51. Congratulations!

For her actual birthday, Charlie wanted to go to a water park. So, we grabbed her and Gisela and took them there for a weekend. Dante swears he aged a few years there watching the girls taking the wildest water rides.

Before that weekend trip, Dante built a small treehouse with an attached ladder that leads from the tree Charlie used to secretly sneak out to her room. At least we now know she won't get hurt if she wants to hang out there. Additionally, Annie and I went shopping for her and stocked up on all kinds of art supplies she is into. I think both Dante and I might have gone a bit overboard with everything, but it's her first birthday with us, and for fifteen years no one truly celebrated it.

Ever since she turned sixteen, she has been seeing Silas more regularly. Being a vampire is part of who she is, and I'm glad she is reaching out to this side of her. It looks like Charlie's werewolf side will always be stronger, but we don't know yet how her vampire side will influence her.

Silas says we can only wait and see.

Her actual party with her friends is the weekend after our water park trip. I almost expected her to have some crazy wishes for it, but to my surprise, Charlie just wants a classic sweet sixteen party. It makes sense. She missed so many of her milestones that I assume she wants to celebrate this one in a way most kids celebrate it.

Dante and I were happy to oblige. I took advantage of being best friends with the luna and with Dave. Annie knows a lot about event planning due to her work, and Dave is… Dave. Together with Charlie we hunted down a place she would like. She is not into the typical kinds of parties, so it took a while, but eventually we found a private villa at the beach we could rent.

It's not on pack lands, so Charlie could invite her human friends too. There will be catering, and Dave promised to organize the decoration. Charlie and I even went clothes shopping for the event, and she chose a jumpsuit to wear.

"I'm already worried about when Aurora and Asteria turn sixteen." Annie chuckles while we drive to the pastry shop where I ordered cake and cupcakes from. Everything else will be provided by the catering Dante and Dave organized. There will even be a little seafood barbecue, but the cake was something I wanted to handpick.

"Taking bets now that Liam will go all out," I say.

She laughs. "I'm not taking that bet! He is already enamored by them."

"How do you do it?" I ask her. "Have two toddlers and be luna. You have so many duties, and you always find time to help your friends."

"But I'm not alone," she says. "Liam is there too. We divide almost all the work between us. And my parents help, so do his. And when I return from work or from my duties, I try to be as present in their lives as possible."

"Do you want a third one?" I ask her.

She tilts her head. "Eventually, yes. But not immediately. Harmony, Steve, and I were three, so I would love for the girls to have another sibling." She chuckles. "If it were for Liam, we'd probably have a little football team."

"I can totally see that." I laugh.

"What about you?" she asks.

"I'm ready to have my own," I say, surprising myself with how promptly I answer.

"And Dante?"

"I think Dante will never be fully ready," I say. "My pregnancy will always remind him of his trauma. But he is on board with the plan. He wants a baby."

"Ella, that's fantastic!" She beams. "I'm sure you will be great parents."

"I just need to tone down Dante's worries." I chuckle. "A few weeks ago, he butted heads with Charlie because he was constantly worried about her."

"Your future child will be lucky to have her as a big sister," Annie says. "I'm sure she will always have their best interest in mind… against their dad. Just like my sister Harmony did with me."

"You bet." I smile. "Charlie will be awesome. I'm certain about it. I just hope she won't take it badly when the baby arrives. I don't want her to think that she doesn't matter anymore."

"It's a possibility she will feel scared," Annie says. "But honestly, you went through a lot for her. I think she knows it, and if you communicate it well with her, I'm sure she will be on board."

Charlie has invited all her friends from the pack and her whole school class. There are also Felix and Dario, and Livia and Richard roaming around. Levi was invited, too, and so are our ranked pack members. It made me smile to see Ty's father bringing him instead of his mom.

"Aurelia had a party a bit like this," Liam says while we watch Charlie with her friends. "She was never really into the traditional girly stuff, but she didn't want to miss out on this here. Mom was so happy to throw a party for her." He smiles. "Maybe she did it so she could do something with Mom."

"I wouldn't put it past her," Dante admits.

