AN: You all deserve another chapter update, I thinks. And since the last chapter kinda made a huge leap forward, I thought this one might help explain things further about Angela's development. Hopefully this answers some questions you all had, but just know that things are going to be advancing for our little witch rather rapidly now and hopefully it doesn't come across as too much, too fast. As always, let me know what you think and I hope you all enjoy!

"As I was saying," Armando jumped right back into our discussion the moment we were seated, Carlisle choosing to stand next to his mate rather than pull in a chair from the kitchen table. "You seem to possess a rare form of magick called Soul Weaving, wherein you can contain, control, or manipulate the souls of others to an unheard of degree. We saw it first the other day when Rosalie attacked. You instinctually reached out and paralyzed her on a soul-level, freezing the body where it stood.

"But that is not where the true depth of power of this ability exists. You have proven capable of altering gene sequencing in others through manipulation of their genetic memory, which we saw you do earlier with Leah and the rest of the Pack. You rewrote the generic imperative that led to their tribe shifting in the presence of vampires. Not only that, but you've given their subsequent generations the choice to shift at will if the gene is present."

I know my face was pale by now, and the once pleasant smell of food was now turning my stomach, but Armando wasn't finished. "But more than that, you have the ability to tether souls to your own. You can create bonds where none previously existed, and, as you displayed earlier with the wolves, you could just as easily break those bonds."

Carlisle inhaled sharply, his eyes widening as our attentions settled on him. "The Volturi have a vampire that works for them named Chelsea who has a similar gift. She can create, alter, or even break bonds between vampires. The Volturi are, in fact, littered with gifted vampires but none so powerful as Jane and Alec, ironically called The Witch Twins. Jane can cause a person to feel excruciating pain throughout their bodies, while Alec can take away a person's senses temporarily."

I felt baffled by the sudden topic jump to the Volturi, but Esme was already setting a steaming plate bearing freshly sautéed asparagus and carrots, with a tofu burger perfectly prepared on my reading table. "I was pleasantly surprised to see your food choices! You wouldn't believe how hard it is to get Bella to eat anything even related to a vegetable."

I flinched at the mention of my unrequited love interest before forcing myself to tuck in, hoping against hope that the vampires didn't notice. I groaned at the delicious taste of perfectly cooked veggies and tofu. You'd be surprised how easy it is to under- or over-cook tofu, but Esme was apparently a goddess of the kitchen. "Good Goddess, this is so good! Best. Mom. Ever!"

A high pitched squeal was my only warning as my practically adopted mother rushed forward and squeezed me in an oddly warm hug that I returned instantly. Quietly, so that only she would hear me, I whispered, "Please don't ask. Not yet."

A small nod was my answer before she pulled away with a beaming smile. Before anyone could say anything else, my front door opening heralded the entry of a tiny pixiepire and her cowboy mate. "I see Rosalie and I have already been replaced as the favorite daughter. And Bella was doing such a good job, too, almost had the title!"

"Stuff it, midget," I grumbled playfully, "and make sure you send me that picture so I can torture Rosalie and Leah with it."

A ping from my nearby phone had my eyes widening before turning a glare on the tiny vampire. "I thought you couldn't see me in your visions."

She shrugged, pulling a chair from the kitchen table over and placing it next to mine. Once done, she pulled Jasper over and shoved him into the chair before hopping sideways into his lap, causing the chair to groan precariously before Armando made a motion with his hand. Before our eyes, the wooden pieces expanded in size, curling exotically into a beautifully high-back chair more resembling a throne.

Alice's giggle was adorable as she kicked her legs, wiggling on Jasper's lap. "I was wondering how that vision was going to come about! I never knew why we would wind up on our very own throne!"

I hadn't quite finished rolling my eyes as I finished off the remainder of my meal. "You still didn't answer my question, Tink."

Esme was already taking my empty plate from me, disappearing to the kitchen to wash them before I could even begin to form a protest.

"No, I guess I didn't, did I?" Alice returned, mischievous grin firmly in place.

I slanted my eyes sideways at the pixie, glaring before a grin of my own took over my features. Reaching out with my newfound skillset, I lightly tapped into the miniature vampire's soul. It was like touching a live-wire, electric and chaotic but in the best possible ways. She was excitement incarnate with a trail of what-ifs branching off in thousands of different directions.

