Richard Alaric Zeeman is a fictional character in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of novels by Laurell K. Hamilton.
Character introduction
Within the novels, Richard's primary role is as one of the primary love interests of the series heroine, Anita Blake.
Explanation of the character's name
Appropriately for a wolf king, Richard seems to have been named with kingship in mind. Both his given name and his middle name are based in Germanic roots relating to kingship. Richard translates to "strong ruler" or "brave leader," while Alaric is Germanic for "everybody's ruler." Richard's surname does not appear to have any obvious significance, as "Zeeman" is a Dutch surname meaning a sailor or a person who lives near a body of water. However, it could be interpreted as a reference to the last letter of the alphabet, Z (with "Zeeman" as "Z-man"), perhaps to highlight that the educated, compassionate, and naive Richard is the "last" person one would expect to be a powerful Ulfric.
Character sketch
Summary
Richard Alaric Zeeman stands at six feet and one inches, with brown hair, brown eyes, and what Anita describes as disturbingly perfect good looks. He became Ulfric (King) of the Thronos Rokke ("Rock Throne") pack of werewolves after killing Marcus, the previous Ulfric. Richard holds a degree in preternatural biology and is working on a master's degree part-time. He has a day job as a junior high school science teacher. He is very closeted about his lycanthropy for fear of losing his job. Richard was Anita's boyfriend in earlier books, her one-time fiancé, and is still her on again, off again lover. Together with Jean-Claude, Richard is a member of Anita's first triumvirate.
Powers & Abilities
Richard is an extremely powerful alpha werewolf. His general werewolf abilities include superhuman strength, speed, endurance, healing, agility, and senses (able to smell the emotional state of humans and night vision), but to levels far superior to those of modern werewolves. Even prior to forming a triumvirate with Anita and Jean-Claude, Richard was one of the most powerful shapeshifters shown in the novels. (However, his inner turmoil frequently prevents him from making effective use of this power). He has the power to conceal his nature from Anita, and lifts weights and studies martial arts in an effort to be able to engage in pack fights without using deadly force. His "beast" is extraordinarily strong, and Richard can often control other shapeshifters' changing by his raw power. He is one of the few shapeshifters able to partially shapeshift. Richard also has the extremely rare ability to "feed the pack" - sharing some of his magical power by feeding his own blood to pack members.