The Wolf Ring (3 page)

Her fingers itched with the need to touch him, and she gave in to the need, running her fingers over his back. He moaned into her mouth, then lifted his head and looked down at her with passion-darkened eyes.

"
Faelan
."

She liked the hungry tone in his voice. She smiled up at him, then put her hands on his chest and pushed him over again. And then they were rolling across the bedroom floor, over the soft Oriental carpet and the wide pine planks of the floor, laughing breathlessly as each tried to get on top.

She heard the deep sound of his laughter, saw the bright flash of his smile, and despite the desire that burned deep inside her, she couldn't stop laughing either. Despite her intense sexual needs, she was having fun.

They rolled into his dresser with a bump, Conner on top. There was no room to roll any further, so she started stroking her hands over him again, long, slow caresses running from the nape of his neck to the small of his back.

Soft, deep sounds of need rumbled from his chest, and his hips moved urgently against hers.

And then they were kissing frantically, mouths locked together in a deep, sizzling kiss. The moment of shared laughter faded, and they ripped eagerly at each other's clothes.

In seconds they were both entirely naked, their bodies pressed together, and she felt his cock throbbing hotly against her inner thigh. He levered himself up on his hands just a bit, and she saw the same dark, primitive need in his eyes she felt burning in her own eyes.

"Roll over," he whispered, his voice low and harsh.

She wanted him, right now, and she tried to catch his ass so she could pull him inside her body, but he resisted. "Roll
over
," he demanded, more insistently.

She wasn't used to Conner demanding things, but she responded to the authority in his voice almost automatically, rolling over. The old carpet didn't provide much of a cushion, but she was so turned on she didn't really care. Her skin pulsed like one giant nerve ending, and her blood felt like liquid flame as it surged through her body.

"Get up on your hands and knees," he directed, his voice soft but commanding.

They'd never had sex that way, but she didn't object to the idea. Right now, she was so hungry for sex that she just wanted him in her, some way.
Any
way.

She got up on her hands and knees, and he rose to his knees behind her.

And then he was sinking deeply into her, and he was so hot and hard she couldn't restrain a long yowl of pleasure.

*****

She felt so damn
good
.

Conner slid into Faelan, all the way to the hilt, and gasped for breath. He'd made love to her many times before, but he'd never felt this desperate, almost frantic need to be part of her. He'd never made love to her this way, either, but somehow vivid images of fucking her from behind filled his head, and he couldn't resist the idea.

Her arm was silver all the way to the shoulder now, and somewhere deep in his mind he knew he ought to be worrying about her, maybe getting her to the emergency room... but he just couldn't stop. The rational part of his brain had been blotted out almost entirely by the physical need that flooded him. Desire ran over his skin in waves, and a low animal sound of need rolled from him.

He couldn't help himself. He withdrew, almost all the way, and then thrust back in. Both of them uttered harsh, desperate noises. She was so hot, and his body ached for her so badly. His skin needed contact with her, the sweaty, damp skin of her thighs pressing against his, his hands clutching her hips, his cock deep inside her...

His hips started to move in a steady, fast rhythm as instinct took him over. Because he was so much bigger than she was, he'd always taken care to be a gentle, careful lover. But through some bizarre change she was as strong as he was. Maybe stronger.
Which meant he couldn't possibly hurt her.

He could fuck her as hard as he'd always wanted to, somewhere deep inside.

He made love to her with a rough violence that made her throw her head back and gasp wildly, helpless sounds of pure pleasure falling from her lips. He could feel her body squeezing his hard, and he knew she was close to the verge. And so was he.

Part of him wanted this to last forever, or at least for the rest of the night, but he was so wild with need that he couldn't think of slowing down. He slammed into her relentlessly, harder and harder.

Their voices rose in frantic unison, and then her hot, wet body was convulsing around his, and he felt himself coming in wild spurts. He flung back his head, a terrible animal sound rising from his throat, a feral sound he couldn't have begun to describe.

The ecstasy rushed through him, making his skin ripple. The itch and the need that had irritated his skin were gone, replaced with utter rapture. He was a single mass of ecstasy, from his head to his toes. Faelan seemed to like it just as much as he did, judging from the way she was screaming.

At last the final spasm of pleasure faded, and he leaned forward, gasping as he rested his face against her shoulder. He could feel his body softening, but he didn't pull out of her.

He wanted to be part of her forever.

*****

Something was happening to her.

She could feel the change rushing through her body like an electrical current. She was different now. The itchy, frantic need that had plagued her earlier was gone, and her body surged with an animal energy.

She wasn't the same as she'd been earlier in the evening. Somehow making love had completed the change that had begun earlier today. Whatever was happening to her was now complete. She knew that as clearly as she’d ever known anything.

Conner's satiated body began to slip out of hers. He put his arms around her waist, as if he intended to cuddle, but she moved away and stood up. She could feel his come dripping down her thighs, a sensation that never failed to make her feel like she was truly his.

And now she was more his than ever before.

He looked up at her, his blue eyes heavy-lidded and content, but suddenly his eyes widened. "Your arm," he said. "It's... better. Whatever was wrong with you has gone away."

She lifted her arm and looked at it. It was flesh-colored again, but the ring was still firmly adhered to her finger. She knew with a calm certainty that it wasn't going anywhere. Not till the day she died.

"No," she said. "I just have control over it now."

"Control over
what
?" He rose to his feet, stark naked, and loomed over her, looking very large and very irritated. "Faelan, what the hell is going on?"

