The Moon Rises (29 page)

“I don’t understand.”

“Your mind has been tampered with and I can
understand how you and my mother would want to break down the walls to learn
the truth. Did my mother explain how dangerous a task this would be?”

“She said she would take precautions.”

“Yes, to protect herself. There are no precautions
to protect you.”

“Your mother wants to hurt me?”

Nolan scooted closer. “Please don’t
misunderstand. My mother means well, but she is so curious and maybe a bit
arrogant. She can’t see how much danger she puts you in. Those walls in your
mind were created by a powerful creature that won’t be happy to have his work
destroyed. This fact puts my mother in danger too, but she can only see a
mystery she desires to solve. For you though, the danger isn’t simply related
to the one who did this to you. There are more immediate consequences she is
willing to overlook, but I am not.”

“What kind of consequences?”

“The girl my mother told you about. It’s true she
did not seem bothered about the wall, but then she began dating a witch who
sensed it in her mind. He pushed her to remove the wall and find out what was being
hidden from her. He meant well, but when the wall came down, she fell into a
coma for a week.

“Not because the memory was too traumatic, but
because her mind was overwhelmed by the magic of the destroyed wall. While she
did recover and is fine now, she only had one wall removed. The night you were
almost killed, I looked inside you, just to understand your injuries and I
sensed the walls in your mind. As my mother said, they are not really walls as
much as a maze.

“To bring down even one or two would start a chain
reaction. So much magic was used to create the maze and the magic will not
disappear when the maze crumbles. The magic will overwhelm you. You could die
or fall into a coma. More likely, you would dissolve into insanity.”

Gigi remembered Simon’s warning about the witches
and she found it strange how Mira and Nolan could disagree about the right
course to take. Ella said Nolan and Spencer were mama’s boys and didn’t wipe
their asses without asking their mother first.

“Why would you go behind your mother’s back to
help me?”

Nolan took a deep breath and studied her
apartment again. Smiling at her, he nodded.

“The night you almost died, I hated feeling
helpless. You are special, Gigi. While I don’t truly understand exactly what
makes you special, I would like for you to survive long enough to find out. If
you let my mother or anyone else break down those walls, you won’t survive in a
meaningful way.

“When you first walked onto the witch floor, I was
very curious about you. Seeing how you’ve survived in a harsh place like the Circle
impresses me. I gain nothing from going behind my mother’s back. I hope you’ll
trust me and refuse to allow her to tamper with your mind. It’s been tampered
with enough.”

Maybe Nolan really was nicer than the other
witches? While she didn’t trust him and was beginning to wonder if she should
trust anyone, Gigi knew Nolan was trying to help her. He wanted her to stay
away from magic. For a witch, this must be a difficult stance.

“I’ll tell your mother no and say it’s because
I’m afraid to know the truth. That doesn’t sound like a lie.”

When Nolan smiled beautifully at her, Gigi
understood why Justine was so crazy over the witch.

“There’s one more thing,” Nolan said. “The one
who took your memories has left a mark on you.”

Gigi remembered how Mira looked at her neck.
“What kind of mark?”

“I sensed it the night you were hurt and I told
my mother. She looked at it tonight and can not place it. On the nape of your
neck is a small symbol.”

“What does the mark do?”

“It might help him track you or it could just be
a way to brand his work. Without knowing what the symbol means, I can not tell
you what the mark does. I just thought you should know.”

Gigi ran her fingers over the back of her neck. “Can
I take it off?”

Nolan gestured for her to turn around then he studied
the area, hidden just under her hair.

“It is not a tattoo. Having been applied with
magic, this symbol should be removable with magic. I do not suggest you try
though.”

Gigi turned around and frowned at him, feeling
weird having a mark on her, as if she was property.

“Is this like breaking the walls? I should leave
well enough alone.”

Nolan smiled sadly and nodded. “Someone very
powerful has marked you as his possession. Without knowing who or why, challenging
him could be very dangerous for you.”

“Why didn’t your mother mention this today?”

Nolan fidgeted and bit his lower lip, thinking up
a believable explanation. “She most likely didn’t want to worry you.”

Accepting his lie because Nolan took a chance by
helping her, Gigi now understood why Simon said the witches were a scourge. They
viewed her no differently than the one who tampered with her mind and marked
her like cattle.

Gigi stared at Michael who growled at her as he
tried to force her hand down. He was very strong and should have pinned her by
now, but she had been working out at Declan’s gym. She held her own for nearly
a minute before Michael pounded her hand into the kitchen table.

Gigi frowned at the ferocity of his behavior then
smiled because she noticed how he was still irritated which meant somehow he
thought she had won. She really liked beating Michael because he would cuss at
her in other languages and sometimes throw objects at her. Mostly she had to
dodge pillows, but once he used Kleenex. This sent Finn into hysterics when
Michael kept picking up the tissues and throwing them again as if he might get a
better result.

“I don’t like you,” Michael growled at Gigi and
Finn laughed so hard he knocked his can of soda onto the ground.

“Be careful, lil bro. Don’t want to mess up
Mike’s fancy apartment.”

Finn froze when he heard his brother’s voice
while Michael’s growl deepened. Declan grinned at both males then glanced at
Gigi and his grin shifted from smug to charming. Gigi returned his smile as she
tried not to laugh at Michael.

“No,” Michael said.

“Aww, don’t be like that,” Ella said, bouncing
into the room from behind Declan. “This will be good actually. You like to win
and Declan sucks ass at cards.”

Declan ran his tongue over his top teeth, maybe
irritated with Ella. He looked happy enough as he walked further into the apartment.

“Hello, Gigi,” he said, ignoring Michael who was
still growling.

“Hi, Declan. I hope Ella’s not lying and you
really are bad at cards because I want to get more quarters and Finn wins too
much and Ella and Mike never bet enough.”

