When the full moon crests in the sky, whoever is unlucky enough to fall under the werewolf curse turns into a wolf. [...] If it were a choice, it wouldn't be called a curse. Werewolves will attack humans. But instinct and centuries of rivalry have hardwired them to hunt their prey of choice -- Vampires.
Werewolves (also called Lycanthropes, Loup Garou, and Beasts) are a near-extinct supernatural species of individuals who unwillingly transform into fearsome and extremely hostile wolves on the night of the full moon. Even in their human form, werewolves possess superhuman physical prowess, but not to the same level as a vampire, and not as powerful as the abilities they have on a full moon. These creatures are the most dangerous enemies of vampires, due to their venomous bite, which is lethal to them. Werewolves are also hardwired to kill vampires on sight in their wolf form, though they still hunt human prey whenever there are no vampires to kill.
A werewolf has to kill a human in order to trigger their werewolf gene. It does not matter if the kill was accidental or intentional-- if a werewolf causes the death of a human, the werewolf gene will still be activated. After the gene is triggered, the werewolf's eyes will turn yellow and their latent powers will activate instantly. A werewolf who has yet to trigger his or her curse only exhibits one characteristic of lycanthropy: increased aggression and anger on a general basis, which can become overwhelming fits of rage leading up to and during the nights of the full moon. Also, until their werewolf genes are activated, untriggered werewolves can be compelled just like any human, as Damon Salvatore was able to compel Tyler Lockwood before Tyler triggered his werewolf gene.
Pre-history
According to Jackson, at least two werewolf packs have been around since what he calls the "beginning," which could be referring to the genesis of the werewolf race. In the episode Home, the spell the Travelers cast to break the Traveler's Curse and undo spirit magic and other non-traditional forms of magic resulted in Tyler Lockwood's werewolf gene being deactivated, returning him to an untriggered werewolf. Because of this revelation, it can be assumed that werewolves were created by Nature itself, but were cursed by magic at some point in their species' history.
It was revealed in The Brothers That Care Forgot that the werewolves' power can be traced back to the myth of the Unification Ceremony, a ritual that bestowed certain unique abilities onto every member of a pack. While most of the history of werewolves remains unknown, it has been said that at the earliest point of their existence, each werewolf bloodline was distinct, and each had their own power; some possessed heightened speed, others had heightened strength, and some even had the ability to sense their enemies from long distances, presumably among other abilities.
The Middle Ages
There is still very little known about the genesis of werewolves and their early history, including who or what created them, why they were created, and how they were created; all that is really known is that they existed before vampires, who were known to be created a little more than 1,000 years ago. Since they call their supernatural condition a curse, it may very well be that werewolves themselves were made by Nature, and the curse itself was magically placed on the original members of their species by witches. However, if this is the case, it has yet to be proven in canon. Werewolves actively populated the New World during the early Middle Ages as Viking invasions began in Europe. Most, if not all, of the land's inhabitants were werewolves and they lived along side one another in villages. They also lived alongside humans, and, to protect their loved ones, they made sure that they had access to natural means of protection during the time that they were changed. One of the most notable locations of a werewolf village was in what is now present-day Mystic Falls. Beneath the area was a series of tunnels that provided protection for the humans while the werewolves were turned on the full moon. One clear rule of the village was that the humans were forbidden from being around the wolves while they were transformed for their own safety.
A notable event in the history of the werewolves comes with the arrival of inhabitants of the "Old World," where a plague had been devastating the population. The newcomers included Mikael, his wife Esther, and Esther's witch mentor and friend, Ayana, as well as Esther and Mikael's young sons Finn and Elijah. Having lost their first-born daughter Freya, the twin sister of Finn, in Europe, Mikael and Esther wanted to be able to raise a family in a place free from illness, and Ayana eventually led them to the New World where they could live in peace. The villagers accepted the new family and they became an integral part of of the village life, with Ayana acting as the local healer and contact with the spirits. Mikael and Esther, desperate to rebuild their family after the loss of Freya, eventually conceived and gave birth to Niklaus, Kol, Rebekah and Henrik, who followed their eldest brother Finn and second-eldest brother Elijah.
However, when Henrik and Niklaus broke their village's rule one full moon night and went to watch the wolves turn, Henrik was accidentally attacked and killed by the turned wolves. Determined to not lose anymore family, but also not wanting to move away again, Mikael convinced Esther to tap into dark magic to perform an modified version of the Immortality Spell in order to turn Mikael and their children into nearly-invulnerable beings. Once turned, Mikael and their children gained enhanced strength, speed, reflexes and healing superior to the werewolves that would ensure their protection, and their new species eventually became known as vampires. However, the ritual had unexpected side effects, and the newly-turned family's lust for blood eventually led them to shatter the peace of their village, unable to resist feeding on the innocent inhabitants of the town. Shortly after turning, Niklaus made his first human kill, which resulted in Esther's darkest secret coming to light: Niklaus was not Mikael's son, but instead was the son of the alpha of their village's werewolf pack. Killing a human activated his werewolf gene, turning him into a vampire/werewolf hybrid. Furious at his wife's betrayal, Mikael slaughtered her lover, Ansel, whose pack was also responsible for Henrik's death, as well as half of the remaining werewolf villagers, igniting the war that still exists to this day between the werewolves and the vampires.
