AN: I am so sorry for not updating sooner! Life got away from me and a lot of work cropped up on my car that I had to manage myself (I'm still working on it, but the emergency items are checked-off), and I've also been helping a coworker with his truck. I really need to start charging for these services lol. Anyway, here's the next chapter of Suffer, and now we get into the real depth of Angela's abilities and just how important she will become to the supernatural world around her. I hope you all enjoy, and reviews are always welcome!

There was dead silence for all of three seconds before the clearing was filled with the sounds of several palms meeting foreheads. I can't say I blamed them, but come on. Give me some credit, I just created the ability to fucking fly! Excuse me if that takes precedence over literally anything else.

"Really, Angela?! That's the best you could come up with?" I turned and flipped Leah the bird, and she just raised one gorgeous eyebrow at me. "Is that an offer? Cause you're still underaged and I'm not going to jail because you're a useless lesbian."

I glared, though keeping eye-contact was nearly impossible with that tight-fitted sports bra so I just shrugged before returning my gaze to the Cullen side of the line. "We are attending this meeting for two reasons. One, to establish my properties as off-limits to all Cullens unless specifically invited, and two, to release Alice Cullen from her unintentional contract of secrecy. To that end, my name is Angela Lockwell, Witch of the Order of Lilitu. I hold dominion over forces of magick and nature and within the next three months will be completing my dedication to my Mother Goddess, Lilith."

I turned to Alice who relaxed with an appreciative smile my way. "Thank you," she whispered, relief prominent in her voice. "I know you didn't want to do this but my future is clear now and I owe you so much."

"Careful what you say," came the human voice of Weselton as he stumbled his way into the clearing while pulling at his cufflinks. "You don't want to wind up in another debt to Madam Lockwell because of a slip of the tongue."

But Alice and Jasper were staring at Weselton as if he'd grown a third head. "Jenkins?" Jasper asked, his accent heavy in his surprise. "What are you doin' here?"

I looked back at Weselton who looked just as confused before he threw back his head with as laugh. "My apologies," he chuckled, pulling off his opal cufflinks. His disguise fell away at the same time his body began to lengthen until he was back in his Dryad form, branching antlers standing tall above his head. "I thought wearing my human disguise might be better than showing up in my true form, but I forgot that what Angela sees is different from what Alice and Jasper have seen."

"Good God Almighty," came a hushed whisper from the vampires' side, bringing our admittedly short collective attention-spans back to the original topic. Carlisle was staring at myself and Armando with real fear in this eyes, clutching a cross in one hand while pressing Esme behind him. "What is the meaning of this?! We were told the Lilitu were extinct."

"Nearly so," Armando all but hissed in his strange grainy voice. "Between the International Coven of Witches suppressing their existence and the Volturi quietly trying to find ways to end their Clan for good, I was just as surprised as you to find young Angela still among the living. And I plan to keep it that way." He didn't raise his voice, but the threat was very tacitly implied in the way his eyes narrowed on the Cullen leaders.

Only for his eyes to quickly widened in surprise as Esme looked from around Carlisle. Armando held the vampire matriarch's steady gaze as both supernaturals seemed lost to the rest of the world. I didn't know how Dryad mates went, but from Esme's wide, starry-eyed gaze, I would bet my magick that there was something happening between the two. Unfortunately, they were interrupted by an intense growl from the man who called himself coven leader.

"Quiet, Carlisle," Esme all but hissed at her husband. "Look at him, see him."

Carlisle immediately silenced the feral sound coming from his throat, his gaze meeting the deep, pale-grey eyes for the first time. His eyes widened, and I could easily hear the catch in his breathing. Both vampires' eyes had darkened, and my magick immediately began sparking at my fingertips at the hostile visual.

"Be at ease, Madam Lockwell," Armando's voice was filled with reverence as he kept his gaze locked on the Cullen leaders. "Black eyes do not always mean hunger. I imagine their mating instincts are kicking in so I fear I will have to leave you to your own devices for the time being."

He began walking towards Carlisle and Esme, only to be intercepted by Edward Cullen who was growling at the foreign entity. Unfortunately, the boy either didn't bother to read the collective thoughts of those involved or he was genuinely suicidal, because he suddenly found his head locked tight in none other than Esme Cullen's toned arms, a deep growl rumbling from the once-docile vampiress.

