Werewolf

**Notice:** This **article** uses content directly taken from the Werewolf **article** at the Teen Wolf Wiki, and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License.

## Species Information

### Related Species

* Human
* Kanima
* Werecoyote
* Werejaguar
* Werecheetah
* Chimera
* Garuda
* Girtablilu
* Electrical Eel
* Löwenmensch

### Info

* Glowing eyes, retractable fangs and claws, mutton chops, pointed ears, ridged brow; most are partially-lupine humanoids, but some can full-shift into a true wolf or can attain a large, monstrous form.

**Werewolves** are the predominant supernatural species in the *Teen Wolf* universe, and they were the first supernatural creature to be introduced in the series. 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.

## Species Description

Along with shapeshifting, all Werewolves possess super-human 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 order to be a Werewolf, one must either be born to at least one Werewolf parent or they 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. Also, in one of two known cases, a daughter of a Werewolf, Malia Tate, inherited her mother's Werecoyote heritage rather than that of her father, another case is of Adella McCall, a daughter of a Werewolf and Kitsune-Witch, getting both Werewolf and Werejaguar genes rather than just a Werewolf, 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.

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.

## History

A powerful witch, that was known as "The Hollow", cursed the members of her coven that were responsible for her murder and created the Werewolf Bloodlines. The Hollow was hunted by wolves, and was killed on the night of a full moon.

Gerard Argent has claimed that the first Werewolf was supposedly Lycaon from Greek mythology, along with his fifty sons, which turned out to be false. According to the legend, Gerard told Scott McCall and Allison Argent, Lycaon, who was among the Greeks who worshiped 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 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. Those who are known to be or have formerly been Emissaries to Werewolf packs are Alan Deaton (formerly the Emissary to the Hale Pack and the current Emissary to the McCall Pack), Marin Morrell (the Alpha Pack), and Jennifer Blake (Kali's original pack).

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 and Athena Beaumont.

One of the most well-known Werewolf families is the Hale family, 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) and her only son Derek (who managed to evolve to full-shift despite only being a Beta at the time).

## Powers and Abilities

A Werewolf possesses a number of physical and passive powers, and the strength of their individual powers are generally based on their rank, though it can also be influenced by other factors. In terms of the Werewolf hierarchy, Alphas are the strongest, followed by Betas, and then Omegas at the weakest end of the spectrum. An Alpha Werewolf also typically possesses additional powers not seen in the lower ranks.