After Mikael decimated the werewolf community, and after Esther died at Niklaus' hands, the Mikaelson siblings returned to the "Old World" and began traveling from country to country as they followed the Normans, feeding on the locals and turning new vampires as they went. The war between vampires and werewolves came to a head when the vampires discovered that the bite of a werewolf was lethal to their kind. This spurred the vampires to preemptively commit mass murders of werewolves to protect
Deceased werewolf after fight with Rebekah in Crescent City.
themselves from death at their hands. As a result, the werewolves were driven to near-extinction by these massacres, and vampires who were turned after this werewolf genocide began to believe that werewolves were nothing more than a myth or legend.
In reality, many werewolves had survived and began to reorganize themselves into packs in order to help them evade the vampires. These packs also helped give the werewolves a support system to help them through their very painful transformations each month during the full moon.
Werewolf Casualties
A village of werewolves were killed by Mikael sometime in the late 900s/early 1000s, including the pack's Alpha, Ansel.
Lana, the werewolf queen of the Crescent Clan was killed by Mikael in 1919 in the flashbacks during Le Grand Guignol.
Dozens of werewolves (who had been turned into hybrids) were killed by Niklaus Mikaelson in Season Three and Season Four.
Tyler Lockwood was killed by Niklaus Mikaelson in The Reckoning (However, he was turned into a hybrid)
Dwayne was killed by Tyler Lockwood twice in Bloodletting. (He snapped his neck the first time to turn him into a hybrid, and then ripped his heart out to kill him again)
A half dozen unnamed werewolves were killed by Rebekah Mikaelson in Crescent City.
Eve was killed by Oliver in An Unblinking Death, marking the first time in either series that a werewolf was killed by another werewolf.
Numerous unnamed werewolves were killed by a series of explosions in An Unblinking Death, orchestrated by Oliver and Francesca.
Hayley was killed by Monique Deveraux in From a Cradle to a Grave. She was the first werewolf shown on-screen to be killed by a witch, and the eleventh werewolf to be killed in The Originals. (Papa Tunde's attack on the Guerrera family in 1919 was the first instance of witches killing werewolves, though it was not seen on-screen)
Niklaus, Elijah, Marcel, and Hayley killed nearly a dozen werewolves, including all of the Guerrera werewolves, in Rebirth.
Werewolves have existed in the area of Mystic Falls, Virginia since the 10th century. When the Mikaelson family moved to the New World after the death of their first-born daughter, Freya, the witch, Esther, felt so alone as a result of Mikael's emotional distance following Freya's death that she began to have an affair with the Alpha of their village's werewolf pack, Ansel. This relationship resulted in the birth of Niklaus, though it was unknown by everyone for years.
Years later, their youngest son Henrik was attacked and killed by a werewolf in Ansel's pack when Henrik and Klaus had sneaked out to watch the wolves shift during the full moon. Mikael, not wanting to lose any more of his children, convinced Esther to use a modified version of the immortality spell to ensure that their family would live forever and remain safe from werewolves. This resulted in the creation of vampirism, as well as the Hybrid Curse, which Esther placed on Klaus to suppress his werewolf side after his first vampire kill resulted in Klaus triggering his werewolf gene. After Mikael learned of Esther's affair with Ansel and his pack's role in Henrik's death, he massacred Ansel and the majority of the werewolf villagers, which set off the rivalry between the werewolves and the vampires that rages on to this day.
Werewolves were presumed to be extinct for centuries until 1864, when George Lockwood at some point triggered his werewolf curse, which resulted in him killing various townsfolk in his wolf form during the full moon. However, he placed the blame for these deaths on Mystic Falls' sizable vampire population, which led the Founding Families to begin to organize a vampire hunt. During the first Founder's Day ball, Katherine Pierce informed George that she knew what he was, and used that information to blackmail him into helping her escape the vampire-hunt that the town was planning. In exchange, George wanted the moonstone Katherine had stolen from Klaus centuries prior. They both helped each other, and once Katherine escaped town, she never spoke to him again.
During the centuries, various Lockwood family members have triggered their werewolf curse, typically due to the anger issues that came as a result of being a werewolf and being provoked into a fight that turned lethal, such as in the case of Mason and Tyler Lockwood. However, there were many Lockwood family members who never learned of their family's werewolf heritage, and who never triggered their werewolf curses, such as Richard Lockwood.
New Orleans Werewolves
Elijah meeting with two Werewolves from The Guerrera Family.
In
New Orleans in the 1900s, a family of werewolves known as the Guerrera family were known to be involved in criminal activity. Members of their crime family made a deal with Elijah and Klaus that would both keep the Mikaelsons' existence in the city a secret, while allowing the Guerreras to profit off of the alcohol that would be smuggled into their ports after Prohibition became law. In the year 1919, many of the Guerreras were killed by Papa Tunde when they refused to cave to his demands, and he put their heads on pikes as a warning to others of the consequences of not cooperating. The rest of the Guerrera Pack was killed in 1925 by Marcel Gerard and his vampire army, save for one member, a baby named Gabriel who was adopted under the name Gabriel Correa.
