Ok, so I've been reading a lot of Paul/Bella pairings and I just totally fell in love with the idea! And so I decided to try a little Paul/Bella pairing of my own! Hope you enjoy it and thank you to thewolfgurlgleek, Dance elle Dance, .Hockey, LaughDanceLove, Whispered Howls, Dragons-twilight1992, lalanpoe and Del arco iris for your inspirations! 3 3 3

Chapter 1

"I need to see him." Bella stood in the doorway of Jake's house, face to face with his father, Billy.

"I'm sorry, Bell, he's not in." Though confined to a wheelchair, Billy Black could be intimidating, determined and resolute. But his cool indifference to Bella didn't deter her, not this time. Something had happened with her best friend. He was different. One of the last times she'd talked to him, he'd mentioned this 'club' that was run by one of the prominent leaders in his tribe, Sam Uley. This club or better known as the pack, was something that Jacob rarely talked about. Even though he didn't verbalize it, Bella could tell her friend was scared. One by one, he'd watched his friends slowly change and then just disappear. Next time he saw them, they were seen following Sam Uley around like he was some kind of all-powerful being or god. Jacob didn't want anything to do with the pack and deep down, Bella didn't want him anywhere near it. But then, one day, she'd gone to see him, and he was ….changed. There was her beloved Jacob, walking about in the rain, bare-chested, cut off shorts, no shoes and his once long black hair was now shorn close to his head and sweeping wildly in every direction, some falling across his forehead and into his eyes. He'd told her to go away, that she shouldn't be there. That he didn't want her there.

She hadn't seen or heard from him since. "Look, Billy, I haven't seen him or talked to him in weeks." She'd called his house, his cell, texted him…never a response.

"I'll let him know you stopped by, Bella." Billy calmly replied, his voice laced with that same tense cool indifference.

"This is ridiculous, I know what's going on here, what you all are trying to do, but I'm not gonna just…stand by and let him ignore me. I'm sorry but I'm not leaving until I see him, I'll stand out on the porch all day if I have to. But I am going to see him whether you like it or not." And without another word, she pushed past a very surprised and disgruntled Billy and into the house. She headed purposefully down the hall way that lead to Jake's room.

Billy attempted to maneuver his wheelchair away from the doorway and towards the hall. "Bella, Bella he's not in right now! And even if he were, you can't see him, you don't understand what he's going through and it's dangerous for you!"

Bella, ignoring Billy's pleas, reached Jacob's doorway and pushed it open.

She stopped suddenly when she saw her best friend, fast asleep. A small smile crept over her lips as she observed his tall over-sized form sprawled out on the now too-small twin bed. His feet hung well off the foot of the bed while his long toned arms dangled carelessly off the sides, his fingers scraped the floor. Bella was relieved yet a small painful twinge in her heart reminded her that this Jacob was different. What had happened to him?

Just then, a loud, authoritative voice sounded from outside. "Jacob!"

Bella's eyes shifted from Jake's sleeping form to his window where she glanced a group of dark-skinned men standing at the edge of the property. Sam Uley was leading them. Bella's anger burned, her chocolate brown eyes flashed and her jaw clenched. Turning, she stalked past Billy, down the hall and out the front door.

Billy hurriedly followed. "Bella, Bella you can't be here!"

Bella ignored him and stalked out across the yard; the closer she got to Sam and his 'pack' the hotter her anger burned. "What did you do?" she screamed in Sam's direction.

"What did you do to him?" She was in front of him now, her hands balled into fists at her sides, her eyes fierce.

"Bella, you shouldn't be here. You don't understand what's going on, there are things at work here that are much bigger and more powerful than you can imagine…this is no place for you." Sam's voice was steady but harsh.

"I know exactly what's going on here!" She screamed at him. Just then, her eyes flitted from him to the group of young boys behind him. She spotted, Quil, Embry, Seth, Collin and Brady. Her heart lurched when she spotted young Seth Clearwater. He was just a boy, barely fifteen and here he was, subjected to the arduous rule of this harsh man; Sam was cold and heartless, Bella was certain of this. "I know what you've done to him. Jacob was just fine before you came and messed up his life. He's just a kid, he's got so much ahead of him and you just robbed him of that! Every single one of these boys…they've given up everything. Just because they're afraid of what you'll do to them and why shouldn't they be? You've forced them to surrender their freedoms to you! You rob them of their boyhood and turn them into men that you send off to do your dirty work. How can you be so heartless to them, to Jake? He needs to be a boy, to run around and be a teenager, WHAT THE HELL KIND OF OWNERSHIP DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE OVER HIM?"