* **Super Strength:** Werewolves possess superhuman levels of strength that allow them to break through chains and deadbolt locks, punch through brick and marble walls, and throw grown men across a room with ease. Werewolves have been seen using their strength to snap a person's neck with one hand, flipping overturned vehicles back on their wheels, and bending rebar with their bare hands to use as weapons.
* **Super Speed:** Werewolves can run much faster than even the most athletic human beings, being able to keep up with vehicles such as motorcycles that are driving at top speeds. They can also run on all fours (hands and feet) in both human and in Werewolf form.
* **Super Agility/Reflexes:** Werewolves possess supernaturally enhanced agility and reflexes that allow them to leap very high and across large distances, jump from several stories up and land lightly on their feet, and perform a multitude of acrobatic, gymnastic and martial feats such as flips, handsprings, and spinning kicks. They can also process moving objects much better than humans can, allowing them to catch projectiles in mid-air and dodge speeding bullets before they can be hit. Their use of this power is usually instinctive, and newly-turned Werewolves have been seen performing impressive gymnastic routines with no training.
* **Super Durability:** Though Werewolves can still sustain open wounds like any other creature, they are much more durable to blunt force trauma than the regular human, allowing them to be thrown through walls and fall from tall heights without fatal injury. They can also endure a great deal more physical damage for a much longer period of time than an ordinary human, as Werewolves have been known to fight through dozens of gunshot wounds, stab wounds, burns, and broken bones that would normally incapacitate a regular person.
* **Super Senses:** Werewolves, like their wolf counterparts, have extremely sensitive senses of sight, hearing, and smell. They can see in total darkness and across large distances with great clarity, track scents for up to several miles and can hear whispered conversations across great distances and from outside of buildings with ease. Using their sense of smell in particular they can interpret the chemosignals that indicate identity and emotional states, a skill that, with practice, can be developed to the point of a supernatural sense of empathy; it has also been revealed that Werewolves can even sense sexual desire through scent. These abilities help Werewolves fight at night, hear approaching enemies, and locate missing people by scent. A Werewolf's glowing eyes can also be used to see mystical or supernatural phenomenon that cannot be perceived by human eyes, such as a Nemeton, or a Kitsune's aura.
* **Accelerated Healing:** Werewolves possess an extraordinarily enhanced healing factor that allows them to heal from most mild to moderate wounds within moments. They have been shown to heal quickly from gunshots, stab wounds through the chest, abdomen and extremities, and broken arms, legs, and spines, though most cannot heal from a broken neck; while varying among different ranks of Werewolves, broken bones can usually heal instantly after they've been reset, and depending on the severity, stab wounds and gunshots can usually resolve themselves in minutes to hours based on how deep the wounds are and whether or not vital organs were damaged in the process. Werewolves are also immune to the majority of human illnesses and conditions such as colds, cancer, epilepsy, asthma, etc. For this reason, they cannot get high on drugs or drunk on alcohol—because the "high" is technically caused by the substance inflicting some kind of damage on the body, the Werewolf can heal this damage faster than the effects can be felt. The only toxic substances that Werewolves are not immune to are wolfsbane, mistletoe and the modified canine distemper virus that was specifically designed to kill supernatural creatures. They are also vulnerable to the paralytic effects of Kanima venom, though, with concentration, their accelerated healing ability will allow them to process through the toxin and overcome its effects much more quickly than a normal human.
	+ **Longevity**: Because a Werewolf's rapid cellular healing prevents them from contracting any human illness or condition and replaces aging cells at a constant rate, Werewolves have a tremendously extended lifespan. It is unknown what the average life expectancy of a Werewolf is, but the oldest known Werewolf is Satomi Ito, an Alpha Werewolf who is over 110 years old and who maintains the physical appearance of a woman in her late 50s to early 60s. As a result, it can be assumed that Werewolves could potentially survive decades into their 100s so long as they are not injured or killed first.
* **Shapeshifting:** Werewolves have the ability to shape their features into that of a partially lupine form, which involves glowing eyes, fangs, claws, a ridged brow, pointed ears and large sideburns. With practice, Werewolves can learn how to only transform a few selective features as needed, such as only extending their claws to cut something, their fangs to bite something, or simply making their eyes glow to enhance their eyesight or display their supernatural nature.
	+ **Advanced Shapeshifting:** Some Werewolves, typically Alphas (though occasionally Betas and Omegas as well), can shapeshift into more animalistic forms, such as transforming into a full wolf, or into a more beast-like monstrous form.
* **Pain Absorption:** Werewolves have the ability to absorb pain from animals, humans, and other creatures through tactile contact. This is usually done by touching the person who is in pain, or the injured body part and drawing the pain into themselves, which manifests as the Werewolf's veins darkening as their body processes it. Initially, a Werewolf can only essentially "take the edge off" of a person's pain level, but with practice, they can eventually learn to take it completely.
* **Memory Manipulation Ritual:** All Werewolves technically have the ability to perform a memory-sharing ritual, but it is most commonly performed by Alphas due to the level of control and practice required to avoid harm or death towards the target. By sticking their claws into the back of a person's neck, they can view the person's memories, share their own memories with the target, or even suppress or remove memories entirely.
* **Animal Instincts:** Werewolves are apex predators, and, as such, they can assert dominance over other animals such as dogs, cats and deer. They can use this ability to force them to be quiet or leave the area, or to stand down if they are acting aggressively. As a result, these animals can often be frightened by the presence of Werewolves. They also have natural animal instincts that allow them to think as true animals do, though some Werewolves are more in-tune with these instincts than others.

### Unique Alpha Powers

* **Merging:** Alpha twins have shown the ability to merge into one Super-Wolf. However, this ability was unique to the twins themselves as no other Alpha has this ability.
* **Healing:** Alpha Werewolves can perform a ritual to heal others, but at the cost of losing the spark of power that makes them Alphas to begin with, demoting them back to Beta or Omega status.
* **Power Granting:** Alphas have the ability to turn regular humans into Werewolves by biting them with their fangs (or, in some rare cases, by scratching them very deeply with their claws). However, this transformation is not always successful, and depending on the condition of the human, there is a risk that they could die instead of becoming a Werewolf. It is also possible that an Alpha bite or scratch can cause a human to turn into a different kind of creature, such as a Kanima or Werejaguar
* **Alpha Roar:** Alphas have the ability to roar so powerfully that they can scare away weaker creatures and force Betas and Omegas to submit, to transform into their Werewolf forms, or to return to their human forms. This roar can also empower the members of their pack, allowing them to fight through torture, serious injuries, or other painful experiences enough to access their powers, which are often weakened or inaccessible when the Werewolf is in extreme pain. This was demonstrated when Scott's roar allowed Isaac to transform enough to break the coyote trap on his ankle, *("More Bad Than Good")* and allowed Liam to fight through the taser he was being injured with to defeat the Eichen House orderlies attacking him. *("Amplification")*
* **Healing Disruption:** Alphas possess a mystical energy that causes injuries they inflict on lower-ranking supernatural creatures with accelerated healing abilities to take much longer to heal than a normal wound would.

