The Moon Rises (Gigi Monroe)

by Angela Horn

  “How can I learn fast?”

  “I don’t know. Read a dictionary, so you’ll know what words mean. The rest you can figure out just by being out in the world, watching people.”

  “Simon said I should ask a witch to read me, so I can know who I am. I don’t think I can trust him or the witches though.”

  “No, don’t trust the witches. They’re tricky. Justine swears Nolan is sweet as pie, but he comes from a powerful family. They didn’t get all that magic from being sweet. I wouldn’t let the witches know about your missing memoires.”

  “Simon knows though.”

  “He won’t tell the witches. Simon likes secrets and he hates the witches. He hates everyone actually.”

  “Do you think he hates me?”

  “No, but he will eventually. You’ll bore him or annoy him and then he’ll view you as forgettable like an ant crawling around, just waiting to die.”

  “The Circle is a scary place.”

  “Yes, it is, but you’re beautiful and that’s a commodity. You have value right now, so don’t get scared and start blowing off these males. Simon is full of shit and the Weres are sexist pigs and the witches, including Nolan, would use you as a science experiment if they could. Right now though, you’re new and exciting and they want to keep you around. Silas wants to keep you around. As annoying as the Alphas are with their rules and ass ogling, as long as they keep ogling you, your life has more value. That’s why Katia’s disappearance is so strange. Sure no one cares, but whoever took her opened themselves up to payback from Silas. I guess whoever did this knew Katia’s worth better than she did. They knew no one would care.”

  “We care and Michael is looking for her.”

  “Yes, but only because of you. There’s something special about you, Gigi, which makes these males want to help. So while you should be very, very careful with them, don’t be scared to the point of pushing them away. I know it sounds like I’m telling you two different things, but it’s because you have power and yet you’re vulnerable at the same time. I guess I’m saying to just be you with all your staring and innocence, but also be aware of how everyone is full of shit.”

  “Are you full of shit?”

  Sara grinned, showing her bright white teeth. “Yeah, probably. I really fell for Simon’s crap and I got all blushing teenager around the Weres in the beginning. Still I think them hurting me doesn’t matter as much as if they hurt you. I have a lifetime of experience to help me deal with rejection and heartbreak. You don’t have that so I want you to be safe.”

  “I’m glad you want to be my friend.”

  “And I’m glad Silas hired you instead of some dumb bitch who only cared about tips. I was really depressed about Katia because it seemed like I was surrounded by people who didn’t give a shit about her life being taken away, but then you came along and gave me hope.”

  Gigi watched Sara and thought about what Ella and Michael said about finding Katia. Sara reached across the table and patted her hand.

  “I know she’s dead. Everyone knows which is why they think it doesn’t matter, but someone needs to care. Katia had no one in her life. She grew up in foster care, didn’t speak to her birth parents, was trying to make a life for herself, but she was essentially alone. Someone needs to care and we do care so that’s something. In the Circle, sometimes all anyone gets is to be remembered. Because of you and me, at least someone remembers Katia was here.”

  Gigi smiled. “I wish I knew her.”

  “She was really serious most of the time, but at work, she acted all silly to get good tips. Sometimes we’d hang out at her place and she would make fun of how she acted and it was hilarious because she knew how stupid she seemed with all the giggling. I miss her and I wish you could have met her too.”

  Gigi liked hearing Sara talk about Katia even though it caused the heavy sensation in her chest to deepen. Katia was just gone and the finality unnerved Gigi.

  “Be careful with Simon,” Sara said suddenly. “He can enthrall you in very subtle ways. Do you know what enthrall means?” Gigi nodded. “Well he’s not one of those Vamps who entrances his prey and controls them. He relaxes you so you’ll tell him things you normally wouldn’t. Once you tell him things and he reacts in such a nice way, you trust him and tell him more.

