Misery arrives at Emery Messner's home expecting open hostility, but Emery presents herself as calm, gracious, and almost motherly. Even so, Misery immediately senses the strain beneath the politeness, especially when Emery looks at her as a Vampyre enemy. Lowe stays physically close and protective, making it clear to Emery and her guards that Misery matters to him, and the encounter ends in an uneasy but controlled truce.

At dinner, Emery, Lowe, and Misery discuss Were politics, borders, and alliances while carefully avoiding any mention of Lowe killing Emery's mate, Roscoe. Misery mostly observes, noting how skillfully Lowe manages the conversation and the power dynamics. Once they are shown to their room, Misery searches it for surveillance, and Lowe explains that Mick's intelligence strongly suggests Emery is behind the recent attacks and sabotage in Were territory, even if some Loyals may not understand the full extent of what they are serving.

Misery feeds from stored blood, and Lowe watches her closely enough to notice the physical changes that follow. Their conversation turns to what happened on the plane, and Lowe admits that scent-marking is usually intimate and sexually charged, which is why the moment affected them both. When Misery assumes Lowe has a mutual relationship with his mate, Lowe reveals that he has never marked anyone before and that the woman who is his mate does not even know.

Misery urges Lowe to tell his mate, arguing that even an imperfect or one-sided bond could still become a real relationship. Lowe reacts sharply, making clear that pride is not the issue: he would accept anything his mate freely chose to give him, but he refuses to take away her freedom by burdening her with a bond that might make her feel obligated. His explanation leaves Misery ashamed for misjudging him and even more aware of his self-denying principles.

As dawn approaches, Misery learns that Lowe's insomnia is chronic. Remembering how she used to soothe Serena after nightmares by lightly scratching her scalp, Misery offers Lowe the same comfort, and he silently asks for more. While Lowe finally relaxes enough to sleep, he points out that Misery has also spent her life sacrificing for others, forcing her to wonder whether, even without Serena's disappearance, she would still have submitted to this marriage out of duty.