Werewolf

**Werewolves**, also called **Lycanthropes**, **Loup Garou**, **Hominus Lupus**, the **Children of the Moon**, self-referenced as the **Garou**, or even just **Wolves**, are a supernatural species of shapeshifting human-like creatures who have the ability to transform from an ordinary human appearance to a lupine shape.

Contrary to popular belief, the term "werewolf" is more of a hypernym used to refer to a number of creatures who share wolf-like characteristics.

## Description

### Overview

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.

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. Werewolves without a pack are known as Omegas, who are generally regarded as weaker and easier to defeat and/or kill than their Beta and Alpha peers, who have packs to back them up, though this is not always the case; an Omega could be the sole surviving member of a pack that was decimated, a former Alpha who has been abandoned by his Betas or a Beta abandoned or kicked out of their former pack, or, in the rarest of cases, are lone wolves purely by choice.

There are enough Werewolves in existence that the community even has its own culture, which includes legends and folk tales passed down through the generations, mystical rituals for certain events, and societal protocols for how to deal with intense situations, such as how to respond to the death of one of their fellow packmates.

### Physiology

#### Appearance

In human form, they are indistinguishable from ordinary humans, but are usually very attractive and well-built. They have a much higher body temperature than humans do, allowing them to withstand very cold weather and makes it difficult for them to become overheated. Camera flashes and some video recording devices cause werewolves eyes to glow, making them nearly impossible to photograph. They can apparently learn to control this effect so as to appear normally in photographs. In addition, their eyes seem to reflect light like a regular canine with eyeshine.

In their werewolf form, an individual's appearance often depends on what breed they belong to. Usually, their bodies change rapidly, changing into a perfectly fitting definition of both hunters and predators. Their nails increase to sharp, long claws, fangs increase in size and eyes resemble those of a wolf rather than of a human. It must be said that there are various degrees of transformation, depending on the class, skill, and power of the wolf in question, with the strongest becoming more animalistic and inhuman as they change.

Omegas are the most human looking, displaying only a change in eye colour, a lengthening of the claws, and an elongation of their fangs. Further transformations of this form consists of a widow's peak and heightened brow, an alteration of body or facial hair including sideburns on their cheeks, a lengthening and sharpening of their ears, as well as the ability to run using a combination of their hands and feet. Betas exhibit a much more obvious change, becoming taller and bulkier, fur spreads across their body which usually maintains a human stance, but experienced betas can advance even further to become more lupine. Alphas have the highest degree of transformation, allowing them to become larger and more bestial than even the strongest betas, displaying gigantic fangs and horrific claws; long, powerful arms; thick skin and bones; heavy fur; and a large wolf tail for balance and body language. Some Alphas can take this a step further and become more wolf-like, appearing as a gigantic prehistoric dire wolf-like creature.

Evolved werewolves i.e. the ones who can fully shift, take on the form of a natural wolf, though they are said to be either extraordinarily beautiful or horrifically terrifying to look at. They can also be distinguished from regular wolves by their displays of supernatural strength, blurred speed, and size which is comparable to fully grown humans. Some are also a little larger than wolves, with Lizzie Salvatore stating that Chance Mikaelson was twice the size of an ordinary wolf, but it is unknown if this is accurate or just Lizzie exaggerating his size, however, it has been mentioned that Chance and his father are bigger than usual.

The fur colour of wolf forms differs from one to the other (e.g., Tyler Lockwood's fur colour is dark brown, Mason Lockwood's is white and grey, Jules' is light brown with a hint of white, Chance Mikaelson's is pure white, and Hayley's is white and brown).

The skin of a werewolf is very similar to an actual wolf's, being pale under the fur but extraordinarily resistant to damage; weapons made primarily for thrusting (such as spears and bayonets) with wolfsbane, or high-calibre ammunition with wolfsbane seem to be the only things that can reliably pierce a werewolf's hide.

#### Transformation

A Werewolf's transformation, also known as the Change or the Shift, is different for each wolf. The manner of their transition depends on the breed, classification, and power level of the werewolf in question. For Cainites, all of whom can naturally achieve a total shift, they will only transform into a wolf under a full moon. The first transformation is quite slow, and the person is subjected to at least five or six hours of intense, bone-breaking pain before the actual transformation. After the first transformation, the experience does not last nearly as long, but it is still painful and something many werewolves come to dread. Angelus mentions that embracing the transformation rather than fighting it as most werewolves do, would make the process faster. Due to the nature of the Cainite strain, these wolves cannot access their powers on any night other than the full moon, and are incapable of learning control. Only hybrids and the odd special case, such as Chance Mikaelson, have any hope of controlling themselves.

