Assistant Coach Scott McCall preps the Lacrosse field for a nighttime pre-season practice. He calls out several players with praise as they run plays on the wet field. He specifically mentions Diaz (Cory Smoot) and Nolan.

Coach Bobby Finstock berates Scott for heaping praise on the players and giving them hope. He points out that he never once gave Scott hope during the entire time he was on the team. Scott agrees that he never did and Coach suggests that nothing motivates more than withering criticism. Liam is not on the field yet. Scott promises Liam will be there saying he is the "backbone" of the team. He describes Liam as a born leader who can handle anything Coach throws at him.

~~~

In the locker room Liam is in his underwear, lying face-down on a bench with a devastated expression while Corey (who is in his lacrosse uniform and pads) and Mason (who is there for moral support) try their best to coax Liam into getting dressed.

"I can't handle this..." Liam complains. Mason sighs in exasperation as he and Corey give up and decide to just start dressing Liam themselves.

"Yes, you can!" Mason protests. He grabs Liam under the arms and pulls him into a seated position so he can help Liam into a long-sleeved shirt. "And you've handled so much worse than this! You're practically the Alpha now!"

"I'm nothing without her..." Corey sighs impatiently as he tries to put Liam's lacrosse shoulder pads on him.

"Liam, can you help me with this, please?" He asks.

"Oh my god! Is he still in his underwear?" Liz's voice sounds from outside the room.

"No!" Mason yells back skeptically. Liz barges into the room and walks over to crouch in front of Liam.

"Hayden left me," Liam whimpers.

"She moved," Liz corrects him. "To protect her sister. And it's not like she dumped you or anything."

Corey struggles to put Liam's jersey on over his pads and groans from the effort. "Liam, why is your arm so heavy?"

Suddenly, Mason's phone buzzes, and he checks it to find a text message from Scott. "Okay, Scott says Coach is losing it."

"You would for less," Liz mumbles under her breath.

Liam's lip sticks out as he pouts "Scott's leaving, too. As well as Selene." Liam leans forward as though he's about to lay face-down on the bench again, but Liz pushes his shoulders back into a seated position.

"Going to college is not leaving, okay? It's called "growing up!" And we're all going to be going to different colleges eventually." Mason points out.

Corey jerks upright and looks at Mason with an offended expression. "I thought we were both applying to UCLA...?" Mason shoots Corey a look and uses a flat palm to gesture across his neck to stop Corey from talking. Liam, too, looks at Mason with an appalled expression.

"You're going to the same college, too?" he asks pitifully. Liz rolls her eyes.

"That is not the point!"

"Then what is the point?"

"My God, Liam! She moved away, it's not the end of the world and you'll fall in love again! You didn't see mee sulking when y-" Suddenly her eyes grow wide at the realization of what she was about to say. Mason and Corey look at her alarmed while Liam just looks confused.

"When what?" Liam asks, confused because he didn't know she was in love with someone.

"It doesn't matter. Now get off your ass and be the captain this godforsaken team needs!" Mason and Corey each take one of Liam's arms and lift him to his feet, though he does nothing to bear any of the weight of his body, causing Mason and Corey to stumble in their effort to drag him out of the room. While Liz sighs in defeat. When Corey and Mason attempt to drag Liam backward out the locker room door, they trip on Liam's feet and all three of them tumble to the floor.

~~~

Back on the LACROSSE FIELD, several players have just been tackled to the ground again, and Scott, who is watching them play from the sidelines with Coach Finstock, flinches empathetically. Coach, on the other hand, scowls in annoyance.

"I swear to God, McCall, if you don't get Dunbar out here in three, this will be your last day as Assistant Coach." He threatens.

"This is my last day as Assistant Coach."

"I can still dock your pay."

"I'm a volunteer." Scott reaches down and grabs the whistle hanging around his neck. "Do you want my whistle?"

"Who gave you a whistle?" Scott then sends a pleading look to Selene, who is sitting on the bleachers.

Mason, Corey, and Liam are still sprawled on the floor outside the boys' locker room.

"You three need a hand?" Liz questions. Suddenly, Mason's phone buzzes, and he sits up to read it aloud.

"Coach is making Diaz captain."

