AN: Sorry again for another delayed update. I'm still adjusting to a new neuro medication and it hasn't settled into my system yet so my brain is on standby half the time. Here's the next chapter, and I'll not to delay too long for the following chapters. I am a horrible person, I know. But hey, at least I deliver the gay!

We didn't talk for the first half of the drive. It wasn't exactly awkward, but it was-oh who the hell am I kidding, that was awkward as shit! Rosalie-fucking-Hale just stole my first kiss and my new thong was ruined! Not to mention that knowing smirk on those gorgeous lips that I totally didn't keep staring at said she knew exactly how she had affected me.

Eventually, I couldn't take the silence anymore. "What the hell was that?! Leah is actually going to murder me! I thought you chose option two! Not option Get-The-Witch-Mauled-To-Death!"

Rosalie burst into the most beautiful laughter I'd ever heard, a carefree sound that belonged amongst choirs of angels and not my eco-friendly car. "Oh, honey," Rosalie cooed teasingly, "Who do you think told me to thank you?"

"A hug, a shake of the hand, a pat on the back!" I gesticulated with my free hand while keeping both my car and mind on the road. "I doubt she meant for you to be my first kiss!"

Rosalie's laughter paused as she eyed me from her sudden stillness. "That was your first kiss?"

I could feel myself blushing, the heat radiating from my cheeks could put the wolves' body heat to shame. "Yeah, well, I haven't had many opportunities considering the one girl I'm in love with is straight and taken."

Rosalie was still quiet, which drew a quick look from me to find her brow furrowed in concern. "I'm sorry," she eventually murmured quietly. Before I could ask, she was already rushing on. "I had a lot of 'firsts' taken from me. I hate to think I'm responsible for doing the same."

Fuck it, I thought irritably, we can be a few more minutes late. I pulled the car off onto the side of the road in a secluded neighborhood not far from the school, parked, then turned to face Rosalie directly. "Let's get something straight here, you didn't 'take' anything from me. I've stopped you from rushing at me at your top vampire speeds with murderous intent. If I had wanted to stop any advances, whether a physical assault or one hell of a kiss, I could have. So don't you dare turn that glorious moment into something horrible, please."

Rosalie finally met my gaze, a hesitant smile passing between us. "Sorry," she murmured, voice quieter than I'd ever heard it. "It's been nearly a century but I'm still not over that trauma. Since meeting you, experiencing your friendship, and the absolution you gave us earlier...I think I'm finally in a place where I can start letting the past go."

I nodded, smiling at the beauty of Rosalie Hale showing me her vulnerable side, the scar on the right side of her face only seeming to add to her unique beauty. It was like seeing an eclipse, rare and blinding but it will take your breath away every time. "Now, back to this she-wolf of yours possibly not killing me?"

Rosalie's laugh was a rumble in her chest which still did unfortunate things to my insides. "While you were distracted communicating with her Alpha, she told me it was okay to thank you however I wanted. That she trusted you and wanted you to know how much we all love and appreciate you for what you've done for us."

I blinked several times as the word 'love' reverberated through my head. It wasn't until I felt the brush of several minds against mine that I realized it wasn't just an echo of my own voice, but those of my Clan. Sam and Emily, Leah and Rosalie, Esme and even Alice, the rest of the Pack. I felt their devotion, and while the expression of that feeling varied from person to person, I knew only pure love for the first time in my life. No conditions, no expectations, only a joining of hearts to mine.

I could feel the tears pouring down my cheeks but I did nothing to stop them. This was my absolution, I realized, my own relinquishing of my karmic past. I felt nothing for my blood mother and father, not even my little brothers. They were no longer a part of my existence, they held no place in my heart. How could they, when there were so many others taking up residence there now?

I pulled Rosalie into a strong hug, her arms wrapping me up tight as she let me cry my heart out onto her shoulder. I hadn't realized that there was so much love missing from my life until I was awash in unfathomable depths of so many different kinds. Brothers, sisters, packmates, a mother, and then there was this new bond I shared with Sam, Emily, Leah and Rosalie. It bordered a strange line between close friendship and intimacy. And while my heart still yearned for Bella, I could easily see myself reciprocating these feelings.