"Esme," Armando whispered into the remaining space between them, his voice filled with a soothing cadence that went beyond the physical. "You do not need to worry about Edward. I am perfectly safe and not without my own power. Please release him before you tear his head off."

Legit, cracks were beginning to form outward from where Esme's arms clenched tightly against the boy's throat. Esme suddenly released her son as if burned, her eyes wide with shock as her actions seemed to hit her. "Oh, Edward," she crooned tearfully, "I'm so sorry! I don't know what came over me."

Edward immediately put a safe distance between himself and his mother-figure, probably the smartest thing he had done all day. "I don't understand," he exclaimed in that whiney, petulant voice of his. "You and Carlisle are mates, why are you looking at this thing like you want it?!"

Aaand he's back to being stupid. That didn't last long! The sound of Leah's voice calling out to me caught my attention, though my eyes never left the scene unfolding in front of me. "We're taking bets on who takes off his head first. You want in on this?"

I grinned, tossing over my shoulder, "Anyone got money on me?" The rising sounds of angry growls from the vampires aimed at Edward were growing louder by the second, even as Armando attempted to calm the rising tensions. I didn't have much time before they would strike.

"Leah and her brother Seth put up a hundred on you," Sam answered this time and I could hear the smirk in her voice.

"Leah, if I do this, you're gonna owe me," I shot back challengingly.

"At the risk of sounding like a hoe," she returned playfully, "I could use the money. You're on."

I didn't hesitate. Edward had been backed into a nearby tree by not just Carlisle and Esme, but Rosalie as well. Apparently, the blonde had bonded with the Dryad the night before because I never would have expected this response from Buddy Barbie. Still, I had a bet to win and some long-overdue frustrations to take out on the mind-reader.

Moving to the side so I had a clear shot, I charged my spell into my right hand, and with a sweeping motion and a snap of my fingers, I intoned, "Lepída aéra!"

A powerful, focused gust of wind shot through the air, buffeting the three vampires and Armando while the full force of the spell hit its target spot-on. Edward's head slid cleanly from his neck and to the ground with a thud as my personally crafted 'wind blade' spell severed his head completely, his body falling over seconds later. This was something I'd been working on in my down time as a non-lethal anti-vampire spell but I'd never had a chance to really practice it. Its premier seemed to go over well considering the dramatic gasps from the three mates, and the loud 'whoop!' from Leah somewhere off behind me.

I simply raised a brow as Armando, Carlisle, and Esme turned on me with wide-eyed looks. Rosalie already knew what I was willing and capable of doing so she simply rolled her eyes and walked back over to where Alice and Jasper were waiting, the little pixie sporting such a mischievous grin as to be downright evil. Emmett, strangely, had remained silent and out of the way during this whole exchange.

I shrugged with a sly grin towards Armando before turning to the wolves. "Leah and Seth win!" I shouted unnecessarily loud across the treaty line. "Leeeeah!" I sang the name falsetto, grinning at the wolf glaring at me from her side of the line. It was only my advanced sight that let me take in the fact that her eyes never quite met mine, just as Sam had said. It was time to get my new friends on the same page, because the animosity between the vampires and wolves could not withstand the test of time and one of these days someone was going to misstep and then I'd be stuck in the middle of two warring factions of supernaturals.

I walked right up to the treaty line and crooked my finger at the she-wolf. Almost against her will, her feet began to carry her closer and closer to the treaty line until she was shaking at being in such close proximity to what she saw as her enemy. A whisper and a snap of my finger silenced and cloaked the area around myself and Leah. At Leah's furrowed-brow confusion, I explained as much.

This only made the gorgeous, half-naked Native woman frown deeper. "Why would you do something like that? I already told you I'm not sleeping with you, jailbait."

I didn't take the figurative bait, my smile falling as I reached out with my magick and wrapped her soul tight. I could hear her breath stutter as she went rigid, but her being a little uncomfortable was worth it if I found what I was looking for. On the surface, of course, was Leah the woman. Fierce yet jaded, using anger to hide her pain. And use it well she did.

