Bitten (novel)

For the book R. L. Stine, see R. L. Stine § Dangerous Girls.

Bitten

First Edition (publ, Random House, Canada)
Author	Kelley Armstrong
Cover artist	Dominic Harman
Language	English
Series	Women of the Otherworld
Genre	Fantasy, romance, adventure
Published	Viking Adult (United States), Little, Brown & co. (U.K.), Random House (Canada)
Publication date	October 2, 2001
Publication place	Canada
Media type	Print (hardback and paperback) and audio book (cassette)
Pages	400 (hardcover) 384 (paperback)
ISBN	978-0-670-89471-0
Followed by	Stolen

Bitten is a fantasy novel by Canadian writer Kelley Armstrong, published in 2001. It is the first book in the Women of the Otherworld series, and her first novel.

Premise

Elena Michaels is the only known female werewolf, but she grows tired of spending her life pursuing rogue werewolves and trying to control her temper and violence. She decides to leave her Pack and live in Toronto as a human, but the Pack leader calls in a favor, which leads Elena to try to help quell an uprising.

Plot

Elena Michaels stood at the edge of the forest, her senses heightened as the moon cast an ethereal glow over the landscape. She could feel the wolf within her, restless and eager to break free. But Elena was determined to keep that side of her locked away, buried beneath layers of human rationality. She had worked hard to build a life in Toronto, to blend in with the humans despite the primal urges that simmered beneath her skin. Yet, the call of her Pack could not be ignored, pulling her back to Stonehaven, to the heart of the werewolf world.

Arrived at the sprawling estate, memories flooded back - of Clayton Danvers, the man who had bitten her and changed her life forever. Clayton, with his rugged charm and dangerous allure, was both her greatest weakness and her deepest regret. Their complicated past hung between them like a shroud, a tangled web of love and betrayal that Elena struggled to unravel. And now, with a rogue werewolf on the loose, their fragile peace was shattered, forcing them to confront their shared past and uncertain future.

The scent of blood lingered in the air, mingling with the musky scent of fur and pine. Elena joined forces with the rest of the Pack, a diverse group of werewolves each grappling with their own inner demons. Antonio Sorrentino, the enigmatic leader with a steely gaze; Nicholas Sorrentino, his son, fierce and loyal; Logan Jonsen, the brooding lone wolf; and Peter Myers, the jovial jokester whose laughter masked a deep pain. Together, they formed a formidable alliance, bound by blood and duty to protect their kind from the growing threat of the Mutts.

The rest of the final showdown loomed on the horizon. The clash between Pack and Mutt, between tradition and rebellion, would test their bonds and their beliefs to the breaking point. Elena found herself at the center of the storm, torn between loyalty to her Pack and the stirrings of a new world dawning. In the heart of the forest, under the watchful gaze of the moon, she would discover the true meaning of family, of sacrifice, and of the untamed power that pulsed through her veins. And in that moment of reckoning, Elena Michaels would embrace her destiny as the only female werewolf in the world, a force to be reckoned with in a world where the line between man and beast blurred into shadow.

Characters

Pack of werewolves

• Antonio Sorrentino – Hereditary werewolf and father of Nick. Once the Pack's top fighter, still strong. The best friend of the Alpha Wolf (Jeremy).
• Clayton "Clay" Danvers – Bitten as a child, is seen as more wolf than human. He is Jeremy's foster-son-turned bodyguard and the werewolf who bit Elena. He is also Elena's ex-lover and is still in love with her. Bitten as a child, the story of which is told in Kelley's first online novella, Savage.
• Elena Michaels – Journalist and the only known female werewolf. Bitten by then-lover, Clayton. Her parents died in a car crash while she was young, which sent her into many abusive foster families. Determined to leave that life behind, she focused on school and went to college, where she met Clayton. Used to live with the pack but attempted to leave at one point. Lives in Toronto with her boyfriend Philip.
• Jeremy Danvers – Alpha werewolf and leader of the Pack. Possesses psychic abilities used to contact other Pack members. A hereditary werewolf, he has the unusual for a werewolf hobby of marksmanship.
• Nicholas "Nick" Sorrentino – Hereditary werewolf, son of Antonio, and best friend of Clayton.
• Logan Jonsen – Hereditary werewolf, close friend, almost like a brother, to Elena. On the outskirts of the pack, lives in Albany, NY, and is a lawyer who practices in the state of New York and Los Angeles, California. Is killed by Thomas LeBlanc
• Peter "Pete" Myers – Hereditary werewolf, good friend of Elena. Also on the outskirts of the Pack. Works as a sound engineer for top bands on tour. He once accidentally murdered two women, was rescued by Jeremy. Killed by Mutt Daniel Santos.