Decades later, the leaders of the royal Labonair Family, along with the leaders of the other royal werewolf bloodline that composed the Crescent Wolf Clan, wanted their children, Andrea Labonair (also known as Hayley Marshall) and Jackson, to get married in order to once again reunite the Crescents in full so that they could take New Orleans back from the vampires. However, it didn't go on as planned, and ultimately, all of the Labonairs except for Hayley were killed in the struggle. Marcel, the leader of the vampires at the time, convinced a witch to curse the remaining Crescent wolves by casting a spell that forced them to stay in their wolf form at all times except for each full moon, when they returned to their human form for several hours.
A Werewolf watching over Hayley.
Decades later, the Originals returned to New Orleans and moved in to the Mikaelson Mansion with the werewolf Hayley Marshall, one of the last surviving members of the Labonair family who was pregnant with Klaus Mikaelson's hybrid child. She soon discovered soon that a werewolf was watching her after the witch Sabine told her that the werewolf was drawn to her because of the miracle child she and Klaus created. When a faction of witches tried to kill Hayley and her unborn child, the werewolf following Hayley attacked and killed all the witches, saving her life. When Hayley was stuck at the Bayou with Elijah, someone left a Bible with her family's names and birthdates recorded inside on the porch; it was later revealed that a distant relative of Hayley named Eve had left it for Hayley. Eve later explained that the vampires made a witch curse all the surviving werewolves who bore the crescent-moon-shaped birthmark that indicated they were members of the Crescent Wolf Clan. Klaus, desperate to regain control of New Orleans and knowing the vampires didn't trust him, quickly gave he vampires permission to kill all the werewolves to win their favor by assuring them that he would not be using his daughters blood to make more hybrids, but Hayley, afraid for her family, begged Elijah and Rebekah to protect and save them from the vampires. They soon discovered that werewolves from all over America were coming to New Orleans to see Hayley and her yet-unborn hybrid baby for themselves. One of the werewolves from the Northeast Atlantic Clan, Cary, had a ring that identified him as a descendant of Klaus' biological father, and was thus kin to both Klaus and his daughter.
Cary revealed to be a distant relative of Klaus, rescued by his siblings.
With this news, Klaus reconsidered his plan to slaughter the werewolves, and asked Father Kieran to help protect his people in secret. During the first full moon after Hayley had learned about her pack and family, she decided to have a full moon party at the plantation house for the Crescents, as their curse only allowed them to return to their human forms during the few hours the full moon was at its peak. Unknown to anyone, some of the werewolves, including Oliver, had made a deal with some witches that was supposed to result in the werewolves' curse being removed in exchange for them attacking Rebekah. They did this by having Oliver flirt with Rebekah and lead her out to the woods to be attacked by the transformed wolves who weren't under the Crescents' curse. Meanwhile, Hayley finally got to meet Jackson, and he told her some of her family history.
Jackson revealed that he was the wolf that was protecting Hayley, and explained that they were intended to be married in order to unite the Crescent Wolf Clan and take New Orleans back from the vampires. He told her that the other wolves would follow her, and insisted that she was going to be the one who changed everything for them. Jackson then informed her that a witch said they would lift their curse because of Hayley, but Hayley immediately realized that it was a trap, because she hadn't made a deal with any witches. Rebekah was attacked by the werewolves in the woods and incapacitated by their bites (though, as an Original, their bites were not fatal to her). Meanwhile, the witches trapped Jackson and Hayley inside and set the house on fire. The two were only saved by Elijah, who managed to break into the house and escort them to safety at the last minute, at the expense of Klaus and Rebekah, who were being attacked at the same time.
After Elijah ultimately took over control of the city from his brother Klaus, he quickly met with representatives from the vampire, human, and witch factions in order to draw up a new peace treaty. Angry at the werewolves being excluded, Hayley crashed their meeting and insisted that the werewolves be given a seat at the table as well, and threatened them with violence if their demands weren't met. After discussing it with Klaus, Elijah ultimately decided to have a party for all five factions (the Originals, the vampires, the witches, the werewolves, and the humans), and though there was a lot of in-fighting between the groups, they eventually agreed to all sign a peace treaty that pleased everyone, including the werewolves, although they were still banned from the French Quarter.
Unhappy with the fragile peace between the factions, Klaus sought his own agenda by allying himself with the werewolves, with the intention of making a new army of empowered werewolves, using a "moonlight ring" spell of his mother's creation from the late 10th century that involved casting a spell on a black kyanite stone. Any werewolf with this enchanted stone (usually worn in jewelry such as rings) would be able to access their full powers at all times, including strength, speed, and venomous bites that are lethal to vampires. Klaus worked closely with the Crescent wolves and a witch, Genevieve, with whom he had been hooking up, to create the rings, though they ran into obstacles; namely, the interference by the vampires', as Marcel and the other vampires knew that these rings would result in the extinction of vampires. In the end, Klaus was forced to work with Francesca Correa, a well-known matriarch of a drug cartel and casino enterprise, to gain the black kyanite stones that were needed to create the rings.
