"How can it be back?" Scott questioned Deaton. "I killed it last time!"

Melissa tended to Alan's cuts using the shelter's First-Aid kit but even the wounds needed more experienced attention She turned to her son.

"Alan is going to need stitches and possible x-rays for broken bones," she advised. "We need to get to a hospital."

A roar could be heard outside.

"That doesn't sound good," Sheriff Stilinksi noted. "How did you kill it last time?"

"With a forged cane-sword thing," Scott answered.

"And where is it now?" The sheriff probed him.

"Buried with the skin-walkers in the desert," Chris answered as the sheriff shook his head in disbelief. The Argent hunter sighed. "It was better if it was protected by supernatural guardians."

Sheriff Stilinksi slapped his forehead. "That's not going to help us at this moment."

Another roar echoed outside.

Mason checked the ring cam. "I don't see it."

"It is made of shadows." Kuza smiled. "It can be anywhere. You, of all people, should realize this, Mason Hewitt. You were once possessed by one."

"One?" Stiles interrogated the stranger. "You mean there's more?"

Kuza shook her head. "No, just one single enemy but just as powerful."

Allison stared at the woman in awe. "You look so much like Scott's ex-girlfriend, Kira. Are you two related?"

"Not quite," Kuza giggled. "However, we are technically one and the same."

Scott raised his brows. "I don't understand. You're not Kira but you act and sound like her so are you an impostor?"

Deaton coughed as Melissa gently dabbed cotton around his cuts. "She's from…another world. Another universe…"

"You are correct!" Kira laughed.

"How can you act so jokingly about this?" The sheriff frowned at the stranger. "Lives are at stake and you're talking about different universes and different worlds. What are you not taking this seriously?"

Kuza shrugged. "Call it hope. I have plenty of optimism counting how many times I've seen millions of deaths. A girl has got to hold on to something to keep up the faith."

A thought came to Allison. "Wait a minute. Kuzakoha! I remember reading my fables and myths! You're a kitsune goddess of Asian folklore. You married a mortal before he discovered you were a kitsune and through a series of trials and tribulations, he proved his love for you and you both lived happily ever after."

"Not quite," Kuza scowled. "In my world, the Beast murdered my husband and my children and escaped across various realms. I've been tracking him in order to enact my revenge. It's all very poetic."

"Other realms. Alternative worlds." Mason remarked. "I've read the comic books and watched the movies. It's true. The multiverse exists! Who would've thought it?"

"And just like in this universe," Kuza began. "There is a kitsune like me with the potential for great power whenever she decides to learn to access it. I'm one of the few magical creatures that can travel through different universes with my multiple tails."

Chris rubbed his chin. "How is it that the Beast can access this realm travel aspect? None of the hunter research mentioned this kind of power."

"Traveling through worlds takes plenty of energy," explained Kuza. "I'm one of the few deities that can perform such a feat. When the Beast and I last battled, it stole a piece of my tail and used it to cross worlds." The kitsune sighed. "That is why I need to retrieve that piece back before it causes any further harm on the other universes and other earths."

"But what does it want?" Chris asked the kitsune.

Before she could answer, she heard a distraught Kate sitting in the corner rocking back and forth murmuring something repeatedly.

"It's coming…It's coming…"

Eli was the one intently observing her as Allison gently approached.

"She's been acting this way ever since Deaton brought her in." He noted her behavior. "She's not looking too good."

"That's because she's a junkie," said Chris flatly as he rolled his eyes. "Ever since she couldn't control her were-jaguar transformations, she began using the drug shuma on the street."

"Shuma?" Mason's mouth dropped upon overhearing Argent's family gossip. "Man, that is serious."

Sheriff Stilinksi scratched his head. "I'm behind on my street slang but what is shuma?"

"It's a mixture of mushrooms, wolfsbane and mandrake root." Stiles informed his father. "For regular humans, it causes an addictive high. For supernatural creatures, it causes a heightened state of ferocity and euphoria to the point it destroys the host using it. A wendigo and were-coyote family abused it to the point they cannibalized each other. They were put down. Scott's father and I have been working in secret in taking down the drug cartels involved with distributing it among the supernatural community. It's just this serial murder case got us sidetracked."

Chris Argent added to the conversation. "Ever since the Calavera hunters went rogue and began hunting Kate, they injected her with the drug to tamper with her transformations. She's been living on the street using and disappearing. I tried to get her help but she refused. Now look at her!" He glared at his ghostly sibling who rambled nonsense and fit the stereotype of the homeless junkie.

"She's still family, Dad," Allison clucked. She knelt down and touched her dirty hand. "Hey, Kate." She said softly. "Do you remember me? Your niece, Allison?"

