screamed as Val plundered her pussy, drilling deep so he could plant his essence in her for Devin to partake of.
He could almost taste the sweet nectar. Tomorrow morning was his son’s funeral. He had to gain some sort of control to be able to dodge the bullet, both literally and figuratively.
Tyler. He regretted his son’s death. Devin could imagine all sorts of reasons why someone would want to kill him, but why his son? What had Tyler done? What had any of the Sons done to warrant an assassination?
He could feel himself giving in to despair and shook himself. He couldn’t lose it. He had to maintain control or he would be shot tomorrow. Get through the funeral. Get through the Gathering, and then impregnate Anna before she left to go with Wilhelm.
Wouldn’t that just kill Wilhelm? He laughed, imagining the look on Wilhelm’s face when he found out. And the German, being the honorable man, wouldn’t do anything about it.
*****
Devin took Anna home with him that night. Val raped her once more, giving Devin a second dose of essence. Val was confident that Devin would know when the bullet was coming with the double dose. Anna wasn’t feeling well, but then again, she wasn’t supposed to be feeling well. She was supposed to be hurting from punishments.
Most of her bruises were gone, though she had received some new ones earlier in the day. Devin was trying to control his feelings about the loss of his son. It wasn’t working very well and Anna bore the brunt of it. Devin really didn’t care if the other Elders didn’t like the bruises on her face. They knew she was being punished. She could walk and talk now. It was better than she looked a few days ago.
*****
Wilhelm sucked in a deep breath when he saw Anna at Devin’s side. Beside him, Kurt cursed, and Wilhelm grabbed his arm to keep his son from going to her. He understood Kurt’s desire, however. Anna looked terrible.
She was very pale and her dark hair was dull and pulled back into a low ponytail. She wore the same black suit as she’d worn at Oscar’s funeral, but it seemed almost big on her. Had she eaten at all since she’d been here? Even more disturbing were the bruises on her cheeks. Devin was not hiding what he’d been doing to her. She walked with her head down, limping slightly.
When he looked at Devin, his heart dropped into his stomach. Devin had obviously been partaking of Anna; he was radiating power again, though not as much as he had before. Wilhelm was pleased, however, to see his eyes darting around, as if expecting to feel a bullet at any moment. He saw several Elders looking very alert as well. Only a handful of people in this area knew that there was no bullet forthcoming.
Devin greeted people somberly and elbowed Anna when she didn’t do likewise. Her green eyes were dull and lifeless and it hurt to look at them.
Wilhelm could only imagine what was going through Alex’s mind as he watched from his perch across the street. He could almost feel his son’s anger. Or maybe it was just his own anger Wilhelm was feeling. This evening could not come soon enough.
Shaw Wilson was watching Devin and Anna with wide eyes. Wilhelm walked over to him. “Do you regret your decision now, Shaw?” he asked quietly. “He probably cleaned her up to make her presentable.”
Shaw looked at him, horror evident in his face. “How can he treat her like that?”
“I told you he would ignore you.”
Anna looked up at that moment and met Wilhelm’s eyes. They were begging for help and Wilhelm found himself walking to her, even though he knew he could do nothing.
Devin glared at him as he approached. “Come to try and steal her away?”
Wilhelm shook his head in bewilderment. “How can you do this to her, Devin? Have you no heart?”
Devin pressed his lips together but said nothing.
Wilhelm reached out for Anna, but she stepped away and looked at Devin fearfully.
Devin smiled grimly. “I still have her for a few more days, Wilhelm. You will not touch her until then.” He grabbed Anna’s arm, making her wince, and dragged her away. She di
dn’t look back.
*****
Devin sat on his chair in the Great Hall with Anna trembling and naked at his feet. He had listened to his friends speak fondly of Tyler, had spoken himself, briefly. He had allowed tears to gather in his eyes to show his attachment to his son, but they had threatened to choke him, and he stopped short. He could not show that kind of weakness in front of these men.
Now, watching as Tyler’s white robe was brought to the brazier near the edge of the platform, he held himself utterly still. Burning Tyler's robe made his death seem all the more real. Devin's eyes darted around the room—anything to hold back the reality of the moment.
