“I suppose it is.” When they underwent the change, their natural wolf form died and they were resurrected into human form with the mind of both wolf and man. That is, if they survived the painful change.
“So he cast some spell, then zippity ippity, he turned himself into a wolf?”
“He used a potion. A toxic mixture of mushrooms, herbs, snake and spider venom, and his own blood.”
Rachel furrowed her brow. “Makes sense. Shamans imbibe hallucinogenic mushrooms to shift into their spirit guides. But not literally.”
Her reality was based on science. He couldn’t blame her for trying to find a scientific explanation. “You saw me shift without the benefit of mushrooms.”
Rachel sighed. “Fine, so he became a werewolf and all of his children shifted as well.”
“After Stallo drank the potion, he nearly died. He gained great strength, grew fangs and claws, but never fully became a wolf. Stallo bit several men, hoping to pass on his magic, but it didn’t work. This frightened his village, his wife and children. He was able to control his shift, but the others of his village, fearing he was an evil sorcerer, chased him out.”
“I can’t say I blame them.”
“He left his family and ran far into the mountains hunted by the men determined to kill him. Cunning, he managed to escape their dogs. He entered a large wolf pack’s territory. The wolves, enraged on seeing a man that was partially wolf, attacked him. Stallo killed many, and bit all his attackers. That was when the magic happened. The wolves he bit writhed in agony as if poisoned. The five that survived known as the Pentad changed into humans, but with the ability to turn back into their wolf form.”
“Wait. Are you saying a man’s bite turned a normal wolf into a human?”
“Yes, into a werewolf.”
She snorted. “Man bites dog. Puts a new twist on the old Hollywood werewolf story.”
“We are descendants of those five werewolves, the Pentad. We are born wolf for the first three years of our life and then undergo the change, which either kills us or turns us into a twenty-one-year-old human with all the acquired knowledge of our parents and often other ancestors.”
“You were first a wolf?”
“Yes. An alpha.”
“You morph from wolf to adult?”
“We are born pups and live as wolves, but with the knowledge we are human.”
“That saves money on diapers.”
He laughed. “Human children can be expensive.”
“So when do you go human…the full moon?”
“No. The alpha parent bites the adult wolves and, if we survive the change, we become human.”
“The change?”
“Our transformation from wolf to human kills 50% to 98% of us.”
“Ouch. So how many in your pack survived the change?”
“All my siblings died.” He sighed. “My pack was exposed to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Only my father and I survived.”
“I’m so sorry.” She softened her tone. “Did you stay there?”
“No. We left the contaminated forest for good. I returned a few years ago for the first time to visit my pack’s grave.”
“Did you need special permission?”
“I drove in under pretense of collecting samples. Once in, I remained in wolf form.”
“Where did you and your father go after the meltdown?”