Seitheach Conchar MacCailín was born in Aberdeen, Scotland on December 12th, 1620, in the midst of a brutally cold Scottish winter. His name is pronounced Shay-auch Kon-uh Mac-Cay-leen, meaning wolf, high desire, and his surname means 'son of a soldier boy' in Scottish Gaelic and 'son of a girl' in Irish.
His father's name is Aodh, which is pronounced Eh and has been Anglicized to Hugh [(1460-present)]. His mother's name is Ceana, which is pronounced K-yan-ah and has been Anglicized to Kenna [(1590-present)]. He has one brother named Barra, which is pronounced Bar-ah [(1690-present)]. He had one sister named Una, which is pronounced OO-nuh [(1640-1750)]. He's the oldest of the small brood.
He never understood what the full moon meant when he was young, only that his parents would lock him and then later his younger siblings in the earth and run free for the night.
When he got older, after the aftermath from the most recent round of the Scottish and English war began settling down, Shaw's father sat him down and explained why they had to run every full moon. His father had been bitten by a werewolf [back in the 1400s] and he'd bitten their mother in a fit of passion and had ended up turning her just after Shaw was born. Though his parents were married-- later her found out they were mated, in fact, and stuck together-- the fact that Aodh turned Ceana without her consent or knowledge until afterward drove a wedge into their relationship.
Aodh gave each of his children the choice to be bitten or to stay human.
It was a fantastical story, with intrigue, danger and a twisted sort of romance, and Shaw found himself unable to wait until the day he could turn and run with his family; of course, he chose to become a werewolf, as did his other siblings later. His father tried to insist that it was a curse and not a blessing, but young, headstrong Shaw wasn't interested in listening. Eventually, the small family began to resemble a werewolf pack.
His first change was rather uneventful, running through the Scottish countryside and taking everything in. He felt freer than he ever thought he would, padding through the fields with the wind through his fur. He could see things clearer, smell them from a mile away, and he found he could hear conversations for up to five or six miles away! It was fantastic, and he found he wanted to know more. He became an eager learner, soaking up information on their species - and everything else - like a sponge. It was then that he discovered his affinity for learning, especially languages. Grudgingly, he learned English, but always spoke in either Scottish or Irish Gaelic whenever he could.
When he turned twenty, not long after his sister Una was born, he found that there was a draft for the Scottish Civil War, and he figured what better way to use his newfound powers than to fight for a country he loved so much? He hated the English for what they'd done to his country. War had ravaged Scotland since the thirteenth century, and honestly Shaw was more than ready to just have it all end.
With his superior speed and strength, Shaw became a decorated officer, but soon after that happened, his family found itself in deep trouble. When he came back from the war, he found that his family's land had been torched and a wolf's head was thrust upon a spike. Upon closer inspection, Shaw found that it wasn't his father but a neighboring black wolf that had settled near their land. It had been a warning from some very angry farmers/hunters.
His father had to get his family out of Scotland.
They migrated all over Europe, moved from France to Sicily, and in 1690 when they moved to Sicily, his youngest brother was born and it was both a surprise and a miracle.
Things were good for the MacCailin family for sixty years, but then tragedy struck again when his sister got silver poisoning and ended up dying from it. Shaw loved Una very much and was shattered when she was killed. That was about when he began throwing himself into drinking and fighting, and that went on for a very long time. Almost immediately, he became estranged from his parents because Shaw couldn't imagine being around someone who couldn't protect his sister from something as simple as silver poisoning. Aodh didn't seem to care, and that enraged Shaw, pissed him off enough to skip countries completely. He took his younger brother with him. He hasn't spoken to Aodh since, and he is unaware of their whereabouts though he speaks to his mother.
Shaw and his brother spent some time in China and in Russia, then to Ireland and back to Scotland for a time, learning tricks of the trade and trying to find a solid pack but none would fit him. He came to America in the early eighteen hundreds, settling down in New York. Unfortunately, he had to assimilate and become a factory worker to keep himself afloat. He hated working indoors, but it was something he had to just deal with.
