Rougarou Girlfriend: Gisela (complete)

The lineage of mayors in Hearthway Hollow is a short one. For the longest time, there hadn’t been any sort of government outside the Elders and their circle, and it wasn’t until the nineties that a true government body was formed to protect human interests, which were slowly growing in Hearthway Hollow.

I used to work with the parks department, a fledgling wing of this government. From the time I moved to Hearthway Hollow in my teen years, I worked there doing gardening and cleanup, moving my way up through the ranks until I led the department. Then I was asked if I would run for mayor when the elections were coming up. I was backed by Mrs. Locklear. I knew she was important to the town, but I never realized how important until I became elected.

When I was elected mayor, I was informed of the secret of Hearthway Hollow and the particulars of how to protect it. I had known Adam since I moved to Hearthway Hollow - we were the same age, graduated together, and all that. Finding out he was the Alpha of this werewolf town was a bit of a shock.

I decided not to dwell on that, and just do my best to help Hearthway Hollow and lead the people there. Despite the fact that I was a human, I was often asked to join meetings with Adam and the Elders. They wanted my input as the elected official to make decisions for the pack and the town as a whole. Looking at Billy, Mrs. Locklear, even Adam, I couldn’t help but feel inadequate sometimes, like I was just playing mayor. After all, it was Adam and the Elders who led Hearthway Hollow. What did I really contribute besides a veneer of legitimacy?

One afternoon as I’m in my office, Mrs. Locklear strides into the place like she owns it, then sits down in one of the chairs before my desk. Mrs. Locklear is calm composure blanketing an active volcano. I have learned that where there is a Locklear, there is sure to be a commotion.

“What is it, Mrs. Locklear?” I ask. “If there’s another meeting with the Elders tonight, I’m afraid I cannot attend. I have a date that I’m looking forward to.”

“Nothing like that, Gevaudan,” she says with a slightly sly tone. “There’s just something I feel you should be informed of. You see, my daughter is coming home for a visit this weekend.”

I purse my brow slightly. “Your daughter?”

Mrs. Locklear nods. “She was the first child that my wife and I adopted. Remember the Cabin Girl?”

It happened while I was still in high school. The ranger station was mapping out how to expand the nature reserve when they found a cabin in the woods, and inside, they found the body of a man who had died merely a few days before. Upon further inspection, they found a young girl hiding in the basement. The story was spread through Hearthway Hollow, but the girl was kept hidden to protect her.

“I never knew you adopted her,” I reply.

“That was what we thought was best for her, Kaga and I. We didn’t want her headlined as ‘The Cabin Girl’ to affect what could be a very normal childhood. We homeschooled her until the hype died down and we let her make decisions she felt best suited her. But Kaga and I soon discovered we didn’t have an ordinary little girl on our hands.”

I was prepared for this story to take the usual course. “She was a werewolf as well?” 

“No,” Mrs. Locklear sighs heavily. “Our daughter was something else.” She leans forward slightly in her chair. “Gevaudan is a French name, correct?”

I nod. “Why do you ask?”

“Then you must know the story of the Rougarou.”

I furrow my brow deeper at her. “It’s Cajun, not French. But my father used to have a storybook he read from to scare me and my brothers.”

“Much like the werewolves you know here in the hollow, they are very real. Rougarou are a special kind of monster, not born but made. Werewolves are genetic. It’s something they are born with and cannot change. Werewolves can have children who do not inherit the gene; it can be recessive for them. It’s those children who are in danger of becoming Rougarou.”

I take a slow, deep breath and nod. “How does this happen? How did it happen for your daughter?”

“I’m glad you’re taking an interest,” she says with a smile. “The Rougarou transformation has a chance of being triggered by biting or being bitten by another were. I’ve even been told that drinking a vampire’s blood is what awakens the recessive gene.”

“Wait.” I stop her. “You’re telling me vampires are real too?”

Mrs. Locklear just smiles knowingly at me. “You would be surprised what stories you were told as fairy tales are actually history.”

I lean back in my seat as I take in this information. “So it’s like a horror movie, then? They get bitten and it changes them?”

“Once the recessive gene kicks in, it changes them, but often not in a good way. Werewolves’ bodies are prepared for the changes, but a Rougarou body is not. The transition can be painful and horrible. My wife and I sometimes had to make ice baths for our daughter because of the pain she felt. We watched her suffer during most of her teen years. A difficult time for all children, but for her, it was ten times worse.”

“I’m so sorry.” I don’t know what else to say.