Just then, one of the boys caught Bella's attention. He was standing off to Sam's right. Correction, man. She hadn't noticed him before and suddenly realized that he was the only boy in the group she didn't recognize. Collin and Brady she only knew from what Jake had told her and she'd seen them a few times but had never been formally introduced. This man however, she hadn't seen before. He was taller than Jacob and more muscular and developed…if that was even possible. His dark copper skin was smooth and rippled as his muscles flexed. Her eyes quickly appraised him, from his bare feet, all the way up to his sculpted abs, his toned arms and defined chest to his strong jaw line, and defined cheek bones. He was gorgeous, Bella had to admit. Then something caught her…his eyes. Bella was startled for unlike the deep brown eyes of the other boys, his were a dark hunter green, with flecks of black. They were intense, deep, penetrating but he didn't look at her. His eyes were deadly focused on his leader as if every word Sam spoke, his life depended on. The thought made Bella sick. Turning her attention back to Sam, she resumed her rant. "You can't just waltz in here and take ownership of Jake; he's not your property!"

The tall man, unbeknownst to Bella, was none other than Paul Lahote, Sam's right hand man who was second in command. He watched as the young Swan girl raged angrily at his leader. He was surprised. From everything Jacob had said about her, Bella Swan was timid, shy, uncertain and fragile. But this woman, she was different. She was bold, intense, defiant and fiery. She took a step towards Sam as her voice raised. Just then, Paul took a step forward and grasped her wrist in an attempt to calm her. "You don't know what Jacob, needs, Bella." He warned her, his tone brazen and harsh.

Just then, turning to him, Bella raised her hand and with all the force and strength she could muster, slapped him across the face.

The others froze. Just then Bella saw Paul's eyes turn from hunter green, to black in an instant and they burned with growing rage.

"Bella, Get back!" Sam's authoritative voice ordered. He took Paul by the arm, attempting to calm him.

Bella noticed Paul's hands were shaking, his breathing was labored and a deep low growl rose in his chest.

"Paul, calm down, just relax." Sam ordered.

Then a convulsive ripple tore through Paul's body.

"Paul! Calm down. Bella GET BACK!" Sam was screaming now, but Bella seemed not to hear.

"Too late…" Embry's wry voice sounded. Just then another more violent convulsion tore through Paul's body followed by a horrible snapping ripping sound that split the air. "BELLA! GET BACK! NOW!"

Just then, Paul's body split in two and a large silver wolf emerged. Bella fell away to the ground, gasping.

Just then, the door to Jacob's house flew open and Jake appeared on the porch. "Bella!" he screamed, leaping over the railing and barreling towards her.

"Jake, RUN!"

Jake came toward her and at the last moment, the same snapping ripping sound split the air as Jacob leapt over her and transformed into a huge, red wolf, mid-air. Landing on all fours in front of her, he faced the larger silver wolf, and snarled viciously. The others stood back to give the two wolves room for the inevitable fight and suddenly, the red wolf charged the other and a violent beat down ensued. Paws flew, claws and teeth were bared as the wolves fought fiercely the silver wolf was larger and stronger but the red wolf had the advantage of slightly quicker speed.

"Embry, Seth! Take Bella to Emily's now." Sam ordered. Both boys nodded and moving to Bella, Embry reached down and pulled her to her feet by her arm. Her legs were wobbly and her body was shaking, her eyes wide in terror. "Com'on Bella." Embry took hold of Bella's hand and resting his hand on the small of her back, he and Seth lead her away, she looked back only to see that the others had all vanished into the woods, she could still hear the vicious snarling of the wolves as they faded into the distance.

"When you see Emily, don't stare, Sam hates it."

"What, what do you mean?" Bella asked, Embry, bewildered.

