Page 178 of The Life of Anna, Tenth Anniversary Edition, Act 2

Wilhelm watched as Devin dragged Anna away, and then looked back at Shaw. “You do realize that if you let her go home with him, he will torture her.”

“As distasteful as it is, Wilhelm, she is his slave,” Shaw said sadly. “Yes, she is your Mistress as well as his, but his claim of ownership is stronger. No one likes it, but it is what it is. If we decide that he may take her home, we will put limits on what he may do to her, but?—?”

“You think he will listen?” Wilhelm spat, disgusted at the man’s naiveté. “He performed the forbidden ritual to make her that way, and you think he will listen if you say ‘do not hurt her too much’?” He shook his head. “Give her to me. I will make sure she is safe. You have no idea the things he will do to her.”

Shaw lifted his chin. “We will discuss it later, Wilhelm, and let you know our decision. He would be foolish to ignore us. His powers have faded and he knows it.”

“So you give Anna back to him so he can revive them?”

“His Immortal pawn, Kaveh, has been banished. It won’t happen.”

Wilhelm sucked in a breath. “He has?”

Shaw nodded.

Despite knowing that Anna would likely be staying with Devin, Wilhelm sighed in relief. At least there was one less thing they needed to worry about.

Alex was in Aaron’s hospital room on Sunday evening when his phone rang. “Vati? Is Anna alright?”

Alex glanced at Aaron, who tried to sit up at his words.

“She is... for now. I heard from Shaw Wilson that Kaveh has been banished.”

Alex sighed in relief. That was good news. “What about Anna?” His father hesitated, which made Alex tense again. “Vati?”

“The Masters of the Mistresses met this afternoon to discuss the situation. Devin and I acted inappropriately at the funeral and called attention to the situation.”

An unexpected smile appeared on Alex’s lips at the idea of Vati acting “inappropriately.” He could only imagine what his always-proper father had done.

“I pleaded with them to let me take Anna because of what Devin would do to her, but they ignored me. She will return to San Francisco with him tomorrow with the instructions that he is not to discipline her more than is appropriate.”

Alex’s blood boiled. “They really expect Devin to listen to them?”

“I protested with the same sentiment, Alex. I am to return in three weeks and take her home with me. As I told you, Alex, the Elders, as much as they detest the idea, acknowledge that she is his slave and that he has a right to deal with her.”

Alex slumped into the chair by the window. His poor Anna. His heart broke at the thought of the torture that Devin would surely put her through.

“The good thing is that Devin will be returning directly to San Francisco, not stopping in New York. Tomorrow, Vlad, Tom, and I will discuss changing your assignment.”

Alex let out a slow breath. That was good news, he supposed.

“How quickly can you be ready to go?”

Alex had hardly been able to sleep or think or do anything except despair about Anna. “A few days. I’ve had difficulty concentrating.”

“I understand, son. Speak with your men and prepare. I will call you tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Vati.”

Alex slid his phone back into his pocket and shared with Aaron what he had learned from his father.

“You should go home and plan.”

“I don’t want to leave you alone.”

Aaron waved his hand. “My parents are bringing me dinner. I’ll be fine. You need to figure out how to kill Tyler.”

Anna stared out the jet window as the San Francisco Bay Bridge appeared, stretching over the sparkling waters of the bay. How had she ended up back here? Why had she run away? It had all been so pointless.

Three weeks. She only had to last three weeks and then Wilhelm would come get her. Could she last that long?

She closed her eyes, remembering what felt like her sentencing.

The Elder-Mistresses watched her with disdain as they kneeled at the feet of their Masters. Anna kneeled between Wilhelm and Devin. She tried to lean toward Wilhelm, but Devin pulled her back to the center by her hair.

“You ran away from your Master, Mistress,” Shaw said from the middle of the semi-circle. “As an Elder-Mistress, and as a slave, you should have known better. Why did you do it?”

Anna had stared at him for a long moment, unable to come up with an answer, besides the obvious one of Devin’s abuse. But surely they already knew about that. If they didn’t and she brought it up, Devin would be angry. “I-I don’t know,” she whispered after a moment of silence and hung her head.

The condemnation was palpable in the room. If word got out that slaves could run away without consequences, there would be chaos...

Shaw spoke again. “As repulsive as we find your methods, Devin, we cannot deny your right to discipline your slave. But we would remind you that she is an Elder-Mistress and should be treated accordingly.”

Tears burned Anna’s eyes at the Elder’s words.

“You may have her for three weeks, and then she will be turned over to Wilhelm. You have abused her for long enough. He will keep her for as long as he can without harm coming to her, and then he will return her to you for another three weeks.”

Devin clenched his hands. “You can’t take her away from me, she is mine. Even the Immortals acknowledge that. The simple fact that she must be returned to me proves that point.”

“You abuse her, Devin,” Wilhelm snapped. “She is a person, not a punching bag. No wonder she ran away from you.”

“Wilhelm, that’s enough,” Shaw said. “She did wrong. She will pay the penalty, and then you will have her back.” He turned to Devin. “If you show respect befitting an Elder-Mistress, we will reconsider our decision. The Immortals are already unhappy with us. We will not risk losing our Mistresses because you cannot control yourself, Devin.”

And so she was in Devin’s jet, clinging to the armrests as the jet dropped to the runway. The Manor wasn’t far from the airport, which meant there was little time before the pain began.

Tyler leaned forward and grabbed her around her neck. “Did you know that the nerve-juice can be injected directly into the clit?” He grinned. “I understand it’s incredibly painful. More so than injecting it into your neck.”

Anna felt the blood drain from her face and she looked at Devin, who nodded.

“We’ve been experimenting with the expectation of your eventual return. Wilhelm will get you back in three weeks, but you probably won’t know it until a few days later. I intend for you to be in excruciating pain for the entire three weeks.”