Hey, Lei here!
For all of you who have been asking about the werewolf mythology in Something Wicked (newly titled: Wolf at The Door), let me break it down for you.
When we talk about werewolves, we talk about the Change; the transformation from human to werewolf.
The first thing you should know that it is not a curse or magic. It’s not a virus. It’s a gene.
I’m sure there’s some scientific name for it but my boys would tell me nothing about it no matter how much I hassle them.
Because it’s not a curse, magic or virus, it’s not transferable through bite or any other bodily fluids, it’s hereditary.
Werewolves are born, not made.
The First Change is the hardest and the most painful; usually happens on the onset of puberty. Because of the pain, the wolf part of them blots out their human side and they become wild which is why in their early days, a new werewolf is always closely guarded by the Pack…if they even survive it, that is.
Some, especially those who are stronger than most, Change early. For instance: Kai changed when he was nine, taking everybody by surprise which leads to him meeting yours truly and the rest is history.
They don’t only change when the full moon calls, they can also change at will. And even with the pain, they WANT to change. The Change is not a choice, it is a biological imperative. They need to change. They could go without changing for two months or three (usually exercised by pregnant werewolves for the first trimester) when they’re older and have more control over themselves but more than that? Short tempers, violent outbursts, paranoia and very, very bad things will happen.
My boys usually change twice a week, dragging me along with them to the forest whenever they feel like it. Not that I mind, but sometimes, the testosterone parade is just too much, you know? You think human Alpha males are tiring, try Alpha werewolves; a whole new different animal, I can tell you that.
In wolf form they’re not all that different from their animal cousins, only slightly bigger and more muscular; their size and coloring takes after their human bodies. Which is why my boys—who take after their father—have dark fur and are bigger than most while Aunt Cana’s fur is gold and fair.
And no, they are not able to share minds or talk mind to mind, though it does seem like that from an outsider’s point of view. When they are wolves, they are wolves with human intelligence. There is no magic about it. Kind of disappointing, I know.
When I pressured him, Kai said being a wolf is no different than being human but for the baser instincts being more ‘in your face’ rather than at the back of your head like when they are human. He said that his mindset, man or wolf, usually depends upon the situation; when he’s on the hunt or when he runs with the pack, the Wolf takes charge. When he’s human, the human part takes charge. It’s like having a growly, snarly roommate in your body, he told me once.
Now, let’s talk about the Pack.
The werewolves are extinct.
There used to be more of them but after the Great Pack War not so long ago, the low percentage of the survival rate on the First Change, and the small chance for a female werewolf to carry a baby to term; have diminished their numbers greatly.
I’m not really clear on what caused the war or how it happened without everybody (us, ordinary humans) knowing about it, all I know is what I could get from listening into conversations when they forget that I’m not one of them (happens more often than you might think).
All I know is that after the war, family blood-lines died out and with it Packs were destroyed. From 5000 large packs that encompassed the whole world, there are only 400 left and most of them has lost a lot of their numbers and are now hiding themselves in third world countries, on islands where humans are scattered and the forests are plenty.
Only 150.000 of them are left in America including mine.
Like all wolf packs, every pack must have an Alpha, and ours is Caleb Lyall, my boys’ father.
No, that doesn’t mean that one day one of my boys would inherit the throne, a pack doesn’t work that way. You either have to Challenge the previous Alpha and prove yourself to be more badass than he (I know, it kills me that the Packs are so patriarchal) is or you have to be Chosen (which is practically everyone admitting that you’re the badass of all badasses).
Uncle Caleb was Chosen, he was the most alpha of them all so it made sense that he got to actually be Alpha, it didn’t hurt that he’s intelligent, cunning, fair and has the ear of the Lycaon.
Wait, who is the Lycaon you ask? Why, my dears, he is the biggest and baddest wolf of all. The King of all werewolf kings. The Alpha of the alphas. The Mega Alpha. The Big Wolf.
He’s the one all the other alpha werewolves answer to.
I’ve never seen him; I don’t even know what he looks like or where he lives or what pack he’s in. And my boys wouldn’t even whisper about him in my presence.
Their small number makes them a very tight-knit and secretive lot, and I don’t blame them. Their survival depends on their ability to keep their secret and it would only take a whisper to the wrong ear, a harmless youtube video to draw human attention. Which is never a good thing.
It’s not that werewolves hate us, it’s just that humans being are not really famous for their tolerance when they’ve succumbed to fear.
—which brings us to me, the only ordinary human in a pack of werewolves.
Not everybody likes me. Not everybody trusts me. But nobody can ever accuse me of endangering them—I’d proven that I would and could keep their secret when I was nine and high on painkillers. And even though I know next to nothing about their traditions and rituals and social politics, I was pack enough for them to tolerate me.
Pack enough for me to be invited to the Circle—a clearing in the deep woods where the Pack gathers every Full Moon—and to eat with them after the Hunt. Kind of like a werewolf barbeque party. Damn, those werewolves know how to barbeque.
Like their animal cousins, the strength of the pack comes from numbers, the more wolves you have, the stronger the pack. Which is why babies are so very important to them, especially because they’re so hard to come by. This is also the reason why nowadays, Challenges happen only with the permission of the Lycaon and never to the death.
Every successful pregnancy, and every birth, and every successful First Change is highly celebrated. And children are cosseted and cherished by every member of the pack. All of them are very protective towards the cubs and all of them have the responsibility to take care of a cub—parent or no parent.
Since we're on the subject, when it comes to making werewolf babies, humans are useless. A werewolf baby can only happen with another werewolf. In simple terms:
Werewolf + Werewolf = Werewolf Baby
Werewolf + Human = Human Baby
…which is also why a Pairing is controlled by the Council of Alphas and the Lycaon.
To keep the blood-lines pure, once a month, the young wolves (starting from 17—the age limit gets lower every few years) or those who are still Mate-less (age limit 25, usually by 25 they already found a Mate) has the choice to visit other packs to see whether they can find someone there, either to find a Mate or your baby-parent.
I know. I know. Ick, right? Well, easy for us to say, our numbers are growing steadily up. What if we’re extinct? Do you really think that the government would let us dwindle away into nothing? Hell, they’re already making laws about contraception and China has their one-baby policy. Have you ever seen Children of Earth?
…so, if you’re a human and thinking about getting a werewolf for a life/partner, save yourself the trouble and the grief. At the end, they always follow the pack, they will always choose another werewolf.
As territories go, every Pack is given a territory and they spread the number of members around, centering on the Alpha’s place until the very edges of their territory. Another pack member entering without permission into another’s territory is forbidden and will be punished accordingly.
Copyright © 2012 by D.F. Jules
