The Moon Rises (Gigi Monroe)

by Angela Horn

  “Shut the fuck up!” Dave yelled. “You didn’t see that thing.”

  “What killed it though?” Anton asked, trying to keep everyone focused.

  “Something fried the nasty bugger,” Tobin said, appearing at the doorway with a curious grin. “That’s the bad news because there’s nothing left in its tiny brain to link us back to its master.”

  “Master?” Silas growled.

  “That was someone’s pet. Whoever was controlling it might have lost control then used a trigger to destroy it. I can’t be sure what killed it, but its master is still out there,” Tobin said then sighed. “Poor Gigi has only a few minutes to live. Has someone called her family or given her last rites or whatever she needs to have done?”

  “She has no family and I don’t know about her religion,” Silas said. “Besides the witches once healed a human who was shot three times. They might save her.”

  “Doubtful,” Tobin sighed. “I know death and the girl is going to die very soon. I wouldn’t give her more than five minutes, no matter what the witches do.”

  “Humans are very fragile,” Simon commented. “Too bad we couldn’t rectify the human part.”

  Anton felt the tension in the room build, but the Vamp only shrugged.

  “The necromancer could bring her back, I guess,” Simon said.

  The room looked to Tobin who shrugged. “I’m not sure what I’d bring back is what you want returned.”

  The room grew quiet as they all realized Gigi was going to die. They also didn’t know what the monster was or who sent it. The false sense of security was gone now and they just waited for the witches to tell them the bad news.

  Chapter Twenty Six

  Nolan wasn’t sure what he was expecting when the waitress told him Gigi had been attacked by a monster and needed their attention. Maybe he hoped for a minor infection from some rogue beast or an injury magic would heal better than any human remedy. What he didn’t expect was to find Gigi chest cavity gapping or that she would still be alive with such a wound.

  “We need to call Mother,” Spencer said as he shut the door.

  “It would do no good. No magic can fix this,” Nolan whispered, tensing as Gigi’s eyes opened. He moved closer and sat next to her. “Gigi, are you in pain?”

  “No,” she said, turning her eyes to him. “Nolan, did you take my memories?”

  Shaking his head, he frowned back at Spencer before returning his gaze to Gigi.

  “Simon said witches probably stole my memories. I wish I could remember my mamma better. I miss her.”

  Nolan wasn’t sure what to say because she was dying and no words would help her. He took her hand and tried to look for some remedy to her wounds. The damage was too severe. Not only for her to survive, but for her to have survived this long.

  “Thank you for helping me that night,” Gigi said quietly. “I’d never fallen down before and it hurt.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “You didn’t do it.”

  Nolan nodded because he wasn’t apologizing for that evening, but for his inability to save her. Spencer stepped closer.

  “The necromancer could bring her back,” he whispered.

  “Not her, but an abomination,” Nolan said, hating the idea of some monstrous version of this sweet girl.

  He still remembered how startled she was when Spencer played his trick and how accepting she was of the ghost bound to her. The ghost was no longer around though and Nolan wished she would return, so Gigi wouldn’t be alone when she died and passed over.

  “Do you need us to call someone?” Nolan asked Gigi.

  “No.”

  “Your family.”

  “I don’t remember my family because a witch stole my memories.”

  “So says the Vamp,” Spencer said and Nolan shot him an angry glance. Since Nolan rarely became angry, Spencer stepped away immediately.

  “We should tell the others about her condition,” Nolan said, standing up. He was reluctant to let go of her hand though. His warm fingers lingered against her cold ones then he set her hand gently on the bed. “Spencer, have someone come stay with Gigi while we speak with Silas.”

  When his brother left the room, Nolan leaned down and kissed Gigi’s forehead.

  “I hope you find your family in the next world. I will miss you.”

  Gigi watched him and maybe she understood his feelings for her. Her eyes were pools of black in the dark room, but a smile touched her lips which broke his heart. After a hard knock on the door, an armed Were entered the room.

