Chapter 176

When Anna could finally move more than a few inches at a time, Devin commanded her to clean up and join him and the other Elders for dinner. After a hot shower, Anna shakily emerged from the bedroom dressed in the black slinky dress Devin had provided for her.

With three Elders recently assassinated, there were three new men she hadn’t met. Chad Diaz was Connor’s second oldest son. Jonathan Reece was Marcus’ second oldest son, though he had an older sister between him and Joel. Anna could tell who Noah, Oscar’s younger son, was the moment she saw him: his eyes were wide and filled with grief.

Brandon was just walking into the hotel suite as she settled on the floor next to the couch where Devin sat. His eyes widened and he stumbled, causing his son, Ethan, to run into him. Ethan, according to Devin and Tom’s earlier conversation, had just received his piercings at the recent Summer Gathering.

Brandon recovered quickly and smiled at Devin. “You found her?”

Devin put his hand on Anna’s head. “Yes, she hid in Paris for a while and then returned to New York.” Devin stroked her hair and then pulled it, bringing her head up. “A pleasant treat for the evening, I think?”

Brandon nodded. “I would have to agree.”

The Elders, their Sons, and Devin and Anna ate together at the large table in the suite. Conversation was subdued, though Devin asked many questions of the newly pierced Elders, including Noah. Anna wondered if the new Elders were as cruel as their fathers and brothers.

Wilhelm was in his hotel room with Kurt, eating dinner, when someone knocked on the door.

Edwin Reisig stood there, looking rather sober. “Do you have a moment?”

Wilhelm nodded and stepped back, allowing the Bavarian Elder to enter. Once the door was closed, Edwin made a motion with his hands, making Wilhelm assume he was putting a shield over the room. That brought his blood pressure a bit higher than it had been.

“I received a call from Simon a few minutes ago. Have you heard from Alex?”

Wilhelm shook his head.

“Anna’s been taken. By Devin.”

Kurt gasped from across the room and Wilhelm grabbed hold of the wall. “Oh, God. Is she alright?”

“There’s no way to know until Sunday. We can’t go barging into Devin’s room. How would we explain that we knew?”

Wilhelm stumbled over to the couch and sat down heavily. Kurt’s face was pale and Wilhelm was certain his was the same.

Edwin sat down across from him. “Is there anyone you can call to find out more information?”

Wilhelm shook his head. “If I call Tom, Devin would know.”

Edwin looked thoughtful. “What about the Elder with the son that helped? Brandon?”

“I can’t call him.”

“No, but you could call his son.”

Wilhelm gave Edwin a grateful smile. He was thankful to have a level-headed friend at that moment. He certainly wasn’t thinking straight. “I should find out if Anna’s alright before I call Alex. Does he know?”

Edwin nodded. “He called Simon this morning. I had my phone off all day without realizing it and missed his calls. My wife was not happy with me either.”

Wilhelm gave him a small smile as he searched his phone for Travis’ number.

“Hello? Wilhelm?” Travis’ voice was filled with concern.

“Travis, Devin found Anna. Can you call your father and find out if he knows anything about it?”

“Oh, no! How did—Never mind. I’ll call you back as soon as I talk to him.”

Wilhelm leaned back and closed his eyes. This meant that Anna was very close to him, in the very same hotel, but he couldn’t go to see her. Devin wouldn’t let her out of his sight. If he could get her away from him... but, no. It would do more harm than good. They had to protect the knowledge that Alex had escaped at all costs.

Devin wouldn’t kill Anna. There was small comfort in that certainty, though, knowing how Devin was. The thought that Devin would likely torture her brought tears to his eyes. Could he have prevented this? He should have gone into New York while Alex was gone. He could have put some protections over her. Or taken her out of the city, or?—

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.”

“You know I can’t, Alex. I can’t change the plans without the consensus of Vlad and Tom. We will talk as soon as we are able, but I cannot give you the order without their consent.”