During their transformation, the body of the Cainite in question will twist unnaturally as bones reshape and shift to form a wolf's skeleton, causing the person immense physical and psychological pain. Later, the werewolf grows excessive body hair and becomes feral. A werewolf returns to their human form after a few hours, sometimes sooner, sometimes later. After the first transformation, they will often experience muscle aches and migraines.

It should be known that some werewolves transform differently. For example, Chance Mikaelson seemed to actually physically develop his wolf inside his body, which it then tore through like an egg or a cocoon as a form of shifting, mutilating his anatomy before breaking free. His wolf form then transfigured to contain his human self within its body, changing back to his regular appearance in the same bloody, agonizing manner. This method was even more painful than other Cainite changes, perhaps due to his tribrid nature. Thankfully, as a result of either his hybrid physiology or maternal heritage, only the first shift happened in this manner because it was a rite of passage for young wolves to overcome. Afterwards, he developed total control over his wolf form, allowing him to shift seamlessly and without pain.

Werewolves also feel everything more sharply in their animal form, especially familial ties. Ansel, for example, would wake up from his transformation closer to his son's village after each full moon. Since he was brought back to life he would wake further from Angel and New Orleans, drawn to his grandson, despite not even knowing he was alive. This shows familial ties in their werewolf form prioritizes the younger generation over the old.

#### Reproduction

There are several known ways to become a Werewolf. The two most common ones are being a born a Werewolf or to be bitten by an Alpha Werewolf. In incredibly-rare occasions, the claws of an Alpha can turn a human into a Werewolf if they scratch the human recipient deep enough, though it is considered less effective than the Bite. Myths have also stated that drinking rainwater from the pawprint of a wolf can change a human into 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. Also, in one known case, a daughter of a Werewolf, Malia Tate, inherited her mother's Werecoyote heritage rather than that of her father, and in other cases, several former humans who were turned by an Alpha Werewolf have become other kinds of shapeshifters, such as a Kanima in Jackson Whittemore's case and a Werejaguar in the case of Kate Argent. It is also possible for a werewolf to be turned through a spell, but this is incredibly rare.

It should be noted that Original werewolves are unable to infect others with their bite, even if they are Alphas. This is due to the fact that their lycanthropy is naturally-occurring and not the result of a mystical virus.

### Psychology

The emotions of a werewolf are far different than the emotions of humans. Like vampires, werewolves feel much more deeply than most people do, and possess heightened libidos and appetites. They are known to be aggressive, blunt, impulsive, and easily angered. This does not make them evil in any way, they are however, predatory creatures driven by primal instincts, as such, control is a highly respected virtue. Werewolves are born and bred to be possessive, territorial, extremely protective, stubborn, and hot tempered, which are all especially true for males. They prize traits such as loyalty, especially to the pack.

For some reason, many born werewolves are known to be shy, introverted and even reclusive at times when they are confronted with people who belong to neither their family nor pack, having trouble socializing with individuals outside their immediate support group. The opposite can be said of bitten wolves, as they tend to become extremely confident and outgoing once receiving the bite.

Born wolves also tend to be highly affectionate with those they care about. Due to their innate wolf aspect, they often demonstrate more animalistic personality quirks, such as play fighting, nuzzling, and low inhuman growling when mad or frustrated. This is usually prominent enough to unnerve humans who are not used to being around werewolves. As such, they learn how to limit their shows of affection while in public to human standards. Bitten wolves usually have a harder time adjusting to this new behaviour.

In their shifted form, werewolves are known to be extremely predatory. For young and inexperienced wolves, they are driven by pure instinct, incapable of rational thought and excising absolutely zero control over their impulses. They eventually learn how to restrain themselves with time.

