Dean came into NIRV knowing that sacrifices would have to be made. After all, he had next to nothing to offer the researcher, nothing in terms of payment for helping him. In the worst case, he would have to force the researcher, but that was something Dean wanted to avoid.
Luckily, the researcher seemed to be interested in the project and, in return, was just asking for conditions.
‘I have no choice. I either have to fight against my brother or go through with this,’ Dean thought as he gave his answer. “Fine, what are your conditions to help me?”
Rickle smiled, stood up from his seat, and started to pace back and forth, taking only about four steps in the room before turning around again.
“First, I have to inform you that removing or overturning an Altered will probably be a painful process. Once the process starts, I need your consent that you aren’t going to back out.”
Dean nodded immediately. He wasn’t leaving until this worked. Otherwise, a torturous life was all that he would experience out there.
“Right, that’s good. It seems you are truly committed. The next condition is that I might need your help with other matters at NIRV for the time being. We have a group at NIRV called Retrievers who are required to use their strength and powers to further research. Do you accept this as well?”
Although Dean wasn’t much of a fighter like his brother Lupus, he still did have great strength. Maybe it was because he was part of the same bloodline as the original Alpha, or the fact that he was an Alpha now, he was stronger than most Werewolves and, in turn, stronger than most Altered out there.
So he didn’t have a problem with this either and gave another nod.
“Excellent. Then last but not least, there is one more condition.” Rickle stopped pacing and looked directly at Dean. “After the experiment is complete, I would still like you to stay with me for some time. Help me with a few developments and keep an eye on you.
“After that, you will be free to leave, but I would like to ask that if I need your help for something in the future, at any point in time, you will come to aid me, no questions asked. A favor for a favor.”
Dean didn’t immediately nod for this one. The request was left vague, and he believed there was a reason why. He had heard some dark things about NIRV, how they operated. They had to have good relations with the other cities and gangs.
It was quite possible that this favor might require Dean even to take someone else’s life.
‘But if I do this, and I’m no longer a Werewolf, no longer an Alpha, I can head back and perhaps stop Lupus from going too far in his ways, saving countless lives.’
“I agree to all your conditions,” Dean said.
It was then that the two of them went through months of research together, and it started immediately that day. It was impossible for Dean to hide what he was because he had to transform multiple times for Rickle to work on him.
There wasn’t a day that went by without work being done on Dean. At times, there would be fewer hours spent because Rickle seemed to be an incredibly busy man, but it also felt like every spare second Rickle had was spent helping Dean get rid of his Altered form.
The several experiments hurt, from taking parts of his skin off to going through different treatments and reactions, but it wasn’t all bad working with Rickle.
For one, Dean was given an apartment nearby and even an allowance for his food. Rickle had stated that this was all to help with the research and that he shouldn’t travel too far either.
At first, Dean felt bad, but he was also put to work relatively soon. He was selected as a Retriever, and his task was fighting against Beasts and taking their crystals.
Dean actually learned more about his werewolf self and became a much better fighter because of it. He also learned all the amazing things that happened at NIRV and how they were able to gather crystals and combine them with human bodies in the first place.
How things were beyond what he could imagine. One thing was that Dean would never work with any of the other Retrievers. He would have to fight beasts on his own.
He never knew the reason why, maybe because Rickle was trying to keep him a secret. As two months passed by, Dean had no clue how things were progressing. According to Rickle, it was progressing nicely, but they couldn’t do anything until he was sure of a solution.
So he had to continue to live this life. Thankfully, not much seemed to happen in Ruin City either, so he was glad of that.
One day though, when Dean went to enter the lab as usual, there was a strange scent that wafted into his nose. He could feel it aggravating him. He quickly moved to where the scent was coming from and, turning a corner in the lab, saw Rickle standing there, spraying himself with a perfume-like substance.
Right after that, the aggravating smell was gone, as if it didn’t exist.
“You’re earlier than I thought. I didn’t know you got so used to this place that you would just let yourself in,” Rickle commented. “Anyway, shall we start?”
“Sure,” Dean replied. As he followed Rickle, he was sure the smell was coming from him, and it was the smell of a Vampire.