Character Analysis
Wild Side
Reuben grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, that's for sure. The seventh son in a dysfunctional family, he was cutting school and drinking before the McKinnons found and kidnapped him when he was fourteen. Now he's nineteen, which means when we meet him, he's live in captivity under those jerks for five years already. Bummer.
With his alcoholic mom dead, Reuben lived with his older brother Dane and younger brother Jessie. Another brother, Callum, bought them beer on a regular basis. The result is that Reuben was so checked out that he didn't even know he was a werewolf at first: "So no one was much surprised when Reuben was found lying naked in a paddock one morning, with no memory of how he'd arrived there" (14.3). Again, it feels appropriate to say bummer.
When Reuben's in human form, he's "gorgeous" (13.109), according to Nina. Even though he's covered in dirt and blood the first time she sees him, he's "still the most stunning guy I'd ever seen […] his proportions were perfect. So were his teeth, and his nose, and his high, sculpted cheekbones. He had enormous green eyes ringed by jet-black lashes, and a lean, wiry, muscular build" (13.111). If you'll excuse us for a moment, we need to go take a cold shower right quick.
Reuben isn't just easy on the eyes, though; he's also really vibrant, which attracts Nina since it's such a change of pace from hanging around lackluster vampires. In fact, he even makes an attempt at flirting with her, wearing a "slow and sweet (though slightly crazed) little smile" (14.91). Dave quickly shoots this down, though, and Reuben and Nina stay just friends.
Hairy and Scary
As a werewolf, Reuben is really freaky-looking. When Nina sees him in the fighting ring in wolf-form, he's a "fierce, hairy, panting animal about the size of a bear" (10.82). We'd like to just repeat that last part: "about the size of a bear." Yikes.
In creature-form, Reuben lacks a tail but has "very long limbs" along with "little tufted ears […] glaring green eyes" (10.89). He doesn't look much like a wolf, though he's obviously a mammal of some kind—and a smart one, too. He's freaked out about the prospect of being locked up, for instance, and once Dave, Nina, and Father Ramon liberate him, he goes on this rant:
"No one's ever going to shut me up again! Not ever! Not in a zoo or a loony bin or anywhere else! Do you hear me? I'm going to kill anyone who even tries!" (14.85)
Yeah, Reuben sounds a little too enthusiastic about doing bodily harm to the McKinnons. When he, Dave, Nina, and Horace subdue the troublesome pair, Reuben has all kinds of lovely suggestions about what to do with them: "We can drop 'em down a well […] Or we can shoot 'em with that rifle. Or maybe we can starve 'em to death, slowly, over a couple weeks" (22.77). It's pretty dark, and while we get that he's been held captive for years by these jerks, we're not really sure how much of his anger is rooted in who he is as a human and how much is tied to his werewolf identity.
Luckily, Reuben doesn't inflict bodily harm on the McKinnons. Once the whole escapade is over, he tries to reconcile with his brother Dane (mixed reception there) and he goes back to school. We're not convinced that he's chill enough to lead a quiet life, but we'll see.