A/N: Hello! It's been 9 years since Teen Wolf aired and I am finally getting this story off the ground. Does anyone still read Teen Wolf fanfics anymore? I hope so! And, if you know my writings, you know my first chapters are usually background. So here's my going-on-six-years baby!
Chapter 1: Hairy History
What's your favorite werewolf movie? Let me guess. 1941's The Wolf Man starring Lon Chaney Jr.? How about 1948's Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein? The Wolf Man was in that too. I Was A Teenage Werewolf? The Curse of the Werewolf? The Howling? An American Werewolf in London? If classics aren't your cup of tea then there are plenty of new movies to howl at. There's Dog Soldiers, the Underworld movies, Blood and Chocolate, the Twilight Saga, The Wolfman, and Game of Werewolves just to name a few. I bet you knew that 99% of those movies are completely fake and butcher the werewolf legend. Only 1% of werewolf movies have any actual truth in them.
A werewolf is supposedly a mythological monster. He or she is a human possessing the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or human-wolf-hybrid creature. The werewolf lore can be found in all cultures and has many names; weriuuolf in Old High German, varúlfur in Old Norse, loup-garou in French, lupo mannaro in Italian folklore, and even kveldulf in modern Scandinavian. Lycanthropy, a name most are familiar with, is the Ancient Greek term for the ability to transform oneself into a wolf. Over the years, however, this term morphed into "Lycanthropia", a disease of the mind in which the insane thought to have transformed into a wolf. Most of the time, however, the Lycanthropia patients were quite sane.
In the media, the most popular way to become a werewolf is via bite or deep scratch from another werewolf. The transformation may be temporary or permanent with revealing physical traits even in human form. Some traits include a prominent brow, curved fingernails, pointed low-set ears, sharp teeth and bright irises. Obviously the werewolf appearance varies from culture to culture but it is most commonly portrayed as a gigantic wolf with gangly limbs and a tail. These are common misconceptions. Yes, a bite or scratch can turn a person, but one can also be born a werewolf. Werewolf traits are not usually carried over into the human form. This means that anyone can be a werewolf and you would never know. Does that scare you? You know, it's said that the eyes are windows to the soul. Well a werewolf's eyes are the window to their rank. Alphas have red eyes while yellow is the most common eye color in Betas and some even have blue meaning they have taken an innocent life. They are impossible to photograph because flashes trigger their glowing eyes. All werewolves have heightened senses, accelerated healing, enhanced agility and strength, they can absorb and alleviate pain from other people and creatures, and werewolves can also give or take memories by inserting their claws into the nape of a person's neck. Even in human form they possess these abilities.
Back in the day, people came up with various remedies to cure lycanthropy. The Ancient Greeks and Romans believed that exhaustion was an effective cure. A long period of physical activity was thought to weaken the wolf and purge the human of their sickness. In Europe, exorcisms and surgery were commonly practiced to banish the wolf. Eventually, other weaknesses were discovered. Werewolves are very susceptible to wolfsbane. The effects vary depending on the type, amount, and delivery method. Wolfsbane is known to cause hallucinations, severely weaken, render unconscious, and even kill werewolves. Powder from the Rowan tree, also known as Mountain Ash, can form an impenetrable barrier to keep supernatural creatures in or out of places when used right. Werewolves are also powerless during a total lunar eclipse. Over time, it was discovered that the steady application of low amperage of electricity could keep werewolves weak and in their human form. If necessary, strong methods of death include being cut in half or crushing the skull.
How do I know all of this you ask? I come from a family of werewolves. My dad, Elias, is the pack Alpha and my mom, Ada, is the pack Emissary. Two of my older brothers, Michael and Aaron were born werewolves while Charlie and I had never come into our wolfish heritage. Unlike Charlie, however, I have the potential to become a Druid, or an Emissary to a werewolf pack. It's an old notion dating back to Ancient Greece when King Lycaon and his sons were turned into wolves by Zeus. The Driuds had shapeshifting abilities like werewolves so they taught Lycaon how to shift between human and wolf form. My mom is from the Old Germanic Herze family. They have been some of the most powerful and influential Druids since the days of King Lycaon.
One day, I will be able to follow in my maternal ancestors' footsteps and become a powerful ally to a wolf pack. I have been training since I was a little girl, but I haven't fully come into my own yet. While other girls dream of their Prom and wedding, I've been dreaming of the day when I become a master Druid and a wolf pack Emissary.
