Mate

“I’m sure it’s the start of every epic love story: a girl, trying to turn on a laptop and jabbing the power button with increasing violence. A very big man in a plaid shirt, leaning cross armed against a doorjamb, staring skeptically at her. The ego-pulverizing embarrassment of making a less-than-excellent first impression on someone your friends love and respect.”

Serena and Koen’s first interaction incites their intense attraction to each other. Serena makes a sarcastic remark about “the start of every epic love story,” which, ironically, foreshadows how their romance will develop. The description of Koen’s appearance also conveys Serena’s immediate attraction to her. The image of his imposing stature filling the doorway evokes notions of power, control, and safety, all of which he will offer Serena in the long run.

“Except that the Randomly Selected Human Orphan turned out to be more like the Purposefully Chosen Human-Were Hybrid Who Needed to Be Kept Under Surveillance by the Vampyres to Prevent the World from Finding Out That Humans and Weres Are Actually Reproductively Compatible and Might Therefore Decide to Not Hate Each Other or Even Form Alliances Against the Vampyres. Plot twist.”

Serena’s internal monologue connects with the novel’s theme of Finding Identity and Belonging Through Connection. For years, Serena was led to believe that she was a typical Human girl; when she learned she was a hybrid, her entire sense of self and reality changed. Her identity was immediately politicized, complicating Serena’s ability to formulate an identity that felt true to her. Serena’s sarcasm and her awareness of the absurdity of her situation are conveyed through her deadpan “Plot twist.”

“My real nature was kept from me. The former governor was afraid that as a hybrid, I had the potential to become a symbol of unity between Weres and Humans—an unwelcome one, since his political career was based on divisiveness and fearmongering.”

Serena’s hybrid identity complicates her ability to live her life on her own terms because her very existence is “a symbol.” She has been limited to her political utility, viewed as a pawn instead of being regarded as a person with needs, thoughts, desires, and opinions.