WOW! The finale to this series was all I hoped it would be and more! This book was pretty intense! I laughed, I cried, I got angry... it was quite the emotional roller coaster. Rachel Vincent nailed it! Her writing pattern seems to be a kick ass book followed by an okay one and so on. Luckily, Shift was an okay one so the following one, Alpha, blew them all out of the water! Thus concludes (here's hoping not?) the werecat Shifters series. I think the story could go in so many directions from here; hopefully one day Rachel will find her way back to Faythe and the gang because I want more! 
 Alpha was incredible from the first page until the last. Not a dull moment in the South-Central Pride. Vincent even perfected the art of filling-in/ reminding readers of key details that were covered in the previous books. I noticed this immediately after having commented on the lack there of in my previous review of Shift. Granted, I did read the last three novels one after the other but it's always nice to get a refresher! The love triangle between Faythe, Marc and Jace drove me nuts! I HAD to know who her final choice was. Therefor, I must confess that I glanced briefly at the last page of the book for the answer. I know, I know! I cheated! But I just couldn't take the suspense any longer. 
 Again, this novel continues where the last one left off so I must emphasize that if you're interested in reading this book you should start at book one and work your way from there. 
 All of the alphas are gathered in Montana to vote on who will be the future head of the council. The Sanders family and allies are there to present evidence of Malone's treason, their biggest opponent and challenger. Unfortunately, things do not go as planned and Malone wins the majority of the votes after which he immediately begins his reign of terror. His first targets are of course the South-Central pride. This sets in motion a series of events which eventually lead to a full scale war between the opposing prides. A few heart breaking things happen in this final book that make it bitter sweet. 
 Faythe makes many hard decisions in Alpha, some for better and some for worse. The hardest one of them all was her decision on whether to choose Marc or Jace as her life partner. In the end she chose the man that she could not live without. She chose the one I was hoping she would but it didn't seem like she would for a while (thus why I cheated!). The novel ended with a bang but left me feeling sad that the series is over. Nonetheless, a great ending to a great series. 
 I definitely recommend this book and series to all urban fantasy readers. Even those who aren't as addicted to the genre as I am will get something out of it and maybe even get bitten with the para bug themselves. The Shifter series had its ups and downs for me but overall I am happy that I took this journey with Rachel Vincent and can only hope that one day she'll expand upon this world. If and when she does I'll be here ready and waiting to see where it will lead.