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The Wolf Ring
    By
    Meg Harris
    © copyright 2010, Meg Harris
Cover design by Meg Harris, © copyright 2010
    All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction . Names, character, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
     
    Chapter 1
    "I want you to have this, Faelan."
    Faelan Murphy stared at the ring her boyfriend held in his big hand. It was an ornate silver filigree band, set with a small, golden topaz.
    "Wow," she said, taking it from his hand and turning it over reverently. "That's beautiful, Conner. But it looks like an antique."
    "It is." He shuffled his feet, looking a bit nervous. She knew that Conner Leavitt hated making himself vulnerable. He wasn’t the kind of guy who liked to put his feelings on display, and never had been. He was sweet, but not especially romantic.
    The two of them stood together in a quiet spot near the pond at the center of the local park, and clouds hung low and ominous in the sky. A few snow flurries spun through the air, and a cold breeze ruffled his too-long hair, lifting his dark bangs out of his eyes. He went on in an awkward rush of words. "I saw it, and… well, I don’t know why, but it made me think of you. Maybe it’s the stone. It’s the same color as your eyes."
    She looked up at him. They’d been dating for six months now, and although they’d been the best six months of her life, she hadn’t expected a ring yet. "It’s beautiful. But is it... I didn’t think we were quite ready for…"
    She tactfully trailed off, refraining from asking the obvious question. He blushed, and stammered a little.
    “It’s not, you know, an engagement ring. It’s just… well, like I said, I saw it and I thought of you.”
    Disappointment and relief battled inside her. He was right. They weren’t ready, not yet. But even so... She shoved the disappointment aside, and smiled up at him, accepting the gift for what it was. “It’s lovely, Conner. Thank you.”
    He seemed relieved by her pleased smile. She took the ring from his hand and held it up, admiring the soft sheen of silver, and the way the stone glimmered, even on a cloudy day.
    “It’s supposed to be part of the town’s history,” he said. “The jeweler couldn’t give me details, but he said it had something to do with why this place is called Lupine Rapids."
    She frowned slightly, considering the ring. “I don’t think lupines come in this color. And they’re pretty flowers, but they don’t grow around here, anyway.”
    Conner shrugged a big shoulder. “He was probably just trying to get me to buy it.”
    “Maybe.” She felt her smile widen. “I’m glad he succeeded. I love it, Conner.”
    “I’m glad,” he said softly. “And one of these days, I’ll get you a different ring. You’re the right woman for me, Faelan. The only woman for me.” He spoke very softly, staring at her with earnest blue eyes. A shaft of sunlight broke through the clouds and lit him from behind like a halo, accentuating the beautiful, strong lines of his face. "I've known that for a while now. The ring is kind of a promise—a promise that we’ll always be together."
    Her eyes stung with sudden tears. She swallowed hard against the lump in her throat, and let him slide the ring onto her right hand.
    It fit as if it had been made for her.
    *****
    "Are you okay?"
    "I'm fine." Faelan's voice sounded strained, almost angry. "Why do you keep asking me that?"
    "Uh..." Seated at his desk in his home office, where he was working on designing a website for a local business, Conner pulled the phone away from his ear for a second and stared at it with bafflement, then put it back. "I've only asked twice, Faelan. You just seem, I don't know, kind of..."
Bitchy
. "Grumpy."
    "I'm fine. I'm just busy." He heard her make a growling sound. "Honestly, Conner, do you have to be so damn
needy
all the