The Life of Anna, Part 5: Emerged (42 page)

At first, when he was captured, he’d shunned
Vitaly’s offers of
Dirne
. But despair hit him hard after
the first year. There was no escape. He’d lost three men trying to
do so. The guards watched them like hawks over mice, and had even
shot him in the shoulder for looking suspicious. After finding out
Anna had been drugged up for two years, it made more sense that no
one had noticed her hurting from his injury. He’d never seen that
guard again after it happened, and wondered if the guard had gotten
into trouble.

Anna didn’t come, and after a year, he was
desperate for anything to feel better. But sex hadn’t worked.
Nothing worked, although when one of Vlad’s daughters had snuck up,
he took her with pleasure, thinking Vlad wouldn’t be happy with it.
When Vlad found out, several months later, he’d been furious. Alex
had savored the look of horror on Vlad’s face when Yelena told her
father that she was pregnant with Alex’s child.

The memory hit Alex in the stomach and he
nearly doubled over. He ran his hand through his hair and
shuddered. He had forgotten about that. Yelena lost the baby before
it could be born, and Alex had wondered if it had happened
naturally or not.

Vlad had tried to blame Alex, but what could
Alex have done to prevent it? Besides the obvious one of not
fucking her? It wasn’t as if he had access to condoms in his
prison. He’d told Vlad that he couldn’t tell the difference between
his daughter and a
Dirne
, and Vlad hadn’t taken that very
well, but Alex enjoyed the fury on the other man’s face. It matched
his own.

After Vitaly died, Alex had asked Vlad what
had happened and Vlad confessed that he had “arranged” for Yelena
to lose the baby; she didn’t know that the miscarriage had been
induced. It was for the best all around that the baby hadn’t been
born. Especially in light of Alex’s escape. He didn’t need
reminders of his captivity, nor did Anna. Yelena had married last
year and was happy. She was a sweet girl, but Alex had no feelings
for her. He had used her to get revenge with his captors.

After the incident with Vlad’s daughter,
there were no more
Dirne
for quite a while. Punishment, he
supposed, but it wasn’t much of one. Yelena being pregnant just
reminded him of Anna. That she had been glowing with pregnancy when
he’d left. Despair and depression had crept in again and he did
very little except sit in his chair and stare at the spot where
Anna had stood, willing her to come back, but she didn’t.

“You okay?” Seth asked quietly as the lights
began to fade.

“Yeah,” he said, rubbing his face. He had
told Vati about the baby and they decided that Anna didn’t need to
know about it. At least not right now. There was too much for her
to absorb at the moment. Maybe he would tell her about it later. He
wasn’t trying to hide it. He was just trying to be sensitive to
Anna’s level of acceptance.

Alex needed to get control of his emotions
before he saw Anna at the Gala dinner. She was beginning to be able
to sense his emotions, and the last thing she needed was to find
out about Yelena.

The music began and Alex became lost in the
ballet. Watching Anna was beauty in motion. Something had been
elevated in the last few days. Her dancing became even more
beautiful, if that were possible. She was captivating.

The story was a simple boy meets girl story,
set to music by a Russian composer Alex had not heard of, but it
was entrancing. Anna and Hugo had a true synergy when they danced
together, making Alex wonder briefly if Hugo had some Immortal in
him. When she danced with Peter it had felt similar.

He tried to deny the jealousy that began to
stab at his heart. The look on her face as they danced together was
beautiful, and heart breaking. She loved Hugo, and he looked at her
the same way. He held her like the precious gem she was, gazing
adoringly into her eyes.

Alex shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
Had
he made a mistake coming back? Trying to renew their
relationship? Was it fair to Anna? After all, she’d moved on. Hugo
was the only man she’d taken her ring off for.

But Hugo couldn’t protect her the way Alex
could. No, Anna was where she needed to be. With Alex.

But was he being cruel, taking her away from
her lover?

Alex didn’t like these doubts. He wasn’t used
to doubting his place, doubting his decisions. Since he’d escaped,
he found himself doubting almost everything he did. It was very
uncomfortable. He didn’t like it one little bit.

