(AUTHOR'S NOTE: Rebirth pt1 is the last chapter of the last book, Guardian: This Might Hurt (Bk 3a))

I was lying in the dirt. My breath was shallow. I let my head fall to the side. Tobias lay next to me, dead. The gun was lying in my limp hand at my side. I looked past him and at the Nemeton. It was time. I was done as the Kirin. And I was done in this life, in this world.

I felt hands on me. I was too weak to move. Something turned my head. It was Sam. What is he doing here? I was too numb to speak. I could barely make out a sound, let alone a word. He had blood on his clothes. But that didn't matter. He was too concerned with me.

I wanted to explain it to him. Tell him that I was done, that it was time for me to move on. But I couldn't. No matter how hard I tried. I couldn't speak.

I saw him through tainted eyes. My vision was now a dull green. The light behind my eyes, that spark that makes them glow, was gone. Lydia was right. I do die here. I should've known better than to doubt a Banshee.

My eyes stayed on Sam. He took my hand, but I couldn't feel it. Now my body was numb. His eyes glowed and the veins in his hands darkened. I knew what he was doing, but at the same time, I didn't. My eye lids became heavy. And I didn't fight them. I let them fall shut.

A warm feeling filed my body. I had this weird feeling like I had dozed off and was now waking, confused, not knowing how long I was a sleep. But all I saw was black behind my eye lids. And then that burning turned into a raging fire. I opened my eyes and roared, the sound of which was coming straight from my soul.

Once I stopped roaring, my eyes grow heavy again. I only saw glimpses of the world. And I wasn't quite sure what they meant. There was a man beside me. His eyes glowed a golden yellow. And then he fell over. I let my head roll, thinking he was stupid, as my eyes closed. But I wasn't sure why.

(SAM'S POV)

"Sam!"

Someone shook me violently. My head throbbed and my body ached. Moving was the last thing I wanted to do. And then I remembered what happened. I opened my eyes and rolled onto my back. Derek had been the one shaking me awake. I looked just past him and saw Scott and Isaac. They were getting everyone out from the root cellar that was under the Nemeton.

"Sam," he said again. This time he was a little calmer about it. I looked at him. My eyes only stayed a second before I looked at Tobias' body a few feet away. "What happened? Where's Kit?"

I slowly shook my head. "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" He took my hand and helped me to my feet. As soon as I was standing, I felt like all the blood had drained from my body. I wobbled, but he caught me. "Are you okay?" he eyed me, like I might break.

"Something's not right," I said, ignoring his concerns for me. I looked around like I'd lost something. Because I had. I lost Kit. I took a few steps, shaking off the dizzy. I spun, looking at Tobias and Derek and the Nemeton and Kit's insanely beat up car.

"Sam."

I looked at him. "She's gone."

"Who? Kit?"

I nodded and pointed at the ground, next to Tobias. "She was here. Before I passed out, she was here."

"Sam," Derek sounded worried now. "What happened?"

"I healed her," I paused, letting my eyes show their new color, the color of a Beta. It's a role I've never played before, and so far, it doesn't feel very good. As soon as he saw my eyes, Derek's features visibly softened. He had just given up being an Alpha to save his sister, so I know he knows how bad Kit had to have been in order for me to give it up, too. "And now she's gone."

While Derek thought of a reply, Lydia walked up to us. I only met her a couple hours ago at Derek's loft, but I've heard plenty from Kit. I knew that the look on her face wasn't a good thing. "She's not gone," she corrected. "Taken."

"Taken?" I asked. "By who?"

"Not who. What." She turned around and looked at the Nemeton.

"Lydia," Derek said. "If you know where she is, just tell us."

She looked at him. "I don't know where she is. And I don't know if she's ever coming back."

I sighed. "So she's at least alive?"

Lydia looked at me. "I don't know."

ONE MONTH LATER…

(EMMA'S POV)

I walked through the woods, the cold night wind cutting through my purple leather jacket. I knew I should've worn more, but I didn't have time. I had a lead and I had to follow it. The others call me crazy, but I'm not. I know what I saw, what I felt. It had to be her.

I let the moon light guide my path. I wasn't afraid of what I might run into out here. I walked about ten more feet, around a large cluster of trees. And there it was. I stopped and stared. It was the same large tree stump I had seen all those years ago.

I gingerly walked closer, afraid it might leave at any second. I've heard rumors that it can move, go wherever it wants. And now that it's alive again, who knows what it might do. A faint heartbeat tickled my ears, and hope grew inside of me. I walked a little faster.

I reached the Nemeton, putting a hand over my mouth as I gasped. It was her. It was Kit. She's older, but I knew it was her. She was lying across the top of the stump without any clothes on, like she had recently shifted into her animal form. I reached out to touch her when a branch snapped in the distance.