Kate stared into the space but a quick spark of recognition lit her face. "Allison…Allison…" She remembered her. "Allison! But you're dead!" She sobbed as she pulled her niece into her embrace. That little bit of comfort helped her even if it was temporary.

Pulling away from Allison, her eyes suddenly fixated on Eli and once again the sadness took over. "I'm sorry…I'm sorry…Eli. I wish…I wish I was stronger… I wish I was better…"

Taken aback, Eli stared at Kate. "What are you talking about? How do you know my name?"

Chris started to say something but Scott stepped in.

"Eli," the Alpha began. "I know this wasn't the right time to meet Kate like this…"

The teen began to grow nervous. "Why should I care? I don't know this woman! What is going on?"

"Son," Chris jumped in. "We all wanted to make the best decision for you. Your dad…"

"Leave my father out of this!" Eli snapped. "What the hell is everyone talking about?"

"I wanted to keep you…" Kate mumbled. "After you were born…I just couldn't…I couldn't..You deserve better…My baby…My baby…"

At this point, Eli shook his head. "What is she talking about?" He turned to his guardian. "Scott! What the hell is she saying?"

"Eli," Chris sighed. He stuttered before speaking. "Kate is your birth mother."

"NOOOO!" The teenager screamed. In a rage, he darted from the garage into the kennel area of the next room. Scott trailed after him as did Stiles and Chris.

Dogs barked on every side of him as Eli closed his ears to the yapping of animals on every side. The revelation that his biological mother is a junkie and abandoned him had all been too much. All he could think about. All he could hear was noise. Sounds of each yapping, howling, and barking felt like nails on a chalkboard. It vibrated through every part of his body until he could no longer take it anymore.

His eyes glowed yellow as he bared his canine teeth and roared, causing the other animals in their enclosures to act out in frenzied fear.

"Calm down!" Scott shouted. "Eli, I realize you're upset but you need to understand!"

"You lied to me!" The teen growled.

"With good reason," Chris interrupted. "Your mother was out of control. She didn't want to raise you with her addiction. That is why your father, Derek, stepped up and raised you! He loved you and we kept the secret of your birth mother as a promise to him. He wanted to protect you."

Eli twisted his mouth. "But the fact is you lied! You knew Kate was alive and you never told me!"

"We all did it for your own good," added Stiles. "You may not like it but everything was for your own protection. You know how many enemies Kate has made? She had a target on her back. Add a kid to her madness and both you wouldn't be here. I know it's hard to realize the truth but everyone did everything in your best interest and if it meant keeping secrets, then it was justified!"

The teen refused to accept their answer and snarled. "Speaking of the truth, Stiles, let's spill yours!" He grumbled. "Why don't you admit that you and my dad were lovers?"

Stiles's mouth opened in silence while Scott and Chris glanced at each other in disbelief.

"Yeah," Eli grimaced. The revelation hit the FBI agent hard. "I saw the e-mails, texts, letters, and photos that my dad kept. I put the pieces together and discovered the true nature of your friendship! You two were a thing."

Stiles scoffed and then sighed. "Barely." He balled both his hands into fists. "Derek's priority will and always will be you! We both understood that and that is why I stayed away! I don't regret whatever we both had or could've been but, Eli, you have always come first for your father! He loved you and sacrificed everything for you!" He reached an arm to the teen wolf to calm him down. "I know it hurts. Losing him still hurts but it's okay to hurt. It's what brings the people who love and support us closer. I don't regret anything we did or the time we spent but know one thing. He loved you just as me, Scott, Allison, and the rest of your family loves you and we'll always be here for you!"

Eli sobbed as he reverted back to his human side. "I miss him so much!"

Stiles started to tear up too. "Me too, Eli. Me too."

Tears filled the teenager's eyes as he fell into Stiles's arms and released all his pent-up frustrations and sadness. The FBI agent stroked the back of his hair as he allowed Eli to soak up his suit jack with his tears.

"It's all right, son." Stiles whispered. "You're with friends and family now. Nothing is going to change that!"

"He's…coming!"

The group woke up from the tender moment to see disheveled Kate muttering incoherently inside the kennel area. Allison rushed in after her hoping to calm her down before chaos erupted. Dogs barked from every area of the facility as a dark presence could be seen from atop of the kennel windows.

Kate screamed. "He's here!"

A crash exploded through the glass windows of the kennel area. Dogs barkers, whimpered and screamed as a mass of dark shadows surrounded the room, quaking the suspended lights on the ceilings and the metal cages of the kennel. The swirling mist finally gathered forming a huge feral monster with glowing eyes as he roared in front of Eli and Stiles and raised its sharp claws.

"Get down!" Sheriff Stilinski shouted upon entering the room. He pulled out the pistol he had with him and fired two shots into the Beast's head but to no avail as the bullets passed through the mist and hit the other side of the shelter wall.