The majority of the supernatural population of New Orleans, including Klaus and Hayley, were under the impression that Francesca and her many brothers were humans, but they were ultimately revealed to be untriggered Guerrera werewolves who had been pretending to be human while they plotted to take back the city they believed belonged to them. They were also revealed to be working with Genevieve against the Mikaelsons and Hayley, and stole the stones for the Guerrera wolves instead of the Crescents (though Oliver was given a ring for his help in their plan) so they could finally trigger their werewolf genes without being forced to turn on the full moon. They also handed over Hayley and her unborn child to the witches so that they could both be sacrificed on Esther's orders in the name of more power for the witch community. Unbeknownst to them, the baby's hybrid blood remained in Hayley's system, which caused her to transform into a hybrid instead of dying. When Hayley woke up after being killed, she joined the Mikaelson brothers, and the three of them ended up rescuing their baby, who they named Hope, before she could be sacrificed. Still, the Guerrera werewolves, led by Francesca gained control over the city, and banned the vampires from the French Quarter.
After Marcel's defeat, the werewolves became the dominant force of the city. With the death of the witch Elder Genevieve, the last resurrected Harvest girl, Cassie, returned from the dead. Secretly, she was being possessed by the leader of the New Orleans Coven, Esther, the mother of the Originals and creator of the vampire race. Determined to rid the world of her creation, Esther continued Genevieve's alliance with the Guerreras, producing moonlight rings for them. Gradually, more and more werewolves began to join the Guerreras in their new dominion of the city. The first to join were many members of the Crescent Wolf Clan, led by Oliver. The humans did not care much for the change of leadership as long as tourists and the money they bring to the city continued in large numbers. Any vampire who entered the Quarter was sentenced to immediate execution, and no witch or human was allowed to interfere.
The Mikaelsons sealed themselves away from the world in their house, selling their grief to the community while the Guerreras strengthened their hold over the Quarter. However, secretly, they were assessing the lay of the land; Elijah Mikaelson was focused on locating the twelve rings that could incapacitate Klaus so that their bearers would be his first targets. Meanwhile, Marcel was gathering stashs of wolfsbane and making plans for the rebuilding of a vampire community. Once it became clear that the Guerreras did not possess the missing white oak stake, Elijah, Klaus, Hayley, Marcel, Josh, and Joe worked together on a scheme during the full moon that resulted in the group killing eleven of the twelve owners of the moonlight rings forged in Klaus' blood, including Francesca and her brothers, so the rings could be taken and destroyed. The only survivor was Oliver, who Hayley allowed to live because he was a Crescent.
Esther was pleased about Francesca's demise, as it gave her the perfect opportunity to recruit all of the werewolves in the Bayou to her cause, giving her control over both the witches and the werewolves in New Orleans. She knew that Klaus wanted to one day lead the werewolves, so having control over them gave her leverage in her plan to place her childrens' spirits in mortal bodies of witches (or, in Klaus' case, a werewolf.) She had the witches in her new coven working day and night to create dozens and dozens of moonlight rings in order to gain their allegiance. After learning of Esther's plans, Klaus encouraged Hayley to go to the Bayou to reclaim her title of queen of the Crescents and to convince them to join their side instead of Esther's, which she was ultimately able to do. She instructed Oliver to work as a double agent and inform her of Esther's plans, and had the rest of the werewolves move into the compound so they wouldn't have to live in the encampments.
Finn was put in charge of the werewolves his mother recruited, and they planned a scheme to capture Elijah that involved having the young, untriggered teenage werewolves of the pack to kill any humans in the city who weren't aligning with Esther to activate their werewolf genes during the blood moon, which was a rite of passage used in by the werewolf packs in the late 10th and early 11th century. Unwilling to allow their young pack mates to be conscripted into the supernatural war, Hayley, Aiden, and Oliver teamed up with the vampires Marcel, Josh, Gia, and Elijah to help them rescue the children before they could be forced to kill and send them away to a safe house. Oliver and Elijah were chosen to be the decoys to distract Finn and Esther's werewolves while they sneaked the children to safety, only to learn that this was their plan all along. Finn and Esther used their magic to incapacitate them both and captured them.
Oliver was put in stocks as a message to the other wolves of what happens to traitors, and the werewolves were ordered by Finn to spread word that Oliver would be executed for his crimes at midnight. When Hayley heard this news, she went to Marcel and Gia for help rescuing him, knowing that finding Oliver could help them figure out where Elijah was being kept. Cami distracted Finn while Marcel and Gia distracted Finn's guards and assured that Cami wouldn't be harmed, allowing the recently-resurrected Ansel and Hayley to sneak into the lycée to save Oliver. Once he was found and unbound, Ansel held off the werewolves with his blade while Hayley and Oliver went out the back. They ran into another group of werewolves, led by Aiden, who initially intended to capture them both, but after Oliver reminded them of how they were being manipulated and used as slaves for people who want to control them, they eventually relented and allowed them to leave. Unfortunately, when Oliver and Hayley returned to the Bayou, Oliver was eventually stricken by the witches' spell and died despite being freed from captivity.
