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"Brielle! Come down and say goodbye, your sister's leaving!"

My mum shouting from the bottom of the stairs makes me put my make-up brush down. I pause the YouTube video I'm watching -as I try and copy the make-up artist in the video- and get to my feet to go downstairs.

My older sister doesn't live with us anymore, but she still comes back for a few days before Christmas Eve so we can have family time together. Delilah is standing with her mates in the foyer, bags in hand, ready to go. I assume everyone has already said goodbye and they were waiting on me, oops.

"Have a great Christmas, Lila," I tell her as we hug.

"You too, Bri-Bug," she uses the nickname she has since I was a baby. "I'll come see you before New Year's."

I hug her mates goodbye, they're technically my brother and sister-in-law. Yes, my sister is mated to a man and a woman. Polyanima (multiple soulmates) runs in my family.

We wave the thruple off and Mum closes the door, shutting out the chilly air. She rubs her hands together and looks around at us.

"Cocoa?" She offers.

"Please," I reply eagerly and walk with her to the kitchen.

My brothers, Ignacio, and Nolen, follow behind. My dads return to what they were doing before; panic-wrapping the last of the presents. Mum tuts and shakes her head.

"I warned them that I wasn't going to help this year and they had to do it themselves. I told them not to leave it until last minute," she says, sighing heavily. "You'd think, with there being four of them, they'd be more organised."

"You would," I agree with her.

"They're so busy with the royal court, though," Nolen rushes to their defence.

"I'm busy and I managed to find time," Mum points out as she pours us each a mug of hot cocoa and stirs in some extra chocolate for good measure.

"Yes, but-"

"Nolen St. Cloud, if you're about to make a comment about how being a teacher isn't as hard as being on the royal court, I will take this hot chocolate from you quicker than you can blink," Mum threatens tersely.

Nolen wisely shuts his mouth. I smirk at him and get to my feet. "Blood?" I offer and Mum nods.

I grab a bottle of bear's blood from the fridge and Mum pours some in each of our drinks. I take my mug and stir it with the teaspoon.

"What time are the twins coming tomorrow?" Mum asks Ignacio.

He is mated to twin girls. They're Latvian and so lovely, I'm excited to have them joining us for Christmas.

"Uh, probably just after 2pm. They want to be with their families in the morning."

"That's understandable." Mum nods and then smiles at me. "Isn't it exciting to think that, maybe, next year, you might have your mates here?"

I roll my eyes at her comment. I think my mother is more excited about me going to The Whitlock Academy next year than I am. I'm in my last year of middle school and, next September, I get to join the prestigious academy.

"You don't know that I'll have more than one, Mum."

She gives me a deadpan look. "Your siblings all have multiple mates, your parents are polyanima, you will be too, Brielle."

I look down at the brown and red swirling and steaming in my mug. I don't know how I feel about all this, it's a bit overwhelming. I'm only fifteen. I've never even had a boyfriend or girlfriend.

She must sense my mood, it's a gift she has as my mother, because she comes over and hugs me from behind.

"Don't worry about it now, Bri. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you stress about it, I thought you'd be excited."

"Yeah, I am," I rush to reassure her. "It's just a bit scary, you know? It's a big step."

"Of course, darling. But you still have all this time before you go, don't worry."

"Come on, Bug," Nolen uses Lila's cute nickname as an excuse to call me a bug. "Let's go into the lounge."

Nolen and I are the closest in age, he's only one year older than me, and we're close because of that. I follow my brother through to the living room.

My dads' pride and joy is sat in the corner; the biggest Christmas tree they could fit into the room. The star on top is touching the ceiling and it's a very girthy tree. It takes up the whole far corner. It was decorated by Mum, of course, she never lets them near the tree. They were charged with hanging the wreaths and garlands and any other job she felt they couldn't mess up.

I might have only one mum and four dads, but she certainly keeps them in check. It's clear who wears the trousers in the family. It helps that my dads are absolutely besotted with her.

The fire is crackling in the hearth as I set down my cocoa and sink into the plush sofa. Nolen throws a blanket at me, and I place it over my legs. He sits down next to me and grabs the remote to find something for us to watch. Ignacio sits on the armchair, rapidly texting on his phone. No doubt he's talking to his mates.

Our dads come in as we're arguing about what to choose. "You got to pick last time, Nole!" I whine. "I want to watch a Christmas movie."

"Krampus is a Christmas movie," he retorts.

"A horror one! I want a cute romance."

"Of course you do, you're such a soppy little-"

"Nolen!" Daddy Mal snaps. "Lay off her. You picked last time, let Bri choose."

I give Nolen a smug look and stick my tongue out at him. I grab the remote and move up from horrors to chick-flicks, purposefully trying to find the gooiest romance to piss him off.

"It doesn't really matter what you choose, you're going to have to turn it off when your uncle and auntie arrive," Daddy Oro points out.

As if on cue, the doorbell rings. Daddy Es gets to his feet. "I'll get it."

My parents have told us all the story of Principal Burberry and Uncle Sal. I know he doesn't always get on easily with my fathers, but I love him. He's so sarcastic and Mum says he has a sense of humour drier than the Sahara.

My auntie Estrella is amazing, too. She's always so bubbly and gets excited about everything, especially Christmas. I love the way she looks at Uncle Sal, it's the same way my mum looks at my dads. Everyone in my family is hopelessly in love, it's both adorable and sickening at the same time.

"What's up, douchebags!"

My Uncle Sal's shout is followed by swift reprimands from my mother and his wife, Estrella. Daddy Lucio rolls his eyes and opens the lounge door to let in Salvador. He grins and holds his arms open for me.

"Bri-bug," he greets me when I hug him. "How are you?"

"I'm good, thanks." I pull bag and hug Estrella. "How are you?"

He shrugs. "Not too bad, thanks. Kids are driving me crazy, but they're teenagers so that's to be expected."

"Hey!" Protests come from behind and my two cousins are revealed: Sydney and Saoirse.

"They're fine," Estrella insists. "If a little moody."

"We're not moody," Saoirse complains, not realising that her pout contradicts her statement completely.

Sal plops himself down between Nolen and I and puts an arm around each of us. "Your dads still being annoying overachievers?"

Nolen grins. "Every day."

"Oi!" Daddy Oro snaps. "It's Christmas, let's be nice."

"Yes, please, Sal," Mum says, giving him a firm look.

Estrella gives him a hard look, too and he shuts up. Everyone gets settled; there's a lot of us so we have three sofas in the lounge. I watch as Estrella starts unloading our presents out of multiple bags.

My cousins are chatting in the corner. Sydney has already graduated from the academy and has a job working at an animal shelter because she has the Animalius prophecy and has a bond which hedgehogs, which is so cute. Saoirse is in her last year, she has a metal bond similar to Daddy Oro's and has already got a job lined up in a jeweller's.

This might be my last Christmas where things are normal for me. Next year, I have to grow up and get serious. I receive a prophecy that will change my life, regardless of what type or types it is. I can only hope that it isn't black like Uncle Sal's was. I don't want to go through what my parents did.

Mum catches my eye from across the room, where she is sat on Daddy Lucio's lap whilst holding Daddy Mal's hand. Daddy Es and Daddy Oro are helping Estrella with the presents.

There isn't enough room under the two Christmas trees for all of them, they are spilling out around the room. Sal suggests that we should all get to open one tonight and it causes uproar with my parents, who are traditional and think that presents should be saved until Christmas Day and not a day earlier.

It is going to be a bustling, crazy Christmas but I wouldn't have it any other way.

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