"Well, there was an accident and…"

"Seth." Embry gave him a warning look.

"What? She's gonna find out eventually."

"Then let Sam be the one to tell her, you know how he feels about it."

They came to a small cabin that was located on the farthest side of the reservation. As they climbed the steps, the door opened and a tall, slender, woman with long silky straight black hair, stood in the doorway. "Seth, Embry! Come in! Oh, and who's this?"

"This is Bella, Sam told us to bring her to your place, Jake and Paul got into a fight."

Emily gave a startled look. "You mean a fight or a….fight?"

Both boys nodded, at which Emily just shook her head. "What happened?"

"It, it was my fault it…I…" Bella answered timidly. "I was upset and I was asking Sam what he was doing to Jake and it just…"

"Paul tried to calm her down and she hauled off and smacked him good, right across the face!" Seth piped up, his voice a little overly excited.

Emily gave a knowing look then turned to Bella; her eyes were kind and sympathetic. "It's alright Bella, I can't really blame you. I may be Sam's fiancée but sometimes…the way that he does things can be…frustrating and difficult." She chose her words carefully, not wanting to discredit Sam, especially in front of Embry and Seth. "And as for Paul…well I have to admit, I'm surprised you were so brazen with him, he's the most volatile, hot-headed and hot-tempered man I know. He's always had great difficulty controlling his temper; he gets it from his father. Sam has worked with him very strenuously and he is improving…"

Embry scoffed. "He'll always be hot-headed. There ain't nothing in this world that can cure Paul of that temper, he'll always be violent."

Emily gave him a warning glance. "Paul may be hot-tempered, but he's a good man deep down…and he's working hard to improve. But if those around him, his own brothers can't see how he's trying and if they ridicule him, he won't improve because one can't improve unless some have faith in him."

Bella smiled. She'd only been with Emily for half an hour and she already liked her immensely. She was kind, sweet, caring and clearly had compassion for all the members of the pack, even those who were less docile and had more of a dark side, like Paul. Just then, the small group was interrupted by a loud ruckus from outside. "They must be here." Emily whipped her hands on her apron and patted her hair away from her face. Just then, the door opened, and Sam's large form filled the doorway. At the sight of Emily, his eyes softened and his face glowed. He was at her side in seconds and swept her up in his arms, tenderly kissing her lips. She smiled back, her eyes were sparkling.

A twinge of jealousy pricked Bella's wounded heart as she observed the loving pair who seemed lost in each other, not caring if the whole world were to fall apart around them. The gaping hole in her chest ached as she remembered that she belonged to no one. She was no one's girl. No one's love, no one's to have and to hold. She was alone and seeing how Sam was with Emily, only brought the painful reality of it to her more keenly. Just then, Jake and Paul, Collin and Brady piled into the house. They were laughing and tussling playfully; Jacob had Brady in a head-lock and was tousling his hair with his fist. Brady was yelping in protest, but his eyes sparkled, he was clearly enjoying the rough-housing. Collin assisted Jacob in the playful subjection of Brady and Paul brought up the rear, playfully shoving the boys forward, his dark green eyes sparkled mischievously.

Bella smiled at the scene before her; this group was definitely a family, despite their differences, they all came together and at the end of the day, they would do anything to protect each other and they always had each other's back.

Jake spotted, Bella and smiled. She timidly smiled back. She was relieved to know that despite the pivotal changes in her best friend, it was still her Jake and now that she knew, she wouldn't have to suffer losing him…that was something she didn't think she could bear.

"Alright, boys settle down." Sam called out. Instantly, the boys settled, but their eyes still glowed with mischief and the exuberant smiles never left their countenances.

"Emily's made an amazing dinner…as always so let's all be grateful and partake."

The room erupted with several hollers of approval and excitement. Apparently Emily was a phenomenal cook and it was well-known. Paul's stomach growled audibly and the group laughed as he smiled sheepishly. He sat down and turning, he looked up at Bella, giving her an apologetic smile. "Sorry if I scared you, Bella."

She smiled back. "It's ok, you're good."

One by one, the boys filed up to the stove and served themselves generous portions of the delicious venison vegetable stew that steamed; it's rich aroma permeated the room, making their mouths water.