Physiology
Food
Like normal humans, werewolves can eat normal food if they wish. However, because they turn into ferocious beasts during the full moon, they are carnivores. When in wolf form, they can feed on human or vampire body parts and organs, but they are not required to ingest them in order to prolong their existence, like vampires must do with blood. There are no known consequences from abstaining from human or vampire flesh while in werewolf form. It seems that most werewolves do not get to feed on humanoid flesh, because most tend to lock themselves up during the full moon, or are scared or distracted away from their victim before they can eat them. Werewolves have not been seen to attack each other in human or lupine form, but have been known to hunt both human and vampire prey while transformed under the full moon. Jules, for example, was seen to be horrified when she woke up to find she'd slaughtered a group of campers after she had attacked Rose the previous evening. Unstable hybrids also have the urge to attack vampires regardless of what form they are in, as witnessed in The Hybrid when a werewolf, Ray Sutton, instinctively attacked the vampire Damon Salvatore instead of pursuing its first choice, Elena Gilbert.
Appearance
Mason's wolf formed compared to the size of Caroline
Werewolves in their wolf form are quite similar to natural wolves, although unlike natural wolves, werewolves have glowing yellow or orange eyes, wicked fangs, and a much more feral and predatoral appearance. They can also be distinguished from regular wolves by their displays of supernatural strength, blurred speed, and size which is comparible to fully grown humans. The fur color of wolf forms differs from one to the other (e.g., Tyler Lockwood's fur color is dark brown, Mason Lockwood's is white and grey, Jules' is light brown with a hint of white, and Hayley's is white and brown). Werewolves appear the same as any other human the rest of the month, aside from their enhanced abilities of speed, strength, and healing.
A werewolf will only transform into a wolf under a full moon. The first transformation is quite slow, and the person is subjected to at least five or six hours of intense, bone-breaking pain before the actual transformation. After the first transformation, the experience does not last nearly as long, but is still painful. During the transformation, the body of the person is twisted in an unnatural manner as bones reshape and shift to form a wolf’s skeleton, causing the person immense physical and psychological pain. Later, the werewolf grows excessive body hair and becomes feral. Their eyes turn yellow, and their teeth elongate into canines, before they finally transform into their wolf shape. A werewolf returns to their human form after a few hours, sometimes sooner, sometimes later. After the first transformation, the werewolf will experience muscle aches. Older werewolves can control themselves to some extent on the night of the full moon, but many find it necessary to dose themselves with wolfsbane to weaken them before they lock themselves up in chains to prevent hurting anyone while they're transformed. The Crescent werewolves have seemed to gain much more control over their actions in wolf form than typical werewolves, most likely as a result spending all of their time in wolf form while they were cursed by Celeste Dubois.
Psychological Characteristics
Werewolves are known to be aggressive, strong and fast, even in human form. Tyler Lockwood often had trouble controlling his temper, especially leading up to and during the full moon. Those with the werewolf curse still latent can exhibit some supernatural traits which can be triggered by aggression, along with unusual physical strength for the person's given size and age, but they cannot fully transform, and they also have a tendency to black out when they become overwhelmed in fits of rage. Werewolves seem to have a strong sense of duty and loyalty to protect their own, and feel a responsibility to help their fellow werewolves whenever they can. Also, werewolves have a higher body temperature than humans. When Tyler first activates his curse, he states that his skin feels as if it's on fire. Once a werewolf has triggered their gene, their eyes turn yellow (the eyes of a wolf) while enraged, as Mason's eyes did when he stopped the fight between Tyler and Carter (Brave New World), or when feeling threatened, such as when Hayley's eyes turned yellow while she was defending herself against a group of witches. Activating the curse is also painful, as werewolves have been seen to double over in pain before their eyes change for the first time.
While some werewolves prefer to keep to themselves and keep their beastly natures hidden, most seem to aggregate themselves into packs and residing in areas isolated from general human society so they can run free on the full moons without fear of hurting or killing anyone.
In 1864, George Lockwood attacked several humans and killed them, leaving horrific wounds on the corpses that were so severe that it looked worse than a typical vampire attack. This became evident when Henry told Katherine that the wounds were "worse than anything he had ever seen before." Despite this, and with the cooperation of Katherine Pierce, who was running from the Originals, George was able to convince the Mystic Falls Founder's Council that vampires were responsible, which lead to their round up. It is unknown if George continued his attacks afterward, or if he adapted to his nature.
Code of Loyalty
Werewolves are very similar to witches when it comes to their own kind. Unlike vampires, werewolves have an unwavering sense of loyalty, and will often bond with other werewolves they meet. They form packs and work with each other as sort of an extended family. The bond of loyalty between werewolves is so strong that while changed under full moons, the only beings they do not attack are other werewolves (regardless of whether or not they have activated their werewolf gene). This code does seem to extend to Klaus' hybrids, as well. It's possible that another reason why Klaus' hybrids were so loyal, aside for the sire bond between them, was because of their werewolf heritage.