Witches are emotional creatures. We love wholly and completely, giving of our hearts many times over without our love diminishing. This goes doubly-so for the unbound Witch, for she will always sit as the crux of many lives. To know her, to dwell in her magick, is to love her.

This wasn't a lesson I thought I'd ever take to heart from my studies but I was coming to learn that my grandma 'Lani knew much more about my future than she let on in her journal. But to be honest, if she told me outright that not only would I be madly in love with a girl, but also find myself longing for the embraces of others, I might have wound up in an asylum.

When I eventually pulled away, I felt a hundred times lighter and more powerful than ever before. I gently cupped her cheek over her new scar and leaned in to press my lips softly to hers in a slow, emotional kiss, before pulling back to my side of the car. She looked particularly dazed for a moment before she sat back into her seat, turning to look out the window with an air of disinterest. It might have worked if I couldn't read the emotions of every soul bound to mine, but I chose not to comment on her embarrassment, even if the idea of her 'blushing' made me grin like a fool as I put us back on the road.

We had just pulled into the parking lot and were meeting at the hood of my car when the bell rang. I glanced at my watch and groaned-we'd missed first period entirely.

"Don't worry," Rosalie commented on my distressed state. "I've got a blank notepad from Carlisle of doctor's excuses. I can forge his signature and toss him a text to let him know to expect a reference call from the school."

I gaped and was just about to grab her in another hug when two things happened simultaneously; firstly, students started to flit about on their way to their next classes, and secondly, Leah poked at our connection to get my attention.

"Hey," she growled into my thoughts, "just so you know, I had this whole plan laid out this morning where I was gonna give Rosalie a coming-out make-out session in front of the annoying little masses. Now, I have a favor to ask."

I was grinning by the time she had made her request, tapping Rosalie on the shoulder to get her full attention. "Before we head to class, Leah wanted me to give you something."

Without waiting for a response, I copied her move from earlier and cupped her face in my hands, pulling her into an intense, heavy kiss that drew a groan that slid from my lips and into her mouth as she took it a step further and forced her tongue between my lips. The sweet taste of her cool mouth combined with her agile tongue doing amazing, wondrous things with my own had my body arching into hers. There was a point where I wondered if this was going too far, when Rosalie's hands grasped my hips and pulled and pushed simultaneously until she was pinning me between my car and her hips, a growl leaving her chest when she pulled away.

"Fuck," all three of us whispered harshly at the same time, my breathing heavy and shaky while Rosalie's unnecessary breath was hissing between clenched teeth, Leah's thoughts filled with need as she played voyeur to our make-out session.

"Message received," Rosalie eventually growled out in that feral voice I'd only heard from her in anger. This time it was arousal causing her to sound like she was seconds away from tearing me apart and I had to press my thighs together to keep from further ruining my thong. "And I think we stirred up the rumor mill while we were at it."

It was only then that I glanced around to find several students stopped in their tracks, gaping at us. I groaned and let my head fall on Rosalie's shoulder, my voice whispered right into her ear in case Edward was close by. "Well, I guess this is for the best. But you two will never convince me you didn't plan this in some way."

"There is such a thing as texting," Rosalie whispered subvocally into my ear. "Besides, I can just imagine the state my poor mate is in right now having witnessed all of that."

"I honestly don't think I should check because based on the amount of lust pouring through our connection, she's taking care of that right at this moment."

Rosalie's fingers tightened almost painfully on my hips, a growl rumbling from her chest. "I swear to fuck, if this wasn't finals week, I'd be over at the reservation in an instant." She sighed heavily as she pulled away, leaving a lingering kiss to my lips that I knew was meant for Leah. "Unfortunately, Esme would dismember me and probably give you a stern talking to you since you're her favorite."

I stuck my tongue out because sometimes you just have to act your age, only for her lightning-fast reflexes to have the muscle pinched between two fingers. "Just for future reference, don't pull it out if you don't intend to use it."

She let go and walked away, leaving me a quaking mess leaning against my car. I risked it and reached out to Leah, finding her already having finished herself off, the image of a toothy grin taunting my aroused state. "Are you sure this is okay? I've never read about imprints being okay with something like this."

