Myths & Rejections

Chapter 33 - The Truth About Wolves

Word Count: 5435

The next morning Harper decided it was time to have a conversation with the sirens about wolf behavior, instinct, and reactions. Her run in with Sana proved that the sirens didn't have any idea what they were dealing with. Which made sense, they never learned anything about wild wolves the way human children do, they didn't even know what wolves were before they met them.

"Listen you guys," Harper started off as everyone finished breakfast. "I think we need to explain a few more things to you about wolves and our culture and instincts. It occurred to me yesterday, that you have no idea how we're going to react to some of your behavior or how you'll react to some of ours so I thought it would be a good idea to have a little Q&A session where we can compare cultures and explore some of the areas where there might be conflict."

Everyone at the table nodded, Hera and Mena exchanged an uncomfortable glance, but in a way they were relieved they would have this conversation, it would give them a chance to explain as well.

"First of all, like we talked about last night, wolves are pack animals," Harper started. "And as a pack we stick together, if you attack one of us, you're going to have to deal with all of us. If you offend, harass, or piss off one pack member, every pack member is going to know about it and remember it."

"That can potentially cause huge problems," Matt stepped in to add. "we as sirens don't have territories, or packs, or groups, so if there is a conflict between two people, it stays between those people. Not so with wolves, if two wolves from different packs have a confrontation, it can literally cause a war between the two packs."

"That actually happens often, there are pack wars all the time." Porter put in.

"Another important thing, that I wasn't aware of at first, is that the wolf side of a werewolf is a separate being than the human side," Eden said, smiling. "I was shocked to hear this, even more shocked to actually speak to the wolf spirit inside of Celie."

The sirens gaped at Eden as if he'd lost his mind.

"Yes, our wolf side is completely separate from us, we are two completely different spirits sharing one body. When we are in our human form, we are in control and our wolves are sort of in the back of our minds. They are intelligent and emotional beings; they understand what is going on in our world, but they don't usually get involved in it. I say usually, because sometimes they do. You have to remember the wolf spirit, though highly intelligent, is still an animal, with an animal's instincts and nature. They react differently to things than we do." Harper told them.

"And the stronger the person, the higher their rank, the stronger the wolf spirit, and they do have the power to take over and force us to shift in certain situations or force their will on us. They can be extremely hard to control, extremely hard. Pissing off someone's wolf spirit is really asking for trouble. Though they understand what's happening, they don't always understand consequences the way we do. They will take over and act, or attack if provoked, and we, the human, just have to deal with the fallout after they give us back control." Porter explained.

"Once we shift into our wolf form, they are in control, and we are in the back of their mind." Harper continued. "So if we are in our wolf form, you need to keep in mind that you are not dealing with the human you knew, you are dealing with a wolf. A true wolf. We're still in there, we still hear, and understand what is going on, and we can have some effect on the wolf's behavior, but we are not in charge. It's the same as when we are in our human form and we're in charge. Sometimes we can take control, sometimes we can exert our will on them, but it's extremely difficult to overpower the wolf spirit when we are in wolf form."