Do you really believe were-animals are real? If so, why don’t we know about them? I get these questions a lot. Why? Because I write fantasy and paranormal romance.
So, let’s start with how I portray the Weres in the Warriors For Light (WFL) series. They are human. Born human, live as humans and die as humans. They just have a little extra in their DNA—okay, a lot extra. If they mate with a human, their children will take after the stronger DNA—Were.
All Weres pass as norms. In early life, they can’t change forms. My term is phasing. They don’t phase until puberty. That just proves Mother Nature has a sense of humor. Imagine, acne, growth spurts and suddenly nature throws in the shift. Yup, it just has to happen at the same time.
Is it a smooth event for the poor teen? Not a chance. That’s why I said Mother Nature has a sense of humor. Except for the Alpha born, who phase into their animal form correctly the first time. For the average Were, it can be only one part of their body that phases. Such as the legs, or both legs and arms, but the rest looks human.
Image being fourteen and losing control of who and what you are. One minute you are human, the next your head and body are a wolf or leopard but you have human legs and arms. Homeschooling comes to the rescue until the poor teen learns control. Then it is onto the varsity football team.
So how does the phase happen once a Were has gained control of his or her animal side? It happens in a nano-second. One minute he is human, the next a wolf or leopard or bear or badger. No rending of clothes, no pain, just poof, in the blink of an eye he changes.
In the world I have created, the clothing and weapons disappear to but return unharmed when a Were phases/shifts back to human. Their clothing looks same as before the change. Fae talk about having an In-between Space where they store stuff, including their many weapons. It’s possible the Weres’ different forms are in a were-in-between space. Who knows?
The predator species have three forms: human, animal and Warrior-Beast. I think some novelist or filmmaker spotted one of the Weres in warrior-beast form, because the movie creations are closest to that. The face—while clearly wolf—will retain some human characteristics. The eyes never change. Fur covers the body, but the warrior-beast stands upright, going, say, from a sold five foot ten to almost six foot eight. The legs are shorter than the body and have the look of a wolf/dog being held upright. However, the warrior-beast is super fast and strong in that form; make that deadly.
You will find them in the military, as firefighters, forest rangers; police officers, school teachers, your Boy Scout leader, and an Eagle Scout may really be an eagle.
In warrior-beast form, a Were is enough to make a meth head go straight. Unfortunately, it doesn’t frighten demons.
Why?
Surely a Were in warrior-beast form could tear apart a demon. True, they could. However, Weres are tasty and much sought after treats. Once eaten, the demon’s absorb the poor Were’s magick. So it’s the goal of every Were in my stories to stay alive and whole.
L.J. DeLeon
Okay, I admit it, I hate to write scenes with condoms, because one of the tropes for romance stories is the Secret Baby. I used to think this was so trite and overused. Now I see the beauty in it. I've used it 3 times in the past 3 years.
