After a while, you run out of things to talk about while trapped in a trunk. Luke fell into a light sleep, but jerked awake every time something changed, like the first time they turned onto a rough road. Dirt or gravel was Luke’s guess. The increased noise would have made it impossible to speak if he'd wanted to. And then they slowed to a stop. Instantly, Luke was awake, every nerve in his body buzzing.

A car door opened and closed. Then a lock turned and hinges squeaked. There were faint bumps and shuffles farther away, and then footsteps approached the trunk of the car and the trunk swung open. Luke’s back was to the opening, so he couldn't see whoever it was, but he could smell that they were an omega. Their scent was a cloying cotton candy that made Luke snort. He recognized it from somewhere, but he wasn’t sure… Sean gaped in confusion.

"Amy?"

Gage's best friend was named Amy. Surely it wasn't the same person...but Sean had recognized her. And now that Sean had said it, Luke realized he’d smelled that cotton candy scent before, at Gage’s house, but it had been faded.

"Come on, Sean," she said gently. "Let's get you out of there."

She helped him out first, making sure he didn't trip or fall, but she didn't undo his hands. Their footsteps trailed into the house, and then a minute later Amy was back, turning Luke and helping him out of the trunk.

"You must be Luke," she said. "Sorry about this."

She was a small woman with shoulder-length blonde hair and bangs, maybe about thirty. She was equally as careful with Luke as she had been with Sean, furthering his confusion. She guided Luke into the house, bracing him when his cramped legs threatened to give out, and sat Luke in a chair next to Sean. Then promptly duct taped his legs to the chair.

"Amy, what's going on?" Sean yelled after her as she left to close the car trunk and then the cabin door behind her, locking it and pocketing the key. "What are you doing?"

"I'm saving you," she said. "I'm saving us."

"From what?" he asked. "Mark?"

"From Mark, from Peter. From any alpha," she replied, rubbing her hands up and down her arms, pacing in front of us.

"I don't understand," Sean said, his voice breaking.

She gave him a sympathetic look. "I hope you never do. The world of wolves isn't safe for omegas like us, Sean. Or even you, Luke. Gage isn't bad as far as alphas go, but a free omega is better off than an attached one any day."

Sean and Luke looked at each other in confusion. What was she talking about?

"Who is Peter?" Luke asked.

"My mate," she spat, suddenly burning with fury. "My parents couldn't wait to shove me at the first available alpha who would take me, no matter how they would treat me. And Peter is one of the worst." She paced like it was the only thing keeping her alive, taking each turn with a snapping whip of her body. "Alphas don't care about omegas," she said. "Even Gage, as much as I like him as a person. I begged him to mate me before he left for college. I knew what would happen if he didn't, if I couldn't choose the least objectionable alpha I could find. I didn't fool myself, I wasn't in love with him and he wasn't in love with me. It was okay that he was gay. I wouldn't have minded if he pursued men. In fact, I would have preferred a mate who wasn't interested in me for sex. But he didn't care what my life would be like with another alpha. He couldn't understand." 

She suddenly knelt in front of Sean, taking his bound hands in her own. "They can't understand, Sean. They don't know what it's like to be used and controlled like we are. They just see it as the natural order. But there's nothing natural about it. And you, you know better than anyone what it's like to have to keep yourself hidden, don't you. Years of your parents and siblings telling you to hide what you are."

Luke’s breath caught in his throat. Amy knew about Sean's gift. She'd clearly known for a while. He didn't understand why yet, but even if the whole kidnapping thing hadn't been a big enough clue, Luke suddenly realized Amy was behind everything. She had placed the cameras. She had been the cause of Gage and Sean's parents' death, if the pattern held. 

Sean's eyes were brimming with tears. "You knew?"

Amy reached up and wiped the unshed tears away. "I suspected something for a long time. But I finally figured it out a couple years ago."

"Did you tell Gage?"

She stood and started pacing again. "Why should I have told him? He would have just made demands that I keep it a secret, and I didn't need another alpha telling me what to do."