## Weaknesses

While incredibly powerful, Werewolves possess a number of weaknesses which can be exploited by Hunters, humans and other creatures.

* **Wolfsbane:** Wolfsbane, also known as aconite, is an extremely toxic herb for Werewolves, though different strains have different effects. Most forms of wolfsbane will kill a Werewolf if the infection it causes reaches their heart, though there are ways of expelling the herb from their bodies, such as ingesting ashes of the strain in question, literally burning the wolfsbane-infected wound, or surgically excising the vapor from their chests.
* **Electricity:** Werewolves are incredibly vulnerable to electricity, which, for unknown reasons, seems to interfere with the nature of their abilities. For this reason, Hunters have been known to use cattle-prod tasers to incapacitate wolves in order to capture them, and will hook them up to car batteries with electrical wires in order to torture them. Lower voltages will simply prevent a wolf from transforming or healing, while higher voltages can easily knock out or even kill a Werewolf.
* **Letharia Vulpina:** *Letharia Vulpina*, a species of lichen known as "wolf lichen," is a neon-green moss that has been used for centuries to poison wolves, foxes, and coyotes by mixing it in with their food. Though this lichen does not appear to be fatal to Werewolves, Werecoyotes, and Kitsune, it does seem to weaken them considerably for several days until it wears off.
* **Modified Canine Distemper Virus:** An assassin in the Deadpool named The Chemist invented a modified version of the canine distemper virus that can weaken and kill Werewolves. Those who are exposed to this virus will begin to sweat before slowly losing control over their transformations, either because they can't transform into a Werewolf or because they can't transform back from the Werewolf form into their human one. It then starts to cause them to begin bleeding black blood from their noses, ears, mouths, and nail-beds, and to develop darkened veins around their eyes, mouth, and temples. From there, the Werewolf is then stricken completely blind, after which point they will only have minutes to live. Fortunately, it has been discovered that ingesting wild purple reishi mushrooms are both a cure and a vaccine for this virus.
* **Full Moon:** Though being a Werewolf is considered a gift in the supernatural community due to the increased strength, speed, durability/stamina, and healing abilities that it provides, it also comes with a price, which is that the Werewolf becomes extremely feral, bloodthirsty, and easy to anger on the full moon, when they are at the height of their power. For this reason, Werewolves must be trained to control themselves on full moons in order to prevent harm and exposure to bystanders and to avoid the wrath of the Werewolf Hunters who patrol wooded areas during the nights of the full moon for just such a loss of control.
* **Intense Emotions:** The transformation into a wolf can be easily triggered by intense emotions such as anger, fear, stress, or any other sensation that increases the heart rate, which, especially for newly-bitten Werewolves, puts them at risk of losing control and can result in harm to innocent civilians, exposure to the human world, and can also put the Werewolf at risk of being killed by a Hunter as punishment for anything they did while transformed.
* **Loud Noises**: Because of a Werewolf's very heightened sense of hearing, they can be incapacitated by noises at extremely loud decibels, as well as sounds at ultrasonic and subsonic frequencies. Examples of the former cases would be a Banshee's scream or microphone feedback, and examples of the latter would be the ultra-sonic emitters used by the Argent Hunters to disorient and lure a Werewolf into a trap, or the subsonic music used by the Deadpool assassins that made Liam, Malia, and Scott behave as though they were drunk and made Adella feel tipsy.
* **Lunar Eclipse:** During the phase of a lunar eclipse where the moon is completely covered by the Earth's umbral shadow, Werewolves will be cut off from the source of their powers and will be subsequently reverted the state of a normal human for the duration. Though this phase typically only lasts ten to twenty minutes, it is still a very vulnerable period for Werewolves, which makes it an excellent opportunity for hunters and less-powerful supernatural creatures to attack, as a Werewolf will be unable to access their enhanced strength, shapeshifting, and healing abilities.
* **Mountain Ash**: Rowan wood, or the ashes that result from burning it (known as mountain ash), are effective barriers against the supernatural, including Werewolves. If a building is surrounded by rowan or mountain ash in an unbroken circle, a Werewolf will be unable to enter it, nor will they be able to leave it if they are in the building when the circle was created. For this reason, many Druids, Banshees, Chimeras, and other humans who are "in the know" and can safely handle mountain ash use it in order to protect themselves or to create traps for Werewolves and other supernatural creatures.