Mercy Thompson/Characters

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Mercedes Thompson

The protagonist and narrator of the main series. Mercy is a walker - a Native American shapeshifter. She can turn into a coyote at will, and has a few other abilities, such as enhanced senses even in human form.


Adam Hauptmann

Mercy's neighbor and Alpha of the Columbia Basin werewolf pack. There is romantic tension between the two over the first three books. They become mated in Bone Crossed, and married in River Marked. He became a werewolf during the Vietnam War, and now runs a private security firm.

Jessica "Jesse" Hauptman

Adam's daughter and one of Mercy's best friends. Regularly seen with hair colors that shouldn't occur in real life thanks to her fondness for hair dye.

Samuel Cornick

The Marrok's son and the pack doctor. He and Mercy were once an item, when Mercy was a teenager. He's the other third of the love triangle between her and Adam, and becomes her roommate. He's also much older than he appears.

Darryl

Adam's second, with a day job as a professor at the local college.

  • Ambiguously Brown: His parents are African-American and Chinese respectively. Mercy labels him as "exotic."
  • Genius Bruiser: Has a Ph.D in Chemistry, teaches at the local college, and is one of the people in the pack that nobody wants to piss off.
  • Happily Married
  • Not That Kind of Doctor
  • Real Men Cook: Breakfasts cooked by Darryl are considered a pack treat. He fresh-squeezes his own orange juice, and gets very testy if you say you don't like it.

Ben

A refugee from a British pack, who left after being accused of a string of brutal rapes. Initially something of a creepy misogynist, he mellows out a little under Adam and Mercy's care and prodding. Also serves as the pack's tech expert.

  • Country Matters: One of his favorite profanities, at first, until Adam makes him shut his mouth.
  • Deadpan Snarker
  • He-Man Woman Hater: Is initially extremely hostile to Mercy, including sexist profanity. Over the course of the books, he's toned it way down, and become one of Mercy's friends…but she still wouldn't trust him alone with her sisters.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Ben may be woman-hating, crude, and snarky…but he's thrown himself in front of bullets for Adam, and risked death and humiliation to talk sense into Adam after Mercy's rape, by revealing his own history of being molested as a child. He's also run into fire—literally—to try and save Mercy.
  • Rape as Backstory: Was accused of a series of rapes back in England that stopped when he left, but Adam vouches for the fact that he didn't do it. Also, was molested as a child, which contributes to his misogyny and crudity.

Warren

Adam's third, one of Mercy's best friends, and former lone wolf until Adam took him under his wing and into his pack. One of the few gay werewolves alive, due to the nasty combination of prejudice with wolf instincts. Currently in a relationship with divorce lawyer Kyle.

Stefan

Probably the least evil vampire around (vampires are always evil), and a friend of Mercy's. Has a van painted like Scooby Doo's Mystery Machine. A major character in Blood Bound and one of Mercy's only nearly normal friends.

Siebold "Zee" Adelbertsmiter aka "The Dark Smith of Drontheim."

Some sort of German fae who has metalworking magic He's not actually German. Calls himself a gremlin, though he is older than the term. Taught Mercy most of what she knows about cars, then sold her his shop. Comes in and runs it for her when she has other business.

  • Awesome but Practical: His metalworking powers. Being one of the few fae who can handle cold iron is one hell of an edge.
  • Badass Grandpa: Appears to be an older man when the glamour is on, is very, very old, and has a grown son…and is given a great deal of respect even by the Grey Lords of the fae.
  • Cool Old Guy
  • Cool Sword: Well, cool knife, really. It can change sizes and cut through pretty much anything, at the cost of growing hotter with each cut.
  • The Fair Folk
  • Meaningful Name: Well, we're pretty sure he killed Saint Adelbert, so...
  • Shrouded in Myth: Nobody's sure exactly what Zee's done…but it probably involved killing Saint Adelbert, and earning the title "The Dark Smith of Drontheim."
  • Names to Run Away From Really Fast

Bran Cornick, aka the Marrok

Leader of all the werewolves in North America. Mercy was raised in his pack. Believed to be slightly psychic. Is something of a father figure to Mercy, including scolding her when she does something stupid. Has a seriously dangerous side to him called the Berserker that inspired the Grendel and many other monsters, which he is at pains to keep locked away at all times. It is revealed in Alpha & Omega that he was born a witch with the power of telepathy but after his mother, who controlled him for so long, was killed part of his power was taken away so he can only send messages not receive them.

Charles Cornick

Sam's brother and Bran's younger son. Native American, born to a magical mother and father and thus has inherited some of her abilities. He's the also the Marrok’s accountant, second-in-command, and preferred hitman.