La Luna Sanguinis
According to Finn, the werewolves had a ritual a thousand years ago by which, on a blood moon, they would hunt and purposefully trigger their curse by killing a human, willingly enduring the pain of their transformations in exchange for the strength they gained as warriors. This ritual was meant to be a rite of passage, where young werewolves embraced their nature rather than shying away from it; this is in stark contrast to many modern-day werewolves, who do whatever they can to avoid triggering their curses and having to deal with the pain of their monthly transformations.
Powers and Abilities
Werewolves' strength and speed are enhanced and are at their peak during time under a full moon. When angered or threatened, these powers and abilities are temporarily enhanced;
Super Strength - Werewolves have supernatural strength, making them far stronger than any human. For example, Tyler accidentally ripped the door off his locker and kicked a trash can several feet with ease right after he triggered his curse. There have been several occasions to suggest that untriggered werewolves possess more strength than any average humans, which would indicate some form of enhanced strength even before the activation of their curse. However, werewolves in their human form are not as strong as a vampire, and have been shown to be far weaker on several occasions. However, they've also been shown to be strong enough to at least defend themselves, such as when Mason punched Damon across the room, or when Hayley pinned Diego up against a wall. When they are in their wolf form, their powers amplify to a degree that excels that of the non-Original vampires, making them more powerful than non-Original vampires. In wolf form, a werewolf can overpower and kill any non-Original vampire with ease, an example of that being when Tyler was turning and overpowered Damon, or when Jules, while in wolf form, tackled and bit Rose. They can also defeat an Original vampire in small groups, as four of them were able to overwhelm Rebekah enough to attack her, although she killed two of them; another example is an instance when two werewolves, using the stolen moonlight stones, were able to restrain Elijah long enough to incapacitate him with their toxic bites.
Super Speed - Werewolves are much faster than humans. They possess this ability both in and out of transformation with an animalistic quickness; Stevie was able to duck and dodge Damon right before jumping on his back. However, the power is faster at night than in the day, due to the moon's presence, and their speed increases greatly when the werewolf is transformed during the full moon. Mason was able to hunt down Caroline and Stefan in the woods easily while transformed, even despite their vampire-enhanced speed. Some werewolves are shown to become nearly a blur like their vampire enemies; others have not. In wolf form, however, while under the influence of the full moon, they can use their speed to swiftly chase down their choice of prey; even vampires, as their speed rivals that of most vampires or possibly even exceeds it-- during the battle between Elijah and Marcel's army, the fleeing vampires were all caught by the moonlight-ring-empowered werewolves who managed to appear in front of them and set up ambushes.
Mason jumping while breaking up the fight between Tyler and Carter
Super Agility - Werewolves possess superhuman agility. Either in wolf or even in human form, they have demonstrated that they can move, jump very high, climb, flip, and run incredibly fast without difficulty or exhaustion. They can also jump down from incredible heights with almost gravity-defying grace.
Super Durability - Werewolves can take far more trauma than humans and vampires can without nearly as much discomfort or injury. They can also exert themselves for longer periods without tiring.
Healing Factor - Werewolves possess superhuman regenerative abilities, meaning that if they are physically injured, their bodies will heal rapidly. Like vampires, werewolves can heal from the most grievous of injuries, even in human form, albeit more slowly in comparison to vampires. However, unlike vampires, when a werewolf’s neck is broken, they stay dead. Still, while vampires heal faster than werewolves, werewolves are more difficult to injure.
Superhuman Senses - Werewolves have the extremely keen and heightened senses of smell, sight, taste, hearing and touch inherent in all canines. Because they are supernatural and have powers that excel their wolf counterparts, they can hear, see, and smell better than that of regular canines. With this, experienced werewolves such as Jules could sniff out vampires -- something vampires themselves are incapable of --and Tyler could taste vervain placed in his coffee, which would otherwise be impossible, since coffee's intense flavor typically masks the taste of the herb.
Rose's werewolf bite
Werewolf Bite - A werewolf's venom is extremely lethal to non-Original vampires. While an Original vampire cannot die from the venom, they are not wholly immune to the effects of the bite. For non-Original vampires, the venom acts as an poison of sorts that will enter the bloodstream and deliver the toxin throughout the body, producing discomfort and weakness. All vampires who re bitten will ultimately develop uncontrollable hunger that progresses to delusions, hallucinations, rabid rage, and dementia. After that point, non-Original vampires will finally die, though many are "mercy-killed" before that point.
Full Moon - A werewolf's strength and speed is enhanced and at their peak during a full moon.
Moonlight Ring- The moonlight ring allows a werewolf to use the immense power of their wolf-form, along with making their bites lethal to vampires 24/7, while still remaining in their human forms. The ring allows them to partially shift by accessing only their glowing eyes, their fangs (with werewolf venom), and their enhanced abilities such as super-speed, super-strength, super-agility, and enhanced senses.
Shapeshifting/Transformation Control - During a full moon, they will unwillingly transform from their human form and into their wolf form. However, if a female werewolf is pregnant, they will not turn for nine months as the transformation would kill the baby. There are ways to induce this trait outside of the moon's influence, though. Such ways would be to become a hybrid, or through the possession of a moonlight ring. So far, these are the only known methods of voluntarily controlling a werewolf's transformed state. Hybrids have been known to transform at will to help break their sire bonds, or, in the case that they are possessed by a Passenger, transforming can prevent their Passenger from being called forth.
