Lupus are born when one parent is a Garou and the other is a wolf, and are the least represented among the Garou breeds, even less than metis.  This is, in part, because of the nearly genocidal killing of wolves throughout North America and Europe. Wolves once had the largest natural range of any terrestrial mammal except man - today, the only significant populations of native wolves in North America are in Canada, Alaska, and northern Minnesota.

As homid Garou have all of the schizophrenic complexity found in humans (and more), so do lupus Garou have the depth of instinct and connection to Gaia found in wolves.  To understand what it means to be a lupus Garou (or take the lupus form) is to understand the nature of the wolf.

While humans are born largely incapable of thought, speech or movement other than that of the bowels and take over a decade to reach maturity, wolves are fully-functioning members of their packs within months.  Most of the time it takes for a lupus Garou to become a member of Garou society is used in understanding the ways of humans, which are difficult to master for those used to acting by instinct.

Wolves are nocturnal or crepuscular (meaning that they come out at twilight), although daytime activity is not uncommon, especially during cool weather or in the winter. Wolves and their Garou cousins are often night creatures, tending to be sluggish and sleepy during the day. They are almost entirely carnivorous. Some lupus Garou have adapted enough to eat foods other than meat, but they usually like their meat bloody, warm, and freshly killed.

Wolves posture to show dominance; the most common social ritual is to place one's paw on another wolf as that wolf rolls over to accept dominance. Wolves and lupus also mark possessions and territories with their scent glands. The dominant members of a wolf pack are the alpha male and alpha female, and all other wolves in the pack know their place, all the way down to the omega wolf. In a wolf pack, only the alpha pair breeds with wolves and this pair also suppresses breeding by all other pack members. However, all pack members help care for pups and feed them as well. Because of her size and strength, a lupus Garou will certainly dominate any wolf pack she is a member of.  In a pack composed of lupus Garou it is not uncommon to have wolves that are Kinfolk as members, for lupus readily accept their Kin and have easier relations with them than any other breed.

Wolves do not communicate as humans do - while the written alphabet and human language are constructs, wolves communicate with their very being.  Howling, barking, growling, whining, posturing and marking territory with their scent glands are the ways they use to get their point across.  The subtleties of the wolf-tongue are difficult for humans to understand - enormous amounts of communication can occur through the position of the tail, the shape of the eyes, and the ruff of the fur.  Wolves howl during courtship and mating, as a warning, as part of worshipping the moon, and in celebration. Barking is associated with surprise and warning. Growling occurs during challenges and is associated with threatening behavior asserting one's rights. Whines are associated with greetings, hungry cubs, playtime, and other signs of anxiety, curiosity, or inquiry. These are intimate noises that lupus Garou make to other wolves and to each other.  When they do speak, they tend to speak truthfully and directly, with little flattery, irony, sarcasm or metaphor.  To learn human tongues, lupus Garou must painstakingly take homid form and learn the concepts in addition to making the strange sounds with the mouth.  Should another Garou take the lupus form to communicate with a lupus, the lupus will thank the Garou and take it as a sign of respect.

Within the world of the wolf and other creatures of Gaia, something is or it is not.  What is not appears as if it does not exist in the wolf's universe, ignored by the wolf until it is time for a change.  A wolf pack may loll around in full view of a herd of elk, each ignoring the other until the hunt begins.  A wolf may chase a deer for miles and miles through winter woods and have it in reach throughout, but not deliver the killing blow until the time is right - until the deer is fully prey.  To the wolf, something is food or not-food, prey or not-prey, a threat or not-threat, prey or not-prey.  These distinctions may change quickly, though how they change is not always clear to humans.  With this connection to Gaia, lupus have an intuitive understanding of nature's balance between the Weaver, Wyrm and Wyld that is envied by the other breeds.

Despite the apparent simplicity of the wolve's world, they are capable of great cunning. For instance, while very single-minded in hunting prey, they are capable of a lot of thinking and strategizing in order to achieve their goals. But unless it is clear that fighting a foe is necessary, wolves are more likely try to escape unwanted encounters.  Inherently creatures of the present, wolves generally have a hard time considering their action in terms of future results and results of past actions. They live in the present for the most part, and often take the most logical, most commonsensical course of action, rather than involve themselves in complicated schemes. They do not often make elaborate plans; instinct usually guides them. Wolves tend to consider prey and food higher priority over vanity.  Though the social hierarchy and even to some extent ambition is important to them, the ambition is not usually for others' regard so much as it is for consideration and leadership.  Lupus rarely hold a grudge or lingering resentment beyond the resolution of the issue at hand; when they do, their strength of feeling and action seems irrational to humans - witness the genocidal actions of the Red Talons.

Lupus have difficulty understanding many human concepts.  The concept of time is challenging for lupus, as are the concepts of property and money - in the latter cases, lupus end up mapping some concepts of territory in order to understand them.  Human laws and bureaucracy are usually alien to lupus Garou, while "monkey-toys" or "Weavertools" (otherwise known as technology) are not highly valued.  This should not be mistaken for an inability to learn - though it can be a hair-raising experience for the teacher, lupus are entirely capable of mastering driving and other skills.  Those few lupus raised in the city typically have a better understanding of human concepts, though at the cost of self-hatred and other maladies due to their caged upbringings.

Lupus believe that Gaia watches over them and protects them as She does all living things. They are perhaps the most spiritual of the breeds. They are known to respect Theurges of all breeds more than they do other auspices, and they show respect for all spirits encountered in the Umbra. They also hold strongly to those portions of the Litany that address respect and territory.

Lupus are hesitant to take the crinos form unless they need to and even then then will shift back as soon as it is convenient - a philosophy driven by their very present-tense outlook.  Lupus will only take homid form when necessary to communicate with humans or to move through crowds of humans.  While in homid form, lupus often feel their senses of smell and hearing dampened and are generally disoriented, needing constant correction and 'parenting' from their homid counterparts in order to fit in.

Attitudes towards other breeds:

Homids: Lupus will sometimes have trouble discerning one human from another, being thrown by the strong Weaver and Wyrm-smells on most humans and the customs of clothing - especially when it is brightly colored.  Lupus tend to regard homids with a sense of disbelief, often confused by their constant quibbling over matters such as the Litany which seem, to lupus thought, to be quite clear. When homid debating doesn’t hinder the issue at hand, it is common for lupus Garou to watch homids as a humorous form of entertainment.

Metis: Lupus tend not to tolerate weakness, so they feel that metis should prove themselves. However, once they have done so to their (arguably more objective than homid) satisfaction, metis are more accepted, albeit grudgingly.

GM Note - Characters playing lupus should read Of Wolves and Men by Barry Lopez or other similar books to gain an understanding of wolf culture and the nature of the wolf.