a/n: happy moonday, folks.

—

The episode starts with a boy (Donovan) being put in handcuffs as his lawyer (Tracy's dad) looks on. The sheriff looks in a hand mirror and makes a comment on how badly he needs a haircut, and Stiles steps in to tell him how lucky he is to have hair to cut at his age.

The sheriff is unamused, as Scott and Noel step into frame and the former comments that the man looks great. Noel nods his agreement, adding "You're gonna be a hit."

"Well thank you, sons I should have had," the sheriff says brightly, and Stiles looks a bit upset. It's hard to tell whether he's fake upset or genuinely so, but no one notices his expression as the sheriff wonders aloud if this was a bad idea.

Shutting down his second thoughts quickly, Stiles puts his hands on his dad's shoulders and reminds him that it's only one date. One date (with a woman or a man, he adds inclusively) won't cause Beacon Hills to implode, as the sheriff comments that the woman in question's identity is none of their business.

Stiles reiterates that he wants to know, as Scott and Noel smile at one another and the door to the sheriff's station opens.

Tracy's dad assures Donovan that while it's not what they were hoping for, the DA's offer is reasonable, and the boy asks what exactly is reasonable. When he doesn't receive an answer, he asks again more forcefully, as Parrish asks if there's gonna be a problem.

Mr. Stewart says it's fine, then explains to Donovan that the DA is looking to put him away for 3-5 years. Donovan looks disheartened as Mr. Stewart insists they go peacefully and try and figure out a plea bargain that will only give Donovan two years.

In an outburst of rage, Donovan calls out to the sheriff, threatening that he's going to kill him. The sheriff doesn't seem fazed, as if he's heard that from the boy before, reminding him that his hatred was well-documented in his anger expression inventory. He tells the deputies to take him away, but Donovan isn't finished, going into detail on how he isn't just mad, he has plans to stab the sheriff to death.

"And when you look at me, and you ask me why, remember right now. Because this is why," Donovan says almost smugly, with a strong conviction behind it. To his knowledge of his capabilities, he means what he says, and that visibly puts Noel at unease.

"Wow. That was awesome. That was awesome, that was great," Stiles says with his arms crossed, stoic and almost challenging, as everyone turns to look at him. "Can we do one more, give us another one, maybe like Christopher Walken this time? You know?"

When Donovan just stares at him, Stiles continues. "Okay, you know what, it's fine. You'll have plenty of time to work on it when you're in a tiny little cell. You know, just stuck there. Forever."

Donovan nods and smiles like it's funny, making to turn around, before launching at the four of them. He's apprehended by the deputies, but that doesn't stop Scott and Noel from casually both moving in front of Stiles. The sheriff commands that his deputies get the boy out of the station, and once he's gone, Scott breaks the silence.

"What the hell's an anger expression inventory?" he asks, eyes still locked onto the front door of the station. Stiles answers, "It's a test you take when you're planning to become a deputy."

"That guy wanted to be a cop?" the alpha asks in shock, Noel almost laughing as he says "Well, he's definitely getting a firsthand look at law enforcement now."

—

During transport of Donovan, the driver has a sudden health crisis, which ultimately leads to Donovan's escape (aided by Tracy in a seemingly feral state, ultimately killing her dad).

Donovan is cornered and recruited against his will by the men in steampunk garb, who I no longer want to refer to as such, and will now call their actual names (Dread Doctors).

Roll credits!

—

When Stiles fails to get the jeep to turn on outside the station as Scott and Noel watch him, he says suddenly "It's anxiety."

"Stopping the car...?" Noel asks from the backseat, Stiles turning to shoot him a look before clarifying "Chemosignals. I'm well aware of how you all monitor my emotional state, yeah."

The engine continues to sputter, as Stiles punches the wheel in frustration and Scott watches his hand. He finally speaks up, asking the boy if he's okay.

With slight hesitation, Stiles relents, saying "Alright... I got this from Braeden a few hours ago."

"Braeden?" Noel asks and instantly surges forward, Stiles pulling his phone out of Noel's reach.

"It's not Derek," he says pointedly, Noel watching him and narrowing his eyes. "I never asked if it was. I don't care that it could be him, I care that it is her."

