Page 122 of Monster. Me.

"I'd really appreciate that, because this is almost unbelievable. I'd already come to terms with my situation, and now here's a miracle… another miracle of Fate. You should know that Fenn and I are fated mates!"

Dr. Lee is silent for a moment before unexpectedly saying,

"That would explain a lot, including the fact that he's the father. His ducts probably regenerated because of your magic."

I sigh. "Ehhh. And everyone says monsters and shifters don't have fated mates, but that's not true."

"Well, it's much harder for shifters to recognize one another, that’s for sure. The signs are less obvious than they are for ordinary alphas and omegas."

I suddenly realize the doctor is talking about both of us, not just Fenn. As if he’s already taken it for granted that I’m not ‘ordinary’. It makes me slightly breathless, because I have had years of fear ingrained in me by my dad about situations like this. Well, and Dr. Lee isn’t Renato or Davos. He represents THEM. The ones who snatch people like me and lock them in cages.

"What do you mean… shifters, plural?"

A moment of silence.

"Come on, Marlow. I have your blood sample, don’t I? It’s not exactly human."

A shiver washes over me. "And what…" my voice breaks, "what are you going to do about it?"

"And what should I do? Not my business, Marlow. I called to relay the news about Drax’s paternity."

This moment feels strangely important to me. I’m aware that my caution can never fully disappear; after all, I’ve seen what happened to Fenn, but maybe I don’t have to live in constant terror, like I could end up on a dissection table at any moment?

The world doesn’t end because an extra person knows.

Maybe I could even talk about this with… my dad? Could I finally be honest with my own family? Change what has hurt me for years, come clean, feel like I belong? And possibly even learn the truth about them too?

The doctor casually continues, "You know, some people, like shifters, may find their fated mates and not even realize they're already living with them. It’s just very complicated." He falls silent for a moment, and because I stay quiet, still in shock, he apparently decides to give me time for it to sink in, he just makes a deep sigh. "Okay. Well… I wish you both good luck and," he pauses briefly before adding, "happiness. Because it's hard to come by."

For a moment, I mull over his words, rubbing my chin.

"Do you know, Doctor, what Caspian is planning? And what about the AA program?"

Dr. Lee lets out a small huff. "The AA program has been discontinued, which is for the best. It was doomed to fail anyway. Caspian? He’s no longer here. He left the facility yesterday with Rupert and Juan. From what he said, they’re planning to live together and raise the kid."

"Oh wow, so things worked out for them too."

"Yeah, it seems so. "

I sigh, feeling a kind of lightness spread through my limbs, but there’s still one more thing I can ask, I guess. Why not?

"Is it true that there are other mutants at the facility now? That Dr. Lomax wants to open a new experimental program involving them? When I was leaving the lab, I saw one of them. He had silver-gray skin, black hair, a tail, and black eyes…"

"I can't confirm or deny anything." His tone shifts slightly, becoming formal and detached. "At the moment, I'm not assigned to that program, and I don't know whether I'd want to participate in it. We'll see how things develop. Goodbye, Marlow," he says, ending the call quickly.

Ummm, okay, he probably isn’t allowed to talk about it.

"Goodbye, Dr. Lee."

I sit there in shock and… happiness even though I somehow still can't wrap my head around the news. Really? Could my life actually clear up like this?

For long minutes I stare at the horizon high above the green hills, my thoughts scattered like a flock of cheerfully bouncing lambs.

Incredible. Everything has suddenly smoothed out, like a crumpled sheet of paper, and become so much simpler!

Then I hear the door creak behind me.

My beautiful fated mate stands there and just looks at me, and I can see it all in his eyes. Happiness. Devotion. Love.