Misery reflects on entering Were territory and on the prejudice she endured among Humans as Collateral, including public displays made from Vampyre remains. Expecting open hostility from the Weres, she is surprised instead by Lowe Moreland’s beautiful lakeside house and by a quieter, more controlled atmosphere. Even so, Misery feels isolated, trapped in unfamiliar territory, and aware that she may die in this place.

Alex, a nervous young pack member, shows Misery around the house and awkwardly explains practical rules about storing blood separately, feeding, and her limited freedom of movement. Through their conversation, Misery learns more about Were customs: Lowe has multiple seconds, Weres call their transformation "shifting," and power is measured partly by control over that shift. Alex also makes clear that Lowe is exceptionally dominant and respected, and he implies that Misery living in the Alpha’s home is a symbolic act of protection and commitment, even if the marriage is not treated as a true mating bond.

Misery probes for information about Lowe, the house, and whether Humans have ever been there, trying to hide her real purpose. She deliberately gets Alex to reveal the location of Lowe’s office while pretending to be harmlessly disoriented. Internally, Misery retraces how Serena’s clue about "L. E. Moreland" led her from a dead-end search on Leopold Eric Moreland to a heavily protected government memo naming Lowe Moreland and M. Garcia at a summit near the time Serena disappeared. That discovery convinced Misery that Lowe was connected to Serena’s disappearance and drove her to use more aggressive hacking methods.

Now physically inside Were territory, Misery realizes she finally has a better chance to access the pack’s systems directly and search for Serena. As she moves through the hall toward Lowe’s office, she admits to herself that she has no real plan beyond finding any clue that Serena is alive and reachable. Her fear that the entire investigation might amount to nothing leaves her desperate and vulnerable.

Before Misery can act, she is confronted by Max, a young Were who was not at the wedding. Max fixates on her beauty, then reveals bitter resentment toward Vampyres, blaming them for the deaths of his father and older sister and for what they have taken from Lowe. His grief turns violent when he suddenly attacks her. Misery responds with trained self-defense, overpowers Max without seriously harming him, and uses her fangs to frighten him into stopping. A moment later, someone far stronger tears Misery away from Max and pins her against the opposite wall: Lowe has arrived and is staring down at her.