Anna hummed as she put on her long, black
lace dress. The corset top had thin lace straps at the edge of her
shoulders and the skirt was fitted, though not obscenely so. She
checked herself in the mirror, wanting to look perfect for
Alex.

Alex.
Her heart swelled with love
for him. She loved dancing with Hugo, but the whole time, she was
thinking about how Alex was in the audience, watching her dance.
She danced for him and him only. The more she thought about him,
the more she felt like she was floating in mid-air.

There was a knock at her door and she went to
answer it, knowing it was either Hugo or Aaron. She smiled when she
saw both, looking very handsome in their tuxedos.

Aaron smiled and then groaned, glancing at
Hugo. “You don’t get used to it.”

“Get used to what?” Anna asked.

“You. Not being mine. Not being Hugo’s.”

Anna’s face fell. “I’m sorry,” she said, not
knowing what to do. She didn’t want to upset her friends.

Aaron chuckled and hugged her. “I was
teasing...somewhat. Don’t feel bad.”

She glanced at Hugo, who gave her an
affectionate smile. “I would love to still be with you, Kittycat,”
he said in a soft voice, hugging her. “But seeing you the last few
days makes me realize how much you belong with Alex. You glow.” He
kissed her cheek and released her.

“Disgusting, isn’t it?” Aaron said with a
laugh.

Anna’s mood lifted at their laughter. They
were happy for her, not angry.

The three dancers arrived in the promenade a
few minutes later. Hugo and Aaron went to find out where they were
sitting. Anna already knew where to go: Table One, with Alex.

The huge room was decorated in the colors of
fall: green, gold, yellow and red. At the center of each table sat
a tall golden urn with strands of autumn leaves hanging over the
edge. The tablecloths were white, but the underskirts were
different fall colors at each table. It felt as if she had walked
into the middle of Central Park, except that people were dressed in
formalwear instead of jeans and jackets.

Anna nodded greetings to people she
recognized as she made her way to table one. Tom, Tommy and their
wives were there, as were Vincent and his partner, Walter, the
mayor and his wife, and another couple she didn’t know. She didn’t
see Alex and she frowned. There were two empty seats, so she knew
she was heading to the right table, but she didn’t see her tall,
handsome husband anywhere.

Tom spotted her as she approached and stood
to greet her. “Katrina,” he said kissing her cheek. “You were even
more wonderful than in the spring, if that’s possible.”

She greeted the others around the table and
then looked around. “Where’s Alex?” she asked Tom.

Tom looked around. “He mentioned something
about getting some air.”

“Oh.” Anna sat down next to Tom,
disappointed. No, hurt was more like it. Why would he not be here
when she arrived?

“Hello, Miss Katrina.”

Anna looked up to see Simon standing next to
her. She smiled and stood. “Hi, Simon. I didn’t expect to see you
here.”

Simon grinned. “Alex helped.”

Anna’s smile wasn’t as bright as it would
have been, had Alex been next to her.

“Katrina, I’d like to introduce you to my
wife, Emma. Emma, this is Katrina.”

The beautiful blond woman standing next to
Simon extended her hand. “Hello, Katrina,” she said with a slight
accent. German probably. “It is wonderful to meet you at last. I’ve
heard much about you.”

Anna greeted her, wondering what she’d heard
about her. “It’s nice to meet you, too. It never occurred to me
that Simon was married.”

Emma gave a playful look to Simon and
laughed. “Pretending to be single again?”

“It never was an issue. I was merely
conducting business on behalf of my employer.” Simon gave Anna a
friendly smile and looked around. “Speaking of...where is he?”

Anna bit her lip. “I don’t know. Tom said he
went out for air.”

Simon frowned and looked behind him. She saw
Tony and Greg sitting there. “Where’d Alex go?” Simon asked.

Tony shrugged. “Outside somewhere. Seth is
with him.”

Simon looked thoughtful for a moment. “Excuse
me for a few minutes.” He kissed Emma’s cheek and walked away.