  “I will be back in just a moment,” Nolan told Gigi and she made a tiny movement he suspected was a nod.

  Nolan didn’t want to leave Gigi because he sensed she wouldn’t be there when he returned and he didn’t want her to die alone. The guard was staring out the window, worried about threats, not concerned for the dying girl on the bed.

  Nolan finally forced himself to join Spencer in the room where the others waited. When they all looked at him and waited, he realized his brother hadn’t shared the prognosis.

  “No magic can save her, I’m afraid.”

  “Did you even try?” Ella snapped. “Maybe Justine’s right? We should take her to a hospital. They fix humans all the time.”

  “She is not human,” Nolan said quietly.

  “Bullshit,” Justine yelled, jumping up. “Not everyone is a freak.”

  Silas moved towards Justine and Nolan sensed his proximity wasn’t to soothe her. There was a threat to his movements and Justine returned to her seat, glaring at her hands.

  “What do mean she isn’t human?” Declan finally asked.

  “No human would have survived two minutes with those injuries.”

  “Then what is she?” Ella said, comforting Justine.

  “I don’t know. I sense no magic in her, but it’s possible she has latent gifts from a generational source.”

  “You’d feel at least a touch of magic, if that were the case,” Simon said quietly. “She has none.”

  “Silas’s brother is a Were, but can’t shift. He would technically seem as human as Justine, but I’m sure he possesses residual magic in him. Gigi might have a link to magic, generations back, not enough for us to sense. Enough to allow her to live longer than any human could though.”

  Nolan thought to Gigi’s comment about her missing memories and how Simon said a witch must have taken them. While memories could be hidden, magic couldn’t. It left a hue on the soul, no matter how small.

  “If she’s not human, can’t you do something?” Ella asked.

  “I don’t know what magic might be tied to Gigi, but it’s not strong enough to save her. If she were a Were, her body would at least attempt to heal. It hasn’t though. There’s nothing we can do.”

  “So she’s going to die,” Ella growled. “Perfect. She doesn’t work here a month and she’s torn apart by a fucking monster. Just awesome.” Ella pulled Justine to her feet. “We’re going to stay with her until she dies.”

  While regretting that he couldn’t stay with her, Nolan knew Gigi needed to be surrounded by friends. Ella opened the door to the room then paused.

  “What the hell?” she yelled.

  Nolan’s mother always told him to never stand in the way of an angry Were. When the Alphas and Silas charged towards the room, Nolan stepped out the way and grabbed Spencer before his brother was trampled. After a spat of colorful cuss words, the males stormed back out and into the hall.

  “I sense there’s a problem,” Simon said as he stood.

  Tobin, who was leaning against a wall throughout the commotion, sighed.

  “She’s no longer here. I sensed her and now I don’t. Something took her. Maybe another one of those things, but I should have sensed a creature of its kind.”

  Nolan didn’t know what attacked Gigi, but it didn’t matter now. Dying quietly surrounded by friends was clearly preferable to whatever horrible fate awaited her now.

  By the time he and Spencer reached t
he front of the building, the Weres looked hopeless. They still barked orders and sent patrols and did other busy work. Yet they understood that whatever came for Gigi was gone and they had no way to find it or her.

  Chapter Twenty Seven

  When Declan called Finn to tell him about Gigi, his brother didn’t say much, just thanked him for the information and hung up. After the search ended, Declan felt restless as the anger faded into sorrow and loss. He decided to go looking for Finn and wasn’t shocked to learn his brother was with Michael.

  No one liked Michael, maybe not even Michael himself. Finn though had somehow bonded with the enforcer, putting up with his mood swings and day long bouts of silence. The two Weres existed outside the pack system, though in Declan’s mind his little brother was part of his pack and was protected as such.

  The sign on the door said Robert Hannigan which was some inside joke of Michael’s that Declan didn’t get. Upstairs in Michael’s apartment, Declan found his brother who answered the door looking like he hadn’t slept in a week.

