The Beast Inside, a twilight fanfic

When the days are cold

And the cards all fold

And the saints we see

Are all made of gold

When your dreams all fail

And the ones we hail

Are the worst of all

And the blood's run stale

I want to hide the truth

I want to shelter you

But with the beast inside

There's nowhere we can hide

No matter what we breed

We still are made of greed

This is my kingdom come

When you feel my heat

Look into my eyes

It's where my demons hide

Don't get too close

It's dark inside

It's where my demons hide

When the curtain's call

Is the last of all

When the lights fade out

All the sinners crawl

So they dug your grave

And the masquerade

Will come calling out

At the mess you made

Don't want to let you down

But I am hell bound

Though this is all for you

Don't want to hide the truth

No matter what we breed

We still are made of greed

This is my kingdom come

When you feel my heat

Look into my eyes

It's where my demons hide

Don't get too close

It's dark inside

It's where my demons hide

They say it's what you make

I say it's up to fate

It's woven in my soul

I need to let you go

Your eyes, they shine so bright

I want to save their light

I can't escape this now

Unless you show me how

When you feel my heat

Look into my eyes

It's where my demons hide

Don't get too close

It's dark inside

It's where my demons hide

It's where my demons hide.

~ "Demon" Imagine Dragons

A/N: I know I'm awful for starting another story when I haven't updated "Hell Hath no Fury" in so long. Paul and Bella make so much sense to me though and I'm feeling a little drained on the Bella/Embry storyline, so for now, I'm going to focus some energy into this, but I am far from done with Bella and Embry, promise.

To give a little bit of insight into this story let me say first that it does not follow the canon storyline entirely. I'm not interested in exploring the Victoria storyline so she will be a non-factor in this story. Instead I'm starting from when Bella first moved to Forks, before she became involved with Edward Cullen, which is not to say that the Cullen's won't play a major role in this. The story picks up the day Bella goes to the beach with the kids from Forks, when she is just returning from her hike. With that said, enjoy and all feedback is welcome!

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Twilight. The characters, locations and canon plot lines belong to Stephanie Meyer. I do, however, own the right to the characters unique to this story and the plotlines unique to this story.

The Beast Inside

March 5, 2005 (Saturday)

The foamy white caps broke on shore undiluted before rolling back out to sea, a constant dull roar that served as background noise for the lively conversation amongst the early morning beachgoers.

The group Bella had left behind had multiplied in her absence and now included a group of taller teens baring the russet skin and shiny black hair of the Quileute people. They were intermingled amongst the group she had come with from Forks chatting easily with the other teenagers as if they had been there all along.

Bella stopped abruptly at the sight of them and poor Mike had no time to react before he was slamming into her back, pitching her forward into the sand.

"Nice one Bella," Lauren commented, her eyes briefly leaving the tall native boy she was talking to, "walk much?"

Mike was already helping her up, giving her a quick once over to check for damage, "Sorry about that Bella."

She shrugged it off with a smile and rejoined Angela who was perched on the flat back of the Suburban's trunk, the door opened above her and providing a bit of shade against the unusually sunny sky.

Bella surveyed the scene before her, wondering idly what Edward Cullen was doing right now. Her eyes scanned the group before stopping on a couple standing not far from the truck, their arms wrapped around each other. The boy was impressively tall and had a deep tan, his long ebony hair pulled back at the nape of his neck, the girl in his arms was taller than any girl from Forks as well, her skin the perfect shade of copper and her hair hung loose around her face, she was exotic and gorgeous. It wasn't their near perfect looks that attracted Bella though, it was the fact that they were both staring at her intently.

Bella nudged Angela with her elbow, "Whose that?"

The other girl followed Bella's gaze, "Oh that's Sam Uley and his girlfriend Leah Clearwater. They're a few years older than us, Sam did some work on our house last year."

Angela turned back to the group, smiling in agreement at something Tyler said to her, but the pair continued to stare.

She had almost worked up the nerve to say something to them when her view was cut off by a friendly toothy smile that was attached to a tall Quileute youth.

"Hey, Isabella Swan right?"

Bella stifled a groan, "You can call me Bella."

