Page 6 of Monster. Me.

I’m closing in on the facility early in the morning in a rental car.

I could’ve flown and taken a taxi from the airport, but instead I chose to torture myself with a drive across half the country, spending countless hours behind the wheel with a grim expression and enough determination to burn it as fuel in my tank.

The long trip from Florida gave me plenty of time to reconsider, but second-guessing myself wasn't part of it.

My decision is final.

I've signed up for a small, controversial program called Alpha Activation, run by the Welrun Corporation, designed to alter alphas’ hormonal profiles.

The map on my phone leads me practically into the middle of a giant green blotch.

Forested hills surround the area, and the road winds through a corridor of trees while sunlight flickers across the asphalt in shifting patches. Eventually, something begins to emerge beyond the wall of greenery.

I slow down when the trees abruptly give way to an open stretch of land. The road continues toward a security gate, but off to the left there's a large parking lot holding at least a hundred cars. Many likely belong to employees, but some are probably program participants’.

Most of them have already been here for three months, while I'm arriving late. My brother-in-law, Blue Lowen, arranged a place for me through Dr. Lee, a physician working at the facility.

For a moment, I remain in the driver's seat, staring at the building.

I'd imagined something very different. Maybe a sleek glass structure straight out of an architectural magazine, or at least a stylish administrative building surrounded by charming cottages where participants lived, scattered across the grounds with little gardens, and a barbecue area.

In reality, the building looks like a massive gray concrete block with narrow windows. Hidden in the forest, it feels less like a research center and more like some grim military installation or a government secret site.

But well, maybe that’s how scientific facilities should look when they run very contentious programs?

And the work being done here is downright bizarre.

The entire program can be summarized in a single sentence: they're trying to turn alphas into omegas and make pregnancy possible for them!

Weird enough?

I’m one of the misfits that are all for it.

Resting my chin on the steering wheel, I continue staring at the building because this is technically the last moment when I can still turn around and leave. My dad would love it, for sure! He’s been agonizing for weeks over my crazy idea, but I just need to try it or I’m done with this fucking miserable life, this time for good.

I’ve already spent enough years suffering because I felt like I was born in the wrong body, and I've come all the way here to change that.

Finally, I climb out of the car with a deep crease between my brows. I text Dr. Lee, who's acting as my contact here, to let him know I've arrived.

He promised he'd come to meet me personally and show me around. Thanks to that, I won’t have to meet the infamous Dr. Lomax, the program’s scientific supervisor.

I lean against the side of the car and wait, blankly staring at the facility's massive gray facade.

The place isn't located anywhere near a major city. It's buried deep in the western forests of North Carolina, almost as if the people running it have something to hide. Which they do.

After all, at the center of their research is a mutant who agreed to undergo experimentation in exchange for his freedom, allowing scientists to investigate the source of his unusual abilities and find a way to replicate them.

To the outside world, he is known as the Monster of Calsing Island. On occasion, The Rapist from Calsing Island.

The facility is surrounded by high fencing, with a guard booth near the entrance. A man steps through the adjacent gate, and I immediately guess he's Dr. Lee, a beta in his forties with closely cropped black hair, thin-framed glasses, and an average build. He looks neat, professional, and unremarkable. A white lab coat completes the picture.

At six foot six, I tower over him by a good head.

"Marlow Nolan. Good morning."

"Welcome to the Alpha Activation facility," he replies with a formal smile, extending his bony hand.

I shake it and give a polite nod.