Alpha Showdown 2018 Championship Round: Mercy Thompson vs. Kate Daniels

Update: The round is now closed and your 2018 Alpha Showdown Champion is Kate Daniels. The final count was 63% Kate, 37% Mercy. Thanks to all who voted for making this another great battle!

This is it!

The final round!

And it’s going to be a good one!

When the dust settles, we’ll either have our second consecutive female Showdown Champion or our first repeat Champion. (To see how we got here, check out the bracket.)

But first you’ll have to choose between two of our favorite heroines from two of our favorite authors. Mercy Thompson defeated Mad Rogan by the narrowest of margins (possibly ever) to advance to this final round. Kate Daniels beat out Adam Hauptman with 64% of the votes in her semi-final match. Now these two formidable female Alphas will face off for the Alpha Showdown title.

Did I mention that this round is also a rematch of last year’s finals? It was a close one with Kate earning 58% of the vote. Will Mercy get her revenge this year?

You have 48 hours to vote using the Rafflecopter form at the bottom of the post. You’ll also be entered in this round’s giveaway.

Mercy Thompson vs. Kate Daniels

Mercy Thompson
You know her from the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs
First appeared in Moon Called
Supernatural Status: Native American walker

Championed by Beth from VBC
Find her at @biblioholicbeth on Twitter

Mercy Thompson is unique—she is a Native American walker, so she can shift into a coyote at will. While many would not be willing to pit a coyote against other creatures such as vampires or werewolves, it is those coyote qualities that will give her a leg up (HA!) here.

While Mercy doesn’t have magic of her own, she can use the pack bond to access THEIR magic. In addition, she is immune to most magic—so anyone attempting to use their magic to best her had better have a backup plan. And unlike most, Mercy can see ghosts—and command them.

Like the coyote, Mercy is quick and smart. She may not be as strong as some of the other creatures, but she can find her way around almost any rule, and she is incredibly adaptable. Like the original Native American Coyote, she can—and will—use deception to achieve her goals. She knows her strengths—and her weaknesses—so she also carries a gun, just in case. She is also mechanically inclined, which is helpful. Just watch any Scooby Doo episode to know how important it is to be able to fix a broken vehicle before all hell breaks loose.

Also like the coyote, Mercy is “highly flexible in social organization” and that works to her advantage. She has varied friends and family—werewolves, a gremlin, and even a vampire. There are few that can take on Mercy and her group and hope to come out on top. She is also fiercely determined and has a lot of heart—she will fight for what she believes in, and she is willing to die for it. That heart, believed by opponents to be a weakness, becomes the last mistake they will ever make. She is loyal to her loved ones—and they are loyal to her.

Mercy Thompson is unique—and that is her biggest strength. She embodies her animal form even when human, and those she faces often underestimate her because of her size and lack of magic. They do so at their peril. Mercy is a force of nature—and a force to be reckoned with. Add in her friends and family? She may be damaged, even close to death, but she will be damn sure she takes her enemy with her if she goes.

Kate Daniels
You Know Her From: Kate Daniels Series by Ilona Andrews
First Appeared In: Magic Bites
Supernatural Status: Magical Sword-wielding Badass

Championed by Amy from VBC

All Hail the returning Champion!!

That’s right folks, last year’s winner is back to defend her title!

So why vote for Kate again this year?

As if I even need to answer that question, but here we go:

It’s because everyone knows Kate is the only Alpha on this list who could easily best any of the other contenders. Vampire? Staked it. Shifter? Beat it. Mage? Ensorcelled it. God? Banished it. Etc., etc.

And as of this year we can add badass mother to this list! Nothing is fiercer than a mother and I think this new addition only adds another advantage for Kate. When the stakes are higher she’ll fight harder.

There is nothing that Kate has faced that she’s backed away from, no fight that she didn’t triumph. Even putting herself in the line of fire to protect the innocent and those she loves, and she’s got an equal number of people who support and love her right back.

We’ve seen her push back against her megalomaniac father and come out on top time and time again, and each time she gets stronger. But unlike her equally powerful father, Kate doesn’t let her power go to her head. She could probably build towers and be the precursor to the rise and fall of civilizations, but she doesn’t take that path. She remains humble and modest preferring to do what is right and just.

You obviously know Kate is worthy of the Alpha Champion title since last year she was the first female winner. Let’s give her another first and make her the Two Time Consecutive Alpha Showdown Champion! Has a nice ring to it huh? 😉

VOTE

Remember, you only have 48 hours to vote using the Rafflecopter form. (Once you log in the poll is the first entry.) Plus, your vote unlocks more chances to win awesome books. Voting in the 2018 Alpha Showdown Championship round needs a good prize right? So one lucky VBC reader is going to get three hot pre-orders. We’ll pre-order Kindle copies of Shadow’s Bane by Karen Chance (out July 31), Slaying It by Chloe Neill (out July 17), and Rogue Souls by Chelsea Mueller (out July 9), and you’ll get to have new urban fantasy novels throughout July!

Convince your friends to back your candidate using #AlphaShowdown and feel free to share your opinions in the comments.

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