A/N - Hello everyone! This is an alternate ending and follow up to my other story; 'The Man Behind The Beast'. This story will also be told from Beast's perspective from a third person view, just like the previous one. I don't think you'll need to have read 'The Man Behind The Beast' in order to understand this story if you just want to dive right in. There might be a few references to it here and there, but I think it will be easy to follow. But if you have read it before hand then that's great!

This story is also based more off of the 2017 version of the characters. It's going to be around ten chapters long, and I'll be posting every Friday, so I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1 - Dancing with Death

So much had happened in such a short amount of time. Beast's home had been attacked and invaded by a large, angry mob, and then Gaston, the man that wanted Belle's hand in marriage, had climbed the tower to confront him. Beast had been fighting for his life, with a bullet lodged in his shoulder when Belle returned to him. Seeing her again, it lit a fire in him, it made him want to keep fighting, it made him want to live. He would do anything to be with her again.

But just when she was in reach, Gaston came out of nowhere, and attacked him once again, wielding a stone club. Gaston was standing in his way, stopping him from getting to Belle. Beast wasn't going to back down, and once he showed Gaston his true strength, the brave hunter was reduced to a snivelling coward. The tables had turned in an instant.

And now here they were, after the battle had been seemingly won. Belle was standing outside of his balcony, watching silently, unsure of what to say or do as Beast clutched Gaston's neck in his massive paw, holding him over the edge. He could drop him if he wanted to, allow him to take the plunge into the chasm below. All he had to do was let go.

Gaston grabbed hold of Beast's paw and held on for dear life, clawing at his fur and his shirt with his fingernails, desperately trying to save himself, but only succeeding in flailing wildly. "Don't let me go! Please! I'll do anything! Anything!" He cried fearfully. "Don't hurt me, Beast."

Beast stared quietly at him for a moment, his hardened expression beginning to soften. Who was he to choose whether this man lived or died? If he let him fall, then he was no better than he was. Worse even. He would reduce himself to nothing more than a cold hearted monster.

That wasn't him.

He looked passed Gaston and met Belle's gaze. She stared back at him breathlessly, unable to speak a word. Belle had helped him see that he was so much better than that. Killing Gaston, it wasn't what she wanted. He didn't want to do it either. It would accomplish nothing, it would only bring more bloodshed. It would prove to everyone that he was the monster they saw him as.

Beast took a step back and pulled Gaston away from the ledge, bringing him closer to his face. The hunter looked confused and afraid, taking sharp intakes of breath as he came face to face with the creature he came to kill.

"I am not a beast." He growled. On the outside maybe, but not on the inside. Not anymore. He had grown, he had changed. He had gotten better. He was human. The beast was no more. He let out a roar before throwing Gaston to the ground. The hunter quickly got to his feet and scurried away, running down the spiralling staircase that surrounded the dome structure they were standing on. Beast lunged at Gaston to scare him off. "Go, get out." He ordered.

He turned, laying his eyes on Belle. They were alone together once more. She was only a short distance away. He was so close.

He backed away and went down on all fours. He was going to need a bit of running room, as the gap he was about to jump was fairly large.

"Don't, it's too far!" Belle warned him.

He didn't listen. He was willing to take the risk. He let out a grunt of effort as he charged forwards, reaching the edge and pushing himself off with his legs, soaring across the gap and reaching the other side.

Belle leant down to help him up, but he managed on his own. He got to his feet and met her gaze. She stared proudly into his eyes, as he panted heavily, still trying to catch his breath. A smile crossed his lips.

She smiled back at him. But that smile suddenly disappeared, and she looked passed him, her eyes following something behind him that he could not see.

Beast gave her a confused look, but before he could ask her what was wrong, a look of horror crossed Belle's face. "Look out!" She shouted.

Beast whirled around, his gaze landing on Gaston, who was standing on a crumbling walkway with a gun in his hands. He attempted to duck out of the way, but he was too late, Gaston fired and the bullet struck the left side of his waist. Beast clutched the fresh wound and roared in agony, staggering backwards. Unfortunately, his paw didn't touch solid ground, and he toppled backwards, falling down the small flight of stairs and colliding heavily with the hard, stone cold floor of the balcony. The impact knocked the wind out of him.