"Ok, Bellaaaa," he drew out the 'A' as if he was testing how it felt in his mouth, "I'm Jacob Black, I sold my dad's truck to the chief, remember?"

Compression flooded her face as she smiled in genuine relief, "Oh yeah, hey Jake."

He looked different than the day they had come by to drop off the truck, taller, at least 6 feet and the angular plains of his face had lost their last layer of baby fat, giving way to perfect chiseled features. His long black hair hung loose and his eyes danced as he surveyed her; he was beautiful.

She hadn't noticed the two boys standing behind him until he jerked his thumb in their directions, "These two goons are Embry Call and Quil Ateara, my friends from the rez."

The one he had introduced as Embry was as tall as Jacob with a narrow face and long rounded muscles, his hair was chin length and he pushed it nervously behind his face offering her a small smile.

The other one was shorter than his friends but he had a broad chest and the brawny build of a man much older than his age, his hair was cut short but curled at the ends and he had an impish smile as he flexed for her benefit and introduced himself offering a meaty hand, "I'm Quil Ateara."

She shook the proffered hand and smiled at the trio, "Nice to meet you all; again," she added looking at Jacob.

"Sorry for gatecrashing your party," Jacob said with an unrepentant smile that proved he didn't feel the least bit bad about it.

"The more the merrier right?"

Bella peered around his shoulder briefly, they were still staring, but now they were joined by the boy Lauren had been talking to, his eyes were the color of flint and they hardened as he stared at her. She had the unsettling feeling that she was being appraised.

She couldn't drag her eyes away from his.

Noticing her obvious distraction, Jacob turned his head to look behind him, his friends following suit.

"Ignore them," Jacob said turning back to Bella, "that's Sam U-"

"Uley," Bella finished much to Jacob's surprise, "and Leah Clearwater, Angela told me. Whose that with them?"

It was Embry who spoke up, his voice as quiet and unassuming as his entire demeanor, "Paul Lahote. He's 15 like us but he's always with those two."

There was no way the man staring at her was fifteen. Though not as tall as the man he stood next to, he was tall, and well developed with the lithe muscled body of a fighter. He was an Adonis in a Quileute body. His face perfectly developed and his skin a deep shade of russet.

"Don't pay them any attention Bella, Sam's a creep. They're never up to anything good."

Bella was saved from responding by Mike's interruption, "We're heading back Bella, you ready?"

She nodded at the blonde boy who studied Jacob carefully before looping back around his truck.

"Nice to see you Bella," Jake grinned at her, drawing her attention back to him.

"You too Jake, next time Charlie heads down to see Billy I'll have to tag along."

"Cool," Jake smiled wider if possible as his friends nodded in agreement.

The truck roared to life and Bella realized Angela was gone from her side and Tyler was waiting impatiently to close the trunk.

"See you soon Jake."

The younger boy nodded backing away slowly, "Definitely."

Once in the truck they made quick work of leaving the beach in their dust. As the ocean became just barely visible between the sky and the sand Bella had the strangest feeling that she was still being watched.

xXx

March 7, 2005 (Monday)

The Cullen's were absent from school Monday morning, Jessica explained something about good weather and family day trips, but Bella was only half paying attention. Before Saturday she had been eager to see Edward Cullen again, he was an enigma waiting to be understood, but today she was glad for the reprieve from his presence. She'd been off-kilter since leaving the beach on Saturday and the past two nights had been filled with restless dreams of hard black eyes following her wherever she went. The last thing her overtired mind needed was the mysterious Edward Cullen and the way he talked in circles.

Jessica cornered her after last bell at her locker, "Hey Bella, have any plans tonight?"

Bella shoved her last book in her backpack and swung it up on her shoulder before responding, "I don't know Jess, probably just making dinner than working on our English essay."

Jessica wrinkled her nose, "Oh. Well, I was thinking, Lauren's been kind of seeing a boy on the rez and he invited us out to a bonfire tonight. Maybe you wanna' come?"

Lauren had been talking to that boy on the beach, the one Embry had called Paul, were they dating?

"Anyone I know?" Bella asked, waiting for confirmation.

