The Life of Anna, Part 4: Ensnared

by Marissa Honeycutt

  He saw her breathing and relaxed.

  “What the fuck happened?” he asked, turning to Kaveh, who had watched everything from a chair at the foot of the bed. The Immortal’s eyes were wide, which gave Devin a tremor of concern.

  “You took her,” Kaveh said softly, not taking his eyes off the fallen form. “You took possession of her.” He turned his golden eyes to Devin. “You may have broken her bond to Alex.”

  Devin looked back down at Anna’s limp body. “How will I know?”

  “You will see it in her eyes when she awakes. If it isn’t broken, it is at the least covered over and buried.”

  Devin smiled. “Did you know it was possible?”

  “I have heard of such things, but they are rare. You...have become very powerful, Devin.”

  Devin’s smile turned into a grin. “That makes me very happy to hear you say that, Kaveh.”

  Chapter Fifty-Eight

  Wilhelm sat in the dark theater in San Francisco, restless for the Nutcracker performance to progress. The second act had begun and it seemed that the dancing slowed more and more as he anticipated Justin and Anna’s Grande Pas de deux. He hadn’t spoken to Anna since the assassination attempt over a month ago. He had assumed that Devin had been keeping her on a tight rein, though she still should have been able to call him. When he and Kurt had arrived in town on Wednesday, they had hoped to have time with her before the performance as they usually did, but she hadn’t returned his calls. He was concerned.

  He had called Travis to make sure she was all right, though Wilhelm was fairly certain that Devin would have called if something was severely wrong. Then again, the two men had different ideas about when something was ‘wrong’ with Anna. Travis said that Anna seemed okay, but distant and sometimes confused. She kept to herself and seemed content. Travis hadn’t seen any sign of abuse in several weeks, which was very relieving. She was just...quiet. He did mention that he had tried to take Anna out one afternoon and she flipped out, screaming about not leaving Devin. Violently flipped out and nearly made Travis crash his car.

  Mood swings with Anna weren’t unusual, though Wilhelm couldn’t imagine Anna getting violent. He would have to see her for himself.

  Wilhelm leaned forward as the long awaited music began and Anna stepped out of the oversized music box and took Justin’s hand. The delicate dance began, and she was beautiful. He smiled and leaned back in his seat to enjoy being closer to her than he had been in months. She and Justin danced well together and he couldn’t help but smile broadly as he watched. When the dance was over, he applauded loudly, as did the rest of the audience.

  He saw Devin a few boxes away nodding in approval. Jack sat next to him with a sickening grin on his face. Wilhelm had nodded politely at intermission, but hadn’t spoken to them. He would avoid Devin as much as possible. He hated the man with a passion, but he knew he would have to speak with him about spending time with Anna while he was in town.

  When the performance concluded, he and Kurt slowly made their way down to the marble lobby.

  “She was wonderful, wasn’t she, Vati?”

  Wilhelm looked over at his son and smiled. Was he still harboring feelings for her? “She’s always wonderful.”

  “I still don't understand why she didn’t call you back. It’s so unlike her.”

  “Yes, it is.” Wilhelm frowned as he thought about it. Something wasn’t right and he would make sure he discovered what it was before he left town.

  Kurt and Wilhelm milled around the lobby, chatting with people they knew while they waited for Anna to appear. She and Justin had received a very long standing ovation and were the talk of the lobby. The dancers slowly started trickling in and Wilhelm kept a close eye on the door they walked through. He saw Jenna and she came and said hello with her husband, Matt.

  “Have you spoken to Anna?” she asked.

  Wilhelm shook his head. “No. I called but have not heard from her. Why?”

  Jenna looked around the room. “She’s...different, and I was hoping her seeing you would...help.”

  He frowned at her words. “Different how?”

  Jenna squinted as she thought for a moment. “Nothing obvious, really. I mean, depending on what’s going on in her life, she reacts differently, but, well, she’s...not herself. We’d been eating together every day for two weeks and really, I don’t know, becoming friends again. She didn’t share a lot of what went on with Devin, but she was...willing to be friendly. But she went out of town with Devin and...she came home and just said she didn’t want to go anymore. She wasn’t angry or upset, just...uninterested. And she’s just...God, I don’t know. It’s hard to explain.” She looked up into his eyes intently. “I think Devin did something to her, but I don’t know what. You’ll have to see her. Or maybe I’m just paranoid.”

