Maia was on the phone with contractors as Derek talked to their newly acquired realtor- one they had contacted not an hour before about buying the expensive mansion, standing at the gate.
"We want to move as soon as humanly possible," he said seriously, pulling out his checkbook and a pen. "Today would be best."
The realtor looked at Derek suspiciously, swallowing, "I mean, you could move in right now- the owners have been gone for weeks. But are you sure sir? I mean you haven't even seen the inside of the property yet-" The Alpha turned his eyes on the much shorter, fatter man and chuckled in a threatening manner, waving his hand towards Maia. "Well, I'm not in the habit of denying my wife anything she wants and she has decided that she wants this house. Here's the check- it should clear by the end of the day and the keys, please."
Derek opened the gate and went back to the car to pull up the drive, looking back at his Beta who was ducking down in the seat.
"Welcome home, pup."
Maia met them in the house and the pack promptly started work when the confused realtor had finally left, going through and demolitioning various rooms, pulling down the walls, ripping up carpet and breaking whatever was necessary, wherever it was needed. Soon the contractors arrived, seeming hurried and rushed as they set up- but whatever was happening at the mansion was worth the payout Maia had promise them, which was almost double their usual wages.
"Isaac, I want you to go to the attic and stay there. Take Derek's laptop with you and be quiet. Can't let them know we're harboring a murderous maniac," Maia said with a grin as her mate went to go greet the men working on the house, standing in the upstairs window. The younger wolf sighed as he stood behind her, his arms around her waist and his head on her shoulder. "I miss Erica. And its weird because when she really came into the pack, at first I hated her- mostly because you and Derek were showing her attention that I felt should be focused on me. But then I looked at her and realized, 'hey, you're mine too.' And then it started being when she would leave wherever we were together, it didn't feel the same," he murmured in reply, kissing her cheek and moving to do as she asked. The Alpha female smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear, watching him, "You have no idea how much I would just like the four of us to be around each other. All day, every single day. But fortunately for the populace of the world- and unfortunately for us- we can't raise hell like that. Its all about appearances Isaac and we must appear to be normal in every way so as not to bring unwanted attention to ourselves."
"Like not being a fugitive," Isaac asked, opening the door in Maia and Derek's room to head up to the attic.
She smiled wryly and started down the stairs, taking on the task of being a hostess. "Such a smartass."
Derek was dressed in a pair of cargo shorts and a tank top, covered in sweat and looking every bit the prey Maia just wanted to rip into. He carried a bag of cement on each shoulder as if it was nothing, smiling at her and turning to the construction crew. "And this is the lady of the house, my wife Maia Hale. She will probably be up your ass all day but I doubt any of you will have a problem with that." Maia greeted the men, allowing them to take in her crop top that bared her stomach and the bottom of her breasts, her shorts cut high on her thighs. "Well thank you fellas for coming out as soon as you could and helping us get this place together," she said, looking up at the house proudly. One of the men nodded and started cutting wood beams, keeping one eye on her, "We're glad to be of service ma'am. Seems like you and your old man have got your work cut out for you."
"I know- this place is huge," Maia agreed, moving to start bringing the carpet from where it was beside the door. "But there's only a few things that need to be addressed and we got started on the little things earlier, doing as much as we could before you guys came along. Its going to be stunning when I get through with it- my kids are going to love it here."
"Mr. Hale did say something about your son and daughter. This house'll be great for two little ones; I'm surprised that someone finally bought the house in this market," the man said, relatively impressed. He took in the curve of her backside as she went to work, averting his eyes as soon as Derek had made his reappearance.
He did know why, but he knew that he did not want to piss off the man of the house.
The Alpha leaned against the wall beside where Maia stood, looking down at her. "You want me to get started on the work in the 'family room' or would you like to do it? The chain fixtures and everything we need are already down there, ready to be set in stone." She stood and left him to work, going down to the room she and Derek had created especially for the pack. One of the men turned to her, stirring concrete, "Mr. Hale said that this room is supposed to have steel mounts on the wall?" Maia smiled and picked up the completed and indeniably heavy rigging they had had for Isaac's first moon, ignoring the other fixtures as she turned to the men in front of her. "Have you seen the size of my husband? He may not be a bodybuilder, but he's brawny and he has the strength of an animal. It gets hard to chain a beast like that up- do me a favor and make sure the mounts can't be ripped out of the wall. That would not be good."
Maia smiled at the faces of the men and bent down to take a free fixture from the floor, holding it out to them.
"Now lets get started boys."
By the end of the day, the house was physically complete by the work of the Alpha pair and their small army of hired hands. Everything was smooth and leveled, walls just waiting to be covered in paint or paper and needing fixtures and fittings, floors needing to be mopped and shined. Erica had come home in the middle of the work, pulling up in Maia's car and stepping out in a scandalous outfit, immediately throwing the keys to Maia. "Hey Erica. How was school honey," the Alpha asked, several men looking at the newcomer. The younger girl rolled her eyes and disappeared into the house, calling out to her smartly, "It was fine mother!"
She looked at the perplexed working men and smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear.
"Cute kid, huh?"
Maia and Derek sent off the workers when their use had ended, knowing that the rest of the house work would fall on them but ready to tackle the projects as they came. They stood arm in arm, tired but glad, turning to stare up at their new home.
"We built something here today. We're not just going through the motions with this, are we," Derek asked, looking down at his wife. She smirked and nodded, knowing exactly what he was getting at. "Yes Derek- this is the start of a whole new chapter in our lives. Me and you and Erica and Isaac and soon…"
"Soon Maia," he said, kissing her temple as her voice drifted off. "Soon."
"Remember what I told you Erica."
Maia dropped her off at school, sighing as she watched her leave. Isaac had been right- when the four of them weren't together, it didn't feel good. There was almost a sense of unease and longing she had never really paid attention to, like a heavy weight on her chest. But it was a necessary part of life and they had to do what was needed to keep suspicions and rumors at bay- and those were things that Maia and Derek were accustomed to.
She pulled away from the curb, going to meet Derek at the furniture store.
They bought everything to furnish the house to their liking- and that of their pack mates, Isaac and Erica both making a list of what they wanted in their respective rooms. Everything was to be delivered over the next three days, and both were confident the house would be ready in time enough for the housewarming.
Erica waited to make her move until lunch, going in and sitting down at a table in the corner. She began to absentmindedly pretend to text on her phone, her sense of sight being rendered almost useless by that of smell. He was not ten feet away, coming up on her right shoulder- and he was eating a bag of Doritos as usual…
"Hey, are you lost?"
She looked up into the face of Marcus Boyd, smiling as if she had no idea. "This is my seat," he continued, Erica waving her hand towards the other side of the booth.
"I hope you won't mind me sitting here. I mean, I've watched you sit alone at lunch every day and thought that maybe I could join you finally?" Erica smiled at him and Boyd was instantly suspicious- he was a loner and nobody, much less a white girl acting unusually friendly, thought of him. "What do you want Erica?" He watched as she opened up her purse and held out a small white envelope, waiting for him to take it. "Its nothing bad, just an invitation. My family and I moved recently and we're having a housewarming this weekend. They told me to invite my friends, but I don't really have any and I was just wondering- look Boyd, its nothing bad. I swear."
"And you just want me to come to a party?"
Erica smiled at him, tucking her hair behind her ear, "I just want you to come to a party. Who knows, maybe we'll become friends… or something more."
And with that she stood, pulling her purse over her shoulder and walking away, setting their plan into motion.
"Definitely something more, brother."