My family lived in Brookings, Oregon before the accident. We lived fairly close to another small pack with whom my dad created an alliance. Our house was always open to them and to friends. It was a fairly big estate off of the main highway in Brookings. To get to our house you had to take a dirt road up the hill and then you came to this big willow tree encircled with lovely white roses and silvery edelweiss. Our house was a two-story white French Colonial with a wrap-around porch. Our backyard backed up against the dense woods and we had a nice sized pool, Jacuzzi, and a shed to match the house that held all of our yard toys and equipment. I guess you could say I came from a wealthy family. Dad was an in-demand architect. He built our house all on his own, bought all the land and everything. He did it all for my mom.
Mom always wanted a big house and a big family. Ada Herze was an only child and had didn't have many friends because of her family situation. Mom had wanted to be a fashion designer but her mother wouldn't have it. She had to train and find a pack and uphold the family traditions. Mom did this while working three jobs to pay for classes. My parents met in San Francisco, California when they were juniors in college. Dad was studying architecture and mom had won a full scholarship for psychology. She knew right off the bat what he was and they eventually fell in love. It was like a fairytale come true. After college they moved to Brookings where dad got a job designing homes and mom decided to become a child psychologist.
Michael was born in 1986, followed by Aaron in 1989, Charlie in 1993, and then I was born on February 3rd 1995. Life was easy and wonderful when I was growing up. My brothers and I led a semi-normal life (while participating in school) as we trained and learned to control our gifts. Charlie had it easier than them, of course, since he wasn't a werewolf. And I also had special training in the supernatural and naturalistic arts.
Everything changed when I was ten. It was the night of my fourth grade recital and all of our families were invited. A World of Nations, it was called. I was the lead in the Germany part because I was half-German. I was excited because I was going to sing in our mother tongue. It was Edelweiss, my favorite lullaby and flower, and my mom helped me learn it. It was one of the special things we shared. It had been storming pretty badly that night. When it was my turn to take center stage, I looked around the audience confidently. As I began singing I noticed Charlie in the crowd but I never saw my parents or Michael and Aaron. In the wings, I saw my teacher, principal, and two policemen. I started to panic when my teacher pointed at me. But my mother's words kept running through my mind:
Head up, eyes forward, and no matter what, keep going.
After my part, I was pulled offstage. My brother joined me as the policemen gave us the horrific news. Our parents had been hit by a drunk driver on their way to the show. Our dad, Michael, and Aaron were in critical condition but our mom had not made the journey to the hospital. We left for the hospital as soon as possible. Once there, Charlie and I weren't allowed to see mother's body. We had to wait until our paternal grandmother came up from Southern California to claim the body. Then, she went to see dad and our older brothers. When she came back to us, Charlie kept pestering her and asking questions. Grandma Donna, a woman we didn't even know very well, snapped at Charlie. That's when we knew. We all felt it. Someone had gotten to them before we could. Someone had ripped our family from us. Someone murdered our parents and brothers. Later that night, Grandma Donna made the decision to move the three of us to Northern California. She explained that our parents had friends in a town called Beacon Hills and they would be able to help us.
We stayed in Brookings until the school year was over. Grandma Donna found a nice house for us and then enrolled me and Charlie in school in Beacon Hills. Packing up all my stuff was hard, I didn't want to leave our territory. I didn't want people moving into the house my dad made for mom. Charlie reassured me that we were just renting it out. Wolves are territorial. I wasn't fully a werewolf, but it was in my blood. And I was mad as hell.
Beacon Hills was nicer than I thought it would be. That is, until, we found out that dad's werewolf friends, the Hale pack, were all killed in a house fire. Charlie was suspicious. He said there was no way the entire Hale family could have been trapped in their house. He suspected hunters – a word we were very familiar with. He snuck out and went up to the house one night and said the place was too destroyed to tell if it had been foul play.
So, life went on. I made new friends and kept my schedule the way my mom would have wanted it. I kept to swim classes and had scoured the internet to keep up with my Latin. I begged Grandma Donna to let me resume training. The old woman relented eventually. Every day after school for about two hours, I would train in our basement. Without mom to guide me, it was very hard to keep up with my Druidic studies. Grandma Donna, despite not liking the idea, tried her best. She gave me all of mom's books and notes, but, even with her limited knowledge, I was still studying blind.
My name is Maria Josie Beckett – but I prefer to be called Josie. I am a fifteen year old Druid-in-training and I'm about to be a Sophomore at Beacon Hills High School. I'm just a normal teenage girl who happens to know about the supernatural world and is hiding it from everybody in town. This is going to be a fun year.