I froze and listened. Heavy footsteps were coming. A few of them. They were up wind from me, so I took a sniff. It's a couple of humans and…an Alpha. The human's I can handle, but not the Alpha. It's too risky. I backed away, listening. One of them was running his mouth the whole time. One of the girls was leading them, giving the Alpha directions.

I ran as quietly as I could, trying to find a place to hide. I found a tree with a large trunk and slid behind it. I turned around so I could see them. They broke the tree line about a minute later. There were two girls and three boys. The girls were human, so was one of the boys. The other was an Alpha and a Beta.

I sunk back a little, making myself smaller. He brought his pack. A couple of them were shocked that they found the Nemeton. They walked up to it and found Kit. I was surprised when they called her by name. They knew her.

"How did she get here?" the taller human girl asked.

"And what happened to her clothes?" the other girl asked. She was the one leading them. Somehow she knew how to find the Nemeton. The Beta, the tallest of the boys, took off his coat. He and the Alpha positioned it on Kit's body.

"Hey!" the human boy said. "I think I have a blanket in my Jeep." And then he ran back the way they came.

"I don't know what she's doing here," the Alpha said. "But she's alive. And, right now, that's all that matters." Could Kit have been a member of his pack? Why would she even need a pack? She's the Kirin. Or, at least, she used to be. My weight shifted and heel came down just right on a tree branch, breaking it. I cringed.

"What was that?" one of the girls asked. I ducked behind the tree, as they all looked my way. I slowly bent down, listening to them discuss what could've caused the noise. But they knew it came from over here. And, if they're smart, they'll listen for a heartbeat.

My fingers found a stone and I grabbed it. I stood and launched it into the air, throwing it over the Nemeton. It landed on the other side of it, drawing their attention that way. I quickly turned and ran, heading back where I came from.

(KIT'S POV)

I sat up with a gasp, my head throbbed. I put a hand to it, like that would do any good. I looked around the room. Where am I? The door opened and a teenage boy walked in, with another just behind him. "Hey, you're awake," the first one said, clearly happy, and sat on the bed a foot from me.

I sat up and pulled my knees up to my chest, where I held them. "Am I?"

"Yeah," the first boy looked at the second and scoffed. The other boy shrugged. The first looked at me, suddenly concerned. "Why wouldn't you be?"

I paused. Was he for real? I shook my head. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

He laughed. "Ha, I see what you did there. Good one, Kit." On that last part, he reached out to playfully tap me, but that's not how it felt. I jumped back, slamming into the head board and sliding across the bed. "Whoa!" the boy flew to his feet and stood next to the other.

"It's okay," the second boy stepped forward.

"I didn't think she was serious," the first boy told him. The second boy walked closer to the bed, but I quickly got off of it and backed into the wall. There was something about him. He was different, more intimidating. He had power. The kind I was taught to fear.

He instantly stopped. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."

"Where am I?" I asked.

"You're at my house."

"And where's that?"

The boys looked at each other. Then the first spoke, "Do you really not remember?"

"Answer the question." My pulse was rising and I could feel myself wanting to shift. I closed my eyes, trying not to change.

The second boy spoke. "Okay. You can calm down." He spoke softly. "My name is Scott. You're in Beacon Hills."

I looked at him. "Where the Hell is that?"

"California," the other replied with a raised eye brow. He looked in disbelief.

"Well, I don't belong here," I said. "I need to go home. My Pride will be worried about me."

"You're 'Pride'?"

"I meant family," I tried to correct myself, but it was too late.

"It's okay," Scott said. "See?" his eyes glowed red for a second. "I'm like you."

"No. You're not. You're worse."

"Kit, we're just trying to help."

"Stop calling me that; that is not my name. It's just a nickname my friends gave me and only they can use it!"

"Okay." He swallowed, uncomfortable. "What is your name?" Then he changed his mind. "What should we call you?"

"Ann," I said. "My name is Ann Keller." They were speechless, and gave each other weird looks.

"You should call Derek," the first boy said to Scott.

"Who's that?" I asked. They looked at me funny again.

"Yes, call him now, Scott. Now! Tell him to get his butt back here."

Scott pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and then left the room. I watched him leave. "Where is he going?"

"Oh, he just needs to call a friend."

"Who are you?"

"Stiles. Stiles Stilinski," he said proudly.

"That's your name?" I scoffed and he nodded. "Wow. Who hated you?"

He looked offended, about to say something and then didn't. Instead he stepped forward. I pushed further into the wall. "Okay. I'll stay here." He stopped.

"You're not like him, are you?"

"Who? Scott?" he asked and I nodded. "No, I'm human. But can I ask you something?"

I nodded. "Sure."

"Um, Ann," he started as Scott walked back in. "What do you remember last?"

I thought hard. "I was in the woods…"

"Were you alone?"

"No. I was with my friend."

"You mean Tobias?"

I shook my head. "No, she was like me."

"A were…cat?" he asked and I nodded. He glanced at Scott and then looked back at me. "One more question: how old are you?"

