Chapter 2: The Man Who Ruined Me

DEVA LOREN/ LANA ALVAREZ

I glanced at the little feast of food in front of me, yet I had no interest in having a single bite.

I tried looking around the room for clues, anything to give me clarity.

I looked under the bed, in the drawers, through the swarm of heavy dresses and shoes. Yet, all I had was the note.

The more I tried to go through it again, the more my heart sort of ached.

This woman had tried to end her life while I fought to keep mine. What happened to you, Deva?

I looked through the window, and instinctively my eyes averted to the side to a painting of a beautiful red rose.

Why is something so beautiful hidden away?

I sighed, reaching for it, and immediately I took it away and found a hole in the wall.

Bingo.

This is what I'm looking for. I need to know more about you, Deva, and how I must've gotten into your body.

What if she's in my body? I thought. I hoped not; she would resent life even more if she had my body.

I stuck my hand into the hole, blindly searching, and then my hands stumbled upon a treasure, her treasure. Her obvious secret.

A diary.

It was green and dusty.

I blew away the dust before running my hands on it.

And in cursive writing, I found the words 'Deva Loren.'

If she's a princess, then that Alpha must be her father.

I coughed as I opened the first page.

'I do not have all the fortune to give you, but through this book, I give you my heart to write upon, Because you love to write.'

~Liam.

I went back to the note mumbling her last words. "...You took away the man I loved, so I decided to take mine. Without him, there cannot be me. I cannot exist in a world where he doesn't exist..."

The aching in my heart worsened. Her love was taken away from her. Mine deserted me.

I opened more reading.

[Today I write upon my lover's heart in this note.

Is there more to life than being a beautiful woman in a dress that costs a fortune? Is there any end to the struggle for freedom, for strength, for peace, and for love?

The only love I have ever found is with you, Liam. Yet, I cannot help but wonder-]

"What do you mean, she dashed across the castle?!" A voice roared, making me flinch, and it was heading this way. I put Deva's last words in the book and hide it under the bed.

Not the best hiding place, but I had no time to find another before the door burst open.

"She seems fine to me!" A tall man dressed in red royal clothing and a crown on his head spoke in anger.

What do I reference him as?

"Alpha Cain. She asked strange questions."

"Well, call the physician!" He shouted at the guard.

Alpha Cain glared harshly at me before tearing his dagger-like eyes off me.

"Have the man here this instant." And like that, he left.

Not a single word to the woman who has survived ending her life. Is this the coldness you've had to live with, Deva? Is this the way your father has always regarded you? Like you were nothing?

A familiar feeling settled in my chest.

Loneliness.

Pain.

Yet denial and a fleeting pass of hope. Hope that man cared. I did not understand why I felt these things for another woman, but it was sad.

"Princess Deva is alright." The old physician said after examining me. "She might've suffered a little concussion due to the fall, but she is alright. Nothing you need to worry about, Alpha Cain."

"Thank you, Arnold. I see to it that she gets proper rest."

"Yes, Alpha Cain."

Another cold stare from the Alpha. What does he want from me? Should I beg for trying to die?

"Where is my daughter?" I heard another voice from the hallway.

A woman enters though she had aged a little, it was hidden, what a real beauty she was.

"Deva." She cried opening her arms wide on the way to hug me. Dressed in royal clothing with a crown on her head, no one had to tell me who she was; Deva's mother, they even had the same hair and eyes.

She embraced me lightly, and I awkwardly did the same. "You foolish child. What did you try to do to yourself? Do you realize what you have done? People are whispering about us. You almost soiled the Loren name.

Why are you worried about the family name and not about your daughter? What kind of mother are you?

"Everyone had begun to ask questions. We had to lie that you were sick. Taking your youth away for a lowly useless man that stole your beauty and innocence." She said all those words warmly yet I could hear just criticism, judgment, and disappointment. She wasn't happy her daughter survived. She was thankful to have saved her reputation.

"Rest up, Deva. In two days I shall have your fiance over, and the wedding shall be concluded. You almost ruined everything and before you act like a mad woman again you better do I as I say or not only will you lose the filthy boy you whored around with, but his whole family will die because of you." Alpha Cain spoke calmly yet with deadly warning. He wasn't joking. If he killed one man, what spears the rest of the family.

"We must send word to Alpha Aaron right away, it is the first time you both will be meeting in person." Deva's mother squeezed my eyes. "You must not disappoint him or us. We will leave you to rest now. Call the servants if you need anything." She stood up straightening her shoulder.

It took a moment, but I finally registered it; the name of the man Deva was to marry. "Alpha Aaron?"

Alpha Cain turned back, his eyes icy. "Do not speak of his name like this the first time you're hearing of it."

My mind became a warping mess. I know an Aaron, I knew one. I needed to know as my eyes teared up.

"I- I hit my head and I do not remember much. Can you tell me his pack maybe I'll get a hint or be reminded. Please, father."

"This is what happens when you sleep with different men. Whose to say she hasn't been sleeping with the Alphas that come around for functions or trea-"

"Cain!" Deva's mother slithered his name clearly offended by his choice of words.

"Train your child right, Jade." He said before walking out.

I sank further into the bed before the words, Deva's mother crushed me. "He's Alpha Aaron Shrova of the Moonray pack. Like I said, get some rest. Whatever you'll need to know, we will discuss once you're recovered."

The door shuts and I crumbled, my eyes itched as tears welled up in them. A faded image of a man with blonde hair and blue eyes appeared in my head.

Deva was getting married to the man who ruined me.