“Kaga and I found a community of Rougarou in Louisiana that is much like Hearthway Hollow. They take in Rougarou and help them to get used to their new lives and changes. We took her there so she would be able to get what she needed. She was happy, and she made a life there, but now she wishes to come home.”

I nod again, then drum my fingertips on the desk. “Did something happen? You wouldn’t come to tell me this if something hadn’t have happened.”

“Someone has been murdering Rougarou,” Mrs. Locklear says calmly, but her voice chills me to the bone. “One by one, they have gone missing or been found dead, and because of what they are, nothing is being done to protect them. Gisela wants to come home to feel safe, but if whoever is killing the Rougarou follows her, I think we should all be prepared.”

I can’t shake the fear I feel. Sure, learning vampires are real is a kick in the teeth, but if there’s some monster hunter on his way into my home, Hearthway Hollow could be in real trouble. “You couldn’t have said that from the beginning?”

“You wouldn’t have understood the grave importance of it had I not given you the history, Gevaudan.” She stands from her chair. “When Gisela comes home, I would like you to meet her so she can tell you the whole story.”

I get up to walk her to the door. “Is she alright?” I ask quietly. “As your friend - and not the mayor - can you tell me?”

Mrs. Locklear sees through bullshit better than anyone I have ever known. The woman has a superpower besides turning into a giant wolf. “Are you asking about now, or when she was the Cabin Girl?”

I’ve been caught.

“When she was found, the man who kept her locked away had been stunting her growth and maturity with medications. I suspect he either had some hand in her becoming a Rougarou or had seen it happen. Otherwise, Gisela was like any other girl.”

“I’ll talk to her,” I say with a nod. “It’ll be good to know what we could face in the future. Just let me know when would be a good time.”

“I will. Thank you for hearing me out.” She leaves as soon as I open the door for her.

My date goes well that evening. It’s one of my first since I became mayor, and it’s been hard meeting people, especially since I’m well aware that anyone could be a werewolf. Or vampire, apparently. As much as I enjoy my date’s company, I can’t help but keep thinking how she could be a vampire, even though I met her outside in broad daylight.

That evening as I take myself out of date mode, I get a text message from Mrs. Locklear. “Gisela just got home. After she gets some rest and we get to spoil her, she said she would gladly talk with you.”

“Take your time, but the sooner the better.”

I’m not sure what to expect when I meet with Gisela. I don’t know what a Rougarou looks like or how they act. When I get the okay from Mrs. Locklear and head to her house, I’m prepared for anything.

“Come on in,” Mrs. Locklear says when she greets me at the door. “Gisela and I just made some fried bread to go with lunch.”

“You don’t have to feed me,” I say with a shake of my head.

“Oh, yes, I do.” She has me sit down at the table and pours me a glass of iced tea. As I’m adding lemon to the glass, I feel a bristle at the back of my neck. I turn, glancing out of the corner of my eye at the girl who walks into the room. She sets down a plate of fried bread and looks directly at me. Her eyes are a rich brown, wide and endless. 

“Gevaudan?” she asks.

“Alex,” I say breathlessly. I stand to greet her and see the difference in height between us. She couldn’t be taller than five feet. “Gisela, right?”

She takes my hand and shakes it. Her nails are black, but they don’t look painted. “Mama told me about you.” Her voice is surprisingly husky. 

“She told me about you, too.” I’m not sure why I’m suddenly nervous, and it’s not in a bad way. It’s more like being seated next to your crush in class, you don’t want to do anything to mess up or embarrass yourself in front of them. For some reason, Gisela makes me feel that way.

“Go and sit back down,” Gisela says. “Mama and I will bring the rest of lunch out.”

“Okay, yeah.” I try to sit down, but find myself fumbling to pull the chair back out.

Mrs. Locklear and Gisela bring out lunch, and while we start to eat Gisela starts to talk about the Rougarou community in Louisiana. “It was nice there, freeing. Sometimes it was hard, but it was hard for all of us. The changes and the way your body takes them can make you suffer at strange times. We could all be cranky and grouchy, but we never hurt anyone. If we knew someone was in need, we took care of them and made sure they didn’t do anything they regretted.” I notice her knitting her fingers, twisting and untwisting them together in front of her. Perhaps the joints hurt and she needs to move them to make them feel better. 