With a jolt of surprise, I realized I was seeing the life of a seer spread out before my mind's eye. So many memories of things that could have been, choices she could have made or that others made differently. There were a surprising number of those about Bella, and all of those alternate paths ended in her death at Edward's hands. I suddenly felt locked into those paths as my magick rose to my fingertips in unmitigated rage.

It started on that first day she walked into biology, and her scent hit him like a cocaine-coated slap to the face of an addict. So many scenes began to play out from that moment forward of different ways he could get to her, to take her blood for himself. In some of them, Alice got there first and stopped him. In others, blood and bodies painted the room red. Most ended in the death of my beloved and I felt a building rage unlike anything I'd ever known.

A hard slap to my face shocked me back into my own body, gasping for breath beneath an avalanche of so many ways the love of my life could have died! I didn't even care who had hit me or why it barely felt like a bee sting considering the powerful beings residing in my living room. "Where is he?!" I demanded, voice a low rumble of sound. When no one immediately answered, I reached out to each soul and lashed them into place. "Where is Edward Cullen?!"

"H-He left," Esme gasped out, drawing my gaze. "He said he couldn't live with us if...well..."

"He said some rather unsavory things about our relationship," Carlisle finished for her. "Once we reattached his head, of course. He has since moved into a small house we own on the far distant side of our property until school is finished. We made sure to inform him of your borders and where your property lines are, and that your secrets are to be kept with the same discretion as the wolves."

I squeezed a bit harder, my anger and fury getting the better of me as those images played on repeat in my head. "Address?!"

Alice somehow managed to regain enough control to reach out to me, but instead of attacking as I expected, she pulled on the tether between us and suddenly I wasn't in my body anymore.

"You killed him! How could you do that?! I loved him!"

The sound of Bella's voice was heartbreaking in its betrayal. Her tears had long since dried as she cradled the ashy remains of Edward Cullen to her chest.

"He was a dangerous psychopath! He almost killed you a hundred different times! I had to protect you! You're all that matters!"

"Just leave!" Bella screamed, her eyes spitting hatred and pain. " I never want to see you or any other supernatural creature ever again!"

The scene changed, it was nighttime and Bella was alone in her room. She had been quietly sobbing, her chest heaving as she cradled something metallic in her hands. "I'm sorry, I can't live like this! Edward, I'm sorry, you deserved better. Alice, I hope you don't have to see this.

"Oh Angela...why couldn't you have just told me the truth? Why did neither of us have the courage to..."

A sound like thunder and a bright flash of light...

...and I was suddenly back in my own body, tears trailing down my cheeks as I released everyone from my grasp. "That's what is waiting for you if you go down that road."

I'd never heard Alice's voice so angry before, so full of emotion, and I had to remind myself that she considered Bella to be her best friend. She had a future with Bella. She meant something to Bella, had replaced me, and even though I wanted to hate the little vampire for that, I couldn't help but appreciate how happy her presence made Bella.

Sighing, I sat back in my seat, allowing my grandmother's embrace to soothe me. "I'm in love with Bella Swan," I muttered without preamble. "Have been since the moment I met her and she has no idea."

There were sharp inhales from Carlisle and Esme, but Jasper and Alice didn't seem affected by the news. Of course, judging by Alice's vision she just force-fed me, she already knew or had suspected, which means Jasper wouldn't be far behind.

"In case you're wondering," Jasper said while pulling his mate in close against his chest, "Edward suspects your feelings but doesn't have anything concrete because I still can't pin your emotions down compared to humans or vampires. I only know because Alice-"

A sharp elbow from said vampire had Jasper cutting off with a quiet, "Ma'am."

"It's getting late," Alice chimed in seconds later, "and while we don't need sleep, you've been through a lot today and could use the rest. And with finals coming up this week, I have it on good authority that a certain brunette misses her friend and needs a study-buddy."

She pranced to her feet, and I don't mean that in a figurative sense. She quite literally danced her way out of Jasper's lap and onto the floor in a perfect pirouette. Goddess, what I wouldn't give to be even half as graceful as this pixie. "I'm going to need your help staying calm around Edward while at school. Think you two can help run interference?" Because if Edward gave away any part of my secrets then I might just have to kill him on principle.

Jasper nodded as he joined his mate. Carlisle, Esme, and Armando were close behind as I realized just how dark it had gotten. I must still be recovering because I felt worn out. "I guess we'll continue our talks about why you brought up the Volturi tomorrow?"

