Werewolf

**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, 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 superior 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. *("Wolf Moon")*, *("Frenemy")*

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.

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. *("Ice Pick")* 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. *("Omega")*

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

Little is known about the genesis of the Werewolf species, though Gerard Argent has claimed that the first Werewolf was supposedly Lycaon from Greek mythology, along with his fifty sons. 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. *("Visionary")* 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 Deucalion's original pack and then 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. *("Maid of Gévaudan")*

One of the most well-known Werewolf families is the Hale family, whose bloodline is known to go back several centuries. *("117")* 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). *("Visionary")*, *("Second Chance at First Line")*, *("Smoke and Mirrors")*

## 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 *("Wolf Moon")*, and Scott repeated the sentiment to Liam Dunbar after Scott had inadvertently given him the Bite. *("The Benefactor")* 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. *("Unleashed")*, *("The Girl Who Knew Too Much")* 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 early 2000s. *("Visionary")* 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 *("Chaos Rising")*). 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. *("Co-Captain")*

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 *("Letharia Vulpina")*, 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. *("Alpha Pact")* 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. *("Status Asthmaticus")*

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 preexisting 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. *("Alpha Pact")* 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. *("Galvanize")*

## 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 Scott) 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.

## Werewolf Packs and Hierarchy

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.

### Alphas

Alphas are physically the strongest of the Werewolf species and are typically the leaders of their respective packs. Alphas are distinguishable by their glowing crimson-red eyes, and their 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, which are outlined below and sourced from the Argent Bestiary (released at 2014's San Diego Comic-Con and with the Season 4 DVD set). 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, Scott used his roar to allow Isaac to remove a trap on his foot *("More Bad Than Good")* and a second time to help Liam resist the electric shocks of the Eichen House orderlies *("Amplification")*. 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 in *Smoke and Mirrors*, and Theo Raeken, the Dread Doctors' first Chimera, was able to full-shift into a wolf due to the combination of his Werewolf and Werecoyote genes despite not even being truly supernatural.

### 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 Werewolves' eyes can be either one of two colors: 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 channeling 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. *("The Girl Who Knew Too Much")* 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".

### Demon Wolf

Sebastien Valet, who was in fact the the Beast of Gevaudan, referred to himself as a Demon Wolf, claiming that drinking rainwater from a wolf's paw print in the woods of what is now Montreal, Canada is what gave him his powers. Whether the term is accurate or not is irrelevant, as the Beast itself has demonstrated that even in the past, it was not a typical Werewolf in the least. The sole similarity Sebastien had to regular Werewolves was the ability to partially shapeshift their features into that of a lycanthrope, in his case, with glowing blue eyes (indicating he has taken innocent human life), retractable fangs and claws, along with the physical powers of super strength, speed, agility/reflexes, durability, and accelerated healing. He also implied that he was immortal and unable to be killed with conventional weapons, though this may solely be because he originated in the 18th century when weaponry was not as sophisticated. It was later revealed that there was at least one object that could kill him-- a pike whose steel tip was mixed with wolfsbane and mountain ash before it was forged with the blood of his sister, Marie-Jeanne Valet under the light of a full moon. *("Apotheosis")*
Otherwise, his shapeshifting abilities are completely unique; instead of transforming his body into a partially or fully lupine form, he summons shadows from the earth and wraps them around himself until he has grown into a nine-feet-tall, enormous, muscular beast-like wolf with red veins protruding from his skin and bone-like spikes coming from his elbows and knuckles. When his spirit was resurrected by the Dread Doctors, it was put into the body of a genetic Chimera named Mason Hewitt, who then gained all of the abilities that Sebastien previously possessed and was slowly subsumed by Sebastien until his body literally transformed to resemble Sebastien's original visage. However, since energy and life force cannot be totally destroyed, Mason lived on inside of him and was ultimately rescued by the McCall Pack, specifically Lydia Martin, who used her Banshee scream to shout Mason's name and force Sebastien out of Mason's body. Deucalion, an Augmented Alpha, has often been referred to as "The Demon Wolf," but this is merely a nickname, whereas Sebastien as the Beast of Gevaudan was apparently a literal demon-wolf.

## 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, and 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 *("The Girl Who Knew Too Much")* or microphone feedback *("A Credible Threat")*, 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 *("Chaos Rising")*, or the subsonic music used by the Deadpool assassins that made Liam, Malia, and Scott behave as though they were drunk. *("Perishable")*
* **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.

## Trivia

* Though most packs in the series have been fully composed of Werewolves, this is not a requirement—for example, the McCall Pack is famously known for including a variety of species, including a True Alpha Werewolf, a Beta Werewolf, a Beta Werecoyote, a Thunder Kitsune, a Banshee, and humans, along with a large network of supportive allies.
* **Lycanthropy**, (from Greek *lykos,* “wolf ”; *anthropos,* “man”), mental disorder in which the patient believes that he is a wolf or some other nonhuman animal. Undoubtedly stimulated by the once widespread superstition that lycanthropy is a supernatural condition in which men actually assume the physical form of werewolves or other animals, the delusion has been most likely to occur among people who believe in reincarnation and the transmigration of souls. Usually, a person is deemed to take the form of the most dangerous beast of prey of the region: the wolf or bear in Europe and northern Asia, the hyena or leopard in Africa, and the tiger in India, China, Japan, and elsewhere in Asia; but other animals are mentioned too. Both the superstition and the psychiatric disorder are linked with belief in animal guardian spirits, vampires, totemism, witches, and werewolves. The folklore, fairy tales, and legends of many nations and peoples show evidence of lycanthropic belief.
* Stories of men turning into beasts go back to antiquity. In parts of ancient Greece, werewolf myths, presumably stemming from prehistoric times, became linked with the Olympian religion. In Arcadia, a region plagued by wolves, there was a cult of the Wolf-Zeus. Mount Lycaeus was the scene of a yearly gathering at which the priests were said to prepare a sacrificial feast that included meat mixed with human parts. According to legend, whoever tasted it became a wolf and could not turn back into a man unless he abstained from human flesh for nine years.
* The Romans also knew of this superstition. Anyone who was supposed to have been turned into a wolf by means of magic spells or herbs was called *versipellis* (“turnskin”) by the Romans.