Alpha Showdown 2017 Round 14: Mercy Thompson vs. Vlad

Update: Wow! The Mercy Thompson fans came out in force for this one. With 72 percent of the vote, she is the winner and will advance to the finale!

We’re almost there, guys. The Alpha Showdown 2017 is getting close. As in the alpha who wins this round goes on to the final match. Literally one fight away from a chance at the title.

Big stakes. Maybe we shouldn’t say stakes, because one of our contenders is a vampire. The original vampire Vlad from Jeaniene Frost’s Night Prince series. He wouldn’t flinch, though, as long as we don’t call him Dracula.

Mercy Thompson has fought hard in this series. Vlad didn’t have to defeat his spouse to advance. Mercy? Oh, she won her match against Adam Hauptman.

Still picking between everyone’s favorite coyote shifter and vampire extrodinaire isn’t going to be easy. Good thing it’s on you guys. The winner is up to VBC readers.

This round is open for 48 hours. The winner will advance to the final round.

MERCY THOMPSON

You know her from: The Mercy Thompson Series by Patricia Briggs
First appeared in: Moon Called (VBC Review | Amazon)
Supernatural status: walker/coyote shifter, daughter of the trickster god Coyote

Championed by: Margaret from VBC

In Patricia Briggs’s latest Mercy Thompson novel, Fire Touched, Mercy describes herself as, “as vulnerable as any human. My superpower consisted of transforming into a thirty-five pound coyote.” Why do we think she deserves to be an Alpha Showdown champion then?

Right after she said that, Mercy went off to battle a troll. She rescued an injured woman and her baby, shot the troll in the eye, and stabbed it in its big, green troll junk. She defended her unconscious husband with nothing but a stick and a bottle of essential oil. Mercy’s faced vampires, river monsters, and Fairy Queens and come out on top.

Mercy has a unique relationship with magic. She can see ghosts, where most supernaturals in her world can’t. She can tap into pack magic, even though she’s not a werewolf. And she can wield weapons meant for only the Fae. Her god-forged walking stick always appears when she needs it. She’s kind of a special snowflake, but it also makes her unpredictable.

I would also argue that shapeshifting is not Mercy’s only superpower. She’s also incredibly stubborn. Mercy never gives up, even though she winds up nearly dead at the end of so many of her books. She doesn’t do what’s expected. I mean, she’s an auto mechanic. She defies authority, mostly the Marrok’s, by knowing the rules and finding the loopholes. So she’s not only smart, but sneaky. She has to be to survive in a world where everyone else is bigger and stronger. That’s why she also carries a gun.

Mercy’s got a werewolf pack at her back and allies in every corner of the supernatural world—vampires, witches, and Fae. She stands up against evil, even when it’s kicking her ass. So while she may be the underdog, don’t count Mercy out. This coyote’s still got plenty of tricks up her sleeve.

VLAD

You know him from: the Night Prince series by Jeaniene Frost
First appeared in: As a side character in At Grave’s End (Night Huntress #3), as the main character in Once Burned (VBC Review | Amazon)
Supernatural status: He is the OG vampire

Championed by: Scandal of Scandalicious Book Reviews

In a world of cold, pasty vamps, Vlad Tepesh is hot, like pyrokinesis hot—he can control fire. Vlad is literally smoking hot, all the time. He lights up a room, he’ll burn down the house, I swear, the jokes just write themselves here. Sadly, Vlad would not enjoy my humor at all. He’s so alpha, he scoffs at silly humor. I don’t know that I’ve ever been so intimidated by a character’s masculinity as I am by Vlad Tepesh. Vlad wins the alpha contest because he is, is the epitome of old school badass, in fact, he may have originated the concept of alpha. I think the best way to show you how alpha this guy is to let him tell you himself. He might be smoking hot on the outside but he is stone cold alpha badass on the inside. Vlad learned very early on not to show emotions. Emotions can be used against you but the love of a good woman, makes this Alpha say things, protective, intense things like this…

“I want no misunderstanding between us. I am everything you think I am, but I love your daughter, and what I love, I protect with all of the violence in me, which, as you’ve guessed, is considerable.”

Another quality of a strong alpha is his ability to love, and express his love. Don’t get me wrong, Vlad doesn’t shy away from the evil glares and grunts, but when he feels, he feels it deep and makes all of the ladies swoon.

“When I heard the ghouls coming for you, all I cared about was reaching you in time. How often must I tell you that you mean more to me than vengeance? I can live without defeating my enemies, but I cannot live without you…I love you, which is why I intend to lock you inside the house as soon as we’re home.”

Priorities people, priorities. But hey, if you disagree with my assessment of Vlad’s level of alpha badassery, feel free to take it up with him, I’m sure he has a stake with your name on it. Vlad Tepesh can’t be beat.

VOTE & WIN

If you’re voting in this round you love good vampires and shifters. So how about today’s giveaway be something that brings a good, paranormal vibe. I’ve got one copy of Kate Baxter’s The Untamed Vampire for a lucky VBC reader. You must vote in this round to be entered, but any additional entries after that (like by tweeting or commenting) are optional.

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