Dear Immortal Tyrant

Five years later.

"You come back here right this instant!" Kaden barked as he ran after his sons who dashed down the stairs with colorful permanent markers. Laughter followed after the two mischievous boys who skipped and hopped down their tiled hallways, despite the fuming man chasing after him.

"You can't catch us!" Kladen, the eldest son shouted with a sly grin.

"He probably can," Aiden the youngest responded with a solemn expression. Whoever did he resemble? Neither parent could point a finger at it.

"Woah there!" Lina mused, catching one of the triplets just as they were about to bulldoze against her. Within seconds, Kladen hugged onto her waist, whereas Aiden came to a screeching stop.

"Momma, Momma, the big bad wolf is chasing after us!" Kladen shouted in mock fear whilst burying his face into her apron. He hid his large grin when he felt her body tremble from suppressed laughter. She fondly caressed the back of his head in the exact manner that he loved.

"And what did my piglets do to provoke him huffing and puffing down my house?" Lina retorted whilst attempting to wipe the smile off of her face. She lowered one of her hands to reveal the plate of nearly-burnt cookies she made for her children.

"Ah, Aiden, wait—"

The stoic boy took a bite of the dessert and scrunched his nose at the charred flavor. Then, he glanced up to see the flour on her nose and hair, her worried expression about whether or not he'd like it.

"It's good, Mom," Aiden lied through his teeth, addressing her in a manner that she seldom enjoyed. All of her children seemed to call her different things.

Lina didn't know if she should be touched by the fact that her youngest seemed to be the most serious. Well, as young as minutes apart could be. She pinched him on the cheek and wiped the crumb from the corner of his mouth.

"Is it now?" Lina teased.

"Y-yes," Aiden responded with warmth on his cheeks. His usual serious expression melted as he awkwardly glanced to the side to hide the fact that he hated bitter things.

"My baby makes the best liar," Lina chuckled, affectionately bringing him closer by his shoulders. Aiden held onto her sleeves and seldom clung to her wrist.

"Rascals, both of them!" Kaden demanded with an accusing finger as he hugged a daughter to his hip. He stormed up to the mother and sons with a glower.

"Oh dear," Lina tried her hardest to hold it back. "Pft!"

It was impossible. Lina burst out with laughter, earning an even more venomous stare from her husband. She snickered under her breath, just as Aiden revealed a cunning smirk, and Kladen giggled against his mother's apron. From Aiden's proud expression, Lina already knew the mastermind behind this masterpiece.

"Now, now, let's get your face cleaned up," Lina mused, handing the plate of cookies to her husband.

"They used permanent markers," Kaden grumbled just as she retrieved back to the kitchen. He heard the sink running, but he followed after her anyways like a lost duck.

"I'm sure they did," Lina said whilst holding back the urge to tease him even further. "I've never seen you look more handsome."

Kaden paused. His anger seemed to simmer down. It was such a simple phrase, but he was instantly bewitched by her words. He carried Adina in his arms whilst approaching the kitchen counter.

"You think I'm handsome, dove?" Kaden breathed out, bending his head for a kiss.

Lina glanced up and nearly gasped. Their faces were mere inches apart.

"Gross, papa!" Adina cried out, just as Kaden captured her lips in a slow-teasing kiss.

Kaden didn't seem to care as he attempted to deepen it. In an instant, Lina turned her face, her cheeks burning red as the flower one of her sons drew on him.

"Uncle Milo says that's how you get cooties, Momma!" Kladen complained, hugging onto her waist for dear life in an attempt to separate the two.

"In that case, you all have it," Kaden snorted. "I've kissed you all many times before."

"Nooo, Momma, tell me that's not true!" Kladen sobbed out, clutching her apron so tight, that he snapped the strings.

Lina let out a burst of awkward laughter, sliding the materials off of her. She was glad none of the whisked flour or eggs got onto her clothes. She lifted Kladen onto the kitchen counter with much difficulty, as they were now five years old.

"It is true," Lina mused, leaning forward to peck him on the cheek. "Cooties aren't real, your Uncle Milo just likes to tease."

"Why does he like to tease us, Mama?" Adina asked whilst resting her face against her father's strong shoulders.

Lina smiled warmly at her daughter. She handed the wet clothes to the children, forcing them to take them.

"Because he has only air in his head, Adina," Aiden responded with a snort and roll of his eyes.

"Aiden!" Lina scolded, bending her knee to lower herself to his height.

