"Charlotte Grace Gravaldi! You get your butt away from that stove! And Bash, stop fighting with your brother!" I shout, no room for arguing in my tone.

"But mom," Bash whines. "Sam started it."

My eyes harden as I give him the look not to push it. Noticing my expression, he promptly releases his brother from his headlock and Sam runs screaming. Rolling my eyes, I walk over to Charlotte--or Charlie, as we like to call her--and pick her up, carrying her over to the barstool and setting her down, away from the stove.

Her flaming eyes pout and her mouth droops as a lock of her silver hair falls in her face. I sigh and tuck it behind her ear, lifting her chin up with my forefinger and thumb so she'll look at me. "It's okay, baby. You know mommy always tells you that it's dangerous to be near the stove, yet you still disobey me. I just don't want you to get hurt."

She sighs too with a downcast expression, but her bubbly personality immediately returns, just like her daddy. She may have her dad's personality and eyes, but she has my hair and is the only one of my children to receive this trait. "Okay, mommy. I promise I won't do it again." Her voice is soft and chipper and I lean in to give her a kiss on the forehead.

"Good girl. Now come on, your uncle Dom and aunt Nicole are gonna be over soon for dinner," I tell her, and her fire eyes light up even more, the flames even brighter than her father's, if that's even possible.

"Ooh, does that mean cousin Aurora is coming over, too?" She asks, as giddy as ever.

I giggle and nod. "Yes, she's coming."

"Yay!" She screams, ecstatic that her only girl friend is coming over. And with that, she jumps off the stool and runs into the backyard to join her other siblings, wanting to roll in the mud and wrestle just like her big brothers. And there's a lot of them. Seven, to be exact. And Charlie just so happens to be my only daughter.

You see, this house is filled with so much testosterone, that I'm afraid Charlie and I won't survive. She's the youngest of the eight, very rambunctious children--only six years old. But don't let that fool you, she's probably stronger than all of them and her favorite thing to do is pull pranks on her brothers.

I even help her on some occasions. Us girls gotta stick together in a house full of boys. She's Cole's only child, making him extra protective of her. We'd tried for a kid together for years, but it seemed we could never conceive. So when we found out I was pregnant with Charlotte, we were so incredibly happy. I couldn't stop crying; she's like our little miracle. And her brothers are just as protective of their little sister.

My oldest is Blake at 15; he thinks he practically runs the house and believes that just because he has a girlfriend that he claims to be his mate and the love of his life, that he's a man now and can make his own rules. He thinks that just because he's the oldest and that his father is the alpha to our little pack, as my husbands like to call it, that he gets to boss around all of his younger siblings. He gets his strong mind and options from Xavier--and his red hair and green eyes, of course. He's basically the sitting image of his father and looks nothing like me. And I know, as with all of my sons, he'll be a real hit with the ladies. They all received very good genes.

And the triplets. Lord, don't even get me started on the triplets. All three of them--Aaron, Anthony, and Alex--are the trouble makers of the house! Charlotte may play pranks on them and her other brothers, but they play pranks on everyone! I found a snake in my shoe one time, and I don't even want to know how they got that. They have their father's charcoal black hair but my ocean blue eyes and they're 14, all completely identical. Though, I can still tell them apart... thank God. I'm sure their pranks would only be worse if I couldn't.

My fifth oldest is Aiden; he has the brains of Einstein and the heart of Gandhi. He's Ashton's too, though technically they're all the fathers of our children. They aren't necessarily biologically related to each of my husbands, but that's never stopped any of them from being the best dads ever. And I love them immensely for it, among other reasons, too, of course. He's eleven and I'd like to think he gets his brains from me, though his father has been helping him with his math homework a lot lately, and Aiden gets an A+ on each of his tests. I'll never know how he does it.

Next are the twins, Sebastian and Samuel--or Bash and Sam. They aren't nearly as mischievous as the triplets. But their favorite activities involve playing outside together in their wolf forms and shooting each other in the face with their golden magic, no matter how many times I tell them stop. Unlike the triplets, they are fraternal. Bash has green eyes and many freckles while Sam has one green eye and one blue eye; Bash has coppery red hair like his dad, and Sam has ashy brown. But they're both eight, obviously.