  Matt shook his head. “No, something’s different,” he agreed. “Just...off.”

  Wilhelm looked up to see Justin and Anna walking into the lobby. She wore a beautiful, green silk, strapless gown that made her eyes glow. She paused for a moment, looking around the room. She looked in his direction, but didn’t seem to see him.

  A big smile spread across her face and she walked quickly towards...Devin? He opened his arms and embraced her. He said something to her and then kissed her on the lips, and stroked her cheek. She smiled at Jack and kissed him on the cheek, then leaned her head against Devin’s chest.

  “What the...,” Kurt muttered.

  “Holy shit,” Jenna exclaimed.

  Wilhelm’s stomach tied up in knots. What had Devin done to her? That was not normal. Jenna was right.

  “Excuse me,” Wilhelm said, and walked as calmly as he could to the trio.

  Devin looked up and saw Wilhelm approaching. The smile on his face did nothing to reassure Wilhelm that Anna was all right.

  “Hello, Wilhelm,” Devin said politely.

  They shook hands and then Wilhelm looked at Anna. His beloved Anna.

  She looked up at him and smiled, but there was no warmth in her eyes. “Hello, Wilhelm,” she said softly. Her voice had a seductive, yet sweet, tone that was very alluring and made his blood tingle. She didn’t reach out to him or do anything that would indicate that he meant anything to her.

  “Hello, Anna,” he said after a moment. His eyes flickered to Devin, who was watching the exchange carefully. “Might I have a word with Anna alone?” he asked Devin.

  Devin smiled. “Of course.” He lifted Anna’s chin and looked into her eyes. “Go spend time with Wilhelm.”

  “Yes, Devin,” she said softly.

  Wilhelm took her to a bench across the lobby and sat down next to her. “Anna, are you all right?”

  “I’m fine, Wilhelm. How are you?”

  He saw a vacancy in her eyes that hadn’t been there before. “I am worried about you.”

  She laughed. “Why would you be worried about me? Everything is fine.” She smiled. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

  He could tell by her tone she was asking about sex. God, what had happened to her?

  *****

  Devin watched Wilhelm’s face as he spoke with Anna. He was worried about her. How touching. And unsurprising.

  “Can he undo it?” Jack asked.

  Devin took a sip of his wine. “It is unlikely that he knows how. And he risks hurting her if he forces her.”

  After the mind-blowing sex in the jet on the way to DC, Anna had changed. She had turned into the perfect little slave he’d been hoping for at the bonding ceremony. They’d gone to the White House that night and gotten the president back under control, and several other rogue politicians as well. She followed his orders perfectly now. No more crying or emotional bullshit that he’d dealt with for four years. She was perfectly content.

  He kept her at his home because he liked having her there. He’d brought a few women home, just to test her reaction, and she went happily into her own bedroom while he fucked the women in the place she normally slept. She had no emot
ional reaction to it. But to be honest, he didn’t crave any woman but her. She pleased him sexually more than any other woman had in his life. She anticipated what he wanted and sought to please him in every area.

  When it came time to impregnate her, he didn’t even have to use the serum to force her body to conceive. Kaveh spoke to her as he fucked her and she did it all by herself, and now there was a healthy little sacrifice growing inside that sexy body of hers. The only problem with her pregnancy was his limitation on how much life he could take from her. Kaveh said it would turn sour when he needed to stop, and it did. But, he told himself, that just meant the baby would have everything that he would need when he took it.

  They had bonded in the way that he had desired for years. It wasn’t permanent; it had to be maintained, but he wasn’t complaining. He fucked her every night anyways. Kaveh had said this bond would last for several months before they needed to repeat what happened in the jet.

  It would become permanent when the final ceremony had been performed. But this was a nice taste of the future.

