Paul Lahote

"I'm sure the leech-lover is just dying to help us out!"

- Paul on Bella Swan

Paul Lahote is a Quileute shape-shifter. He was the third one to join the pack, by the age 16, and is the most volatile member of the pack, becoming so enraged upon learning that Jacob informed Bella about them that he turned into a wolf and attempted to kill her. He later seems to have no ill feelings towards Bella or Jacob. He is prone to angry outbursts, causing him to burst into his wolf form. He is a distant relative of the Uley family through his great-grandmother.

Early life
Paul Lahote was born in Tacoma. When his parents divorced (Paul was eight), his father took him back to La Push, back to the tribe. He still lives there with his father. He wasn't close to either Sam or Jared, though he was in the same year of school as Jared. He changed into a shape-shifter after Sam and Jared, about the age of sixteen. He had his own circle of friends, so when he abruptly stopped hanging out with them and instead became inseparable from Sam, it drew attention. Since he was temperamental as a human, he had a hard time controlling himself and frequently phased by accident, which forced Sam to stay close to him to keep his transformation from attracting notice.

After Emily was injured by Sam, Paul began to take his temper problems more seriously and improved somewhat, though he still found control more difficult than the others.



New Moon
In New Moon, Paul is first present in wolf form while hunting Laurent. After Bella found out what they are, he instantly loses his temper, phases into his wolf form and tries to attack Bella, but is stopped by Jacob and Sam. He joins his pack in defending Bella and Charlie against Victoria.

In the movie, he phases after Bella slapped him for laughing at her accusation of Sam controlling Jacob.

Eclipse
After the Cullens return, they try to hunt Victoria on both lands. When Emmett attempts to attack Victoria, she leaps out of the way causing him to smack into Paul by accident. Then Rosalie defends Emmett which almost turns into a fight until Jasper and Carlisle calm everyone down. He is present at the Quileute council campfire, where he takes most of the hotdogs.

After the campfire, Paul isn't directly mentioned in the book, but it's clear that he participates in guarding Bella's house and the fight against Victoria's newborn army along with the rest of the pack and the Cullens.

In the Eclipse movie, Emmett attempts to cross over to the Quileute border while chasing Victoria, and Paul knocks him back, sending him into the river. He is later seen coming out from Emily's house, mocking "Jacob's obsessive inner monologue" in front of Bella.

During the fight in the movie, two newborn vampires climb onto his back, making him unable to attack until Emmett throws off one of them and Paul flings off the other. After the fight, he carries the injured Jacob back to his house and is last seen when Bella walks up while Paul and the others are waiting outside of their house while Carlisle is tending to his wounds.

Breaking Dawn
Sometime before Breaking Dawn, Rachel Black, Jacob's older sister, came home from college, and Paul imprinted on her. This annoys Billy Black and Jacob because Paul is always at their house, using their television and eating their food, but Billy remains okay with his visits because it keeps Rachel home longer. He deals with his presence by staying at the Clearwaters' to keep Sue company.

One night, Jacob finds him overly annoying as he was eating all the food and being obsessive about controlling the TV. Jacob punches him in the face and breaks his nose after he playfully agrees to not tell Rachel if he does, but to Jacob's surprise and annoyance, he remains calm and doesn't fight back. This is because Rachel is the only thing Paul cares about.

He is present during Jacob and Jared's conversation about what to do with the Cullens while Bella is pregnant with Renesmee, after Jacob, Seth and Leah broke away from Sam's pack. His last appearance in the saga is during the Volturi's "trial" against the Cullens for having committed a "crime" by creating an immortal child, with Bella protecting him and his pack.

By this time, their pack has expanded to twelve, due to the increasing numbers of additional vampires.

Physical appearance
Paul is known to be at least 6 feet tall and muscular, with brown eyes and black hair. In New Moon, Jacob says that "Paul's just sixteen, too, shorter than me and not as beefy as Quil." This was before he joined Sam's pack. Now he's as big, tall and muscular as his "brothers".

Wolf form
Bella describes Paul's wolf form as, "Dark silver fur blew out from the boy, coalescing into a shape more than five-times his size—a massive, crouched shape, ready to spring". He is also shorter than Sam, swift, and dark-eyed.

Personality
Paul is described as annoying, very short-tempered (which sets off his transformation frequently), cocky and dominating, despite his young age. In Breaking Dawn he seems to have improved his temper, as when he gets punched in the face by Jacob he still retains control. This may be because of his newfound love for Jacob's sister, Rachel Black, on whom he imprinted when she returned to La Push to visit her family. Paul also doesn't like Bella very much because of her relationship with the Cullens. He is one of the members of the pack who doesn't talk to her much in New Moon.

Rachel Black
Sometime after Eclipse and before Book 2 of Breaking Dawn, Paul imprints on Jacob Black's older sister Rachel when she comes back to La Push to visit her family. This annoys Billy and Jacob, for he is always at their house eating their food, taking up most of the space on their couch, and watching their TV; however, Billy is happy that Rachel is sticking around longer because of Paul.

Paul is prone to losing his temper very quickly, but seems to have better control of it during Breaking Dawn, most likely due to the happiness of being in love. Following Breaking Dawn, he tries to restrain himself from phasing in hopes of living a life with Rachel, who is hoping to leave with him as soon as he is able to quit.

Film portrayal
Alex Meraz played Paul in the film New Moon and Eclipse. He will also be reprising his role in Breaking Dawn.

Appearances

 * New Moon
 * New Moon film
 * Eclipse
 * Eclipse film
 * Breaking Dawn
 * Breaking Dawn - Parts 1 &amp; 2