I received an affirmative laugh, positive emotions flowing openly through both our unique connections and the Pack mind. "I've never heard of it myself, and Sam says the same, but we're all on the same page here. If it were any of those idiots from the Pack mind then I'd probably bite their balls off," I burst out laughing here, quickly looking down at my phone to hide my public gaff. "But watching that through your eyes, feeling her body through your senses, feeling and smelling her arousal..." I got the sense of her hands wandering that glorious body of hers and I could feel my cheeks heating up as I tried to pull away, to give her privacy. "Don't worry, jailbait," she laughed as she looked away towards her ceiling, "our only stipulation is that you're over eighteen before anything goes too far."

I was left gaping as she pulled out of the connection, realizing I was just standing there with my legs pressed together and a confused mess of thoughts to work through. If I heard that right, then not only were Rosalie and Leah cool with sharing intimacies, but Sam and possibly her imprint were on the same page? Did I just go from 'useless lesbian' to 'useless head of a lesbian polycule'?!

Groaning, I knew I wasn't going to get any answers until after classes, so I chose to table the thought until later. I had to rush to get to class, but I did stop and try to text Rosalie about those excuse forms when a text from Alice came through saying simply: '#excusesdone #bestsister'

I couldn't resist sending off my reply just before entering my second period class: 'I don't know, Rose's lips are so soft. She's currently in the lead as #bestsister. :P'

':( vengeance shall be mine!'

I stared down at the mildly threatening reply on my way to lunch, kinda terrified of what the tiny little seeress could be planning. I was so focused on the text that I completely forgot about my stint in the parking lot with Rosalie, so by the time I took my usual seat at the table with my friends, it was only then that I noticed the quiet surrounding me.

When I looked up, I found the entire table (plus half of the cafeteria) staring at me. "What?" I asked stupidly, then facepalmed and started laughing. "Yeah, I'm a raging homosexual. Anyone going to have a problem with it?" I flexed my magick into the air subtly, reading the currents of everyone's emotions probably better than Jasper could. Everyone immediately began shaking their heads, and trying to wave off their concerns over my sexuality, but poor Eric had it bad and wasn't even trying to hide his sullen face.

Jessica, the gossip she was, was genuinely interested in the whole incident, which was admittedly annoying but I figure if I told her then she'd have the whole school informed for me by the end of day. "Ugh, it wasn't exactly what it looked like. Rosalie's new girlfriend lives over at La Push and told me to give her girlfriend her love. But we've been in this little game of one-up pranking each other so I took it a step further and kissed Rosalie, figuring she'd smack me or something. Instead, the blonde tease just had to take it a step further and now the whole school probably thinks we're dating."

The whole table was gaping open-mouthed by the end of my tale, and I could hear Rosalie trying to hide a snort as she stared out the cafeteria window, looking for all the world to be bored to death. But the rest of my friends seemed to have bought the story, and now Lauren was eyeing me with a little more interest than I was comfortable with. It's not that she wasn't pretty, but the only bitch I'm apparently attracted to was Rosalie. A glance at the Cullen table found Jasper was smirking down at his plate of untouched food, but with a dropping sensation of dread, I realized his mate was missing from their table. I glanced around, my gaze falling on the table Bella shared with Edward. There was the little minx, and I could easily hear her talking to Bella.

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Alice was saying, her body turned at the perfect angle that her middle finger was aimed right at me. "Or I'm sure Edward could just read the thoughts for you."

Oh, she was playing a dangerous game as I felt my energy flare up, nearly crackling across my skin as Bella looked to Edward who looked in my direction. I reached out and wrapped my magick around his entire midsection, squeezing tightly so that cracks began to form on the once-vital parts of his body hidden beneath his clothing. He fought hard not to flinch, but I punched my way into his thoughts just to be on the safe side. "Whatever she is asking, if you reveal my magick prematurely then I will end your pitiful existence."

He gave an imperceptible nod, my magick releasing him so his body could begin healing. "Apparently, she's just come out as being homosexual, but she's not dating Rosalie. Rosalie found her true mate in a woman from the reservation and Angela was just fooling around this morning. She's apparently very close friends with Rosalie's mate and there was a joke that got taken too far."

