Epilogue
One hand flew up into the air, and I had to hold back from rolling my eyes.
This semester I had one nerdy, problem student in my class.
Luckily, it was my only one. After teaching for over ten years now, I still hadn’t reached Marcus’ “Professor Dreamboat” status, but I did have my own little fan club.
Much to his chagrin, mine was of mixed genders.
“Class dismissed. Mr. Clearwater, if you still have questions, please see me during my office hours or send an email to me.” I smirked.
“Remember that I do not grade your questions. Asking them to learn more is one thing; asking them because you think you sound smarter only makes you sound stupid. Is that understood, Mr. Clearwater?”
He cleared his throat. “Yes, Professor.”
“Good. So if you have any further questions, by all means…”
He all but evaporated from my classroom. I did, however, notice my three eldest try to sneak in while everyone was walking out. Turning, I erased the board since this was the last class I had today.
“To what do I owe my three unruliest kids gracing my classroom with their presence when I know that all three of them hate history?”
“You shouldn’t be so mean, Dad. Poor Fenton looked like he was going to cry.” Caleb was chuckling so I knew he didn’t actually feel bad for the poor freshman.
I snorted. “Because I told him he wouldn’t receive any favor from me by asking a multitude of insufferable questions.”
“Dad, you sound like Father.” Kayla sounded suspiciously like she was rolling her eyes at me, but I let it go.
As a parent, you know the day arrives when children replace “Daddy” and “Papa” with more mature-sounding names.
The problem is that no parent is really prepared for it.
The day Kayla called me “Dad” instead of “Daddy” was heartbreaking, but I knew she was growing up and it was a part of how kids grow.
I also felt Marcus got the short end of the stick.
There is no mature word for Papa. He thought he would get out of the change until it turned to Father.
I nearly died laughing. I’d already been “Dad” for three years when Father came out of Kayla’s mouth.
It was as if I could hear him shatter into pieces.
He stood in the shower under the hot water for an hour after it happened.
The boys followed soon after, as they always did.
They were the trio, despite all their younger siblings being absolutely in love with them.
There was just never a full connection like Kayla had with Caleb and Micah.
“To what do I owe this pleasure?” I set the eraser on the sill.
Micah chuckled. “You missed a spot.”
I hummed. “If it was to make jokes, then please, show yourselves out. I have to meet the board on Monday. I can always bring up your love of history and wanting to change your major.”
“It’s clean.” Micah squeaked, and I laughed.
“Kayla wanted to talk to you.” Caleb elbowed Kayla in the side, and she squeaked.
I cocked my head to the side, regarding my children. “Why now and not at home? It’s the weekend. You’re coming over for dinner.”
“She doesn’t want Father to know.” Micah was hushed by his sister. “You should probably sit down for this one.”
“Stop it! Both of you! For fuck’s sake.” Kayla huffed, and I smirked.
Much like I used to enjoy watching Marcus do, I walked around my desk and leaned against it, crossing my arms over my chest. My two boys sat on the desks, but Kayla was shuffling her feet against the wooden floor.
“I wanted to talk to you about Caesar.”
I hummed. Caesar was an Alpha dragon. Good grades, came from a good family, planned on taking over his flight once he finished school.
Kayla had met him last year, and they started dating.
At first, it was casual, but now he has met the family.
We had yet to meet his family, but I knew for certain Marcus was in no hurry to meet them.
Now it made sense why she didn’t want to talk about this at home.
“Alright. I’m listening.”
She inhaled and exhaled heavily. “Our one-year anniversary is coming up.”
“Next month.”
“Next mo…yeah. You remembered?”
Shaking my head, I rolled my eyes. “Sweetheart, I’m a history teacher. Dates are my lifeblood.”
“Right, of course. You know everything.”
This time I chuckled. “Kayla, sweetheart, focus.”
“Right! Um…I just…look, Dad, I want to mate with Caesar. It’s been a year and I know I love him and I want to be with him.”
To say I was surprised would be a lie. Contrary to what my kids felt, closing the door did not give them privacy.
Did I go around using what I heard as ammunition against them?
Absolutely not. I was a kid and a teenager.
I knew the things we said. Hell, I said some things to Mike I’d never want Marcus or the kids to know.
It helped me protect them and know how to help when they came to me.
