The Garou
In the World of Darkness, lycanthropy is not a disease but an inheritable trait. As dual beings (being both wolves and men), Garou can (and do) interbreed with both species. A Garou's extended non-shapechanging family is called its Kinfolk. Most often, Garou are born to one non-Garou and one Garou parent but in families (both wolf and human) where Garou blood is especially strong, Homid or Lupus Garou sometimes are born from non-shapeshifting parents.
The circumstances of their parentage determines their breed. A Garou born in human form is called a homid; a Garou born in wolf form is called a lupus. The breed or species of the mother determines the breed of the Garou. A Garou born from two Garou parents is called a Metis and is invariably deformed as a result of this inbreeding, as well as completely sterile; however, Metis have Gifts and advantages exclusive to their breed, including the ability to regenerate in all their various forms and a deeper understanding of Garou society owing to their pre-change life exclusively amongst the Garou. Once pariahs in Garou society, trying times have led to the partial integration of the Metis breed into the ranks of the Garou. A werewolf's breed determines (to some extent) their Gnosis, or spiritual awareness (Lupus Garou being more in tune with the primal spirit world than Homids, and Metis Garou being in between).
Prior to their First Change, Garou typically live amongst their kinfolk; in most cases, non-metis Garou are raised unaware of their true nature. Garou usually experience their first change during puberty, occurring in the early teenage years for homids, around 1–2 years of age for lupus, and typically about 6–10 years of age for metis. Prior to this change, the proto-garou is usually unable to change forms, a condition that rarely causes difficulty amongst the homid and lupus, but which confines the metis to the perimeter (or bawn) of Garou-held holy places called caerns.
In general, while most non-metis Garou leave their native societies to live among their shapechanging kin (engaging in a modern primitive lifestyle), they try to retain healthy contact with their Kinfolk to ensure their protection as family and the overall health and vitality of the Garou line.
Over the millennia some Kinfolk lost their connection to the Garou society and are unaware of their status as Kinfolk. If such non-shapeshifting parents have a Garou child it is considered a Lost Cub.
In character creation, a player has to choose whether his character was born in the shape of a human (Homid Breed), the shape of a wolf (Lupus Breed) or if the character is a Metis (born as Crinos). The selection has some effects on the character creation process (like determining the starting value of the Gnosis trait), the character development (like determining the experience pint cost for certain magical powers) and the social status within the Garou society.
Read more about this topic: Werewolf: The Apocalypse