It wasn't long after Buffy's seventeen birthday that the tame pack discovered an intruder had been in their territory.
"It was a werewolf, an unknown one." Alex reported to Charles the morning after his pack had had a run though Miller Woods. "We smelled it and a fresh kill while we were playing in the woods. It smelled us too and took off."
"A new werewolf in our territory has the potential to be a problem." Charles reminded him. "If they themselves are new to being a werewolf than they probably don't even know yet that they are a werewolf. Someone could see them running around and raise an alarm, which risks exposure. But some werewolves do refuse to lock themselves up during the full moon cycle and don't care about the risk of exposure to themselves or anyone else."
"Yeah, they fall into two categories, driven crazy by being a werewolf and feeling like being the werewolf is more natural and they should be allowed to just run free." Alex nodded.
"And if that was all it was, it wouldn't be an issue." Aura added. "The issue is that they get spotted and word travels and werewolf hunters come. And sometimes they miss and shoot innocent people or the stories of a werewolf remind people about their fears about real wolves. And then they remember that there are wolf packs in both Miller Woods and the Natural Forest and Wolfbloods get shot and killed by people thinking they're just wolves. Like my mother was."
"And that can spark wolf purges, it has in the past." Jesse rubbed his hand on Aura's back, comforting her as she remembered her mother.
"It was during that same incident that your mother was killed that I and a few other members of the packs got shot." Charles remembered as well. "Whether this werewolf is new or just feels he or she is more of a wolf and running free, we need to find out. If they're new we can help them understand their condition and offer help in containing themselves during the full moon cycle and if they just want to be close to their wolf, well we'll see about whether or not it's tolerable for them to be in our territory. It depends on the wolf."
"The wild pack won't tolerate either kind." Alex reminded them. "And there's a reason they're known as the wild pack."
"I recommend we talk to Buffy and her group." Cordelia advised. "They have some idea on werewolves, thanks to Dawn becoming one last Halloween, but Dawn's unlike any other werewolf and Buffy needs to be aware of the possibility of trouble if the werewolf or a hunter shows up in town."
"Go ahead and also, explain to them a few more of the facts regarding Wolfbloods and impress on them why we need to find this werewolf sooner, rather then later." Charles agreed, as the meeting broke up and the teens called Buffy and her group and ask to meet at her house. After speaking to her mother, who agreed to let them use the house for the meeting, the four Wolfblood teens headed out while Buffy called the members of her group, Willow, Johnathan and Ana, as well as Giles and they were all met by snacks and hot chocolate from Joyce.
"So another werewolf." Dawn was bouncing with excitement. "I know they're not like me or I'm not like them, but we could still be friends, right?"
"It's possible." Alex agreed. "at least while they're in human form. They're not actually wolves though, not really. Yes, they're called werewolves and do kind of look like wolves, but that's because they're very hairy. You smell like a wolf, like we do. Previously known types of werewolves become so because of a virus that causes them to shape shift in the case of one kind, into something like a cross between a dog and an ape. They walk on all fours. Another known type are bipedal, like you are and look more like a cross between a Neanderthal and an ape. In both cases, their second form has a much smaller brain and when they're human, they can only remember bits and pieces of what occured while they were in their other form."
"And they're subject to the full moon cycle, unlike you." Cordelia added. "The fact that you can change back at will under a full moon, as well as retain your human intelligence, really does mean you're different. On a full moon night, we're locked into our wolf form, with our human intelligence intact. So while you're forced to transform, you're not forced to stay in that form. That was a huge surprise. Werewolves and Wolfbloods can't turn back under the full moon and werewolves are subject to the full moon cycle."
"What's the full moon cycle?" Joyce asked.
"They're forced to change three times, the night before, the night of and the night after a full moon. Last night was the night before."
"So this werewolf will pop again tonight and tomorrow?" Buffy clarified.
"Yes," Alex confirmed. "And we need to find them, while there is the risk of exposure and the potential of a hunter showing up to hunt this werewolf, there's a very definite and known problem with an unknown werewolf around."
"What kind of problem?" Buffy asked, concerned.
"The risk that this werewolf could end up in the wild pack's territory and they won't tolerate either a werewolf or a hunter in their territory." Alex responded.
"What will they do?" Willow asked.
"They'll kill an invader, whether they're a werewolf or a human hunter."
Buffy and her group gasped at that information. "Why?" Joyce asked.
"The terms tame and wild aren't references to one group that lives in town and one group that lives in the woods. The wild pack live in their wolf forms when they're not working. The tame pack live in their human form and only occasionally choose to change into their wolf form. They really are wild animals most of the time." Alex informed them. "And behave that way."