Maia was sitting on the floor when Derek and Isaac came into the warehouse, looking up from one of her magazines. She'd been flipping through them ever since the rest of the pack had left, the since of longing growing in her heart- she was going to have a word with her mate.

"I want a house."

Derek pulled off his jacket and laid down at her side, pulling her legs across him comfortingly. Isaac made himself busy with picking up around the warehouse before going to do some pull ups in one of the broken train cars, leaving the couple to themselves. Maia reached up to tuck her curls behind her ears, sighing, "Really. I think we, as a couple and pseudo-parents, should think about putting ourselves up in better accommodations than this fucking hole. It was good for what we needed with getting Isaac out of his daddy's house but now we have Erica, who clearly doesn't like it here, and soon we'll have one more-"

"Speaking of that, I may have found someone," he said, piquing her interests.

"Spill it."

He told her everything he knew about the potential wolf, Maia wanting to go collect him for their pack immediately. Derek talked her out of it, however, trying to pacify her while still being somewhat strategic, "You're right about the house Mai. We have a growing family, for all intents and purposes, and that needs to get handled before we bring another into the pack. So decide which houses you want to look at tonight and we'll do a little breaking and entering, alright?" Maia sighed and stretched out across the pallet, agreeing with him quietly. And then her eyes met Derek's, her fingers reaching out for his. "Babyo you ever feel like we're just going through the motions?"

"Of?"

She chuckled and rested her head on her arms, her hair falling around her in a great cascade. "Being together. I feel like… we've reverted somehow, back to being how we were when we were teenagers. Except with the claws and the blood lust and all the fur and that little thing we do on the full moon-"

"Hey, I was always like that as a teenager," Derek replied teasingly, propping himself up on his elbow.

"Come on, I'm being serious here Derek! All we do is have sex and run around biting people- our marriage, or whatever this shit is, is so far fucked it isn't even funny anymore," Maia said, a full-blown pout on her face. He sighed and scratched his stubble, knowing that what she said was true. "Der, what are we going to do about us?"

They met each other's eyes and Derek reached out to stroke her cheek, "I don't know baby... I just don't know."

Erica and Isaac sat in the back of Maia's Camaro, staring around at some of the most expensive homes in Beacon Hills. The Alpha male looked over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow, seeing how cramped they seemed, even if they didn't complain. "Mai, we have to buy ourselves a minivan to haul the kids around," Derek said, his wife glaring at him- she had made him know when she was pregnant with her son that she'd never drive a fucking minivan or be a soccer mom.

"Or, you could buy me a car," Isaac suggested, seeing Maia's eyes flash in the rearview mirror. "I do have my license, ma."

"And you're a fugitive as well- I'm not taking any chances with you, baby deer."

Maia pulled over on the side of the road and got out, "We have to walk from here."

The pack followed her to a massive, beautiful house, even Derek surprised by the grandeur. The mansion was rich in detail, even from the outside, somehow eerie and calming at the same time. It didn't look like the lavish houses in the rest of the neighborhood, more rustic and older. "Well kids, this is it," Maia said, looking up at the hill. She watched as her husband jimmied the lock on the gate and moved past him, pointing out the symmetrical wings that seemed to wrap around the central building, the turreted roof and the smooth, dark red brick.

"I love this," Erica murmured as she followed after the Alphas, Isaac trailing behind her. He wanted to take it all in- the home he had lived in had been nice, but it was nothing like this. And with his new family, he knew they'd make it look like nothing else. "Come on Isaac. Keep up!"

Maia got to the front door and pulled out her claws, prying the door open with ease. The pack crossed the threshold almost cautiously, as if taking their time would make the moment more precious. Isaac disappeared into the house first, Erica spying the pool through the backyard and making a beeline towards it. Derek and Maia however took their time to look at everything before them, footsteps heavy against the floors. The wood was glossy and polished even underneath the thin layer of dust, stretching from one side of the great foyer to the other, spreading to the huge curved staircase before continuing on into the dining room. Instead of going up, they went down, finding themselves in a long hallway with several doors. "We got a gym. Home theater. Study. And a wine cellar- with some nice Merlot on the racks," Derek said, sniffing the air- it was less work than walking. Maia nodded, looking down at the listing she had found online, "We can knock out the first three, build another 'family room' to chain up the kids when we have to. I think the foundation's sturdy enough to do that, don't you think? I'm keeping the wine cellar, though. That's really not negotiable." He agreed with her, moving to block her way before they could go back upstairs. "I like the house Maia, but…"