Scott takes Stiles' phone, looking it over and holding it so Noel can see too. Noel fidgets with his lips, eyebrows together as Stiles says "That's the first real bit of information we've gotten on the Desert Wolf in months."

"The Desert Wolf did this?" Scott asks nervously, as Stiles confirms and says guiltily "And I'm the one that's been pulling on this thread."

"Maybe you should stop," Scott says, not totally a suggestion, but Stiles points out that it's not up to him. The jeep finally turns over as Noel stares at the photo, and we cut to the girls all partaking in a ~hilarious~ and ~totally plot appropriate~ Malia driving lesson.

Well, I guess Lydia having a banshee episode counts as plot appropriate, since it leads to everyone finding someone from the accident is alive.

—

At the scene of the crime, the sheriff gets the boys' attention and asks if Donovan is like Scott and Noel. Scott says unsurely that he doesn't think so, as Stiles argues he may be, but with the knowledge of how to hide his scent.

The sheriff tells them that regardless of his species, Donovan has killed his lawyer along with heavily wounding two officers, and that he needs the boys to find him faster than law enforcement can.

Without hesitation, Scott and Noel agree to try, taking a walkie talkie and heading off to search together with a glow of red and orange eyes. Stiles and the sheriff watch the two werewolves run off, Stiles informing his dad that he has a theory Donovan isn't to blame.

Looking on and overseeing the scene, Theo flees after hearing Stiles' implication that he may be responsible.

—

Scott and Noel are standing in some sort of warehouse or abandoned building, when suddenly their wolfy senses begin to tingle. Scott turns around and is suddenly attacked by Donovan, but before Noel can jump to his aid, the alpha easily tosses the boy to the ground.

Parrish, the sheriff, and the rest of the teens stand waiting for more news, as Scott explains over the walkie talkie that Donovan keeps repeating the name "Tracy" over and over again.

The sheriff asks who Tracy is, and ever the Wonder Twins of deduction, Lydia and Noel say in sync (Noel over the walkie) "Tracy Stewart."

—

At school the next day, Lydia tells the group that Tracy wasn't having run of the mill sleeping trouble, she was suffering from night terrors. Stiles interjects that Tracy herself is the night terror now that no one knows where she is, but Noel speaks over him.

Noel sympathizes that everyone in their group is tired and miserable at the moment, glancing to his right and saying through a tight and almost annoyed smile "Except for you."

The camera pans and we see Mason, staring in absolute awe at not just Noel but the entire group, as the boy apologizes and admits that the whole situation is mind-blowing to him.

"You're a kitsune," he said as he gestures at Kira, laughing as he blurts "I don't even know what that is!"

Stiles scolds Liam gently, pointing out that Liam was given permission to tell Mason the truth, not invite him into their inner circle.

"I'm in the inner circle?" Mason asks excitedly, to which Stiles and Liam give him a definitive 'no' and Noel puts a hand on his shoulder to gently say "I don't think so, Mace."

Scott re-rails them and reminds the group that Tracy is just a single lone wolf, Malia tacking on the descriptor that she's a lone serial killing wolf. Stiles argues that one murder and two mauled officers doesn't make her a serial killer, asking what they should do if they catch her.

"We put her down," Malia suggests, as everyone seems surprised but willing to take that course of action. Mason is the most surprised, noting how intense that sounds, as Scott insists they're going to focus on finding and catching her before anything else.

—

Donovan sits in police custody, demanding a lawyer. The sheriff interrogates him, promising Donovan he can trust him, but Donovan is unconvinced. He gets a ringing in his ear, snapping out of it and demanding a new lawyer.

The sheriff gives up on the interrogation, as he walks to Parrish, who informs him that Tracy went to the hospital last night and killed her psychiatrist.

The sheriff instructs Parrish to tell Scott, to which the deputy jokes "Should we add him and Noel to the payroll?"

—

Stiles and Malia share a scene, in which Stiles shows Malia the picture Braeden sent of what her mother did and Malia seems unfazed.

—

In class, the teacher hands back papers and we see Noel with a 95/100. She then gives Scott his with an 86/100, and the teacher invites him to lead the class in a review of last night's material due to his apparent high score and grasp of the subject. We cut back to Noel, who sees Scott's 86 and smiles, as a voice next to him says quietly "You should be the one to lead the review. You got a higher score than he did."