But it wasn't until I pressed in deeper into her aura that I found the wolf. Hers was a proud spirit, just as fierce as her human but yearning in a way that Leah's soul only hinted at. The wolf was wild and chaotic, but equally as angry but for far different reasons. It slammed against its cage constantly, raging to be released so it could find its mate.

I pushed deeper, for as much as I wanted to unite the wolf with its mate, I had found a deeper purpose for my presence. It took quite a while searching through the void of half-formed thoughts and memories, not just of Leah's but of her Pack and her predecessors within her genetic memory, to locate what I was hoping to find.

There I stood amidst the bloody ruins of a once-peaceful village. The Cold Woman was tearing her way through human after human, rampaging in her grief for her lost mate. Taha Aki stood before the Woman, unable to bring forth his wolf after so many years. He would die by her hands if someone did not intervene.

I took hold of a dainty wrist just as the knife plunged inward towards a vulnerable abdomen, stopping the woman's sacrifice while at the same time weaving a binding over the Cold Woman to stay her hand. With a burst of powerful magick, I erased the scene from the wolf genetic memory, and with it the hatred-fueled shifting in the presence of vampires. My energy was waning quickly after so much deep magick, so with one mighty burst of will, I sent the changes I had just created in Leah through her shared genetics with all of the other Families before my spirit was forced back into my own body.

I stumbled backwards, breaking my cloaking spell as I fell to the ground, my back stinging from the unhindered landing. I didn't even have enough energy to catch my fall or even cry out in pain. Never before had I drained myself this much. For the first time since my awakening, I had absolutely no magick left in my body. I was completely vulnerable and at the mercy of the vampires who wanted my kind dead, and a tribe of wolf shifters whose genetic imperatives I had just violated without consent.

As my consciousness began to fade and the dim light of the cloudy sky grew dark, I had one last lucid thought: Why can't I ever think before acting?!

The sound of quiet voices nearby drew me slowly towards consciousness, an uphill battle that ended with my eyes opening blearily only to slam shut a split second later as rays of bright light stabbed the back of my skull. I groaned pitifully, my words coming out slurred as I tried to move my face from the light only to realize I was too weak for even that small motion. "Can someone turn the fucking sun off, please?"

Surprisingly, someone did, the light dimming enough to allow me to at least crack my eyes open a little. It was only then that I realized someone had simply drawn a thick set of curtains and I concluded I might be a little more fucked up than I had originally thought.

A presence at my side had me reaching for my magick on instinct, finding only a trickle compared to the deluge I normally channeled. "Shh," crooned a soothing voice belonging to the presence. "You're okay, Angela, you're safe."

I tried to focus my vision but realized quickly that without my enhancement spells, I needed my glasses. I was blind as a bat and weaker than a newborn kitten, which meant I was completely at the mercy of whoever was currently pressing something against my lips. When I realized it was a straw, I forced my lips to part, drinking down the gloriously cool liquid far faster than was probably advisable.

Sooner than I would have liked, the drink was being withdrawn only to be replaced by a cool, damp cloth to my forehead. "Easy now," the mothering voice crooned soothingly. "You've been out for several hours."

Finally, I managed to gather enough energy to begin clearing my vision enough to make out the woman, only to blink in confusion at the sight of Esme Cullen sitting beside me on what turned out to be my bed in my cabin. My magick truly must have failed me if an uninvited vampire was in my territory.

"Easy, dear," she crooned again in that mothering tone that I wasn't used to hearing. "You're safe, and so long as our family exists then you will remain so."

I frowned, my brows furrowing up at the matronly beauty. "What do you mean? What happened? Where is Armando?"

Esme's smile softened at my rush of questions, her hand patting mine gently. "He, Carlisle, and Sam are finalizing the disillusionment of the previous treaty between our kinds. Your lands will still be considered off-limits until such a time as you're fit to meet our various peoples on equal footing."

She paused, and I could almost sense her confusion as she went on. "I can't claim to understand all of it myself, but the way Armando explained it is that as his mates, Carlisle and I are bound to his fate. His life debt to your family is now ours, and so the remaining Cullens have pledged their loyalty to you, Madam Lockwell."