#### Lunar Psychosis

According to Emma Tig, lunar psychosis is a very rare occurrence among werewolves in which the werewolf's mind is in flux, trapped between their wolf and human state. When a werewolf is affected by this, they have a harder time bridging the gap between the two states and to access their memories as they normally would. This only happens after a premature reversion from wolf to human, when something causes the body to shift back before the full moon is over, typically something caused by extreme trauma. Given that a werewolf prematurely returned to their human state, left unattended, there is a danger that they could revert back to their wolf form. In order for a werewolf to overcome the issue, their mind needs to be surrounded by all the things that are familiar to them so that it can connect them to their humanity, and not their lycanthropy.

Given the Crescent Wolf Pack's ability to control their turns at will, they had access to both sides of their minds and developed an elixir to access the division between the two sides. According to Chance, the elixir is a family recipe stemming from Hayley's side of the Crescent Pack and has a copy of the recipe in his possession. The instructions for the elixir are as follows:

1. Heat deep cast-iron pot or cauldron over open flame. Test heat by sprinkling water over pot; water should evaporate before touching the metal.
2. Muddle Valerian Root with sea water in cauldron, simmer until reduced.
3. Submerge silver in reduction at a ratio of 2:1, keeping only pleasant thoughts in your mind. Stir well, allow silver to fully oxidize. If you see corrosion, you've gone too far.
4. After peeling protective wax coating from eye of newt, you have approximately one minute before corneal membrane begins to shrivel. Using granite mortar and pestle, pulpify eye of newt and gradually add to elixir being careful not to splash the pot. Do **not** use marble mortar and pestle or the corneas **will** ferment!
5. Gently stir elixir twice clockwise and thrice counter clockwise, repeated for three minutes, with intense focus and calm demeanour. When all bubbles are cleared from the surface, elixir is ready for consumption.

### Characteristics

Werewolves are immune to all human illnesses, even chronic ones like cancer, asthma, epilepsy, etc. Bitten wolves are completely cured of these afflictions, and even lose any scarring they may have. However, pre-pubescent werewolves can retain scars if they are severe enough. Because of their healing factor, werewolves are unable to become drunk, high, or intoxicated in any way shape or form, unless it is by imbibing a magical drink or narcotic. As an extension of their regenerative abilities, they age at a much slower rate than humans once they reach maturity. As a child and teen, they develop at a normal speed until puberty has passed. It is very hard for a werewolf to gain additional weight, as such there are no obese or unhealthy werewolves. Parenthetically, werewolves build and maintain muscle much easier than humans do. Male werewolves usually develop faster than their human counterparts, as Chance was seen to be capable of growing an immaculate beard when he was just sixteen.

Werewolves, like other shapeshifters, are at the mercy of the full moon and can lose control of their temperament. However the different full moons can have different effects on werewolves.

* During the "Worm Moon," a werewolf can be brought back to life with wolfsbane and blood from an Alpha if the body is still intact. However, the werewolf will be physically weak for some time as shown with Peter Hale.
* The Supermoon, or perigee syzygy, effects werewolves heavily, as the normal full moon activity is amplified and self-control is much harder to maintain. This is because the moon is much closer to earth than normally.

## Mating

Traditionally, sexual intercourse is done for the specific purpose of bringing young ones into the world. But, in the human world, this is difficult to do, so sexual intercourse (like human nature) is both recreational and for creating offspring. Mates can be chosen, except for soulmates who are pre-destined. A werewolf's reproductive system is also slightly different from an ordinary human's as it is naturally made for breeding, in order to enlarge the pack and make it stronger, males and females are provided with superior stamina, which makes the coupling last longer and the chance of pregnancy rise. Heats, ruts, long lasting ejaculation and an above-average amount of semen comes as a consequence.

Just like regular wolves, some, but not all, werewolves have cycles of heat, in which they have a strong desire to mate. This usually only happens with the females, but with most werewolves, the men can have cycles of heat too, known as a Rut, which usually only occur once a year, usually in the winter time. This heat cycle normally lasts five to ten days. It is much more common for male Alphas to experience a Rut, but non-alphas also have them.

#### Imprinting

Imprinting is a mechanism by which werewolves, and other werebeasts, select potential mates. Imprinting can occur anytime after a wolf's first Change, marking their entry into adulthood, which is known as the Mating Age. When a male werewolf finds a potential mate, his body releases a purring mechanism from his voice that has the power to encourage, or seduce, the mate in question to want to be closer to the male. The mate in question has to be close to the male, emotionally and physically for the Imprint to work successfully. A werewolf's mate does not have to be a fellow werebeast in order for the Imprint to work, as many wolves take on humans or even other supernatural creatures, such as vampires and witches, as their mates. For a werewolf who has found their True Mate, Imprinting is immediate and involuntary.

