La Bete

AN: I'm a bit behind schedule with the prequel chapters, but have been working on it all weekend. I'm planning to post the next handful of chapters later tonight or tomorrow afternoon. I'm also going to add a summary of the prequel to this story before posting the final chapter/epilogue of this story for anyone who has not read it. Writing it on the fly and rushing to complete it by the end of this story has not been a fun experience, especially as I've wound up adding more than I expected to the latter half of the story.

As for now, here's the next chapter for this story, I hope you enjoy it. Let me know how you feel about it as always.

"Our story starts in North America, on the night of the full moon. Marcel and Sebastien, two French soldiers during the Seven Years War, were fleeing the British in the rain. Sebastien fell to the ground, but Marcel picks him up as they continue to flee. The pair stop and rest and Sabastian pens a letter to his sister explaining how they are losing the war to the British. The two continue to run, both having suffered injuries. They find a small farmhouse and head inside. The woman in the house warns them that they have come to the wrong place to hide. That there is something else out there, something other than the British soldiers and their dogs. A demon wolf.

"As the British soldiers closed in on the location, they heard a growl as the demon wolf began to attack them from behind. A man makes his way into the house, but moments after he is dragged away. All that was left in the house was Sebastien's letter to his sister.

"That letter would eventually find its way into the hands of a young woman. A skilled hunter who would later face the Beast armed with nothing but a steel-tipped pike. She would be known by history as the Maid of Gevaudan. But her real name was Marie-Jeanne," Gerard said as he began telling his story.

"Maybe someone should resurrect her," Parrish stated as the Argents slid a book towards the other three.

"Don't leave," Lydia told Parrish as he started to walk away.

"My dreams aren't like yours, Lydia. I'm not just a harbinger of death. I'm the cause of it," Parrish said walking out.

"Jordan," Lydia said moving after him.

"Let him go," Gerard told her.

"Why?" Lydia asked turning back to them.

"Because, as much as we believe Parrish could take on The Beast," Chris paused. "Neither of us think he's our only hope at stopping it."

"What do you mean?"

"We think there's another," Chris started

"You," Gerard told her.

"We need to get them inside," Leonard shouted over the screams as he and Zach carried Charlie.

"Are you sure it's safe?" Stiles asked.

They heard The Beast's roar echo across the campus. "Nowhere is safe," Leonard shouted leading them into the school.

They made it into the school and it was silent for a minute before more people screaming ran into them. They ran after them and dragged the two betas into a room. Stiles knocked everything off of the teacher's desk while Hayden lifted the screaming Liam onto it. Zach pushed a few of the student's desks together for Charlie, who was still unconscious.

"Liam?" Hayden said as the beta grunted in pain.

"I'm okay, I'm fine," he grunted back. "What? Is it bad?" he asked as they peeled his shirt away and gagged.

"Okay, what do you guys usually do when this happens?" Hayden asked Stiles. Leonard ripped off Charlie's shift and stared at the deep gashes.

"Usually I pass out. And I still might do that," Stiles responded stepping away.

"Stiles!"

"Okay, Scott did this with pain. He could trigger it. Pain makes you human," Stiles explained while Leonard began to pack Charlie's wound.

"He's already in pain," Hayden told him.

"Right, okay, but maybe adding a little more could help take away the pain," Stiles said. Liam sat up screaming.

"Take away his pain," Hayden breathed before kissing Liam. Black tendrils spread out from her lips for a moment before Liam's wounds started to close.

"Okay, next time I'll kiss him," Stiles joked.

"I don't know how to do that," Zach panicked as blood gushed from Charlie's wounds

"Can't you guys heal him using the mental link?" Stiles asked.

"Not when we are healing someone else," Leonard replied. "I can't draw pain either."

"Why not?" Hayden asked.

"I'm the son of a lion king," Leonard said as he continued to put pressure on the wound. "My bloodline can't absorb pain because my ancestors were selfish. I'd need help," he stated when they looked at him confused.

"Okay, but I can't kiss him," Hayden told him.