  “Soon you trust him to the point of wanting to do things for him. Well actually with him. The trick is that you’re actually making your own decisions. He’s not forcing you in an obvious way. It’s like his lies. They’re subtle so you don’t pick up on them. If any guy makes a move on you soon, it’ll be Simon. He won’t care about Finn or any other male. He will enthrall you just enough to get your guard down and soon you’ll not only want to sleep with him, but to be changed. Trust me, though, being a Vamp sucks. It’s why they all look so cranky. Simon doesn’t because he’s been around long enough to hide his feelings, but the newer Vamps are all moody. Yeah, don’t let him change you.”

  “I won’t. Did he try to change you?”

  Sara glanced around and frowned. “Yeah and I almost let him. It’s hard to tell Simon no because he sounds so very reasonable and you feel safe with him, but it’s the enthrallment, not some actual safety you have with him. While he wants you, yes, he would keep you safe, but his interest is fleeting. We’re just ants to him and ants are only entertaining for so long.”

  “How did you know not to let him change you?”

  Poking at her food, Sara shrugged. “Growing up, I had a teacher who I thought was so cool and smart and I wanted to grow up and be like her. I’d wanted that dream for so long that it was just a part of who I was. So when I was thinking about giving up my life and essentially becoming Simon’s plaything, that need to be a teacher was stronger than my need to please him. It seems silly how I would be willing to be changed into a Vamp, give up my humanity, the ability to stand in the sun, the ability to have children, just give it all up because some hot Vamp asks me to, but then being a teacher stopped me. Still that’s what did it. I pulled back from the fantasy he was selling and said no. If he had enthralled me completely, I couldn’t have said no, but he wants his victims to agree to the hell he’s offering. It’s more satisfying for him, I guess.”

  Sara sighed and Gigi thought her friend looked sad.

  “Anyway I was really into Simon and I miss him sometimes. Maybe not him personally, but the way he made me feel. When those males, with their magic and power, focus on us humans, it can be overwhelming and addictive, but it’s a lie. They always lose interest.

  “Justine has been chasing Nolan for over a year and he flirts with her, but he won’t do anything because she’s just a human. The witches seem the most like us, but they’re not human and they think they’re better. Weres are the same way. They will have sex with humans, but they won’t mate with them because their offspring would be weakened by our humanity. So they use us for entertainment, but they can’t love us. It’s why I don’t waste my time dating Weres. They can be charming and I like big strong guys, but I’m just a conquest and I want to be a wife and mother one day, not the whore of some Were.

  Gigi thought about Finn and again considered backing out of her date.

  “Why should I date Finn then?”

  “Because you said he was nice and you might as well get some practice when it comes to dating. I avoid dating Weres, but I avoid dating crappy human males too. I’m at an age where I want to find someone good who I can marry, but I’ve been dating since I was a teenager. I’ve had my practice. You haven’t and while Finn is a Were, I think he’s probably a safe Were. He knows Silas is a mean son of a bitch and Silas will protect you. Maybe as time goes on and the novelty of you wears off, Silas might not care like he doesn’t care about Katia.

  “Right now though, he does care and Finn might be Declan’s brother, but he’s not stupid. Silas will fuck him up, if he hurts one of his girls. Declan wouldn’t stop Silas either. Declan needs Silas to stay neutral when the war comes. Anyway I think you should go on y
our date and have fun and learn how to handle yourself with a safe guy so you’ll be ready for when a real date comes along.”

  “Why are they going to war anyway?”

  “Because Declan is power hungry. If it was up to Anton and Roger, their pack borders would remain the same. Declan’s pack is bigger and stronger and he wants more territory. I hear the Weres whisper about wanting to steal land from Roger, but Anton’s territory is more valuable. I sense when Declan’s war starts, he’ll hit both Anton and Roger and take everything he can get.”

  “Do you think they’ll die?”

  “Anton and Roger? It makes sense to kill them, if Declan really wants to keep the territory. A few blocks here or there won’t matter and I think Declan wants it all now. For that, yeah, he’d need to kill the other Alphas. He probably can, but now Anton has the witches and Roger’s off getting some kind of help. It’ll get messy and the only thing that will keep humans like you and me safe will be our links to Silas. He’s Switzerland, Mr. Neutral, and no one wants to piss him off. He’s not quite the straight businessman he pretends to be. He has resources to hurt anyone who hurts him including an old relationship with Michael. Silas was an Alpha in some other place years ago and no one wants him to try to be one here. We should be fine, but Anton and Roger and their inner circles are living on borrowed time.”