A movement at the back of the room caught his attention and he saw Wilhelm, Vlad and Tom standing shoulder to shoulder, their faces impassive. Tommy stood nearby, next to Peter and Kurt.
What was going on? Why were those Elders standing together? They had nothing in common with each other.
He was momentarily distracted as Tyler’s robe was placed on the brazier, the smoke as the flames caught briefly blocking his view of the men. Grief threatened to overwhelm him again, but he would not cry. He would not show weakness. He kept his face stoic and stared at the flames that represented the death of his son.
When the flames died down, he stood to speak once more, but the doors in the back of the room were thrown wide, sending them crashing against the walls, and Devin froze. He stared as a giant of a man in a hooded white robe walked slowly down the center aisle, followed by four equally immense men in black robes. He only knew one person who would be that tall and broad, but he was supposed to be thousands of miles away in Russia. He glanced over at Vlad and Wilhelm, standing with expectant looks on their faces. In a moment of clarity he understood everything, and he looked around for an easy exit.
*****
Alex looked at his men before taking a deep breath. This was it. The moment he’d been waiting for. This was the moment Devin’s world would come crashing down around him.
“Ready?”
“You sure I can’t use a meat grinder on his cock?” Seth asked with a devilish grin.
Alex chuckled. “As tempting as it is, it would be a bit messy.”
The others laughed softly, defusing the tension.
He took another deep breath, pulled the hood over his head to hide his face, and pushed the doors open with a dramatic flair. Might as well make sure everyone saw his entrance.
He stepped through the doors and walked slowly towards the platform where Devin stood, frozen with his hands lifted halfway over his head. Anna huddled next to Devin’s chair, bruises looking much worse than they had this morning. She didn’t look up as he approached. Alex stopped a few feet from the edge of the platform and looked up. He could tell when Devin could see part of his face because he went grayer than he already was.
He lowered his hands slowly and lifted his chin. “What do you want?” His low voice failed to convey the bluster he'd surely been trying for, and he visibly swallowed, looking behind Alex at the black-robed men.
Alex flashed a wicked grin before lowering his hood. “I want you.” He pointed to the floor at his feet. “On your knees.”
Chapter Sixty
Anna heard the murmurs spread across the room but didn’t dare look up. Devin had warned her that the slightest hint of disobedience and he would make sure she wouldn’t be able to move for the next week.
But a warmth began to spread into her body as the murmuring got louder. She heard Devin say something, though she couldn’t understand his words. Then a voice spoke. The voice from her dreams. Was she sleeping?
It couldn’t be, could it? She was afraid to look up. It was probably just Wilhelm. Thoughts of Alex had plagued her since she’d woken this morning and it had to be just her imagination.
But then she heard a name being spoken around the room. Alex.
“Did you like the way your son died, Devin? I did it especially for you.”
Anna gasped and looked up. “Alex!” she cried and scrambled to her feet, ready to run to him.
“Stop!” Devin commanded and she froze, nearly falling over.
“You dare forbid my wife from coming to me?” Alex asked, his tone scathing. A few voices in the room called out in anger.
“You are supposed to be dead,” Devin spat.
“You would like that, wouldn’t you? It would have been a lot easier if I was dead, but you couldn’t kill me without destroying Anna, so you just had me ambushed and taken out of the equation.”
The murmurs around the room rose to an alarming volume and Anna saw Wilhelm, Vlad, Peter, Kurt, Tom and Tommy walking towards the front of the room.
“That is absurd! You can’t prove that. How could I do such a thing?”
“You had my father help you,” Vlad said, his voice carrying throughout the room. “Even I was enlisted to help, manipulated into thinking Alex was a threat.”
“You betray me?” Devin snarled.
“I consider it correcting a grievous wrong, Devin,” Vlad answered.
“Tom?” Devin said, clearly shaken at the thought that his friend would take sides against him.
“You’re destroying our country, Devin. I can’t allow that to happen.”