"You don't have to, just apply pressure," Leonard said. Hayden took Leonard's spot and the werelion walked over to Zach. "I'll show you how," Leonard told the chimera before putting his claws into the back of Zach's neck

"Oh my god," Stiles exclaimed. Zach slowly lifted his hand, Leonard's claws still in his neck, and grabbed Charlie's hands before black tendrils started to crawl up Zach's arm.

Charlie's wounds began to heal as Leonard removed his claws from Zach's neck. But the beta didn't stir.

"You could have destroyed his mind," Stiles said.

"We share a pack link through our alpha," Leonard explained. "Anything he knows how to do, we can do."

"Oh," Stiles said as they heard more screaming in the halls.

Charlie rose up gasping. "It's in the school," he breathed.

"We know," Leonard stated.

"No, we told everyone to go into the school, we've trapped them in here," Charlie groaned.

The group stared at each other before watching the screaming crowd run by.

Fiona and Lydia examined the page of the book that the Argents handed them. It showed a sculpture of Marie-Jeanne Valet driving a spear into a wolf. The text below explained how she and her sister were attacked by the wolf. Marie-Jeanne had driven the spear into the wolf before it disappeared down the river.

Lydia finished skimming the text before looking at Fiona and shaking her head. The banshees shook their heads as Lydia closing the book and the two started walking away. Gerard came around the corner in front of them. "Marie-Jeanne was a lot like you, Lydia. Skeptical of her own abilities. And once, actually, just as skeptical of the supernatural. She was in a tavern when she first heard of The Beast.

"A man was trying to hang a sign, but Marie-Jeanne used her crossbow to bolt the sign to the wall before the man could nail it to the wall. He poured her a drink as she read her brother's letter. As she read, she heard the men behind her discuss The Beast. The magistrate said that every report of The Beast was different. Some said it was a hyena, others a wolf. But they knew one thing for certain, The Beast hunted at night and that it killed for sport, not food.

"The men continued discussing and were looking to organize a hunting party composed of volunteers. Just then, Sabastian walked into the tavern. He reminded them they did not need volunteers, they had the best hunter in the tavern, Marie-Jeanne. Of course, she was thrilled to see her brother again and the two embraced. She hugged Marcel as well, thanking him for keeping her brother safe, before bringing them both over for drinks. The magistrate asked Mare-Jeanne if she would like to lead the hunting party. She hesitated until the whole tavern began to chant her name. She told them that she hunts animals, not rumors. The whole tavern laughed at her joke, until a man entered carrying the barkeep's dead son, The Beast's most recent victim. The boy's last words were 'la bete'. Once Marie-Jeanne saw this boy's body, she knew these were no rumors and agreed to lead the hunting party against The Beast."

Steve and Scott chased after The Beast. They caught up with it as it was about to follow a screaming group up the stairs. The two alphas leapt into action, but were quickly swatted back down the stairs and against the lockers. They rose ready to fight as The Beast growled back at them before heading back up the stairs. "We need to stop this thing," Steve told Scott.

Scott nodded and the two ran up the stairs after him.

"Why didn't he warn her?" Lydia asked.

"He told her about everything that they'd seen during the war. But like I said, Marie-Jeanne was a skeptic. She accused her brother of being superstitious, but he told her that he saw it with his own eyes. She was confident though. She had hunted every creature under the sun. But he brother was quick to remind her that she had not hunted the creatures of the moon.

"The hunting party searched from dawn till dusk, hoping to find The Beast where it slept. But they knew they'd most likely encounter it at nightfall. It was just after midnight when the first torch went out. Then a second, and a third. Eventually, The Beast had taken down everyone but Marie-Jeanne. She fired her crossbow at it, but the Beast didn't even flinch. The Beast closed on her as she tried to get away, clawing her leg and causing her to drop her crossbow. She drew her dagger, determined to face the monster, but a man, named Henri, arrived and pulled her back. He scattered mountain ash in front of them, creating a barrier that The Beast could not cross. She told him that was no wolf, to which Henri told her that it was a werewolf."