I looked down at myself. "Well, clearly I've grown. But in that memory, I was ten."

"Ten! Like, years?!"

"Yes. How do you measure age?"

He rolled his eyes. "Derek can't get here fast enough."

"He can't bring back her memory," Scott told him.

"Well, he can do something!"

"He's not answering, Stiles."

"Okay," I said. "Well, I need to go."

"NO!" they both shouted.

"You have to stay," Scott said.

"I need to go home, to my Pride," I said.

"Yeah, what is that?" Stiles asked.

"Ugh, Humans," I sighed. "A Pride, it's like a pack."

"You had a pack when you were ten?" Scott asked me. "What happened to them?"

"Nothing happened to them. They are fine! And I'm leaving!" I moved two feet and Scott jumped in front of the door.

"I can't let you do that," he said.

"Move," I growled, my teeth growing to fill my mouth. "Or do I have to remind you why our kinds don't get along?"

"Okay," Stiles said, "why don't we all just calm down, here. Okay? I'm sure there's a way we can all get along without the teeth and the claws and all that."

I ignored him, my eyes glowing green. "You can't keep me here!"

Scott straightened, getting out of his defensive stance. "You're right."

"Scott?" Stiles questioned. "What are you doing?"

He looked at him. "She's right, Stiles."

"Yeah, but, Scott, we can't just let her walk away. Not after all that we've been through together." He glanced at me and then looked back at Scott. "I mean…it's Kit."

He shook his head, a look of defeat resting on his face. "Not our Kit."

I straightened, retracting my teeth and letting my eyes return to normal. What they were saying was drawing my interest. These boys meant what they were saying. "What are you talking about?" The boys shared a glance. I crossed my arms. "Tell me, or I'm kicking both your butts."

Scott looked at me. "It's kind of hard to explain."

"Try me."

Stiles sighed. "Where do you want us to start?"

"Tell me how I got here." I gestured at my clothes, "And, whose clothes are these?"

"They're yours. A friend of ours, Allison, went to your house and got them."

"I have a house? Wait. Why did I need clothes?"

"When we found you, you were," Scott paused, seeming uncomfortable. "Well, naked."

"And where was I?" I asked. The naked thing didn't bother me, I was used to it. You had to be if you were a shape shifter. Nothing was secret.

"In the woods; just outside of town."

"How did I get there?"

"We don't know."

"You don't know?"

"That's the complicated part," Stiles said.

"Well, un-complicate it."

They shared another glance. Then Scott spoke, "Do you know what a Kirin is?" I nodded, unsure what that had to do with anything. "Well…you were it, you were the Kirin."

"And then," Stiles said, "we had to ritually sacrifice ourselves to save our parents, and when we did that, the Nemeton came back on."

Scott nodded. "And it was taking it's powers back from you."

"We think."

"And then you were fighting Tobias-"

"Your ex fiancé, by the way."

"-And you got hurt pretty badly. So, Sam gave up being an Alpha to heal you. And then your body vanished."

Stiles stepped in again, "Sam is your father's adoptive son."

"We've been looking for you for the last month," Scott continued. "It wasn't until last night that we found you." They both waited for me to say something.

"Well…?"

"That…" I said. "That was un-complicating it?" I looked at both of them. "Are you kidding me? You expect me to believe you?"

"It's the truth," Scott said.

"Yeah, your truth."

"We're your friends, Kit," Stiles said, then he quickly corrected himself, "Ann."

"Yeah, we were all like a pack," Scott added.

"A pack? Why would I need a pack when I have people back home?"

"I don't know. We didn't even know about those people."

"And who is 'we'? How many were there?"

"Uh, let's see." Stiles held up his fingers to count on them. "There was Scott and I, Lydia, Allison, your niece, Isaac, and Derek, your…boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" I questioned. "I don't think so. I also don't have a niece."

"Yeah, well that's even more complicated."

I sighed and rubbed my temples. I had a killer head ache. I huffed and then looked back at them. "Just answer one simple question." Both boys perked up, clearly happy to jump at a chance to answer. "Why should I believe anything you say, when everything you're telling me goes against everything I know to be true?"

Stiles retracted, clearly not even going to try to answer. Scott thought about it. He shrugged. "Let me ask you a question. Why would we lie to you?"

I sighed, grumbling to myself. He was right. As far as I could tell, neither boy had a reason to lie to me. But then again, I don't know them. And I'm talking to an Alpha. That right there tells me this is some kind of lie. I put my hands on my hips, studying both of them. They waited eagerly for me to speak.

"Okay," I said. "I'm giving you twenty four hours to prove to me what you're saying is true." Stiles started rejoicing, so I held up a finger to stop him, "But…if I don't believe you, I don't care what I have to do, I'll be leaving Beacon Hills and never returning."

Their expressions grew serious. Scott nodded. "Okay." He glanced at Stiles and then back at me. "Then I guess we better get started."