A woman driving a Kia Soul scoffs at the radio report about "animal attacks" plaguing Beacon Hills. She freshens her lipstick and bops to the music on the radio. The alpha starts chasing her car and looks at her through the driver's side window. She doesn't notice anything wrong immediatly but gets a strange feeling and starts checking in her mirrors and over her shoulder. She's so distracted she nearly hits a car at an intersection and slams on the brakes. 

 

The woman is Kate Argent. 

 

While sitting at the intersection, she hears something up on the roof. As she's reaching toward the back seat, the alpha smashes in her window and grabs her. It tries to pull her out of the car, but she shoots through the roof with a sawed-off shotgun and then escapes through the passenger side. She taunts him, but the alpha is gone.

 

Scott wakes up to the sound of gunfire. He tries to ignore it, but it's quickly followed by a werewolf's howl, so he puts on his clothes to go investigate. 

 

Kate opens the back of her SUV to switch weapons. She chooses a rifle and some special bullets kept in a wooden case.

 

Allison notices her father leaving in the middle of the night and asks him what's going on. He tells her that Kate texted and asked him to pick her up. Allison notes that it's 2am, but Chris tells her that Kate just has a flat tire so it's nothing to worry about. 

 

Derek is also out tracking the alpha. He finds some blood on the ground and then glances up to see the alpha on a rooftop. It snarls at him and runs, and Derek follows, busting out some parkour moves as he leaps through the warehouse district and up the side of the building. Kate is heading the same direction. As Derek leaps between rooftops, Kate gets him in her sights and shoots. Derek falls hard.

 

Chris pulls up and orders Kate into the car. "Not even a hello, nice to see you?" "All I've got at the moment is 'Please put the assault rifle away before someone notices,'" he says. Kate tells him that she saw two werewolves and one of them tried to kill her. 

 

Scott has also found this little corner of the industrial park, and he listens in on the Argents. Chris tells his sister that the beta can't lead them to the alpha if she kills him first. She counters that she won't be doing any hunting if she's dead. He asks how long it will take the beta to die, and Kate says about 48 hours. 

 

Derek examines the wound in his arm. The entry wound glows with a blue-purple light, and he's clearly worried.

 

The next morning, Allison squeals as she says hello to Aunt Kate. Kate hasn't seen her for a year, and she compliments Allison on her runway model looks. Allison admits to having a boyfriend, and Kate is pleased with the news. When Allison goes to help unpack, Kate stops her from unzipping her weapons bag and apologizes for gripping her so hard. Allison asks if her car is okay, and Kate replies that she needed a jump start. She didn't coordinate her story with Chris, and Allison knows that something's odd.

 

Later, in World History class, Stiles asks Scott who bit him if Derek isn't the alpha. Scott doesn't know. Stiles asks if the alpha killed the bus driver, and Scott says he doesn't know that either, much to Stiles's displeasure. Another question occurs to him and he asks Scott whether Chris Argent knows anything about the other werewolf, and Scott tells him rather loudly that he doesn't know.  

 

Stiles gets his history test back and he got an A. Scott got a D-. "Dude, you need to study more," Stiles says. Scott doesn't laugh, and Stiles tries to make him feel better by telling him that one test doesn't matter that much and he can make up the grade elsewhere. He even offers to help Scott study. Scott tells him that he's studying with Allison after school, and Stiles is thrilled. Scott insists they're just studying, but Stiles is having none of that. "Not if I'm forced to live vicariously through you." Stiles threatens Scott with castration if he wastes the opportunity of being alone with Allison. Scott asks Stiles if he'll stop with the questions, and Stiles agrees that he won't talk about the alpha or Derek, especially Derek, who he says still scares him.

 

At that moment, Derek is wandering through the halls of Beacon Hills High School, which apparently no one of authority finds weird. He's pale and sweating, and people knock into him because he's moving so slowly. He recognizes Jackson, likely from the lacrosse field, and asks him where Scott is. Jackson wants to know why he should tell Derek anything. "Because I asked you politely, and I only do that once." Derek looks like death warmed over. Jackson makes a deal. He'll tell Derek where to find him if Derek will reveal what drugs he's selling him. Derek looks at him like he has no idea what he's talking about, but Jackson names a few steroids so Derek can follow this conversation. Derek tries to leave, but Jackson steps in front of him and suggests that he stop sampling the merchandise because he looks terrible. 

 

Blood seeps down Derek's arm and drops onto the floor. He clenches his fist inside in jacket sleeve to hide it. He tries to leave for a second time, but Jackson grabs him to stop him. Derek grabs Jackson by the neck and slams him into a locker. His claws come out without meaning to, and he leaves deep wounds in Jackson's neck. For the first time, Jackson looks a little terrified by something.