"You don't really know anyone Bella," Jessica reminded her, she had a point, "his name is Paul and he's only fifteen, but he's like, grade A meat, and it gets under her parents skin so Lauren's game. Anyway, do you wanna' come or not?"

Bella was torn, on one hand she wanted to see them again, to see if their interest in her had been a one-time thing or if something more was behind it, but on the other hand she wasn't sure she was exactly welcomed, none of the three had seemed particularly happy to see her that day on the beach.

Jessica was impatient by now, taping her manicured nails against her binder in annoyance, "Like it's not a big deal, you don't have to come if you don't want to, just let me know."

"Uhm, yeah, yeah, I'll go."

"Awesome. Pick you up at 7, just tell the chief we have a project to work on and you'll be staying at my place tonight."

With a quick nod Jessica dismissed the conversation and flounced off to join an annoyed looking Lauren who was waiting at the door for her.

xXx

Charlie had been so happy she was making friends that he hadn't even let her fully explain her plans for the night before he was agreeing to them. She was kind of hoping he would be harder than that to convince.

Now sitting in the back seat of Jessica's car as it whizzed down the road she was seriously regretting her decision to say yes.

Lauren had greeted her with unbridled disgust when they had stopped to pick her up and since then the two girls had been chattering away in the front seat pretending Bella didn't exist. Angela had apparently not been invited, or if she had, she had declined for whatever reason. Bella was sorely missing the quiet girl right now.

Jessica pulled into the same parking lot from Saturday and the three girls climbed out of the car.

Noticing Bella's confusion Lauren rolled her eyes and said, "Bonfire isn't on this beach, Sam's coming to pick us up and drive us."

There was that name again, Sam Uley, the boy with the staring problem.

No sooner had she said that then a jeep pulled up next to them with a screech spraying chunks of gravel in their direction. Sure enough Sam Uley was sitting behind the wheel, he didn't seem surprised to see her.

With barely even a hello they piled into the jeep, Bella ending up squished between Jessica and some body in the back seat, her arms pined to her side.

"Where's Paul?" Lauren asked from the front as she looted underneath the seat before letting out a small excited 'yes' and reappearing with a bottle of cheap vodka.

The boy next to Bella stretched his arm out behind her and gave her a quick wink before responding, "Finishing getting the fire ready."

He turned back to Bella then, "I'm Jared Cameron, I don't think we've met."

Bella forced a smile, "Nice to meet you, I'm Bella."

"Bella Swan, yeah, I've heard a thing or two about you," he said with another unreadable smile.

They were flying down a dirt road through the woods and with the top of the jeep down the night air stung Bella's cheeks making them rosy and wind burnt. The road gradually opened up to a clearing where Sam through the jeep in park and hopped out, walking away without a second thought to his passengers.

She was almost positive she heard Jessica mutter something about manners under her breath as the rest of them followed Sam's back through the much narrower wooded path. It was a short walk to the beach but the trees kept even the light from the moon from getting in and Bella found herself tripping over a root more than once, much to Lauren's amusement. The boy from the car, Jared, was just behind her and every time she'd stumble forward his hand would catch her, keeping her upright. Jared seemed nice, she couldn't place him as friends with the people she had seen at the beach on Saturday.

Bella was soon intent on watching her feet to prevent any further falls she didn't realize they had even reached the bonfire group until she felt the all too familiar sensation of someone watching her. Her eyes snapped up to capture the hard black ones staring at her from across the flames.

He still didn't look happy to see her.

xXx

He kept her in his peripherals throughout the night, always aware of her location even when Lauren crawled onto his lap for an impromptu make-out session.

He had meant to cut Lauren loose that day at the beach, she had been fun for a little while but she was a ho-quaht and a bitch.

Everything changed when she appeared. Leah had spotted her first, pointing her out to Sam, who had called Paul over to show him. From there a new plan formulated, instead of breaking up with Lauren he had invited her to a bonfire and asked her to bring Jessica and the new girl, he claimed it was for some of his single friends, and Lauren wasn't one to ask too many questions.

Now they were here and he had still not gotten a chance to speak to her, no, she was too busy joking around with Jared Cameron. He'd been annoyed when Sam said he was picking Jared up on his way to get the girls. Jared was a punk and he knew how to push every single one of Paul's buttons. This was just more of the same. Jared knew Paul was watching them, he'd turn his head in Paul's direction every once in a while with a smirk or a wink for him. It was driving Paul to the edge of his sanity.

