After the chaos in the woods, Misery sits in the lodge with torn-up feet while a bound Max complains and demands his mother. When Lowe enters, the room immediately quiets. Lowe puts his hoodie around Misery, then asks what happened, and Cal explains that the pack had been deliberately tailing Max as Max lured Ana away because they hoped Max would lead them to other conspirators. Misery realizes that by intervening, she accidentally disrupted Lowe’s attempt to trace the larger plot.

Lowe questions Max instead of immediately punishing him. Lowe tells Max that Lowe protects his own people, unlike Roscoe, and argues that Lowe’s alliances are meant to stop more Were deaths. Max repeats Loyalist propaganda, accuses Lowe of not being the rightful Alpha, and refuses to identify who sent him. When Cal and Lowe’s unnamed second begin threatening harsher interrogation, the situation turns toward violence.

Misery interrupts and begs Lowe to let her help because she does not want Ana harmed. When Max spits on Misery, Lowe slams Max back, forces Max to apologize, and calls Misery his wife. With Lowe holding Max still, Misery uses her Vampyre thrall, a hypnotic mental compulsion that requires touch and restraint in her case. The process exhausts Misery, but it leaves Max briefly compliant and able to answer questions truthfully.

Under questioning, Max reveals that the Loyals planned to take Ana and use Ana as leverage to force Lowe to step down. Max also says Roscoe’s mate, Emery, is likely behind the order. The revelation alarms the pack, but Misery’s thrall alarms them too, because most of them thought such Vampyre power was only a myth. After confirming the thrall is working, Lowe orders Mick to take Misery back to her room while the others continue dealing with Max.

On the way upstairs, Mick explains that Lowe can literally smell lies, already knew Max had attacked Misery, and only pretended to allow torture in order to frighten Max into talking. Mick also mentions his dead mate and hints at how central mating bonds are to Were society, then warns Misery against digging too deeply while noting her secret conversations with Owen. Alone, Misery realizes Serena had been her real home all along. Still determined to find Serena, Misery changes clothes, sneaks into Lowe’s office, hacks his poorly protected computer, and searches for Serena, the date of Serena’s disappearance, and The Herald. As results begin to appear, Misery feels something nudge her leg, assumes it is a cat, and then looks down to find an angry gray wolf staring at her.