Anna gave the others at the table a sad smile
and then sat down in her chair again next to Tom. She fidgeted with
the lace on her dress, not knowing what to do. Had she done
something to upset Alex? But she hadn’t seen him since the early
afternoon and he’d seemed fine then. Even when she was dancing, she
hoped that he would sense her love for him. He seemed to always
know how she was feeling and she wondered if his “imbuement” of the
Immortals had something to do with that.

Where was he?

“Alex, is there a reason you’re out here
instead of inside with your wife?”

Simon had found Alex and Seth around the side
of the theater. Alex had been there since the end of the
performance. He didn’t want to see the way Anna looked at Hugo up
close. It was bad enough watching it on stage.

Seth told him he was being ridiculous, but it
didn’t help. Alex felt like he didn’t belong anywhere and for the
first time in his life, he was avoiding a social situation because
he was afraid. Knowing that he was afraid made him feel even more
insecure and more determined to avoid the situation. It was a
vicious cycle.

“She doesn’t want to see me,” he said softly
in German. “I should have stayed away from her.”

Simon looked at him like he’d grown a second
head. “What are you talking about?”

“Anna. She...God, I should have just left her
alone to her new life. I could have confronted Devin on my own and
she would have been free to live her life, believing I was
dead.”

“Alex she loves you,” Seth said. “I don’t
know where you got this ridiculous idea that she’d rather be with
Hugo than you.”

“She took her ring off when they were
dating.”

“She put it back on.”

“She knows she has to be with me. That she
didn’t really have a choice after all.”

“She chose you before she knew that.” Seth
frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. “Although if you keep
acting like a pussy, she might change her mind.”

Alex closed his eyes at his friend’s words.
“Maybe I should let her.” He turned and walked away, heading away
from the theater.

“Where are you going?” Seth and Simon caught
up with him.

“Home.” He looked at Seth. “Make sure she
gets home okay.”

“You will hurt her if you leave,” Simon
called after him. “She was very disappointed when you weren’t in
there when she arrived.”

“She’ll be more disappointed if I went back
in,” Alex muttered, skipping down the shallow steps that led to the
street. His condo was only a few blocks away. Just a few blocks
until he could be alone in his misery.

Anna knew something was wrong when Seth
walked in with Simon, but not Alex. Dinner was being served, but
she pushed away from her chair and hurried over to the two men.
“Where’s Alex?”

They looked at each other. “He...,” Seth
began, then sighed. “He went home.”

Anna couldn’t believe what Seth just said.
“He went home?” she whispered, not believing what she heard.

Seth nodded sadly. “I’m sorry, Anna.”

Anna blinked back tears, unsure of what to
do. She looked out through the glass doors, hoping to see Alex
walking towards the building, but he wasn’t there. “Why?”

Seth grimaced. “He’s having trouble adjusting
to being here.”

Was he really saying that Alex was having
doubts about being with her? She didn’t understand what was going
on. She’d so been looking forward to dancing with him tonight. To
see the proud expression on his face when she walked in.

But he left and went home? Who was this man?
Did he not want her anymore? Was that it? He’d spent time with her
and realized that she wasn’t what he wanted? The thought was a
knife through her heart. Did he not love her anymore?

She went back to her seat and sat down hard,
staring at the elegant china place setting in front of her.

“Where’s Alex?” Tom asked as an entree was
placed in front of Anna.

She looked at the delicious smelling salmon
and vegetables. “Seth said he went home.” She blinked away tears
again. “He’s having problems adjusting to being here.”

“Alex?” Tom asked, disbelief in his
voice.

Anna nodded, unable to speak, for fear of
bursting out into sobs.

“He looked a little uneasy when we came in,
but,” Tom shook his head. “I don’t understand why he would leave. I
saw him before the performance began and he was looking forward to
tonight.”

Tom’s words didn’t help. What had happened
between then and now? A knot formed in Anna’s stomach. Had he met
someone during the performance and he was going to meet her?

Doubts from all directions began to assault
Anna and she was beginning to feel ill. But she couldn’t leave,
even if it was to chase after Alex. She represented the Company to
these people who spent thousands of dollars to be seen and meet the
dancers tonight. She’d left a social occasion early once and had
been punished for it by Wilhelm. Anna doubted Tom would punish her,
but she didn’t want to take the chance.