The Moon Rises (Gigi Monroe)

by Angela Horn

  “Hell, yeah, they did,” Roger said. “I’m the youngest and best looking too. Did they mention those parts?”

  Gigi smiled because she liked how he didn’t get mad at her for being rude.

  “No, but they were trying to impress me at the time.”

  Laughing, Roger nudged his friend who was still grinning even though his eyes lingered on the menu, never reaching Gigi.

  “Are you ready to order?” Gigi asked, pulling out her pad and pencil.

  “Kyle here needs time to look over the menu. He’s not used to being so civilized.”

  Gigi knew Roger was teasing Kyle, but she didn’t know what the comment meant.

  “I’ll be back then,” Gigi said and started making her rounds.

  No matter where Gigi went on the floor, she felt Roger’s eyes on her. Even when the guys from his pack arrived or when he played pool with Kyle, his eyes always lingered. Kyle though never paid her much attention which bothered her for some reason.

  Gigi was heading away from the bar with drinks for Roger and Kyle when Anton arrived. All her prep work about not wanting him anymore and being more angry than hurt faded away when his eyes met hers. Gigi had wanted Anton so much she tricked herself into believing lies. Realizing she couldn’t trust her own judgment, Gigi now had to second guess her every decision. Those unhappy feelings were on the inside though.

  Anton looked at her like he always looked at her and it made her feel stupid to have misunderstood the meaning behind his gaze. Gigi delivered the drinks to Roger and Kyle then moved towards the kitchen. Stopping, she realized Ella was busy talking to Declan’s pack and no one was serving Anton’s table.

  Gigi knew she loved Finn so she needed to let Anton go. Hiding from him was impossible. She went to his office most days and worked at the club he frequented. They lived two blocks from each other. She needed to clear out her feelings for him like Finn said. Plus Gigi needed to be strong like Sara taught her. Make big sis proud.

  Both Garrison and Chad seemed nervous, having been in the office when Gigi left crying. They kept their heads down and eyes away from their Alpha while they ordered. The other males were more interested in Roger and Kyle who were still playing pool. Anton though only had eyes for Gigi.

  Avoiding the Alpha’s gaze like the two Weres did, Gigi looked at Anton without looking into those eyes which made her feel things she should no longer feel. At first, he tried to catch her gaze, but then seemed to understand she wasn’t going to let him woo her again. His eyes lowered and he just stared at the table with a slight frown. Gigi peeked at him while his gaze was away from her and she thought he looked miserable. She didn’t even attempt to guess why because she was always wrong when it came to understanding Anton.

  Having faced her fear of seeing Anton, Gigi was able to work the floor without avoiding anyone or losing her focus. Feeling confident, she didn’t mind Roger’s ogling or Kyle’s coldness or Anton’s unhappy expression. Gigi belonged at The Moon Rises and she needed to stop acting like it was her first day.

  While delivering drinks, Gigi felt a strange tingling in the palms of her hands. Then she remembered when she had felt the tingling before and took off running past the Weres to the stairwell.

  Justine was leaving early to go on a date. Mentioning this information in the locker room, she had sounded depressed. Gigi didn’t understand why Justine would be unhappy about a date, but Dahlia whispered the male taking her out wasn’t Nolan. So instead of being in the club and waiting for an escort, Justine was walking alone to the adjacent parking lot.

  “Justine!” Gigi called out as she ran in her cowboy boots, so thankful not to be wearing heels.

  Gigi spotted the monster flying towards Justine who was leaning against her car.

  “Behind you!” Gigi screamed, but Justine turned too slowly.

  The monster grabbed Justine and lifted her off the ground. A choked cry left Justine who then just hung limply without making any effort to save herself. Reaching Justine’s car, Gigi jumped onto the hood then the roof. Throwing herself at the monster, she landed partially on its back.

  Squawking, the monster released Justine who flopped to the ground while Gigi jumped down next to her. The ugly thing flew upward, escaping into the night. Justine looked dazed, maybe drugged as she stared at Gigi. Nearby male voices rang out and Gigi realized the Weres had followed her outside. Standing up, she waved at them so they could see where the females were crouched next to the car.