I felt my eyes widen, my mouth gaping as I realized what she was saying. "Th-That can't be right. Vampires want my kind wiped off the face of existence. If the Volturi find out I exist, your family will be implemented. I can't ask that-"

"It wasn't asked," came the raspy voice of Armando as he ducked his way into my bedroom, with Carlisle close behind. "I do apologize, Madam Lockwell, but you're just going to have to accept that this is your new norm. And since you cannot seem to help yourself from interfering in the lives of those who dwell within your domain, you've also Clan-bound the Quileute shapeshifters to your line."

This time I felt my eyes bulge practically out of their sockets. "No," I whispered, clearing my throat as I struggled to put more strength in my voice. "I refuse to bind so many to my fate! Alice already nearly died because of me! There's too much I don't know or understand about magick. I can't be responsible for so many when I haven't even fucking graduated fucking high school!"

A brief, cool wind hit my face at the same time I felt a new presence on my other side. None other than Teleporting Barbie stood there with an angry glare aimed down at me. "I don't know what the fuck you just did, but take it back!"

I flinched at the venom in her voice. I'd been on the receiving end of her ire before but this was a completely different set of emotions. I could sense her pain and fear, but it wasn't for herself. I could feel her heart crying out in agony and it was painful to even be within her orbit.

"Angela," I cringed, beginning to hate it when Armando used my actual name. "You have to understand that by removing the wolves shifting imperative from vampire aggression focus, you've now bound it to yourself. By denying them, you just shut off their shifter gene entirely and I don't know how long I'll be able to keep Rosalie here calm before my magick dissipates."

I frowned up at Intention-to-Commit Barbie as her black-eyed gaze never wavered from mine. "Why the hell do you care about the wolves all of a sudden?"

A low growl reached my ears and I realized with a jolt of fear that it was coming from Feral Barbie. "When you fell unconscious," she ground out between clenched teeth, "I ran to your side just as Leah crossed the border. We were both so worried about you that when we realized we were so close, our eyes met."

Oh. Oh shit, Leah was her mate! That means Leah must have imprinted on Rosalie and without the shifter gene active, Rosalie was feeling that loss as deeply as if she'd watched her mate die before her eyes. I was only still alive through some miracle combination of Armando's calming magick and Rosalie's hesitation.

Closing my eyes, I reached out to the numerous souls now connected to my own, feeling the fear and terror of the Pack panicking without the presence of their wolves. With a deep breath, I consciously chose to accept each and every one of them as part of me now, as irrevocable members of my Clan. My family.

I could feel it like a ping of light pulsing through me as every wolf - some figuratively, some literally - howled their relief. A quiet sob from my side had my eyes flashing open just in time for Rosalie to throw her arms around my shoulders in a crushing hug that I had to quickly counter with my magick in order to remain in one piece. But it was her voice whispered in my ear that really did me in, an echo of her pain filling me from our new bond. "If you ever do something like that again, magick or not, I'm coming for you."

I nodded into the oddly comfortable hug before Rosalie pulled away. In a blur, she disappeared from the room, no doubt heading back to her mate. Lucky bitch!

Eat me! came a quiet voice into my thoughts that wasn't my own and I had to blink when I realized it was Leah. Oh hell, was I a part of their Pack mind now?

Gladly, but I don't think your imprint would appreciate that very much! I sent back, instantly receiving a bunch of wolf whistles in response from the rest of the Pack. Yep, asked and answered. Rose was gonna kill me if any of that got back to her.

True, but she's so hot when she's angry, I caught the impression of a toothy grin and I couldn't tell if it was the woman or the wolf. Probably a bit of both at this point.

She's always angry, I thought it prudent to remind her.

And she's always hot, what's your point? I couldn't disagree exactly so I just sent her the impression of a sagely nod before putting up a ward between my thoughts and those of the Pack, hoping it would be enough to block them out without shutting down the Pack mind entirely. I had the instinctual feeling that I was now the tether that tied their minds together.

I blinked at the room's remaining occupants, realizing I'd kinda been staring off into space while chuckling to myself for the last minute or so. "Sorry, but it's suddenly rather crowded up here now." I tapped my head for good measure, throwing the triad mates a chagrined smile.