Carlisle nodded, a look of surprise on his normally placid features. "I apologize, I'm usually not one to announce a theory without going into detail. Tomorrow, after school, why don't you come by our house for once?"

I nodded, smiling at the awkward immortal before turning to Armando. "Will you be remaining in the area?"

He gave this cheeky grin as he eyed his mates waiting at the door. "I daresay they will not allow me out of their presence for quite some time. So I have put in for vacation at work and have transferred all access to your accounts and foreign affairs to my personal laptop. At this point, I do not trust anyone else to handle the Lockwell estate."

Smiling, I pulled the lanky Dryad into a tight hug, ignoring the low growls coming from his mates. Pulling back, a patted his back, shoving him towards the door. "Go, before my mother drags you out of here by your antlers."

"Ah, but Madam Lockwell, we haven't even started with foreplay yet!"

Nope, don't wanna hear about that! Done, over with! I concentrated my wind magick and with a wave of my hand I sent them all ass-over-tea-kettle out the door before slamming it shut with a much gentler inward gust. I could hear their laughter and it brought a smile to my lips as they vacated my property. I chose that moment to examine the wards that had belonged to my grandmother and decided it was time to make them mine.

With a flex of my magick, I began to unravel the tethers that held the fabric of her wards together. Now that vampires and other supernaturals called the Olympic Peninsula their home, I could not simply get away with a visual cloaking ward alone. I needed to make my property completely undetectable, even from the most sensitive of senses. Honestly, it didn't take long to build the foundation for the wards since it worked much like a retractable screen door. Imagine more like a mosquito screen that you can put up as needed or simply take down, only these wards would simply retract into the earth where the fabric of their weaves would remain until I pulled them into place.

The strenuous part came from charging the wards with the proper amount of energy to sustain them. Wards had to be fed a continuous stream of energy to keep them running, but that could be offset by using natural energy sources such as the abundance of nature surrounding the property. But to build something as intricate as I planned, I would need a bit of oomph to bring it into existence first.

Feeling the numerous connections I now held with my growing Clan, I reached out and drew in a small bit of life-force from each individual. Not only would this be a powerful boon to the structure itself, but anyone who attempted to unravel the wards would find the strangest amalgamation of energy woven together that would make it nearly impossible to unravel. This would also have the added benefit of automatically allowing my Clanmates to bypass the wards in times of peril.

And lastly, as the energy needed began to crest, I reached out to my Ma'atem and sealed the new wards with her name. "Esme Cullen Lockwell; mother, wife, mate. I bond the gift of my solitude, my sanctuary to you. Should the day ever come that you find yourself in need of safety, you will always find it here."

And then the wards sealed and I barely managed to stumble my way to my bed before the rebound knocked me unconscious.

I awoke the next morning to the heavenly smell of breakfast and coffee, a groan of pleasure leaving my lips as I literally tumbled out of the bed and onto the floor in a tangled mess of limbs and blankets. I was just in the process extracting myself when I felt myself bodily ejected from one end of the blankets, rolling into a crouch near the foot of my bed. By the time I'd regained my footing and the room stopped spinning, I found my bed made and Homemaker Barbie standing near the door with a self-satisfied smirk on those perfect lips.

"Goddess, you're such a cunt," I grumbled irritably, pushing past the statue of a vampire with ease. After the last several days of performing intense magick, my magickal prowess had only grown more substantial overnight. I didn't exactly feel all that different personally but instinctually I knew my abilities had just taken a significant leap forward compared to the days leading up to meeting Armando.

"Yes," Rosalie returned coquettishly from behind me as I followed the scent of yet another perfectly prepared meal waiting for me at the small kitchen table, "well after your little mental chat with my mate, one or more of these items might actually have hemlock in it."

I rolled my eyes, smiling while taking a quick inhale, eyes widening as I actually caught a hint of the herb. I could tell it wasn't actually in the food or juice at the table, so my guess was either it was on her person or spread over the lone - ironic - rose I found sitting suspiciously in a small, clear glass vase. Taking a bite of the egg and tofu bacon sandwich she'd made me, I chewed it slowly before turning my gaze on her.

"You have three seconds. When the timer is up, both that flower and the suspicious crinkle of what I assume is a baggie creating a slight indentation in those very tight fitting jeans goes up in flames, whether it is on your person or not."