## Tribes

A Tribe is particular breed of werewolf. Each Tribe has its own hierarchy and social structure, with the most well-known being the Lycaonite, Cainite, and Lupus Tribes.

### Lycanthropus Cainis

The *Lycanthropus Cainis* are an ancient race of werewolves descended directly from Cain himself, the legendary Father of Murder and the first Demon Wolf. Physiologically, they are identical to most other werewolves, the other difference being their lycanthropic gene, which remains dormant until they take a life. This triggers their curse immediately, and afterwards gain the powers that all their kind possess.

### Hominus Lupus

Commonly known as the Original Werewolves, or as the True-Bloods, are the oldest and most powerful species of werewolves in existence.

## Culture

There is a relatively strong culture among the international community of Werewolves, particularly those who are born into the species, which, for most, includes the belief that their lycanthropy binds them all together as a family. For this reason, peaceful packs often see each other as siblings, regardless of their blood ties, and older, more experienced Werewolves tend to take it upon themselves to protect and teach those who are recently turned how to adapt to their new lives; for example, Derek Hale told Scott McCall that they were now brothers after Scott had been bitten by Peter Hale, and he repeated the sentiment to Liam Dunbar after Derek had inadvertently given him the Bite. In a similar vein, the sight of the dozens of Werewolves from Satomi Ito's pack who had been killed by a modified form of canine distemper brought the typically unemotional Derek to tears out of sadness for the loss of so many fellow Werewolves.

Despite the camaraderie between Werewolves of all bloodlines, they are still a predatory species, and battles among and within packs for either political or territorial reasons are not uncommon; this was evidenced by the conflict between the Alpha Pack and the allied Hale and McCall Packs in which the Alphas attempted to convince Derek and Scott to join them. However, alliances between packs to fend off a common enemy is also a frequent occurrence, particularly when it involves Werewolf Hunters.

For example, the Hale Pack, Deucalion's original pack, Ennis' original pack, and Kali's original pack all gathered in Beacon Hills to determine how they would react to the Argent Hunter family going after the Werewolves in the region in the late 2010s. Because of the threat the Werewolves face from the Werewolf Hunters, all Werewolves are trained to know what to do if they are confronted by Hunters—fight their way out, hide somewhere away from the rest of the pack so as to not lure the hunters to their den, and heal. This puts enormous pressure on the individuals in the Werewolf community to do everything possible to learn control over their transformations so they don't risk exposing themselves to the human population and Hunters alike.

There are several rituals used by Werewolves that are unique to their species that can be used for various effects. One is a memory manipulation ritual that is typically only performed by Alphas, due to the amount of control and experience necessary to do it without paralyzing or killing the person whose memories are being accessed. To perform the ritual, the Alpha (or, in some rare cases, an especially experienced Beta or a part-Werewolf Chimera) stabs the back of the target's neck with their claws, piercing their spinal cord and making a metaphysical connection to their minds.

In most cases, this ritual is used to search through a person's memories and see specific events so that the Werewolf performing the ritual can experience a particular memory through the target's eyes, especially in cases where the target has been through a trauma and cannot reliably recall what happened on their own, or when their true memories have been mystically manipulated in some way (as in the case with Isaac Lahey after he had been attacked by Deucalion and Kali. This can also work in the reverse, as well, with the Werewolf performing the ritual to share their own memories with the target, such as when Peter Hale shared his memories of the Hale House Fire with Scott.

However, some especially skilled Alphas can also use this ability to suppress or entirely remove memories, such as when Talia removed her brother Peter's memories of his daughter Malia Tate's existence, or when Talia removed the memories of the Nemeton's location in both Derek and Peter to ensure they would not return to the powerful tree. Because of the amount of risk involved, this ritual, regardless of their intent, is usually performed on supernatural creatures with healing abilities who can recover from the damage much more quickly than regular humans. However, the ritual has, on several occasions, been done to Banshees, though in Lydia Martin's case, this caused her to become temporarily catatonic, since the person who performed it on her was an inexperienced Chimera who did not perform the ritual correctly.

