Chapter 58

Fifteen minutes later, Peter had found Anna’s street clothes and was walking Anna downstairs to the entry hall of the Manor. Wilhelm, Kurt, and Devin all sat on benches along the wall, and none of them looked happy. Devin stood when she entered, walked over to her, and slapped her on the cheek. She clutched her face and fell to her knees in submission, bowing her head as her mind scrambled to figure out what she’d done wrong this time.

Peter growled. “Devin, don’t you?—?”

“This is none of your concern, Peter,” Devin snapped. “Go home to your wife.”

“Devin—?”

“Go, Peter,” Wilhelm said softly from where he sat. “Devin is right.”

Peter didn’t move. “I will not leave if you intend to hurt her.”

“She is no longer yours to worry about,” Devin growled. “You are a Son, not an Elder, and would be wise to listen to your superiors.”

Peter kneeled next to Anna. “I will take you with me. Just tell me and we will leave together.”

Anna shook her head, staring at the floor and fighting everything within her to keep from looking up at him. She wouldn’t let Peter get into trouble because of her. “I’m okay,” she whispered. “Please. Listen to them.”

Peter sighed. He kissed her on the temple, then stood and left. With him left all the warmth in the area. She trembled at the coolness, especially from Wilhelm and Kurt.

Devin pulled her to her feet by her hair and glared at her.

“It is not necessary to be violent, Devin,” Wilhelm snapped, and stood.

“I warned her if she misbehaved or embarrassed me, I would punish her,” Devin said in a low voice.

Anna looked up at him without thinking. “What did I do?” she whispered, desperately trying to figure out why he was angry

“You acted completely inappropriate last night.”

“I did?” Anna stared at him, her mouth dropped open. “What did I do?” She normally didn’t ask questions about her misbehavior, but she honestly didn’t know what she had done to upset him. Or Wilhelm. She tried to look at Kurt. “Was it because of Peter?” she asked softly.

Kurt looked away.

“That and everything else,” Devin spat. “Your behavior the entire time was an embarrassment. You looked and acted like a foolish girl who didn’t belong there.”

Tears came unbidden. “I didn’t know what was going on. I had no idea what to do or how to act.” She sucked in a thick breath and shook her head. “I didn’t know?—?”

Devin hit her again, but he still held her hair, which prevented her head from moving and deflecting the full impact of the blow. She shrieked and jerked away from him, but he held her tight. “I tried, Devin, I promise I did.”

Devin growled and pulled his hand back to hit her again, but Wilhelm grabbed his arm. “What do you mean you did not know what was going on?”

“I didn’t know,” she cried, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I was sent up to a room full of Elder-Mistresses and dressed and sent down to a room full of men. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t understand what anyone was saying.” She was blubbering, but she had become so terrified of Devin’s punishments, she would do anything to try to avoid them. “Please don’t punish me, Devin,” she begged.

He frowned. “That’s the second time you’ve called me by name in this place. If nothing else, that deserves punishment.”

“She is terrified, Devin,” Wilhelm said in a calm voice. “Let her go.”

“Of course she’s terrified,” Devin said. “That’s the point.” But Devin released her hair and she fell to the floor. She scrambled to her knees and bowed low.

“Nobody told you what would happen yesterday evening?” Wilhelm asked.

Anna shook her head, her forehead scraping against the stone floor.

“You should have at least known not to sneak out of a Gathering, Anna,” Devin said from above. “Even you’re not that stupid.”

“I wasn’t trying to sneak. Peter said it?—?”

“Peter isn’t your Master!” Devin shouted, his voice reverberating against the stone walls. She curled tighter into a ball on her knees. “I am! You don’t listen to him. You listen to me!”

Anna curled even tighter and covered her head with her arms. “I’m sorry, Master. I didn’t know.”

“Anna, you should have at least known that leaving during the Gathering was not a good idea,” Wilhelm said. Though his words were soft, his rebuke was ten times more terrifying than Devin’s shouting. He’d never been upset with her before.