 

Derek finds the nearest corner of the hallway to hide in and leans against the wall. He's focuses on his hearing and searches through the sounds for something that can help. He hears Lydia ask Allison about Scott going to her house after school. Lydia, like Stiles, says that studying is not just studying and advises that Allison make sure Scott uses a condom. Allison is a bit scandalized. Lydia thinks it's adorable and says she should just give him a little taste. Allison's not sure what constitutes a little taste. Scott's sort of breaking her no-boyfriends-until-college rule, but she just can't help how much she likes him. Allison's conversation is cut off by the school bell, which hits Derek like a physical blow. 

 

Stiles leaves school and gets into his Jeep. As he's pulling out of the parking lot, Derek staggers into his path, holding up a hand for him to stop. Stiles slams on the brakes. The cars behind him start honking their horns, which draws Scott's attention. He sees Derek and rushes over. Derek collapses in the middle of the road, which Stiles doesn't seem to notice. When Scott arrives with a "What the hell?" Stiles gets out of the car to help. 

 

Scott asks Derek what he's doing there, and Derek tells them that he was shot and can't heal because it was a different kind of bullet. "A silver bullet?" Stiles asks. "No, you idiot." Scott realizes that this is what Kate meant when she said 48 hours. Derek asks who said it, but Scott just tells him that it was the woman who shot him.

 

Derek's eyes flash blue, and Scott wants to know what the hell he's doing shifting in the middle of the parking lot. Derek can't control it, and Scott orders him to get up. It is possible that this uncontrolled reaction from Derek is an indication of PTSD as he would have known that the woman who shot him, obviously an Argent, was Kate, the only female Argent he knows of who hunts. If true, his lack of control is actually the activation of a trigger.

 

Allison and Jackson both get out of their cars to see why the line isn't moving.  

 

Scott hauls Derek up and puts him in Stiles's car. Derek tells him that he needs him to find out what kind of bullet they used. Scott asks how, and Derek tells him that the woman is an Argent. Scott's not sure why he should help. "Because you need me," Derek tells him. Scott's not happy about it, but he agrees to help and then tells Stiles to get Derek out of there. Allison was close enough that she could see it was Derek and asks Scott what he was doing there. Scott tells her that Stiles was giving him a ride. But last time they talked about Derek, Scott had told her that they weren't friends. Scott basically has no response for this, so he kisses her on the cheek and hurries off. Allison's not particularly keen on the amount on nonsensical things happening this day.

 

Jackson gives Scott the evil eye. He's not sure what to make of what he's just seen, although he knows its important.

 

Scott and Allison arrive at the Argents' house at the same time, even though she drove and he was on a bicycle. She asks him about this, and he just claims to have taken a really short short-cut. She asks him why he's acting so bizarre, and Scott tells her that he's stressing about classes. It's not a complete lie, but also not what he's really stressing about. 

 

Allison opens the door, but Scott stops at the threshold, looking around the house like he needs to be invited in like a vampire. They go up to Allison's room, and she apologizes for everything still being in boxes. Scott's surprised since they've been there for more than a month. Presuming that the Argents moved in a couple of weeks before school started, that would put this episode at about 15 days since the first episode. 

 

Scott puts his bag down and takes off his hoodie. He starts talking about actual studying, but Allison just moves in and kisses him. They lie down on her bed and kiss more, until Scott's claws come out. He notices and quickly hides his hand under the covers. She asks him what's wrong, and he covers by telling her that he doesn't want her to feel like she has to do something she doesn't want. Allison smiles at him because she's doing exactly what she wants. The start to kiss again, but Scott's phone goes off. He lets it go to voicemail. Allison can't stand the ringing so she goes to reach for the phone. Scott shoots his hand out to stop her on instinct and is surprised to find that his claws have retracted. 

 

Stiles has left him a text asking if he found the bullet yet.

 

Stiles looks royally annoyed as Derek takes his jacket off in his car and asks him to not bleed out on his seats. Stiles was going to take him back to the Hale House, but Derek tells him he can't take him there while he's vulnerable. Stiles pulls the car over in a huff and demands to know what will happen if Scott doesn't find the bullet. "Are you dying?" "Not yet. I have a last resort." Derek pulls back his sleeve to reveal the wound, and Stiles recoils in horror. He orders Derek out of the car, Derek orders him to start the car. "You know, I don't think you should be barking orders with the way you look right now. In fact, I think if I wanted to I could probably drag your little werewolf ass into the middle of the road and leave you for dead." Derek looks at him steadily. "Start the car, or I'm gonna rip your throat out with my teeth." Stiles gives it a beat and then starts the car.

