Mated To The Werewolf Calculus Teacher

3

Emilia

So the syllabus was a little more challenging than I expected. Chapter One seemed understandable enough. But the overview of Chapter Two puzzled me to the point of opening up my Calculus book and trying the problems out for myself. I was left with more questions than answers. I then tried to skip to the derivatives in Chapter Three and that was sheer chaos.

Mr. Black will be going over the beginning of the curriculum today. Hopefully that's all I'll need from him, and the rest will come to me like it always does. I take a deep breath as I turn the corner into his classroom. Finding my seat, I smile at my new friend Chris and he gives me a knowing grin.

"I'm guessing you read the syllabus?" He asks.

Damn. Did he read the nerves on my face? I flip my hair and attempt a nonchalant scoff.

"Please. I was doing logarithms in fifth grade."

Chris' dimples show as he laughs, I laugh with him.

Mr. Black's large, statuesque frame strides into the room just as the bell chimes and my smile dissolves. He grabs the dry erase marker and writes on the whiteboard. My eyes slowly trail up his body. His black slacks look tailor made to fit his muscular build and the gray button-up only emphasizes his powerful biceps. His long black hair is tied into a bun at the base of his scalp. I swallow, suppressing all thoughts of loosening that bun and running my fingers through his hair. My thoughts take a left when I realize what he's written on the board.

DERIVATIVES

I pale as my stomach drops. Chapter Three. He's starting in Chapter Three? He turns to the class, but unlike yesterday, his gray eyes don't meet mine.

"Good morning, we'll be skipping ahead in the curriculum a bit. If you're in this class, then you've likely already covered Chapter 1 and 2 in another class. If you haven't, try to keep up." He shrugs. "Today we'll be going over some problems using derivative functions."

He begins writing the problems on the board and I quickly open my ipad and try to copy what he's written. Within five minutes, he's solved the first two with very little explanation in between. I try to keep up but at different intervals throughout the class my eyes linger on his features, his eyes, his arms, his ass. By the time my mind drifts back to the problem, he's moved on to the next one. Halfway through the class, he turns the problem-solving over to us.

"I'm going to let you guys try a few problems and then with the last few minutes we'll skim through Chapter 4."

He writes three equations on the board, and for the first time, I hope his eyes don't land on mine.

"Chris, I'm going to let you have the first go."

I watch as Chris rises from his seat. He walks to the board and Mr. Black hands him the marker. For a few seconds Chris just stands at the board staring at the equation. He's probably just as confused as I am, I think to myself. Hopefully, Mr. Black will take pity on him and re-explain the problem for all of us.

But my hopes are dashed as Chris walks up to the board and writes.

6

He hands the marker back to Mr. Black and turns back to take his seat. My eyes widen in shock. He did that entire equation in his head. My stomach churns as Mr. Black nods his head at the answer.

"Impressive." He compliments Chris without a hint of the sarcasm I received yesterday with that same word. "Nice job, Chris. Next time show your work though. Emmy, you're up."

My eyes snap to his and I try like hell to hide the panic in them but I know he sees it. His eyes narrow slightly and a subtle smile curves his beautiful lips. He holds the marker out for me to take, I rise from my seat and slowly walk to where he stands. I reach out for the marker and my fingertips graze his knuckles. He stiffens and pulls his eyes away from mine to the problem on the board. I stare at it for a few seconds just as Chris did. Only I'm not solving it, I'm struggling to understand it. My breathing picks up ever so slightly as a nightmarish sense of dread settles in my stomach. For the first time in my life... I don't know the answer. I'm staring at the equation in front of my entire class and I'm confused. I don't even know how to begin to solve this equation.