Friday dawned too bright for my pounding head, my alarm sounding way too soon. This was the day of the trip to the UK Wolf Conservation Trust and the coach was leaving at 8:30, which meant getting up at 7:30 to make sure I had plenty of time to catch it. The long coach trip saved me, giving me the chance to nod off for another hour or so, and I was just about able to function once we reached the wolf centre.

We were given a talk on wolves and wolf behaviour which was enjoyable, even though there wasn’t really anything new for me as I’ve researched them so much over the years. Then we were able to see the wolves being fed which was surprisingly by hand through the mesh of the enclosures – I was expecting a carcass to be taken in for the wolves to feed on.

We were also able to hear one of the alpha females (there was more than one pack) howling which was really cool. I forget the name of the lady who gave us the talk and showed us round the enclosures, but I enjoyed chatting with her as we watched the wolves. She told us the story of a wolf with no teeth, and how the rest of the pack chewed his food for him so he didn’t starve, and as the wolves grew playful while we talked I had to wonder just how they ever came to be so feared and hated. Of course there has been conflict between man and wolf, particularly with farmers, but the same could be said of big cats and other large predators, and yet none have gained such a negative reputation as the wolf, a reputation that I feel is really undeserved. But more on that in a bit. Suffice to say the awe at being around real wolves, which is something I’ve not experienced often as most of the zoos I’ve been to didn’t have any wolf packs, renewed my love for them and my passion for animal rights, a theme which creeps into Hybrid in places.

We had a packed lunch on the coach on the way back which I thought would be sandwiches again, but turned out to be a boxed chicken salad. My inner wolf was not overly happy with salad and I could have really done with sandwiches and crisps for my hangover, as I was starting to get that empty feeling that too much beer often gives, but it was nice nevertheless. And once we were back at the uni there were more biscuits waiting for us which helped to keep me going till the conference dinner later. I think it was at this point I got chatting to Catherine Pugh and Jillian Wingfield, initially about dogs but this somehow evolved into one of the most entertaining chats of the week about flying sheep and canine wellies for transformed werewolves during the full moon. Again we really hit it off, as I did with everyone I spoke to at the event, and if flying sheep make an appearance in one of my works, this is where it came from!

Prof. Garry Marvin then gave a talk on wolves, including the problems they face when it comes to re-introduction into areas they’ve been wiped out of. I was quite shocked by the level of worldwide hatred for this misunderstood animal, having never realised quite how deep the hatred runs among some people. It was also upsetting to see images of wolves shot and worse by ranchers, and wolves about to face brutal deaths of the kind I might write in my stories. One poor wolf was tethered by ropes and surrounded by men on horses, each holding one of the ropes, and Prof. Marvin informed us they were about to ride off in different directions, ripping the wolf apart. Such a horrific death for an animal guilty of nothing more than existing, it seemed. The picture Prof. Marvin painted was of a hatred that went beyond the clashes between wolves and farmers whose livestock they’d sometimes preyed upon over the centuries, or at least that was the impression I got. It seemed they’d been persecuted simply because those historical clashes had identified them as the enemy, as opposed to any current problems with livestock deaths. There were even images of recent propaganda suggesting kids would be next on the menu, despite the fact wolf attacks on humans are rare. My hackles were raised in response to this talk and it gave me more inspiration to write than anything else covered in the conference.

Afterwards it was time for two more parallel sessions, one of which included Jillian’s talk on the novel ‘Fat White Vampire Blues’. I felt the papers gave a really good range of werewolf themes, from historical tales to modern fiction, to media representations, as well as werewolves and other shapeshifters in different cultures, but this book was perhaps the most obscure of those covered during the event. There were some great quotes about the main character’s intimate moment with a certain stray female dog (he was in wolf form for this), which gave rise to vampire-wolf-dog hybrids, or something along those lines. Jillian’s presentation finished with what she felt was stunned silence, but I thought her talk was really entertaining given that the subject matter was so comedic, though I can’t speak for the other delegates of course.

Friday evening we also had the magic lantern show which was cool. I had no idea what it was, simply paying for it along with the rest of the booking on the principal that if I was going to do the event, I might as well do everything. So I had no idea what to expect, but it turned out ‘magic lanterns’ were an early type of image projector, using techniques to make the images on the slides seem to move, which terrified audiences who braved ‘Phantasmagoria’ in the 18^th century. We were treated to a story with a werewolf theme which was told through use of the slides and narration, and gave a different type of storytelling experience to what we’re used to in this modern era of movies and other technology.

Dinner was served not long after. My only complaint was the lack of red meat on the menu – at a werewolf conference I would have expected steak! – but the chicken was really nice and the catering staff were kind enough to do mine without the sauce. I’ve never been fond of sauces, preferring the taste of a good chunk of meat without anything to disguise it. In fact the only sauce I will eat is bolognaise!

There was also free wine on offer but I actually took it easy on the Friday night, believe it or not! I didn’t even feel tipsy by the end of the evening and I actually got to bed at a reasonable hour, though I think that’s more because everyone else did, rather than any kind of sensible thinking on my part.

The dinner was another fun, social experience, and I chatted with Jillian some more. It wasn’t long before we ended up plotting, and despite getting to bed earlier and being so sleep deprived already, it was a restless night once again. My mind was buzzing with the prospect of what the morning would bring, and what little sleep I did have was troubled as I fell into the kind of vivid dream that leaves you convinced it was real when you first wake up. But I was too determined to back out, so I tried to calm my nerves as best I could while I tossed and turned into the early hours, until my alarm summoned me back to reality the next day.

And here ends part 2 of Company of Wolves!

• Part One
• Part Three (final part)