Mutts

• Daniel Santos – Hereditary werewolf and a former member of the Pack. He left the pack after Clayton killed Stephen Santos, his brother. He loathes Clayton and believes Elena should be "his". A man-killer considered dangerous and possibly insane by the pack, he was betrayed and killed by Thomas LeBlanc.
• Jimmy Koenig – Hereditary werewolf and the nephew of Billy Koenig, he is an ex-drug addict/alcoholic and man-killer; killed by Clayton.
• Karl Marsten – Hereditary werewolf and wealthy professional thief who is seeking territory to settle in. Considered the second most dangerous Mutt by the pack but also sociable.
• Scott Brandon – Bitten werewolf, he is a serial killer turned by Karl Marsten; shot and killed by a police officer and then hit by an oncoming truck.
• Thomas LeBlanc – Bitten werewolf, also a serial killer turned by Daniel. Targets women and killed by Elena.
• Victor Olson – Bitten werewolf and pedophile, turned by Zachary Cain and killed by Elena.
• Zachary Cain – Hereditary werewolf, he is huge and an excellent fighter, but not very bright. After being interrogated by Jeremy and Clayton, he is killed by Clayton.

Humans

• Philip Mcadam – Elena's live-in boyfriend. Lives in Toronto, where he works as an architect.
• Anne – Mother of Philip, Elena's boyfriend, Judith and Diane.
• Larry – Father of Philip, Judith and Diane, husband of Anne.
• Diane – Phillip's sister.
• Ken – Diane's husband.
• Judith – Phillip's older sister who lives in the UK.

Concept and creation

Armstrong says Bitten was inspired by an X-Files episode on werewolves. She had the idea to portray werewolves as other than "bloodthirsty, ravening beasts" and quickly wrote a short story about a young woman who becomes a werewolf to present to her writing group. Eventually, Armstrong fleshed out the short story into a novel that became Bitten.

Werewolf mythology

In the Women of the Otherworld series, unlike many modern horror fiction stories, werewolves transform into full wolves in a painful transmogrification, while maintaining their hair colour and body mass, making them extremely large wolves. Although transformations have to occur regularly, Armstrong's werewolves are not affected by phases of the moon, can shape-shift at will and can learn to transform a single part of their body. Werewolves can be killed by anything that can kill a human and have no extra sensitivity to silver. They age slower than humans. For example, Antonio and his son Nick, despite an age gap of 17 years, pass themselves off as brothers in human company. In fact, Pack sons are raised referring to their fathers as 'uncle' while amidst humans, in order to avoid questions.

While in human form, werewolves have wolf-like characteristics, better hearing, a keener sense of smell and a wolf's instinctive reactions, while in wolf form they maintain their intellect but cannot talk and are more driven by instinct. In both forms, they have greater strength and reflexes than a normal human or wolf and heal significantly faster. Hereditary werewolves acquire these enhanced abilities gradually, following puberty, and have their first change in their late teens or early 20s. Non-hereditary werewolves start changing shortly after they are bitten, and not all survive the process; the bitten Mutts took around a month to recover. In the case of Clay, he could transform and had the enhanced abilities from when he was bitten at around age five.

Release details

• First released in the U.S. by Viking Press in September 2001, in hardcover.
• Released in trade paperback in January 2003 by Plume.
• Released in mass market paperback in August 2004 by Plume.

Awards and nominations

• Nominated Best First Novel by the International Horror Guild

Screen adaptations

For a while, there was discussion of making a movie adaptation of the novel. Angelina Jolie was approached to play the central role of Elena. A script is still floating around for it.

On 23 August 2012, Space announced that a full-season TV adaptation of Bitten would commence production in spring 2013. On 9 March 2013, it was announced that Laura Vandervoort would be cast as Elena Michaels. The 13-part series was scheduled to premiere in fall 2013 but was pushed back and premiered in January 2014. On 12 August 2014, the full first season was released in the United States on Blu-ray and DVD.

External links

• "Frisky... Tells a rather sweet love story, and suggests that being a wolf may be more comfortable for a strong, smart young woman than being human." – New York Times review
• "[Does] the same thing for werewolves that Anne Rice did for vampires in her Interview with the Vampire."- Rocky Mountain News
• Author's Official Website
• Bitten title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Review of "Bitten" at rpg.net
• Review of "Bitten" at sfsite.com
• Author's page at agent's website