"You really gotta stop staring at my ass-"

"One."

"My mate can be a very jealous girl, you know-"

"Two."

"I really wouldn't want to have watch her tear your pretty little eyes out-"

"Thr-"

The baggie hit the table just as it went up in flames, the flower joining it moments later, only to be replaced by a dozen Amaryllis flowers. "While I appreciate your compliment about my eyes, you really need to remember who you're dealing with, Herbalist Barbie." I flicked my fingers, a concentrated swirl of wind gathering the ashes and sending them out the open window sitting above the sink. "Now, may I finish this delicious meal from my loving sister, or do we talk about how much I can see in the Pack mind if I so choose?"

Her response was a quiet growl but I knew I'd won this one at least. I definitely wasn't going to pry into their private affairs if I could at all help it, but while my shield seemed to keep the wolves thoughts silent I couldn't guarantee it would always stay that way.

"Where is your better half, anyway?" I asked casually, hoping I wasn't wearing my concerns on my sleeves.

"On her way to pick us up," she responded with a suspicious glance my way. "Why?"

I rolled my eyes at the jealousy I could feel rolling off of her. "Easy there, Green-Eyed Barbie," I couldn't help but laugh at the affronted look of indignation she sent me. "I just need to figure out how well I can block their thoughts and if they can reach me in an emergency when I'm purposefully blocking them. So long as Leah is in human form, I don't have to deal with accidentally seeing you two banging it out."

Her face didn't seem to know whether it wanted to remain indignant or burst out laughing, so she just wound up looking like she was going to be ill. Throwing her hands up, she stood up and took my empty plate to the sink and had them washed and dried in a blur. "Go get ready for school, witchy-bitch, I'm going to go outside and wait for my mate who doesn't give me a migraine."

"Vampires can't get migraines!" I chimed in after her retreating figure just as she slammed the door hard enough to rattle the windows. "But I bet y'all go through plenty of headboards," I murmured playfully as I stripped on my way to the bathroom, knowing Rosalie wouldn't be able to resist getting in the last word. I was just bending over outside my bathroom door to pull my panties off when she stormed back in.

Whatever she had been about to say cut off as they front door quickly slammed shut again. "Huh, that's twice now you've seen me naked. I think the Pack might start to talk if they catch wind of this." Oh this was easy too much fun.

I could hear the groan of metal as my poor door handle bore the brunt of Rosalie's anger. Then she was walking away, boots stomping loudly as I laughed my way into a hot shower. I so wasn't looking forward to Leah hearing about any of this, but it was fun and I needed to vent my frustrations until the time came I could seek out my mate.

Reaching out with my soul, I felt for the Packmind while going about my normal bath routine. My mental barrier was still in place and it seemed to be holding strong. Now it was time to test things out. Slowly pulling back the barrier, I reached out with my mind. "Yo, anyone in this chatroom? a/s/l?"

Two voices groaned simultaneously, one distinctly feminine which meant Sam, and the other a young male whose energy seemed familiar. "It is six o'clock in the morning! What could you possibly want this early?!"

"Oh, cool! Is that the Witch! She won me a new Playstation with that bet! Hi, Angela, I'm Seth, Leah's younger brother! You're so cool!"

There was a district sense of reprimand from Alpha to pup but it didn't seem to dim the boy's excitement one bit, though he did pause long enough to let me get a 'word' in edgewise. "I thought now would be a good time to test the Pack link while Leah is out of phase."

A distinct yelp came from the boy before his side of the conversation disappeared. "Spirits girl, you've gotta warn us when you're gonna show the goods like that!"

I was genuinely confused until I realized I had just looked down to start scrubbing my legs, and yep, I could never show my face around any of them ever again. I think I could start my own farm with all the land I have out here. With a little help from Armando I'm sure I could become quite self-sufficient. I wouldn't need to ever see another person ever again! It was perfect.

"Calm down, Angela," Sam's sensual chuckle rumbling into the connection was not helping my growing flush. "When you share the minds with a bunch of horny boys, and now my ex-fiancée is banging holes through her walls with her vampire imprint, you kinda have to get used to sexual situations coming up in Packmind. Thankfully for both of us, I got Seth to shift back before he saw anything otherwise Leah might actually kill you."

The thought of my striptease earlier slipped past my barriers and now all I was hearing was a wolf-whistle through my head. "Damn, if I hadn't gotten a pretty clear view a moment ago, I'd say you've got balls! Leah is definitely going to kill you but it has been nice knowing you."

