Luke’s stomach really was bothering him. When he could find a minute, he needed to escape to a bathroom, but right now, Gage needed him. Luke noticed a bathroom off the hallway they walked through on their way, and he marked it. 

The entire Williams family was waiting for them: Alice, her husband Samuel, Dare and his mate Evan, and Cole. Cole went to Jess immediately and wrapped her in his arms. "Is everything okay?" he asked. 

She shook her head mutely, looking to her older brother to step in, But Alice spoke first. "Why doesn't everyone have a seat, and then Gage can share what's going on."

Gage took an empty love seat and Luke sat next to him, their thighs touching. They hadn't talked about how open Gage was comfortable with public affection, but he didn't shift away from Luke, and as tense as he was, Luke couldn't bear to be very far from him.

Luke felt like there was silent Jeopardy music playing in all of their minds, waiting for the time to wrap up before the final answer would be revealed. Gage took a deep breath. "I don't really know where to start."

"Start with me," Sean said quietly, but confidently. The brothers shared a long glance and then Gage nodded.

"Are you familiar with the concept of seers?"

Alice caught on immediately. "Sean is a seer?"

Gage nodded again.

"And your alpha...is causing issues."

Luke gaped at her, and he wouldn't have been surprised if everyone else did too.

"You know about the situation?" Gage asked.

Alice smiled sadly. "I wish I could claim that level of omnipotence, but it's simply a deduction. Many alphas and packs have sought to control seers for their own purposes over the years. Why don't you tell me the details?"

Gage told her everything he had told Luke. Jess's face grew more and more upset, the more he said. Sean didn't seem particularly surprised about anything, though Gage had said there was stuff he hadn't told him. Luke wondered how much of what Gage had kept to himself Sean had already known one way or another.

Alice's face held the same calm demeanor as when they first entered the room. She stayed silent for a moment after Gage finished speaking, and then asked, "What do you want to do about the situation?"

Gage sighed. "That's what I've been asking myself the whole way here. I guess, more than anything, I'd like an outsider's view. You've known Mark longer than I have, as an equal. And you're more aware of the political aspects of whatever is going on. There's so many things I'm not sure of. If he did kill our parents, why? And why hasn't he made a stronger move against me and Sean? Is he actually after Sean, or am I making things up?"

Alice stood and paced slowly in front of the big bay window. Luke would have been twitching like nobody's business if he'd had the focus of so many intense eyes, but Alice seemed to be in her own world. 

"You're right," she said finally. "I have known Mark a long time. And regardless of what I think of his abilities as an alpha," and her expression indicated she didn't think highly of them, "he doesn't seem like the kind of person to murder anyone underhandedly. I wouldn't put it past him to do it outright, claiming self-defense or defense of his pack, but not all cloak-and-dagger like."

"So you think my parents' death was an accident?" Gage sounded more confused than ever. Luke couldn't imagine having to deal with that ambiguity. Losing anyone to murder just sounded devastating, but no death of a loved one could be welcome, no matter the circumstances.

"I..." Sean's voice broke on that small word. All eyes turned to him, and he cleared his throat before continuing. "I don't think it was an accident," he finished, his skin paler than Luke had ever seen it.

"Sean," Gage said softly. "Did you see something?"

"Maybe? I wasn't sure if it was a dream or something more, and I'm not really even sure if it happened before or after the night of their accident."

Alice walked up and sat next to Sean, taking his hands in her own. "It's okay, Sean. We understand. No one is going to make any rash judgments about whatever you can tell us." She rested her eyes on Gage with her last words and he nodded. Luke couldn't imagine him jumping off the deep end in anything. He seemed to consider everything before taking a step.

Sean closed his eyes. "It was dark. They were driving home. There were patches of snow. And then...something...jumped out of the woods at them. Dad was driving. He jerked the steering wheel, then he tried to correct it, but then all of a sudden the car veered again and hit the gravel at the edge of the road, and then it flipped." He opened his eyes. "I think there was more. I keep trying to remember, but I can't."

Alice pulled him into a hug. "No, you did great, Sean. You don't want to force yourself into remembering the wrong thing, or something that didn't happen. Thank you for sharing." She pulled back and turned to Jess. "Jess, honey, I think Sean might need something to drink. Would you mind taking him to the kitchen?"

Both Sean and Jess were looking a little ragged, like they needed the break. And Luke’s stomach was getting no better. "I think I'll join them for a minute," Luke said, squeezing Gage's shoulder. He reached up to return the squeeze and Luke followed Jess and Sean, but veered off to the bathroom, finally able to let loose the contents of his stomach. He hovered over the bowl, panting, waiting to make sure he didn't have any lingering heaves. He didn't feel any better, which was unusual for him. He rinsed his mouth and face, and instead of continuing on to the kitchen, he returned to the living room.

"There are certainly a lot of factors to consider, whether or not Mark is the culprit. Luke, for one. And your child."

Luke froze in the hallway. Gage had never mentioned anything about having children. What was Alice talking about?

Gage seemed to be as confused as Luke was. "What child? Sean?"

Luke cycled back into motion, coming up to Gage and standing next to him. They looked at each other in twin consternation.

"Oh," Alice said. "You don't... Can't you scent it?"

Luke sniffed. He could barely smell anything beyond the lingering odor of vomit, but Gage was suddenly on his feet, his face buried in Luke’s neck. Luke blushed and tried to push him away, uncomfortable being this intimate in front of his alpha and her family, but he froze when Gage looked at him with shock and said, "You're pregnant."