I nodded just as imperceptibly, turning my attention away from their table before Bella could turn her beautiful brown-eyed gaze my way. This was the story that would get around school, so it would be convincing enough that Bella wouldn't question whether Edward could read my thoughts yet. I don't know why I wanted to keep that side of myself hidden a while longer. Maybe I wanted to adhere to the illusion that she might miraculously choose me if she thought I was just a normal human. That she had a choice in being with me and not the possession of a demonic spirit that I wouldn't even know.

Unfortunately, I was not paying attention to the vengeful pixie who had disappeared from Bella's side only to appear close to my right. Like, close enough that I could smell her cotton candy sweet scent and feel the chill of her skin through the thin, black leggings she wore beneath a matching obscenely short skirt, a fluffy red long-sleeve sweater contradicting the whole outfit but somehow pulling it together on her delicate little body perfectly. I swallowed hard before plastering a smile on my face before turning to look at the pixie, whom I noticed was about eye-level with me even standing next to my sitting height.

"Can I help you, short, bright, and adorable?" I asked, because I might as well be as much of a useless lesbian as possible.

Alice's smile turned into a toothy grin, and for a split second I saw her predator shine through before she promptly turned and tossed herself sideways into my lap much as I'd seen her do the previous evening with Jasper. Only this time I was the one who had to reinforce the weak metal chair that threatened to buckle beneath our combined weight using my magick. Vampire bodies were densely compacted and reinforced, so what should have been a barely 90lbs soaking wet girl turned into at least 150lbs of vampire mass. My distraction gave the little sneak the chance to shift her small but fit little rump around on my lap as she 'got comfortable', forcing me to suppress a groan as she pushed my already damp panties against my aching core.

"I was just wondering about something my sister told me about when she got to school, that's all." I glared at the miniature vampire but her gaze was aimed a little bit lower and I had only a brief moment where I knew what was about to happen and had plenty of opportunity to stop it.

Fuck it! "And what is that, lígo aíma?" Her eyes flashed to black and I filed away the fact that Alice Cullen understood Greek for later as her visceral reaction to being called 'little blood' had my magick rising up alongside my arousal. Her lips were on mine before anyone else had a chance to question us or our intimate position, a groan leaving me as her fingers got lost in my hair, pulling hard as, just like Rosalie, she split the seam of my lips and plundered my mouth, her sweet taste causing me to bite down hard on her invading tongue, drawing a squeal of pleasure from the tiny thing.

A hand landing on my shoulder had me pulling away from Alice reluctantly, only to find Jasper shooting this twisted smirk down at me and his mate who was pouting up at his interruption. "You can play more later, if she's amenable, but you two are gathering quite a lot of unwanted attention."

His accent was thick as he poured on the Texan charm, along with his empathic gift slithering outward from him, trying to make us seem as uninteresting as possible. Which, to be fair, was damn near impossible with how much sexual energy we'd just stirred up in damn near every student present. I laid my hand subtly on his, my magick pouring into him and boosting his gift a hundred fold until the only people left looking our way were Bella and the rest of the Cullens.

This had the unfortunate side-effect of calling Bella's attention directly to me. I knew, because there was a pulse in the air that drew my gaze to hers. She went through several emotions: curiosity, confusion, jealousy, and eventually her expression finally settled on irritation as she quickly came to the one conclusion I wanted to avoid. "You're not human," she whispered quietly yet confidently, her gaze never leaving mine. I felt panicked for a brief moment before a set of conversations seemed to trigger in my head:

"Why don't you come over to our house this time?"

"I know for a fact that a certain brunette misses her friend and needs a study-buddy."

"Angela, why couldn't you just be honest with me?"

This was my chance, my choice. I could feel the souls of my Clan supporting me, lending me their strength to do what needed to be done. This was still Bella, one of my best friends and someone who confronted the supernatural head-on, her own safety be damned. So, with my heritage at my fingertips and my magick to guide me, I sat the pixie onto her feet and stood up before making my way over to Bella, never once losing contact with those beautiful brown eyes.

I reached my hand out for hers, my heart threatening to beat its way out of my chest. "Take a walk with me."