Lycanthrope Enhancement - Werewolves are able to make their eyes glow when angry or threatened, but only for a short amount of time. When a werewolf is furious or forced to defend themselves, their anger increases all their power and abilities for a short period of time, which allows them to access some of their powers to give them an edge.
Immunity to Silver - Werewolves are immune to magic bonded to silver. Weapons made of silver might wound them, but the wound still heals at supernatural rates and will not be fatal to them.
Former Powers and Abilities
Lie Detection - During a conversation between Jules and Caroline. Jules revealed that there is a werewolf ability allowing werewolves to sense if you're speaking the truth. However, this ability has never been demonstrated by any werewolf, Jules included, so it is possible that she was lying to scare Caroline or was otherwise being hyperbolic.
Weaknesses
Vampires and werewolves can be damaged in the same ways humans can, and in most cases will only be briefly weakened. However, werewolves are still mortals, and thus can be killed or incapacitated in various ways.
Broken Neck - Breaking a werewolf's neck will result in instant death.
Damon torturing Mason using wolfsbane
Wolfsbane - When ingested, wolfsbane causes a werewolf to become severely weak and feverish. Also, If a werewolf's skin is exposed to wolfsbane, it will burn them.
Magic - Witches are able to curse and inflict any supernaturals with enhanced healing abilities with aneurysms that cause the blood vessels in their brains to explode and heal over and over again.
Heart Extraction - Ripping a werewolf's heart out will result in instant death.
Blood Loss - If a werewolf is severely wounded and bleeds out before they can heal, they can die. This was demonstrated when Stefan threw a stake into a werewolf's neck, hitting their carotid artery and causing the werewolf to bleed out and die before they could fully heal. Another instance was when Klaus impaled the werewolf Paige through the chest.
Decapitation - Decapitation will result in instant death for a werewolf.
Presumably Fire - Fire can presumably kill a werewolf. It can also hurt them.
The Devil's Star - The Devi's Star can cause one thousand cuts onto another's body, regardless of species. Though werewolves have enhanced healing, it is likely that being hit with the Devil's Star will result in the werewolf bleeding to death before they can heal.
Suffocation - Unlike vampires, who will eventually heal and reanimate after being suffocated, a werewolf will die from lack of oxygen. This means they can die from drowning or being smothered/asphyxiated.
Physical Trauma - Minor physical injuries such as gunshots, stab wounds and broken bones will cause a werewolf pain and will also slow them down. However, this is only temporary, as they will heal completely within minutes.
Power Suppression Necklace - As seen in Every Mother's Son, Esther made a necklace with the intention to suppress Klaus's anger and powers as an untriggered werewolf, rendering him weakened and giving him enough control over his emotions to avoid being enraged enough to kill someone and trigger his werewolf gene. It is unknown if these types of jewelry would work on a triggered werewolf or a hybrid.
Former Weaknesses
Gilbert Device - Invented by Johnathan Gilbert (and enchanted by Emily Bennett), the device was a weapon designed to emit a high-frequency noise that could only be heard by vampires and werewolves, which incapacitated them by giving them intensely painful headaches. It was only meant to be used one time only, and it now no longer works.
Myths
Silver - Contrary to popular belief, werewolves are not weakened by or allergic to silver, as Mason explained after Damon stabbed him with a silver knife. Mason guessed that the myth was probably started by werewolves. Silver actually has the opposite effect – when a werewolf is wounded by silver, it heals. This is why Klaus can't be neutralized by the white oak daggers.
Wolfsbane - Several myths have surround the use of this herb and its relation to and effects upon werewolves, including the myth that wolfsbane supposedly either causes or cures lycanthropy. These myths are false.
Inadu's mother was a powerful witch who lived as a Native American in 500 A.D. She and everyone who was present the night they killed her overpowered daughter were turned into werewolves by Inadu, better known as The Hollow. Inadu's mother is the first werewolf to be created and the first member of the Crescent Wolf Pack. She is an ancestor of Hayley Marshall-Kenner and Hope Mikaelson.
Richard was an untriggered werewolf and the mayor of Mystic Falls before being killed by Charlie. He is also the older brother of Mason Lockwood and father of Tyler Lockwood.
Jules was an Alpha werewolf and friend of Mason Lockwood. She and her boyfriend Brady kidnapped Caroline Forbes so that they could leave with Mason's nephew, Tyler, and help him adjust to his new life as a werewolf. She was killed by Klaus as a sacrifice to break the hybrid curse.
Brady was the boyfriend of Jules and friend of Mason. After the disappearance of Mason, Brady and his wolf pack traveled to Mystic Falls to avenge his death.
Eve was a werewolf relative of Hayley Marshall who lived in the Louisiana bayous with others of her family, and helped shed some light on Klaus' werewolf family. She had never activated the wolf gene. She was killed by Oliver.
