A/N: Sorry, very stressful week - but here is the next chapter, hopes everyone reading is still enjoying it and keeping up despite the long breaks. Currently working on chapter 21 which might or might not introduce Derek, (depending on how long it gets I might need to split it up) but also on a sequel to the Peter/Stiles story - just with Peter/Lydia ... in case anyone is interested, I hope I'll have that up this month.

Weregrrrl13 I hope I'm not making this too complicated but I love slowly introducing what is going on and also giving little hints. Which I guess made more sense if I posted it all at once ... In my head canon you need a) to be bitten by the alpha of the pack and b) you need to build a close connection with the alpha. That way the emissary is here not really pack in terms of "it would feel like losing a limb" but the again, so far I don't think we have seen that kind of pack bound.

The only other interruption for the afternoon was a handyman coming by. Mrs. Allen had noticed her broken door lock and made an appointment for the next morning but the man had finished another job in the neighbourhood and had found time that afternoon. The worst part were his jokes about a lover's quarrel when wondering what happened to the door.

"Something like that," Lydia commented.

She had re-dressed to something less practical but was still barefoot. Sitting on her bed she was having another look at her notebook. She decided to write down the vision and other elements about the dreams. The notebook began to look more and more like the manual of crazy person with all the eyes she had drawn into it. At least it gave her the idea to maybe ask Yoon about the symbolism of eyes, as well as how she knew Peter.

When the repairs were done, she slipped into some pumps and led the handyman to the front door. It was dark already and she found herself staring across the lawn. Some cars were parking nearby and most of them seemed familiar. There was no sign of a certain jeep, not that she believed he would park it in sight.

"Maybe you should stay inside," Aiden suggested.

Lydia turned in disbelief. "You mean in case Peter is sitting out there with a sniper rifle?"

"That's a pretty stupid suggestion - I just thought you wanted to head out …"

"Not in those shoes," with that she closed the front door.

"Have you thought about what to do tonight? Should I go get another movie? Maybe one that you like more, like The Notebook or something?"

"Oh gosh no, not that one." It showed just how badly they felt if Aiden volunteered getting that movie. Given that the last time she had sent someone to fetch that movie, someone did get killed she had sworn of it. In hindsight, it had not been that good anyway. It was a reminder how her parents liked to handle it when she was freaking out: supply her with medication that calmed her down. Then, in addition, sessions with a councillor Lydia did not feel like she could open up to.

She could only hope that things would blown over by the time her parents came back. Otherwise she might have to sneak Aiden in and then it would be hard to argue or stick him in the guest room.

"I don't know - how about you do something you like, I'll be reading a book …" she suggested and then something else occurred to her. "Ethan could also go and see if Danny has time. There's no need to hover."

"If Peter really has Deucalion's powers - we'll only be able to fight him off together."

Ethan agreed from his place on the couch. "I'd really like to invite Danny over - but it is just too dangerous. I don't want him to get dragged into this."

A reasoning that her friends had applied to her as well. Although unlike Danny she had been directly involved. Shrugging she had to agree with that. "I just don't feel like talking, so do what you want - I'll be up in my room."

Maybe she was not fair to them, since they were willing to look out for her but Lydia was not up to getting looked at the way they kept doing it. It was like they were watching every step of hers as if was going to fall any second. The thing was she didn't even feel like she needed them. Peter had already performed his ritual. It was her who wanted answers from him. If anything their latent aggression towards him was getting in the way of that. Not that she did not want them around, she just hoped they would tone it down a notch.

"You know, we thought maybe you should talk with Scott's mom about it."

Ethan nodded. "She could check you out and maybe give better advice than your friend?"

Lydia rolled her eyes. She could almost not believe that they brought it up within five minutes of her being around them. "Guys, a) I'm fine, b) I doubt she can give me the advice I need and c) again, I'm doing fine. Maybe you'll need some therapy - that is if Mrs. Morrell will even see you, given you tried to kill her last year."

