The Moon Rises (12 page)

“No, Ella,” Declan growled, strolling forward.
“Let the Vamp work out at one of the Vamp gyms.”

“Vamps don’t work out, Declan. They’re too busy
brooding and being stuck up for that. She needs somewhere to practice her ass
kicking moves.”

“This is a gym for Weres.”

Ella put on a pout and sighed. “Oh, that’s too
bad. I was really hoping to train Gigi to protect herself from all the big bads
in the Circle. I guess I’ll just tell her to suck it because she’s not a Were.”

Declan was an expressive Were and Ella found his
face intensely entertaining. The sudden switch from pissed Alpha to horny
teenage boy was hilarious. The other guys also heard the blonde’s name and paid
attention.

“You brought Gigi here?” Declan asked, having
regained his manly demeanor. His eyes remained too curious though.

Ella grinned. “Sara and Justine too. Hey guys,
bad news,” she called out to the three humans who wandered forward nervously.
Gigi didn’t look nervous as she reached up and ran her fingers down the two
ponytails hanging from her head. “Oh, did I mention Gigi has pigtails?”

Declan laughed Ella winked at him.

“Happy birthday, jackass.”

Dave appeared behind Declan and grinned.
“Pigtails, boss.”

“Yeah, I see them,” Declan said with a sigh.
“Fine, Ella, your friends can stay, but keep an eye on the Vamp.”

Ella nodded then waved the girls over. Gigi
didn’t seem any more nervous being surrounded by the male Weres here than she
was at the club. She did seem very confused about why they were at the gym. Ella
knew Gigi only agreed to come along because she didn’t like being alone.

“Dahlia, let’s spar and see if Vamps really are
faster than Weres?”

Dahlia gave her a lazy smile. “I’m going to kick
your ginger ass.”

Laughing, Ella jumped into the boxing ring.
“Bring it, Goth girl.”

Wearing a black shirt, tights, and tennis shoes,
Dahlia looked quite elegant as she danced around the ring. For all her grace
though, the Vamp wasn’t much of a fighter. Ella punched her square on the jaw
and the Vamp simply fell to the mat, staring horrified at her own blood.

“No wonder you have so many friends,” Declan teased
as he and the other males watched from the sideline.

“She agreed to the match,” Ella said then helped
Dahlia back to her feet. “Ready for another around.”

“No thank you,” Dahlia muttered, exiting through
the ropes.

“Don’t pout,” Ella sighed. “How about you,
Justine?”

Tossing back her thick brown hair, Justine
snorted. “Screw you. I’m not getting my ass kicked by a dog.”

Ella grinned then noticed Gigi staring at her in
that way she stared at everyone.  There was something altogether wrong about
Gigi. Something that would eventually get the blonde hurt, if not killed. Ella
pulled the ropes apart then signaled for Gigi to climb into the ring.

“I want to show you some moves,” Ella said as
Gigi joined her.

“What kind of moves?”

“You live in the Circle, so you’ll need to learn
how to fight.”

Ella showed Gigi how to hold her hands in fists
and told her to dodge any punches.

“Ella, she doesn’t understand,” Sara said in her
cranky Sara way.

“She will.”

Ella threw a punch. Pulled a punch really, but it
still hit Gigi square on the left cheek. Sara was right. Gigi didn’t
understand. Ella thought everyone knew to dodge things flying towards their
faces.

“Ella,” Declan growled as Gigi collapsed on the
mat.

“She needs to learn.”

“Beating her up isn’t teaching her,” Sara said,
climbing into the ring and pulled Gigi up. “Gigi, you have to put your hands up
and protect your face. Move around like Dahlia and Ella did when they were fighting.
Move out of the way, if something comes at your face.”

“Ready?” Ella asked Gigi who stared blankly while
holding her cheek.

“She’s hitting you, so you can learn to fight,”
Sara told Gigi then added with a sneer, “It’s okay to hit Ella back.”