Cary is a descendant of Ansel and relative to Klaus. He is also a member of the North East Atlantic Pack. After he and his friends were rescued by Elijah and Rebekah, his origins were revealed when he was shown to be in possession of Esther's ring.
Francesca was an Alpha and a descendant of the Guerrera Family. Her family spent decades hiding their werewolf side but activated it once they had control of the Quarter. She was killed by Hayley.
Tyler Lockwood was a werewolf before his transition into a hybrid. He later became a werewolf again when he killed Liv Parker. He was killed by Damon Salvatore.
Keelin is a werewolf from the Malraux bloodline-- one of the seven original packs. Hayley found her in Texas and took her venom to cure Elijah and Kol from Marcel's bite.
Jed is a former student, alpha, and werewolf representative for the Honor's council at the Salvatore Boarding School for the Young & Gifted. He originally triggered his curse at a young age for killing his father at the defense of his best friend, Trey. However, when he was sent back from Limbo, his curse was "reset".
Rafael is a newly triggered werewolf recruited for the Salvatore Boarding School for the Young & Gifted. He accidentally killed his girlfriend, Cassie, and triggered his curse. Upon his first full moon, his adoptive parents attempted to have a Catholic priest perform an exorcism because they believed him to be possessed.
Finch is a werewolf and a love interest of Josie Saltzman. Finch unsuspectedly triggered her werewolf curse when she assisted in her grandfather's death by providing him with pills. She succeeded the role of alpha from Jed.
Alive
Trivia
There are a few bloodlines that can be traced back to the beginning of werewolf history. These bloodlines are considered royalty.
The Northeast Atlantic Pack and the Crescent Wolf Clan are said to have been fighting against each other since the beginning of the werewolf species.
Werewolves procreate sexually, and the werewolf gene is carried down through their bloodlines, rather than by turning others via a bite as in other forms of werewolf lore
Werewolves are the antithesis to vampires, as vampires are typically solitary creatures due to their immortality, while werewolves are meant to be in packs/families.
Jules once mentioned that werewolves are able to detect if they're being lied to. However, this has never been demonstrated by her or any other werewolf as a supernaturally endowed power or a basic skill. It is possible that she was only being facetious.
Mystic Falls, New Orleans, and Portland have all been known to be werewolf hotspots. However, as of the present day, the wolves of New Orleans have been driven out by the vampires, and only one werewolf currently resides in Mystic Falls: Tyler Lockwood, whose resurrection brought him back as an untriggered werewolf.
Hayley is the first pregnant werewolf in the series.
This also makes her the first werewolf to not transform at a full moon without being a hybrid, or needing a moonlight ring.
When turned into hybrids, werewolves retain all their werewolf traits such as glowing eyes, with the additional bloodshot eyes of a vampire.
Mason Lockwood was the first full-blooded werewolf seen on the show and the first werewolf seen in wolf form.
Every werewolf to appear on The Vampire Diaries has been killed.
Like actual wolves, werewolves travel in packs.
Werewolves are an older species than vampires, as Klaus' father and other members of the Original family's village were werewolves long before the Originals were turned into vampires.
In the books, the Original Pack, Tyler Smallwood, Caroline Forbes, Caroline's unborn twin children and Jacob Smallwood were the only werewolves.
In the series, it wasn't officially known that the Lockwoods had the werewolf gene until Bad Moon Rising, though it was hinted in some episodes.
First was The Turning Point. After the scene Tyler hit Jeremy, Jeremy tried to apologize, and when Tyler rejected him, Jeremy asked him "What is your problem, man?" Tyler claims he doesn't know, but a full moon can be seen in the sky, explaining his aggressive behaviors.
It was also hinted in Founder's Day. When John activated the device that would incapacitate vampires, both Tyler and his father were also able to hear the noise, causing Tyler to lose control of the car and wreck; his eyes also briefly turned yellow when being looked at by a paramedic.
According to an interview, the werewolf transformation was designed to be a dance for actors.
The transformations of Mason, Jules, and Tyler are the only ones shown in the TV series.
The Labonair Family is the only family to have a common birthmark.
According to an interview on the 2013 San Diego Comic Con, Julie Plec stated that when werewolf women are pregnant that's the one time the curse releases itself so the werewolf bloodlines can continue to procreate, or else the shape-shifting would kill the baby in the womb.
The Crescent Clan werewolves of Louisiana, including Hayley's biological family, had a curse placed on them that reversed the transformation. Instead of being humans who turned into wolves during the full moon, they are wolves who turned into humans during the full moon.
A werewolf could also be a witch if one of their parents were a witch, such as Klaus when he was alive and his baby. It is unknown if triggering the werewolf curse would allow the use of magic.
In the early 1900's there was a werewolf crime family in New Orleans, called the The Guerrera Family, who had dealings with the Mikaelson brothers; most of them were killed by Papa Tunde.
According to Julie Plec, the werewolves will have a major part in the brewing war between vampires and witches.
it is established through Ansel in the episode, Chasing the Devil’s Tail that at least some werewolves can sense and be drawn to the newly born members of their bloodlines in their wolf forms, that is how he knew Hope is alive.
