I Didn't Want An Imprint (Paul Lahote x Reader)

READER POV

The chirping of the crickets woke me up, and my eyes slowly opened, fighting through the dizzy fog I was in. Had it not been for the light coming off of the moon, I would have been in complete darkness, only feeling the prickling of twigs and grass beneath me. Why am I outside?I thought. But it all came back to me within an instant.

Paul left early this morning to head to the battle against the newborns, and I thankfully slept through the awkward encounter of him having to leave Chaz to watch over myself, Emily, and Kim. I knew Sam and Jared were nervous too, but it was for the best. Or so I thought. I could hear Emily in the kitchen getting some things together as Chaz sat at the kitchen table scanning through the morning newspaper. Kim was still asleep on the couch to the left of where I slept, and I moved silently on my tip toes toward the kitchen to keep from waking her.

"Well, well, well. Look who's finally awake." Chaz grinned as I made my way next to Emily. She kept her eyes low and continued making her tea. I could tell that Chaz was making her uncomfortable, and I agreed. I had only started feeling this way since finding out that he was a vampire. He still looked the same with his dark brown hair and dark eyes, but his presence now suddenly made the hairs on my arm stand up, and without the pack around, the feeling was surely intensified.

"Has the battle started yet?" I asked, now making eye contact with Chaz.

"Should be starting now. You slept for quite a while, Y/N." He responded. I looked back over to the living room and could see Kim slowly shifting awake from her sleep. I looked over to the clock hanging on the wall of the kitchen which read '2:00 PM'. Kim and I had stayed up practically all night worrying about the battle, so I wasn't too surprised at how long we slept, but I did feel guilty leaving Emily alone with Chaz for so long.

Kim and I decided to help Emily prepare dinner for the boys once they returned home, and Chaz stayed at the kitchen table fiddling with a book he pulled from his bag that was draped across the back of his chair.

We had almost finished with the dinner preparations as the clock hit 5:00 PM. The three of us had practically forgotten about Chaz sitting silently at the table and were feeling relieved that our boys would soon be back as we talked amongst ourselves. I don't know why Paul was so worried. Chaz was harmless and was owed an apology and a thank you for his help. Chaz paid us no mind while we cooked, but he excused himself for a moment to run to his car to retrieve something he had forgotten.

Once Chaz stepped onto the front porch, I suddenly began to hear a familiar tune playing in my ears, trapped within the kitchen space we were in. I snapped my head up from the vegetables I was helping Emily chop after finally recognizing the sound of my grandpa's ringtone on my phone.

"Hey! That's my phone! My grandpa's calling me. Help me look!" Emily and Kim wasted no time jumping to help me follow where the sound was coming from. As I approached the kitchen table, the noise became clearer. It was coming from Chaz's bag. But, why would Chaz have my phone? Why wouldn't he tell me he had it? I turned my head to the right to look outside the front window to where Chaz had drifted off toward his car a few moments ago, but saw no sign of him now.

"Where did Chaz go?" I frantically asked aloud to Kim and Emily. The two of them pivoted their heads back and forth between the living room, to the kitchen, to the windows, and toward the stairs before shrugging. Where could he have gone. The ringtone stopped, catching my attention to his bag once gain.

"Em, can you call my phone?" She nodded and rushed over to the wall phone hanging in her kitchen and dialed my phone number. She turned to watch the bag just as Kim and I were. Not even a moment went by before a new ringtone sound came from his bag. It was Emily's ringtone this time. I looked back at Kim and Emily who were now frozen in place where they stood. I crouched down, and looked at the bag, cautiously opening it before reaching my hand inside. I could feel the vibration of the ringing coming from on top of a few more books Chaz had stuffed in his bag. I curled my fingers around the phone, ready to pull it out before a sharp cold feeling around my wrist released the phone from my grip.