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  “It’s more than that. I’ve upset you. I didn’t mean to.”

  She shook her head. “You can’t help who you are.”

  “I don’t want to be that person anymore. I told Gabriel that the day we told you who we are. I told him that I wanted to be a father to our child and that I wanted to be there for you. And I promise you that I will be faithful to you. When I said that I would honor and cherish you during our wedding vows, I meant it.”

  Chloe buried her face against Michael’s chest and wrapped her arms around his waist.

  Michael tipped her head back and brushed his lips against hers. “I meant what I said. I’m going to be there for you and the baby. I’ll do whatever it takes to prove that to you.”

  Chloe reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. “Starting with calling Sarah?”

  He grinned at her. “Starting with calling Sarah.”

  With his arm wrapped around his wife, he called Sarah and apologized for not cancelling their date. He told her he was married and wouldn’t be calling her anymore. Sarah screeched and ranted and raved at him. When he finished the call, he slid the phone back into his pocket and hugged Chloe.

  “You know there’s going to be a lot more of those,” he said.

  “I know, but it was a good start.”

  “Come on, if we don’t get on the road soon, it will be late when we get back home.”

  ***

  It was just after lunch when Chloe and Michael arrived home. Michael drove straight to his house without thinking. When he pulled into the drive, he realized Chloe only had her small bag she’d taken on the trip.

  “We still need to get your things from the apartment.”

  “I can go and pick up a few things to get me through the night. I’m not up to moving today,” Chloe said.

  “Are you sure? I don’t mind.”

  She smiled and kissed his cheek. “I’m sure. Besides, it will give me a chance to drive my car.”

  “Do you want me to go with you?”

  Chloe hesitated. Michael had said Ramsey wouldn’t be around. She should be fine going to the apartment by herself. “I think I’ll be okay. I’ll just pack an outfit or two and come right back.”

  Michael looked like he wanted to argue, but he nodded. “I’ll be here when you get back.”

  She smiled and kissed him and got out of the car. “Let me put my things away, and I’ll just use this bag.”

  Michael got their bags out of the car and carried them to the bedroom. He tried to convince Chloe to let him go with her one more time, but she was being stubborn.

  “You said Ramsey wouldn’t be there.”

  “He won’t. Gabriel said he was sending him out of town for a little bit.”

  “Then why are you so worried?”

  He shrugged. “I just don’t like the idea of you going over there alone.”

  “I’m a big girl. I think I can handle picking up a few things and coming back home.”

  Michael grinned.

  “What?” She put her hands on her hips. “I swear if that grin is a crack about my weight…”

  He shook his head. “I’m grinning because you called my house home.”

  “Oh,” she said, her hands dropping to her sides. “Well, that’s what it is, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah, it was just nice to hear you call it that.”

  She smiled and walked over to him. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she kissed him. “I’ll be back shortly.”

  “Be careful.”

  “I will.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chloe pulled into the driveway at Ramsey’s and immediately spotted his Hummer. Her breath caught in her throat and she wished that she hadn’t made Michael stay at home. She felt like a fool.

  Getting out of the car, she grabbed her bag and headed straight for her apartment. She climbed the stairs carefully, stealing furtive glances at Ramsey’s house from the corner of her eye. It looked dark. She hoped he had left his SUV in the driveway and taken a plane to wherever the alpha had sent him.

  Unlocking her door, she pushed it opened and stepped into the dark apartment. She felt along the wall for the switch and flipped on the light. A screech tore from her throat when she realized someone was in her apartment. “Ramsey, you scared me half to death!”

  He took a step toward her and stopped. “I’m sorry, Chloe. I know I’m not supposed to be here, but I had to see you one last time.”

  “Why?”

  “I had to make sure you were okay.”

  Chloe stepped into the apartment and closed the door. “Why wouldn’t I be okay?”

  Ramsey drank her in, his eyes travelling from the top of her head to the tips of her toes before resting on her eyes again. “I know Michael has a temper. I just wanted to make sure he hadn’t hurt you.”

  “He’s been a perfect gentleman.”

  Ramsey nodded and looked away.

  “Is that all?” she asked quietly.

  “It tore me apart when I got your letter. I went to Gabriel’s hoping to get there in time.”

  “In time for what?”

  “In time to stop you. I wanted to stop the wedding.”

  Chloe walked over to the couch and sat down. “You were going to stop the wedding?”

  He looked down at her and clenched his fists at his side. “I wanted to tell you that you were wrong, that I did care about you – do care about you. But I didn’t get there in time. You’d already married Michael and left.”

  “I’m sorry, Ramsey. You hurt me when you left for Colorado. I didn’t know want to think or feel.”

  He nodded. “I know that now. If I could go back and change things, I would.”

  Chloe didn’t know what to say.

  “Are you happy?” he asked.

  “I think so. I don’t really know yet. He says he cares about me.”

