45 pages • 1 hour read
Lana FergusonThe Fake Mate
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2023A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
The Tension Between Fate and Choice
One of the central points of conflict within Ferguson’s novel is the concept of predestination, many aspects of which are expressed via the instinctive behaviors that arise from Mackenzie and Noah’s designations as omega and alpha, respectively. Within the context of the novel, society holds an ingrained belief that biological designations play a hand in a person’s fate and that romantic partnerships are heavily influenced by biological imperatives associated with specific designations. Ferguson reveals this implied belief in Mackenzie’s inner monologue as she tries to fake knowing what an intimate, omega-alpha relationship involves. As she says to Priya, “I’m not sure how it hasn’t occurred to me yet, the supposed compatibility between an alpha and an omega. I know from medical school that an alpha can’t even properly knot with anyone but an omega” (61). By making true sexual fulfillment a parameter of omega-alpha relationships, Ferguson constructs a narrative plot point that alludes to the biological inevitability of pairings between the two designations.
Given these difficult realities, the characters must grapple with several intertwined dilemmas. Specifically, Noah and Mackenzie find themselves wondering whether they can mindfully choose to be in a relationship when their bodies dictate their choice for them. They also question whether they can be certain of the true origin of their feelings. Throughout the narrative, Ferguson never provides a clear answer to these questions, and the relatively short duration of the protagonists’ romance (two months in total) provides equally balanced evidence to support the premise that their love is naturally cultivated and that it might also be partially predetermined by their sexual compatibility. Even if the characters are compelled to act in accordance with certain biological imperatives, their individual agency also becomes apparent when Noah chooses to abide by Dennis’s blackmail in order to protect Mackenzie. Though Noah is in the throes of his love for Mackenzie and at the height of his desire for her, his enthrallment does not prevent him from considering the situation from a more pragmatic angle. While biological determinants do push the couple together, Ferguson also allows her characters to exert their individual wills in order to overcome these determinants.
The Harmful Ignorance of Stereotypes
Although the presence of an alpha/beta/omega designation is an inherent and fantastical component within the narrative’s world-building, the rules that govern each secondary gender are often left deliberately vague, and even the characters lack a complete understanding of the implications. Instead, they haphazardly perpetuate harmful stereotypes, as when Dennis sneers at Noah for his “alpha” tendencies and reputation for being the resident genius, while Noah and Mackenzie often explain unusual occurrences by flippantly blaming their behavior on the traits that are typically associated with their respective designations. In Noah’s case, both he and Mackenzie coin the phrase “must be an alpha thing” (28) to explain various physiological anomalies, such as when Mackenzie can detect his mood via his scent after an encounter with Dennis, or when Noah can only smell Mackenzie’s honeysuckle scent despite the crowd of people that surrounds them. It is therefore a recurrent irony within Ferguson’s novel that despite the protagonists’ joint status as competent doctors with extensive knowledge of the human body (and presumably of shifters’ bodies), both Noah and Mackenzie fall prey to a range of clumsy stereotypes surrounding the behavior of alphas and omegas.
However, in Mackenzie’s case, it is important to note that this ignorance is willfully maintained. In one particular scene, Moira points out, “When two shifters have a high compatibility, it can throw off your heat cycle. The pheromones just affect you a little more” (308), and she scolds Mackenzie for not realizing this. When Mackenzie is quick to discount this gap in her knowledge, claiming that “shifter compatibility” is not “very high on [her] list of priorities” (308), Ferguson uses the scene to create a sense of hypocritical irony in Mackenzie’s character. While Mackenzie outwardly claims to reject society’s preconceived notions about her own omega status and condemns the hospital board’s discriminatory practices, she also participates in the propagation of the ignorance surrounding the various designations when she treats the issue dismissively and trivializes the impact of these designations upon her relationship with Noah. Had Noah or Mackenzie bothered to research the range of normalized occurrences for compatible shifters, the depths of their attraction and their burgeoning feelings for one another would not remain such a mystery to them. Ferguson therefore uses this aspect of the conflict to suggest that even the most well-intentioned people can fall prey to their habits and can be guilty of perpetuating ignorant notions and social stereotypes.
The Lasting Impact of Trauma
Set against these broader systemic issues, the novel’s unspoken emotional conflicts can be found in the enduring effects of Noah and Mackenzie’s respective traumatic experiences. Their unaddressed wounds and inhibitions are ultimately byproducts of the alpha/beta/omega world-building in Ferguson’s novel. In Noah’s case, his designation as an alpha has forced them to endure a wide range of harmful stereotypes, and as a result he has isolated himself from society and adopted a self-deprecating manner, as when he tells Mackenzie that “[he] knew one day [she] would figure out that [she] deserved a hell of a lot better than [him]” (345). Over the years, Noah’s anxiety over his designation has diminished his self-esteem—the only exception being the pride he takes in his work. His social relations have thus suffered immensely. Ferguson therefore suggests that Noah’s trauma-based withdrawal from the world has caused him to lose touch with himself and with any form of external support that would have otherwise helped them confront the social stigma of his designation.
In Mackenzie’s case, her traumatic experience is the twisted result of the A/B/O structure’s mating structure gone wrong. Much of her development throughout the novel forces her to come to terms with the idea of mating—or committing to a loving relationship with another person. To accomplish this, she must overcome her traumatic memories of her parents and reject the negative associations that she now has with the very concept of commitment. Though the loss of her mother was a point of heavy grief in Mackenzie’s life, Ferguson insinuates that this grief was quickly overshadowed by the actions of Mackenzie’s father, who chose to abandon her. The author emphasizes this issue in Moira’s monologue when Mackenzie admits to her struggles with dating. Moira declares, “You had to deal with a lot of hard things as a kid. […] Your dad […] lost a big part of himself when he lost your mom. […] He should have stepped up for you, no matter how he was hurting” (310). Pointedly, Moira does not mention the death of Mackenzie’s mother as one of the “hard things” that Mackenzie had to deal with; instead, the exchange makes it clear that the most significant cost of that death was the loss of her father to his grief. Consequently, Mackenzie has harbored a distrust for mating that is born of her inherent fear of being abandoned by those meant to love her. In both cases, therefore, Ferguson demonstrates how unresolved trauma can often impede people’s journey toward personal fulfillment.