“He attacked Aaron, Vati,” Alex said in a low voice. “Aaron’s in the hospital with massive injuries because Devin attacked him.”

Wilhelm was quiet. “I can do something about that. It’s not much, but it is something. He attacked someone who belongs to me.”

“Anna belongs to you.”

“It’s different and you know it.” He paused. “Kaveh has disappeared. At least that’s what Devin believes.”

“Kaveh’s gone?” Maybe that’s where Sebastian went. Without Kaveh, Devin likely wouldn’t be able to get his full powers back. “Would Sebastian be able to take Kaveh out of the picture and keep him in the... Immortal place?”

“It’s possible. Why?”

“Sebastian was here, battling with someone whom I suspect was Kaveh. According to Aaron, they disappeared.”

“If that’s what happened, I will be eternally thankful to Sebastian.”

“It’s the only explanation as to where he is.” Alex told his father everything he had learned from Aaron.

“If that’s true, Sebastian will return with Kaveh when you confront Devin.” Wilhelm sighed. “Son, rest. Make tentative plans for an earlier attack on Tyler. Keep calm. Anna will survive. She’s a strong woman. You will both have your revenge.”

Anna could hardly move when she awoke. After the young Elders and Tyler had their way with her, Devin had made her please the other Elders, and then he’d taken her to bed and consumed her again until she couldn’t move.

Should she have run, tried to escape? Maybe if she hadn’t gone home to the condo, maybe she wouldn’t be here. It was Kelsey who had told them to go. Was Tom really as loyal as he claimed? Maybe it was a trick to get her back to Devin.

The bedroom door opened suddenly and Anna jumped. “See, there she is.” It was Devin, but she couldn’t see who he was talking to.

“I am impressed, Devin,” said a male voice with a thick accent. Russian, maybe? Vlad? “I am glad you were able to find her.”

“When she’s able to move, you’re more than welcome to her.”

“Bah, she is not my type. I prefer my Irina. Peter may be interested, though. He did have a soft spot for her.”

“Do you trust him?”

“He is my heir. Of course I do.”

“He fell in love with her.”

“What did you expect? You made them live together. He realizes how foolish he was... that he was under her spell. But he did say she was a good fuck. I will let him know.”

Tears burned Anna’s eyes. That’s what Peter thought of her?

Devin walked close enough to the bed for her to see a sickening smirk on his face. “How are you feeling, Baby?” He caressed her cheek. “I can’t wait to get you home. Just a few more days. We are going to have lots of fun.” He grinned back toward the door, and he and Vlad both laughed.

Mustering what little energy she had, Anna turned onto her side, away from Devin. He grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back onto her back. “Don’t you dare turn away from me, bitch.” He slapped her face, but she didn’t feel it. “Rest well. The next few days will be busy.”

By dinner time, Anna was able to get up and move normally. Mostly. She hadn’t healed completely and was exhausted, but she could move, which pleased Devin.

Devin had invited Vlad and Peter to have dinner with him and Tyler. She kept her head down, eyes locked on the floor, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. Peter greeted her warmly, to which Vlad snapped at him in Russian, and he stepped away. Why was Vlad being so mean? Had he changed his mind about helping her? If he had, she would be stuck with Devin forever. Alex couldn’t finish his mission without Vlad’s permission.

Devin made Anna give Peter a blowjob after dinner since Vlad didn’t care for her. She kneeled between Peter’s feet and, with shaking hands, released his cock from his pants.

“Suck it, Anna,” Peter growled, bringing tears to her eyes. She sat up on her knees and took him into her mouth, sucking on the cock she’d been so fond of not long ago. He put his hand on her head as if to control her, but he really just followed her movements. She was confused.

When Vlad and Devin were deep in conversation about the American Elders, and Tyler had left the room, Peter leaned over and whispered in her ear. “Anna, everything will be alright. Forgive us for our actions. We must keep Devin from suspecting us.”

Relief spread through Anna’s body. All was not lost.