While Koen holds a pack meeting at the cabin, Serena gets a rare phone call from Misery. Misery says Lowe has told her more about the Northwest's past and explains that the old cult was founded by an exiled Were supremacist. The cult stayed small until a descendant mated with a Were named Jochem, and their line eventually produced Constantine, who expanded the movement by promising Human followers that they could become Weres and, if they were women, bear Were children.

That history gives Serena a brutal new explanation for the cult's interest in her. Serena realizes they may believe she is proof that Constantine's promise worked, and that she may be one of the cult's surviving children rather than simply a hybrid they want to control. When Misery starts to discuss how Koen's rise to Alpha connects to the cult's downfall, Serena stops her because Serena wants to hear that part from Koen himself. After the call, Serena nearly says something final to Misery, then retreats into humor instead of revealing how close to death she feels.

Serena joins the ongoing meeting and overhears Saul, Elle, and Brenna report that the pack has found no active cult hideouts, no useful trail from the dead attacker beyond the ocean, and no DNA link between Serena and the attacker. Because the search is failing, Serena suggests using herself as bait, reasoning that the cult wants her badly enough to come after her. The idea immediately alarms the seconds, and Koen dismisses them so he can deal with Serena alone.

In private, Koen rebukes Serena for treating her life carelessly. When Serena challenges him for withholding information, Koen admits he had suspected a cult connection earlier, especially after a man outside Serena's interview shouted language that matched the cult's beliefs. Koen explains that several Were children and more than two dozen Human minors survived the cult's destruction, but the Human children were absorbed into Human services and became hard to track. Overwhelmed by the possibility that Serena was one of those children, Serena decides to sleep, and Koen insists on staying in her room in human form so he can monitor her temperature and catch her fevers early. Serena accepts the help, takes comfort in his presence, and falls asleep beside him.