Alpha Showdown 2017 Round 2: Curran vs. Bones

Update: With 68% of the vote, Curran wins this round and advances in the Alpha Showdown. 

Every year the Alpha Showdown gets harder. (We probably say this a lot, but it doesn’t make it not true…) Well, today’s one of the what?! how can you make me choose? rounds. It’s two long-running fan favorites: Curran from Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels series and Bones from Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress.

You’ll have to decide who to back: the mighty werelion against the vampire.

Shit’s about to get real.

The competition is stiff this year (peek at the bracket), but the winner is all up to VBC readers. Each round is open for 48 hours. The winner advances.

CURRAN

You know him from: Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews
First appeared in: Magic Bites (VBC Review | Amazon)
Supernatural status: A werelion shapeshifter—an Atrox lion, to be precise. A Prime, and extremely hard to kill. Plus once he ate a god because it seemed like the right thing to do, so perhaps even impossible.

Championed by: Joanna at Red Hot Books | @jolievinesx

Here, kitty, kitty, kitty. Curran owns this competition, you know it, he knows it, and he’s so chill about it he’s reclining on his massive bed while his measly competitors sweat it round back. In fact the Beast Lord of Atlanta is so untroubled he’s using the downtime ‘tween rounds to raise an army, at the same time dealing with the politics that come from being just So Damn Alpha.

His lordship, the Leader of the Southern Shapechanger Faction, is an egotistical control freak, but with his credentials plus the multitude of powerful shifters he has to dominate, it’s the only way to be. Can you imagine getting in the way of a rampaging Kodiak bear because that’s your job? Curran can.

What? You’ve not met before? Let’s make introductions. You’re in for a treat.

“The rage of the Beast Lord was a terrible thing to behold. Some people stormed, some punched things, but Curran slipped into this icy, bone-chilling calm. His face hardened into a flat mask, and his eyes turned into a molten inferno of pure gold. If you looked at it for longer than two seconds, your muscles locked, your knees shook, and you had to fight to keep from cringing.”

This lion is not only royalty, responsible for uniting the Pack at the tender age of fifteen, but he is one sexy, muscle-bound, generous and funny guy. Loyal to a fault, and with explosive power, you want the Lord of the Free People in your corner.

With gray eyes that turn gold when he’s cruising for a fight, his blond furriness is a head-turner as well as a deadly killer. He lives in the Keep, his fortified stronghold outside of Atlanta, if you were thinking of popping around for a bite. Still looking to beat him? Can you hear the crowd laughing from the battlements?

Flirting with constant danger in being the partner and mate of Kate Daniels, our boy is no slack in the sack or on the battlefield. Our fast healing friend bench-presses a mean 700, can tear a Maserati to pieces with his bare hands, and can switch between being a man, a massive werelion, or a freakish half form, capable of smashing up mountains when Kate pisses him off. Which is often.

Curran is a knight in furry armor. Underestimate him at your cost.

Or don’t. He’s got this. And he knows it.

“The lion opened his mouth, showing his big teeth. Yes, yes, you’re bad. We know, Your Majesty.”

BONES

You know him from: The Night Huntress series by Jeannine Frost
First appeared in: Halfway to the Grave (VBC Review | Amazon)
Supernatural status: Vampire

Championed by: Jenn from VBC

There’s a reason that Bones is a regular on the Alpha Showdown bracket. He’s Strong. Loyal. Funny. And contains more raw sex appeal than any other alpha featured. Bones is everything you want in an alpha. Hell, he’s so alpha that other alpha’s on this bracket (cough…Vlad…cough) are loyal to him.

If I didn’t think Cat would stake first ask questions later, I’d steal that man, well Vampire of hers.

No one beats Bones in the loyalty department. From the moment Cat tries to kill him, he would do anything for her. Kill anyone for her. Wait years for her to come to her senses when she left him. She’s his Kitten and he’s highly possessive of her.

And it’s just not his loyalty to Cat. It’s the loyalty he gives and gets from those who surround him. Just look at the list of alphas who always have Bones back: Ian, Mencheres, Cat, and when he feels like it, Vlad. That’s a strong army to control, but Bones is so alpha that he has earned respect from each and every one.

Bones is a bastard, and he embraces that very part of himself. It makes Bones who he is. Even when things aren’t going his way, Bones never sees anything but victory. He fights dirty. He’ll kick you when you’re down. He’ll hunt you to the end of the earth to make sure he wins. A fight with Bones isn’t a fair one, but what else would you expect from a very old vampire that has survived being staked, burned, shot, beaten, and left for dead?

Remember a vote for Bones guarantees Cat won’t run a stake through your heart. Save your life make Bones the Alpha Showdown Champion.

VOTE & WIN

Since these are two of my personal faves, I’m going to dig into the vault and pull out a signed copy of Borrowed Souls by Chelsea Mueller. It’s magic and mayhem and delightful, gritty urban fantasy fun. If you like Ilona and Jeaniene, you’re probably going to like it. Vote for your alpha pick below, and you’ll be entered to win the signed book. (After voting, you’ll get options for additional entries into the contest, but the only one required is to vote in the Alpha Showdown.)

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