Noel freezes before turning his head, slowly, and the camera follows his gaze to land on Theo sitting beside him rather than in the back like we'd previously seen. Theo doesn't say anything else, just watches Noel, before holding up his own paper and showing a 68/100. Theo winces dramatically, as Noel sympathetically smiles and looks away.

Not pleased with the end of their interaction, Theo continues to stare at Noel and casually puts a hand on his arm, asking "Hey, do you think you have the time to tutor me? I really can't afford to fail this class, and I mean that literally. I can barely scrape up the hundred bucks it'll cost to take the AP test at the end of the year, it'll all be a total waste if I fail it."

That gets Noel's attention finally, as he turns back to Theo and swallows slowly. Theo smiles, soft and almost shy, as he looks down at his hand still on Noel's arm. He begins to push his hand slowly down toward Noel's, fingers tracing down the plaid arm of Noel's flannel shirt. Noel freezes, watching Theo's hand until his fingertips finally begin to graze the back of Noel's hand.

Noel pulls his hand away abruptly, flying to his chest as we see the glint of his promise ring. Theo doesn't flinch, doesn't blink, and his smile doesn't falter. He looks Noel up and down in a once over, eyes settling on the ring as he widens his grin and leans in close to Noel.

"I'm free most nights to study, when we don't have track or lacrosse. My place or yours, doesn't matter to me. And, for the record..." he leans away and looks ahead, whispering under his breath as quietly as possible for Noel's werewolf hearing to pick up, "I don't care that Derek Hale put that ring on your finger. It comes off for a reason."

Noel chokes on his breath and begins to cough, sputtering as Lydia looks back at him and hands him her water bottle with a look of confusion. Noel takes a quick drink, taking in a deep breath as he fidgets with his promise ring and refuses to look at Theo.

Theo, who is all smiles.

Scott struggles to find the page last night's reading was on, interrupted by Liam who tells him from the hallway under his breath that Tracy is in class. Scott and Noel both hear him, shocked, and we see that Theo was listening as well.

We see Tracy in class, breathing hard with orange eyes before we cut to commercial.

—

Back in class with Tracy, she scratches her claws under her table as we see her field of vision, full of shadows and the sounds of moans.

Hayden sees Tracy about to snap her desk in half, asking if she's okay as Tracy ignores her. Hayden is clearly concerned, when suddenly Liam pulls the fire alarm, and the girl encourages Tracy to come with her for the fire drill.

Tracy has a vision of Dread Doctors in place of Scott, Liam, and Mr. Yukimura at the front of the classroom. Interestingly, among the hallucinations of Dread Doctors, Tracy still sees one human: Noel, though distorted, is still himself in her eyes.

She grabs hold of Hayden's wrist, as Scott tries to placate her and assure her she's okay. Tracy only sees Dread Doctors (and Noel), and squeezes Hayden's wrist hard enough to draw blood. Hayden winces, as Tracy looks at Noel.

"They're coming," she whispers, staring at Noel and insisting "They're coming for all of us."

Suddenly she collapses, and from her mouth we see a steady stream of silver liquid. Scott picks her up, meeting Stiles and Malia in the hallway as they all leave the school.

Hayden and Liam share a brief scene, followed by Hayden washing her arm in the bathroom and finding that her wound from Tracy is already healed.

Lydia, Kira, and Liam brainstorm what to do in the meantime while the others take Tracy to Deaton, settling for asking Satomi and her pack for help.

—

The next scene shows Liam and Mason going to Brett for help, Mason clearly thirsting when he learns Brett's a werewolf.

—

Deaton checks on Tracy, suggesting that it may be mercury in her mouth. Malia suggests killing Tracy, but Deaton instead encloses them all in a ring of mountain ash for extra protection.

Kira and Lydia investigate in Tracy's room briefly, and we're back to the clinic. Stiles expresses concern about the werewolves and Malia being stuck in a circle of mountain ash, as Scott and Noel hold Tracy down for more testing.

Brett denies knowing anything about Tracy, mentioning that Satomi isn't recruiting at the moment and explaining his past briefly.

Lydia and Kira deduce that Tracy is still stuck in a night terror, and unaware that she's hurting and killing people due to her state.