Alarmed, Liam sits up as well and looks determined to prove himself, just as Selene intended with this misleading text message.

~~~

On the field, Diaz dodges all other players as he weaves his way down the field. The goalie is terrified as it seems nothing can stop number 88 from scoring a goal. Diaz flings the ball toward the goal. Out of nowhere, Liam does a twisty backflip onto the field and blocks the shot.

Coach is impressed, heaps praise on the play, and asks Scott, the name of the player. Scott is confused; he explains it's Liam. Coach brushes off his lapse in memory, saying he can't possibly know who's who on the field since they're all dressed the same. Scott says they're wearing numbers.

Liam is running down the field full speed when Diaz ducks under him and flips him to the ground. Liam begins to lose control. His eyes flash yellow, and he lets out a guttural growl. Scott rushes to his side. Everyone is watching them until something else catches their attention.

"That can't be good," Selene whispers and runs onto the field, leaving Liz staring at the field.

A bloody, clearly-injured wolf slowly trots onto the field.

Scott, looking alarmed, pulls the now-human Liam up to his feet as they all gape at the wolf in shock. Nolan, who is closest to the wolf, gulps anxiously, seemingly frozen in fear while the others back up several steps. The wolf snarls at the group, keeping its eyes on Scott as saliva drips from its fangs.

"Everyone back," Scott says alarmed. Scott is about to use his powers to get the wolf to submit until he notices that the terrified Nolan is still a little too close to the wolf.

Selene walks over to the boy who is completely paralyzed by fear, which leads Selene to quickly look back at the confused Liam and Scott before stepping forward and gently guide him away from the wolf.

"Nolan, hey! Stay back, man. Are you okay? What are you doing?" She asks. Nolan, still terrified, remains silent as he backs away even farther from the wolf while not taking his eyes off of it.

Selene steps forward to stand next to Liam and Scott as the wolf once again snarls and growls at them. After a moment, Scott flashes his red Alpha eyes at the wolf, who whimpers before turning around and slowly retreating back into the woods, limping as though it has been badly injured. Scott, Selene and Liam share a concerned look before the two leave the rest of the team and follow the wolf into the woods without another word.

Once the two are deep into the woods, they begin to talk about what they could be dealing with.

"Do you think it's a wolf-wolf, or...?" Liam asks.

"It's just a wolf, which doesn't make this situation any less weird," Selene replies.

The trio becomes silent as they come upon another wolf, this one lying dead on the ground as though it had recently died. They all become horrified when suddenly, hundreds of spiders begin pouring out of the wolf's eyes and mouth and scurry away. After a moment, Liam sees something in the distance and frowns.

"Guys..." He calls their attention. Liam gestures toward the area in front of them, leading Scott and Selene to see that there are nearly a dozen more dead wolves scattered across the surrounding area.

~~~

Malia lays on Lydia's bed reading a book about France. Lydia has apparently just told her of Scott and Liam's discovery in the woods. Malia wants to know if these were wolves or werewolves. Lydia explains they were the former and Malia says she's not interested. Lydia says Liam asked for help from the werecoyote not the banshee because no one understands mysterious animal situations better. Malia says she's done with mysterious animal situations. She now wants mysterious French men.

Lydia says her flight is delayed anyway so she has time to help. Malia protests, saying the flight is not delayed, only rerouted. Lydia points out those are synonymous. A severe weather alert pops up on the laptop on the bed. There's a storm shutting down on Charles de Gaulle Airport near Paris. Malia protests it's just a minor shower.

Lydia gives her a look that says, "You need to go." Malia continues to protest saying Liam has everything covered and dead wolves in the woods doesn't sound supernatural.

~~~

As Scott is trying to close his overstuffed suitcase, Liam is trying to convince him that whatever happened to the wolves is definitely supernatural. Scott points out it could have been a parasitic infection. He explains bot flies can burrow into animals and people. The bugs lay eggs inside the host body, which hatch and burst out of the skin.

Scott wants to address Liam's loss of control on the lacrosse field. Scott says he must remember his mantra and makes Liam say it aloud. "What three things cannot long be hidden? The Sun, the Moon, the truth."

Scott can hear Liam's heart rate slow as he focuses on the words and anchors himself.

Calmer now, Liam glances back at the impossible-to-close suitcase and asks Scott if he has a second one. Scott says no, but he has duct tape.

While they banter, it is clear the young man does not want either of his Alphas to leave him.