  “That’s good.” Ramsey reached out and gently ran his fingers through her hair. “I hope he takes good care of you, Chloe.”

  ***

  Michael was flipping through the TV channels when his phone rang. Seeing it was his brother he answered.

  “Hey Gabriel, what’s up?”

  “Are you back in town yet?

  “Yeah, we got back about thirty minutes ago. Chloe just went to get her things from her apartment.”

  “By herself?”

  Michael went on alert at the strain in his brother’s voice. “Why?”

  “I got a call from Luna. It seems Ramsey hasn’t shown up in Mississippi yet.”

  “Shit. I’m on my way to Chloe’s now.”

  Michael hung up the phone and grabbed his keys. Running out of the door, he jumped in his Corvette and sped out of the driveway. He glanced at his cell phone ever few minutes hoping Chloe would call. When he neared Ramsey’s house, he saw both the Hummer and Chloe’s new hatchback in the driveway. Parking behind his wife’s car, he jumped out and ran up the stairs to the apartment.

  Opening the door, the saw Ramsey run his fingers through Chloe’s hair. Michael saw red and a growl rumbled through him.

  “Get your hands off of my wife!”

  Chloe gasped and turned toward the door. “Michael!”

  She stood and took a step toward him.

  “Stay where you are, Chloe,” Michael said. “This is between me and Ramsey.”

  “But you don’t understand…”

  “I think I understand plenty. He had his hands on you.”

  “No, please stop.”

  Michael stalked further into the room eyeing the man behind his wife. He should have listened to his instincts and come with her. If he had, she would have been safe.

  “Chloe, I think you need to go downstairs,” Michael said.

  She shook her head and stepped closer to him. “You aren’t listening to me.”

  Ramsey decided to intervene before Michael did something that would hurt Chloe. “I just wanted to tell her bye, Michael, and that I hope she has a happy marriage.”

/>   “Sure you did,” Michael said. “I heard you showed up at the Victorian to stop the wedding.”

  Ramsey nodded. “I did. Wouldn’t you have done the same thing?”

  “Maybe,” Michael relented.

  “I won’t lie. I love her. Which is why I’m going to do as Gabriel asked and go to Mississippi,” Ramsey said. “I can see how much she cares about you.”

  Michael looked like he’d been punched in the gut. “You love her?”

  “Yeah,” Ramsey said quietly as he looked over at Chloe. “But I’m going to do what’s best and leave. She belongs with you.”

  “How do you know she belongs with me?” Michael asked.

  “Because I can see now that she’s in love with you.”

  Michael looked from Ramsey to Chloe. She looked scared and pale. He felt like a monster for being the one to put that look on her face. Slowly he walked over to her. Cupping her cheek, he asked, “Is that true? Do you love me?”

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  “Why didn’t you say something before?”

  “I was afraid to.”

  “Chloe, you don’t have to be afraid of me. I would never hurt you.”

  “You already have,” she said quietly, thinking of the times he’d broken her heart.

  Michael wrapped her in his arms and held her close. “I’m so sorry, honey. I didn’t know.”

  Ramsey cleared his throat. “I’m going to leave you two alone,” he said as he headed for the door.

  “Wait Ramsey,” Michael said.

  Ramsey stopped.

  “I think Chloe would like to say goodbye if you’re leaving for Mississippi on your assignment.”

  Letting his wife go, he watched as she walked over to Ramsey and gave him a hug and told him goodbye. It hurt, but he knew now that she wasn’t going to leave him.

  ***

  After Ramsey left, Chloe turned to face Michael. “Thank you for letting me say goodbye.”

  “I’m sorry I came barging in here like a jealous ass,” he said with a sheepish grin.

  “You thought you were protecting me.”

  “It still doesn’t excuse my behavior. I scared you and that’s unforgiveable.”

  Chloe wrapped her arms around him. “I’m a little tougher when I’m not pregnant. You’ll find me harder to scare after the baby’s born.”

  He grinned. “Oh yeah?”

  “Definitely.”

  “So back to this whole you-love-me bit. When exactly did you know you loved me?”

  Chloe bit her lip. “I think I started falling for you when you got me pregnant.”

  Michael raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything.

  “But then you stopped calling, and I became so furious with you that I pushed my feelings aside. Then I started to care for you again when I moved in with you.”

  “But then you moved in with Ramsey,” Michael pointed out.

  “Actually I moved in to this apartment. You pushed me into dating Ramsey when you acted like an ass and showed up at that restaurant with that woman. You claimed she was just a friend, but she seemed like more than that.”

  Michael had the grace to look chagrined.

  “I went to our wedding feeling rejected by Ramsey and feeling like I was just settling for whatever life had thrown my way. But after I said my wedding vows something changed. When you kissed me, I felt something… a spark for lack of a better word. And it reminded me of what I felt for you that first night we met.”