Sara moved out of the ring as Gigi stared at
Ella.

“Gigi, just do what you saw them do,” Sara said.

Justine snorted. “Except for the part where
Dahlia fell on her ass.”

Before the Vamp could give a snappy retort, Ella
made her move on Gigi. The blonde backed away and dodged the first punch.

“See, she’s learning,” Ella said to Declan who
was watching her with such intensity she could feel his Alpha stare clawing at
her flesh.

“Hit her, Gigi,” Sara said and Gigi turned to
look at her friend.

Ella’s punch nailed the blonde on the side of the
head, just under one of those pigtails. Gigi fell down too fast to brace her
fall.

“Knock if off,” Declan growled and Ella knew he
was losing his temper.

“She’s alone in the Circle. When some bastard
comes to hurt her, you won’t be there to save her, boss,” Ella growled back.

Declan glared at her, but Ella ignored him as
Gigi stood up. Looking scolded, the blonde didn’t make an effort to protect herself.
Ella leaned into Gigi’s ear.

“I’m trying to make you a badass. I’m your
friend, but I want you to be strong.”

Nodding, Gigi pulled her hands back into fists as
Ella bounced around her. The blonde though was just staring - always staring
like she was searching for some undeniable truth hidden in a person’s eyes.

Ella moved to punch her and Gigi dodged it. Her
face was completely expressionless and her dark eyes seemed dazed and confused.
Yet she dodged the next strike too. When Ella tried to sweep her feet out from
under her, Gigi jumped out of the way.

“Now hit her, lil sis,” Sara yelled once Gigi got
the hang of dodging Ella’s increasingly aggressive strikes.

Gigi turned again towards Sara’s voice and again
Ella made her move. Without looking at the punch, Gigi ducked it then threw out
her fist. The punch met Ella’s face and threw her backward. Bouncing quickly
back to her feet, Ella smiled at Gigi.

“Good. Now you’re ready for a real challenge.”

Declan started to tell her no, but Ella was
already moving towards Gigi who stood passively, seeming confused. Then Gigi
dodged the Were’s kick and slid down to swipe Ella’s other leg out from under her.
Ella fell hard on the mat and gazed up at Gigi who still looked confused. Ella
wondered if the blonde was completely faking the dumb act.

Declan was suddenly in the ring and he pulled
Ella to her feet. “You’ve taught Gigi how to kick your ass enough for one day.”

Ella studied Gigi who was rubbing her cheek
again.

“I want to bring her back here and train her. Not
just so you can check out her ass,” Ella whispered. “Gigi is weird and everyone
wants to screw her. Something bad is going to happen. Now that I know she can
learn, I want to teach her for real.”

Declan glanced at Gigi and his eyes clouded with
concern. “Okay, but leave the Vamp at home. She shouldn’t be here. Having our
scent on her when she returns to Vampland puts her in danger. Stop being a
dipshit, Ella. You need to be more careful.”

Ella frowned at him. “At least we know if Finn
gets too frisky on their date, Gigi can protect herself.”

Declan glared at her again, clearly jealous which
served him right. He could have easily asked out Gigi on the first night he met
her. Instead every other male in the Circle would get a shot at her first, including
his baby brother.

Sara told Gigi to wear something casual on her
date because being casual would tell Finn not to expect too much. Gigi was
still unsure, so Sara picked out a pink tee and blue jeans.

Once Sara left, Gigi listened to Crystal Gayle and
thought about Mamma Celeste. By the time Finn arrived at her door, she felt
relaxed and her weird day of being punched by Ella faded into happy thoughts
about the handsome Were at the door.

Finn took her to a little Italian restaurant
where they ordered spaghetti.  Sitting across from him, Gigi thought Finn
reminded her of the last time she was at the park. His hair and skin were golden
like the sun, but those eyes were the color of the storm clouds floating by.
The clouds relaxed her and Finn’s eyes did too.

“I’ve never been on a date before,” Gigi said,
still staring at Finn. “At least I don’t think I have.”