"Beast!" Belle shouted, running down the stairs and rushing to his aid. "Oh god, are you alright?" She asked frantically, kneeling down beside him.

Beast took his paw off the bullet wound, blood pouring down his shirt and trousers. "I've been better." He replied, wincing in pain.

Belle's expression was filled with concern as she examined the wound. She was a little hesitant to put her trembling hands anywhere near it, in case she ended up hurting him or somehow made the injury worse. He took hold of her hand in his large paw and squeezed it tightly. "Belle, you need to get out of here. I won't let you get caught in the cross fire." Beast warned her.

"I'm not going anywhere." She told him firmly.

"Please Belle, you have to go. I don't want you to get hurt because of me." He pleaded.

She shook her head. "I can't lose you. I won't."

The sound of footsteps could be heard approaching the balcony. Mere moments later, Gaston appeared at the broken section of the wall, pistol loaded and at the ready. "Belle!" His low, gravelly, booming voice echoed throughout the room.

Belle got to her feet, her hand slipping from his grasp as she turned to face Gaston. "Belle, don't." Beast said weakly, stretching out his arm and attempting to grab her hand once more. She was just out of his reach.

"Get out of the way. I need to put this vile creature out of its misery."

"If you want to hurt him, then you'll have to go through me." Belle replied, speaking strongly, her voice thick with determination and bravery. She wasn't going to back down.

"You still insist on defending this monster? What on earth do you see in him?" Gaston questioned. He was drawing nearer, Beast could see his black boots taking small steps across the room.

"More than I ever saw in you!"

Beast could barely see what was going on. Not only was Belle obscuring his view, but the unbearable pain surging through his body was making it hard to concentrate on anything. He was helpless, completely at the mercy of Gaston if Belle didn't manage to hold him off.

"Belle, I won't ask you again." Gaston growled. "Get out of the way!"

"Stay away from him!" Belle shouted, closing the gap between her and Gaston, grabbing hold of the gun. Beast pushed himself up into a sitting position as Belle and Gaston started to wrestle with the pistol.

He watched fearfully, trying in vain to stand up, to help Belle in some way, but failed miserably. What if the gun went off on accident, she could be killed! He had to do something, he had to-

Gaston ripped the pistol from Belle's grasp, but in the process of yanking it away from her, he smacked her across the face with the barrel of his gun. The force that he hit her with knocked her down, and as she fell, her head collided with the pedestal that supported the sacred rose.

Beast's eyes widened in horror as he stared at Belle's limp body. He then glanced at Gaston, who was staring in disbelief at what he had done.

Beast's inner fury was ignited. He let out a mighty roar, pushing himself off the ground, despite the large amount of pain he was in. He charged across the room, catching Gaston off guard as he rammed into him and slammed him against the wall, causing him to drop his gun. Beast put his large paws around Gaston's throat and lifted him high above the ground as he began to strangle him.

Gaston struggled, kicking his legs and grabbing hold of Beast's arms, attempting to tear his grip off of him. It was futile. Beast tightened his grip around Gaston's throat, gritting his teeth and snarling, as the hunter gagged and wheezed. He was almost crushing his neck.

Gaston stopped struggling and his eyes rolled upwards, the last bit of air escaping from his lungs. Beast held on for a little longer before finally releasing him, allowing Gaston to slump down onto the ground. As much as he wanted to harm him for what he did to Belle, he didn't want to kill him, despite the burning hatred that was boiling away inside of him. It would only weigh heavily on his conscience.

Beast was breathing heavily, the short adrenaline rush fading and being replaced by the pain from the bullets lodged in his shoulder and side. He staggered, his body swaying as he slowly turned around, catching sight of Belle still lying on the ground. He lumbered over to her whilst clutching his aching side, and carefully knelt down beside her. Her brown hair was draped over her face. "Belle?" He whispered, gently brushing her brown locks out of the way. There was a large gash on her forehead and blood trickling down over her eye and cheek.