  *****

  “How would you like to stay with me tonight?”

  Anna blinked and looked around. Where was she? Theater. Nutcracker. Yes, she remembered now. At least she thought she did. She was so confused these days. She vacillated from dream to dream, never certain of what was real or not. She found herself in the middle of activities, unaware of how she got there. It was always that way when she danced. She ‘woke’ every morning at the studio, feeling as if she had dreamed her way there. It was very disconcerting, but as soon as she stopped dancing she started dreaming again. Or was she dreaming that she danced and her dreams were the reality?

  “Anna? Did you hear me?”

  The familiar gentle voice made her heart pound. She looked up to see a worried Wilhelm looking down at her. “Wilhelm,” she exclaimed. She wanted to reach out to him, but her body wouldn’t obey her thoughts.

  His eyes widened in surprise. “Anna?”

  She clasped her hands together and clenched her fingers. Why couldn’t she reach out to him? She wanted to touch him, but she couldn’t make her body obey him. She looked up with tears in her eyes. “Wilhelm,” she pleaded softly.

  *****

  Wilhelm watched Anna carefully. She had looked at him the way she normally did and his heart leapt. He waited to see what she would do next but she only wrung her hands together as if battling within herself.

  “Wilhelm.” She said his name so softly he could barely hear it, but the despair in her eyes was very evident.

  “Anna, what is wrong? Why are you so distant?” He reached out to cradle her cheek. “What did he do to you?”

  She leaned into his cheek and closed her eyes. “I dream. I dream all the time. I don’t even know if this is real, but I like it.” She opened her eyes. He could see the internal battle rage within her. “Help me,” she whispered and then closed her eyes again as if she were in pain.

  He looked up to see Devin walking to them, his face inscrutable. “Anna,” he said in a firm tone.

  She opened her eyes and they were distant again. Wilhelm dropped his hand and she stood and went to Devin’s side.

  Wilhelm stood and glared at Devin. “What did you do to her?”

  Devin grinned. “I finally made her into who she is supposed to be. And she’s much happier now, don’t you think?”

  “Who she is supposed to be?”

  “Yes, the way she would have been had your son not interfered in the bonding ritual.”

  Wilhelm stared. How was this possible?

  “She’s much happier now, Wilhelm. Why don’t you just let her be?”

  The irony of the question wasn’t lost on Wilhelm. Devin hadn’t let her alone; did he really expect Wilhelm to do the same? It occurred to Wilhelm that Devin might not have seen Anna’s internal struggle. Maybe there was still hope. He calmed his features.

  “I would like to spend time with her while I am here.” He glanced at Anna, who was watching him with a pleasant though vacant look in her eyes.

  “You are still technically her Master. I suppose you still have a right to be with her.” He paused. “She needs to rest between performances. I will have her come to your hotel Sunday night after the evening performance. I am establishing her place in society tonight, and I don’t want anyone to be confused as to who she belongs to.”

  “She still belongs to me.”

  “Technically, yes. But she won’t likely respond to you as she does me. I am her sole Master and she does as I want her to.”

  Wilhelm saw that was true. Everything in her demeanor spoke of devotion and loyalty to Devin. They gave the appearance of being a couple, but Wilhelm knew better. Devin had gotten his mindless slave. But Wilhelm had also seen that Anna was still in there. Maybe, with enough time, he could bring her out again.

  Devin having control over her was dangerous. If Devin was wielding that much power, the stories he’d been hearing from other Elders and on the news made a lot more sense now. Even the slightly vacant look in their president’s eyes made more sense now.

  He had to get Anna away from him.

  “We are staying at the Ritz presidential suite. I expect her there immediately after the performance.”

  Devin smiled. “Of course.” He turned and walked away with his arm around Anna.

  Kurt rushed over. “Vati, what’s going on?”

  Wilhelm shook his head as he watched Anna walk away with her head inclined to Devin. “He’s...made her his puppet.” He looked at Kurt. “But she’s still in there. I saw it for a short moment. She asked me to help her.” Wilhelm turned to look at the wall, his heart aching at the pain he’d seen in her eyes. He ran his hands through his hair. “I don’t know what to do.”