Another ritual, which, unlike the previous ritual, can only be performed by Alphas, is one that can transfer their Alpha "spark" to a dying Beta in order to heal them, at the cost of their own Alpha powers. When performed, the Alpha absorbs the Beta's pain to the point that the ill Beta absorbs the Alpha's extra spark of power, allowing them to enhance their pre-existing healing factor to a high enough level that they can overcome their illness or injury. This ritual has only been demonstrated once in the series, when Derek gave up his Alpha powers to heal his younger sister Cora from the mistletoe poisoning inflicted upon her by Jennifer Blake. It is possible this ritual can also be used to voluntarily transfer Alpha power to another Beta in a method similar to a king or queen abdicating a throne, though this has yet to be confirmed in canon.

Finally, there is one last ritual that can allow a Werewolf to communicate with the spirit of a deceased Werewolf, though this is a risky ritual that is not commonly done. To do this, a Werewolf needs the claws of the deceased Werewolf in question, along with another Werewolf who is willing to push the claws into their cuticles to act as the conduit. The assisting Werewolf will then pierce the back of the other Werewolf's neck with the claws of the deceased in a modified form of the memory-sharing ritual, which will mystically form a connection with the deceased's spirit inside the main Werewolf's mind. Derek Hale performed this ritual with Peter Hale's assistance and Talia Hale's claws, which allowed him to talk to his mother, who informed him that the Hales not only lived in Beacon Hills, but they protected it.

It should be stated that relations between werewolves often depend on their Tribe. A Tribe is a specific sub-species to which a werewolf belongs, marked by unique abilities and traits. Some Tribes have better bonds with each other than others do. When the packs of a Tribe come together for whatever reason, even to just reaffirm their connection with each other, they may form what is known as Caern; an advisory body comprised of the oldest and wisest werewolves in the area.

### Garou Nation

The **Garou Nation** is the unified society of the earth's werewolf population. It is comprised of many Tribes and thousands of packs scattered across the globe. Most werewolf tribes keep their distance from each other, rarely ever interacting outside of the odd, often accidental encounter. As such, the Garou almost never come together outside their respective species. On those extremely rare occasions that they do in fact gather, usually to discuss an important crisis, they are led by a body of Elders known as the Grand Caern, each member of which count as one of the oldest and most powerful werewolves on the planet.

### Code Of Loyalty

Werewolves are very similar to witches when it comes to their own kind. Unlike vampires, werewolves have an unwavering sense of loyalty, and will often bond with other werewolves they meet. They form packs and work with each other as sort of an extended family. The bond of loyalty between werewolves is so strong that while changed under full moons, the only beings they do not usually attack are other werewolves. This code does seem to extend to Cassian's hybrids, as well. It's possible that another reason why Cassian's hybrids were so loyal, aside for the Sire Bond between them, was because of their werewolf heritage.

### La Luna Sanguinis

According to Cassian and Finn, ancient Cainite werewolves had a ritual a thousand years ago by which, on a blood moon, they would hunt and purposefully trigger their curse by killing a human, willingly enduring the pain of their transformations in exchange for the strength they gained as warriors. This ritual was meant to be a rite of passage, where young werewolves embraced their nature rather than shying away from it; this is in stark contrast to many modern-day werewolves, who do whatever they can to avoid triggering their curses and having to deal with the pain of their monthly transformations.

### True Moon

A "True Moon" as it is called, is the term applied to a born werewolf's first real full moon after their abilities kick in. Growing up, pre-pubescent lycans only get agitated and hyperactive during the full moon, but when they reach that extra supernatural phase in puberty, it becomes much more. Their urges, instincts, senses, and powers all heighten exponentially, and can be extremely overwhelming for the teenager, usually occurring between the ages of thirteen to seventeen.

### Classification

#### Werewolf Packs

The majority of Werewolves belong to a pack, due to being social creatures who also benefit from the additional power they gain from the support of their packmates. However, even those Werewolves who chose to remain alone still respect the Werewolf hierarchy, which breaks all Werewolves down into three different groups, as listed below.

It should be known that if a werewolf pack reaches a certain number and level of power, then new werewolf classifications will surface.

Some werewolves, depending on which type of werewolf they are, will not live in a pack at all, either hunting alone or perhaps in pairs.

