Woof Lore

Werewolves can be born, or made, but making a werewolf is rare for a few reasons: 1) about a quarter of the humans that are bitten don't survive it 2) only an alpha werewolf's bite can change a human 3) it's risky to have grown adults that are used to being human suddenly being werewolves, because there's a LOT to adjust to that most werewolves have had a lifetime to get used to it.

Changing a human isn't entirely unheard of, however, because alpha werewolves have a natural instinct to expand their pack. If they don't have at least two other wolves with them, they're inclined to give into that instinct and create werewolves to join them. Of course, there are rogue werewolves, that don't have a pack and are alpha by default, that go around biting humans willy-nilly.

As far as werewolf biology, they're capable of a full-shift. Which is to say, Big Dogs, not weird, bipedal anthro beasts. A werewolf's wolf form is virtually indistinguishable from a regular wolf, although many of them have unusual coat/eye colors that correspond to their human counterparts. So, like, a person that's a redhead as a human would have a ginger coat, which isn't really common for natural wolves.

The full moon is a cycle that extends over a few days, rather than just one night, where a werewolf will be most on edge in their human form. Even werewolves that have excellent control might be prone to fits of temper during the full moon. Conversely, during the new moon, werewolves are most distant from their furrier self. Some werewolves even feel sick for a couple days during this time.

As a human, werewolves look normal! However, they're faster, stronger, have better reflexes and incredibly heightened senses. They also heal much more quickly than humans.

The pack structure is pretty simple! You have your alpha werewolf (or two, if there's a mated couple), their second in command, and then a handful of beta werewolves. The betas listen to the alpha no matter what, and a good alpha won't take advantage of this instinctual need to obey them. Packs aren't necessarily familial, and oftentimes children of the alpha will leave to form their own packs, but there are plenty of packs where most, if not all, members are related.

Physical contact and scenting are pretty important to pack bonding! Think, puppy piles and occasionally rubbing a hand or cheek against a pack member to get their scents all mixed together. There can be non-werewolf members of a pack; the non-wolf member won't feel the pack bond the same way a werewolf would, but the werewolves of the pack will still react to the non-wolf member the same as their furry counterparts.

- Packs are not always wolves. Usually, but not always. An alpha can choose to take pretty much whoever they like into the pack, and the ritual of binding a non-wolf into the dynamic is so simple it's barely a ritual. Basically? The alpha asks the non-wolf person if they'd like to be in the pack, the non-wolf person says yes, and furry magic immediately begins to do its work.
          - The werewolves of the pack will feel bonded to the non-wolf the same as if they were another werewolf. That is to say, they'll smell like pack, and werewolves will benefit from physical pack bonding with a non-wolf just as much as a werewolf.
          - Humans won't be affected by this bond whatsoever, with the exception of magic users (who still might have a difficult, or impossible, time sensing it).
- Wolves might not actually mate for life, but werewolves sure as hell do. Any given werewolf has a number of potential mate candidates; some werewolves will tell you this is always another wolf, but it's really give or take. Most werewolves can sense their mate on smell alone, but certain emotionally stunted individuals will refuse to acknowledge this fact until it's almost like they never acknowledged it at all!
          - A werewolf is under no obligation to get together with one of these potential mates. Furry magic has simply devised a way for werewolves to find mates they're most compatible with. A werewolf can have a perfectly happy relationship with someone their schnoz doesn't tell them they're destined to be with.
         -However, if they do and the relationship ends, the wolf might struggle, or find themselves completely incapable, of entering a romantic relationship with anyone else after.
          - The mate bond works like the pack bond, in that wolves will have the greatest sense for it, while other beings may not notice it at all.
          - An alpha mate automatically assumes the same level of power as an alpha over the pack.
- Along with having wickedly sharp senses, werewolves also happen to be very in tune with emotion, often reading it as scents. Needless to say, some werewolves are better at this than others. They make great lie detectors!
-Werewolves are not invulnerable! They just heal really really fast. This is useful for things like papercuts and the common cold, never having to get stitches or take a flu shot. It does make a wolf seem pretty damn indestructable. However, with the right tools and some bad intentions, you can deal a wolf some damage.
          - Silver, duh.
          - Injuries inflicted upon them by other werewolves will not heal as quickly.
- While wolves without a pack are technically Alphas, they won't reap any of the benefits of being an Alpha until they have at least one pack member. In most, not all, cases, this means biting someone.
-Alphas are not stronger than other wolves in any huge way, but they do get a good boost of that furry magic to assure their health and the strength of the pack.