 

It's nearly 4 p.m. when Scott turns off his phone, and while he's sitting up he sees a photo in one of Allison's boxes of Chris and Kate. He asks her about Kate, and Allison tells him that she used to live in Beacon Hills. He's not sure what to say, so he puts the photo down and picks up some art photography that Allison took back when she thought she was a photographer. Next he picks up an old painting from when she tried that, and then a folder of poetry from when he tried that. She says she's terrible at everything, so Scott asks her what she is good at. She agrees to show him if he won't laugh. 

 

They go into the garage, and Allison surprises Scott by pointing a compound bow at him. He flinches. Then he sees a gun case full of weapons and slowly approaches. Allison tells him that they are not a terrorist family but rather that her dad sells weapons to law enforcement. Scott tries to act impressed instead of worried and asks Allison if she's going to join the family business. She asks him if he thinks she'd look hot with a gun. They start to kiss, but Chris interrupts by coming into the garage. They hide behind his car, but he knows they're there and asks them if they'll help with the groceries. 

 

It's 5:37pm when Scott brings in the last bag of groceries. His phone is also back on, and he gets a text from Stiles telling him that Derek is not looking good. 

 

Allison comes out and Scott asks her if she still wants to study. Chris informs him that Allison will study better on her own. Scott tells her goodbye, and Chris says they'll see each other next at school. Kate calls her brother out on being overprotective and tells Scott that he's staying for dinner. "Do you eat meat?" Chris asks him. Scott nods nervously and tries to scoot by him back into the house. Chris claps him on the shoulder and leads him inside. 

 

At dinner, Victoria Argent asks Scott if he'd like anything other than water to drink. Chris asks him if he'd like some beer or tequila, and Scott stares at him. "N-no thanks." Allison tries to get her father to stop. Scott says he doesn't drink because he's not old enough. "That doesn't seem to stop many teenagers," Victoria says. "No, but it should," Scott replies. Kate's impressed with how he's holding up under the grilling and keeps Chris from continuing with this line of questioning. She instead asks Scott about the rules for lacrosse. Scott describes it as hockey on grass. Chris tells him that hockey on grass is called field hockey, so Allison describes it as field hockey only the sticks have nets.

 

Stiles texts Scott to call him. 

 

Allison tells Kate about how awesome Scott is at lacrosse and how he scored the winning shot. For every nice thing Allison has to say, Chris counters with a criticism. It pisses her off, and she slams her water glass down. Scott can hear everyone's heart beats racing as things get tense at the table. He takes Allison's hand and says that on second thought he'll take the shot of tequila. It's cute and eases the tension. 

 

Scott finds the time to call Stiles, and Stiles wants to know what he's supposed to do with Derek. They appear to have just been driving around going nowhere. "By the way, he's starting to smell," he adds. "Like what?" "Like death." Derek glares over at him. Scott suggests taking Derek to the Beacon Hills Animal Clinic. Stiles can't believe that's a good idea, and he hands the phone to Derek. Derek just wants to know if Scott found the bullet yet. Scott complains that the Argents' house is full of bullets, and anyway he's not so sure it's a bad thing if Derek dies. 

 

Derek reminds him that the alpha can call him against his will. Next time they either kill together or Scott gets killed, unless Derek can intervene. 

 

They hang up, and Scott tries to think of where to look. He opens a door that has an alarm on it, and Kate catches him. Even she doesn't believe that he thought that was a bathroom, but she directs him to the one in the guest bedroom. Scott is trying to figure out what to do when he appears to smell something in the bag that Kate has stashed under the bed. He opens the bag and the case inside it and finds the wooden box. When he takes out one of the bullets, his eyes glow yellow. The box has Aconit Napel Bleu Nordique stamped on the top. It translates to Nordic blue monkshood.

 

Scott returns everything and texts Stiles.

 

Stiles opens the clinic, and Derek stumbles in, falling onto a stack of dog food. Stiles asks him if Nordic blue monkshood means anything to him, and Derek tells him that it's a rare form of wolfsbane. Scott needs to bring Derek the bullet because he'll die otherwise. 

 

Scott tries to leave, but Kate insists that he stay for dessert. Allison had been telling her famliy about his work at the animal clinic. Chris asks him what Alan Deaton thinks about the animal attacks. Scott replies that everyone is saying it's a mountain lion. This makes Kate laugh. Victoria asks Scott his opinion, and he deflects by saying that he only sees cats and dogs, nothing too vicious. Chris asks if he's had to deal with a rabid dog. 

 

When Scott says no, Chris tells him what it's like. He saw a dog go rabid from a bat bite once. The first stage is just subtle changes in behavior, where the dog gets restless. The second stage is the one that people know, the furious one. He says that a rabid dog will attack anything that moves, and a caged one will break its own teeth trying to chew through the bars. He talks about how a perfectly harmless animal is turned into a vicious killer because of one bite. "Something that out of control is better off dead." 