That at least got them to look embarrassed for a moment, which she used to hurry upstairs. Yet, Aiden needed to follow her to tell her that if she needed anything, she could just tell him. All she wanted was some time alone and she told him that in no uncertain terms. Once she got to her room, she took advantage right away of her lock being repaired and closed the door. Leaning against it, she could tell that he was standing outside.

"We're just worried. It can't be good if you act like everything is fine after something so terrible happened to you."

Lydia took a step back from the door as she stared through the wood, it was pure anger and frustration that got her to yell through the door at him. "Actually, it was the best sex I've ever had!"

She heard a thud against the door - not hard enough to break the lock again but she saw the door vibrate from it. While she knew she would regret her comment, Lydia had not been prepared for how soon that would be the case. She had barely turned away from the door when she felt a hand closing over her mouth.

With her surprised gasp muffled, she found herself face to face with Peter. From the glowing smile on his face there was no doubt that he had heard her. Reaching with one hand around her, he used the remote to turn on the music on her stereo. After a moment he let go off her but she was still too mortified to say anything at all.

"Don't worry, if we keep it down, they won't hear anything. Especially not with his heart pumping like that." His tone seemed almost casual but she heard the amusement.

Even though he had not said anything about her comment, Lydia had the feeling he would. She kept thinking about saying that she had not meant it, that it had been to get a rise out of Aiden for being so annoying. But Lydia knew it would not be very convincing and given how long she had waited already just staring back at Peter it would only make her seem more vulnerable.

"Have you ever heard of door bells?" she finally managed to say.

"As much as I'd love to see their faces when they open the door and I'm standing there - I don't think it be a particularly wise move."

Lydia felt like pointing out that he didn't use the doorbell the night before last either but she didn't really want to bring up the bottle incident.

"Rough day?" he eventually asked.

"That would be an understatement," Lydia said and finally managed to walk past him. For a brief moment she considered sitting down in front of her computer but then kicked off her shoes and sat on the bed. "After the last killing everyone is even more convinced that you're behind it all. Given that they also know what happened at the cabin, I doubt that's going to change."

Peter leaned on the chair in front of her desk. "I could say that by focusing on me they are wasting precious time better spent on the real killers." He laughed a bit, clearly trying to keep his voice down. "The thing is, we both know that they are not going to find anything by patrolling the woods at night. So it hardly matters what they are doing. I just hope they'll be doing a better job protecting you when it will matter."

Nobody had pegged the chances of finding anything during the patrols as particularly high. Maybe that was why focusing on Peter as the suspect was so much easier for them. It was almost disheartening how little he seemed to care about being their number one suspect. Just like it was disheartening that he seemed to enjoy frightening her.

"What do you mean, 'when it will matter'?"

Letting go of the chair he circled around to the other side of her bed. "Very simple, if anyone is going to find out what is doing these killings, it will be you. It clearly tried to block you from seeing it, when you went on the offense it worked it's way towards killing you and once it realises it cannot - it will come after you outside your dreams."

Realising that she was clutching her pillow, Lydia tried to appear less anxious. "Come after me how?" she asked as he sat down on the edge of her bed.

"Hard to say without knowing what it is capable off - but given that it has doubtlessly killed some of those people …" Peter took her hand, looking at her bruised wrist. "You obviously managed to avoid it last night."

Her heart was beating faster but it certainly was not because she was afraid. Lydia knew that Peter was not going to harm her. Just as she knew that he was not involved in the killings either. As much as her friends had made her question how much of that was him influencing her, she knew that she had to trust herself. If Peter had gotten that far into her head, then nothing of what she dreamt or saw could possibly matter. So she had to believe in herself and her new banshee powers. Those told her that whatever haunted her dreams these days was what actually killed people, because it felt so different. Since Peter clearly wanted her to find it and she did want the same, there was no reason to harm her. It was actually quite the opposite.

"Instead I ran into another dream …" she began and when he raised a curious eyebrow, Lydia told him everything about the other dream that lead to her knowing where the body was and the vision she had at the cemetery. When she started she also took her hand back, not too fast and not too slow. Lydia did not want him to know how much actual contact made her feel flustered.

