I looked at the listings and pursed my lips at the prices. Sure, the prize money had been nice after winning the last fight, but it still wasn’t an unlimited amount of wealth. Going out with Matthew felt like we’d picked up where we left off. After marking him, I’d told him I wanted us to move in together. Matthew wanted something sensible and I agreed with him. As I browsed the houses, I found a few that held my attention. Modest, not too small, and affordable. A place where a growing family could be comfortable.

“I can’t believe you’re actually moving out,” Niko said with a shake of his head. “I thought you’d be crashing on our couch forever.”

“I told you from the start I wouldn’t be here forever. Who wants to live with you two when I can live with my boyfriend?”

He scoffed. “Thanks a lot. Nice to know you were just using us.”

Mason popped in from the kitchen and threw his towel at Niko. “Why are you screwing with him? Let him enjoy his boyfriend’s company.”

I grinned. “At least one of you thinks straight. Besides, I’m sure you’ll both be the same way before long. We’re getting older, time to start settling down.”

Niko puffed out his chest. “I’m never settling down. I’ll live with Mason forever and keep doing whatever I want.”

I rolled my eyes. “Sure, whatever you say, tough guy.”

Niko’s face changed a bit and I watched him bite his lip, but he didn’t say anything more. I wondered what was going through his head. He caught me staring at him, and he seemed to wall up emotionally, busying himself in the kitchen taking over the cleaning from Mason.

“What’s going on with him?” I asked Mason.

“I have no idea, but he’s been acting weird,” he grinned. “I think he’s seeing someone.”

“Who the hell would want to be driven crazy by him?”

Mason scoffed. “Ask yourself the same question! You’re not exactly the easiest to get along with you know.”

I pretended I had no idea what he was talking about. “I’m going to see this house, so I’ll be back later.”

“Good luck!”

I headed out to the address on the listing. Matthew didn’t know about this one, though I’d shown him the other places. With him being at work, I wanted to check it out myself, see if it was worth mentioning. What I found was a neat little house with a black iron gate that looked like it was plucked out of the pages of a story.

“You must be John!”

I turned and smiled at the slender woman in the black suit walking up the stone path and holding a hand out to me. She had a bright smile, one I trusted right away. I took her hand and gave it a shake.

“That’s me.”

“Madeline,” she responded. “Should we go in? I can show you around.”

“That sounds good.”

I followed her up the steps as she unlocked the house and led us inside. As we walked in, the sun danced through the windows and played on the shiny wooden floors. I could smell the familiar aroma of freshly painted walls as Madeline closed the door behind us and let out a sigh.

“Isn’t it amazing?” she breathed. “There are three bedrooms upstairs and down here there’s a study, a kitchen, the living room and a family room. It has a lot of space you’d never expect.”

I followed behind her as she described the house in detail. I could tell she’d been there before and knew it by heart. Even I had to admit that it was kind of perfect. It even had a fenced in backyard where I could see our kids playing someday. Along with the fact that it was a bit out of the way, tucked into the trees, I knew our children could shift and grow the way they were meant to. How could I possibly say no?

Before I knew it, I was putting in an offer for the house. I only hoped Matthew would be as happy about it as I was. Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait long before I could show it to him.

A few days later we went and looked at it together. The real estate agent was nice enough to show it again so Matthew could see it. As soon as he was off work, I drove him to the tidy brick house and watched him anxiously the whole time. He didn’t say a word as he walked up to it, and explored the inside. I started getting nervous, thinking he hated it.

“So, what do you think?” I asked nervously.

Matthew turned and wrapped his arms around me tightly. “It’s amazing! Look at this place.”

I watched him take off to explore more of the house. He seemed happy, so I was happy. When he popped up again, he wrapped his arms around mine and nuzzled against my arm. All I could do was laugh.

“It’s so big though,” Matthew said finally. “What are we going to do with all this extra space?”

“We’ll use one as a guest room and I’m not sure about the other yet, but I thought it would be nice to have. You know, in case we decide to have kids someday.”

I watched Matthew’s face light up. “Are you serious? You want to have kids someday?”

“Far off in the future!” I added quickly. “Though since we’re buying the house I figured it would be a good idea. For now, we can have friends over, have parties and bonfires, really enjoy it.”

Matt nodded. “I like the way you think.”