~~~

An orderly follows Doctor Conrad Fenris, through the special ward at Eichen House. Fenris says what the orderly claims to have seen is impossible. He says the patient in question has been in residence ever since the facility opened in 1912.

He opens the door, and a cold mist pours out. There is a layer of ice on the floor. On a table in the center of the room is what appears to be humanoid form made of rock. Fenris says the patient is covered in a layer of pyroclastic rock, primarily volcanic material, ash mostly, spewed from the ground into the air.

Fenris reaches out and taps the form, and the rock layer immediately begins to crack. The damage spreads. The doctor and orderly back up. Fenris reaches to lower the temperature in the room some more, but he is caught in the blast as the cracking form explodes outward in a rush of fire and gas. What appears to be a Hellhound (Halwyn) steps out of the cell and growls at Fenris.

~~~

Rising Beacon Hills High seniors are lined up in the hallway waiting for a meeting with recently hired guidance counselor Tamora Monroe.

As Liz sits in front of the woman she lets out a sigh. She can tell from the long pause that there is something the counselor doesn't agree with.

"You can just say it, the silence is making me anxious," Liz confesses. Monroe puts down the paper and looks the young girl straight in the eye.

"It just feels like you're taking the easy way with this schedule," Monroe points out.

"I might be," Liz agrees and averts her eyes. She sighs again. "It's just... It feels like any moment my world can be turned upside down and something terrible is about to happen." She turns back to the guidance counselor.

"I understand. A lot has happened at this school. I just want you to know that I am here for you. For all of you... If something terrible does happen to you, be sure to let me know." Liz's fingers start to drum against the table. "No matter how impossible it seems, I will believe you." Monroe reaches out and presses her hand against Liz's to make her stop the nervous gesture. Liz nearly gasps as a feeling of dread nearly overwhelms her. "You can tell me, what happened."

Suddenly Liz shoots upright. "I will," She says almost out of breath. She nods repeatedly and grabs her schedule. "I'll, uh, give it another thought,"

~~~

Monroe talks Liam out of taking Latin after he admits he's only signing up because he heard it was an easy A. He needs better grades because it's been a hard year and his GPA sucks. She offers him counseling to talk about Hayden but only during the posted "guidance hours." She turns the conversation back to his class schedule and suggests he take Spanish instead.

Corey wants to take AP Calculus. In a conversation laden with double meanings, Monroe talks him out of taking hard classes just to avoid feeling metaphorically "invisible." Corey protests that he's never invisible and that she can see him because he's right there. Monroe says she's seen many things at the school, even when everyone else had their eyes closed. She suggests he take creative writing instead.

She describes Mason's proposed class schedule as perfect and says he's given it a lot of thought. She probes further asking him to come and talk to her and share his thoughts. She says she knows students at the school have seen and been through things that don't exactly come with easy explanations. He tries to leave, but she presses him to come and talk to her, promising confidentiality for anything he shares. Mason says he's good and exits.

Nolan is next. He's a nervous kid. Monroe says she thinks he needs to talk about more than his class schedule. He protests, saying other students are waiting for her time. She asks if the wolf on the lacrosse field has him upset or the other stuff they spoke about over the summer, what happened in the library, the animal attack. Nolan snaps at her that it wasn't an animal attack. He says the animal on the field was "some kind of wolf." She asks, "What other kinds of wolves are there Nolan? What kind of wolves have you seen?"

~~~

Liam and Mason hit the library to find North American Cryptozoology, a book with an entire chapter on spiders and a section on scarabs. Unfortunately for them, the entire Mythology and Superstitions section is empty. Every book is missing.

Sydney screams from her perch on top of her desk in one of the classrooms. Dozens of rats scurry across the floor. They're coming from one of the ventilation ducts on the wall. Sydney laments, "Why does this keep happening to our school?"

A man, apparently the hellhound we saw earlier at Eichen, is standing in the doorway watching. He closes his eyes and listens, focusing on each student in turn. Nothing apparently catches his interest, and he leaves.

Mason and Liam come rushing into the classroom. Mason says they'll need a book on rats too.