“Everyone was always accounted for,” Gisele says quietly. Her deep olive skin makes her veins look almost green. The more she twists her fingers, the more I notice the veins in her hands. “So when one was missing, it was unheard of. And when there were two...” She grimaces and shakes her head. “We knew right away something was wrong. Those things just don’t happen.” 

She looks at me with those dark brown eyes, and every hair on my body stands on end. “Some of the leaders of the community had dealt with hunters before, so they knew the signs and what to look for. We found traps in the woods, traps normal hunters wouldn’t use in those parts. Modified bear traps, spike traps...” She chokes up and presses her fists to her forehead.

“She found a friend in one,” Mrs. Locklear reaches over to rub Gisela’s back.

“I wanted to stay and help, but the elders decided people who were able should start going home.” Gisela shakes her head and sniffles. “I just… I want to make sure this home is going to be safe, or at least can fend for itself if a hunter follows me.”

“We have a former hunter living in town now,” I tell her. “I can talk to them and get their insight, maybe even have them train others to be prepared.”

“How can you trust them?” Gisela bristles.

“They’re mates with a were here in town,” I say gently. “They raise chickens, and the most dangerous thing they own is a shovel for their garden.”

Gisela settles down and nods. “Okay, but be careful.”

“We will be, Gisela. No worries. If you know of anyone else from your community in Louisiana who needs a safe place, I’m sure we could work it out.”

Mrs. Locklear gives me that smile again. She knows I’m behaving like a peacock. Oh god, she knows I find Gisela attractive. I’m probably going to get it.

“That’s good to know,” Gisela nods. “Thank you, Alex.”

A few days later, I’m returning from a small meeting when I see Gisela waiting in my office. She stands as I come in and gives me a once-over. 

“Gisela, what a surprise. Is everything alright?” I step into my office, walking towards her with my hand ready to shake. 

“I was just curious to see how things are,” she says with a shrug. “Did you talk to that hunter?”

“They’re putting some things together for us. They said it’s been a while since they’ve participated in hunts, but they still have some journals from their time.”

Gisela nods. “Good. That’s good.” She sits back down. “I’m sorry if this is going to be any trouble for the town.”

“No more than usual.” I sit down in the chair beside her. It feels too formal, too weird, to sit behind my desk now. “There’s always something going on here, and often it includes your mother.”

Gisela giggles. I notice she’s wearing fingerless gloves, long sleeves and a turtleneck, as well as boots. It’s getting close to summer, and it’s already hot and humid out. “Are you alright?” I ask her.

Gisela frowns. “Yeah. I’m used to this by now.” She looks at her hands. The nails look longer than they did yesterday, and darker too. “Every day I change just a bit more.”

“Your mother told me about Rougarou. It must be difficult.” I motion to the water cooler. “Do you want something to drink? You must be hot.”

“Thank you, that’d be nice.” She sits on the edge of her seat. “I don’t know anything else, so it’s hard for me to imagine another way.”

I pour her a cup of ice-cold water, and when she takes it her nails scrape against my knuckle. It feels kind of nice. “There’s nothing you can do for the discomfort?” I ask.

Gisela rolls her eyes. “I eat.”

“Really?”

She chuckles shyly. “I find that when I eat, sometimes it makes me feel better. I’ve tried everything, and I mean everything.” She sips the water slowly. “Sometimes sex helps.”

I’m taken aback by that. “Interesting.”

“Sorry, just sharing.” Gisela looks around my office. “Kind of small for a mayor.”

“I prefer that money for a huge office goes elsewhere. It’s easy to clean and manage, and I don’t need a lot of decor or furniture. If I want to impress someone, I take them to one of the restaurants in town on my dime. It benefits the local business, and sometimes earns them a new customer.”

“Trying your best to not be a corrupt politician?” Gisele teases.

I smile at Gisela as my palms grow sweaty. “Always trying.”

Gisela closes her eyes then and takes a deep breath. “You smell good.”

I stop breathing for a moment.

“I’m being weird.” Gisela sets the cup aside and stands up. “I should probably go home, anyway. Thanks again.”

“Here, let me walk you to the door.” I stand to lead her out, but she’s already ahead of me. She lets herself out and closes the door behind her. 

A few days later I go with the former hunter, Mic, to Mrs. Locklear’s home for a meeting with other weres. When I arrive, I don’t see Gisela anywhere in the house. During the meeting I go back into the kitchen to get a drink, and I find her standing over the sink with her head shoved under the faucet, guzzling water. She’s wearing only a black hoodie, and her legs are exposed. They’re dark, covered in coarse hair, and the skin is a mottled yellow-green. 