Talking it over with him was actually the most helpful conversation she had all day, as he was able to offer theories why this other dream suddenly came when it hadn't before. Peter also seemed to stop advancing on her and remained on his end of the bed, while she sat with her pillows as a shield where her head usually rested.

"Whatever is doing the weekly murders is clearly not as powerful. By the time those started, the other entity was already in town and probably actively blocking you. It might be that by steering away from it last night - you opened yourself to this death."

"This time I saw the body in my dream," she began explaining how she wondered if that's how she found the other bodies, by dreaming about the location but not remembering it. That maybe she dreamt about the other people Jennifer killed and just did not find the bodies because she did not recognise the locations.

"And you worry it will only get worse the better you get at this .." Peter recognized her worries right away. "In theory you should be able to dream the kill itself before it happens. I know, not a very pleasant prospect - but you can handle it."

Lydia laughed nervously. "I'm not so sure about that."

"Try seeing it this way - in the future, if something shows up, you will be able to identify it that much faster and we can stop it."

It was actually a good point but it did not make her feel any less worse about the thought that these brutal murders might play out in her dreams in high definition. Then there was the additional matter of the vision. "What I still don't get is why I had that vision."

"I have no idea, you're sure it wasn't the thing from the dream?" Seeing her nod, he continued. "I think it would be best if you get Stiles to do some research on the cemetery and the mausoleum in question. If there's anything to be found, I'm sure he'll discover it."

Lydia realised he really had no problem using them to get to the bottom of this. Although it might be debatable if one could really speak about using when the common goal was to stop the killings. "Why are you so interested in getting this to stop?"

"You mean since I am such a self-invested person …" he replied. "Putting an end to these killings is actually in my best interest. This is my home town - people getting ripped apart by animal-like creatures will bring Beacon Hills to the attention of the wrong people."

That sounded about right, although she wondered what else he was planning. Then again there was nothing to prove that the ritual and the killings weren't connected. It might just be that Peter had made his grab for power and was now cleaning his own backyard before he had a bunch of hunters along with the FBI on his track.

"So how about finding out more about that thing in the crypt dream?"

"Return tomorrow around noon to Yoon - she said she has some sort of crystal that should absorb whatever negative energy that thing throws at you," Peter told her.

"A crystal?" That sounded somewhat silly but given that Yoon was not a kidder, that her book had actually been helpful, Lydia was inclined to give it a chance. "How do you know her anyway?"

"I was looking for a book and much to my surprise that lead me to her store," Peter shrugged and it occurred to Lydia that she had found Yoon in much the same way. "Apart from all the fake new age merchandise, she actually has the real thing. As you might have noticed."

Peter looked over at the book Yoon had given her and Lydia had an idea.

"Did you tell her to give me the book?"

"No, I hadn't counted on you going to her store, given the somewhat phony front," Peter said and oddly enough she believed him. It had been a pretty unlikely step for her but very real magic interrupting her normal life had left her desperate. The need for answers made her willing to do strange things. Peter continued to explain. "Just as I didn't expect you to make progress that fast. But that's a good thing, apart from it putting you in danger of course."

"Yes, of course, I wouldn't be much use if I was dead," she said coldly.

He gave her chastising look. "Come on, you don't think I'm just looking out for you because I want to use your powers?" Lying down with his head next to her thighs, he looked up at her. "Don't you think we generally make a great team? Think about all that we've already accomplished. We clearly have the most fantastic sex with each other ..:"

There it was, only that by this point in their talk Lydia felt a total sense of disbelief. There was this casualness with which he brought it up, that made her groan and roll her eyes. Before he went on she dropped her pillow on his head and scooted off her bed. As she looked back, he was hugging the pillow and lounging on her covers.

"Not to mention we are both gorgeous and intelligent people, despite having gotten off to a bad start, I think we'd make a very cute couple."

Lydia literally felt her mouth drop open. It was probably the most self-absorbed proposal for a relationship she'd heard since she had dated Jackson. With a sigh it occurred to her that her whole infatuation with Jackson was based on how good they would look together, with both of them having rich parents, the upper-class connection and the knowledge that they both looked damn good in their designer clothing.