"It is understandable," Armando smiled gently down at me, one hand resting comfortably on Esme's shoulder, the other casually wrapped around Carlisle's waist. It was the most comfortable I'd ever seen him and I was truly happy for my friend for finding his mates. "For one so young to accomplish so much in such short time, it is a wonder you are still sane."

I groaned as I leaned my head back against my pillow, staring up at the ceiling. "I wonder about that myself sometimes. From most everything I've read, I've been able to channel more than twice the energy of even most seasoned Witches, even moreso than other Lilitu. I've yet to find a spell I cannot grasp and make mine. I created the ability to fly figuratively on the fly! Already my magick has regenerated nearly to its full capacity and it was a struggle to even focus my vision when I first woke up."

The Dryad took a deep breath and sat down at the edge of the bed, his presence somehow miniscule despite his tall form. "We can only guess why that is. Maybe it has something to do with 'Lani locking away your core until your last birthday. Maybe you are simply a natural. There are many secrets, I'm afraid, that your grandmothers took with them to their graves."

I released a heavy sigh, smiling at Esme's cold hand grasping mine gently in support. "No matter what happens," she said firmly, "you're a part of our family now and we take care of our own."

I felt my brows furrow as her wording from earlier came back to me. "You said something about the 'remaining Cullens' earlier. Did something happen?"

Esme flinched, Carlisle appearing behind her with a comforting arm wrapped around her tense shoulders. It was his turn to speak, his voice quiet yet soothing in a strange way. "Before you arrived at the meeting, Rosalie had a small confrontation with Emmett where they both discussed the fact that they were not mates. Emmett is a good kid, always has a way of making light of any situation, but this proved too much even for him. He asked for time to be by himself after the meeting and so we all gave him as much space as we could until you arrived."

"I still feel like it's our fault he's gone," Esme whispered, sounding as if she were on the verge of tears. Carlisle ran a comforting hand up and down her back as Armando reached to grasped her hand that wasn't holding mine. It was a comfortable, emotional moment and I couldn't get over just how quickly my life had changed in just a few days.

"Our scuffle with Edward," Carlisle continued in a subdued manner, "and your rather impressive display of magick were already pushing things for him, but when he saw Rosalie and Leah staring at one another...Jasper said it felt as if something inside him had broken away. It was the death of hope."

Esme's breath caught on a sob as she released my hand to delicately cover her mouth, face crumbling beneath her own emotions. "We found a mate we didn't even know existed today, but in doing so we very well broke two of our sons' hearts!"

I was reaching for the woman before I could stop myself, pulling her trembling figure into my arms in a tight hug. My magick rose up naturally through the strange new connections I shared with the vampires and poured deep into Esme's soul where a well of sorrow dwelt. The word thera was an echo as my magick began to glow a bright white between us, sentient and seeking the wounded parts of this beautiful creature's soul. It did not take long for my magick to clash with her seemingly infinite source of pain, and in the echoes of the battle of will versus trauma, I heard Esme crying out for her child that would not breathe. Even as I fought the waves of that endless sea of sadness, another emotion built up so quickly it nearly buried me beneath its waves. Depression, deep and dark, an unending nightmare of loss that could only end with that final leap.

We were both drowning in her emotions now and there was only one thing I could think of to bring us both above water. And so I stood with her on that cliff, holding her hand in mine as we stared out at the rolling waves ebbing and flowing. Surely the fall from this height would be enough to end both of our agony. But that's not what either of us needed. She needed to know she did the best she could, was the best mother she could have ever been for that lost son. And that, if she let me, I would love nothing more than to have a real mother who loved me for who I was, flaws and terrible decisions and all.

And so as we stood there holding hands, we eventually turned away from the cliff to face each other as I let my intentions be known. There were tears pouring down her still-warm cheeks, a trembling, hopeful smile aimed my way. And I could not hold back my own tears as I took in this wondrous woman whose love of family had led her to take in so many lost souls, so many burdened people whom she could do nothing but love as only a true mother could. On the sides of that cliff, I finally let the last vestiges of my human life go as I opened my arms wide and pulled this woman into my heart and soul, into a place that had been vacant since my grandma 'Lani's passing. I let her sorrow and her pain wash through me and down the sides of that cliff until only the echoes remained, until only a mother and a daughter remained.

