Mate

Serena races through the Pacific Northwest woods in desperate search of safety. Until a year ago, Serena believed she was Human, but she has since discovered she is hybrid: half Human and half Were. She has been in hiding, but recently, someone put a bounty on her head.

A Vampyre intruder found her, and she is now in flight. Serena attacks and fights him until Koen Alexander (the Alpha of the Northwest Were pack) arrives and intervenes. Serena feels instantly safer. A moment later, Koen kills the Vampyre. Serena teases him about being her mate.

Lowe—Serena’s best friend, Misery’s, mate—urges Koen to tell Serena something he discovered about the two of them. Koen argues otherwise, insisting that it’s irrelevant, and she’ll never discover the truth.

Koen arrives at Lowe’s house, where Serena is hanging out. After spending months in Vampyre territory, she’s feeling relaxed enough to check her email but encounters computer trouble. Koen teases her about forgetting how electricity works. They chat for a while about Misery and Ana—Lowe’s sister, whom Misery has taken under her wing. Serena has fallen in love with Ana because she’s the only other known living hybrid like Serena. Finally, Koen reveals that Serena is his mate. They are fated to be together, but the match doesn’t connote love or romance.

Serena feels embarrassed when she realizes that Koen is talking about sex. She isn’t a virgin, but she doesn’t know much about intercourse. She is an orphan who grew up as Misery’s companion because Misery was used as collateral for a Vampyre ceasefire with the Humans. Serena hasn’t had proper sex education and didn’t have time to think about sex during adolescence. She has always felt uncomfortable about her body, especially in comparison to Misery.

Koen reiterates that being mates doesn’t mean they have to like each other, and just because she is his mate, it doesn’t mean he is hers. Serena wonders if she feels drawn to him the way he does to her. She feels safe in his company but is unsure if it’s just because he’s an Alpha (a pack leader). Feeling sentimental, she suggests they go on a date. Koen tells her he’s not interested in her that way.

In the car after the Vampyre encounter, Serena again tries to justify being Koen’s mate. He interrupts her thoughts, asking why she didn’t shift (change into a Were) during the Vampyre fight. She makes an excuse, saying the moon wasn’t big enough. A skeptical Koen wants to know if her inability to shift relates to her recent escape from the safehouse where she was staying. She had been there since giving a media interview about being “the first Human-Were hybrid” (34). (The public still doesn’t know about Ana.)

Serena brushes off Koen’s questions, but he continues badgering her about her altered demeanor since they last saw each other. The two also hypothesize about how the Vampyre knew where to find Serena. Koen is annoyed that she escaped because she put herself in danger. Finally, he demands she fall asleep; she does because she feels safe.

Serena gives a television interview about being hybrid after someone leaks her identity to the press. She’s shocked when the interviewer alludes to her alleged sterility but tries to act as if she already knew. She answers the questions calmly because she hopes to earn the Human governor Maddie Garcia’s goodwill. She was formerly in the Human state’s care, starting at the age of seven. She guesses that’s how the late governor Davenport learned she was part-Were. She believes he hid the truth because he feared what her existence meant for Humans. A faction of voters wanted changes in Human-Were relations, which Davenport didn’t support.

Serena survives the interview, but she feels frustrated with the Humans; her former community has ostracized her since discovering her true identity. Afterward, she reconvenes with Koen, who leads her through a badgering crowd. He defends her when they start verbally attacking her.

Serena wakes up in Koen’s arms. They’ve arrived at a safehouse cabin in the woods, and he’s carrying her in. Inside, he introduces her to his other seconds (pack leaders next in charge): Amanda, Jorma, and Saul. They take a video call from Misery. Serena is relieved to see her friend again and notices how happy she is. She misses Misery but isn’t jealous of her newfound happiness with Lowe.

Lowe updates the group on complications between Vampyres, Weres, and Humans. Misery’s brother Owen wants a trilateral peace treaty but so far, to no avail. The group speculates about Serena’s role in these conflicts and plans. Serena dismisses their concerns about her. She is more worried about Ana, who is young and innocent. She insists that they hide Ana and use Serena as bait to discover who put the bounty on her.

Everyone protests Serena’s plan. Koen ends the meeting, insisting that Serena go to bed. Sitting next to him, Serena feels his power. She wonders if they could have a connection like hers and Misery’s, or Misery and Lowe’s. They argue more about Serena’s plan; Koen doesn’t support it because he’s desperate to protect her as his mate. Finally, he tucks her into bed. Looking up at him, she admits she hasn’t been able to shift into Were in months.

Serena considers telling Koen the full truth of her recent diagnosis and condition, but she decides against it. They return to the topic of Serena’s safety; she admits that she is safe with him. They share meaningful eye contact, and Serena asks for more details about being his mate. He explains that all the Weres are aware that she is his mate, so they know to stay away from her. Finally, she falls asleep.

Serena wakes from a sex dream. Her mind has been consumed by sexual thoughts recently. She is burning up with fever, too. Overwhelmed and sick, she sits in a cool bath and waits for the feelings to dissipate.

Serena visits a Were physician named Dr. Henshaw. He examines her and updates her on her cortisol surge disorder (CSD) condition. Although common in Weres, CSD side effects and treatments in hybrids are challenging. Dr. Henshaw has been trying to find a cure but to no avail.

He gives Serena a three-to-six-month prognosis and urges her to spend time in isolation, as the CSD side effects could become violent. She accepts the prognosis and recommendations, deciding to keep the condition a secret. She doesn’t even want Misery to know. However, she directs Dr. Henshaw to share her records with Ana if they inform her health conditions later on.

Before she leaves, Dr. Henshaw asks about Koen, worried that he should know about her condition. Serena dismisses his concerns, insisting that Koen wouldn’t care because they aren’t in love. Dr. Henshaw seems skeptical but doesn’t push the matter.