Dear Mr. Motweiler:

I write to you tonight with the intent to dispel many of the nasty, disparaging rumors about lycanthropes which have accumulated throughout history. Having read your human literature and watched your movies, I find myself a little more than deeply concerned about the gruesome light humans have cast over the lycanthropic community. Truth be known, as Weres we’re a sophisticated, close-knit society bound to standards and customs that far surpass any of your laws or governing.

It’s fair to say that we, too, have our outcasts and criminal elements, as does your society. For Werewolves the lines are never clearly defined; the wolf is never completely the wolf and the man never completely a man. Given that wolves are fairly docile as carnivores go, the wolf inside the man is not so bad. However, a man with the power of wolves, still able to make choices and have no conscience about his decisions ... well, I'm sure you can see the lethal combination in that. But, I assure you, a Were's need for human flesh is not much different from a human's need for beef, pork, or chicken.

As for hunting humans for sport--please! You humans have so many annoying habits. Confronted by terror, you'll throw your arms over your faces and scream like hapless victims in a B-movie horror matinee. It's about as sporting to us as shooting jaguars in a cage at point-blank on a hot day in Texas. Not precisely what any of us might define as challenging.

Sad enough to say, but Man is the only creature I’ve ever known that kills merely for the pleasure of killing. Should a Were cross that line, the consequences for his actions are quick, severe, and final. We are not allowed to hunt for any reason except survival. We are not allowed to kill for anything but that same reason...which includes protecting ourselves and our families. But then, humans do not pose much of a threat to us as a whole.

What ever gave all of you the idea that a silver bullet will kill us? Or that we are controlled by the cycle of the moon as though it were as fashionable as having PMS? We are no more driven by the moon than you as humans are driven by your desires. I guess in some cases, both can be lethal, no?

I've no desire to cast you in the same grim role in which you've cast us. Many humans have been entrusted with the secrets of our society; some have given their lives to protect those secrets. We love the same way you love, and we live--for the most part--the same way you live.

We've populated the Earth as long as you have and because of our genetic differences, have a more accurate understanding of history. I know elders who date back as far as the Revolutionary War. And yes, they fought for the freedom the United States now enjoys, beside your ancestors.

I've spoken to slaves from before the Civil War. Men and women who were mistreated by humans, and yet, although they could have easily slaughtered their captors like so much cattle, they remained in bondage and fought when the time was right, beside their human friends--watching many of those friends die for what they believed in. It was an ugly war, and if humans possess the capacity to do this to themselves, we can only imagine what you might try to do to us were it easy to distinguish Were from human. Thankfully, it's not that easy.

And make no mistake, we are around you everywhere. In your homes, your offices, even your local grocery stores. We tend to your sick, and we feed your poor. We help the lost find their way home. We protect those too weak to protect themselves. And it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth to know humans have colored us as monsters even so.

We are not monsters. We are Werewolves...and we deserve more credit for OUR humanity--after all, if you were to really consider it--we are a superior race to Man. We could have ruled this world long, long ago.

Our ancestors gave you freedom.

I hope this has shed some light on this matter. Have a nice day.

Sincerely,

Madeline Stone