48 pages • 1 hour read
Ali HazelwoodBride
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2024A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 13-18Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 13 Summary
Misery surprises Lowe on the roof, his place to be alone. She asks him to take her on his visit to Emery, saying she can set up the computer surveillance. He admits to Misery that he has insomnia. He talks about raising Ana, being an architect in Zurich, and how he had to drop his career suddenly to take responsibility for the pack when the old Alpha started getting too violent. He says that Mick, whose mate and son died, smells like grief all the time.
He wants Misery to stop hiding her fangs. She does and explains Vampyres don’t feed on living creatures, but how the bite is now incorporated into sex. She confides that she and Serena had a big fight before Serena disappeared. Serena wanted Misery to care about something besides her.
Misery asks Lowe what a “mate” is and Lowe says not all couples are mates and that meeting one changes someone biologically. The Were bite they share is important and feelings may not be reciprocated. Misery admits that feelings are hard and new for her, but that she’s leaning. She wants to come with him and help because she’s starting to care. He says if she comes, she’ll have to be marked to alleviate suspicion.
Chapter 14 Summary
Lowe and Misery fly in a private plane to California. Lowe says Misery needs to smell like him to convince the other Weres she’s with him. When they land, he asks for her consent and begins to kiss and graze his teeth over her pulse points. She apologizes for her scent, which he confesses to loving. He bites the back of her neck hard and they press against each other. Misery is turned on and mystified that she enjoys the experience. He says she smells like she’s his now.
Chapter 15 Summary
Emery Messner has a pleasant demeanor, but her guards are tense and Lowe keeps his hand on Misery. They have an awkward dinner. Later in their room, Misery checks for bugs. Lowe insists she feed in front of him and is amazed by how flushed and alive she looks after. She also can smell him better. She asks about the sexual nature of the marking; he says he has never done it before. Misery is confused why any person Lowe chose wouldn’t be excited to be with him. He says he would be happy with any amount of attention she chose to give him, but he would never take anything from her, especially her freedom, since so many others have taken that. He says he won’t be able to sleep; Misery says that she can help. She runs her fingers through his hair, lightly scratching his scalp, and feels him relax. She observes that he gives up his life for his pack, and he says Misery did the same. She says she married him for Serena, and he says she would have done it anyway. She is about to answer but realizes he has fallen asleep.
Chapter 16 Summary
Lowe comes back from a run and finds Misery in a bath. She wants to see him as a wolf. When he refuses, she teases him about what he must look like. He grabs her ankle in the water and doesn’t let go. He fills her in on the plan for the evening—Koen, a family friend, will buy them time to plant devices in Emery’s office.
Lowe’s friend Koen surprises Misery by welcoming her, but he is opinionated and brash. At dinner, Lowe reveals that he’s been meeting with the new Human governor and that there is an alliance being formed. He and Emery have tense words about alliances disrespecting memories of Weres who have died. Koen, whose land boarders the Humans, says he’s not worried. When a slight is made about Vampyres, Lowe asks Misery if she wants to feed. It’s their signal to go, as feeding makes the other Weres uncomfortable.
Lowe is impressed by Misery’s skill at breaking into Emery’s office with her hairpin. Lowe hides her scent while she bugs Emery’s computer. They are running software when they hear guards coming. Misery says they need to kiss and Lowe insists she actually feed from him. She doesn’t want to, as she’s never done it before, but he insists the guards will be able to smell it if she’s not.
Chapter 17 Summary
The bite feels natural and Lowe’s blood is different than anything she’s experienced. It’s like his essence. She vaguely hears the guards leave but she’s too turned on and into Lowe to worry. She moves to stop but Lowe insists she take more. She orgasms against him and is surprised at how intimate it is to take his blood. She apologizes, not realizing how intimate the act would be. He is also turned on and says he’s never felt what he’s now feeling. Misery makes sure her tech is done downloading and hides the USB. Emery and Koen come in and see them together. Emery is disgusted, but Koen is amused. When Emery leaves, too disgusted to suspect anything, Koen says Cal has been trying to reach Lowe about Ana.
Chapter 18 Summary
Lowe and Misery fly home immediately, as Ana is very sick in a way Were doctors don’t understand. Misery and Lowe both lay with her as she falls asleep. Misery thinks she knows what’s wrong and suggests specific Human drugs rather than moving her to see a Human doctor. Juno says they should trust Misery, and Lowe goes into Human territory to get medicine.
While they wait to see the medicine’s effect, Misery finds Alex monitoring the transmission from Emery’s office. They’ve done a good job. She lies and says Lowe wants them to work on finding a list of Humans who worked at the Human-Were Bureau. What she really wants is to find the man who might be Ana’s father. Alex suddenly realizes Misery smells like Lowe, and is astonished.
The medicine works. Juno says Misery and Lowe make a good team. Later when they’re alone, Lowe is haunted by not being able to help Ana. Misery holds him.
Chapters 13-18 Analysis
This section follows an expected shift seen in romance. It moves from focusing on the couple’s emotional connection to the physical. Hazelwood uses a plot convention of the genre, bringing the couple together physically by making it necessary that they interact with their bodies. For example, Lowe needs to mark Misery so that she’ll be welcome by Emery’s Weres. Additionally, Misery needs to feed on Lowe to disguise their espionage in Emery’s office. The necessity of their first physical interactions eliminates a potential power imbalance. When it comes to their physical desire, they begin as equals. Their emotional connection continues to grow, but is now aided by their physical bond. For example, Misery helps Lowe sleep by scratching his scalp. The physical contact is new and intimate, and their emotional bond is strengthened by cultivating trust.
The equality between the characters is important given the power dynamics of Misery’s family, specifically because her father has taken advantage of his power. Misery feels safe with Lowe because neither of them push physicality on the other. Lowe maintains his strength and physical appeal in a way that is unthreatening to Misery, such as when falling asleep in her hands.
This section focuses on Identity, Self-Acceptance, and Belonging. For the first time, Misery commits the classic vampire act of biting and feeding on Lowe, resulting in a flood of self-knowledge about how her body and attraction works. Lowe’s positive response and her own bodily sensations help her realize that she is designed to do this act with a particular, special person. Embracing her Vampyre identity is a major step on her path toward self-acceptance, and helps create a bond between her and Lowe.
Misery’s reaction to Lowe’s marking also helps move the couple toward the realization that Love Transcends Boundaries. The fact that they both experience the marking with so much pleasure flies in the face of what they have been taught to expect of interactions between the species.
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By Ali Hazelwood