Ella pushed past Michael and grinned at Declan.
“She’s turned into quite the smartass, hasn’t she?”

Declan smiled as he ran his hand down the back of
Gigi’s head, stroking her hair. Gigi noticed Finn standing awkwardly in the
background, suddenly submissive with his brother in the apartment. Gigi wanted
to do something to show how she still liked Finn and even preferred him. Do
anything to get rid of the sad look on his face. Yet making a big show of her
feelings for Finn might be dangerous. Gigi glanced at Michael who was now
looking in the refrigerator, indifferent to his guests, and hoped he fixed
things.

“You can stay, Alpha, but hands off the chick. I
don’t need her crying or getting horny or whatever might happen if you fondle
her for too long.”

Ella laughed while Declan glared at Michael who
pretended not to notice. Gigi was happy because Declan’s hands were off her.
While normally she liked when he touched her, she didn’t want Finn to feel like
the dumb little brother. Even if they couldn’t date, Finn wanted Gigi to like
him and she saw how he tried to impress her. Declan being in the same room
seemed to tear away all his confidence though.

“You’re paying for pizza,” Michael told Declan
who rolled his eyes.

“Fine, but no sissy vegetables,” he said, glancing
at Ella.

“I want mushrooms,” she announced as if he was
taking her order.

Gigi waited to see if Declan would tell her no.
Instead he allowed Ella to order for the group including getting hot wings on
his dime. Soon they were sitting at the table, waiting for the pizza while they
played a few hands. Finn was still too quiet, having pulled within himself.
Maybe it was a reaction to having an Alpha in the room, but Gigi noticed how
most Weres were intimidated by Michael, yet Finn never was. No, it seemed to be
a brother thing.

Soon Finn, Declan, and Gigi were the only ones
still in the hand while Ella meowed at Michael for no discernable reason.
Michael did his impression of a statue, his blue eyes unblinking while she
nuzzled him. Sometimes Gigi wondered if Ella tormented Michael because the
redhead had a crush on him? Ella either liked Michael a lot or hated him with a
vengeance. She screwed with him too much to be anything else.

“Well?” Declan asked Finn who was studying his
cards.

Gigi knew Finn’s tells and she knew he had a good
hand. She also knew he was thinking about folding because Declan intimidated
him. Looking at her own cards, Gigi suspected she had the best hand so when it
was her turn, she folded. Finn might know her tells too because he frowned when
she bowed out of the game. His gray eyes met his brother’s identical ones and
Gigi sensed Finn wished he had folded too. He didn’t though. Yet when Declan
made a huge bet – five dollars in quarters – Finn looked ready to give up. Gigi
caught his gaze and stared at him, willing him to call the bet.

Meanwhile Ella had licked Michael who finally
blinked and tried to bite her.

As Ella laughed her ass off, almost falling out
of her chair, Finn did call Declan’s bet. A minute later, Gigi was proven
correct about Finn’s cards being the winning hand. Declan, realizing he lost,
stared hard at Finn who kept his eyes down and slowly pulled the quarters from
the pot. Declan laughed as he reached across the table and ruffled Finn’s
hair.

“Chill, dipshit. I think I smacked you around too
much when we were kids, you submissive little dork.”

Finn looked irritated, even as his shoulders
relaxed. “I just don’t want you to go all Alpha when you lose.”

“Right, because Michael’s known for keeping his
cool when he loses.”

Michael stopped glaring at Ella so he could glare
at Declan. “Get the fuck out of my house.”

Gigi started laughing first then Ella and Finn
joined her. Finally Declan smiled with a little chuckle. The only one who
didn’t find it funny was Michael. A few hands later though, Michael finally
found someone besides Sara that he could beat at poker. Suddenly best buddies,
Michael invited Declan to return whenever the urge for poker struck him.

As much fun as Ella and Michael seemed to be
having with Declan at the game, Finn never really shook his quiet mood. He
folded most hands even when Gigi knew he had good cards and he only took a
single slice of pizza which might have been the least Gigi ever saw him eat.
With an hour left before the game usually ended, Finn stood and said he wasn’t
feeling well.

Michael just shrugged since his focus was on Ella
who was taunting him again. Declan frowned at his brother who headed out the
door. Gigi knew she shouldn’t be too obvious about her feelings for Finn, but
she couldn’t help following him.

“Why are you leaving?”

“It’s okay, Gigi,” Finn said, kissing the top of
her head. “Just go have fun.”

Gigi followed him down the stairs and out to
where his truck was parked.

“I don’t want Declan. I want you.”

Finn stopped and sighed. “I don’t know why it
just hit me tonight, but I finally realized you and I will never be together. I
still had hope, but I see the truth now.”

Gigi wrapped her arms around his waist to make
him stay and talk with her.

“Maybe God wants us to be together? If He does,
then it won’t matter about any stupid threats.”

Finn smiled, but he wasn’t happy and just wanted
to leave. Gigi didn’t want to let him go though and not just because he was
sad. She needed to feel hope too.

“I didn’t wash my sheets after you stayed with me
the night Sara disappeared. I like your scent. It relaxes me.”

Finn took her face in his hands and she hoped he
might kiss her. Instead he frowned.

“You need someone strong. Someone who can protect
you. I heard people talking about how you survived and now the witches are
curious. Even if there weren’t threats to keep us apart, you deserve someone
stronger than me.”

“I don’t want Declan,” Gigi said with a pout.
“He’s handsome, but he’s not you.”

“Then be with Anton. Just find someone strong who
can make you happy and keep you safe.”

Gigi wanted to protest, but Finn let her go and
walked to his truck. Part of her really wanted to chase after him and force him
to be with her. She hated being alone. When she was in bed at night and
imagined Finn with her, the loneliness faded a bit.