WEREWOLVES 101 - Beginners Guide

Section 2; Teen Wolf's View on Werewolves

Werewolves are the predominant supernatural species in the Teen Wolf universe. They are shapeshifters who have the ability to transform from an ordinary human appearance to a partially-lupine form that includes glowing eyes (which are either gold, blue, or red depending on rank or other factors) pointed ears, mutton chops, wickedly long and sharp claws and fangs, and a ridged brow. In rare cases, Werewolves can also have such advanced shapeshifting abilities that they can actually turn into a real wolf, or can transform into a large, monstrous, bipedal wolf-man.

Along with shapeshifting, all Werewolves possess superhuman strength, speed, agility, healing, and senses, among other powers. In the supernatural community, being a Werewolf is considered a gift, but it is a gift that has a cost—because a Werewolf's powers are derived from the moon, the full moon will cause their abilities and emotions to be so heightened that many lose control of themselves, which can cause death and destruction if not handled properly. For this reason, all newly turned Werewolves need to be trained in order to resist the urges that the moon forces upon them, which will allow them to remain in their human form unless it's absolutely necessary to change.

In Teen Wolf, to become a Werewolf, you must either be born to at least one Werewolf parent or you must be bitten (or, in some rare cases, deeply scratched) by an Alpha Werewolf in order to change from a human to a lycanthrope. However, these methods are not guaranteed to be successful; children of Werewolves have been known to be born completely human, and in many cases, the Bite has actually killed their human recipients rather than transformed them into Werewolves.

A Werewolf is strongest when in a pack with one Alpha (who is the leader of the pack) and at least three Beta Werewolves total, which constitutes a basic pack; in most cases, there is usually a defined hierarchy within the pack. The Alpha draws power from their Betas, and vice-versa, which makes them stronger, more mature and more effective in battle.

Little is known about the genesis of the Werewolf species, though Teen Wolf Hunter Families such as the Argents or the Calaveras have claimed that the first Werewolf was supposedly Lycaon from Greek mythology, along with his fifty sons. According to the legend in Teen Wolf, Lycaon, who was among the Greeks who worshipped the Titans rather than the Gods of Olympus, invited Zeus to a feast at his home, where he attempted to trick him into eating human flesh. Zeus was so enraged by this prank that he cursed Lycaon and his sons by turning them into wolves. From there, Lycaon and his sons sought out the Celtic Druids, as they were rumored to have a gift for shapeshifting and Lycaon hoped that they could help them undo the curse. Though the Druids were unable to remove the curse, they were able to help Lycaon and his sons shift back and forth from human form to Werewolf form. Due to their assistance, some Druids elected to work with Werewolf packs, helping them maintain their humanity and guiding them through their lives as lycanthropes, which led them to become called Emissaries. It is unknown if this legend is actually true or if it is simply a work of fiction, but regardless, Druid Emissaries continue to act as advisers to Alphas and their packs in real life to this day, though in most cases, only the Alpha knows who the Emissary is. It seems Werewolves always come from Ancient Greece :P.

In the mid-18th century, the most famous and monstrous Werewolf in history, the Beast of Gevaudan, began to ravage France, reportedly killing anywhere from 100 to 500 people before it was finally slayed by a human villager, Marie-Jeanne Valet, who eventually became the progenitor of the Argent line of Werewolf Hunters. One of the most well-known Werewolf Packs is the Hale Pack, whose bloodline is known to go back several centuries. Their most notable Alpha was Talia Hale, who possessed the rare ability to shapeshift into a true wolf, a trait that was also inherited by her eldest daughter Laura, who had inherited her Alpha spark upon Talia's death(rip Talia) and her only son Derek who was only a Beta at the time of his true-wolf shift. Peter Hale, however, shifted into a literal depiction of a Werewolf, a monstrous bipedal wolf-man. From my point of view on this, Teen Wolf views Werewolves as both good and bad, one Werewolf can be a truly good person - like Scott or Talia Hale - and another can be bad like... I wanna say Kali... And some can be both, like Deucalion, in the start and eventually in the end was a good guy, or Peter, who can't make up his mind on whether he wants to kill everyone or not.

They view Werewolves as apex predators. Predominant in the Supernatural World. They are dangerous but wonderful.