a werewolf can shift the day before, the day of, and the day after a full moon. the reason they shift all three days is their bodies start to prepare for the shift the week leading up to the full moon and their bodies build so much adrenaline for the shift that they tend to need to shift all three days to release it all. all werewolves can control whether or not they actually follow through with the shift or not, with the exception of a female werewolf who is pregnant (they tend not to build up adrenaline or need to shift when pregnant.) if a werewolf puts off shifting, or avoids it altogether, they can put themselves in a lot of pain. the longer a werewolf puts off shifting the more they start to look like they are sick, if they keep putting it off it could look like they are dying.
shifting in itself is painful, especially when the werewolf is new to the process (whether they have just recently been turned or they have reached the age of maturity, which is 15 years old in human years). but the pain of shifting never gets any easier, it doesn’t dull down. look at it this way, if you start shifting at 15, and there are generally 12 to 13 full moons a year, by the time you are 20 you’ve shifted about 260 times and by time you are 30 you’ve shifted 390 times, you’d get used to the pain. the pain of shifting does take adjusting to, as the werewolf’s bones are changing from human-like to wolf-like. their bones are breaking and shifting. the body is changing from one creature to another.
a werewolf shifts into the form of a wolf, not some monster like that’s been seen in folklore drawings, but they are larger than the average wolf. A full grown wolf is 6’6” in length, that’s about the length of a teenage male werewolf. a full grown male werewolf is closer to 8 feet long, whereas a full grown female werewolf is about 7 feet long, a teenage female werewolf is about 5’5”. the color of fur on a werewolf does vary and the color of fur has no significant meaning. The only part of a werewolf that has any significance is the eye color of the alpha. their eye color is generally red when in wolf form, the rest of the pack’s eyes are gold.
werewolves can be born or turned, werewolves who are born generally are children of werewolves, and are from a long line of werewolves, there are werewolves that are pure bloods - generally dating back to the first werewolves - and are born to werewolves who have only ever had procreated with other born werewolves. there are werewolves who’ve had children with humans, and while their children are still born werewolves they aren’t as strong as pure bloods. a turned werewolf is seen as the weakest of the species as they are generally humans turned into werewolves after being bit by a werewolf.
werewolves when turned do not have to be turned by the alpha, the bite from a werewolf no matter what their pack status is in their pack, or if they are packless, every werewolf, even if they are turned werewolves themself, can turn a human into a werewolf. although, a werewolf turned by an alpha is stronger than a werewolf turned by a beta, or by an omega or packless wolves. a bite that breaks skin is all that is needed to turn a human into a werewolf, the saliva from the werewolf introduces the werewolf dna into the bloodstream which mixes with the human dna and takes over.
a turned werewolf has a sort of sire bond to their creator, not so much have to do everything they tell them, but they are loyal to the werewolf that turns them, and while they still have a bond to their pack’s alpha, they are more likely to follow their creator’s lead than their alpha. now if their alpha is also their creator, then it’s more like a sire bond. however werewolves created in a lab do not have the same bond with their creator as one turned by being bitten. they also do not have the same bond with their alpha, whose dna is used to turn them.
werewolves age differently than humans and wolves, while a 2 year old wolf is about 15 years old in human years, werewolves age even slower, so by the time they turn 32 in human years, they are about the age of 3 in wolf years.
when a werewolf hits 15 they are considered old enough to mate, though the human in them sees that mating at 15 is wrong, especially since the age of consent is 18 years old. mating is a very sexual act and while in the middle ages, most people were married and reproducing by 15 (and there are still teen parents in this day and age) claiming a mate is forbidden at 15. mating takes place at 18 years old and most mates that are claimed are around the same age, sometimes however werewolves don’t find their mates when they are 18, sometimes they are found later in life and the age difference tends to be a little greater then too but the age difference is never anything illegal (so a 30 year old werewolf’s mate won’t be 18 or younger). a werewolf’s mate can be another werewolf or can be a human.
the mating process occurs during intercourse during either a full moon or a new moon. the mating process during a full moon is generally for one werewolf claiming another werewolf as their mate, the mating process between two werewolves is more animalistic. the mating process during a new moon is generally for when a werewolf is claiming a human as their mate, the mating process between a werewolf and their human mate is more humane, it’s more about making sure other werewolves know that the human belongs to a werewolf already, that human is under the werewolf’s protection. when a werewolf claims a mate, they bite their mate during the mating process, during sex with their mate.
when a werewolf meets their mate, there is this feeling of a part of them finally being complete, like they need the other to fill a void in what has been missing from their life. when they have met their mate, they have to wait until the full moon or new moon to claim their mate, which means that until either of these phases of the moon, they have to remain celibate (with their mate).