 

At the animal clinic, Stiles helps Derek into one of the surgery rooms. Derek takes his shirt the rest of the way off, revealing the triskelion tattoo on his back. Black veins crawl up his arm. Stiles tries to tell him that it's not that bad. Derek replies that when the infection reaches his heart he'll die. If Scott doesn't arrive in time, Derek wants Stiles to cut off his arm. 

 

Allison apologizes to Scott for the awkward family dinner. He tells her it wasn't the worst dinner ever. "There was this one dinner when my parents told me they were getting a divorce." Allison kisses him and is pleased to know that her dad is watching. Just before Scott leaves, Kate says she has to ask him something. She asks him what he took from her bag. Chris comes over to ask what's going on.

 

Kate explains that her bag was open in the guest room but now it's shut. She assumes that when Scott went to use the bathroom, he touched it. However, the bag was shut when Scott went in. Kate keeps asking, and Scott tells her he didn't take anything. She asks him to prove it. Allison appeals to her dad, but he doesn't say anything. Allison is forced to admit that she went through Kate's bag, and she produces a condom. Scott looks mortified, and everyone else just looks embarrassed. It's not until he's outside that Scott realizes what good news this is for him.

 

Stiles tells Derek that he's not sure he can cut his arm off. Derek asks if he faints at the sight of blood. Stiles denies it but thinks a cut off arm might be beyond his limits. Derek threatens him again, but Stiles says he isn't buying it. Derek grabs him by the shirt and hauls him over the table, which is convincing enough. At least until Derek leans over the side of the table and pukes up black blood. Derek tells Stiles that he has to cut off his arm now.

 

Stiles grabs the saw, so not okay with this scenario, but he puts the saw against Derek's arm.

 

"Stiles?" Scott says. Stiles has never been so glad to see him and thanks Scott for preventing a lifetime of nightmares. 

 

Derek asks him for the bullet. Scott hands it over, and Stiles asks him what he's going to do with it. Derek passes out as he tries to answer. The bullet rolls into a drain. Stiles leans over Derek and holds his face, slapping his cheek trying to wake him up. Scott can't reach the bullet with his human fingers, so he forces his claws to come out. It's just enough that he can reach the rest of the way.

 

In desperation, Stiles asks Derek to not kill him for what he's about to do and then punches him in the face. Stiles recoils like he's punched a brick wall, but Derek wakes up. They haul him to his feet. He pulls the bullet out of the cartridge and then empties the wolfsbane onto the table. He lights it on fire, then shoves the ashes into the wound.

 

Derek screams in pain and falls on the floor again. He writhes, but the infection quickly heals. "That. Was. Awesome!" Stiles says.

 

Scott asks him if he's okay. "Except for the agonizing pain," Derek replies. "Guessing the ability to use sarcasm is a good sign of health," Stiles adds.  Derek glares at him. Scott tells him that in exchange for saving his life they want to be left alone. He threatens to tell Chris Argent everything and claims that the Argents are a lot nicer than Derek. Derek can show them exactly how nice the Argents are. 

 

Derek takes Scott to Beacons Crossing Home. They walk into a man's room, and Derek looks down at the man sadly. Scott asks who he is. "My uncle," Derek replies, "Peter Hale." Scott asks if Peter's a werewolf, and Derek says that he was but now he's barely human. Six years ago Derek and Laura were at school and their house caught fire. Eleven people were trapped inside. Peter was the only survivor. 

 

Scott asks why Derek is so sure the Argents set the fire. "Because they're the only ones that knew about us." Scott insensitively attempts to excuse the Argents from murdering Derek's whole family by claiming that they must have had a reason. Derek wants to know what reason there could possibly be. He spins Peter to show Scott the burned half of his face. "They say they'll only kill an adult and only with absolute proof, but there were people in my family that were perfectly ordinary in that fire. This is what they do. And it's what Allison will do." A nurse interrupts them, and Derek and Scott leave. 

 

Allison calls Scott to apologize again for dinner but it goes to voicemail. Outside, she finds some odd glass debris on the window of Kate's car. 

 

Chris and Kate talk about the werewolf. She says the one that attacked her was big and powerful, but the one she shot was lean and fast. "That would be Derek Hale," Chris says. Kate asks how they can be sure it's just the two of them. Chris says they can't but that if Derek's still alive he can lead them to the alpha. Kate turns on the fireplace in a crafty bit of foreshadowing about her role in the fire. Kate likes the idea of killing the pack by killing the leader. Chris tells her that they do the hunt according to the Code, but she doesn't believe much in that. He insists that it's there for a reason. She says that she always plays by the rules in a way that really says she doesn't.