Deaton finds that Tracy appears to have something crawling around under her skin, as Scott gets a text from his mom. He relays to the other boys that the deputy that Tracy maimed isn't victim to any health condition, that his body simply locked up while he was driving.

"Locked up? You mean like... Oh my god," Noel says suddenly, realizing what Tracy is. Before he can share, Tracy's spine splits free from her skin and a long tail slips out. Within seconds, Tracy has used either her tail or her claws to injure Deaton, Scott, Stiles, and Malia. She turns and looks at Noel, who already has a hand extended to try and make peace with her.

"Hi, Tracy, listen to me. I've helped people like you before, I've connected to a kanima. My cousin is one, Jackson, if you remember him. I know how you much be feeling right now, and all the confusion, I'm sure it's awful. But please, Tracy, let us-"

Before Noel can finish his speech, Tracy grabs his wrist, pulling him along with her toward the door. "Tracy, stop, we can't leave, there's a barrier," he insists, but she's undeterred.

"Don't you take him! Noel, stop her!" Malia insists, but Noel trusts the mountain ash to stop Tracy. Instead, as she continues running, she blows effortlessly through the barrier and breaks it. She tightens her grip on Noel's wrist, breaking out of the vet's office and running with Noel into the night.

We see Noel as he runs with Tracy, looking terrified at what she just accomplished, looking over his shoulder at the clinic as we cut to commercial.

—

Scott, Stiles, Deaton, and Malia debrief when we return, all paralyzed as they try to figure out what to do.

"She ran out and took him with her?" Stiles asks, not paralyzed at the right angle to see the door. Malia confirms, adding "I don't know if she necessarily took him, he's probably a lot stronger than she is, but he certainly went with her."

From there, the scene continues, with Deaton trying to encourage Malia and Scott to heal themselves through visualization. Stiles at one point reminds them that Tracy's probably running off to kill someone else, likely Noel, as the tension rises.

—

Malia is the first one to regain the ability to move, having been cut the most shallowly. Stiles tells her to wait for them, but she insists there's no time.

"She's not a werewolf," Stiles insists, as Malia argues "Noel is. I can't track her, but I can track him."

Scott gets Malia's attention, and when the two make eye contact, he says sharply and pointedly "Save them."

Malia seems to accept his command, running shakily out of the office to go find Tracy and Noel.

—

Lydia and Kira figure out that Tracy is probably out hunting down Lydia's mom, and we see her at the sheriff's station getting ready for a date with him. Turns out she's the mystery bachelorette.

Kira and Lydia arrive just in time, warning her that Tracy is coming for her as we see Tracy on the roof above Mrs. Martin's head roaring and flashing her kanima orange eyes.

Noel is nowhere to be found.

—

A fight breaks out at the sheriff's station, Kira against Tracy, in which Tracy paralyzes Lydia to try and stop her mom from leaving.

Kira manages while in her kitsune form to slice off Tracy's tail, as Lydia marvels at Kira's strength and Tracy runs away.

—

At the vet's office, Scott manages to stand, assisted by Theo, who found them because he remembered where Scott works and came looking for them.

Scott tells Theo that they lost Tracy, Stiles adding that they lost Malia and Noel along with her. Theo loses some resolve when he hears Noel's name, asking "Why Noel? What happened to him?"

"Tracy took him with her when she ran, Malia's trying to find them both," Scott explains, as Theo all but begs to be allowed to help them. He assures that that doesn't mean he has to be in their pack, he just wants to be helpful.

Malia arrives at the sheriff's station, seeing Kira struggling to help Lydia stop her bleeding. Lydia tells Malia why Tracy is acting this way, directing the girl to the basement where Tracy is with Lydia's mom.

The two girls fight, very equally matched, until Malia manages to finally wake Tracy from her night terror by choking her and explaining that she's awake.

"You're not dreaming, I swear, so you need to tell me what you did with Noel," Malia requests, as Tracy struggles to stand and get her bearings.

Tracy asks what's happening to her then if she isn't dreaming, as the Dread Doctors suddenly appear and inject the girl with more mercury. They stare that her condition is 'terminal' as Malia is pinned to the wall by one, and as they walk away, she asks them through a growl "Where is he?!"

The Dread Doctors don't stop or answer, fading away as Malia looks over at Tracy's body and asks again, through shaking tears "Where is he...? What did you do with Noel...?"

The episode ends.