I tripped over this novella and only read it because I love Briggs' Mercy Thompson books.  Wow.  I put it down, thought about it, and re-read it.  Anna  and Charles have become two of my favorite characters in the Marrok's world!  Anna lives and breathes from the first page, where she's walking home from a dead end job as a waitress in an Italian restaurant on Thanksgiving Day!  By the time she's home and reading a news article about a missing boy, a boy she knows was changed without his consent and sold to a laboratory, her character is revealed in spades.  She picks up the phone and calls the Marrok's number, knowing he will do something about it, also knowing that if her Alpha finds out she told, he'll kill her - or worse.  Then there is her first meeting with Charles, the Marrok's son and enforcer, at the airport!  It's a scene you will never forget!  It's the start of the most unlikely - and the most tender love story, that I've ever read!  By the way, Science Fiction Book Club had an edition called ALPHA AND OMEGA which starts with this novella and includes the next three full length novels.  You can also find it second hand on-line, or all of them are on Kindle.  Just don't miss it!  It's that good!