She hesitated, glancing between my face and my hand before slowly lifting her own hand. Unfortunately, Edward had no self-preservation left in him because he simply could not stay silent, though his words were hushed. "Bella, I don't think you should go with her. She's dangerous, and a terrible sinner who has been corrupting my entire family for the past week!"

My gaze remained locked on Bella's as I flicked the fingers on one hand, not even needing my invocation words to send a blade of wind through his pinky finger, severing it while leaving the table beneath unblemished. He grunted in pain as he snatched up the finger and began putting it back into place.

"I will ask you to keep your mouth shut, Edward Anthony Masen Cullen, before I decide on a more lethal solution to your interference. Bella has made a claim against my nature and I think it is time she learned the truth...about everything."

Bella was staring wide-eyed, a hint of fear in her furrowed eyes. I hated that I was the cause of such fear, but I was not going to pussyfoot around this topic anymore. "Please, Bella," I whispered, my voice caressing her name. "Please trust that I would never hurt you. Show me the same trust you gave a vampire when you walked alone into the woods with a man who craved your blood."

Her eyes blinked in shock as she realized just how much I knew. Still, I knew my words made sense, even to Bella. If she could trust Edward even knowing he struggled with his bloodlust, then she could trust me to not bring her harm. Slowly, hesitantly, she slipped her hand into mine and pulled herself to her feet. It would seem my healing really had helped because she no longer seemed to need her boot and this pleased me to no end.

Bella grabbed her bag and tried to smile down at Edward, but it came out more as a grimace. "I'll be back before you know it. She's right, this is no different than blindly leading a vampire into the woods." She glanced at his healed finger as it flexed. "Well, maybe it's a little different, but I deserve answers and she's willing to give them to me. Trust me."

He looked like he wanted to say something to the contrary, and while I agreed she tended to make some rather questionable decisions, this was one she had to make on her own. Knowing there would be no further communication from the drama queen, I gave Bella's hand a gentle pull, gaining her attention. "Come on, I know a place where no one will stumble upon us, not even any pesky vampires."

Bella's nose crinkled in that adorable display of annoyance of hers, forcing me to bite back a smile as she began following me out of the cafeteria side entrance. I already knew I could count on Alice getting us out of class, so I didn't bother texting her. No, my entire focus was on finally being alone with Bella after what felt like weeks of being relegated to the background of her life. I kept her hand in mine, and not once did she try to retract her hand, which revived those long-dead butterflies resurrected from ashes.

Once we reached the tree line, I made sure we were at least a quarter mile deep into the woods before stopping, pulling Bella to face me. With a whisper and a snap of my fingers, the entire area around us was shielded and cloaked from prying eyes and ears of intruders, such as Edward who had been tailing us for the last several hundred feet. He would now find no trace of us and should he happen upon my barriers, he would be physically rebuffed. Violently, should he try more than once.

"Some nine months ago," I began my tale, "on the night of our 17th birthday before you moved to Forks, I was drawn out of my bed by a musical call. It led me deep into the woods where I came upon a lone cabin in the middle of nowhere. Inside, in front of a roaring fire, sat my long-dead grandmother, Leilani."

I swallowed past the thick lump in my throat as I pressed on. "She whispered to me from beyond the grave of destiny, of our family and how my mother squandered her gifts to be with a human man who had poisoned her against her own heritage.

"She left me with the hopes that I would go on to fulfill my destiny and become that which my mother would have denied me: a Witch."

Bella's eyes widened throughout my tale until I feared her eyes may just pop out. Figuring a demonstration couldn't hurt, I called my natural magick into my palm and allowed a single rose to bloom in my palm, offering it to the stunned brunette. She just stared at it for the longest moment before slowly taking it by the stem.

Of course, the accident-prone thing that she is, she pricked her finger on a thorn. Her absolute panic however, was not something I was prepared to deal with as she immediately shoved her finger in her mouth, apologizing profusely and asking if I was okay. Then it hit me, and my magick rang like a gong through the ground as I realized this was how she had to be around Edward.

"Bella," I called out, voice forceful yet gentle as I forced her to see me. Hesitantly, so as not to scare her, I slowly pulled her finger from her lips. I had to fight the urge to kiss away that frightened frown. Instead, I brought her finger to my lips and left a gentle kiss to the wound, whispering between us, "Thera."

