Are human/werewolf hybrids able to live longer than regular humans according to lore or do they live shorter lives and if a female gives birth how many children are they supposed to have at once? Or is it no different than a regular humans cycle?
Werewolf are made up. When you write them they become your version of the MADE UP creature. That means you can do whatever to them. You can even make them sparkle. As long as it make sense in your story do whatever.
Folklore conceptions of werewolves are pretty different from the modern version. They weren't considered a different species or anything; they were considered humans either afflicted by a curse or willfully wielding demonic powers. Sometimes, there was no physical transformation at all. The individual supposedly channeled an animal spirit, sent out a familiar, or used their own soul to go out and attack people. This form of the belief was closely tied to that of witchcraft. Another version of the "no transformation" belief argued that Satan (being the ultimate source of werewolves) didn't have enough power over the human form to physically alter it that drastically; the changing was an illusion brought on by donning a wolf skin cloak or belt. This belief probably has its roots in Germanic paganism and the Úlfhednar, berserker-like warriors who wore wolf pelts into battle and behaved like animals. Even when there was a physical transformation in the old stories, it wasn't the bipedal man-beast of modern conception, but an actual wolf with a human mind trapped inside. Or, sometimes, a wolfish form with some flaw like lacking a tail. Anyway, the point is that werewolf lore considered werewolves to still be humans. So there'd be no hybrids, no change in the number of births if you strictly adhered to the folklore. Now, here's the good part about writing fiction: you can put your own spin on made up creatures. You can throw the old stories out the window. Speculative fiction gives you tons of creative freedom.
So if I wanted to I could have the MC werewolves with great power but decreased lifespan so I don't have too many characters. Then the main MC's by then could have normal or increased lifespan maybe from down the line of their human genes and magic taking over more of their lycan tributes. That's going to be a big family tree though, like 15 decades down the line. How do I fit enough time writing stories for each family descent?
Well, you could use a number of mediums to chronicle the various generations. You could do journal entries, voice recordings (if they're up to that point in history), written accounts, newspaper articles, you name it. You don't have to tell us every last detail about every generation (or so I assume), so trim the fat and only give us the necessary information, as to not clog the story.
Those can all be achieved, good advice. Though I still want to have a big storyline set from the WWII generation and the Cold War cause I have great ideas for them. The rest in between are not as important to me until the further distant decade where the main MC's are from.
If you're wanting to stick to the actual lore then it's worth noting- as previously mentioned- that werewolves are human and are vulnerable to all the things to which a human is vulnerable. A genetic reason for their short lifespans may not be necessary; the traps and bullets of an enraged farmer or vengeful parent will work just as well on a werewolf as they will on the normal kind.