We pulled away with a shared gasp as we jolted back to reality, the bright glow of my healing magick slowly ebbing back into my core as our minds and souls returned to our bodies once again. I could do no more than stare, tears leaving cold tracks down my cheeks as Esme stared back at me in wonder. One pale, cold hand raised to brush gently at my tears, a look of raw emotion filling her own gaze with tears that would never fall again.

"You precious, sweet, darling girl," she stuttered out on a dry sob, "was that real? Is this real? My heart feels so light, so free, yet I can feel you there now."

I swallowed hard, fearful of what I had just done but unwilling to recant, so I just nodded. "I can't keep holding on to the hatred for a woman who means nothing in the grand scheme of things. And I don't want you to keep clinging to a sorrowful ache that will never be filled by any conventional means. So yes, if you would have me there, then I would gladly fill that void if it means learning what it truly feels like to have a...mother."

Esme's face once again crumbled into sobs, though these were tears of absolution rather than unending sorrow as she pulled me into a tight embrace that I returned readily. And just like that, what had started out as a lifeline snapped into place as an anchor between our hearts, my magick sealing our words stronger than blood or legality ever could. Esme Cullen, vampire matriarch to the Cullen family and coven, was now my Ma'atem, my chosen mother.

If asked, I wouldn't be able to tell exactly how I had accomplished such a feat, or even where that term had come from. In fact, I had been touching souls all day without any conscious thought as to what I was doing or the mechanics of it. It was as instinctual to me as my magick, something Armando went on to explain after Esme and I returned to reality, changed yet still the same as before.

"Every Witch has a form of magick they tend to excel at over all others. I'd say for you, Madam Lockwell, you are a natural at manipulating the soul, which is a rare magickal art in and of itself."

"How so?" I asked, the scholar in me rising to the surface at the same time my stomach made it's displeasure known with a loud rumble.

Esme was on her feet in an instant. "Why don't you continue while I go whip you up something to eat? Any preferences?"

I tried to wave the woman off, already beginning to attempt to stand. "No, I'm not gonna bother you with fixing me food when I'm perfectly-"

I was suddenly standing in front of a very irate woman, her gaze sharp as she narrowed her eyes up at me. "Now you listen here, young lady. I have literally all the time in the world on my hands, so if I want to cook my daughter something to eat then I'm very well going to." I gaped, surprised and yet touched at the woman's fierceness. I wasn't used to a mother being irate on my behalf.

Her face softened at whatever she say in my eyes. "You've walked this road alone for nearly a year. Let me take care of you so you can focus on your destiny."

Swallowing hard past the sudden lump in my throat, I nodded, earning a quick hug before she blurred out of my bedroom and into the kitchen, from the sound of it. I turned to the other two-thirds of the triad to find both men smiling warmly at me.

"You've given our mate a true blessing," Carlisle commented into the silence. "She's always thrown her heart behind all of our children, and that love has always been true, but Esme was turned in the throws of postpartum depression and as you'll no doubt have read in Athenadora's book, we vampires are frozen in time at the moment of our turning."

I felt my brows shoot up into my hairline. It was true, I'd read all I could about vampires as soon as I realized a coven of them lived in my hometown. I just never considered what that would mean for the conditions of a person's turning. Poor Esme had been living decades with that all-encompassing pain writhing in her heart. It made me think of Rosalie and what had happened to her that made her so cold and angry at the world. I shuddered at the thought.

"Perhaps we should continue this discussion in the living area?" Armando cut in, his hand grasping Carlisle's in a subtle show of support. I hadn't even thought about it, but as a doctor and Esme's maker, he must feel doubly responsible for her post-turning condition.

"I agree," I returned, putting as much pep into my voice as possible. "'Cause whatever mom's cooking already smells delicious."

I almost missed the adoring looks sent my way as I left the room first, the men following closer behind. It felt weird in a way that wasn't weird at all, having so many people suddenly connected to me. But still, even with a Pack of shapeshifters and several vampires tethered to my soul, I still felt incomplete.

I wasn't whole, and as I took my usual chair in the living area, I knew I never would be until I had my mate by my side.