Peter sent the name and the license plate he'd gotten from the hardware store to John to run them for him. It was the only thing he could do about that hunter. After he'd left the store, the man had vanished again, none of Peter's other contacts had seen him since.

Laura being home put his mind on other things but Peter couldn't forget about the hunter for one second. Hunters playing with fire was never a good thing. They had kidnapped and tortured two of his pack before, with Stiles getting caught in the crossfire, Peter didn't want to think about what they were up to now. Did they want to burn them alive?

At least it was the weekend which meant no school and for most of the adults no work either. With Laura home and the impending dinner with Stiles, everybody stayed home anyway. However, Peter made a mental note to remind everybody of the no going out alone rule. He was thinking of Cora here but as far as he knew, she hadn't sneaked out to see her girlfriend again. But with him staying at Stiles' cabin more often than not lately, he couldn't be certain.

Looked like he had to keep his visits at the lake to a minimum. At least for a while. Peter let out a sigh. He didn't like it, but he would not put the safety of his pack in jeopardy just to get it on with Stiles.

In the morning, Peter got an answer from John. The credit card was stolen and so was the car. John had his deputies looking for the car but so far nothing. Which put Peter back to square one. He cursed under his breath but typed a thank you to John.

After a moment he sent another message, asking how Stiles was doing. Stiles hadn't been online since he'd said that he was heading out for dinner with John yesterday and Peter did not expect to hear from him until it was time for dinner but he was worried.

He's nervous but determined to do this, John answered. Just don't ambush him too much

Peter wanted to say that they wouldn't but thinking of how the pack had ambushed Emily the other day and Laura yesterday, he just wrote that he would do his best to keep the wolves at bay but that he didn't promise anything.

Stiles deserves you, John wrote. Whatever that meant.

Peter fled the house after noon when the preparations for dinner started in earnest. Pamela was the drill sergeant who put everybody to work who wasn't smart enough to get out of the house in time.

Peter had no idea what she was planning for dinner but it looked like Pamela wanted to go all out with this. He made it out when they were starting on the dough for four different pies for dessert. They didn't even have four different pies for Thanksgiving.

At first, Peter didn't go far. He wanted to make sure that nobody was in the preserve who didn't belong there but even with circling farther and farther away from the house, he didn't catch a scent he didn't know. This was private property and not open for hikers but unlike Derek's side of the town, no sheriff was keeping an eye out for trespassers here. He should talk to John about this. Maybe he could send over a patrol car a few times a day, just to make sure.

On a whim, Peter did just that. Nancy barely even looked up when he walked into the station and just waved him through.

"Peter?" John looked up from his work when Peter came in. "Did something happen?"

"Not yet but I have a bad feeling about this." He took a seat and told John about the purchase the hunter had made.

"I don't have enough people to cover both sides of the town but I think I can have them focus more on yours," John offered. "There hasn't been somebody out to the lake in quite a while. Except for you and Stiles." He gave Peter a stern look.

"I would appreciate it if I didn't get stopped by one of your deputies when I visit Stiles."

John snorted at that.

"Anyway." He sobered up a second later. "Do you have any clue what these hunters are planning?"

"Not yet." Peter shook his head. "I have the Argents under permanent observation and the whole town is looking for that other hunter. Derek couldn't find him but he spooked Chris and Kate pretty badly. I'm not even sure if they're after us, maybe Derek is their target now. Would fire be effective against him?"

"Honestly, I don't know." John leaned back in his seat. "How would they even get him somewhere where they could use fire on him? I mean he spends most of his time in the lake and he's near water if he goes somewhere else. He would be gone before they could do anything to him. If they're lucky and he doesn't kill them."

Peter nodded, deep in thoughts. He doubted that the Argents knew what Derek was and even knowing wouldn't gain them anything. Peter had been on this for weeks now and he still didn't know if it was possible to keep Derek out or to harm him.

Of course, it was possible that the hunters knew something Peter didn't know but he doubted it. What he knew about the Argents, they were primarily after werewolves anyway.

"They could use Stiles," John mused. "Maybe he should stay under for a while."

"My pack is currently preparing enough food to feed an army and Stiles has been steeling himself for this evening for days now," Peter reminded him. "I would rather not cancel. Not without anything but a bad feeling. I'll make sure that he gets home safely tonight."

They promised to keep each other updated and then Peter left. Since he was in town already, he used the rest of the afternoon to check in with some of his contacts and to drive around remote areas in hope to see that hunter or his car but no such luck.

