Misery Lark opens by reflecting that her marriage will be a problem from the start. The centuries-long war between Vampyres and Weres has led to this political union, even though Misery has never met her groom before the wedding day. She remembers a childhood escape fantasy with her friend Serena, who once jokingly proposed marriage so they could flee together, and contrasts that innocent promise with the loveless arrangement she is about to enter alone.

Before the ceremony, Misery tries and fails to arrange even a brief meeting with the Were Alpha, because his side dismisses the request on security and status grounds. She is then transformed by stylists into a suitable bride, including strange green markings added to her wrists, throat, and nape because they are supposedly meaningful in Were custom. Her twin brother, Owen, collects her and jokes bitterly about the danger, while the venue itself reflects the distrust behind the alliance: Humans provide security because neither Vampyres nor Weres trust the other to do it.

On the way in, Owen briefly drops his usual sarcasm and urgently begs Misery not to go through with the marriage, warning that the last attempt at this kind of peace ended in the massacre known as the Aster. Misery refuses to explain her true reason for agreeing and proceeds with her father, Councilman Lark, who treats the wedding as irreversible political business rather than a personal choice. As Misery walks down the aisle, she observes that neither side wants this union: the Vampyres judge her, the Weres openly hate her, and the whispers around her frame the marriage as either a chance to stabilize the region or trigger another war.

At the altar, Misery finally sees her groom and immediately recognizes him as dangerous. When he turns and catches her scent, his reaction is extreme and unsettling: he stares, breathes her in, and seems personally shaken rather than merely hostile. The tension escalates as armed Humans, Vampyres, and Weres prepare for violence, and when Misery tries to warn him against causing another Aster, he grabs her, catches her as she stumbles, and pins her close enough to cause panic. Both of them are overwhelmed by each other's scent, and just when it seems he might attack her, he instead demands to know why she smells the way she does. Despite the near-disaster, less than ten minutes later he places a ring on her finger, and the marriage is completed.