Anita Lucas

"Humans make us seem that we are the monsters. The moment you believe them... that's when you become one."

- Anita to her daughter

Anita is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time. She débuts, with her only appearance, in the seventh episode of the second season. She is portrayed by guest star Annabeth Gish, and does not have a Storybrooke counterpart.

Before the Curse
Anita is Red Riding Hood's mother and leader of a wolf pack. Her mother, Granny, takes Red from her when she is just a baby because she did not want her granddaughter growing up as a wolf. Widow Lucas tells Red her mother died when she was an infant. When Snow White and Red try to track down and find the wolf that has been terrorizing Red Riding Hood's home village, they mistakenly believe it is the blacksmith's son and Red's beloved, Peter. Red tries to talk sense into Peter while Snow White covers herself with Red's cloak and pretends to be Red asleep in bed. When caught, Widow Lucas and Snow White hurry to Red and Peter. Along the way, Widow Lucas tells Snow White that Red's mother was also a wolf and was killed when she was put down by hunters. Red and Snow White are forced to flee from the village after the wolf hunters and the Evil Queen's men are chasing after them. In the morning, Red chances upon another wolf, Quinn, who steals her cloak and leads her to an abandoned castle-turned-wolf den run by the pack leader, Anita. Red meets her mother for the first time, and realizes what her grandmother told her about her mother in the past was not true. She is happy to find a place she belongs and doesn't have to be ashamed of her wolf self. As Red explains that Widow Lucas raised her without telling her of her wolf self, Anita is clearly not happy. She tells her daughter that she sees thing differently: the wolf is not something one should be ashamed about. When she discovers her daughter still experiences blackouts when she turns, she teaches her how to control herself in her wolf form and how to accept it.

Meanwhile, Snow White follows her friend's wolf tracks, and finds Red in Anita's wolf den. Quinn begins to kill her, but she is released only after Red pleads with her mother. However, Quinn is killed when the Evil Queen's men find the den in their search to find and capture Snow White. Anita blames Snow White for Quinn's death, and attempts to kill her once the moon rises. In her wolf form, she attacks a defenseless Snow, but then Red turns and, using what her mother taught her, keeps control and protects her friend from her mother. In the process, Anita is inadvertently impaled by Red. As Anita lies dying, she accuses her daughter of choosing Snow White over her, but Red says she chooses herself over becoming a killer, and does not want her mother to become one, either. After her death, Red and Snow White bury her and say their goodbyes.

Trivia
"Anita, a sexy and earthy sorceress who is devoted to taking in lost souls. However, don't let her maternal instincts fool you, because she can be ferocious when it comes to the people she cares about."
 * Her original casting call description: Anita, 45-50, a sexy sorceress who has lived apart from her family due to their fear of her magic. She is extremely protective of others such as herself.
 * Her name is a reference to Anita from 101 Dalmatians.
 * The character seems to have been changed from the original casting call, as ABC's press release for "Child of the Moon" later described Anita as "the charismatic and mysterious leader of a pack of humans who, like Red, turn out to be wolves."
 * In Sanskrit, the name means "without guile; leader" and in Spanish, the name is a pet form of Ana.