Rather frustrated and still with that bad feeling in his guts Peter returned home late in the afternoon. He should head inside and change, Talia insisted on nice clothes, an information Peter had texted Stiles so he wouldn't be the one under-dressed, but first, he checked around the house and half a mile into the woods just to make sure that there was still nothing amiss.

When Peter finally entered the house, he tried his best to shake off the thoughts about the hunters. Stiles would be here in half an hour, that was what he should focus on.

The house was humming with too many people, the voices just a murmur with the occasional shout from Deborah for Emily to put on her shoes or from Walter who was asking where the corkscrew was. Peter still had no idea what they were having for dinner but apparently, they would have wine with it. The smell coming from the kitchen was mouthwatering, though. Peter felt his stomach grumble at that alone.

He hurried to get upstairs to freshen up and get dressed.

By the time Peter came back downstairs, his own anxiety had replaced every other worry. His pack was about to meet Stiles, his partner. The person he intended to be with for the foreseeable future. And with any luck beyond that.

About half the pack, mainly the teenagers, already knew Stiles while the adults, except for Talia, had only heard about him. If he were just a bystander Peter would have enjoyed the way the kids were watching the adults to catch their reaction while the adults were trying to appear bored while on the inside they were bursting with curiosity. Peter, however, was not a bystander, he was part of the center of attention.

It almost came as a relief when Stiles' old jeep came up the path and Peter excused himself to greet him outside.

"How many are watching us right now?" Stiles asked under his breath when he got out of the car.

"All of them." Peter didn't even bother with pinpointing heart-beats.

"Just so you know, I have to leave before nine," Stiles said still in that low voice.

"Or Derek will show up?" Peter guessed. "Smart move."

He had to give him kudos for that. Stiles must have been away from the lake for quite a while. Usually, they had until way after midnight before Derek showed up to get him.

"I'd rather not rely on him," Stiles said with a glance at the house. "And I will leave early if I have to."

"You can leave whenever you want." Peter offered his arm. "Milady."

That made Stiles laugh.

"Don't tell me you have your own Buttons."

"No evil dogs around," Peter assured him. "Just us werewolves."

"Don't know what's worse." Stiles took a breath, straightened up, and then he let Peter escort him into the house.

Talia was the one who greeted them at the door while the others kept their distance for now.

"Stiles," she said with a warm smile and this time it was honest. "Welcome."

"Thanks for having me." Stiles tried for a smile and waved awkwardly at the rest of the pack.

"Let me introduce you." With a hand on the small of Stiles' back, Peter led him deeper into the house.

Every werewolf heard Stiles' jack-rabbit heart-beat and smelled the anxiety on him. The human members saw him twitching and fiddling, his eyes darting here and there without looking directly at anybody. It was obvious how much Stiles did not want to be here.

It did two things to Peter. For one, he wanted to put himself between Stiles and his pack, which he kind of did. But on the other hand, he was proud of Stiles. He'd come here, into the den of a werewolf pack, for Peter. Stiles was here because he wanted to be with him.

"You know that bunch." Peter waved over to the teenagers who were watching the spectacle with barely concealed amusement. Isaac looked as if he wanted to have popcorn to go with this.

Peter introduced Stiles to the rest but he was pretty sure that the names were flying right over his head. But with his research on the Hale pack, Stiles most likely knew their names already.

"You're sitting next to me," Emily piped up. "If you want."

"Of course I want to." Stiles took the offer with a breath of relief. "What are we having anyway? Because I'm starving."

That was enough prompting for Emily to tell him in detail what they were having and with which dishes she'd helped.

Pamela went to check on something in the kitchen while the pack spread out in the living room. At least the room was laid out for lots of people so it didn't feel crowded.

Peter and Stiles took a couch with Emily sitting on Stiles' other side. An awkward silence settled over them and Peter was running bets in his head who would succumb first.

It was Laura.

"Sorry, I've been totally out of the loop," she spoke up. "I came home yesterday to the news that Peter is going serious with somebody. How did you two even meet?"

It was mostly a lie, Laura had been suspiciously well informed when Peter had picked her up yesterday and since then the others had filled her in on the rest but Peter was glad for her to break the ice.

"I was minding my own business when he ..." Stiles bumped his shoulder into Peter's. "Tried to dump his trash in my cabin in the middle of the night."

Stiles left out the part with the dead body, he left it at trash, but he made it a fun little story. Peter felt the tension melting out of him while he talked and by the end, Stiles even started with his wild gestures again.

By the time Pamela called them over for dinner, Stiles was not at ease, far from it, but he was not ready to bolt any second either. Peter took it as a win.