Paul had finished his and went to stand on the opposite side of the room by Sam and Emily. Just then as his eyes drifted around the room, they once again settled on Bella. She was pale, small and from what they'd all heard from Jake, since the leach, Edward and the Cullens had left, she'd been in a bad way. He couldn't understand for the life of him what would possess a girl to fall in love with a blood-sucking animal but as he observed her, he detect through her calm, serious poise, the underlying agony and pain that she managed to keep hidden away from prying eyes. Just then, her chocolate brown eyes raised and flitted to his for just a moment.

And suddenly, his entire world, shifted.

The ground beneath Paul's feet seemed to shake like a violent earth-quake. Everything in the room vanished in the flash of piercing light and suddenly a paralyzing force, stronger than gravity itself, pulled him to one single point, one destination…and it was centered on Bella Swan. He felt himself gravitate to her; his mind, heart, body and soul…it was all suddenly concentrated on her and suddenly, gravity no longer held him to the earth or in this existence. It was Bella, and her alone that kept him grounded. Everything else in his life, everything that he'd cared for, that had existed that had past before him and vanished…none of it mattered any longer. Now the only thing that existed for him in this world was the beautiful slender dark-haired woman, residing just across the room from him. She was his, everything. The stars in his sky, the moon that lit up the darkness of his night, the sun that brought light to his day; his anchor that kept him grounded, his strength. She was the blood the pumped through his veins, the beat to his heart, and the very reason for his existence. The reason he would fight and if need be, the reason he would give up his life if it was to save hers. He couldn't tear his eyes away from her. Her slender figure resting comfortably against the wall; her skin was pale but not in the sickly way…in the pure flawless way…it was perfect. From the tips of her toes to the top of her head, Paul couldn't imagine how anything about her could be anything less than pure perfection. Her dark brown hair was like espresso. It was long too, it flowed nearly past the middle of her back he guessed but she had it pulled back away from her face in what she would doubtlessly call a sloppy way, but in Paul's eyes was the most sexy, wild ponytail he'd ever seen. The wild curly wave added to the sexy look but was now proving a problem as it swooped into a tick set of side-parted bangs that continuously fell into her eyes. She kept brushing the hair away from her face, obviously irritated. Paul couldn't believe how adorable she looked when she scrunched her nose up in obvious dismay at the persistent unruly curls.

But suddenly, Paul's intense captivating revelry was brought to an abrupt end.

Jacob approached Bella just then and began talking quietly to her. She looked at him, periodically shrugging her shoulders and looking away. Jacob's hand reached up and brushed the untamable hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear.

Paul's hands balled into fists and a low growl sounded in his chest.

Jacob stood so close to Bella and having to bend down to adequately hear what she said, his thatch of black hair, brushed against her forehead.

He was too close.

Paul's hands began to tremble as he worked to subdue the growing rage that brewed within him. Suddenly, he didn't want Jacob within ten miles of Bella. His growing anger and brooding was interrupted however by a faint voice that called his name. The voice seemed far away but then he recognized the earnest tones of his leader. "Paul? Paul what's wrong?"

Paul didn't answer, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles were white. His jaw clenched tightly with the accompanying sound of grinding teeth.

"Paul." Sam addressed him earnestly, placing a hand on Paul's shoulder. He felt Paul's muscles tense up at his touch. "Paul, what is it?"

Then, Paul hissed through gritted teeth. "He's. Too. Close."

"Who's too close? Who are you talking about?"

"He's too close to her. She's uncomfortable, anyone can tell and he's not backing off he's…" Just then his sentence was interrupted by a low vicious snarl that escaped his lips.

Jacob was bending close to Bella, whispering something to her. Her eyes turned in expression; her body language spoke volumes that she felt uncomfortable. Just then, Jacob reached for her hand but she edged it away, trying to change the subject and distract his attention away from her.

That was it. Paul snapped. He snarled louder and his teeth snapped together like he was preparing to take his prey by the throat and snap their neck.

Just then, Sam saw Paul's eyes. They were deadly focused, intense and trained on something at the opposite end of the kitchen. Sam followed Paul's gaze to where it rested on Bella. He instantly understood and sprung into action. "Jacob! Step away from Bella, now."

