Bride

by Ali Hazelwood

Misery Lark is a Vampyre with no connections to her kind, offered as a political bride to Lowe Moreland — the Alpha of a werewolf pack. The marriage is a treaty between species who've been at war for centuries. Neither of them wants it. Both of them are hiding something. Ali Hazelwood brings her signature humor and enemies-to-lovers dynamic to a supernatural world of vampires and werewolves.

22 characters, locations, and items in this world codex.

Characters

• Alex — Lowe's second-in-command — a Were with a warm disposition who becomes one of the first pack members to genuinely welcome the Vampyre bride in their mi
• Ana Moreland — Lowe's six-year-old sister — a small Were with big opinions who decides immediately that having a Vampyre sister-in-law is the best thing that's ever
• Councilman Lark — The most powerful Vampyre councilman in the Southwest — a father who named his daughter Misery and treats her like a chess piece in a game only he can
• Koen — A Were with ties to both the pack and the broader mystery of the missing persons — carrying a connection to Serena that complicates simple species loy
• Lowe Moreland — The Alpha of the Were pack — an architect who'd rather be drawing blueprints than navigating political marriages, hiding grief over his missing sister
• Ludwig — A Vampyre Council member operating in the political shadows — one of the power players whose moves behind the scenes shape the alliance that Misery wa
• Mick — A Were pack member who wears his distrust of Vampyres openly — the voice of every wolf who thinks letting a bloodsucker into the compound was a terrib
• Misery Lark — A Vampyre raised among Humans, given as a political bride to the Were Alpha — an outsider in every species, armed with a hacker's brain and a name tha
• Owen — A Human authority figure navigating a world of supernatural politics he barely understands — representing the third species in a game rigged by the ot
• Serena Paris — Misery's best friend and the only person who ever made her feel like she belonged — until she disappeared without a trace somewhere near Were territor
• The Loyals — A shadowy faction that operates across species lines — insurgents whose idea of loyalty involves assassination attempts and destabilizing the fragile

Locations

• Human Governance — The Human political institutions that operate in blissful ignorance of the Vampyre-Were power struggle happening in their jurisdiction — a third playe
• The Alpha's House — Lowe's home at the center of the compound — where a political marriage slowly becomes a real one, one awkward breakfast at a time.
• The Council Chambers — The seat of Vampyre political power — where centuries-old councilmen make decisions that trade people's lives like currency and call it governance.
• The Human City — The urban sprawl where Humans live in comfortable ignorance of the supernatural species among them — and where Misery spent years pretending to be som
• The Shifting Grounds — The deep forest territory where Weres transform — sacred pack ground where Human-shaped rules don't apply and a Vampyre definitely shouldn't wander al
• The Vampyre Council — The governing body of Vampyre society — an ancient institution that maintains power through patience, manipulation, and the strategic trading of peopl
• The Were Compound — The isolated, self-contained settlement where Lowe's pack lives — a fortress of community hidden in the wilderness, where everyone knows everyone and
• Vampyre Territory — The seat of the Vampyre Council in the American Southwest — a domain of ancient politics, cold hierarchy, and the kind of controlled elegance that mak

Items

• Lowe's Sketchbook — The Alpha's private collection of architectural drawings and portraits — a secret window into the emotional life of a man who won't talk about his fee
• The Collateral System — The interspecies political arrangement that trades people — usually women — as living guarantees of peace, wrapping hostage exchange in the language o
• The Mate Bond — The supernatural connection between destined Were partners — a biological imperative disguised as romance that doesn't care about political convenienc

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