I was just about to slam the full shield back into place when instead my bathroom door slammed open. I had magick on my fingertips, ready to zap whoever the intruder was to their next life when the curtain was turn aside to reveal none other than Leah Clearwater, dressed in a sleeveless v-neck tank-top and cutoff jean shorts. She had both hands on her hips, a fierce glare leveled...well, not level at all. She was slowly looking me up and down before a smirk overtook those gorgeous lips of hers. "That's twice my imprint has seen your rather impressive body, Witch. If there is a third time..." she raised her right hand, her knuckles popping and distorting as her fingers partially shifted into claws. It was an impressive feat and the raw power pouring off of her was doing unfortunate things to my libido.

I swallowed hard, realizing I still had Sam in Pack mind during all of this. "I'll tell you like I told Snitch Barbie, 'Don't threaten me with a good time.' Oh, and Sam says hi and is currently remembering in vivid detail what you look like naked, so I guess this whole experiment to keep this very thing from happening went out the proverbial window."

"Now I'm going to kill you," was all Sam sent back to me before her thoughts went silent, even as a growling Leah stormed out of the bathroom. I threw my barrier back into place before finishing up my shower. I brushed my teeth in record time and just threw hot air at my hair from all angles until it was quickly dried. Another wave of my hand and a practiced motion had my hair braided and hanging loose over my left shoulder.

I made sure my home was empty before dashing for my bedroom. I had done some shopping while on my way home from buying my car, making sure to update my wardrobe to fit my new shape and, as it turns out, an increase in height. I was now standing at about 6'3", but I could only hope none of the humans took notice. I threw on a pair of black lace thongs, enjoying the way they hugged my hips, and a matching lace bra that had been an impulse buy that still had me blushing despite enjoying how hot I looked in it.

Knowing I was pushing it, I tossed on a pair of black slacks with a black belt with silver studs, tucking in a long-sleeved white button-down shirt, a pair of black dress shoes to match and I was ready to greet the day.

When I stepped out the front door, I found four women in a rigid two-by-two stare-down, Stand-Off Barbie and Leah growling on the left, and Sam and a woman I vaguely recognized from the Pack memories to the right. This was Sam's imprint, Emily but I was only seeing her from her left profile and some angry, feral part of me rose up all of a sudden and demanded retribution. What had started as playful teasing between my new friends had now become something dark and vicious deep in my soul.

"LOOK AT ME!" I shouted in between the irate creatures, and as one they each froze, turning to face me as energy crackled in the air around me. There it was, the poor human who had suffered at the hands of her other half, all because fate had chosen for them. Now she bore the rigid, horrible scars of an anger that never should have existed to begin with.

I turned my gaze on Sam, and whatever she saw in my eyes had her flinching, though she never faltered from her imprint's side. And after today, I would ensure neither of these women would carry the burdens of the past any longer. "Samantha Uley," I intoned, voice rumbling with my power, "step forward."

She did so hesitantly, though I was pleasantly surprised to find her imprint clinging to her side regardless of Sam's urging her to remain behind. Impatiently, I reached out to all four souls and touched my will to theirs. I was not controlling them, but there would be no more hesitation if we were to get on with this day.

I turned to the three wolves, meeting Rosalie's furious glare over her mate's shoulder. When my gaze once again returned to Sam, my will turned to iron. "You have wronged two women present here today in your recent pasts. My blood demands their retribution. What do you offer in supplication, to purge your soul of these heinous crimes?"

The human looked at Sam, whose head had fallen in shame, and then over at Leah who was looking at Sam as though she wanted to rip the blood sacrifice out of the Alpha with her own claws. Then the human turned to me and stepped out of Sam's grasp and into the static energy gathering around us. "I am Emily Uley, imprint and wife of Samantha Uley. Whatever charge be levied against her, let it too be levied against myself, as we are one."

I watched the curious human stand firm in the face of my magick and not even flinch. Admittedly, she did not know the extent of my power, but looking into her soul I found a woman worthy of her tribe, worthy of her blood. Worthy of her mate. Still...

"This debt goes beyond the two of you, it reaches the heart and soul of Leah Clearwater, and by association, her imprint, Rosalie Hale. The divisive hate that once separated a wolf from her vampire has been broken, but you, Emily, bear the scars of their folly and thus the decision falls to you to choose how their karma may resolve."