Finn smiled his soft smile and Gigi felt her skin
flush. “I hope it’s a good first date.”

“Oh, it is. I really like you.”

Finn’s smile grew, but his gaze lowered as if he
were nervous or shy. Gigi noticed how the girls at the club acted this way when
males complimented them. It was a game, Justine said, but Gigi didn’t think
Finn was playing.

“How did you learn to fix cars?” Gigi asked,
remembering how Justine said to ask lots of questions because Were males loved
talking about themselves.

“One of the few memories I have of my dad was him
showing me and my brother how to fix his car. I’ve always liked tinkering and I
got a job working in an auto shop when I was in high school. Eventually I saved
up and started my own shop.”

“Why don’t you have memories of your dad?”

Finn shrugged like it was no big deal, but Gigi
could tell it was.

“He died when I was a kid. Turf war stuff. It’s
why I never joined a pack. I didn’t want to die to claim a block here or there
for some Alpha.”

“Not even for your brother?”

Finn eyed her and she didn’t understand what his
expression meant.

“Did Declan talk to you about us going out?”

Gigi shook her head. “Sara just told me he’s your
brother.”

“I love Declan, but he really doesn’t need more
territory. Even if he did, I don’t want to fight. I like working on cars.”

Gigi nodded. “I’m sorry about your dad. It’s sad
that you can’t remember him, but it’s sadder that he died.”

“It’s okay. It was a long time ago.”

“But he was your dad.”

Finn smiled softly. “Yes, he was. Do you have any
memories of your family?”

“I remember a woman who I think was my mamma, but
she doesn’t look like me. In those memories, I feel happy and I hope they’re real
because I feel like she loves me.”

Gigi felt very sad suddenly and Finn reached out
to touch her hand. His long fingers only grazed the top of her hand before
disappearing back on his side of the table. Gigi wished they had stayed longer.

Finn swirled the straw in his drink then smiled. “Maybe
now that the fake memories are gone, the real ones will come into focus?”

“I hope so. I really want to find Mamma Celeste.”

Finn studied her, but not in the intense way so
many others studied Gigi. He seemed sad maybe.

“It bothers me to think someone would mess with
your mind and then dump you in a place like the Circle. Maybe Michael could
find something out?”

“I want him to find Katia. He says there’s
nothing to find out. When he told me that, I just stared at him and he finally
agreed to keep looking. I think staring at him is the key to making him do
stuff. It seems to annoy him.”

Finn laughed which made Gigi smile. Usually
people laughed at her, but she actually tried to be funny and he laughed.

“You do have a way with Michael,” Finn said with
a grin. “I think you should ask him for help though. Someone must be looking
for you, just like how you’re looking for Katia.”

“Maybe it’s related? Sometimes on TV, things that
don’t seem related are related. Then they all come together at the end when the
detective gets an idea. That or the bad guy kidnaps the good guy and tells him
everything.”

Finn was grinning again. Gigi wasn’t sure why,
but she liked when he smiled. The soft smile made her skin warm.

“Do you have any other brothers or sisters?” Gigi
asked after their food arrived.

“No. Sometimes Were females have trouble staying
pregnant. I guess it happens to humans and witches too, but my mom was pregnant
six times and only had Declan and me. Once my dad died, she worked a lot and
never remarried, so more siblings were out of the question then.”

When Finn looked sad, Gigi did what he had done
earlier and reached across the table to touch his hand. Unlike Finn, she didn’t
pull away quickly. Finn gazed at her hand then his eyes found hers. She saw
something warm in his eyes and she didn’t want to let go of him. She knew
touching people for too long was annoying though, so she forced her hand away.

“I like you,” Finn said then shook his head as if
he was confused. “Well that was dumb.”

“Why?”

“I wouldn’t have asked you out if I didn’t like
you.”

“But you didn’t know me then. You know me more
now, so I’m glad you still like me. I still like you.”