  “She’s still there?”

  Wilhelm turned to see Travis standing casually next to him with Justin. He looked as if he had just asked about the weather, except for the intensity in his eyes. “She’s not completely gone?”

  “What do you know about it?” Wilhelm asked.

  “He’s taken control of her. She doesn’t act like herself. I don’t know how he did it, but he did.”

  “Why did you not tell me before now?”

  “Because we thought she’d be gone by now,” Travis sighed. “And we didn’t want to risk...others...finding out.”

  “Gone?” Wilhelm frowned.

  Travis looked around. “Out of the city,” he said in a very soft tone.

  Wilhelm’s eyes widened. “What? How?” How could he do that without Devin knowing?

  Travis and Justin looked at each other. “Have you ever been to O’Brien’s Pub on Market?” Justin asked.

  Wilhelm shook his head, not understanding what a pub had to do with Anna.

  “We like to go there for a late breakfast after morning rehearsals.” Justin gave him a pointed look.

  “Irish, eh?” Wilhelm commented, forcing a smile. “I have an Irish son-in-law. Good food.” He glanced at Kurt. “Sounds like a good place for breakfast.”

  Kurt nodded in agreement.

  Justin nodded. “You should try it.”

  “We might just do that.”

  “Good.” Travis said. He looked at Justin. “We should go.”

  The two dancers walked away, walking almost shoulder to shoulder. Travis leaned over and whispered something to Justin, who laughed and put his hand on Travis’ shoulder in a rather intimate way. Were they a couple?

  *****

  Wilhelm watched Anna the rest of the evening as he socialized in the elegant lobby. She gave all appearances that she was in love with Devin and if he hadn’t seen her up close, Wilhelm would have been devastated. But he knew something was wrong. Anna was still in there, fighting to survive. He had to help her, but how?

  She smiled and flirted with the men Devin spoke with and the men were smitten with her. A few times she walked away with a man and disappeared. Wilhelm hated to think what she was doing.

  Kurt growled n
ext to him.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “That man Anna is talking to? That’s the senator that hurts her.”

  Wilhelm looked across the room to see Anna smiling at a man about Kurt’s age with dark blond hair and a politician’s smile. The way he looked at her sent shivers down Wilhelm’s spine. No wonder Devin liked him.

  “I don’t know how much more of this I can stand,” Wilhelm muttered, and looked at Kurt. “Should we be relieved that she probably doesn’t know what’s going on?”

  “You think it’s that bad?”

  “Her eyes are almost vacant. She said she dreamed all the time.” Wilhelm shook his head. “I feel so helpless.” He looked at the ceiling. “I feel like I’ve failed Alex. He entrusted me with her and she’s suffered so much while she has supposedly been under my care.”

  “Vati, there’s little you can do. Alex was the one who was supposed to be able to deal with Devin. I spoke with Travis and Justin a bit more.” He shrugged when Wilhelm arched a brow at him. “I’m their age. It’s not as obvious as you talking with them.” He looked across the room at Anna. “She hasn’t shown up with bruises or anything that would indicate he’s abusing her. Aside from the distance, she seems okay. We need to go to breakfast tomorrow.”

  “Yes, Kurt. I understood that.” He smiled to let Kurt know he wasn’t rebuking him. He was just anxious. “It’s painful being in the same room with her and yet...not.”

  “I know the feeling.”

  Chapter Fifty-Nine

  Devin stroked his cock slowly as he watched Anna hang from the cuffs in the ceiling of his room later that night. It was late, but Kaveh would be here soon to nurse her back to health. It was an odd cycle, but one that worked. Kaveh gave her his essence, which Devin then took from her, and then took every ounce she had managed to replenish since the night before. Then Kaveh gave her enough to awaken her and Devin finished revitalizing her with a hard fuck. Odd, but not unpleasant for any of them. By Kaveh only partially reviving her, Devin was able to keep her under his control using her own life-force, or essence, against her. It was no hardship to fuck her nightly. He had to be gentler in the mornings, but even then, he could get away with not being overly loving.