I couldn’t help but smile at how excited he was. Things were finally going well, and it was all I could ask for. Since I had some down time after the fight, I let my body recover from being sore before we began moving our things into our new home. Matthew checked out our room. It was the biggest one of course with two huge closets and a window seat where he could read when it was light out. It was perfect.

“Where do you want us to put all your stuff?” Niko called from downstairs.

“I’m coming,” I kissed Matt’s cheek as he unpacked a box slowly and went down to help my friends. They seemed to be struggling under the weight of my work out equipment that would occupy the study.

“You guys need to work out with some of this stuff, seriously. How can you struggle to move this?”

“Don’t start,” Mason warned. “We don’t have to be helping you with this.”

“I was just kidding! Come on, I’ll help.”

It didn’t take long for us to get settled in before life in the new house began to feel normal. Matt and I spent every minute we could together when he wasn’t working, and I wasn’t training. It felt familiar; watching movies, entertaining our friends, falling into bed together at the end of the day. It felt right.

There was the added benefit of our friends being able to shift in our backyard without being seen. Whenever I came home, I expected to see at least one of them covered in fur and panting in the sun, rolling in the dirt. I understood they didn’t have the same freedom, being in the city, but it drove me a bit crazy.

“Does it have to be every day?”

“They’re your friends,” Matthew countered. “Tell them to take a break.”

“It’s hard to do that when they gave me a place to stay and all. I feel like an asshole.”

“You are an asshole.”

“Thanks for that.”

Matthew laughed as he walked over and wrapped his arms around my waist. I pretended to ignore him, drying the dishes and putting them into the cabinet as he nuzzled against my back. After a while, he started whining like a puppy, trying to get my attention.

“Stop it,” I scolded.

“Are you mad?”

I sighed. “You know I’m not.”

“Good, then I’ll tell all of them to tone it down a bit. I know they like hanging out here, but you’re right, we need some space of our own too.”

“You really like messing with me, huh? Come here.”

“No!”

I watched Matt squeal and take off through the house. He knew I’d chase him and when I pinned him down he’d be in real trouble. Wiping my hands off, I couldn’t help the smile on my face. I tossed the towel to the side before I heard our bedroom door closing quietly as if Matt was trying to hide without me knowing what he was doing.

“That won’t help you!”

I took off up the stairs feeling lighter than I’d felt in years. Being with Matthew was like being completely free. I took the stairs two at a time but when I got to our bedroom door I turned the handle and found it locked. I rolled my eyes.

“Fine, I’ll go back downstairs then.”

I walked back down the stairs before I shifted and slowly crept my way back up. After a minute, I heard the door unlock and click open, and Matt’s head popped out of the doorway. As soon as he opened it all the way, I charged into the room. He shrieked as I knocked him over and jumped on top of him. I barked at him as he laughed and tried to get away.

As soon as he started shifting, I bit and nipped at his limbs until he had no choice but to lay still and behave. I shifted back, grinning on top of him as he stuck his tongue out at me. I could see the smile he was trying to hide.

“That’s so unfair. You can’t not let me shift.”

“I just did.”

“You’re such a jerk.”

“And you still love me.”

Matthew grinned. “I do. Now, shut up and let me up.”

“Say please.”

“Never.”

I leaned down and nipped at his neck, my teeth dragging over his mark. His stubbornness melted away as he squirmed and tried to suppress a moan, but I knew it was just beneath the surface. As soon as a moan slipped free, I knew I’d won.

“Please?”

“Please what?”

“Please let me up.”

I leaned back and grinned down at him. His face was all red, slight panting noises still escaping his lips. As I looked at him, my heart sped up in my chest. I wanted to marry him. The thought came over me just like that. I wanted to be with Matt for the rest of my life.

“What?” he asked, tilting his head.

“Nothing. I was thinking about how cute you are.”

He pushed a hand into my chest. “Don’t start.”

“You are the cutest, hottest, sexiest…”

“I swear, John,” he laughed as I attacked his neck. “I’m going to get pissed at you.”

“Get pissed baby,” I nipped his ear. “It’ll be more fun that way.”

I heard him sigh before he reached up and wrapped his arms around my neck. A grin slipped onto my lips. Being with Matthew was perfect. I couldn’t imagine life without him.