Elena Michaels (portrayed by Laura Vandervoort) is a fictional character in the Women of the Otherworld fantasy novel by Canadian author Kelley Armstrong, and also the female lead and protagonist of the supernatural TV series Bitten (2014-2016). Elena is the only known female werewolf in the world, the fiancée of Clayton Danvers and the ex-girlfriend of the late Philip McAdams. She was orphaned at a young age when both of her (adoptive) parents died. With no living relatives, she was placed in the state care system and lived with foster families. At some point as a child she was molested by a neighbor, Victor Olson and reported him to the authorities. He was later charged, she testified against him and was sent to prison. After graduating from high school, Elena attended college. To pay for her college, Elena applied to be an assistant to an anthropologist professor, Clayton Danvers. They fell in love and quickly became engaged. Clayton brought Elena to Stonehaven where his adoptive father, Jeremy Danvers, lived. Jeremy was in the middle of a turn when Elena heard a noise and looked toward the woods. He thought Elena saw him so he ordered Clayton away so he could kill her, because one of many strict rules werewolves adhere to is that if a human knows about werewolves they must be killed. Clayton not wanting this to be his lover's fate, bites Elena so she can have another chance at life. However, biting her was a huge risk for both of them. There had never been a female werewolf, therefore women were thought to be generally not strong enough to survive the change: getting stuck mid-change or mentally unstable from it eventually always led to their deaths. Somehow Elena survived and now is the only female werewolf, but Elena, not knowing the truth behind why Clayton bit her broke off their engagement. Elena Michaels moved away from Stonehaven in Bear Valley, NY to Toronto where she had met Philip McAdams. She tried to live a normal human life away from her pack especially her ex-fiance, Clay.