She looked up at him with frightened tears on her cheeks. “I’m sorry, Master. I’m so sorry.”

“She must be punished,” Devin said firmly.

Wilhelm sighed and Anna dropped her gaze back to the floor, holding her breath as she waited for him to speak. “If one of my Dirne had left a Gathering without permission, she would be disciplined.”

The air rushed out of Anna’s lungs at his words and she gasped for air. Wilhelm was going to give her back to Devin.

“If she is to be disciplined, I will do it,” Wilhelm said.

“You?” Devin scoffed. “You think yourself capable of punishing her?”

“I do not think it takes as much as you think it does, Devin. I will not have her tortured for a mistake in judgment. I will discipline her and then it will be over.” Wilhelm’s voice was firm and Anna bit back a sob.

Devin grunted.

“I will return her to San Francisco on the third Wednesday of the month.”

“That’s almost a month!”

“I have not seen her for a year-and-a-half. I think I deserve much more, but I know she has rehearsals to get back to.”

“You can’t keep her away from me that long,” Devin growled.

“If she becomes unwell, we will return to San Francisco sooner. But I will not relinquish her until that day.” Wilhelm paused. “She should be able to be here a month without becoming ill.” Devin didn’t answer and Wilhelm’s anger increased. “ Mein Gott , Devin. Why do you want to hurt her so badly?”

“It’s not a matter of wanting to hurt her. It’s simply a byproduct of what I must do.” He paused. “I expect I’ll see you sooner rather than later.” Footsteps echoed across the room and disappeared.

Anna trembled, tears dripping onto the floor beneath her face, and waited for Wilhelm to drag her to her feet and take her to the dungeon. Surely every Manor had one, right? What would he do to her? What if he decided to give her to Devin for punishment anyway? Would they let the Immortals heal her? Did he even know the Russian Immortals? Would she be able to?—

“ Kommen Sie , Anna. Let us go back to the hotel.”

Anna’s eyes snapped open and she stared at the stone beneath her nose. What had he said?

The entryway was silent. She could feel him waiting for her, so she sat up and wiped her tears away before daring to lift her gaze and look up at him. “The... hotel?” She bit her lip and looked over her shoulder at the archway she’d walked through with Peter. “Isn’t this place more conducive to punishment?”

“ Ja . But I am going to discipline you, not punish you.”

“What’s the difference?” Anna asked as he helped her to her feet.

“Discipline seeks to correct a behavior. Punishment... well, punishment just hurts.”

She glanced at Kurt, who hadn’t moved and was sitting with his head hung, his elbows on his knees, then back at Wilhelm. She didn’t understand. Devin punished her to change her behaviors.

Wilhelm said something quietly in German to Kurt, who stood and followed them out of the building. The drive to the hotel was long and silent. Anna stared at her hands as chills ran through her body. The waiting was horrible. Why hadn’t he just taken her to the dungeon at the Manor?

When they arrived at the hotel and went up to their suite, Kurt walked to his room without a word and closed the door firmly behind him. Anna hung her head. He hated her and wanted nothing to do with her.

Wilhelm took her into his bedroom and sat her down on the bed. “Anna, do you know why I am disciplining you?”

“Because I embarrassed you and acted stupidly.”

“ Nein , Anna. You did not embarrass me. Do you know you are not allowed to leave the Gatherings without permission?”

Anna nodded.

“Then why did you?”

She glanced up at him and then looked back at her hands. “I didn’t want to be there,” she said without thinking, and then realized it was true. She would have done anything to get out of that room. Not because she didn’t want to do her duties, but because she was ashamed. “I felt... I didn’t belong there.”

Wilhelm was quiet. “That was quite selfish of you, Anna. I am disappointed.”

Anna’s shoulders drooped and she hung her head as another chill ran through her body. She never wanted to disappoint Wilhelm. Ever. He was so kind to her. And now he had to punish—er, discipline her.