  • Beneath the Mask: With the mask on, he's a stone-cold killer who answers to no one but the Marrok. Under it, he's a talented musician and loving husband who deeply regrets the lives he has to take for the good of the packs.
  • Big Badass Wolf: He’s the wolf that gets sent to kill the wolves that go bad. You better believe he’s badass.
  • Cruel to Be Kind: Runs into this frequently. He's the one that the Marrok sends to hunt down and kill disobedient or out-of-control wolves…in order to save the packs and the mortal world from the dangers of an unrestrained werewolf.
  • The Dragon: For the Marrok.
  • Embarrassing Nickname: Two, from his grandfather: "He Who Must Run Into Trees" and "Running Eagle." A.K.A. "Too Dumb To Fly."
  • Genius Bruiser: When he's not out playing hit man, he's also his father's accountant and computer expert.
  • Good Is Not Nice: Have we mentioned that he's his father's enforcer? But the alternative is almost always much, much worse.
  • Happily Married
  • Hates Being Touched: Unless you're Anna. Then he can't get enough.
  • I Am What I Am: Eventually comes to terms with the fact that while he is a killer, he is also justice, and necessary for the wolf packs to function.
  • Insecure Love Interest: Worries constantly about whether or not his job makes him an unsuitable mate for Anna.
  • Lawful Good: By the laws of the Marrok, anyway.
  • Lightning Bruiser: Considered to be the fastest, toughest, and most skilled of all the wolves in combat, save maybe the Marrok.
  • Love At First Sight: With Anna, sort of. His wolf chose her instantly, and it didn't take the man long to follow.
  • Scarily Competent Tracker: It's implied that it's almost impossible to evade Charles when he's on the hunt.
  • Strong Family Resemblance: Subverted. While Samuel looks much Welsh like his father, Charles takes after his Native American mother.
  • The Stoic: Averted with Anna, who gets to see the much softer side under the hit-man mask. Played straight with pretty much everyone else; it's probably a bad idea for the Marrok's hatchet man to be anything else.
  • Zero-Approval Gambit: Is willing to be near-universally feared and hated by other wolves in order to make his job as his father's hatchet man easier.

Anna Latham

Omega wolf who was set up to be turned by the local pack leader after his mate went Ax Crazy and killed all his group's female werewolves, needed someone to calm them down. She was abused for three years in the pack and was told very little, until Charles stepped in. Their inner wolves hit it off and they mated, and Anna moved to Montana.

  • Apologises a Lot: At first, due to her Rape as Drama backstory and Omega nature. Slowly gets better over the course of the books.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: Let's put it this way—just because she's a genuinely good person and an Omega to boot, doesn't mean that she's not dangerous. Ask Nimue. Oh, wait, you can't. Anna killed her.
  • Compelling Voice: Borrowed from Charles.
  • Happily Married
  • The Heart
  • Killer Rabbit: Oh yes. Cute, gentle Anna…who is still very much a werewolf.
  • Morality Pet: Comes with being an Omega to a degree, but she definitely is one for Charles and Bran.
  • Silk Hiding Steel: On the surface, she's a slightly-underfed, sweet-natured girl completely overshadowed by her extremely intimidating husband. Dig a little deeper, and you find someone who put a knife between the ribs of the Lady of the Lake and regularly stands up to the Marrok at his angriest.
  • What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?: Omegas are peacemakers, which sounds ridiculous in a werewolf…until you realize that she increases life expectancies just by being around, can calm full-on berserker rages, and doesn't have to obey orders.
  • The Woobie: Especially at first, when she's freshly brutalized by her first Alpha. By the third Alpha and Omega book, however, the trait is nearly gone.

Asil, A.K.A "The Moor"

An extremely old and dominant wolf living in Bran's pack. Originally wanted there because he wanted Bran to kill him for being old and crazy, and stayed around after the events of Cry Wolf because he likes yanking Charles' chain. Sometimes serves as a mentor to Charles, as his (deceased) mate was also an Omega.

  • The Atoner: Feels a great deal of guilt for having been traveling when his mate was killed.
  • Cynical Mentor: To Charles and Anna, sometimes, combined with Trickster Mentor.
  • Death Seeker: Originally. Anna helps him get better, by killing the witch who killed and enslaved his mate.
  • I Kiss Your Hand: Does it to Anna, to yank Charles' chain. Gets much, much more than he bargained for.
  • Immortal Immaturity: Subverted. He acts like a crazy brat at first, but it's just a ploy to get Bran to kill him.
  • Living Legend: Let's put it this way: When Anna tells other werewolves that she knows Asil, the typical reaction is something along the lines of "The Moor? That Moor?"
  • Names to Run Away From Really Fast
  • Older Than They Look: Like most very old werewolves. He's not quite as old as Bran, though.
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