By this time the commotion had attracted Mason who also picked up his gun ready for fire. Allison stopped him.

"Mason! Don't!" She pleaded. "The enclosures are too close. You'll hit someone."

Defeated, Mason put down his gun. The Beast roared again but this time Stiles whipped out his gun and aimed it at the monster as he shoved Eli behind him. He challenged his opponent as Scott wolfed into his Alpha form while Chris readied his pistol as well and both glared at their target.

"I just want the boy!" The thing growled. "Give him to me and I'll leave you unharmed!"

"Like hell, asshole!" Stiles taunted the Beast. "You think I'm afraid of you? I've taken down monsters! You're no different!"

The Beast cackled. "Stiles Stilinski! Even on other worlds, you're still as obnoxious and arrogant!"

Stiles frowned, holding his gun ready. "It's one of my better qualities."

"Enough!" The Beast shouted. "I'm tired of these games! The boy! Now!"

"Fuck you!"

Stiles fired several shots into the monster's chest but like his father's weapon, it did nothing to harm the creature. The Beast lifted his claw to strike but Eli shoved Stiles to the ground and transformed into his beta form to attack the creature. Unfortunately, the teen miscalculated as the Beast instead grabbed Eli roughly and slammed him into the ground, knocking him out cold. At this point, Scott and his pack went on the offensive and began their assault on the Beast.

"Leave my son alone!" Kate screeched. She darted first to the creature to pummel it with her dirty fists which naturally did nothing but anger the monster.

"Kate!" Allison screamed.

It was too late. The Beast grabbed the addicted hunter's face and tossed her like a sack of potatoes into the metal gate of Harry the pug's kennel. Her body broke through the barrier with such force that a sickening crack of bones echoed inside the shelter leaving her nothing more but a lifeless sack of flesh. Poor Harry, seeing his gate now open, jumped over the corpse of Kate Argent and made his escape into the garage.

"No!" Allison cried, in anguish over her now dead aunt and grabbed the handle of a metal broom and joined her friends to battle the creature. Together, the pack raced toward the Beast who had the unconscious Eli over its shoulder and roared at the group.

"You're too late!" The Beast taunted. It raised its free shadowy paw to reveal a small, bright light glowing as a circle of luster and sparks illuminated behind it. At this point, Kuza darted into the room holding her katana and also charged at the monster.

"My tail!" Kuza hissed. She raised her blade. "You'll die for this!"

It was too late as the Beast disappeared into the glowing light, carrying with it a sleeping Eli, and disappeared into the portal. Then quickly as it made its presence known, the light closed up, sealing the portal and causing the monster to disappear with it.

"Bastard!" Kuza sneered as she dropped her sword in frustration. "I almost had him!"

A dazed Stiles felt the licks of Harry the pug waking him up as the little dog whimpered as a sign to see if he was okay. The FBI agent shook off confusion, picked up the pooch, and began stroking it.

"Thanks, little man," Stiles sighed. "Too bad, I was a shitty hero this time."

Scott, now human, approached his best friend. "Are you okay? You hurt?"

Frustrated, Stiles shook his head. "Nah, just my go." He held Harry under one arm and bit his lip angrily. "That fucking monster got Eli! I'm beyond pissed right now!"

"Don't worry," Scott reassured him. "We'll get him back."

Mason and the Sheriff joined the pair as they put away their pistols and tried to make sense of what happened.

"That thing got away and took Eli," Sheriff Stilinski noted. "Any idea why he wanted him and where he took him?"

Stiles shrugged, while petting Harry who laid comfortably in his arms. "No clue. I'm betting the kitsune knows." Their eyes all turned to Kuza who stood at the vanishing point and examined where the Beast once stood. "I think she knows something."

"What about Kate?" Mason asked.

In the midst of the havoc caused by the Beast, they had forgotten that Kate's lifeless body was now inside Harry the pug's kennel. The group watched as Chris and Allison covered their dead relative with a tarp nearby.

"She didn't deserve this," Allison whimpered. "She didn't deserve to die like this."

Chris squeezed his daughter's shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll avenge Kate's death and kill the monster that did this but first…" His face turned to Kuza. "We need answers and that kitsune is the one to give to us."

One hour later…

LAPD, paramedics, and forensics arrived on the scene at the animal shelter. Though not life threatening, Dr. Deaton's wounds were serious enough to be administered to the hospital while the body of Kate Argent was taken away to the morgue pending an investigation.

Thanks to the quick thinking of Stiles and Mason and their FBI connections, they fabricated a story of Kate's involvement with the local drug cartel and how things escalated into a gun fight, leading to the perpetrators escaping into a getaway vehicle. It appeared that law enforcement bought the story for now but Stiles would make sure to pull his government connections to ensure their alibis were plausible.