Aiden jutted out his bottom lips in a slight pout and glared to the side. She let out a soft sigh, took the markers from him, and gently wiped his palms. Then, she brushed the hair away from his eyes.

"You like Uncle Milo anyways," Kaden stated, growing bitter and jealous at how much attention his wife paid to the children.

"The boys can clean themselves," Kaden complained with a slight whine. "Your husband needs your help the most."

"My husband, a groan man, can help himself," Lina scoffed whilst rising to her feet and watching Kladen disinfect his marker-drawn fingers.

"You all need a bubble bath," Lina decided upon the state of her children.

Kaden stood there with all sorts of strange drawings on his face. Kladen's fingers and hands were covered with ink. Aiden's palm sported some blots. Not to mention, Adina had lines drawn all over her cheeks.

The bunch stared back at Lina just as she snorted out with laughter. What a sight to witness. Everyone in her family was either covered with something.

"It's not funny, Momma!" Kladen whined, just as Adina's face burned.

"You're one to mock us, look at the flour in your hair," Kaden chimed into agreement, reaching a hand out to pat it off of her.

Adina buried herself against her father's neck, hoping to hide her appearance. She couldn't believe that whilst she took a nap with her father, her obnoxious younger siblings would do such a thing to her. She had been rudely awakening from their giggles, so much that she had nearly smacked one of them in irritation.

"In comparison to you guys, I am clean as I can be," Lina scoffed whilst angrily swatting his hand away.

"Says Mom with flour all over the kitchen counters," Aiden pointed out with a slight smile.

When Lina caught his energetic expression, she could only shake her head in amusement. Five years had passed between them, but there was never a dull moment in her life. With three children, each and every day was often filled with laughter, tears, or taunting.

"Come, come, let's get all of my piglets and wolf cleaned up," Lina eventually said just as Kaden snuck a cookie into his mouth. Immediately, his face scrunched into a grimace. When he caught her pointed stare, the man swallowed the food, even if it tasted like poison.

"Great cookies, honey," Kaden gravely told her.

"You resemble a man being tortured, sweetheart," Lina returned the unusual nickname with the same faux kindness as him.

"Oh, I'm tortured all right, especially down—"

"All right, to the bathrooms you'll go," Lina hurried them off, shooting Kaden a warning glare.

Kaden relished in her irritation with a smug smile of his own. She angrily elbowed him right under his ribcage, but the bastard was built of iron and muscles. He didn't even flinch.

"Let's have a football team, dove of mine," Kaden teased her whilst the children were completely unaware of what he meant.

"Like buying one, Papa?" Adina naively asked him with a tilt of her head.

"Like making one, Adina," Kaden responded with a devious flicker in his eyes as he glanced towards his glaring wife.

"Just you wait, I'm going to shove a soap bar into your mouth during their bath," Lina hissed at him as the boys quickly perked up.

"I'll get the bar, Momma!" Kladen shouted, running into their enormous master bathroom.

"I'll get the ropes, Mom!" Aiden agreed, dashing into their parents' bedroom.

"A-and I'll get the water running!" Adina agreed as she hopped off her father's sturdy arms.

"Great, look at what you've done," Kaden chided at his wife, but couldn't hide the humor in his tone. He wrapped a loving arm around her whilst embracing her from behind. He kissed the top of her head as she grumbled complaints under her mouth.

"Our children are rascals, I'm telling you," Kaden insisted again as he rubbed at her stomach. At least once a week, he'd joke about having more children, but never meant it. He said it just to soothe her heart in the reassurance that he would not mind having more. In truth, he was always frightened that history would repeat itself.

Kaden couldn't fathom going through the same anguish from five years ago. The helplessness of watching her scream on the hospital bed, her eyes closing lifelessly, and the organs laid beside her. He could never witness such a tragedy that reminded him of how their first two lives ended.

"I wonder where they get it from," Lina said with slight laughter.

"From you of course," Kaden cheekily told her, even though this entire family of five knew exactly where they inherited the traits.

"I'm sure—"

"Momma, I have the soap!"

"Mom, this is the rope."

"Look, the water is running, Mama!"

Lina could only smile at the chaotic trio her children had become. Kladen proudly presented the bar of soap to her with excitement, Aiden tugged on the rope ends, and Adina happily turned the water to a boiling point.

Just what had her parenting come to?

- - - - -

Author's Note: Check out my new novel <Alpha's Cruel Addiction>! It's werewolf/vampire romance with double the spice of DIT ;) Synopsis found in the comments, thank you~