  “I felt it too,” Michael murmured.

  “Then we went on our honeymoon and I was determined to make this a real marriage. Making love with you was just like that first time. I felt it all the way from my head to my toes and I knew that I was still in love with you.”

  Michael bent his head to hers and kissed her.

  “I love you,” he murmured against her lips.

  “What?” she asked in wide-eyed amazement.

  He grinned. “I said I love you.”

  She stared at him in shock.

  “I’ve loved you since before our wedding. I was just too scared to tell you.”

  Chloe threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. “I love you, I love you, I love you.”

  Michael laughed. “So, should we go tell Gabriel that he made the right choice?”

  Chloe grinned. “Nah. Let him wait and figure it out later.”

  Laughing, Michael carried her to the bedroom. “I guess before we move your things out we should make love in your bed at least once.”

  “I’d like that,” she said as he laid her down on the bed.

  Smiling, she pulled her husband down on the bed beside her and kissed him.

  Epilogue

  February

  Chloe stood beside the baby bed and stared at the bundle wrapped snuggly inside. Morgan was only a few weeks old, but he was already the most important thing in her life. She was amazed at how much she could love someone she’d only known for such a short amount of time.

  “Honey, you’re going to wake him up,” Michael said from the nursery room doorway.

  She turned and smiled at him. “I can’t help it. He’s just so tiny and so perfect.”

  He smiled. “Of course he’s perfect. He’s yours.”

  Chloe quietly walked out of the nursery and pulled the door closed. She wrapped her arms around Michael and kissed him.

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “For what?”

  “For our son. And for not giving up on me.”

  He caressed her cheek. “How could I give up on the only woman I’ve ever loved? You’re the other half of my soul, Chloe. You’re the only woman I ever wanted to settle down with.”

  She smiled. “Yeah, and it scared you half to death.”

  “That it did.”

  She glanced at the door. “How many more weeks did the doctor say we had to wait?”

  He bent and nipped her on the neck. “You still have a few more.”

  She sighed. “Maybe by Christmas we can try for a little girl.”

  Michael chuckled in her ear. “I get the feeling we’re going to need a bigger house.

  “Well, I happen to know a good realtor.”

  Michael smiled at her. “Speaking of that, Matt called while you were daydreaming in our son’s room again.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “You were otherwise occupied.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He wants to know if you’d like to show a house next week.”

  Chloe squealed in excitement. “But I don’t go back to work for another month.”

  “Kiera already offered to watch the baby whenever you wanted some time to yourself,” he reminded her.

  “Do you think she’d mind?”

  Michael rolled his eyes. “Just call her. I’m sure she’d be delighted to watch her nephew.”

  Chloe squeezed Michael and kissed him. “I don’t think my life could be more perfect.”

  He smiled down at her. “I love you, Chloe.”

  Smiling she kissed him again. “And I love you. More than I ever thought possible,” she said softly.

  Moonlight Champion

  Ashton Grove Werewolves, Book 4

  Written by Jessica Coulter Smith

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Prologue

  Mobile, Alabama

  Aislinn sat in her favorite cha
ir reading a book. She’d always had a thing for paranormal romances and was reading about a werewolf in a place called Ashton Grove, Georgia. The hero was everything she’d ever dreamed of in a man. As she turned the pages, she lost herself inside a world where the women always found the men of their dreams, princes among men. It was such a far cry from her life that it was almost funny. At twenty-three, she was married to the worst possible man. Hugh Winston had been charming, funny, and a gentleman while they were dating. It had been no small wonder that Aislinn had accepted his proposal nearly a year later. If only she could turn back the clock! At the very least, she was thankful she had kept her name when she had married him. In retrospect, she was surprised that Hugh hadn’t pitched a fit when she’d told him she was keeping her maiden name.

  Hugh and Aislinn had been married for nearly a year now. The first month hadn’t been too bad, but after that… well after that Hugh had changed. She’d often heard women say they married one man and ended up with another. No truer words had ever been spoken! A little over a month into their marriage Aislinn noticed that Hugh was drinking more and more. The more he drank the louder and more obnoxious he became. It didn’t take long before he started hitting her.

  Aislinn remembered the first time as if it were yesterday. She had been ironing his shirt when he had suddenly backhanded her across the face, yelling at her for using the wrong type of starch. The blow had been strong enough to knock her to her knees. She had apologized profusely, having no idea what had set her husband off in such a manner. However, the next day he found something else to complain about and hit her again. Now he didn’t need a reason.

  As Aislinn fell into her book, she wondered why she hadn’t been given a fairy tale ending. Sure, she was young and could always divorce her husband, except he’d made sure that she had nothing and nowhere to go. She supposed she could call a women’s shelter, but just the thought of doing something like that made her shiver. Was it really too much to ask for a knight in shining armor to ride up her driveway, knock her husband out, and carry her off into the sunset?