“Tell Anna, Devin,” Alex said in a low growl. “Tell everyone how you had me captured and held in St. Petersburg, while you used my wife to further your plans.”
Alex continued speaking, but Anna could only stare at him, heart reaching for him. Alex glanced at her and gave her such a loving look she started to cry.
As the words sank in, she slowly turned to look at Devin.
Devin had taken her beloved Alex from her, and tortured her and used her and—
Anna’s jaw clenched and her vision was blinded by a white light of rage. She balled her hands into fists and screamed in primal fury.
*****
Alex flinched at the scream that came out of Anna’s mouth. The entire room froze and every eye turned to her. She was trembling as she had the night she’d almost raged in front of him. Her pupils were disappearing and her eyes began to glow as she turned towards Devin.
Devin turned to look at her and his eyes widened in terror. “Fuck,” he whispered and began to back away from her. She walked forward as he walked backwards and he shrieked as he tripped over his robe and fell on his ass.
Alex bit back a smile at Devin’s girlish scream. He knew he couldn’t let Anna kill him, but he was truly enjoying Devin’s terror.
“Help me,” Devin whispered, looking at Alex with wide eyes. “Please. She’ll kill me.”
“I will show you as much mercy as you’ve shown her.”
Alex actually saw tears in Devin’s eyes as Anna stalked over and stood above him. And then he shook his head.
“Anna, stop!” Devin commanded, but she ignored him and a wicked smile formed on her face. She knelt down next to him and looked to be about to stroke his hair back, but instead she rested her hand on his forehead and closed her eyes.
Devin began to scream. His arms and legs shook like gelatin.
“Noooooo!” he screeched and arched his back as if in terrible pain. Anna removed her hand and stared unblinking at him, a faint smile on her face. Devin continued to shriek and thrash about.
“You must stop her, Alex.”
Alex turned around to see Sebastian standing behind him. “She will kill him, and you can’t allow that to happen. Killing him will break her.”
Alex frowned, but he knew Sebastian was right.
After Devin let out a particularly blood-curdling scream, Alex straightened and walked over to Anna.
“Anna,” he said in a firm tone.
She ignored him.
“Anna, release him.”
She ignored him and he took a deep breath.
“An-na!” he shouted, his voice echoing off the walls and ceiling of the room.
She looked up at him and narrowed her creepy emerald eyes.
“Release him.”
Her e
yes narrowed further.
“Now!” he barked.
She growled, but Devin stopped thrashing and was still except for his heaving chest.
“Thank you,” he said softly, with a smile.
He stepped up onto the platform and she narrowed her eyes further and growled again. “Anna. Sit.”
He pointed to the floor with a firm look in his eye and stared her down. She shook her head, trying to break eye contact, but couldn’t. “Sit,” he commanded again, intensifying his stare. She fell to one knee, looking up at him, eyes narrowed.
He continued staring at her, but neither backed down nor blinked. Suddenly she lunged at him and he caught her wrists, holding them firmly. Damn, she was strong. He held her wrists, arm muscles straining to keep her hands and fingernails at a distance. She bared her teeth at him and growled.
His eyes narrowed and looked at her disapprovingly. “You are being disobedient,” he said slowly and firmly. “This behavior is unacceptable. You do not attack your Master. Now, sit.” He kept his voice even and firm, not breaking eye contact. She growled again and narrowed her eyes, and he realized he needed to change tactics. Bullying her is what caused her to rage in the first place. What she needed now was love.
“Anna, love,” he said, turning her swiftly so she was enveloped in his arms, his hands still locked around her wrists. She strained against him, but could not break free. “Schatzi,” he whispered into her ear. “Come back to me, my treasure. Remember what you are to me. Remember how much I love you.”
He felt her body change, her breathing beginning to even out. He was risking it all, he knew, when he released her hands, turning her so she could see the love in his eyes. Alex opened his heart to her, willing her to feel his love.
To his relief and surprise, she stepped back, then sat down on her heels, hands on her thighs, head down in a submissive pose.
The Life of Anna, Part 5: Emerged Page 46