[Grandpa's Big Birthday]

Star

I can't believe how long it's been. Artem and I have been together just shy of thirty five years. I was about to celebrate my fifty-third birthday. Artem himself was already fifty-eight. Later this year, our youngest children; Elise, Isabelle, and Olivia, were going to be thirty one. Man, time flies.

Between all of our eighteen children, who were all mated and married, we had sixty-three grandchildren. That was a lot to keep track of. The average was three and a half from each of our kids, but since that wasn't a possibility, it was obviously not how it went. However, they ranged from two to five kids each.

Today though, March the fifteenth, was my great great grandfather's birthday. This man, who had been vital in giving useful information back when Artem needed to save me, had tried to save as many of his kids and grandkids as possible, and it was time to celebrate this man.

I couldn't believe that he was still here at one hundred and fifty years old. And the crazy thing was, he had stopped aging long ago. We all had really. Once we got to a certain age it was like time slowed down so much that we barely looked any older. I was over fifty but I still looked like I was in my late twenties or early thirties. The same went for Artem, Mom, Dad, all our cousins. Even Artem's parents and Aunt stopped aging.

And it wasn't just us either. All the wolves around had stopped aging. Will, from the next pack over, was approaching seventy-five, I think, but he still looked the same as when I met him. Trinity and Reece, the wolves all over the world, as well as all the other shifters, had seemingly become immortal. I wonder if this had something to do with Trinity or if the Gods and Goddesses had stepped in for us.

Still, these last several years, actually more than just several since it's been three and a half decades; however you wanted to look at it, they've been amazing and wonderful.

When I met Artem, I had been scared, terrified, really. I thought my life was over, and I was going to die. Then I learned that he would not only protect me at all costs, but kill to defend me. He did everything for me. He made my life special and gave me a purpose.

He gave me my children. The biological ones, as well as the ones that we adopted. If it hadn't been for him, neither me nor those thirteen of our boys would have had a chance at life. Artem was, and always will be, our hero. I just know that I will never be able to do enough to thank him for all that he has done.

Moving on from all of that though, we had all been trying our best to make sure that this party for Grandpa was special. I mean, he was the first person that we personally knew, aside from Leelin, that had made it to their one hundred and fiftieth birthday. Leelin didn't count in this aspect though, since she was a witch and was past that age when we met her. Plus, she didn't look like she was that old at all.

Everyone in the family was coming for the party. There were over a hundred people. I loved having a large family, but even I got dizzy when I thought about just how big that family of ours had gotten. Just imagine when Artem and I have great grandkids, how many of them are there going to be then? That was mind blowing, honestly.

There were balloons everywhere, streamers and a huge cake that was actually going to have one hundred and fifty candles. Dad and I were going to use magic to light them all at the same time so the wax didn't melt while we lit them one by one. There was a mountain of gifts, and so many kids that none of us knew what to do.

Grandpa, surrounded by his great, great, great, great grandchildren, looked like the happiest man alive. It isn't often that someone is around long enough to see that many generations together all at the same time.

The party got underway, and we were all enjoying the day. I couldn't have been more happy with how things were going. The love of my family, friends, and my mate was all surrounding me at this moment. What else could I ever want out of life?

That night, after the party, I was standing and watching the sun go down from the back of the house. The mess from the day had been cleaned up, and you couldn't even tell that there had been a party here earlier.

"Hey there, beautiful." Artem slid his arm around my waist as he came to stand next to me.

"Hey there, handsome" I returned his greeting.

"What are you standing here thinking about so intently?"

"Just reminiscing on our life so far. I can't believe it's almost been thirty-five years. Can you?"

"Hell no." He laughed as he answered me. "If I think about it I start to wonder why I still look pretty much the same. This whole immortality stuff is sort of weird."

I saw him look down at his wrist. It was bare, no bracelet from Aunt Glory to help him stay young with me. He had taken it off when he realized that no one else was aging anymore. He didn't need that gift to stay with me forever.

"I know. It's a little surreal to think about. And the fact that I can remember the day we met like it was just yesterday." I smiled at him.

"Oh, you mean the day that I swept in hoping to be your knight in shining armor, and you passed out, terrified, at the very sight of me?" He laughed. "Yeah, I still remember every second of that day too. I remember all of our moments, the good and the bad. And I am happy to say that over the last thirty-five years there have been way, way, way more good moments than bad."

"That's all thanks to you, Artem." I told him as I kissed his lips softly.

Oh Goddess, I love this man so much.

THE END