All characters and world belongs to author Patricia Briggs. I'm writing a series of short passages from interludes in her Alpha and Omega novels. While I'm doing this just for fun, criticism is welcome if you think I'm getting any of the Characters or storyline wrong.

This story occurs after the first novel but before the second. Bran is getting his Montana Pack together for a big hunt in the woods at dusk of the night of the full moon. Anna encounters a surprise visitor when she strays too far from the rest of the pack.

Charles is woken by a soft nudge at his cheeks and Anna's scent as her hair falls softly across his face. He breathes in deeply, inhaling the unique smell of Anna, a combination of the Montana woodlands, Charles, the shampoo she uses which is fruity and spicy at the same time and the smell of her. His little miracle, who saved him from years of loneliness.

Anna nudged him again and he peered down at her. In the early mornings grey light that fell through the curtains he could see her wolf's pale blue eyes peeking through under her eyelids. It looked like his little wolf had woken up earlier than Anna this morning and wanted to wake him up too.

"Hey there, little trouble maker" Charles' said, voice still deep with sleep and rumbling them both as she now lay on top of him. When had she moved from his side? Charles guessed he hadn't noticed, let his guard down with her. His little miracle.

Charles circled his arms around her and pulled her close to his chest. She allowed this only momentarily before wriggling free and sitting upright on his chest, his arms pinned under her knees. She smiled down at him and tilted her head to the side, a wolf-like gesture and invitation to play. Anna's wolf couldn't speak when in charge of her human form so he had to read her body language closely.

Charles wiggled his hips pathetically and said finally, "you're too strong for me! You've got me trapped and helpless" while grinning up at her. Anna's wolf rolled her eyes impatiently- a very human gesture, and dug her knees into his arms painfully hard and tried again to goad him. This time he decided to play. He flexed his arms up and threw her off balance, quickly he threw her off him and managed to pin her arms gently above her head. She wiggled and squirmed under him before finally laying still and lifting her chin at him, which he kissed tenderly, releasing her arms as well.

Charles always had to be careful when Anna's wolf wanted to play. While her wolf had no fear of him, her human side had been brutalized and raped by her previous pack, so he always had to make sure she didn't go into a panic, didn't push her human side too far while still pleasing her wolf. Apparently not a problem this morning. Anna's wolf was firmly in charge at the moment, and he could feel through their mate bond that Anna was still blissfully asleep and unaware of her wolf's antics. Charles decided to get them both up and moving before things went too far.

He stood up from the bed, pulling Anna gently with him and gave her another kiss on her nose.

"Come on she-wolf, lets have some breakfast at least, if you insist on waking me up" and he walked out to the kitchen, Anna trailing behind him. Charles started heating up the pan on the stove deciding on a big breakfast this morning. He glanced over at Anna who was sitting naked on the couch and looking at him, still from pale-blue wolf eyes. Charles was slightly concerned, it was unusual for Anna not to take control by now. He reached through his mate bond to find her human half there, wide awake but letting her wolf run the show for now.

Charles relaxed and cracked some eggs over the pan, falling into a cooking routine while Anna watched patiently from the couch. After breakfast was finished he carried two plates loaded with bacon, eggs, bread, tomatoes and mushrooms over to the couch. Charles sat on the couch and looked at Anna. Her wolf must be excited about the hunt tonight, the night of the full moon. It was normal for wolves to get antsy this close to the full moon, and Anna hadn't hunted for a while. Charles tapped Anna on the nose gently and said "It's time for me to speak to your other half now please"

Anna's wolf stared blankly at him for a few seconds, then he noticed her eyes slowly changing from pale blue to warm chocolate brown. Anna grinned at him in a way that made her freckles bunch up together and warmed his heart. "Eat" he said motioning to the plate of food in front of her before digging in to his own mountain of bread. Anna groaned after eating about half of what was on her plate,

"I can't eat any more! You're always force-feeding me. You're going to have a fat wife one day" she said holding her belly, which like all wolves was toned and not at all fat.

Charles looked sternly at her, "one more piece of bread, and then you can go".

Anna grinned again at him, "yessir".

After finishing breakfast Anna got dressed, washed the dishes and did some half-hearted cleaning around the house while Charles worked some of the Pack Finances on his high-tech laptop, which Anna still didn't know how to use. Anna was very wired up today and Charles guessed the hunt tonight would do her good, if she could manage to hold out until then without driving herself insane.

"Why don't you see if Asil needs any help in his greenhouse?" Charles said finally, after Anna had circled the kitchen table for the third time. While Charles wolf didn't like the idea of Anna going over to see Asil- who had made moves on her when he first met her- he knew that he couldn't box Anna in. And Asil knew Anna was his, and had no real intentions on her beyond trying to goad Charles. Asil was clever and would see Anna's frustration and manage to entertain her for a while. "I still have some work to do here but I shouldn't be long- I'll come by when I'm finished" Charles said finally, satisfying Brother Wolf's need to protect Anna by showing up in Asil's territory.

