Misery stands beside Lowe as Owen approaches with Gabrielle, the woman Misery has been dreading meeting because she believes Gabrielle is Lowe’s mate. Lowe notices Misery shaking, pulls her closer, and keeps holding her hand. While Misery tries to hide her jealousy and anxiety, Owen gives an update on Serena’s case: security footage from the apartment complex facing Serena’s building is unusable because the cameras were tampered with only on the day of the break-in. When Misery asks how, Gabrielle identifies the method as signal jamming, which suggests a skilled and well-resourced operation. Gabrielle then offers Misery simple sympathy about Serena’s disappearance, and the kindness unsettles Misery because almost no one has acknowledged her pain so directly.

Owen abruptly announces that he intends to take their father’s seat on the Vampyre council. Misery is shocked because challenging their father is effectively treason, and she immediately focuses on the likely consequence: their father will kill Owen if he learns of the plot. Owen treats the announcement with some of his usual dry detachment, but Misery presses him, asking whether he even wants the position and warning him that their father’s power makes the plan especially dangerous.

Owen then drops the pretense and explains that this is not an impulsive fantasy. He has been preparing for three months, since learning that their father was willing to send Misery back into enemy territory again, and he is driven by guilt over failing to protect her before. Owen says he wants to control future alliance negotiations, abolish the Collateral system, reduce border conflicts, and stop the political pressure that keeps the region unstable. Lowe makes clear that he dislikes Misery’s father and would welcome a leader whose priorities match his own, creating a quiet understanding between Lowe and Owen. As Owen outlines his network of supporters, Misery realizes that her apparently frivolous brother has been serious, careful, and strategic.

During the rest of the meeting, Misery overhears Gabrielle tell Lowe that she is safe at the Nest, being mostly ignored, monitored online, and working toward a master’s degree in electrical engineering. Misery braces for some emotional moment between Lowe and Gabrielle, but when Owen leaves with Gabrielle, Lowe and Gabrielle exchange only a formal, distant goodbye. In the car, Misery replays Lowe’s earlier description of what a mate feels like and compares it with his behavior around Gabrielle. Because Lowe showed no visible pull toward Gabrielle and stayed focused on Misery throughout the meeting, Misery reaches a startling conclusion: Gabrielle is probably not Lowe’s mate after all.