“Remove your skirt and panties,” Wilhelm said solemnly.

Anna did so as quickly as she could and stood before Wilhelm. He looked up at her with sad eyes and then took her hand and lay her across his lap. “Count.”

He smacked her bare ass with such force she jumped and cried out in surprise. He was strong.

“Count, Anna,” he said in a low voice.

“One, Master,” she whispered.

Smack!

“Two, Master.” Oh, his hand was big and strong!

Smack! Smack! The blows continued until she reached fifteen. By that time, she was sobbing with guilt. She’d made Wilhelm hit her when he’d promised he would never do it. But he had to, or else Devin would have punished her. She had failed him.

When she had announced the last count, he turned her over and held her close. He was trembling.

“I’m so sorry, Master,” she whispered, truly ashamed and sad.

He kissed her head and held her tightly. “I am sorry too.”

They were quiet and Anna’s tears slowly dried.

“You wounded Kurt by leaving with Peter.”

Anna’s head snapped up. “I... I never wanted to hurt Kurt,” she whispered, wide-eyed. “I... I’m so sorry, Master. I truly failed you.” She felt horrible. This was so much worse than angering Devin.

“Anna, I failed you as well. I should have made sure you knew what would happen. I assumed...” He sighed. “I had assumed Devin had talked to you about it.”

She shook her head. “The Elder-Mistresses... I’m not like them. I don’t think they like me.”

“They do not understand you. There is a difference. But that was still no reason to leave. You neglected to do your duties.” He sighed. “But you understand that now, and we will speak of it no more. You have had your discipline and the matter is closed.”

“Yes, Master,” she said quietly.

“No more ‘Master,’ Liebling . We are not at the Schloss .” He tipped her head up and gazed into her eyes. “I like the sound of my name on your lips,” he said, his voice husky.

He brushed his lips against hers and she sighed. “Wilhelm...” His lips pressed harder and he stole her breath away with the passion in his kiss.

“I wanted you last night too, Liebling ,” he said breathlessly against her lips. She could feel his cock hardening against her hip and moved against him, making him moan.

She worked at the buttons on his shirt and pushed it off his shoulders and onto the floor. When she reached for his pants, he groaned and murmured in German.

Quickly, they removed each other’s clothing and fell back onto the bed. He sucked on her neck and nibbled his way down to her breasts, taking a nipple into his mouth and sucking on it as she moaned loudly. The passion in his touch and his eyes lit her on fire, and she wanted him more than she’d wanted anything in a very long time.

“Wilhelm!” He kissed his way down to her pussy and sucked her clit into his mouth. She moaned loudly and buried her hands in his thick hair as he licked and sucked her intimate place. She screamed out his name as he brought her to her release, holding his head against her and flexing her hips against him.

When the waves of pleasure subsided, he slid up her body and thrust into her with one smooth movement. They both sighed at the sensation of being joined together.

“ Meine Anna,” he murmured. He lifted his face and gazed deeply into her eyes. They were full of such passion it overwhelmed her. “Open yourself to me, mein Liebling ,” he whispered, almost hypnotically.

He kissed her and began moving. His movements were long and languid and she did as he asked, opening herself fully to his body, allowing him deeper into her than any other man, save Alex. Her head spun and she grew lightheaded, as if he were melting into her body and she into his. She was no longer accepting him into her body; there was only one body. One body and one mind.

A rush of sensation that she hadn’t experienced in a very long time tingled in her body and slowly built as Wilhelm’s movements quickened. She heard him groan and thrust very hard and she screamed out his name again and floated in mid-air forever as he emptied himself into her.

“Yes!” she cried out, though she didn’t know why. She wanted him, all of him, inside her. She wanted him to own her, to take possession of her body.

They floated together as he throbbed inside her and she accepted him deep inside. After he emptied himself, he shuddered and rolled to his side, pulling her with him.

She snuggled close to him and fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.