[Graduation Party]

~~

Julian

~~

I really couldn’t believe what had happened to me. The moment that I was rescued from my Uncle’s hidden room, my entire life changed. I never once in the nearly ten years that I was beaten and abused did I even think that I would ever live to have a dream about the future. Now here I was living my life free and happy and in love.

I had turned eighteen a little after the start of my senior year. I had taken every AP course I could, and I had even done dual enrollment. And right there next to me the entire time was my boyfriend, Spencer.

We started to crush on each other the day we first met. I just felt drawn to him. He was the only person I truly wanted to spend time with outside of my new family. And Spencer seemed to feel the same about me. And best of all, our families didn’t disapprove.

I was adopted by loving parents who weren’t all that much older than me, but they were the best ever. Spencer was the fourth of seven boys, but he also had two older sisters and two younger sisters, so that made him sixth out of eleven kids. Dead center and nowhere near the focus for who the next Alpha should be.

Thankfully, Spencer and I had been given full blessings to be together and in turn had spent the last two years together. Now though, it was the day of my graduation party and since Spencer’s family had taken him on vacation for his eighteenth birthday, it would be the first time that I saw him since he turned eighteen. Today was going to be the day that told us if we were true mates or not. I was nervous and excited at the same time.

My parents had spent a lot of time planning out this party for me. I was happy for that, I really was, but until I saw Spencer I couldn’t feel that joy that I wanted to. I was literally pacing the house nervously all morning as I waited for the party to start.

“Jules, you need to calm down.” My Papa Aaron joked with me. It was weird seeing him and thinking about any word that was related to grandpa or grandfather. He still looked like he was no later than twenty-five or thirty years old.

“I know, Papa, I know.” I tried to smile for him.

“Relax my boy.” He came over as he hugged me with one arm around my shoulders. “I am sure that all will work out.” His smile was always so cheerful that he was able to make us all feel better so easily. “Now, tell me, what color flowers should I make for you?” He laughed softly.

“Maybe orange.” I smiled at him in return and he squeezed my shoulders again.

“Good choice.”

With a wave of his hand he filled twenty different centerpieces with orange flowers and crafted several benches scattered across the backyard with the same orange flowers.

“See there, doesn’t that look nice?”

“Yes, Papa, it does.”

“Now, come with me. Grandpa wants to give you a gift as well.” Grandpa was another enigma. He was already one hundred and eighteen but still seemed so lively and did so much on his own. He seemed to have stopped aging at some point. Maybe it was Papa’s influence. He was Fae after all.

When I got to where Grandpa was setting up a table full of food that our Chef, Kieran, made for the party along with Grandma Gabby and Tía Criztie. The three of them had officially become the joint chefs of the house, always cooking together every chance they got.

“Hey Grandpa.” I called out to him.

“Julian, my boy.” He smiled at me, and I felt a warm, loving feeling spread through me. That was Grandpa’s special ability, making you feel loved and wanted. “I wanted to give you my gift before the others got a chance.”

“You didn’t need to get me anything, Grandpa.” More than three years with them all, and I still got nervous over gifts when someone tried giving them to me.

“Nonsense. You graduated high school, and after what you’ve been through, you deserve the reward.”

He walked over to me with a small wrapped gift that he held out for me.

“Here, this is for you.”

“Thank you Grandpa.” I took the package with a sense of nervousness. At least it wasn’t too extravagant. Well, too big at least.

I unwrapped the small gift and looked at the item in my hand. It was an antique pocket watch. I had seen and admired it so much over the last three years, but I never thought that I would ever have this as a gift.

“Grandpa?” I was in shock.

“I know how much you love that watch.” He smiled at me. “I had it cleaned, repaired, and inscribed for you.”

“Oh my Goddess, Grandpa, thank you so much.” I hugged him and felt like crying.

“Read it, boy. Don’t just gawk at it.” He laughed at me, and so I opened the watch to see the words he had them engrave in it for me.

      To Julian,

You may not be my blood,

but you will always be part

of my heart.

                        -With love,

                      Grandpa Daniel

“Oh, Grandpa, I love it.”

“I’m glad.” He rubbed my back gently as he hugged me tightly.

Following the gift from Grandpa, it was time for the party to start. That meant that I would have guests arriving any time now. I was excited because that meant that I would see Spencer soon.

“Jewel.” Brayden, my baby brother who was two and a half years old now, was running to me. He couldn’t say Julian yet so he called me Jewel.

“Juju.” That one was Jodan, my other baby brother who was one and a half years old was running at me as well. Being even younger, he had a harder time saying Julian, so he just called me Juju. That was what he called me when he was almost one, and it stuck. I had lots of nicknames from the family depending on who it was that was talking to me.

“Hey you two.” I bent down to pick them both up and hugged them tight.

“Jewel, it’s your party.”

“Juju’s party.”

“That’s right, it is time for my party. Do you want to say hi to everyone with me?”

“Yes.”

“Yeah.” They grinned at me, their tiny little cheeks puffing out with the wide smiles they gave me.

The pack members that had accepted the new order easily were the first to arrive. They lived the closest after all. Then the kids from school that were coming. There were some humans here today as well, so we all had to make sure that no one did anything too off the wall while they were here.

After the humans started to arrive, the members from the next pack over were showing up. We had all started being really close to them, considering that my dad was the High Noble of our area and had to govern all the other packs around here. They had taken a liking to the way things were and were friendly with us all.

I saw Spencer’s dad in the distance, and I knew that meant that Spencer should be here as well. And sure enough, there he was coming around the house with a big smile on his face.

“Look, Jewel, Spen.”

“Spen Spen, Juju look, spen spen.” My brothers were happily pointing him out for me.

“I see him, I see him.”

“Jewel go kiss Spen?”

“I want to.” I smiled at Brayden.

“Go Juju, go.” Jodan encouraged me.

“I will see you in a minute.” I kissed their cheeks and set them next to Flint who was standing nearby.

“When did I volunteer for babysitting duty?” He laughed at me, then saw Spencer. “Ahh, I see how it is.” The laugh got louder, but he didn’t complain at all.

“Spencer!” I called out to him. Not seeing him for a week had nearly killed me.

“Julian!”

Spencer came running at me when he saw me. That wasn’t what had me grinning like a fool though. I could hear my wolf in the back of my head. It was howling with delight and panting at the sight of Spencer.

“He is my mate.” My wolf kept repeating. “I can see it in him now. He is my mate.” I was overjoyed.

“Julian!” I ran into Spencer’s arms as soon as I got close enough to him, and he called my name again. “Julian, I feel it.”

“Me too.” I was grinning as he lifted me up and spun me around.

“You’re my mate. You’re really my mate. I’m so happy.”

“I know, Spencer. Isn’t it the best moment of our lives?”

“I’m happy for you.” I heard my dad’s voice behind me.

“As am I.” Spencer’s dad was right there by him, shaking hands with my dad.

“Oh, my boy has his mate.” Mom looked like she was going to cry. “Julian, I am so happy for the two of you.”

Needless to say that the rest of the party was a really good one. I spent the rest of the day practically glued to Spencer’s side. And the best thing of all was the gift that I had gotten from him. He had hoped that this would happen and planned ahead. He brought with him a set of matching white gold bands. They were promise rings for each other. I preferred to see them as engagement rings.. I was going to be with Spencer forever, and this just told me that we would be getting married at some point in our future.