Gisela stops drinking and slowly looks up at me. Her eyes are darker than before, and her irises seem to have grown larger. Her nails look like claws, and her features are sharpened. “I couldn’t fit my head in the bathroom sink, so...” she says, sounding almost terrified.

“Are you hungry?” I motion at the dining room. “Billy brought more pizza than anyone needs.”

The small smile on her lips is enough to make my pulse quicken. I sneak into the dining room and steal a whole pizza, and Gisela and I sit on the kitchen floor while she eats it. Her teeth look sharper as she eats, and her tongue is stained black. When she takes a large bite, the cheese stretches, snaps and hits her on the nose. “You don’t have to sit with me. I know you’re having a meeting.”

“It’s winding down now. They’re mostly talking werewolf things.” I lean back against the cabinets. “They don’t need me right now.”

Gisela reaches for another slice of pizza. “Mama likes you. She says you’re not as stupid as most people.”

I smile. “Coming from your mom, that’s a real compliment.”

Gisela licks her lips, then sucks the grease off her fingers. “Did you always want to be a mayor?”

“No one grows up thinking that,” I chuckle. “I just sort of fell into it. I started working in the parks service when I was a teen, and I just stayed in government work. I always thought I’d be a musician or something as a kid.”

Gisela smiles at me. “What do you play?”

“Drums.” I look down at her and can’t help but feel slightly giddy. “My dad was a music professor, so my brothers and I all knew how to play something. We made a band together as kids, and everyone hated us.”

“You were that bad?”

“Probably,” I laugh. “Do you have any talents?”

Gisela is already halfway through another slice of pizza. I think in less than ten minutes she’d go through over half of the extra-large pie. “I used to take dance classes, back when I lived here in Hearthway Hollow. I wanted to keep doing it, but my teacher said I was too short.”

“What?” I scoff.

A red pepper flake is stuck to her cheek. “The new dance teacher here is really nice, though. He’s letting me join his adult classes.” She looks down with a sad expression. “I wish I’d never stopped.”

I touch her cheek to wipe away the red pepper flake. She turns abruptly, and I accidentally poke her in the eye.

“I’m so sorry!” I gasp in alarm.

“I’m in enough pain!” She’s laughing, and playfully swats at me. “How dare you? What were you trying to do?”

“There was red pepper on your cheek. I was just trying to get it off! I’m so sorry.”

“I’m fine,” she chuckles. “It’s just funny. You haven’t asked me why I look weird.”

“Because you don’t look that weird.”

“Liar,” she huffs. She takes another slice of pizza and shoves it into her mouth.

I look her over - her legs, her fingers, her sharp teeth. I’ve seen the werewolves in their glory and, at first they scared me, but now, it’s just part of my life. Seeing Gisela, I’m more worried for her comfort than my own. “I mean it. I’ve seen worse things in the world.”

Gisela places a pepperoni on her tongue. “So you’ve seen Billy shift.”

I grin and nod. “Do all Rougarou change slowly?”

“Not all,” she murmurs. “Some can control it like the werewolves do. Others only change during the week of a new moon.” She grimaces. “But I change in and out over the entire month. So for maybe ten days, I’m able to look normal. But for the other twenty days of the month, I’m either changing into or out of my Rougarou form.”

“I’m so sorry,” I murmur.

“I’m used to it,” she says bitterly. “I just… I just know I look weird. Fuck,” she grumbles.

“What’s wrong?”

Gisela pouts as she closes the pizza box. “I ate that entire pizza.”

I stand up. “I can go get you another.”

“No, don’t. I shouldn’t.” She rises as well and looks up at me. “This was really nice,” she murmurs. “Thanks for just sitting with me.”

I shrug. “Even if I poked you in the eye?”

“Even then.” She fidgets with her fingers as she quietly says, “I like you.”

I reach out and take her hand. “I like you too, Gisela.” I kiss her knuckles. “If you ever want to talk again, just ask me.”

Gisela smiles shyly as she captures my hand. “Who kisses knuckles these days?” She tugs me down, planting a pizza-flavored kiss on my lips. I don’t mind it at all. I even like how her sharp teeth bite into my lip.

“Sorry,” Gisela chuckles. “Payback for my eye.”

“Is it?” I smirk, rubbing my chin. 

Gisela glances aside to make sure no one is looking. “When can I see you again?”

“I’m free most evenings,” I say breathlessly.

Gisela’s dangerous smile broadens. “Then I’ll see you soon.”