And we already know Charlotte, my baby girl and the youngest in the house. While her brothers might treat her like one of them, she's still treated like a princess and they all stop what they're doing at the drop of a hat to please her. It's the cutest and most endearing sight to behold, and I know that even when they're all older and grown up, they'll still treat her like the princess she is.

"Babe!" Ash's voice echoes through the house, and I realise I've just been standing here, admiring a photo on the counter of our beautiful family of twelve. It was taken right after Charlie was born and the sight of the joyful tears running down my face in the photo makes my heart melt, as if I'm there now and I can still feel her in my arms as she sleeps so peacefully, surrounded by her loving family.

A little tear cascades down my face at the wonderful memory and I turn to see Ashton making his way toward me from the backdoor, picture frame still in hand and the others left outside to watch the kids.

"Hey, baby, what's wrong?" He asks, instantly noticing my tears and quickly rushing to embrace and consul me.

"Nothing," I sniffle. "It's just, time goes by so fast and I feel like it was just yesterday when we met in the school parking lot. And now we have eight kids and they're growing up so fast..."

"It's okay, Ava," he sooths, noticing the picture in my hands. A smile breaks across his face as he takes it from my grasp and tears up a little himself. "You know, this was one of the happiest days of my life. I know that biologically Charlie isn't mine, but she's my daughter and I love her more than words can express. And the way she immediately quieted when she was in your arms was astonishing and made my heart skip a thousand beats."

The biggest smile stretches across my face at his words and his thoughts. "And you're an amazing dad. No one cares if you're not her biological dad. That's never mattered and will never matter; the love is just the same. And I love you, too. And in these near sixteen years of knowing you all, that love has only grown."

His lips crash onto mine as the words tumble out of my mouth, the kiss leaving nothing unsaid. It's a vow in its own, just like the ones we shared on our wedding day. And what a wedding it was. The honeymoon was even better.

He nibbles on my lip and I giggle against his mouth, my arms wrapping around his neck to pull him closer. Eight kids and sixteen years, and this man--these men--can still make me feel like this. I'd say the attraction has grown even stronger, especially when we're...

"Ew! Mom, Dad, that's disgusting!" Blake shouts, his siblings all following him. It's not uncommon for them to see me kissing their dads, so he isn't really surprised to see it as much as he he revolted. They don't judge our relationship; they all have open minds and know that the four of us love each other deeply. And to them, it's normal to have three dads. The kids at school know and will pick fun at them occasionally, but they've never seen it as wrong and they defend our relationship.

I'd heard one of Blake's friends call me a slut once while he was spending the night at our house. He never came over again, and it isn't because I didn't allow it. I honestly couldn't care less about what people think of me. No, it was Blake that took matters into his own hands. Quite literally, might I add. I got called into the school to have a chat with his principle that following Monday because my son had "beaten him up" and "harrassed another student."

And as much as a mother shouldn't condone that kind of behavior, I applauded him and took him out for icecream later that day. And while he was suspended for three days from school, he and his fathers wrestled in the yard in their wolf forms.

Ashton chuckles and leans in to give me another peck on the lips just as Cole and Xavier enter the room.

"Hey," Cole shouts, "I want one!"

"Dad," the kids collectively groan.

"No, your father's right," Xavier chimes. "I'd like one, too."

"Whatever, I just came in here for water. But I think I'd rather die of dehydration than watch another minute of this," Blake grumbles and turns to leave the room.

"Yeah, me too. I don't want to see Mom and Dad kiss. That's gross," Alex grumbles, turning to follow his brother back out into the backyard. The rest soon follow, not inclined to see their parents kissing. I guess that makes sense, but I can say I haven't seen my parents kiss in a long time--not that they were ever my parents in the first place. But I understand where they're coming from; I just don't care enough to do anything about it.

"Do I get that kiss n--"

Ding dong

Cole groans as the doorbell cuts him off, angry that the world has ruined his chances. At least, that's what he claims to happen each time one of the kids decide to show up just before he gets his kiss.

I laugh, "Don't worry, Coco. You'll get that kiss later." With a wink and a sly grin, I leave them at my backs as I go to answer the door. When I do, I'm met by the sight of my giddy best friend.

"Ava!" Nicole squeals, wrapping me up in a hug. Giggling, I hug her back, careful not to squeeze too hard. She's about seven months pregnant and it's certainly easy to tell. She's got a very prominent baby bump.

