Shifters
Packs are... interesting. My husband is Alpha of our pack. I know some Alphas run their packs like dictators, but ours is more like a family. If any of our wolves need something, they need to feel comfortable coming to us for help. A stressed wolf is one more likely to snap and expose (or worse, endanger) themselves (or the public). It's not really in my nature to submit to that hierarchy, because coyotes tend to be loners, so it's a constant adjustment.
I was born like this, yes. The first time I changed, I was three months old. It shocked the heck out of my mother.
Changing isn't a painful experience for me, because my four-legged form is as much me as this two-legged form is. It's not something that is (for lack of a better word) forced on me the way a werewolf change is. It tingles a little, but that's more like your foot falling asleep than real pain. And I'm not forced to change with the moon. I can change any time I choose, but if I do it too often, I get hungry and will need to hunt.