Belle's eyelids fluttered before they fully opened and she let out a quiet groan. "What happened?" She asked, her hair falling over her face once again as she pushed herself up and clutched her head.

"You hit your head." He told her, offering her his paw. She gladly took it and he helped her up. She stopped nursing her forehead and took her hand away, examining her own blood that stained her palm.

Belle glanced over at Gaston, at his lifeless body slouched against the wall. She put her other hand to her mouth and backed away, pressing herself up against the pedestal. "Is he dead?" She asked.

"No, just unconscious." Beast replied.

Belle put her hand down and let out a heavy sigh. "Good."

"What do you think we should do with him?" He asked.

"I don't know. We'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it."

Beast lifted his paw and touched her cheek, running his thumb across her soft skin. "Are you alright?" He asked concernedly.

Belle turned to him and placed her hand on the back of his paw, stroking his fur with the tips of her fingers. "I'm fine." She replied. "What about you?"

"I uh..." He trailed off for a moment. "To tell you the truth I'm having trouble standing..." He murmured. His legs were trembling and threatening to buckle. He felt so weak, even more so than before Belle had gotten hurt.

Beast swayed, but Belle placed her hand on his chest, to catch him from falling. "Come on, let's get you over to the bed." She instructed.

She took hold of his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders, providing him the support he needed to walk across the room. They carefully went down the second flight of steps and headed over to his bed. Beast lay down on top of the wine red sheets, thankful to be off his feet. The pain pulsating through his whole body was unbearable.

Belle examined the bullet wound in his side, since that one required her immediate attention when compared with the bullet lodged in his shoulder. She took hold of his paw and forced it down on the injury, causing him to hiss through gritted teeth. "Keep pressure on it." She ordered.

Beast pressed down hard on his wound despite how excruciating it was to do so while Belle removed her belt and began to look through her tools, trying to find something that she could use for a medical procedure. She eventually produced a small pair of tweezers, but the expression she that flashed across her face was of dissatisfaction. "It's not enough. None of these are any good." She mumbled, tossing her tools and belt aside.

"Belle, this isn't looking too good. The odds are stacked against me. If I don't make it, I just want you to know..." He began. If he was going to die, then she at least had to know how he felt before it was too late.

Belle shook her head "You're going to be fine. I can fix you, I promise." She told him comfortingly. She sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than him.

"But-" He tried again, only for Belle to interrupt him.

"Remember what I told you before, the last time we were in this kind of situation - don't speak, save your energy." She instructed. She then glanced over at Gaston, and quickly darted over to him. She began to pat him down, checking his jacket and trouser pockets. Beast tried to watch her, to find out what she was doing, but he couldn't hold his head up for long.

After a few seconds, Belle returned carrying a sharp hunting knife. "I'll use this to remove the bullets." She stated. Her hands were shaking as she gripped the handle of the knife, her nerves being put to the test. She closed her eyes and exhaled softly, her hands becoming more steady. She then reached out and moved his paw out of the way. "Stay still, this might hurt a little."

Beast cried out in pain and alarm as Belle dug the hunting knife into the bullet wound. "Sorry!" She apologised. "I'll get it over with as quick as I can!" After what felt like a few agonising minutes, she managed to pry the metal slug out of the deep hole it had carved into his side.

He keeled over and almost fell off the bed as more blood spilled out and the world started to spin. Everything around him, even Belle, became a hazy blur, whilst the urge to vomit almost overpowered him. He felt Belle grab his uninjured shoulder and squeeze it tightly, but his body was so numb that it felt more like a pin prick, barely even noticeable. Her voice hardly registered to his ears either, all he could hear was the thundering of his own heart beat.

"Beast, come on, stay with me!" She pleaded. Her voice seemed to echo and grow distant. "Beast, no, you have to fight it! You have to stay awake! Please!" She begged, shaking him violently.

He couldn't hold on. Sleep was beckoning him. He needed to rest. Blood loss and the strain from the battle with Gaston finally took its toll and he passed out. The last thing he remembered hearing before everything went black was Belle whispering a few simple words that broke his heart.

"Don't leave me."