Imprint From Out Of Town {Staul-StilesxPaul}

Chapter 22: Meeting the sheriff

"If you don't quit it, you're going to wear a hole in the floor," Emmett chuckled from his seat across the hall.

I frowned at the vampire as the plane finally touched down in California. We were only an hour away from Stiles now, and my nerves had increased exponentially. Emmett had been bugging me the whole flight, trying to figure out what had me so tense. I had yet to enlighten him- but I was near the breaking point.

"Will you please just tell me what's got your panties in a knot?" He asked sweetly.

I rolled my eyes at his smoother than honey tone. "First of all- nobody says that anymore Em. Second of all- I'm nervous, okay?! What if Stiles' pack doesn't like us?"

He shrugged. "I've got your back," he said simply.

And I would never admit it to anyone else, but his casual display of loyalty warmed my heart.

But only a little bit.

"And so would Stiles and Derek," Emmett added as we grabbed our bags and headed out onto the catwalk. Before I could argue, he defended his sentiment. "Yes- he would. Derek would have your back because I've got your back and because Stiles has your back. They're pretty much a package deal." And I couldn't argue that.

It didn't take long to get our luggage, and Emmett led us out to the rental car parking... directly towards a sleek, black corvette. Fast, but not so over the top that it would turn heads. Typical Cullen style, not that I was complaining. Like any supernatural, I had a need for speed too. That happened when you could run faster than most vehicles on the road at top speed.

"I hate that we're driving," I complained as I plopped into the passenger seat. "We could have just told them and they could have gotten us at the airport." And I would have gotten to see Stiles sooner, I added in my head. But Emmett looked like he could read my mind anyway.

"That would ruin the surprise," he pointed out, and I rolled my eyes. He snorted at me as he gunned the engine in the ridiculous sports car and took off. At least it was black, not some flashy colour that drew unwanted attention. "When the pack sees the love sick puppy eyes you give their third alpha- they're gonna love you. Don't be nervous," he chuckled at the glare I turned his way.

"The eternal optimist," I grumbled.

"It's my curse," he grinned with a little too much teeth.

A human would have cowered away. As a shifter, it simply made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. It was a warning, my body reminding me that the being sitting next to me could rip me to shreds- and I him. But I had long since started to trust the vampire, and my instincts were merely a precaution set in place by my tribes history.

"I suppose there are worse curses," I admitted as I grinned when I noticed the world whizzing past us at a higher than legal speed.

"Yeah- like your eternal attitude and anger management issues," he teased light heartedly. A year ago I would have phased at a comment like that from a vampire.

"Can't be as bad as your addiction to combat and near death experiences," I shot bad instead.

"What can I say? Been there- done that- already dead! I like to live on the edge," he wiggled his eyebrows.

"Living dead," I corrected, and he grinned cheekily at me.

🐾 🌲 🐾 🌲 🐾

"I've got this," I murmured, before squaring my shoulders and knocking on Stiles' front door.

I ignored the snicker from Emmett where he was waiting in the corvette, putting my hand behind my back and giving him the middle finger.