CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER THREE

FIVE YEARS LATER…

The song was at it's highest and the neon lights blinked on and off continuously as people danced and screamed drunkenly in ecstasy in the bar. Mirabel fixed a fake smile on her face as she looked at the mirror while fixing her dress. She had just finished having her third and last break for the night and she was about to go back in there and resume with a fake smile on her face as she served because the men that pattonized thought it was sexy. 

“Just smile and it will be over soon” she muttered to herself as she struggled with the skimpy dress that madam Suzy gave her to wear but it wouldn't budge so it still didn't feel long enough for her. With a sigh, she gave up and fixed her hair and lipstick then she practiced the smile again before she was satisfied and turned to leave her room but Stella walked in at that moment with a tired look on her face as she fell on the bed and groaned while she kicked her shoes off.

“I'm so tired,” she said and Mirabel chuckled.

“Well we made a deal and we have to stick to it until madam Suzy is ready to let us go, the last time we tried to run away didn't end up so well,” she said and Stella groaned again.

“It's been five years already, Mira. Why can't she just let us go? We need to leave our lives too.” Stella whined and Mirabel, who just wanted to return to her job, smiled at her as she opened the door to the room and shrugged.

“It's only a matter of time Stella, we will be out of here soon and remember that you are doing this for Lucky and he will be forever grateful” she said and with that, she was done while Stella busied herself with massaging her sole that hurt from walking in heels all night long.

With the fake smile now fixed on her smile, Mirabel flashed it at every single person she walked past; worker or customer until she got to the counter inside the VIP bar where she was stationed and Lucky, who was the bartender there for the night shift smiled at her as he turned around with a bottle of champagne that he took from the shelf behind him.

“Hey pretty, ready for your last round of the night?” he asked her and she grinned while taking a seat then she looked at him and winked.

“Of course Lucky, I'm always ready” she said and he smiled back at her before he walked away and came back with a tray filled with empty glasses and two bottles of champagne and wine.

“Madam Suzy specifically asked for you to serve this to the third booth in the VIP section. Smile and be nice, Mirabel, please” he said and she chuckled while taking the tray from his hand.

“Of course dad, as long as they don't play dirty, I'll play my cards right” she replied sarcastically and winked at him again before she walked away while swaying her hips in her short black dress and black stilettos with her hair all packed up in a bun as she headed for the third booth to serve their drinks and hopefully, get a tip so she could add it to the savings she had been keeping for the past five years since she started this job.

Ever since that day when Madam Suzy saved Lucky, she and Stella began their training before Lucky did and they began to work for her just as they agreed. She was nice, she never asked them questions about what happened to them and was patient with them until they got a complete hang of the job and became professionals too.

Life was easier and less complicated for Mirabel but she never forgot the promise she made to her parents to end king Mortis and his pack too. She made sure she trained every single night after work and swore to destroy all he had worked for too just as he did to her and everyone she knew and she was going to watch as everything would fall to the ground in flames. Until then, her resolve grew stronger every single day until Madam Suzy was going to let them go.

She arrived at the third booth and she could hear whistles from men from across other booths but she ignored them and just concentrated on what she was there to do. With the fake smile still on her face, she gently placed the tray on the table and suddenly a strong scent caught her nose and it was coming from the man that sat right in front of her. She looked up to see him just as her wolf began to get excited in her head and all the hair on her skin stood as her wolf yelled ‘mate’ to her.

The man stared at her with wide eyes too and it was obvious that he knew she was his mate too. She quickly turned around to leave in shock and disbelief that he was her mate but the man quickly held her by the wrist and she froze. Body contact only made it more believable that she just met her mate due to the way her body felt at his touch but without looking back at him, she wriggled her hand out of his and rushed out of the booth. Mirabel was definitely not ready to have a mate yet.

With a flushed face, she returned to the counter and Lucky noticed she wasn't okay immediately.

“Are you okay? What happened?” he asked but she shook her head before she gulped a glass of water in a go and groaned while fisting her hair and Luck just watched her cluelessly.

“Poor prince Malcolm. I completely understand if he wants to drink away his worries after his father, king Mortis just randomly collapsed” one of the hostesses in the bar said from where she sat with another hostess and the second began to speak.

“His father literally made enemies out of many packs, now he has to become the alpha of such a hated pack and suffer for what his father caused” the second said and they went silent while Mirabel’s eyes were already wide with shock. Her mate was prince Malcolm? Son of king Mortis? And king Mortis had collapsed? It was all so much to take in but it was all true and suddenly an idea struck her on finding out that her mate was her greatest enemy’s son.