  Gigi thought about Anton who she once saw walking to his car while she was out wandering the city. She had stopped to watch him because she liked watching him. Gigi saw him pull off the shirt he was wearing, throw it inside his car, and pull out another shirt. He was only shirtless for like a minute, but Gigi felt a rush of heat which made her want to touch him. The idea of Anton being dead like Katia and maybe Mamma Celeste were dead caused the heaviness in her chest to grow more burdensome. If Declan was Ella’s favorite jackass, maybe Anton was Gigi’s?

  “So where are you working tonight?” Sara asked, finishing her sandwich.

  “Ghoul floor.”

  “Do a bad job,” Sara said immediately.

  “How?”

  “Act weirded out by them. Act snooty. Cry. Vomit. Whatever it takes.”

  Gigi smiled because she thought Sara was teasing her. Even though Sara was smiling too, her blue eyes were serious.

  “I’m not kidding. The Weres, witches, and Vamps like you. You’ll be requested constantly without the ghouls liking you too. Some girls like Ella can tolerate the ghouls and she gets bored of the pack floor. She knows all the guys and also knows they’ll tease her, but never date her. Anyway she puts up with the ghouls because she needs variety and can’t work on the other floors. Dahlia gets on Simon’s nerves so he asks for her to work elsewhere sometimes and Silas sticks her on the ghoul floor because she can’t work on the pack or witch floors. No one wants to be with the ghouls so if you freak out and get banned from the floor, no one will blame you.”

  “What are they like?”

  “Since I started at the club two years ago, I’ve been on the floor a bunch of times and it’s not horrible if a necromancer is around especially Tobin. He isn’t a ghoul, but a sorcerer or something. He looks human and is good about making his monsters behave. Well unless he doesn’t like a girl then the ghouls get really curious and start playing with the offending girl’s hair and they lick her and whatever else it takes until she freaks out. Tobin can be really mean and he’s messed with girls until they’ve cried. Even then his ghouls blocked the exits so the girls couldn’t run away. Silas complained, but he wants Tobin’s business so he only complains, never penalizes. So, yeah, Tobin can be mean, but he usually isn’t. I know he is very nice to Ella, though his tolerance for Dahlia is waning since she got snooty with some little monster when it sneezed on her.”

  Gigi didn’t feel her face change, but suddenly Sara laughed and patted her hand.

  “It’s not that bad. Just gross, but not dangerous. The Vamps are more dangerous. Hell, I’d rather be around the ghouls than the witches. Back when I first started at the club, I know those fucking witches killed a girl. She died of some mysterious disease no one else in the Circle caught. No, the witches killed her and they’ve probably killed other people in more subtle ways. Yet they wanted people to know about that particular girl. I don’t know what she did wrong, but others probably did know and her death was a warning. Silas doesn’t even want to mess with the witches. So, yeah, the ghouls are gross, but they’re dumb and are controlled by necromancers who for the most part behave civilly. I’ve never heard of a girl getting hurt on the ghoul floor. Messed with maybe, but never injured. A girl has gotten hurt on every other floor over the eleven years since Silas opened the club, but never the ghoul floor.”

  “So I should or shouldn’t want to work on the ghoul floor?”

  “Well if it was up to me, you would stick to the Were floor only because I think you’re safest there. Anton and Declan complained about you not working the floor which means they both like you. While they won’t date you, they want you safe so they can check out your ass. The Vamps and witches are dangerous, but you already won them over so it’s too late to fix that. No need to make the ghouls fans too.”

  Gigi was thoroughly confused now. She wished someone had told her how not to do well on the witch and Vamp floors if it was so dangerous. Instead they just told her the right ways to behave. Seeing Simon or the witches again scared her, but tonight was all about ugly monsters. At least this time around Sara gave her the heads up so she knew not to do a good job.