Steve and Scott caught up with The Beast again. Steve dug his claws into its leg and tried to pull it back. The Beast grabbed the alpha and toss him ahead until he bounced off the lockers. Scott jumped over it while it was distracted and landed in between The Beast and Steve. Steve felt the blood run down his side as he pulled himself to his feet before joining Scott to block The Beast's path. The Beast roared as he ran forward, tossing Scott through a door. Steve moved to attack again, but was knocked against the wall and slumped to the ground. Blood poured down both sides of his body now and he had a gash across his chest. The Beast rounded the corner as it continued to chase after students as Scott stepped out of the classroom. Blood had pooled on the side of the true alpha's face and had soaked through the side of his jersey.

"You've seen better days," Steve groaned.

"Are you okay?" Scott asked as he moved to help Steve up.

"I'll be fine, Zach and Leonard are helping me heal." Steve told him once he was on his feet.

"We can't fight it."

"We don't have a choice," Steve growled before they took off down the hall again.

A group of people came screaming through the door. August ran towards them. "You need to get out—" he started but the crowd just ran past him, ignoring his warning.

"Have you seen Malia?" Jay asked as he ran up to the hunter. August shook his head before the two ran down the hall.

August was slammed against the wall as they rounded a corner. Where's Stiles?" Malia demanded.

"He's fine," he told her, "Jay warned us about the Desert Wolf. We're keeping him safe."

"Where?" she growled.

"We have a bigger problem," he told her, "Stiles is safe, but no one will be safe with The Beast in here." A crash and more screaming were heard from downstairs.

Malia released the hunter and pulled out her phone. "Braeden it's me, I'm at the school and we need you, bring your shotgun," she said as they walked towards the noise.

"Bring two, pistols do nothing against this," August added leaning into the phone before turning to the werecheetah. "Get these people out of here, they won't listen to me." Jay nodded and turned to another group running towards them. He shifted and growled but the crowd just ran past him.

"Am I not scary enough?" Jay asked August, but August was already walking away with Malia. Jay sighed and ran after the crowd to try and steer them away from The Beast.

The two alphas saw another crowd rush into the school, one of the girls tripped and was left behind, she was crawling away from the banging coming down the hall. Scott picked the girl off the ground before pushing her into a classroom. The two alphas ran in after her and shut the door. Scott leaned against the door while Steve went to check on the girl. "Are you okay?" he whispered, she nodded in response.

Steve put his fingers to his lips as they heard another thud in the hall. Scott peered out the window on the door and found nothing. The two let out a sigh of relief before the door thudded against Scott, "Go, go out the window," Scott shouted. Steve helped her to her feet and threw open the window.

Steve heard glass shatter behind him and turned as The Beast dug its claws into Scott. Scott screamed in pain as he, and the door, were pulled into the hallway.

"Scott!" Steve yelled as he ran after him.

Lydia stumbled and Fiona turned to her. "Lydia?" Chris said as he steadied her and helped her to a seat.

"Something's happening, did you feel it?" she asked Fiona.

"Yes," she said taking a seat.

"Now?" Chris asked the banshees.

"I don't know, but something's wrong. I can't stay here," Lydia said.

"You should hear the rest of the story," Gerard told her.

"Why should I be listening to you?"

"He knows it better than any of us," Chris told her.

"Everything I've read says that The Beast was killed by Jean Chastel, right?" She added looking at Fiona. She paused when she noticed how pale the other banshee had gotten.

"I'm fine," she whispered as she focused on healing Steve.

"Who told you about Jean Chastel? The internet? If that's your most reliable source of information, then you might as well go," Gerard said.

"What happened next?" Lydia asked, glaring at the old man.

"Henri brought Marie-Jeanne to his home. A place protected by a circle of mountain ash trees. Marie-Jeanne began to ask about the different herbs Henri had around the table. He explained that they were used to protect himself from supernatural threats and offered to teach her everything he knew about werewolves. But Marie-Jeanne was not interested in just surviving against a werewolf. She needed to know how to kill one."