The small bit of blood that had welled up vanished as the wound healed instantly even as I experienced that strange pull on my magick again. Bella gasped as she glanced back and forth between her finger and my lips, eventually landing on my eyes. "You helped heal my leg, didn't you? Carlisle said the speed of my healing was miraculous, and he doesn't use that word often."

I nodded, giving her a chagrined smile. "I was still new to my abilities, and healing wasn't heavily emphasized in my studies. But seeing you in pain, seeing you injured, I had to do something. I just wish I knew what happened to put you in that state in the first place."

It was Bella's turn to cringe as she pulled her hand away, curling her arms around her waist in a defensive gesture I easily recognized. "The Cullens were having a baseball game," I didn't quite catch my snort in time, earning a glare that had me grinning sheepishly as she continued her story. "There was a trio of nomad vampires that showed up, human-drinkers. The Cullens tried to mask my scent but one of the nomads, James, caught it and tried to come at me. When the Cullens came to my defense, it became a game to James. He was a tracker, and I was suddenly his most attractive prey ever."

I was gritting my teeth so hard I'm sure they would have been ground to dust were my magick not filling every fiber of my being. I don't know what Bella saw in my eyes as she looked up, but it had her own eyes widening as she gaped. "Is-Is that normal for a Witch?"

I frowned, waving my hand through the air to create a solid sheet of water, freezing it to make a temporary mirror. My eyes were glowing with a patchwork of colors, like a maelstrom was fighting to be contained in my body. It was a physical manifestation of my emotions, I knew, but I'd never heard any of the others mention it before. "My magick does not like the idea of you being someone's prey," I managed to ground out, voice deeper than I meant as I let the mirror vanish.

Bella shrugged it off, which only seemed to incense my magick further. "I'm in love with a vampire and close with a family of vampires. I'm the weak link, so obviously I'd be the most obvious target."

I felt every part of me freeze, my magick stilling, settling in my lungs like a lead weight. I didn't want to believe it, but her words rang true in her emotions. She was truly in love with Edward Cullen. And any hope I might have felt died in my chest to the cries of denial from my Clan. But what was the point in this pathetic crush if it would only lead me to more and more heart-break. There was no guarantee that Bella would even be chosen by Lilith's child, so why was I so hung up on her? Why continue hurting myself knowing she was destined for another?

Steeling my features and my magick, I squared my shoulders and faced Bella with a distinct lack of emotion. "You said that I was not human, you were correct. I am a Witch, a daughter of the goddess Lilith, and on my next birthday I will summon her to complete my awakening. She will release one of her dark children, a demon, to find a suitable human to inhabit so that this demon and I may create a symbiotic Familiar bond, otherwise my growing power will burn out of control and incinerate my body."

I turned away from her, unwilling to allow her to see the tears I was fighting. "I have become quite close with all of the Cullens with the exception of Edward, of course, and Emmett. Your Edward does not like me very much since I was forced to prove the strength of my magick. Ask him about his thoughts on Esme and Carlisle's new mate, Armando. If you have any further questions, direct them to your seeress sister."

I turned then, watery eyes be damned and smiled shakily at the young woman before me. "Our paths may cross again, but I cannot keep up pretenses anymore. You have made your choice, and now I have to make mine. I've been in love with you from the moment I laid eyes on you, and now I have to let that love go before it destroys me."

The sight of her shocked, tear-filled gaze would haunt me, I was sure, but that is how I left her. I dropped my temporarily erected wards, finding Edward standing directly on the other side, seething. And as I walked away and left a trail of pieces of my shattered heart, I couldn't help but wonder if I would ever love my Familiar, my mate, nearly as much as the woman I was leaving behind.

Quietly enough so only Edward could hear, I growled to the vampire, "If I ever find out you've hurt her in any way, I will rip your soul from your body and make you watch as I devour your existence."

I didn't bother waiting for his reaction, nor did I acknowledge Bella calling my name. I wouldn't be returning to school for the rest of the day, so I simply took to the air without a thought, my only destination being my home. My cabin. My sanctuary.

My solitude.