Hunting Ground / Patricia Briggs

Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs (an Alpha and Omega novel: 2). 286 p.

This series takes place in the same setting as the Mercy Thompson books, but focuses on different characters--all werewolves. Briggs focuses on the political and social ramifications of werewolf nature, which I find pretty interesting in her setting. Werewolf packs are all about pecking orders and who's dominant. Humans who become werewolves have to learn to deal with their own wolf-natures; to some degree a werewolf's wolf side is a separate personality from that werewolf's human side. In some cases a couple's wolves end up mated, but the human sides of the pairing don't get along. The main couple in this series, Charles and Anna, married almost immediately after meeting, because she was vulnerable and their wolves declared themselves mates, but Anna and Charles, the humans, are still getting to know each other. I like the Mercy Thompson books better because I like Mercy the character more, but these books are fun and well done.