  Apparently undaunted, the monster swooped down for another try. Gigi thought it was heading for Justine who was in a ball on the ground. Instead the monster was coming straight for Gigi.

  “Crap on toast,” Gigi said, now running towards the males who were firing at the monster.

  The black creature dipped down low enough for its claws to sink into Gigi’s shoulders as she ran. Then she felt her feet leave the ground as the monster lifted her up and over the males. For just a moment, Gigi considered waving at the Weres who seemed shocked by the sight of her flying over them. Well most of them were shocked - Silas just looked pissed.

  As the monster flew away from The Moon Rises, Gigi glanced back and saw the males in pursuit on foot. The Weres were fast, but the monster’s long wings put some distance between them. The beast flew higher and higher, before tilting its head under its chest so its black eyes could focus on Gigi.

  “You need to leave shit alone, bitch,” said a voice from the bird’s mouth.

  “Fuck off,” Gigi growled because Ella always said fuck off when she was pissed and Gigi was getting pretty pissed as the monster’s claws dug deeper into her flesh.

  “You’re a curious thing,” the voice said. “Let’s see if you can fly.”

  Gigi realized the monster was releasing her and she was at least eight stories in the air. Before it let go, she reached up and grabbed just above the claws and onto its birdlike ankles. The beast screamed and tried to bite her, but the strain of doing so much caused it to tip to the side. Focused on keeping its balance, the monster used its long spiky tail to stab at her.

  While holding onto an ankle with one hand, Gigi used her free hand to seize the tail and shove it upward into the monster’s belly. Black goo flooded down onto her, but she turned her face away to avoid choking on the nasty liquid. The monster’s tail broke free and stabbed her in the leg, but she closed her thighs, trapping it between them.

  The monster lowered its head again and screamed at her. Gigi screamed back and a rage started rising up inside her. The feeling of such anger warmed her and she reached up into the monster’s belly wound. Digging deeper, she started tearing out black organs.

  The tail once again broke free, but Gigi must have grabbed something important inside the monster because it started to convulse. Its tail jabbed at her weakly and she seized it. Twisting the tail hard, Gigi felt the monster losing altitude.

  The creature lowered its face. “You’re fucking dead,” the voice said.

  Gigi didn’t reply, instead using the tail to tear out the monster’s left eye. As soon as she pushed the tail in deep enough, the beast dropped from the sky.

  They had flown in circles for so long that Gigi wasn’t sure where they would come down. Holding tightly to the monster, she climbed up higher to hug it as they dropped towards the ground.

  The monster’s head flopped around as they spun in the air and Gigi heard the raspy voice cursing at her. Gigi grabbed its face and forced the good eye towards her.

  “I’m coming for you and I’m going to kill you like I killed your fucking bird,” Gigi said, embracing the rage.

  Just as the ground came up, Gigi shifted over the monster so it hit the park floor before she did. The creature exploded underneath her, sending chunks of black goo as far as the street and as high as the top of the large oak.

  For a few minutes, Gigi thought maybe she was too broken to move, but then she pushed herself up and was able to stand. Her hair was thick with goo and her thigh hurt from the monster’s tail,
but she had killed it and she would find a way to kill its master.

  The Weres suddenly appeared, maybe ten of them, with the Alphas, Kyle, and Silas in the lead. They almost ran past her then stopped and walked cautiously towards the smashed monster and Gigi.

  “Are you okay?” Declan asked.

  “Yeah, I used the monster to soften my fall.”

  Silas stormed up to her with a frown then pulled her into a hug. “You are the damnedest thing I’ve ever seen.”

  “And that’s in a hundred years,” Gigi said with a grin.

  Silas laughed even as he poked at the black blob with his foot.

  “Is Justine okay?” Gigi asked.

  “We left her with some guys. She looked fine,” Declan said, eyeing the monster’s remains. “What in God’s name made you think running outside to fight this thing alone was a good idea?”