"No, thanks, the next time I consider a relationship it won't be with someone who merely thinks I'll make him look better."

"Still bitter about Jackson leaving you?" Clearly a rhetorical question but for some reason she felt like saying something.

"Why would I be? Serves me right for dating someone whose first love was himself." After this whole Kanima thing, Lydia would have thought that he'd at least bother to skype or e-mail with her. Since he was not able have sex with her anymore, Jackson obviously saw no need to bother. It was not like he hadn't dropped her before when he was busy trying to get the bite. It was so infuriating to think about that.

"A person who loves you above all else …" Peter cocked his head and stared up at the ceiling. "As if you really want that. You can barely handle those two downstairs hovering about you."

Lydia could not quite follow that line of thought. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Very simple, those types end up being incredibly overprotective. While you certainly need someone to protect you from all the things no doubt will come at you - you don't want someone who seeks to protect you from yourself. I know you are way stronger than any of your friends give you credit for."

It was just like him to casually threaten her with the prospect of a future filled with more supernatural threats. He was also right about her getting fed up with everyone acting like she was super traumatized and about to fall apart any moment. Lydia was not about to let him get away with acting like her friends purposefully ignored her being able to deal with all of this.

"That's because they have no idea what you put me through last year."

He nodded. "I suppose that's a fair point, then again, they have not exactly cared to find out."

Lydia shook her head when she realised what he tried to accomplish. As if she would really let him alienate her from her friends by pointing out that he knew more about her ability to deal with crap than them. She had a hard time believing he thought she was going to fall for this. So instead of arguing that her friends did care but probably did not feel like bringing up that clearly difficult time for her.

"It's not working, I'm not going to hold it against them, that they didn't feel like bringing it up again."

As she said it, Lydia realised that she was a tiny bit jilted by the fact that they never really had asked what had possessed her to do the resurrection ritual in the first place. That Peter made her do it somehow seemed to be enough for them. Just as they had barely paid any attention to any freak outs she had during that time. Sure they had been there trying to calm her down but none of them had even bothered to ask her what really was going on with her.

Then after the whole kanima incident was over, it was like between summer break and Jackson leaving there was nothing to tell except filling her in a bit about all the werewolfy things she had missed. Even that had happened at a time when Allison was very short lipped about anything supernatural and especially things related to Scott. If their little circle had one issue, it certainly was communication. Still, she was not going to let that get between them.

"Sure, they're your friends and they only got your best interests at heart."

Lydia was not sure if he was mocking them or if he was serious. Either way, he was not gaining any points with her. "As opposed to you only having your own best interests at heart."

A sigh escaped him. "Why does everyone act as if that is such a terrible thing? A pack needs a strong alpha, you know how Derek's approach worked: when he was not busy moping in solitude he tried to fix problems he made by selflessly putting his life in danger. Had he followed my evil self-centered advice, far less people would have died."

They all knew that Derek had not done the best job after he became the alpha, that was the one thing everyone kept pointing out to her. Given that Erica and Boyd were both dead, because of him turning them and not being able to keep them together as a pack, it was hard to deny but she had a hard time believing that just because Derek had made mistakes that meant Peter's approach was the better one.

"He came back for me when Jennifer came after me."

"True. He also sent his pack out to kill you. Based on really flimsy evidence," Peter said clearly pleased with his argument.

It was really something that was hard to argue with. Derek always seemed to lose in comparison, for every good thing one could point out three things he messed up.

Lydia instead pointed out something else. "Let's not forgot who almost did kill me. Which incidentally was also the reason why Derek thought I was the kanima in the first place."

"Ah, yeah - you got me there." For a moment it seemed that was indeed the case but then sat up and added. "Of course, I hadn't actually tried to kill you. I just needed to get Stiles to see things my way."