That was where he met his best friend - a wolf who would become his favorite drinking buddy and one of the only wolves who understood and matched his vehement hatred of the English (something that has diminished over the years) - and his family, including his younger sister. He pointedly avoided the Civil War, thankful that being under the radar kept him from the American draft.
When his best friend's family moved to California, Shaw decided that New York wasn't for him either and followed, joining the pack not long after it had been established. Finally, he'd found a place where he belonged. There, he met his best friend's cousins, and became good friends with them and developing an intensely paternal bond with the younger cousin. He watched her grow up, finding she was a strong, willful young girl.
During his time in California, he spent equal time with the pack being their enforcer and going off both on his own and with his best friend. One time he'd been on his own and met a young, pretty wolf by the name of Cal, short for Callahan, he'd found out with enough whiskey. It hadn't taken much to convince him to be with the boy, for the night. It seemed he had a thing for the Irish, because they ended up in bed together and Cal wanted more. One night turned into many despite the fact that Shaw was reluctant to get involved with someone else. There was something about Cal that kept him coming back.
When the time came, he realized that Cal wanted more. Shaw had never been one for mating, so he denied the idea of turning their fling into a dating situation, not to mention the age difference! He was centuries older than the fresh-faced pup. They ended up parting on good terms, and Cal went back to Ireland while Shaw stayed in California.
Overall, California was a fresh new start for Shaw as well as the rest of the pack, and while he didn't like the alpha at all, didn't agree with most of his ideology, he felt at home with the rest of the pack.
That, of course, didn't last long. When another rogue looking to claim alpha status came in with the rest of his best friend's family and tried to gain control of the pack, Shaw decided that it was far too much drama for him at this point in his life. He'd lived too long to stay in the middle of a feuding pack. He remained part of the pack, but he stayed on the outskirts throughout all the family drama. After they moved from California to Colorado Springs, Shaw had lagged behind a bit - having found his brother running rogue in the woods of Northern California - but when he finally arrived in Colorado, he offered himself up as Enforcer again, especially after everything that's happened to the pack since they moved into the midwest.
He stayed loyal to the pack even after they moved from Colorado Springs to Belfast, Ireland where perhaps there can be a new beginning. Unfortunately, it was not to be. The California pack disbanded, and was absorbed by the Eire pack, which had been left alpha-less due to the fact that their previous alpha had been killed by natural causes. The old Cali alpha suggested to the beta that Shaw take over the position of alpha. He took on the duties, though since it was a large, unstable pack, it was difficult to oversee.
Meanwhile, his and Cal's relationship was littered with trials and tribulations, considering when they reconnected in Ireland, Shaw had quite literally just admitted to his best friend that he had been in love with him for centuries, only to be rejected for his soon-to-be mate. It took a very long time to convince Shaw to give the relationship with Cal a chance, and an even longer time to convince Cal that he was the one he wanted to be with no matter what, but eventually they were able to settle on solid ground. He was mated to Cal O'Clery on October 13th, 2012.
After his mating in October, things became increasingly volatile. The Eire pack launched into a full-scale pack war with a Northern Irish pack, and at the same time it was becoming obvious that a group within the Eire pack wanted Shaw's mate killed; two attempts on Cal's life was more than enough, one nearly-fatal silver poisoning and one milder but aggravated due to his weakened immune system. Fighting began to brew from the inside and the outside, and the pack quickly became unstable no matter how Shaw tried to keep things together. In the end, it was in the best interest of the entire pack to disband and most of the Eire pack was absorbed into the Northern Ireland pack or went rogue.
Shaw instead suggested that he and Cal move out of the country for his mate's safety. When England was suggested, initially Shaw was hesitant-- he'd never gotten on well with the English-- but anywhere was safer than the volatile hot spot that Belfast, Ireland had become. He eventually agreed, and they moved to London, England in December.
[Family PBs: father - David Patrick O'Hara, mother - Susan Fleetwood, sister - Mhairi Calvey]