  Gigi studied Declan, Roger, and Anton, knowing they wanted to have sex with her. She glanced at Silas who seemed like he thought she needed a dad to watch her back. Kyle had seemed pretty indifferent in the club, but he tried to save her too. They were powerful males who all knew how to kick ass, but they were completely useless when it came to saving the girls at The Moon Rises. From Katia to Justine, none of the Weres had done more than sigh sadly about another missing human.

  Gigi smiled at Declan. “I’m going to kill this monster’s master. It knows I’m coming, but it won’t matter because I’ve got a plan.”

  “Care to share?” Declan asked while Anton just stared at her with those dark eyes of his.

  Gigi said nothing, just smiled. Even without knowing exactly what she was, Gigi understood her purpose in the Circle now. She was a weapon. Her blood could kill and she wasn’t scared to die. The monster which baffled the witches, necromancers, Vamps, and Weres would be powerless once Gigi found it.

  Chapter Forty Two

  Finn was clearly very happy to have her in once piece. After giving her the “you need to be careful” speech, he kissed her and didn’t stop. Twenty minutes later Gigi pried her lips away for long enough to slide off his shirt. Skimming her nails along his chest, over hard muscle and hot skin, she heard him moan as his grip tightened around her. Gigi responded with her own moans as his hips pressed against hers. Wrapping her legs around him, she pushed up against the hardness hidden by his jeans.

  Finn withdrew his lips and stared hard at her, conflicted in his mind like he wasn’t in his body. He wanted her and he had to feel how much she wanted him, but Gigi felt him pulling away even before he did.

  “No,” she groaned, wrapping herself tighter around him.

  “Gigi, it’s our third date.”

  “So?”

  “So you almost died and you still want Anton and I’m a jerk for being here. A lot of answers to the so question.”

  “I love and want you,” she whispered, licking his jaw and tasting the saltiness of his skin. Skimming the hint of stubble with her tongue, she closed her eyes and wrapped her legs tighter around his hips, searching for his arousal.

  “I love you,” Finn said without a trace of heat. “I don’t love you enough though.”

  “What does that mean?” Gigi asked, happy because she wanted his love, yet he was pooping all over it.

  “It means if I loved you more than I loved myself, I would stop visiting you so you would be safe.”

  “But I’m always almost dying and I killed two monster birds. Besides you sound confused.”

  “Confused?” he asked with a grin.

  “I want you to be with me and you want to be with me so your love gives us what we both want. You’re saying if you loved me more, you would make us both unhappy and that would be a good thing. I might not be smart, but that sounds like crazy talk to me.”

  Finn sighed. “I know you don’t take the threat seriously…”

  “No, I do. I just don’t care enough about it to stop seeing you.”

  “But you could do better than to be with me.”

  “Why, because your brother likes me?”

  Finn frowned and watched her for a long time while Gigi just kept kissing and touching him as if he were actively participating. Finally he pushed her hair away from her neck and kissed the spot just under her ear, arousing a moan from her.

  “When I was teaching you poker,” Finn whispered in her ear, “I would tell you that your hand was no good and you should fold. You wouldn’t listen and I thought you were just stubborn. Maybe you were, but two out of three times, you ended up winning.”

  “I remember that because of how Michael would freak out,” Gigi murmured with a grin as she kissed his bicep then moved to his shoulder.

  “I sometimes feel like you’re fragile and I need to protect you from everything, but you understand more than I think.”

  “Thanks,” she muttered, not really following his train of thought which disproved his theory about her understanding.

  “I still wonder if you wouldn’t be better off with Declan or some other male with more power.”

  “I don’t want Declan. I want you.”

  “You wanted Anton.”

  “Yes, but he doesn’t want me.”

  Finn frowned. “You know that’s not true.”