"But Gage is your friend," Sean said. "He wouldn't have done that."

Amy shook her head slowly. "You're still so innocent. Are you saying he doesn't tell you what to do?"

"Well, yeah, but he's my brother."

"It doesn't change, Sean. Ask Luke. And it only gets worse when you're carrying a child." She walked behind Luke’s chair, pulling Sean's confused and vulnerable gaze to him.

Luke wanted to refute her words, but he didn't want to set her off. "Alphas are protective, yes."

She laughed bitterly. "Is that what you call it? Even if Gage doesn't beat you, can you say he doesn't control you? You had to clear it with him before you went back to school. You couldn't move forward in your relationship until he was ready. Everything was on his terms, not yours."

That was an extremely jaded perception of things, but what shocked Luke was the level of detail she knew about their lives. The discussion about school had happened after they'd pulled the cameras, while they were at Jess and Cole's house.

"If things were so bad," Sean said, "why didn't you run away? Or tell someone?"

"You think I didn't try? I told my parents, they didn't care. I ran away. Peter found me." She circled behind Sean and placed her hands on his shoulders to lean down to his ear. "But you can keep us safe, Sean. You don't have to go through what I've gone through."

"What do you mean?"

"Peter will find me if I run on my own. He's too determined to control me, and I don't have the resources to stay ahead of him. But you can use your gift, Sean. You can find a way for us to stay ahead of them."

"It doesn't work that way, Amy. I can't always control it."

"Don't lie to me, Sean." She pushed off his shoulders with a shove. "I know you found both your siblings mates. That's small potatoes to protecting yourself."

"If I could see enough to protect myself, do you think I'd be here?" Sean asked.

"Of course!" Amy spread her hands and her face lit up. "This is the way for you to stay safe long term. Of course you'd choose this. I know you'd never hurt your brother by running away. You had to make it look like it wasn't your choice."

She was insane. Absolutely insane. 

"Now I need you to tell me what to do next. Where do we go to be safe?"

Sean begged Luke with his eyes to help. The best Luke could offer was distraction.

"Why did you grab me if you were just after Sean?"

"I couldn't chance you running to Gage right away." Sean practically collapsed in relief when her scrutiny turned to Luke. "But I want to offer you this chance at freedom too. I know Gage isn't as bad as some, but he's still an alpha. And he might treat you decently, but what if your child is an omega? Can you trust that he will care as much about your child's happiness as yours? That he'll give them to an alpha who treats them right? Are you willing to risk that? You might be safe, but think about your child. Sean can keep you safe. He can keep us all safe."

Her attention turned back to Sean, and Luke thought desperately at him to stall. Luke had no idea whether Gage was on their trail, but the longer they were in one place, the better their chances of finding a way out or being rescued were.

"Let me look," Sean said. "It might take a while."

Amy nodded in satisfaction and finally took a seat, leaning forward on her knees and staring at Sean.

He closed his eyes and the entire room stilled in anticipation. And then he started making the most ridiculous series of faces. If Luke hadn't already seen what it looked like when Sean experienced a true vision, Luke might have been as rapt as Amy. But as it was, even with the tenseness of the situation, perhaps because of it, he had a hard time holding in laughter. Thankfully Amy was too focused to notice his difficulty.

"We need to stay here," Sean said in an attempt at a deep voice, keeping his eyes closed.

"Here? But we're still too close to the pack's territory," Amy protested. "We need to go farther away."

"The pack will be on the roads, looking for your car. The police are looking for your car. We need to stay until things calm down." Sean opened his eyes.

Good job, Sean!

Amy frowned. It clearly wasn't the answer she wanted or expected, but she nodded slowly. "We'll stay. But don't lie to me, Sean. This is for your good as well as mine. Where do we go afterward?"

"Uh, ah..." Sean stumbled. 

Nashville, Luke mouthed at him.

"Nashville," he told her, and that seemed to ease some of her worry.

Luke’s mom's pack was from out that way. It would be easier to disappear in a city and run for help if Gage couldn't find them in time.