Note: This is a fanfic of Patricia Brigg's 'Alpha and Omega' series featuring Anna and Charles. All characters and world settings belong to Patricia Briggs.

This is a scene after the first novel 'Cry Wolf' after Leah (Brans mate) has met Charles' new mate Anna and falls under her omega influences. Leah is angry and confused after this encounter and returns home to face Bran.

Leah slammed the door behind her as she rushed out of Charles' house and into the cold Montana wind. The frosty air made the tears on her cheeks freeze, another cold reminder of the humiliation she had just endured. Leah bent the car door handle in her fury as she hauled herself inside the expensive Jeep owned by the Montana Pack and twisted the keys into ignition, her teeth chattering in a mixture of cold, rage and sadness as she swerved the car out of the driveway. Leah headed home to face the Alpha of the Montana Pack, Charles' father, Anna's father in law and her husband and mate, Bran.

Bran knelt candidly by the large brick fireplace in his lounge, patiently coaxing the small flames to grow and warm the house. The practice was familiar from a time long ago before electric heaters, and Bran missed the frustration and satisfaction from trying to coax a fire to life. Bran stopped his thoughts before they fell back into the old times- it was dangerous for a wolf of his age to be caught up in thoughts of the past. Bran managed to make the flames grow and crackle into life just as he felt the familiar tug of his mate bond with Leah. Lately the feeling was becoming a constant annoyance in his life. Leah had always had a bad temper, but she seemed to be only getting more and more temperamental as the days wore on. Bran could feel the anger and sadness from his mate creep into him. When he awoke early in the morning to attend to pack business with his sons he could feel her stare coldly at him as he stood naked by their bed, as he turned away he could feel her eyes claw into his back. Worse was when he turned to her to stroke her naked skin she would turn away from him and rather than anger he would feel only unending sadness from his mate. So he stopped touching her.

What could he do? He could not love her. Not as he loved Charles' mother, Blue Jay woman. But he needed her all the same. His wolf needed a mate, and his wolf and Leah's were as close as any mated pair he'd met. His wolf had chosen Leah out of necessity. A woman of strength and stamina who would stand by Bran for his power and position. But at her core, a selfish and stupid woman who Bran could never truly love, never truly mourn or miss if anything should happen. Not as he mourned Blue Jay Woman, who he still missed to this day. Whose loss nearly drove him out of his mind and into a reckless killing spree. Only Blue Jay Woman's last gift to him, a son named Charles, stopped his murderous side. Bran pulled all thoughts of Blue Jay Woman from his mind at his Wolf's admonishment- his wolf lived in the present not the past, and at present, their mate was pulling into the curb and storming up the driveway angrily.

Bran sighed and stood up, sending his Alpha power throughout the room in order to subdue Leah when she stepped in the door- not a tactic he usually employed. Bran usually favoured appearing weaker than he actually was- but when Leah got in one of her moods he found he usually had to pull out all the tricks in the book- which usually meant using his Alpha powers against her. At first Bran had felt bad about using this tactic, knowing Leah's wolf had no choice but to bow to his authority, he thought it was cheating in a married couples daily fights. But as the fights became more regular and disruptive, instant obedience became easier for the both of them.

Leah swung the door open and stared angrily at Bran.

"She's an omega" she whispered, tears still escaping her eyes, years of sadness and anger bursting through her wolf's defences and laying bare for Bran to see.

Bran stared at her, meeting her eyes and challenging her.

Leah dropped her eyes immediately but with anger still radiating from her body posture she said harshly at the floor,

"You should have told me".

And with that Leah stormed into the bedroom to sulk on her own.

Bran felt relief that the fight was only short but sadness at what Leah's words implied. How long had he waited to tell his son Samuel that Charles' new mate was omega? Maybe all of three seconds. Even most of the other members of the pack knew. But not his mate. Bran sighed and rubbed his hand across his eyes suddenly feeling very tired. Clearly his thoughts of Blue Jay Woman and the wrongness in his and Leah's mate bond had been brought out unintentionally by Anna's encounter with Leah which travelled through to his side of the bond. Leah's wolf had held back all of Leah's human emotions for a long time. Sadness in knowing that Bran never truly loved her. Anger that he shared nothing with her. Anna had brought all of that to the forefront and now there was nothing he could do about it except let his wolf take charge, at least in the case of his relationship. Bran chuckled to himself that his wolf could be better at human relations than his human side, but in the case with Leah and her wolf, it was certainly true. Brans wolf would only do what was necessary and wouldn't hurt his mate.

Bran faced the window and his reflection and watched his eyes turn wolf gold- Bran took a back seat as his wolf promised to make things right with Leah. Bran stalked to the bedroom and opened the door quietly. Leah was curled up on the bed, appearing small and innocent. At that moment Brans heart reached out to her, and his wolf gently touched her neck, coaxing Leah's wolf out just as he had the flames in the fireplace. When Leah turned to face him her eyes were golden as well as her wolf took charge, and she nipped his ear gently. Bran rubbed his nose against hers and their bodies pressed together as man and woman once more, mending the bond wolf to wolf.

Bran and Leah both knew that in that night nothing was fixed. But they took comfort in the warmth of each others bodies and the familiarity of their wolves together again. Their human sides would just have to endure.