Part of me thought it mayhaps cruel to push the victim to choose the fate of those who wronged her when those two women still held such deep places in her heart. But the part of me that was growing into the Witch she was meant to be, the one who read the currents of fate and chose when and if to defy them...she knew this soul before her would make the right decision.

"No," Leah growled, stepping forward, pressing against my loose hold over her soul. "If we have to be punished for something the Spirits chose for us, then you choose, but don't put Emily through this! She's been through enough!"

This outburst apparently surprised every other woman present, but none it seemed more than Leah herself as she stared down at her cousin. "I'm sorry, for all the horrible things I said when everything went down. I should have said this a long time ago but I was just so hurt and angry at the world. Then everything changed..." her voice trailed off as she turned to her own imprint who reached for her hand, gripping it firmly.

"And no one is more sorry than I am," Sam whispered fervently to the two Native women. "Leah, I should have explained everything right away, Pack secrecy be damned. My denials, sneaking around, it was the worst thing I could have done and I'm so sorry." She turned to her imprint, cupping her scarred cheek. "I was being pulled in so many directions, I was so afraid, of losing either of you, of becoming Alpha, and we all know what happened when I lost control." Tears began to pour down copper cheeks and a quiet sob shook the once-proud creature to her core.

Rosalie surprised us all by moving into the Alpha's personal space, placing a supportive hand on a strong shoulder. "My life ended for so-called 'love'. Royce King, he was the most eligible bachelor in town and I was, well, beautiful. We were engaged quickly and due to be married." She pulled away and took a step away from the other woman, not realizing we had all begun to drift into their orbit until we were encircling the two. "I knew I was meant to marry and I always looked forward to having children of my own. But my heart already belonged to another. I stayed over at Vera's far too late that night. Between spending the early evening playing with her son, and that night in her bed, I lost track of time."

She trembled, and I could feel every instinct we each had flaring to life to go to the woman but she simply held up a hand. "Royce was out with some of his friends, they were all drunk. I tried to leave, but he said he wanted to introduce me to his buddies." Her eyes closed, but not before we could see the sheen of tears welling in her eyes. "They took everything from me that night, then left me a bloody heap in the middle of the streets. I screamed and screamed, but no one came to help. Until Carlisle Cullen showed up. I begged him for death, but instead he turned me into this and I have hated every second of my existence for the last eighty or so years." She opened her eyes and stared straight into Leah's dark gaze. "Until now."

Emily was looking at all three women with tear-streaks trailing down her face. Slowly, she turned to me, a look of awe on her face as she began to feel it. It was buried deep, diluted by her half bloodline, but it was rising up now and it yearned for freedom. But it could not show its face while Emily's was disfigured as it was.

"And so she has decided," I intoned, drawing the attentions of the other women. "For you all to stand as one, you each must bear her marks. One each for each scar upon her face must be transferred to the others."

Sam was the first to step forward. "I will gladly bear them all! Neither Leah nor her imprint need suffer for my mistakes!"

I shook my head sadly, allowing the power of my sanctified homelands to rise around me, to guide me. "I'm sorry, but it cannot be so. The deal has been offered by the maiden Emily, now you three, her most trusted and beloved family, must strike the accord true or else no peace will live in your hearts."

Emily still had tears in her eyes, but she kept her head held high as she turned to Sam. "I do not ask this out of malice for any one of you. But to mend our broken hearts and find peace, this is what must be done."

"I'll do it." None of us were prepared for Perfection Barbie Rosalie Hale to step up, but her gaze held that stubborn tint to it that said her mind was made up. That left only one, and she was quick to join the others as soon as she got over her shock.

"What do we do?" Leah asked, and I smiled for the first time since this ordeal had begun. I took Emily by her shoulders and turned her to face the other three women.

"Choose the scar and place your fingertips over it," I instructed, voice once again filling with power as I began channeling my magick into the dormant soul within. Sam was the first to move, claiming the largest and most heinous looking scar as her own. Leah was quick to take on the second worst to save her flawless vampire from bearing more than the small scar that ran the outer edges of Emily's cheek.

The moment their fingers were in place I loosed my power through the woman in front of me, a white glow beginning at the two points where my palms rested against her shoulder blades, brightening to a blinding intensity. Once I felt the energy sufficiently charged, I lashed through the scars on Emily's face with the word thera a secret whisper as I felt Emily's scars flaking away as each other woman in turn grit their ways through the slow agony of wolf claws magickally tearing through their flesh.

