"But the ones who stayed behind in the land of the Hebrews learned quickly to control their change. They lived their lives as quietly as possible, though some began to piece together the reason for their curse. It took generations. In time, the gospel of the carpenter messiah was preached even in Rome. The werewolves there were persecuted as were followers of the old gods. I pity them, in spite of their later alliance. They were if not divinity, then royalty in the Roman Empire. They fled, their numbers now rivaling Rome's most populous legion, to their roots in the Holy Land.

"Though their brother wolves welcomed them with open arms, it was not long before the failing out occurred. You see, the werewolves in Jerusalem now understood the nature of their curse. This knowledge was not accepted by the Roman wolves. Already bitter at the rise of Christianity, which had stolen their prosperity in Rome, they were not about to die to repay the blood of a Hebrew carpenter. "What happened next is not entirely clear. There are too many versions of the story to say that the one I tell you is the absolute truth, but it was taught to me as a child and it is the version I know best. There was a Roman noblewoman, Julia, living in Jerusalem. Her husband had been a prefect there, and when he died she had become stranded, without money enough to return to Rome. How she continued to survive was a great debate, but it was said that men could be seen entering her house during the night, and she always had enough coin to pay for bread. She never left her house, not by day or by night, but she sent many letters and entertained guests from far-off lands.

"Somehow, she became aware of the werewolves in the city and their situation. She sent for three of the Roman expatriates, Titus, Cicero and Lucius, and held a dinner in their honor. After the rest of the guests had left, she met with the wolves in private, and here is where the story of the lupins and werewolves becomes a tale of feud. After the meeting with Julia, the werewolves were never the same. They were cursed with an insatiable blood hunger They transformed at will, no longer enslaved by the full moon. You see, Julia was a vampire, and out of boredom or for her own evil ends, she turned them. They were the first lupins."

"Oh, fuck," Max whispered, almost unaware he'd spoken.