  Chapter Nine

  Declan watched Anton speak with Silas and wondered what the two Weres were conspiring over with all the whispering. Birthday or not, the Alphas were always working angles. Anton’s eyes found Declan’s and the dark haired Alpha smiled. Okay, so maybe his former friend was in fact taking the night off from preparing for the war they all knew was coming.

  Anton strolled over to Declan, looking relaxed even though he wasn’t. Roger’s absence weighed on them both, but tonight wasn’t about work.

  “Happy birthday, Declan.”

  Declan nodded with a smile. “You look like crap. Not sleeping well?”

  Sighing heavily, Anton shrugged. “The ladies do keep me up well past my bedtime, but what can I do?”

  “You should just kick them out of bed like I do. Oh no, I guess you can’t because you’re too much of a softie.”

  Anton grinned. “Silas is pissed at you. You know that, right?”

  “Oh, I know.”

  “Unfortunately we’ll all have to suffer now.”

  “How do you figure?”

  “Gigi’s working tonight, but she won’t be serving you cake and ice cream.”

  Declan growled as his eyes found Silas who was grinning.

  “Where did he stick her?”

  “Ghouls.”

  Declan’s growl deepened when Silas chuckled. “Jackass.”

  Laughing, Anton smacked Declan in the arm. “You shouldn’t have pitched such a fit and made Monica cry. She used Silas’s shirt as a tissue half the night. He’s not likely to forgive you for a while.”

  “It was my guys.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  Declan grinned. “Well Gigi’s too hot for the ghouls and I’d hate for her to stink of the Vamps. The witches are weird and screw with the girls. No, it’s better if she’s here and I say that purely as a concerned patron.”

  Still smiling, Anton sighed. “Ah, Finn brought Michael with him.”

  “Lovely.”

  Finn didn’t visit the club much, not wanting to be sucked into pack politics. Michael visited even less, not caring enough about anyone’s feelings to even fake like he gave a shit about their pack politics. Yet they both graced the establishment to celebrate Declan’s thirtieth birthday.

  “Hello again,” Finn said with a grin. “Michael says hi.”

  Michael nodded at the two Alphas then glanced around. “Where’s the Gigi chick?”

  Declan frowned and his frown matched those of Anton and Finn. Michael glanced back at the
m and decided to frown too.

  “She works here, right?”

  “Yes,” Declan said cautiously, although he wasn’t sure why.

  “She hired me to look for the dead waitress. Is she here?”

  “She hired you?” Declan asked.

  “Did I stutter?”

  Declan didn’t hate Michael, but he didn’t like him either. Next to him, Anton was standing very still as if worried violence might break out and he would need to know who to hit first. Finn patted Michael on the back.

  “Chill, man. We can ask Silas.”

  “She’s on the ghoul floor,” Anton said then added with his dark eyes on Michael, “And you can’t go to the ghoul floor.”

  “I thought only the weird girls got assigned to the ghoul floor?” Michael muttered.

  “Hey,” Ella cried, having appeared from nowhere just so she could shove Michael. “I work on the ghoul floor and I’m not weird.”

  “It’s true. She’s more bitchy than weird,” Declan said with a grin.

  Ella smiled at him while batting her eyes. “Happy birthday, jackass.”

  Few Weres could mouth off like Ella did without getting an ass kicking for their effort, but Declan had a soft spot for the ginger.

  “Find anything yet?” Ella said, her gaze back on Michael.

  “No.”

  “Then what do you want to bother Gigi for? Got a crush?”

  “I wanted to tell her I’m done.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  “The Katia chick is just gone. Her apartment was cleared out by the landlord. Nothing left behind to track. No signs of foul play around the apartment. Nothing to follow, so I’m out.”

  “If you tell her that, she’ll cry,” Ella said with a sigh. “Cry her pretty brown eyes out. Best tell her when she’s not at work. Silas is still pissed about these idiots making Monica cry.”

  Declan knew Ella was gesturing towards him and Anton, but his gaze wasn’t on her. He was watching Silas frown at the little device he carried around which allowed him to watch all the different floors from various camera angles.