while a bite generally turns a human, during the mating process it’s used to mark the other as their mate, a way for other wolves to know that this person has been claimed, that they are under the werewolf’s protection. a bite during mating, when the mate is a human, will turn the non-werewolf partner. consent for the werewolf partner is a must when it comes to claiming a human as a mate for this reason. also not all non-werewolf partners are turned by a bite during the mating process, there are certain circumstances and certain reasons a bite wouldn’t turn the human mate.a bite during mating doesn’t go as deep as a bite that would turn a human, the only reason a bite would actually turn a human is if the werewolf partner’s bite goes too deep. claiming a mate is not done to reproduce/procreate, though the mating process itself is done to reproduce/procreate, claiming a mate is done more so to fortify the bond between mates. like wolves, werewolves mate for life and once their mate dies, they don’t search for another mate.
when a werewolf becomes pregnant, the pregnancy is faster than a normal human pregnancy, as wolves are generally pregnant for at most 75 days (about two and a half months) and while wolves generally have litters, a werewolf pregnancy consists of one baby at a time. a werewolf pregnancy usually lasts for four months, roughly half the timespan of a normal human pregnancy. an unborn baby of a werewolf develops in the womb faster than that of a normal unborn baby. due to the shorter pregnancies, werewolf families tend to be a little larger, as long as nothing happens to their mate.
generally in a pack, you have your alpha, beta, and omegas. The alpha is the pack leader, and generally the pack leader’s kin is the next alpha if the current alpha is a born werewolf. In the instance the alpha is not a born alpha, their child could still be the next alpha, but would have to prove themselves in a fight against other prospects. A born alpha’s child could still have to prove that they are worthy of being the next alpha, they generally tend to have the pack’s following the moment they are born (if the alpha has more than one child the title generally goes to their first born). At any time can a beta test their alpha’s power, and attempt to become the alpha themself. In order for a beta to become an alpha, they have to prove that they are strong enough to take their alpha’s power from them. at any time a beta can test their alpha’s power but if they are unsuccessful in proving they are stronger than their alpha, they are sentenced to death by the hands of their alpha. and when a beta takes over as alpha, they have to prove themselves by killing their alpha. however, if the alpha is killed by an outside source, the heir (if the alpha is a born werewolf) takes over as alpha. Omegas tend to be werewolves turned by a bite from a beta, or other omegas. they cannot be bumped up to alphas from the omega status in the pack, but they can bump up to alpha if the beta that turned them becomes alpha and they take them on to prove they are strong enough to be alpha. Alphas tend to be a bit more cold hearted than betas and omegas due to having to be able to prepare their pack for unforeseen circumstances or to protect themselves from the pain of losing their mate, their children, and their pack members.
werewolves tend to hear up to six miles in the forest/heavily wooded areas and 10 miles in an open tundra, they can also cover up to 60 miles in one night traveling by foot. werewolves are fast and can see farther away than most humans. they can also smell more scents than a human can. werewolves tend to heal faster as their bodies tend to metabolise nutrients faster than a human. they are also stronger than the average human.
to weaken a werewolf, the herb Aconitum napellus -- otherwise known as wolfsbane -- is known to weaken a werewolf. there are some myths that silver harms them, but that is just a myth and not actually true. to kill a werewolf the best way is to decapitate them or remove their heart. when a werewolf kills another werewolf, whether they were a threat to the pack or in the trial for power, they remove the other’s heart and then decapitate them. werewolves can bleed out to death if there is an object that keeps them from healing. for a human or hunter to kill a werewolf they have to weaken them first and aside from wolfsbane harming their mate or other pack members weakens them too. while human illnesses don’t affect werewolves the same way as a normal human, they also still weaken a werewolf. but there are some illnesses that werewolves are immune to (like the common cold, the flu, and other illnesses).
While a wolf’s natural instinct is to hunt and survive they are not naturally aggressive towards humans. They only attack humans if they feel threatened. Same can be said about werewolves. They do not attack humans unless provoked, they don’t attack anything other than their prey unless provoked. Werewolves, like wolves, are much less tolerant of being touched by unfamiliar humans than most dogs are. If a wolf wants you to touch it, the animal is likely to initiate the touch either by rubbing against you, submitting and exposing its belly, or perhaps even pawing you or attempting to stand up to get close to your face. If a werewolf wants you to touch them, they will approach you and initiate the touch by rubbing against the human, either with their body or pressing their head or nose into your hand.
a werewolf wedding ceremony is more about the connection between the couple than binding them legally together, much like a human wedding ceremony. a wedding involving a werewolf is performed on pack land, regardless if both in the pair are wolves or not, and consists of a native american tradition, the blanket ceremony, and a celtic/wiccan ceremony of handfasting, and a unity candle ceremony. the ceremony starts with a family member, or someone close to each of the couple, wrapping the individual with a blue blanket representing their pasts, then the officiant, usually a pack elder or the alpha, says some words before wrapping a ceremonial rope around their hands, binding them together, the pair than share promises to each other, followed by either the officiant or close relatives of the couple will step forward carrying a white blanket. They will remove the blue blankets and then drape the large white blanket over the shoulders of the couple, symbolizing a covering over of their weaknesses and sorrows. Now the couple can enter their new life of marriage joined with peace and fulfillment. the couple than shares a kiss and their union is sealed.