"The ring," she said, holding out her arm. "It changed me."

"
Changed
you?" He stared at her, looking worried and frustrated and angry-- the typical male reaction when faced with the inexplicable. Then he looked down at the ring, his eyes narrowed as if it were an enemy. "Changed you how?"

She smiled.

"Like this," she said, and transformed.

Chapter 5

Conner gaped as Faelan's skin suddenly turned silver again. Her smooth, satiny skin roughened, and glimmering gray fur sprouted all over her body. She seemed to shrink and blur, and suddenly she was standing on four legs, looking up at him. Her teeth were still bared, but in a snarl rather than a grin.

She was a wolf. A wolf with a dense, silvery coat.

If he hadn't seen her transform, he wouldn't have believed it. Or maybe he would have, because her eyes hadn't changed. He studied the wolf, who looked back with golden eyes, precisely the same shade as Faelan's.

"Faelan?" he whispered, tentatively.

The wolf inclined her head slightly.

"But you-- but you--" He didn't see the ring anywhere, and guessed it had been transformed right along with her.

The Lupine Rapids legend, he thought in shock. It wasn’t just a legend. The ring really was a part of it.

The ring that was now firmly adhered to Faelan's finger.

Somehow, those early settlers had been able to transform, probably due to this ring, and maybe others. He wondered if there were other rings like this out there. He wondered if there were other people out there, transforming into wolves at will, or perhaps trapped in animal form forever…

"Faelan," he whispered, suddenly very worried. "Can you shift back?"

She suddenly seemed to blur and grow right in front of him, and then she stood upright. She was the beautiful blonde he'd always known, her fangs gone, the ring gleaming on her wrist.

"Of course I can shift back," she said, sounding a little impatient. "That's what the ring is
for
."

"But the early settlers… they could...?"

She tilted her head, looking as if she were listening to something. He had the sudden incredible notion that she was getting some sort of information feed from the ring, as if it were somehow sharing its long history with her.

“Yes,” she said at last. “There was a jewelry maker among them. He made the rings for each marriage. How he worked the magic into them, I don’t know. But he did. Anyone wearing the rings could change shape, and so could anyone that they bonded with.”

He stared at her. He was pretty sure his mouth was still hanging open, but he couldn't seem to close it. "Bond? Are you saying… you and I just... what do you mean, exactly?"

"When we mated, and when I bit you," she said. "You and I... we're the same now."

He refused to admit what that might mean, refused to acknowledge the feral longings burning inside him. Instead he focused on her. He wondered if she'd keep her incredible strength, or if it had simply been a side effect of her transformation, meant only to protect her from an out-of-control male while they mated. But he decided not to explore that issue right now, and focused on something a little more immediate.

"Okay. But why wolves?"

She looked back at him steadily.

"Because wolves mate for life," she said.

He sighed. Something wild growled inside him, struggling to get out, but he pushed it back. He had to be the responsible one here. He had to take care of her.

"Faelan," he suggested, "maybe we can figure out how to cure this somehow, if we go to a doctor or a hospital.”

“Sure,” she said with a faint smile. “Let’s just go to the ER and announce that I can change into a wolf now. I’m sure that will go over really, really well.”

“But you can’t…” He held out an imploring hand to her. “Maybe we can fix it somehow."

"Fix it?" She blinked, looking slightly puzzled. "There's nothing to
fix
, Conner. This is who I am now. The ring’s part of me, and so is the were ability." She smiled slightly. "Just like
it's
part of you."

"Me?" He frowned, ignoring the growling beast inside him. "No, Faelan, I can't..."

"Yes, you can." She reached out her ringed hand and wrapped her fingers around his in a reassuring gesture. "Look, Conner... this is how the early settlers here married. It might seem strange to us, but this is a part of history. And when you gave me the ring… it became part of the present. It’s who I am now, and nothing can change that."

He hesitated for a long moment, processing that. "Nothing can change it? You’re sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. The ring… well, somehow I’m getting some sort of information from it. It’s not dangerous. It’s just… different.”

“You’ve become part wolf, Faelan. I just don’t see how this can be a good thing.”

“I think you will.” She looked at him earnestly. "Come on, Conner. Go ahead and transform. There's a full moon out... and I want to go for a run in the moonlight."

*****

She wasn't surprised Conner was resisting the transformation. Conner had always been conservative at heart, always struggling against change. It had taken him months to get up the nerve to ask her out.

He continued to stare at her, and she saw longing in his eyes, and knew he
wanted
to change. The new ability burned brightly inside him, and he wanted to surrender to it, but didn't quite dare.

She let go of his hand and stepped away from him. "Come on, Conner," she said softly. "Let's go."

She stepped into a silver shaft of moonlight that slanted through the blinds, and let the transformation happen. She knew somehow that the ring controlled the transformation, so she wasn't restricted to changing on the night of the full moon. But the moonlight seemed to make the change easier somehow. It called to her, summoning the wildness that burned inside her.

It made her want to throw back her head and howl.

She dropped to all fours, looking back over her shoulder expectantly, watching to see what he'd do.

He hesitated a long moment. And then he stepped into the pool of moonlight... and changed.

She watched as he shifted, watched his outlines blur and run like watercolors. And suddenly a huge wolf stood there in the moonlight, his thick fur so dark it was almost black, his eyes glinting a familiar bright blue.

The wolf wrinkled his nose, baring his teeth in a strangely familiar smile.