"I will throw such a party for Aurora and Asteria one day," Liam says. "Fortunately, there is still a lot of time until they will be old enough."

Annie and I exchange a gotcha gaze and chuckle.

"Did you already have your fitting for the fundraiser?" Liam asks.

"Don't remind me," Dante groans. "We met some of Charlie's schoolmates during it, and half of them were drooling when they saw Ella."

"Don't put this on me." I grin. "All the moms there were literally all over you."

"Everyone did well. We have our outfits. Now let's just hope that the kids will raise some money," Dante says.

Liam smiles. "Money was just secondary here. Dad and I will make a generous donation anyway. This whole thing was not for them to raise money—"

"But to work together," Annie says with a smile. "And get them to be more productive and just have fun with something that includes their parents too."

"It was a good idea," Dante says. He smiles when he watches how Aurora clings to Liam's leg. Liam lifts her up, smiling when she hides her face in his chest. She is such a daddy's girl.

Charlie emphasized that children are also invited to her party. Granted, Liam and Annie are the only guests with little kids, and Charlie loves these two. While Aurora hides in Liam's arms, Asteria taps around on her chubby little feet, eyeing everything curiously.

The twins have recently started to walk on their own, making their first shaky attempts. Asteria seems to be particularly curious about what's going on around her. She is not a fuzzy kid; she doesn't run around. She is surprisingly calm… almost tentative about her surroundings. She just likes to watch. Sometimes she seems to look at something and smile.

"She is doing it again," Annie says as if she has heard my thoughts.

She approaches her daughter, kneeling down next to her and hugging her. "What do you see, sweetheart?"

Asteria giggles and points at something at the other end of the room. Our confusion just grows. There is nothing there. She lets her mom pick her up and chews on a piece of bread I hand her.

Liam brushes over Asteria's head. "What is it you are seeing?" he mutters while she grabs his finger, squeezing at it and laughing.

"I think we need to make a call to the Council," Annie says.

"You want them to get tested?" Dante asks. "So soon?"

"When do children normally get tested?" Dave wants to know.

"When they are around five or six years old," Liam explains. "And even then, it's normally just a basic test to see where on the spectrum they are. They normally develop their gifts much later, sometimes only when their wolves awake."

"But you think it's different for Asteria?" Dante asks.

"I think she sees things we don't," Annie says. "My instinct tells me that there is something."

"I will call someone tomorrow," Liam offers. "Maybe Elise or Elodie."

I nod. "I'm sure they are going to help." Elodie is a luna, together with Dalila—each of them mated to one of the alpha twins, while Elise is her twin sister and gamma in the same pack.

For now, both Annie and Liam drop the topic, and instead watch how Charlie opens the presents from her friends.

"Hey, Dante," Dave says when Ty hands Charlie his present. "You are aware that Charlie already has two suitors?"

Dante's head whips around to look at Dave. "Who!?"

"Ty," Dave says.

"And Austen," I add.

"Wait, you knew?" Dante exclaims while I just snort in amusement.

"I first thought Felix and Dario might like her too," Liam says. "But now I am not sure anymore. I think they just understand each other on a deeper level due to their mutual trauma."

"Should this make me feel better now?" Dante grumbles. "There are still two boys lusting for her."

Annie laughs. "What will you do when one of them invites her to prom?"

"I haven't thought about that," Dante mutters.

"Don't worry," I say. "Dante would never be a misogynist and play the overbearing uncle."

Very funny, Dante links me.

I just laugh at his disgruntled expression. Even when he is annoyed, he is the sweetest. While the others tease him for a bit longer until he finally loosens up too and jokes with them, I can see Nicole approaching. She is not here for Austen, though, as she comes straight for me. It seems like she just waited for when the others were occupied.

She hugs me from behind, whispering something into my ear. I grab her arms, squeezing them, my heart jumping in anticipation.

Thank you, I link her. For immediately telling me.

I couldn't not, she says. I had to come and tell you personally. She squeezes me once more before letting go. I notice how Dante eyes me curiously, but Nicole ignores him and just smiles at me. Congratulations.