The room fell deadly silent; all chatter ceased as all eyes turned to Sam.

"Sam, what is it?" Emily's sweet voice sounded just above a whisper. She looked from Sam's stern gaze to Paul's face. There was plain rage written in every line and his stance was offensive, ready to fight. She then saw his eyes trained intently on Bella and she knew. "Jacob, get away from Bella, quickly."

Jacob looked up. He was bewildered to discover all eyes on him. "What's going on?" his voice was hesitant, confused.

"Jacob. Get away from Bella, right now!"

Quil looked up an in just a few second, he sized up the situation. Being one of the first to imprint, he knew instantly what had happened and one look at Paul's face, he knew exactly what he was feeling. "Man, seriously, get away from Bella…you're pissing Paul off."

It was then that Jacob's eyes drifted to Paul who stood just opposite him. Something clicked in his head. No…he couldn't have! Then a loud snarl erupted from Paul's throat.

"What…what's going on? Bella stammered. She looked about the room at all the faces. They were intense, concerned and apprehensive. She locked eyes with Emily and she saw pure fear in the other woman's gaze. Suddenly, her eyes wondered from Emily's face, to Sam's and then… to Paul's eyes.

And boom. Everything changed. Bella barely knew what was happening. The world around her faded into a blur and all she could see was Paul Lahote's deep green eyes, trained on her. As their gazes met, his eyes softened and held hers. Her heart suddenly lurched forward and she felt her entire being; her heart, mind, body and soul connect to him. It was the most powerful, breath-taking experience of her life. She gasped again as she felt the powerful force pulling her to him and without her conscious command, her feet moved her forward, wordlessly towards him.

Her eyes never left his, though he cheeks flushed deep red under the intensity of his gaze. His eyes burned like embers of coal but not in a terrifying way, not with anger. They burned with desire, lust, passion and devotion and…love? It couldn't be possible.

Bella had now reached the center of the room. Her eyes never Left his and his heart sped up and his body ached as she moved closer and closer. But alas, he couldn't wait, in one swift movement, he closed the distance between them and Bella was in his arms.

Jacob watched in astonishment. This couldn't be happening. Not Bella. Not his Bella. He had nearly lost her to the leech and within the last 8 months, he'd gotten her back only to have her ripped away once again; He'd lost her and to the last man on this earth he'd ever expected, Paul Lahote. "This can't be right, there's some kind of mistake…" His voice found him, his tone was confused, etched with desperation and he moved towards Paul, his hand outstretched in objection.

Paul saw his advance, and a guttural growl emerged from him as his arms tightened around Bella, burying his face in her neck, he bared his teeth as a warning to Jacob. "Mine." He hissed possessively through clenched teeth.

"Jacob. Don't go near her; she's Paul's imprint now; forcing your involvement will only make things worse…and you know how Paul can be; now that he has Bella it will be ten times worse than before, just leave it be."

Jacob looked from Paul, to Bella, and back to Sam. He stood back, his face resigned.

"Well! Let's give these two some privacy; I'm sure they have much to discuss." Emily's voice was bright and lightened the tense mood. Everyone else relaxed and followed as Sam ushered everyone out of the room. Jacob paused at the doorway and glanced back. He felt lost, defeated, and resentful of this curse of imprinting the legends had thrust upon. He hated it with a fierce passion. But there was nothing he could do; Paul had imprinted…on his Bella. And now, she was and would forever be Paul's Bella. There was nothing he could do; no matter how hard he fought against it, the reality that he and Bella were just never meant to be, began to set in with a crippling force. But it was a lost fight…it was lost the moment Paul laid eyes on Bella and he had to somehow step aside, and let it go.

Sighing heavily, he joined the others out on the lawn. Leah came up to him; she knew what he was going through and without even thinking, Leah did something completely uncharacteristic of her and gave Jacob a hug. "I know what it's like, Jake…trust me."

Surprise by her sudden display of compassion, Jacob looked at her, dazed. Then seeing the look of genuine sympathy in her eyes, he just nodded numbly and gave her the best grateful smile he could muster…it was a horrible failure but Leah seemed to understand and smiled back.