With a forceful twist of my wrists, I grabbed the karmic bonds of pain and anger and ripped them from each of their souls, shattering that which kept their hearts and souls from mending. Each woman finally cried out, Emily falling limp into my arms as the other women fought to remain standing. I couldn't help but smile at my work, watching as each wound healed rapidly without leaving a single scar. The karma resolution had never been about the visual representation of Sam's loss of control, it had been the absolution of guilt and the forgiveness of hearts wronged.

Except, when I turned my gaze to Rosalie, I found she still bore the third scar across her right cheek. Between my healing magick and the wolves and vampire's natural rapid healing, the scar should never have taken. It wasn't until I felt Rosalie's excitement and absolution that I realized what must have happened.

The others turned to the vampire as a light-hearted giggle left her lips, as I lifted Emily's inconsequential weight into my arms. There upon her still perfect lips was the most genuine smile I'd ever seen as her hand came up to idly caress the raised scar. Rather than allow the healing to take place Rosalie had asked my magick to allow the scar to remain, whether it was a conscious decision or not. And my magick had obeyed, for it was simply the catalyst for their rebirth. Whatever form arose from the ashes was one of their choosing, and Rosalie has chosen to mar perfection to show the world that she was more than her beautiful face.

On instinct, I reached for Sam's mind, feeling the connection despite her human form. "Sam, take Emily and head back to the reservation. I will watch after these two in the meantime. You're going to have your hands full with the first voluntary shifter of your generation."

Sam's eyes widened as she turned towards myself and her imprint. "But she's only half Quileute. How come she never shifted before now?"

I smiled with a shrug as I passed off the resting woman whose body temperature had already begun to rise. "To be honest, I barely understood half of what just happened, but some part of me recognized the suppressed wolf within your imprint. She will be the first of her kind, unbound by anger and will probably find vampires her natural allies now. We can only speculate, since as of now we're all winging it. New age, new Pack."

She nodded before we both turned back to the other two women. Rosalie's smile hadn't diminished one bit, though it was quite difficult to see around the wolf who seemed to have made it her mission to kiss every inch of Rosalie's new scar, eventually reaching the blonde's lips. Knowing those two would get lost for the next hour if I let them, I gave a wolf-whistle of my own that had them pulling apart with twin glares my direction.

"Yeah, yeah," I waved off their ire. "I'm the mean old Witch for interrupting what I'm sure was about to lead to a loss of clothing. Normally I wouldn't mind a show, but Rosalie and I still need to get to school and we're already late for first period." I gestured at the Alpha whose imprint was starting to writhe uncomfortably in Sam's arms. "Besides, I'm sure Sam could use your help with the newest member of your Pack."

Leah's eyes went wide as she made her was to Sam's side, her hand resting on the former-human's forehead. "She's already got the fever started! Holy shit, how the-"

"No time," Sam growled, her Alpha voice showing through. "I'll explain as we go but we have to get her on to our lands." She turned to me and nodded, her voice losing its domineering tone. "Thank you, Angela. You've given us all new leases on life and I don't know how we'll ever be able to return the favor."

I just shrugged as Leah went to quickly kiss her imprint goodbye. "I have a feeling I'll be calling in those markers sooner rather than later. Now go take care of your woman and keep me up-to-date on her progress. I can't wait to see her reaction to what goes on in Pack mind."

The wolves weren't quite finished rolling their eyes when they turned and began to run back towards the reservation at impossible speeds. I figured Leah would come back for her car, and since Scarification Barbie had obviously run over with that in mind, it looked like we were taking my car.

"So," I grumbled awkwardly. "Let me get my keys and we'll-mphf!"

I would have finished that sentence, really I would have. Except I suddenly found Rosalie's cold lips pressed to mine and higher brain functions were now a non-existent system. She'd grabbed my face and pulled my lips to hers so swiftly, so smoothly that I didn't even think to stop her. By the time she pulled back, I was gasping for air, explosions of lights going off behind closed lids.

My eyes snapped open when I realized what had just happened. Rosalie was smiling, a small quirk of her lips that wasn't quite a smirk but hinting at one. "I wanted to say thank you. You have no idea how much you've changed my life for the better, and I just...thank you, Angela."