Annoying Alphas

What is it about those infernal alpha males that keeps us reading? Do we love to hate them? Are we waiting for them to redeem themselves? Waiting for the heroine to open a can of whop-ass? What is it?

I'm reading a book right now with an alpha hero who I have nicknamed "dickhead". He is a vampire, a dark prince, with a massive attitude from centuries of being treated as if every word out of his mouth is verbal gold. No one disputes any of his demands they just go off and do his bidding, even if they don't agree. He is egotistical, selfish and jaded. A total jerk!

The heroine is the exact opposite. She is compassionate, giving and naive. He bound her to him without getting consent, turned her for selfish reasons, and every time she asks him questions about what he's done to her or about his people and their beliefs, dickhead changes the subject to avoid answering. She's very independent, accustomed to being alone, and still she stays with him. Grrrrrr!

I want to cuss him out, smack him upside the head with this heavy book. I want the heroine to get a backbone and kick hiss ass! I want nothing more than to feed the pages, one by one, into my paper shredder while laughing maniacally. Yet I keep reading, devouring every word, simultaneously captivated and annoyed.

Why? Because it’s fabulous! Any book with the ability to draw such intense emotion from a reader is priceless. I love it when a book can increase my heart rate and get me so wound up in the story that I feel invested in what happens. And he does have redeeming qualities, other than being a dark, sexy, alpha vamp.

Here in lies the real magic—balance. There is hope for dickhead. He is a man worth fighting for. A man worth keeping.

His actions prove that he wants to keep her safe, even when she messed up and puts herself in bad situations. His internal dialogue gives the reader a glimpse of the endless love and devotion he feels for the heroine. This is a man who would die for her and literally kept her alive through the sheer power of his will. Oh, and he’s beyond good in bed. *g* When he makes love to the heroine…whoo-damn! He’s still all alpha—primal, dangerous and exciting. And he’s not a total bully with her. Even though he wants to encase her in bubble wrap and keep her locked away safely in his home, he doesn’t.

I read one book which made me come close to throwing my precious ebook reader at the wall. The hero, a dragon, took the heroine as his "primary mate" but still has "lesser mates" who he would turn to in order to increase the dragon population. Just after claiming the heroine, one of the lesser mates shows up and he is all over her, right in front of the heroine. OMG! I was so angry my chest got tight and I broke out in a cold sweat. And I didn't even like the heroine. She was a slut at the beginning of the book. But my feelings of outrage were so strong they affected me physically. I have a love/hate relationship with that story. Eventually, I came to grips with the fact that in the hero’s culture this was the expected behavior. He changed for the heroine, wanted to do so to please her, and in doing so, he won me over by the end of the book.

What about you? Have you experienced books that brought out intense, conflicting emotions? Are there alphas characters who you have a love/hate relationship with? That's what it all boils down to for me. A part of me wants a semi-alpha man like in the books. One who will desire only me and would sacrifice everything for me. One whose first priority is taking care of me and who puts me first. Strong, capable, dominant but not domineering. Someone who can get me riled, in more way than one. Yup, I want the fantasy! Doesn't every woman?