If he thought that this was going to help his case, Lydia was determined to show that he was wrong. Of course she knew that this had not been about her in the beginning. That almost made it worse, it just showed how thoughtlessly he did treat people. At least she began to realise what this all was about, he did try to flatter her, get her to see her friends in a negative light and he tried to play the 'I'm-really-not-that-bad-in-comparison'-card.

"Just let me make one thing clear: I might accept your help to figure out who is actually behind these killings but apart from that I don't want anything to do with you."

Lydia felt increasingly pleased with her comeback, she had been sincere and by the way he kept looking at her, he sensed that as well. It was like his efforts had the exact opposite effect on her. It was not that some of the things he said didn't have some allure to them or rang true - it was mostly him believing that he could use this tactics on her.

"Hmm," he said, "if that's how you feel."

The flashing light of a car pulling up on their driveway caught her attention and in a split second Peter was standing beside her. "Seems someone is awfully worried about you."

"They do have good reason to be."

"You just have to hope that when it comes after you, they are doing a better job than they are doing now," he said swerving a bit too close to her.

"So is that a suggestion to not ban Aiden to the guest room tonight?" Lydia said grinning as she felt a tinge of excitement rushing over her. While she was convinced that his earlier come on had just been to flatter her, she bet it still rubbed him the wrong way. First the open rejection and then her basically flaunting the fact that Aiden was the one actual having her.

Instead of saying anything Peter suddenly seemed distracted by something else. "Interesting."

The smile on his face gave her the feeling that whatever it was, it was not anything she would actually like. "What is it?"

"Seems Scott and Stiles are not the only ones coming to inquire after how you are doing."

Lydia realised he would not be so pleased if whoever it was for some reason wasn't a really good comeuppance for her attempts at teasing. Thinking about who the worst possible person to come by could be, seemed to lead to only one answer. "Deucalion."

Peter nodded once and leaned down to whisper in her ear: "I always said you were incredibly smart."

"You really didn't kill him."

It seemed kind of redundant to mention it but between him being so close and Deucalion looming around the house, it was like anxiety crept back over her.

"I surprise myself sometimes," Peter replied. "Given that Derek and Scott wanted him alive for some inexplicable reason and that I'm trying to cut down on the whole killing thing, I figured I'd let him live."

The whole statement was like he was daring her to suggest that this was not the right course. While Lydia would have prefered never to have to come across Deucalion again, she was not about to. At the same time, she wondered why the only werewolf with more bodies on his resume was the one Peter had decided to not kill.

"He's not really here to talk, is he?"

"For his sake it would have been better to stay far away from Beacon Hills." His hand went to her hip before he added: "Don't worry, I won't let him harm you."

Lydia looked up at him, doing her best not let him irritate her. "I think between the twins and Scott I'm covered."

"Have you ever considered that the twins might not be the most reliable line of defence against him? I doubt Scott can scare him out of town … Deucalion knows he has this no kill policy."

"But he would take you seriously?" she somehow doubted that things would be that easy.

Clearly, Peter had his own reason apart from not wanting to alienate Scott or Derek even further. The former leader of the alpha pack was certainly not giving up that easily. Him coming back to town already showed that he wasn't that worried about crossing paths with Peter. Whatever he wanted, he didn't even shy away from showing up with Scott and the Twins around.

"Let's find out," Peter suggested.

Instead of drawing her closer, Lydia realised that he was turning her back towards the door of her room. She knew she could handle the situation, Lydia just preferred to not have to. It was strange that dealing with Peter was the least annoying thing to come out of this. When she unlocked the door, his hand still on the small of her back, she paused a moment.

"You know, we could also just leave," he suddenly suggested.

"I thought you were curious about what he wanted?", Lydia turned to look at him.

Smiling he replied: "I am, I just thought I'd offer."

"How nice of you," Lydia said her voice dripping with sarcasm.

As she opened the door and stepped into the corridor, she wondered if he only offered knowing she would say no or if he hoped she might say yes. While she was not crazy enough to do that, it made sense if they wanted to work together. Here they both had to work around the overprotectiveness of her friends.

Peter stayed back, as she descended down the stairs.