  “Mike’s cranky,” Finn said in a whispery voice.

  “What’s new?” Declan replied, entering the apartment.

  “He shifted into a wolf when he heard Gigi was dead and he refuses to shift back. I even tried giving him Alpo, but he only growled at me.”

  Declan grinned slightly, but Finn looked miserable. Taking care of Michael was the only thing keeping the tenderhearted kid from losing his cool.

  “Are you alright?” Declan asked, not feeling okay himself.

  Finn eyed Michael who sat curled up in the corner with his tail over his face. Turning back to Declan, he shook his head.

  “Gigi was special,” Finn said in that whispery voice. “She was so sweet and some monster killed her. It’s not right.”

  Declan hugged Finn and his brother melted against him, all the fatigue and sorrow oozing out of him. Finn didn’t go nuts for many girls, but he had swooned over Gigi. Declan wanted her too and he had been standing feet away when something stole her away.

  “I loved her, Dec. She was the only girl I ever loved and she’s gone.”

  Declan flinched at his brother’s whispered confession then reverted to his big brother, Alpha persona.

  “We’ll figure out who did this to Gigi and kill the sonovabitch.”

  Finn didn’t let go of Declan, didn’t react to his words, just leaned into the hug and wept. Michael whined in the corner, balling himself up even tighter. For the first time, Declan realized the enforcer had actual feelings.

  Declan was relieved to have Finn and Michael to console because he wasn’t sure he wanted to deal with his own feelings. In a few hours, the sun would rise on a day without Gigi and none of them were ready for this new reality.

  Chapter Twenty Eight

  Gigi didn’t want Nolan to leave because he was beautiful and his soft eyes comforted her. Gigi watched him go and wondered how long before she finally died. She also wondered where her ghost had gone.

  When voices grew loud in the next room, Gigi feared another monster was coming. Was it eating her friends? Would it eat her? She didn’t care if it ate her because she couldn’t feel her body anymore. She wanted her friends to live though.

  The guard glanced back towards the noises then at Gigi. He nodded at her, but she didn’t nod back because she couldn’t move her body. Another loud voice echoed from the other room and this time it sounded like Ella. Gigi looked to the wall as if she might see through it and know why they were so upset.

  A noise drew her attention back to the guard who was now on the ground, leaning against the wall. A shadow moved closer and Gigi felt a hint of fear. Maybe she did care if she was eaten after all. The room’s pale light found the face of the shadow and she saw it was a man, not a monster. Or maybe he was the man who sent the monster. The voice she heard from the mouth of the beast.

  “Gigi,” the man said quietly and his face clenched when he noticed her wounds. “It’s going to be alright, sunshine.”

  “Who are you?” she said with great effort.

  The man didn’t answer, just lifted her into his arms and smiled gently.

  “Are you going to eat me?” she asked.

  The man’s smile was replaced by a dark frown. “No, Gigi. Just rest.”

  Gigi didn’t even know she closed her eyes. When she opened them, she was in her bed. The lavender walls soothed her and she heard Nina Simone singing from the living room. Her chest wasn’t torn open anymore, but her body felt strange.

  The man was nearby, staring out the window. His dark brown hair was a bit shaggy and he was dressed like a Were - in jeans and a tee. Yet he didn’t have the presence of a Were. After a moment, he turned to her and his blue eyes were sorrowful.

  “Are you suffering?” he asked.

  “I feel weird like when I sat on my foot and it fell asleep.”

  The man smiled slightly and walked to the bed. He sat on the edge and took her hand.

  “You’ll feel better in the morning.”

  “Who are you?”

  The man didn’t answer right away. “What do you remember about before you came to the Circle?”

  “Mamma Celeste cooking and Nina Simone singing.”

  “Anything else?”

  “No. My memories were lies.”

  “Yes, they are.”

  “My mind ate them and I don’t have them anymore.”

  The man frowned. “That’s unfortunate.”