Scott and Steve managed to get away from The Beast and headed towards the library. "Scott, your arm."

"I know,' Scott hissed as his arm hung limp at his side.

Steve grabbed the other alphas arm and drew some pain away once they made it to the library. Scott rolled his shoulder before his eyes widened. Steve turned around to find the bookshelves lined with students hiding from The Beast. They turned back to the door as they heard The Beast growl.

"Go, upstairs," Scott told everyone.

"No more running," Steve stated as he and Scott returned their attention to the door.

Just after the last student made it upstairs, The Beast slammed through the doors open and growled at the two alphas. Scott and Steve both shifted and roared back.

"Marie-Jeane knew she couldn't just take out another hunting party armed with mistletoe and rowan berries," Gerard said. "She needed an advantage, she needed to know her enemy. So, she and Henri devised a plan. They soaked wolfsbane in jugs wine, and later that night she served the wine to everyone in the tavern. She made a toast to the dead, forcing everyone to partake. And as everyone began to drink from their cups, Marie-Jeanne was watching.

"Marcel went to take a sip, but noticed a petal floating in his glass. He smashed the glass in his hand, causing Marie-Jeanne to approach him. Marie-Jeanne took Marcel to the well outside to confront him and clean the cut in his hand. Before she could speak, Marcel pulled out a key and told her to look in the cellar, that she would find what she is looking for in that cellar. So, she went and investigated. But she did not find The Beast. Instead, she found a pile of corpses, those who had been reported missing and suspected of being attacked by The Beast. She returned to confront Marcel, holding her crossbow to his throat. He begged for her to kill him, but she noticed that he was still bleeding and inferred that he was not, in fact, The Beast. He was covering for it. And Marie-Jeanne knew there was only one man he would do that for. Her brother, Sebastien.

"Marie-Jeanne confronted her brother the moment she walked back into the tavern. When she accused him of the murders he told her that he kills whatever crosses his path. Marie-Jeanne asked him why. He told her that it is what he is. It was the nature of what he has become. As it turns out, Sebastien drank rainwater from the pawprint of a wolf that night when he and Marcel were fleeing the British soldiers. And, just like the myth says, he became the demon wolf. When they arrived at that poor woman's house that night he slaughtered her before he went out and killed the soldiers. He warned Marie-Jeanne to not tell anyone, or he would tear everyone apart in front of her. She called him a monster, but he corrected her. He was The Beast. He told her that she would never catch him, nor would she kill him, because they are family.

"The skeptic became a full believer that night. So, Marie-Jeanne went back to Henri to figure out how to kill both a beast and a brother. They determined that an arrow would not be enough to kill The Beast, nor would a sword or an axe. They needed something that would use the weight of The Beast against itself. The two went to work crafting a pike. One made out of mountain ash, wolfsbane, and forged with her blood on the night of a full moon. When it was done finished, she placed the spearhead on the pole, christening it with her own blood."

Steve charged The Beast first, he slid on the ground to try and slash The Beast's leg. The Beast grabbed him as he neared and threw him into the bookcases to its left. Scott went next leaping up to strike the face as Steve rose to his feet. As soon as Scott was tossed to the right Steve ran at The Beast again. It effortlessly knocked him aside and Steve landed on the ground next to Scott. The Beast grabbed both of them by their ankles and tossed them into the tables near the stairs.

The two alphas pulled themselves up as the Beast stalked towards them. They charged at the same time. Scott leapt into the air to strike the Beast's face while Steve stayed low to try and take out the legs a second time. The Beast grabbed Scott and threw him against the stairs before kicking Steve away from him. Steve smacked into the handrail and fell next to Scott. They slowly forced themselves off the stairs and turned to face The Beast again.

