Alpha and Omega "Cry Wolf" by Patricia Briggs

Alpha and Omega book “Cry wolf” by Patricia Briggs

A spin-off from of the Mercy Thompson books, this series follows the son of Bran (leader of the wolves in America), Charles and his mate Anna. Both Bran and his sons Charles and Samuel are recurring character in the Mercy Thompson series, but this book focuses solely on Charles and his mate Anna, and we learn more about Bran and his sons. “Cry Wolf” is actually a continuation of a short story titled “Alpha and Omega”. 

Author Patricia Briggs wrote a collection of short stories set in the Mercy Thompson world. The first short story titled “Silver” tells the origin story of Bran, whose mother was a witch and turned him and his son Samuel into werewolves. It’s an interesting story that offers more insight into Bran as a character. The short story Alpha and Omega is about how Charles and Anna meet at her old pack. The book “Cry Wolf”, picks up right where the short story left off, and explores the budding relationship between Charles and Anna.

Anna is a shy girl, that had been mistreated by her old pack and is uncomfortable being with a man. Charles is the son of the Alpha of all wolves in America, and is himself an Alpha, and not used to someone like Anna. It’s revealed in the short story that Anna is an Omega wolf, which means she has unique qualities that other wolves don’t possess. As an Omega, Anna isn’t compelled to follow the orders or influences of an Alpha. Omegas can also influence others wolves themselves but are similar to Submissive wolves. Omegas are rare, and they are born that way.

This book explores new areas of wolves and the history of werewolves. This book also introduces a character named Azreal, also known as the Moor. This character shows up in the 7^th Mercy Thompson book, “Frost Burned”. Having known the character first in that series, it was interesting to learn his backstory in this book. The Moor is a character that lost his wife centuries ago, and she was an Omega wolf. Ever since The Moor joined Bran’s pack, he’s been trying to get Bran to kill him. After the events of this book, I think the Moor gets some closure, and then we see how he’s moved on in “Frost Burned.”

The main plot of this book is that there have been sightings of werewolves in the mountains and Bran sends Charles to investigate. Charles and Anna discover a rogue wolf, that just wants to be left alone, but is not the killer they are looking for. Then they discover a witch who has created a golem that looks like The Moor’s dead wife. The witch is connected to The Moor’s past and is the reason of his wife’s death. The Moor figures this out and then tries to go and help Charles.

Ultimately, I found this book to be a bit boring, and w

hile interesting past details and histories of some characters, I had a hard time getting through this book. The witch villain plot was kind of confusing and all over the place. The relationship between Charles and Anna is not well done. I understand that being a ‘fated mate’ is something that wolves can’t control, but that doesn’t explain Anna just getting over her past trauma so easily. They do a good job of showing that she cares for his physical wounds, and that Charles is being patient with her emotional situation. However, I just don’t feel any chemistry between the characters, and Anna agrees to marriage too easily.

Overall, I think the idea of a spin-off series set in the world of Mercy Thompson is a great idea, I just think this book wasn’t well executed. I found the short story to be more compelling than the book. Since I wasn’t big on this book, and I read the first few chapters of the second book and couldn’t get into it, I’m going to shelve this series for a while, and move on to other books that I want to read. So, look forward to new posts, and hopefully some short stories as well. Thank you for reading, and be sure to leave a comment below, or you can help a struggling writer by buying me a coffee here https://www.buymeacoffee.com/TheChosenGirl