  “Did you take the real ones?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why?”

  The man didn’t answer right away. “I’m Daniel.”

  “Are you my friend?”

  A hint of a smile touched the corner of his mouth. “You fought a monster which was brave, but foolish.”

  “It took my friend.”

  “I’m happy you have friends, but you must be careful.”

  “It was going to kill Dave and he has a family. I don’t have anyone, so I wanted to save him. I did the right thing.”

  Daniel’s blue eyes darkened and he looked terribly unhappy, much like Anton and Nolan looked when they thought she would die.

  “Are you a witch?” Gigi finally asked when he said nothing.

  “When you wake up, you’ll be healed and you won’t remember me. You will feel strange for not remembering, but you will remember the monster and you will remember how you were brave.”

  “I wasn’t brave. I was angry.”

  Daniel flinched. “How angry?”

  “So angry I wanted to tear the monster to pieces. I didn’t though. It was too strong.”

  “You must stay calm. I know it is difficult to be calm when monsters attack you, but your anger isn’t a good thing.”

  “Ella gets angry all the time. My friend Sara who was taken would get angry. They’re good. Why can’t I get angry?”

  “Because you’re special.”

  “Because I’m dumb?”

  “You’re not dumb,” Daniel said with a sigh.

  “Why won’t you let me remember you?”

  “Because it’s safer for you not to remember.”

  “Am I in danger? The monster tonight didn’t want me.”

  “No, I suspect it didn’t. You must stay in the Circle and you must stay calm and you must hide. Do you understand?”

  “No.”

  Gigi wanted to sit up and touch Daniel, even though she sensed he didn’t want to be touched. Her body refused to move when she commanded it to and she just laid there like a lump.

  “I want to know things. Why are you hiding them from me?”

  “Gigi, you are a child and…”

  “I’m not a child. I have a job and an apartment and I know how to drive and I went on a date and I do adult stuff. I want to know.”

  The heat behind her words faded when Daniel touched her face. “Anger is not good.”

  Gigi sighed with frustration, though she didn’t really want to be angry anymore. Daniel made the need disappear.

>   “Is Gigi my real name?”

  Daniel smiled as he stood and returned to the window. The lights in the room switched off except for the pink nightlight which turned on. Nina Simone continued to sing softly in the next room and Gigi felt sleepy.

  “You’re not my friend, are you?” Gigi said as her eyes grew heavy.

  Daniel turned to her and she saw his face slide into a frown.

  “I love you, Gigi. Trust that what I do is to save you from things worse than not knowing your past. You have a good life here. Please sleep and wake up feeling better.”

  Gigi wanted to ask more questions. Ask why he loved her and if he was her family? Instead her eyes were too heavy and she dozed off listening to Nina Simone singing about feeling good.

  Chapter Twenty Nine

  Anton knew loss and loneliness. His family was long dead. His uncle Dmitri lived longer than the others, but he was dead more than thirteen years. Many Weres in his pack had died over the long bloody wars in the Circle. Some died while he was a solider and others when he was Alpha. Anton absorbed the pain of each loss and lived with it. He was having less success accepting Gigi death.

  The fact that he barely knew her and would never have really known her didn’t change the pain he felt. Anton needed Gigi - even if he only saw her for short periods a day – and he needed to know she would grace his life again.

  Telling himself his brooding was silly or how he had more important things to consider only made him feel worse. No matter how silly the feelings were or the impending war, Anton missed Gigi. He hadn’t saved her, instead standing around with the others while a monster stole her away.

  Guilt and depression hung over Anton as he sat in his empty office, having told the others to stay home. Maybe it was wrong to mourn Gigi the way they hadn’t mourned Katia, Monica, or Sara. Yet Anton wasn’t the only one grieving today.

  He saw the anger in Declan’s eyes when they gave up the search for her. The Alpha preferred anger to sadness, but it would hit him eventually. Maybe when he told his younger brother how the girl they both wanted was dead.