They saw Liam flying through the air from behind The Beast and Charlie under it as the two landed blows to it. The Beast turned to attack them, but before the betas could land, Jay sped around to Steve and Scott. "Over here!" the werecheetah called out waving his hands in the air

The Beast snarled as it turned back towards Jay and the alphas. August and Braeden kicked open the doors before firing shotgun rounds into its back. Jay knocked the two alphas over the rail before ducking out of the way as well. The Beast turned towards August and Braeden. Each shot was causing it to stagger slightly. Malia and Leonard roared at The Beast and Zach spread his wings behind them, his talons flashing in the moonlight. The Beast turned growled at them before turning and running up the stairs, jumping through the windows and into the night.

Charlie helped Steve up while Liam and Malia pulled Scott to his feet. "You didn't seriously think you guys were gonna have a chance against that thing, did you?" Braeden asked.

Steve looked up at the people on the second floor who were shaking as they peered between the rails. "No," Scott said, "But I got its scent."

"You don't have to bite them," August thought to the alpha before Scott headed out of the library. Steve followed him as August and Liam ran to catch up.

"Marie-Jeanne hunted Sebastien for three years until she finally cornered him in 1767. She was running down the frozen river as Sebastien was chasing her. He pulled an arrow from his chest and shifted into The Beast. Marie-Jeanne only had to get to the pike before he could get to here. She slid against the snow as The Beast lunged at her. Marrie-Jeane drove the pike straight through his heart. The Beast returned to Sebastien before pulling himself further down the pike, closer to his sister. He did not believe such a wound would kill him and proclaimed that all of history would know the atrocities he committed in his name. However, Marie-Jeanne told him the material she had used to make the pike. And as she walked away from her dying brother, she told him history may remember him, but only as a beast."

"Damnatio Memoriae," Lydia said.

"They erased every detail of him. Everything he signed, everything he owned," Chris started

"They burned it all," Gerard finished, "The name Sebastien Valet has been forgotten for over one hundred and fifty years, but when it's remembered."

"When The Beast remembers," Chris clarified, "The teenager inside is forgotten."

"Gone. Forever," Gerard added.

"Marie-Jeanne didn't do it alone. She was never alone. She had help from Henri, the Magistrate, the town, even Marcel. We need Parrish. I'm going to go find him," Lydia replied as she turned to help Fiona to her feet.

The color returned to Fiona's face as she rose. "She's right, we need all the help we can get."

"He's dangerous," Chris warned, "He's still a shapeshifter."

"And you might need to put him down like a rabid dog?" Fiona asked turning around and glaring at Chris.

"That's not what I meant," he sighed. "He's just beginning to understand his power."

"And I'm not?" Lydia spun around.

"You're not the same. You access the supernatural. It works through you," Chris explained.

"But it doesn't control you," Gerard added.

"How would you know? Why do you care? Why are you suddenly on our side?" Lydia asked moving towards him.

"Because it's mine name as well," Gerard answered sliding a piece of silver to her. "Marie-Jeanne never left Henri after the death of her brother. And their relationship became more than a partnership. They married and she took his name."

"Argent," she said as her finger passed over the fleur-de-lis imprinted on the piece of silver.

"Marie-Jeanne was the first hunter in our family," Chris said.

"Our name was remembered as well, Lydia. For killing The Beast," Gerard told her.

"But I'm not an Argent. And I'm not Allison," Lydia said looking at Chris before setting the piece down and walking away with Fiona.

"Scott, wait," Liam said following the two alphas, "You're hurt. You gotta slow down."

"Steve, you need to let us heal you," August said beside Liam.

"No time," Steve answered as he ran after Scott.

Scott led them to a car and pulled open the trunk. All that lay in there were a pair of shoes. Scott grabbed one and turned it over revealing the blood covered the sole. The four looked at each other before closing the trunk.

"Scott?" Mason asked, "What are you doing to my car?"

The four looked at Mason in shock. "It's you," Scott said.

"What?" Mason asked. "Liam, what's he talking about? Liam?"

Corey appeared behind Mason as the chimera pulled away from another car. "Corey, wait," Scott said before Corey grabbed Mason and disappeared.

The four ran to where they had been, but couldn't find the two. "Corey!" Steve called out as they searched for any sign of them. But they were gone.