January 2017 Re-read: Buddy read with Sarah 
 December 2015 re-read: Buddy read with Sarah. 
 I love this series. We're doing an entire (world) series re-read in preparation for Fire Touched, which comes out in March 2016. I had read a lot of the Mercy Thompson series before I'd ever gathered the courage to start the A&O series. I'm not sure why, exactly, I delayed so long, but I think I thought that there was no way it could be as good as Mercy. Turns out, I actually like this series a little bit better. Anna and Charles are amazing, and I like the wider view of the world that we get. 
 Anna's a character that I'm a little surprised I love so much. She's been severely abused for the last several years, making her fairly meek and incredibly submissive. She's easily frightened, and - in fact - is scared most of the time. But she's strong. Emotionally, she's so strong. Despite all the horrible things done to her, she's not given up yet. She's not given in. She's been beat down, but she's still herself. This isn't to say that she doesn't have a lot of healing left to do - she does - but she refuses to let herself continue to be a victim. And that's something I can get behind, solidly. 
 Charles, again, another character that I wasn't sure I was going to like. What is wrong with me? I should trust Patricia Briggs. Charles was a character that I'd previously only ever seen through the biased lens of Mercy's perception. It's not that she doesn't like Charles, but that Charles is so reserved it's hard for her to really know him. So we didn't really know him. Here, though, we get his point-of-view (as an aside - this is a nice change from the Mercy series where we only get Mercy's POV), and we get to know him MUCH better. I love Charles. He's got a subtle sense of humor, he's protective, honorable, kind, and powerful. He's the Marrok's second, which means that he carries out his father's punishments and executions - fights to the death, that he always wins - but he also kind of hates it. He hates that he can't really let anyone in, except his father and his brother (which also explains why Mercy, and we (previously) didn't really know him). 
 Seeing his wolf choose so quickly for him, and then - despite the 'fated mate' aspect - Charles taking the time to decide he'd like to "court" her, made me incredibly happy. Charles and Anna are exactly what each other needs. 
 This is a very short story. It's only the beginning. But don't be fooled, you have to read this prior to Cry Wolf. Otherwise, you're going to feel like you've been thrust in the middle of a story ... because you will be. This is really the beginning of the story that picks up immediately in Cry Wolf...which I need to, now, go dive into. Because I can't get enough. 
 Previous Review: 
 I really love this start to the Alpha & Omega series. It's a quick story, told over the space of a couple of days, but does a fantastic job of introducing Charles and Anna - who are the main protagonists of this entire series, which is a spin-off of Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson series. 
 I admit that I was leary to start it, and didn't dive in until a couple of months before Fair Game was released, because I didn't think it could be as good as her Mercy Thompson series. I didn't want to be disappointed. 
 Happily, I wasn't. I was so pleasantly surprised. 
 If you've read the Mercy Thompson series, you met Charles briefly in the first book and heard mentions of him in subsequent books. He's one of Bran's sons, brother to Samuel, and the Marrok's enforcer/executioner. He heads out to Chicago to investigate some problems occurring there - events in Moon Called lead to this - and when he gets there he has a message from his father to meet Anna. 
 Anna had just finally worked up the nerve to call the Marrok after reading of the death of a high school student, and the suspected death of another. The problem being? She saw the missing child in a holding cell at her Pack house. Her Alpha, Leo, was elated that he'd been brought in and Changed, and then, nearly as suddenly, the boy disappeared again. 
 When the Marrok asks her to pick up his 'investigator' at the airport, she's incredibly nervous. Years of abuse at the hands of the dominants in her pack have left her with a severe distrust of them all. And Charles is as dominant-alpha as it gets. 
 I don't want to say too much more, and risk ruining the story. Anna ended up being one of my favorite heroines, ever. She's so incredibly strong, in a much different way than I think we're used to seeing in our UF heroines. She's perfect for Charles. Someone to loosen him up a bit, give him life outside of his position for his father, and most importantly, give him joy. He's also perfect for her. 
 By the end of this novella I knew that Charles and Anna could do anything together, and couldn't wait to dive into Cry Wolf.