  “Fine, he doesn’t want me enough. Declan and Simon don’t either. Do you want me enough? If you don’t, then you should go now. I lie to myself when I want someone. I did it with Anton and I think I did the same thing with Simon. I only see what I want to see. If you can’t want me enough to stay and take risks, then go now because I need you to love me because I love you. You’ll hurt me if you pretend it’s enough now then turn around and abandon me. If you’re going to leave me, do it now before I get used to having you with me.”

  Finn blinked a few times, thinking quietly. Then he climbed off her and stood up next to the couch. Gigi had been too wound up in the heat of their make out session to consider how he might actually leave. She just assumed he wanted to stay. Wrong again when it came to deciphering males, Gigi felt her eyes begin to burn.

  Finn held out his hand. “I don’t want our first time to be on the couch.”

  “Our first time what?” Gigi asked, standing up and wiping her eyes.

  Finn had been smiling softly, but it faded. “Maybe you’re not ready?”

  “For what?”

  A hint of pink flushed his skin and he grinned awkwardly, trying to find the words. “Let’s just go to bed.”

  “Oh,” Gigi whispered, understanding now. She ran into her bedroom and waited for him next to the bed. “Should I get naked now or during or what?”

  “You need to stop talking,” Finn said with a silly grin. “You’re making me think I should send you to a sex ed class instead of taking you to bed.”

  “But I don’t know what to do. The book said the basics but…”

  Finn kissed her then flopped on the bed and pulled her down against him. “We’ll just hang out tonight since you’re making me tense and you look like you’re stressing.”

  “No. I want to do it now.”

  Finn laughed and kissed her neck. “We’ll see. Don’t think so much.”

  “No one has ever told me to think less. I’m not sure how to respond.”

  Finn stopped kissing her and laughed so hard the kittens jumped on the bed and meowed at him. Gigi giggled even though she wanted them to go away so she could focus on Finn. Yet the kittens purred deeply as they climbed on Finn with Earth even resting on his head.

  “The children are restless, Ma.”

  Gigi laughed harder. “Even if we don’t do it, can you stay the night? I like waking up with you next to me.”

  Finn glanced up at Earth who was kneading his scalp. “While I don’t want to scare the little guy, the wolf in me wants to knock his ass off my head.”

  Laughing, Gigi told the cat to get off his head and Finn scooted closer. His smile mirrored hers as he pressed his hips and lips against her. Then while his hips stayed where they were, his lips pulled back.

&nbs
p; “Why is it so important for us to have sex right away?” Finn asked, as his fingers grazed up and down her bare thigh.

  “People have sex.”

  “So? We’re not people. We’re you and me. We can do what we want.”

  “And I want to have sex.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I love you.”

  “Or because you’ve been teased for so long that you think the only way a male can prove he really cares is by taking you to bed?”

  Thinking he was talking down to her, Gigi frowned. “Sex is a way to show love.”

  “Yes and it will be when we do it, but you’re kinda obsessed with me never saying no like saying no proves I don’t care. I’ll still love you even if we spend the night just cuddling. Sex doesn’t prove anything.”

  “Are you trying to teach me something? I’m not a little kid.”

  Grinning, Finn was clearly amused. “When we first met, you were like a little kid, but now you’re more like a teenager. You want what everyone has or what you think you should have, but you need to stop and think about what you really need.”

  “I like the feel of you against me. I like how good it feels and I don’t want to stop.”

  “Neither do I, but I think you view sex as a threshold that if you cross will make a male stay with you. Any male would have sex with you. It proves nothing. Not having sex with you and just being close to you is more difficult and it proves more than giving into my desire.”

  “I’m lonely,” she muttered. “I remember feeling loved by Mamma and I want to feel like that again. Maybe sex won’t make me feel that way, but I hate being alone.”

  “You’re not alone. I’m here and I love you.”

  “But you’re unsure.”

  “For good reason. I know the threat and it’s real. Forgetting is too easy. But if we sleep together tonight, I would still be unsure. I would still worry and resent my selfish behavior and fight with myself over what’s right. Sex won’t fix things. It will feel good and I hope you like it. Even if it’s incredible, it won’t magically make you happy or make me forget how I put you in danger.”