In this case, I’d heard Kayla and Caesar talk about it a few times. All with hushed whispers and the stern ‘my father wouldn’t approve’. She was right; Marcus would probably fly off the handle if he heard her talking about it. One year might be long if they were fated, maybe, but not chosen.
“I mean…you met Father and mated within months! And you were nineteen! I’m already twenty-one.”
I bit back another chuckle. “Are you pregnant?”
“What? No!” Her gasp made the boys laugh.
“I was, Kayla. I was pregnant with you when I was nineteen. Marcus was also forty-six. Caesar is not forty-six. He is twenty-one.” I gave her a soft smile. “You’re also an Alpha. Our circumstances were very different. I don’t need you to justify that you are better than I am, sweetheart.”
Caleb and Micah both “ooo-ed” and I grabbed a pen, lobbing it at them.
“Your sister is doing something very brave right now. Keep your damn mouths shut.”
They laughed, but quieted down.
“Dad, please.”
I sighed and tapped my desk, thinking for a moment. “Alright, I have a deal for you.”
All three of them shifted up. My deals were infamous. As the kids grew older, ‘no’ was the last thing they wanted to hear. First, it was tantrums until the attitudes started. So, I altered how I proceeded with things. I made deals.
If they wanted to get something in return, they needed to do what I asked. A give and take. It was uncomplicated but yielded great results. Didn’t want to do it? The deal was off. That was it. Complained about it? I didn’t need to make it. I gave an opportunity without saying no right off the bat.
“Okay, what’s the deal?”
Kayla went into business-mode much like Marcus did.
It was cute and endearing how similar they were, but it caused some butting of heads between them.
It was also probably why we were a little closer.
Her, Caleb, and Micah were just attached to me more than my other kids were.
Some gravitated to Marcus, but most of the kids looked to us equally.
“I will speak to your father on your behalf about mating Caesar. I will start talking with him so that over the next couple of weeks, he’s more susceptible to the idea that it isn’t a terrible option.
I can’t promise he won’t be upset, but I can promise that after having talked to him, he will be far more level-headed about it. ”
She took a breath, readying herself for what came next. “The exchange?”
I smiled. “You need to answer one simple question.”
“Wait…you’re not going to tell her she can’t mate him? Just that you’ll talk to Father? What the hell?” Caleb snapped.
Apparently, the two of them came along to see me shoot her down.
Not that they disapproved of Caesar. The boys didn’t think he was good enough.
I agreed with them. Yes, he had good looks, was relatively smart, but he also was bland.
There was so little to him that trying to hold a conversation with him was insufferable.
He also had some bigger secrets that Kayla didn’t know about.
It was not my place to tell at the moment because he currently was Kayla’s choice, but I didn’t think their relationship would last much longer once she knew.
“Kayla is perfectly capable of deciding on her own. She’s an adult, and I will not forbid her to do something.
Would I hope she would take not only her father but also my opinion in the matter?
Yes, and Kayla knows our opinion on the matter.
But she may still do whatever she wants.
I will only help regarding a favorable outcome when it comes to the opinion of your father. ”
Micah harrumphed and Caleb huffed, both making the same sour face.
Kayla tittered, and I smiled. “Are you ready for my exchange?”
“Yeah.”
“All you need to do…is answer one question.”
There was silence for a moment. “Just one?”
I nodded. “Only one.”
“What’s the catch?”
I shook my head this time. “No catch. You answer my one question, and I’ll speak to your father.”
She laughed. “Okay, what’s your question?”
“What do you hate about Caesar?”
Another long silence.
“Wait, what?”
“What do you hate about Caesar?”
As soon as I repeated my question, Caleb and Micah burst out laughing. Kayla wasn’t very shy when talking about how much she liked Caesar, and her face reflected her horror. I waited, and as I expected, she let out a very loud and upset outburst.
“Dad! What the hell? I don’t hate anything about Caesar! How could you ask that?”
My eyebrow rose. “Nothing?”
Kayla was close to hysterics. “Of course not! Did you hate things about Father when you mated?”
I laughed. “Of course I did.”
All three of them quieted.
It was Micah who asked first. “Wait, Dad, what?”
The worry in his voice made me shake my head, as I had a huge grin on my face.
“You kidding? Your father was infuriating at times. He would butt into my business all the damn time. He practically force-fed me when I first stayed with him. Not to mention his complete lack of control over his dragon when it came to me.”
“Dad!” Caleb yelled at me. “What the hell?”