##### Alphas

Alphas are physically the strongest of the Werewolf species and are typically the leaders of their respective packs. Lycaonite Alphas are distinguishable by their glowing crimson-red eyes, but all Alphas' abilities are exponentially greater than those of most Betas and Omegas; not only do they possess immense individual power, but they also draw on the shapeshifters in their packs as well, giving them additional strength with every Beta they turn or have joined their pack. In addition, there are many different kinds of Alphas who take various forms. Werewolves can gain the rank of Alpha in several different ways, including by inheritance, by killing another Alpha and stealing their powers (which is one of the most common methods), or, in extremely rare cases, by ascending due to the sheer force of will. It has also been implied that it is possible for Werewolves to be voluntarily given someone else's Alpha powers as well, though how this is done has yet to be revealed.

Alphas are the only Werewolves who can turn a human into a Werewolf via a bite or a deep scratch, and they also have the ability to use their Alpha Roar to force Betas and Omegas into submission or motivate them; for example, Derek used his roar to allow Isaac to remove a trap on his foot and a second time to help Liam resist the electric shocks of the Eichen House orderlies. The injuries they inflict on lower-ranking Werewolves take much longer to heal than a normal wound would because of the additional power they possess. Shapeshifting-wise, an Alpha can either assume the form of what is a typical description of a lycanthrope—a large bipedal wolf with human-like qualities—or, in rare cases, the actual form of a wolf. However, the latter is not always limited to Alphas or even real Werewolves; for example, Derek Hale evolved to full-shift into a wolf despite being a Beta, and Thea Raeken, the Dread Doctors' first Chimera, was able to full-shift into a wolf due to the combination of her Werewolf and Werecoyote genes despite not even being truly supernatural.

###### Born Alphas

An Alpha who is born as such is an exceedingly rare occurrence, but not as much as a True Alpha. These wolves are often stronger and more powerful than other Alphas. Most are killed at birth by rival Alphas to prevent them ascending and overthrowing them at a later date. Any werewolf breed that has Alphas may produce a born one. However, born Alphas have only emerged from werewolf couplings, meaning that both parents must be wolves.

###### Ulfric/Luna

When a pack becomes so large and powerful, it may boast more than one Alpha, perhaps several. If this is the case, the most powerful Alpha will become the supreme ruler of the pack, known as the Ulfric, if male, or Luna, if female. This is an exceptionally rare occurrence, but not unheard of. The strongest Ulfric in the world is Chance Mikaelson, who is the leader of the Crescent Wolf Pack, which already has a number of other, less powerful alphas among its members.

##### Betas

Beta Werewolves are Werewolves who belong to a pack and who are one rank below an Alpha Werewolf. Betas are usually loyal to their Alphas and to each other, and will defer to their Alpha's judgment in most cases, though there have been instances when a Beta has risen to the occasion and defied their Alphas' orders, sometimes even going so far as killing their Alpha due to lack of confidence in their leadership or out of thirst for power. Beta Werewolves possess the same supernatural abilities and physical characteristics of the average Werewolf, including a pronounced brow, pointed ears, sideburns, fangs, and claws. However, Beta Lycaonites' eyes can be either one of two colours: gold, or blue. Betas with blue eyes are believed to be Werewolves who have taken an innocent human life, whereas Betas with gold eyes have not. The strength level of Betas' powers can vary as well, with some Betas, such as Liam Dunbar, who has intermittent explosive disorder, being much more physically strong than their peers due to channelling their anger into augmenting their raw strength.

##### Omegas

Omega Werewolves, also known as "lone wolves," are Werewolves who do not belong to a pack. There are many reasons why a Werewolf may not have a pack, such as being kicked out or abandoned by their former pack, being the sole survivor of a pack who had been killed by Hunters or other supernaturals, or, in rare cases, having chosen solitude over the security of a pack. Because Werewolves are naturally drawn to be in packs due to the additional power they gain from it, Omega werewolves are known to be the weakest and are extremely vulnerable to Hunters and other creatures. In some rare instances, such as with Ethan and Aiden, Omegas will technically run with a pack without fully being a Beta within it; Ethan once described their status in their first pack as being "the bitches", as in the wolves who are the last to eat and who are always at the mercy of the Betas and Alphas above them. However, aside from being nomadic and solitary creatures, Omegas are physically indistinguishable from Beta Werewolves—they will still have either gold or blue eyes (and, on rare occasions, Alpha red) and will have the same general Werewolf form as any other lycanthrope. Since an Omega is a lone wolf, any Alpha without a pack could technically be considered an "Omega" but would certainly be more powerful due to their additional Alpha "spark".