"Nic, it's so good to see you!" I exclaim, stepping back and taking her hands to get a good look at her. "Pregnancy is a good look on you. You look positively radiant! You're skin is glowing!" And it's true. Her honey blonde hair looks brighter, as does her skin, and her pretty green eyes are sparkling.

She giggles. "Me? What about you? You look as gorgeous as ever! I've known you, what... 13 years? And you look like you haven't aged a day!"

Rolling my eyes with a laugh, I ask, "Where's Aurora and Dom? Charlie wants to see her best friend and I'd like to see my brother."

"They're grabbing the stuff from the car. They should be here any minu--"

"Auntie Ava!" A bright squeal is heard just seconds before a small body crashes into mine. I let out a surprised "umpf" before coming to my senses and hugging her back.

"Rora, sweetie, it's so great to see you!" I greet as giggles scramble out of my smiling mouth.

"Where's Charlie?" She asks, disregarding my welcome.

"She's outside playing with her brothers," I answer with a laugh.

And with that, she's gone, sprinting into the house to make it to the back door. It's much faster than walking around the gigantic house. I spot Dom making his way towards us, two cases of beer in his hands.

With a roll of my eyes, I joke, "Is this really what you had to grab from the car? Why in the world did it take you so long to grab two cases of beer?"

He chuckles and winks, "Well, this is some very precious cargo. Wouldn't want to risk damaging it." He wraps me up into a tight embrace, beer still in hand, and continues; "It's great to see you, sis."

"You too, bro. Now c'mon, I'm sure my husbands are eager to get a little time off from the kids. The little nuggets seem extra rambunctious today."

He chuckles again and releases me from our awkward hold; it wasn't very comfortable considering the circumstances.

"And besides, I'd like to spend some alone time with my sister-in-law. How often do us girls get to have any time for ourselves?"

Nicole announces her agreement and we all step into the house, shutting the door behind us. Reaching the backyard, we see a bunch of kids running around, Ash and Cole joining them as Xavier mans the gril.

Aurora and Charlotte are out playing by themselves by the edge of the woods. I don't bother telling them to stay close; Charlotte knows not to stray far. And she never has. Right now, she's showing off her magic skills, a spinning tornado of gold in her palm. Aurora looks absolutely dazed.

Charlie does like to show off, just like her daddy.

The boys are all playing, some in their wolf forms, others not. Dominic leaves with a kiss to both Nicole and I's temples, and then one to her swollen belly before walking over to greet Xavier at the gril. The latter looks thrilled to see him, but even more thrilled to see the gift he's brought. Men.

"So, how's life been, sister? The kids sure are getting big," Nic asks, a large smile on her face. I share the same glee; it's hard not to on a day like this. The weather is beautiful and so are our families, and it's been almost four months since we've last seen each other.

Yes, today's definitely a good day.

"Amazing. Sometimes I wake up and forget this is even my life--that it's even possible to have the most beautiful family in the world, to have the most wonderful husbands in the world, and to be this happy. My life has changed drastically and it's still so overwhelming sometimes, but I wouldn't change a thing. Even when the house is full of so many boys. Charlotte is pretty much the only thing that keeps me sane anymore."

She laughs; "I totally get what you mean! Well, except for the boys part, but ever since I met Dominic, life has never been the same. And to think if I had never met him, I'd still be in that house with my way too controlling and abusive boyfriend and I would've never had Aurora and we would've never met. And we wouldn't be having another one on the way." She absentmindedly rubs at her swollen belly with a dazed smile on her face and mine lights up along with hers.

"Yeah, I understand. I love my kids! They're my world and my husbands are my everything."

I watch on at the scene before me: my sons all playing a game of football, my daughter and my niece joining in, and my husbands and brother all laughing with carefree smiles on their faces, beers in hand.

And my hand falls to my stomach as my smile grows impossibly wider. "And my unborn son will grow up with so many brothers, an older sister, and three perfect dads to protect and love him."

______________________________________

Poem: "Her Given"

Her life was filled with pain,

And she endured it alone.

The blood spills began to stain,

And happiness, she'd never known.

She thought she'd never find love.

She'd never been one for luck.

But she was an angel from above,

And by love, she'd been struck.

Because they'd finally come along,

And they claimed her broken heart.

She finally knew how it felt to belong,

And they helped her life restart.

They mended her broken heart;

Its glass was no longer shattered.

Together, they found their glorious start.

And to them, her love was all that mattered.