Anna shook her head at him smiling, "Asil will love that..." but bounced out the door regardless, now given something to do. Charles felt a senseless pang of jealously that she was so eager to leave him- and then smiled at the thought that someone could ever make him feel jealous again. His miracle woman.

Anna's feet crunched against the snow as she stepped out of the house and breathed in the cold air scented by pine and woodlands- untainted by pollution and the mix of complicated smells that accompanied any city. Anna could see why Charles and his Da loved this place. Or any of the older wolves in the pack for that matter. But Anna was more apathetic about it than most. She grew up in the city and sometimes missed it. But she was omega, and adaptable. She fit in here just as well as her own city, and could live just about anywhere and feel like a local. That's just the way an omega was. Anna started for the car but stopped when she realized she hadn't grabbed the keys on the way out. Or a warm jacket for that matter. She decided to walk, Asil's wasn't far and she needed to burn off some energy.

Anna had been walking for about 5 minutes when she noticed a man standing quite away from her near some pines on the other side of the icy road. She squinted at him, not trying to hide it based on her assumption that she would know who it was. This town was so small that everybody knew everybody and they all knew her. The man was unfamiliar so she kept walking. Again, another ten minutes went by when she spotted him, still far enough away that it could be a coincidence. Charles had made her paranoid probably, so she shrugged it off. While it was unusual to see strangers in the town it wasn't unheard of. Some truckers stop by for food, as well as hard core hikers out to brave the mountainside. Anna couldn't shake the feeling that he was stalking her though... That she was prey and he a predator. It was stupid, because any wolf would know better than to attack Charles' mate, and no human would stand a chance against her. She tried to shrug away the feeling. Anna was fast approaching Asils house, still thinking of the stranger. She knocked on the door and waited but there was no reply so she headed towards his greenhouse, where he was more often than not.

Anna walked straight into the greenhouse while Asil was still focused on grooming the bright yellow roses in front of him, back to her. She didn't bother announcing herself as she came in because Asil would have heard her approaching from the house, if not the road. The fact that she didn't announce herself could have also been a play for dominance- if it had been anyone but her it probably was. But Omegas just weren't like that, and she felt no need to establish herself or be submissive either. Anna approached Asil while he continued to do his best to ignore her.

"Charles will be coming by to pick me up after he's finished working" Anna said finally, mostly to get a reaction from Asil. And it worked.

Asil turned to her and groaned with his hand over his eyes dramatically as though Charles' coming to his house was worse than the plague.

"Senorita! While you are a pleasant breeze on a hot summers day, must you bring that lumbering ape with you?" he said, looking intently at her as though expecting her to agree with his assessment of Charles.

"Alas, the man follows me wherever I go! To keep unscrupulous men at bay, I think" Anna replied, playing along with Asil's dramatic nature.

"Are you accusing me, sweet omega?" Asil says, eyes lighting up and laughing honestly at Anna's boldness.

"Auribus teneo lupum!" Anna responds earnestly.

"You hold a wolf by the ears?" Asil enquired, translating her (bad) latin phrase.

"Dangerous to hold on, dangerous to let go. Yes, you are an unscrupulous man Asil" Anna said, lying.

Asil wagged his finger at her, "Charles should be teaching you to lie better by now" he says, as though Anna could ever pull off lying to a wolf of his age and experience. Anna paused thoughtfully and said finally, "Fine. You are an unscrupulous wolf, Asil" and they both knew she wasn't lying.

Asil sighed and clutched his heart as though Anna had done great harm to his feelings, but he just as quickly dropped the act and returned to face his flowers.

"So what brings you here today?" He says.

"Boredom? Charles kicked me out of the house" Anna replies.

Asil laughs, "As if Charles would ever willingly part with you. If he could, he would wrap you up and take you with him wherever he went and make sure you never left his side. Any leaving was done due to your own will"

"I'm just feeling restless. Full moon and all. I'm holding out for the hunt tonight" Anna replies, feeling her wolf leap in excitement at the mention of the hunt. "I'm not used to feeling so out of control, the moons pull is unusually strong for me this time." Anna said and shook her head clearing it.

Asil laughed and said to Anna, "The way you are feeling now, so out of control, is the way all dominant wolves feel, all the time. Well, not all the time, not when an omega such as yourself is around to soothe our wolves. It is why having an omega in your pack is such a gift".

Anna thought about it, that the way she was feeling could be a constant thing for most dominant wolves and was glad she was able to relieve some of the tension for them. She decided to move the conversation anyway.

"Have there been any backpackers or climbers staying at the motel lately?" Anna asked, her curiosity again peaked by the stranger she saw. There was only one place to stay in this town and the town was virtually isolated so it would be the only choice for people passing through.

"No, too cold for most climbers at the moment. Too dangerous. That motel is a ghost town. Save for a young wolf in the safety room whose lost some control and had to be put in overnight" Asil replied.

"Maybe I should visit him.." Anna said absently, mind still on the stranger. Her sense of being stalked by him could have been wrong, could have been a side effect of the moons pull. She tried to put it out of her mind. Only a few hours now and the hunt would be on...

This story turned out longer than I expected, got carried away writing the first bit, so the actual hunt will be in part 2 of the story.