Orphaned as a young pup due to a tragic human-related loss of her family, Gilwen was cared for and raised by a small family group of Canadian Lynx that happened upon her and decided to have mercy on her. They kept her warm, fed, and sheltered on the coldest of nights, caring for her as one of their own. As she grew, she took on characteristics of the ferocious little feline, such as her bright orange eyes, her gray pelt that was sprinkled with spots, dark eartips, and the long fur that grew down the sides of her face. She even developed an odd meow-like bark (one that researchers would soon track her for due to research reasons).

In her adolesence, Gilwen found herself jumping and climbing just like her adoptive family did. While she was unable to climb into trees with them, she could easily scale rocks, cliffs, and other less-vertical areas of the wilderness. She would practice her skills by catching birds, chasing rodents, and playing with the young lynx cubs. One day, however, while playing with the cubs, a researcher stumbled upon the group, fascinated by the family ties they had made. Deciding that Gilwen should be studied more, the researcher decided to track and monitor her. The way he would do this - would be by shooting her with a special bullet-like device that was small, and would keep tabs on her vitals, movement, and other important things.

While the device wouldn't kill her, it would, admittedly, sting upon entry. Crouching down a few hundred feet from the group, the researcher shot Gilwen directly in her lower right side of her back, just above her rump.

Absolutely terrified and in pain, Gilwen couldn't help but freak out - not expecting whatever just happened to her. She stood, yelping and howling, falling and rolling over. One of the lynx cubs took off running as fast as it could - however - the other one lay silent. Trampled by Gilwen's large paws in her panic, it layed dead. Mortified by what she had done, and still feeling the burning pain of whatever just hit her, she took off as fast as she could, never to return, never to see her adoptive parents again. Grief stricken, she disappeared deep within the mountains, alone.

It was only when pack alphas Ghost and Hallows discovered her starving that she decided she couldn't be alone anymore. She was then accepted into the pack, and vowed to be better in an attempt to make up for the memories that haunt her.