After the police questioning and statements, the pack were now left safely to their own devices which now included having to interrogate the mysterious kitsune who was willing to answer all of their inquiries.

Kuza sat inside the medical office, gently sipping on the tea that Melissa made for her while the rest of the group watched and observed her.

"Hmm," the kitsune giggled. "You make me feel like a celebrity with all of you staring at me! Does anyone want an autograph?"

"Cut the crap!" Chris scowled. "You're hiding something and we need answers so spill it!"

The kitsune rolled her eyes as she sipped her tea again. "Such impatience. Every world I've been on, there is always a Chris Argent who can't be bothered to wait."

Harry the pug let out a bark and leaped into her lap which made Kuza laugh as she petted him. Stiles noticed this sighed.

"At least, Harry likes her. He seems to be a good judge of character."

"That still doesn't explain her presence here," his father noted. "She knows something about the Beast and we need her to give us answers to find Eli and what it wants with him."

As the voice of reason, Melissa stepped in. "Look, Kuza. I remember you said the Beast murdered your husband and family. Speaking as a mother to a mother, Eli is like a son to us and we're concerned for his safety especially with this Beast thing out there. Can you please give us a reason or some way to find him?"

Kuza sighed. "Fine." She gently put Harry down on the floor. "Like I said, I'm from another world where I was revered as a deity or a fox goddess. It was rumored among the other deities that there was a monstrous version of the Beast invading other realms and universes, murdering versions of Derek Hale and his son in order to become more powerful."

"I don't understand," Scott remarked. "The Beast is super strong enough. Why kill Derek or Eli to get even stronger?"

Kuza placed a hand to her chest. "The Beast is strong, yes but not powerful. It wants to be omnipotent. It wants to be a god. This version of Sebastien Valet from another world discovered that if killed a version of himself on other worlds, it could absorb that power and became even more powerful but in order to seal the deal, he has to murder the Hale bloodline in other universes, particularly Derek Hale and his son, Eli."

"Why Derek?" Allison asked the kitsune. "There is his sister, Cora, or his uncle Peter. The Beast could easily take them."

"True," Kuza agreed. "But in order to fulfill the prophecy, Sebastien needs the pure Alpha bloodline of a Hale. Cora is only a beta and Peter lost his Alpha status many times even on other worlds, so the spell wouldn't work. Eli is foretold to be an Alpha when he gets older like his father. Hence, in order to achieve full omniscience, he must kill and steal the power of father and son on each world that he visits."

"And he stole your ability to portal travel and that's how he is able to go through other universes," Mason drew up his own conclusions. "That's how he is able to jump through dimensional gates."

Kuza nodded proudly. "Precisely." She pointed to the FBI agent and laughed. "See, those comic book films and sci-fi/fantasy readings do come in handy." She addressed everyone in the room. "Just as I did with transporting the sheriff, Melissa, and the Argent."

"You teleported us here?" Chris asked the supernatural creature. "Why?"

"More importantly," Melissa commented. "There is no father for this Beast to take power from."

"Derek is dead in this world," Scott declared. "Why take Eli when he needs the father and son to complete his transformation?"

Kuza sighed. "Prophecies are never always clear. It didn't specify which Derek and Eli Hale it needed. I suppose with the Derek of this world gone, it just needed Eli so it could find another Derek of another universe to kill to complete its mission."

Sheriff Stilinki jumped in. "Then we can't lose any time to allow this monster to succeed. Kuza, are you able to open up a portal-something to find which world the Beast jumped to so we can rescue Eli?"

Kuza nodded. "The Beast leaves a trail. I don't know exactly which world but I'm sure we can follow it and stop him before he allows the prophecy to succeed. However…"

Scott raised his brows. "What? Tell us."

"In order for me to portal a large group requires a huge chunk of my magic," the kitsune informed them. "It's exhausting and drains much of my energy. The only way I can transport such a large group is to bind a circle of magic to serve me. I would need six soldiers to make this work." She turned to the group and called to each one.

To Scott. "I need an Alpha."

To Allison. "A warrior."

To Chris. "A hunter."

To the Sheriff. "A knight."

To Melissa. "A healer."

Her eyes then focused on Stiles. "The scholar."

Feeling left out, Mason interrupted. "And me?"

The kitsune frowned. "I'm sorry, Mason Hewitt. Though your heart is pure now. You were once corrupted by the Beast. I need my soldiers to be true to this circle for this mission to succeed."

Stiles put a hand on his partner's shoulder. "It's okay, Mason. Just smooth things over with the FBI director and keep things running here while we take care of this. I promise we'll celebrate once we get Eli back and kill this thing."

Mason scowled. "Man! You guys get all the fun!" He begrudgingly accepted his assignment.

"As for the rest of you," said Kuza. "Prepare your arsenal, we have a princess and a dragon to slay!"