At some point during Paul's internal argument Lauren had slunk off his lap in search of more vodka; the girl was a total lush. She was shortly replaced by Sam who came to stand beside him, Leah wrapped around his side like another appendage.

"You need to speak to her soon Paul. That's why we've brought her here." Sam's voice was a deep baritone that spoke volumes of his leadership ability and his maturity.

Paul gripped the solo cup in his hand tighter, listening to it crack under the pressure, "I will Sam, if that prick Jared would leave her alone. Hell, I would've talked to her Saturday if Jacob fucking Black wasn't all over her shitting rainbows with those two losers he's always with."

Leah snorted, leaning around Sam a bit to look at Paul, "Can't take a little competition Lahote?"

"There is no competition. She's mine."

"Not yet Paul. We are meeting with the Elders tomorrow, Jacob Black and Quil Ateara will be there as well. So will Jared. The change is coming and they need to prepare us for it."

"Black?" Paul spat out with unbridled disgust, he had never liked the kid.

"He's the future chief of our tribe Paul, if anyone will shift it will be him. We have to prepare for the spirit walk tomorrow."

Paul nodded tersely, returning his stare to the Swan girl who was now sitting by herself in the sand on the opposite side of the fire. Her alabaster skin shone so pretty in the orange light from the fire.

It had been nearly a month since the change had begun, slowly but surely five Quileute teenagers had begun to shoot up in height and pack on muscle, their bodies ached constantly and their skin warmed. Paul still remembered being called into a council meeting, just over a week ago, with Sam and Jared, the elders had explained their tribal stories again but this time they took on a new meaning. The shift had begun and soon they would join the ranks of their ancestors; half human, half wolf; protectors of the tribe. The process was only complete once the future pack went on a spirit walk together, they would return from it completely phased and ready to take on their new roles in the community.

"Didn't Old Quil say there would be six of us?"

Sam nodded slowly, "Yes, there's luck in even numbers. They're sending Embry Call; just in case."

Just in case. Fuck that for a joke. Nobody claimed to know who Embry's father was and his bitch mother wasn't spilling, but if Paul had to guess the tribal council knew more than they let on. Anyone who paid the least bit of attention to Embry in the past month could see that he was growing at the same rate as the others. When he phased with the rest of him there'd be no denying his paternity and then all hell would break loose.

Throughout the conversation Leah had remained at Sam's side, uncharacteristically quiet. Sam had, in a moment of absolute terror from hearing the news, revealed everything to her, and now she was bound by her love for him to keep it a secret.

"Go talk to her Paul, we will worry about the rest tomorrow."

xXx

Bella's heart nearly failed when she realized he was coming towards her. Jared had left her side a little while ago to grab something to drink and since then she had been watching the creepy trios conversation across the fire. She knew without being told that she was a part of that conversation, Paul hadn't stopped looking at her for more than a few seconds, and the other two kept throwing furtive glances in her direction. Still, she had not expected one of them to actually talk to her.

Paul stopped short in front of her, staring down with the same impenetrable stare but this time it was paired with the smallest of smiles.

"I'm Paul Lahote," he said, reaching forward a hand to help her stand. She took it nervously and was surprised at how warm he was; just like Jared had been.

"Yeah I know, I'm Bella Swan."

Paul smirked, "Yes, Isabella Swan, I know exactly who you are."

She didn't like this guy already and she kind of wished he would just go back to creepily staring at her instead of actually trying to conversate, "Just Bella is fine."

"Oh but you're not just Bella."

Bella needed a subject change, and fast, "You're Lauren's boyfriend right?"

The boy in front of her stiffened at those words, his hands clenching into fists, "No."

"Okay… Well, it was nice to meet you Paul but I should probably get going, I'm sure the girls are looking for me."

She turned to leave but was stopped by a heated hand on her wrist, "No."

Bella looked down once at her wrist and then back up at the boy, "Can you, uh, let me go, please?"

Paul looked over his shoulder, as if someone had called to him, then let her go.

"See you around Isabella."