She quickly stood up and looked at Lucky who was still watching her while wondering what was up with her and she forced a smile on her face to lessen his worry for her.

“Hey, I'll be going to bed now since I've done my job. One of the hostesses can clear up after me” she said to him and waved before she rushed off. She wasn't sleepy but she needed time to process her thoughts and come up with a good plan that she could use to get back at king Mortis and his son who was now her mate.

************

Morning came and Mirabel was filled with so much energy as she got ready for the day. She had the night shift for that day so she had the whole day to herself and she already had something that she wanted to do and see for herself before it would get late.

She was going to go to the hospital where king Mortis was kept to see him for herself then she was going to return to the bar so she could start with her plan to get prince Malcolm to fall in love with her because she was sure he would return to find her then she would begin with her plan to destroy his pack and leave them all devastated. She didn't care if he wasn't the one that destroyed her pack and killed her parents, she was still going to make them all suffer for their former alpha king’s deeds.

She waved at Stella who was still in bed and walked out of the room in a pair of ankle-length jean trousers and a t-shirt with her hair all down and she hung a sling bag across her chest. Madam Suzy was seated at the regular counter that was positioned opposite the entrance to the bar and their eyes met as she walked toward her.

“Good morning madam Suzy'' Mirabel greeted and the woman smiled at her as she chewed on the gum that she loved so much.

“Morning to you too Mira. Where are you headed so early?” she asked and Mirabel shrugged.

“I'm free for the day so I thought I should get out for some fresh air and a change of environment before my shift” she replied and Madam Suzy nodded.

“Don't be late then. I have customers that only like it when only you serve them so be back on time” she said and Mirabel winked at her before she walked out of the bar.   

She walked a distance before she got to the roadside then she waved for a cab and got in before she gave her destination to the driver to go to. 

In silence, the man drove and it took quite a while before they arrived at the hospital which was just at the borders of the Philia pack. Mirabel paid the cab driver before she turned to face the hospital and she began to worry that some of the guards watching king Mortis might recognize her and that was too risky so she had to find a way to hide her face.

She put on a face mask first and walked into the hospital then she made her way to the dressing room for the staff and snuck in after checking the hospital’s map. She took out two pins from her bag and quickly picked a locker. Once it opened, she took the uniform in the locker and put it on, then she hung the nurse’s ID card on her neck before stuffing her clothes in her bag and she hid her bag elsewhere.

Once she was done, she walked out of the staff dressing room and grabbed an abandoned clipboard that she found then went for the counter where two nurses were seated.

“Good morning” she greeted cheerfully and they smiled back at her before greeting her.

“So I'm the nurse that’s been assigned to administer treatment to king Mortis this morning. Where is his room and prescription please?” she asked with a straight face as she pretended to go through the clipboard in her hand and the nurse with the book for wards and their patients, gave the room number to Mirabel along with another clipboard that had his ailment and prescription written on it and she thanked her before walking away.

“Jackpot,” she said to herself with a grin before she walked into the elevator, heading for king Mortis.

She found the room easily and she walked in, heading straight for the bed with so much anger. She saw he was awake and she pulled off the mask from her face with any hesitation. Their eyes met as he looked up at her and she flashed him an icy smile while his eyes grew wide once he recognized her.

“It's nice to see that you still remember me you monster” she said through gritted teeth and she placed her hand around his neck immediately but she didn't squeeze.

“I heard you collapsed days ago. Is the reign of the great and merciless king Mortis coming to an end?” she asked with a chuckle and he opened his mouth to speak but only sounds came out as nothing he said made any sense.

Mirabel slowly pulled her hand away from his neck as she stared at him confusedly then she checked the clipboard that the nurse gave to her and she saw that he was suffering from stroke and paralysis which meant he couldn't speak anymore. She looked back at him and she had never felt so happy to see her enemy suffering so much.

“I know you can hear me Mortis so I would make this promise to you, I won't kill you now but I'm going to return when you least expect it and I will make you suffer before I end you just the same way you killed my parents” she hissed at him and smiled.

“So watch your back because it's going to be one hell of a ride” she added and wore her mask back before turning to leave.

The door to the room slid open at that moment and she saw it was prince Malcolm at the door and she froze once their eyes met because he was staring at her deeply. Then she remembered she was on a mask and he wouldn't recognize her. With relief, she quickly bowed to him before she walked past him to leave the room but his eyes followed her until she was out of sight. 

Prince Malcolm didn't know why but it felt like he had met the masked nurse that just rushed out of his father’s ward… only that he couldn't place a finger on where exactly he knew her from. 

Why did she seem so familiar? Why did it feel like they had once met before?