#### Vargulf

Vargulfs are physically and mentally unstable werewolves, in other words, they are werewolves who have gone rabid. Have pitch black eyes and have no semblance of humanity left in them, having completely given into their wolf side. Needless to say, they are nothing but feral beasts that need to kill on sight.

#### Moonkissed

Moonkissed is the term applied to extremely rare evolved werewolves whose fully-shifted wolf form is pure white. While an individual's fur colour often has no significance or bearing on their status, a 'Moonkissed' werewolf is said to be meant for great things. The only known Moonkissed wolves are Cain and his direct descendant, Chance Mikaelson.

## Full Moons

Because a Werewolf gains their power from the moon, full moons (and especially on supermoons, when the full moon is even closer to the Earth than it normally is) are when they are at their strongest. However, this also means that their animal instincts and heightened aggression are at their peak as well, which makes them much more likely to lose control and harm or kill someone by accident. This makes Werewolves vulnerable to exposure and also makes it easier for them to be captured or killed by Hunters, which is why Hunters do the majority of their hunting on full moons when Werewolves are most likely to make a mistake. Due to this risk, most werewolves are trained to control themselves on a full moon, typically by using an "anchor" to help them remain connected to their humanity.

An anchor can be a person, a relationship with a person, an emotion, an object, a mantra, or even just a Werewolf's own sense of self. For example, Scott McCall's anchor was his relationship with Allison Argent until several months after they broke up, when his anchor became his own willpower; Derek and Peter Hale's anchors involve focusing on their anger, rage, and hate; Isaac Lahey's anchor is the memory of his father before he became abusive; and Liam Dunbar focuses on not transforming by distracting himself with music on his iPod, though his friendship with Mason Hewitt has also been shown to help him regain control.

Werewolf packs may also have their own methods of training their Betas to maintain control over their lycanthropy. For example, Talia Hale used a sacred object to the Hale family, a Triskelion medallion, in combination with the mantra "Alpha, Beta, Omega" as a tool to help her daughter Laura gain control, and attempted to use it for Derek as well, with little success in the latter case. Similarly, Satomi Ito's pack recites a Buddhist mantra to help them stay human-- "Three things cannot long be hidden: the sun, the moon, the truth." To them, the meaning of "the truth" is the fact that Werewolves themselves are inherently violent creatures, and they must remember this truth in order to keep themselves under control to prevent unnecessary violence against others.

Until Werewolves gain full control of their transformations on full moons using their anchors, they are typically restrained in some way to prevent them from running wild and attacking people. Ideally, this involves locking the wolf in a secured room, like a boiler room, which has a strong enough construction to withstand the Werewolf's heightened strength, which has been even more enhanced by the moon's effects. Another method involves tying them up with large amounts of heavy chains, though this is still not always strong enough to keep a full-moon-crazed Werewolf at bay and is not ideal for long-term use.

Werewolves who already had anger issues prior to being turned, such as Liam (who was diagnosed with intermittent explosive disorder before he was bitten by Derek) can often have a much harder time learning to control their shifts than the majority of Werewolves because a Werewolf's anger is already heightened to begin with, and it is usually the trigger for an involuntary transformation. As a result, Liam took around eight months to finally learn control over his shifting on full moons as a result of his pre-existing anger issues, while other shapeshifters such as Scott, Isaac, and Malia only needed two or three full moons to finally get a handle on it.

Supermoons, or full moons that are especially close to the Earth, only make Werewolves even stronger and more bloodthirsty and aggressive than on normal full moons; they can feel the effects strongly even during the day when exposure to moonlight is at a minimum, increasing the amount of time during this moon phase that a Werewolf must work to resist the moon's influence.

Conversely, a lunar eclipse will suppress a Werewolf's powers for the duration of time when the moon is in the earth's umbral shadow, which usually lasts between ten and twenty minutes. During this time, a Werewolf will essentially be human, making them vulnerable to Hunters or anyone else who may try to take advantage of their lack of powers. Jennifer Blake, also known as the Darach, attempted to use a lunar eclipse to kill Deucalion, a self-proclaimed Demon Wolf who ordinarily was far too strong for even her immense powers to defeat.