"Your dislike of white and light colors has been duly noted Derek. It needs some work, I know… but this is our chance at having our own Hale House. I had been thinking about approaching you on doing renovations on the ruins, but I just think it would be disrespectful. But Derek, its time we get back in this community and make a name for ourselves. And this is the first step in doing that. I want this house," his mate said forcefully, gripping onto his forearm.

It wasn't in him to deny her and Derek nodded, knowing that she was thinking more of standing in position in the hierarchy of the world than she was in their house. He would take care of their growing flock and let Maia take care of the politics- he had no patience for it anyway.

They went back upstairs and without even going to see the rest of the house, called their fledglings, Isaac and Erica reaching them at almost the same time.

"How do you like your new home," Derek asked in a nonchalant manner, his arm around Maia's waist.

Erica immediately got excitedly, her pack mate more inquisitive. Isaac dug his hands into his pockets and looked around the house again, "I hope you don't snap at me for asking, but are you guys like bank robbers or something? Because first it was the expensive cars and shopping sprees, and now this mansion? I don't get it."

"Well, we may have hit a few banks, but that was a long time ago- and mostly for fun: we didn't take much of anything. My dad was a stock broker and he built a fortune in a market which he left to my sister and I. The insurance payouts on my family members who died in the Hale House fire was put in a trust fund and it accumulated. And then when Laura died… needless to say, I have a couple million dollars sitting in a bank account untouched," Derek said, feeling as if he didn't need to keep their financial standing from the pack- it was after all, theirs too now that they were part of the family. His mate spoke next and smiled, "And I'm a trust fund baby as well, so we are definitely well-off."

The pack left the house and spent the whole night packing up what little possessions they owned, Maia, Derek and Isaac planning to move while Erica was at school. "All I'm saying is, I don't want to get stuck with a crap room-" Maia looked at her fledgling evenly, seeing the worry in her eyes, "Erica, we have seven rooms sweetheart. I'll get you a room with a nice view of the pool and I promise, we'll put your brother in the crap room, alright? Don't worry about the move."

"I just want to be with you guys when you do it," Erica replied, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Actually, I just want to be with you guys all the time. It really kind of sucks to be sitting in a classroom all day thinking about… you."

Maia raised an eyebrow and dropped the duffle bag she was holding, looking at Erica.

She had been getting comfortable within the pack and wrapped her arms around Maia's neck, pulling her into a kiss. With all the strength of a man and all the softness of a woman, Erica knew that her Alpha was perfect in ways no ordinary woman could be- and in all honesty, she wasn't interested. Maia hoisted the shorter, smaller woman onto her waist and pressed her against the nearest wall.

Derek was looking for his tennis shoes and knowing that Maia had probably seen them, went to ask her, ending up in Erica's unofficial train car. He was almost caught off-guard seeing them together, leaning against a support pole as he took a moment to watch. The way they looked together made his wolf growl, feeling his pupils contract as his eyes shifted. "Holy shit," Erica said, seeing his face over Maia's shoulder and pulling away from the kiss. Derek cleared his throat and looked away, getting control over himself to put them at ease. "I apologize for interrupting ladies but as much as I would like to watch you have sex, we are on the clock. I need you to finish packing and get some sleep Erica- you got school. And Maia, stop going after the jailbait," he said, walking away with a smirk on his face. The young wolf looked up at the older woman, attempting to catch her breath, "Do I need to worry about my neck?"

"Why would you need to worry about that," Maia asked, confused as she searched her eyes.

"Because your mate came in here eyes ablaze and I've learned over the past week and a half that that's not a good sign," Erica replied, Maia grinning and kissing her again. She let her down then and pulled her hair up into a ponytail, starting to walk away. "You already know Derek has a thing for threesomes, but I think you'll learn that he likes 'em with girls even more."