~~~

Later, Mason, Liam, and Liz find themselves in an underground tunnel. When they turn a corner, Liam slips on some sludge on the floor, which then becomes stuck to his shoe.

"It's not as irrational as you think. There's actually an evolutionary advantage of having innate fears of spiders, snakes, and rats," Mason explains.

"You sound like Reed," Liz notes.

"Is that a good or a bad thing?"

"Obviously it's a good thing," Reed's voice sounds from behind them and they turn to face him.

"I didn't know you hung out in the sewers often?" Liz questions with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't. Now, why are we here?"

"There were rats, a lot of rats, in a classroom today, they came crawling through the vents, and those pipes lead directly down here, so..."

The four of them stop when they reach an intersection in the tunnels, and all look horrified when their flashlights shine a light on something in front of them.

"What's that?" Liam asks repulsed. On the floor, a huge pile of tangled-up and bloody dead rats has formed in a corner.

"It's a rat king," Reed answers in confusion about the situation.

~~~

Natalie Martin is moving into her new office as principal of BHHS. Lydia left her a list of all the supernatural people in Beacon Hills, starting with the students. Natalie says she doesn't need it. Lydia says her mom knows stuff, which obligates her to do stuff when things go bad. Natalie says her obligation is to educate and not to eliminate all the problems of Beacon Hills.

Lydia presses her further, but her mom puts a stop to it. She says she cares about Lydia's friends, but mostly she cares about Lydia. With Lydia "safe" 3000 miles away at school, she no longer has to "deal with this." Natalie exits saying it's not their problem anymore. Lydia slips the list of supernaturals into a desk drawer.

~~~

Scott has one of Chris Argent's 800,000-volt 'lightsaber' stun batons. He tries to get his mom to practice defending herself with it, but Melissa McCall refuses to hold down the button. She says if something happens, she'll call Liam. If he's not around, she explains that she's a nurse, and she'll defend herself with what she knows.

She reveals a cache of herbs she keeps in the hospital morgue and says if something supernatural happens and people get hurt, she's got it covered. Scott wonders where she got it all. Melissa changes the subject and says Scott should be focusing on orientation at UC Davis and his classes instead. They hug, and Melissa accidentally holds down the button on the stun baton, shocking Scott.

~~~

"Okay, so what's a Rat King?" Liz asks as the four of them wait for Malia to arrive.

"A collection of rats who get their tails tangled up is the short explanation," Mason answers.

"Why the name?"

"It stems from the folk superstision that the king of rats needs a throne and that it's formed from..." Reed explains as he examines the Rat king further.

"It's subjects' tails?" Liz offers and Reed nods solemnly.

"What's with that look?" Reed asks.

"Well I don't know if you remember but the last time animals started to go crazy we had to deal with a Darach and Selene and Scott were being manipulated by an Alpha of an Alpha pack, who, by the way, are nearly all dead," Liz reminds them.

"What?" Liam and Mason ask.

"I know, but it's not the same."

"You've got two minutes," Malia announces her annoyed presence.

"What do you think happened?" Liam asks.

Malia sighs and crouches down to get a better look at the rats. "Rats freaked out, crawled all over each other..." Malia reaches out to untangle one of the rats from the bundle. "Got their tails knotted up..." Malia pulls out one of the rats, holding it by the end of its tail. "And tore each other apart trying to break free."

Malia stands to her feet, holding up the rat by the tail and examining it closely. After a moment, she leans her head closer and sniffs at it while Liam and Mason give her a grossed-out expression. She then holds out the rat toward the others, who instinctively jump away from it except for Reed.

"Ohhhhh, I'm good, thank you!"

Mason, who looks as though he's going to throw up, backs into the intersection of tunnels and braces himself against the wall with one arm. "I'm good... just... over here."

"We get it, it smells like fear," Reed says, gently pushing Malia's arm toward the floor with his hand, leading her to drop the rat on the floor with the others.

"Yeah, it's the same as the ones in the math classroom," Liam says still disgusted by the smell.

"Why were there rats in a classroom?" Malia asks.