Dean couldn’t quite believe what he was staring at. It was a moving rug, but not just any rug—it looked like it was the fur from his very body. Now, the feeling of his skin being ripped off him like the night of his first transformation made complete sense.
As the rug continued to move, strange devices from above the ceiling quickly descended. They started to zap the fur several times with different lasers and all sorts of tools. It reminded Dean a lot of the experiments that he had gone through.
After that, the moving fur seemed to stop, and the machinery lifted it, placing it in a large vat of liquid. It had ceased moving, and now Dean could just see it floating in place.
“You’re alive, you’re breathing, and now that is over there, so I should say that all of this is a great success!” Rickle claimed as he came over from behind.
A chill ran up the back of Dean’s spine. It was because he didn’t even know that Rickle had appeared by his side. Usually, he would smell, hear someone’s breathing so close, yet he hadn’t experienced any of those things.
“It… did work? I’m now just a human, no longer a Werewolf.”
“That is correct. I mean, feel free to try to transform yourself, but you are rid of everything that made you a werewolf. You are now just a regular human,” Rickle explained.
The straps were released, and Dean tried to transform his hand at first. It didn’t work, and a big smile appeared on his face. He looked at a piece of metal and tried to tear it, checking the color of his eyes, seeing if they would change, but they stayed dark brown.
“I can’t believe it, you actually did it. You weren’t lying after all,” Dean exclaimed.
“Hey, what do you take me for? Well, I guess with that done, for now, our relationship is over.” Rickle then walked away, before pulling something out of his drawer. It was a small burner phone, one that wasn’t a touch screen but had small physical buttons.
“I don’t know when, I don’t know why, but if I need you, I will contact you on that phone, so make sure to keep it charged and just keep it on you at all times.”
Dean took the phone and turned it on. He could see that there were no numbers inside, which meant he would have no way to contact Rickle. It wouldn’t be the same as last time; he wouldn’t be able to just barge in if he needed something.
“Alright, I understand,” Dean said. “But can you at least tell me what that is, and what are you going to do with it?”
Dean was looking at the fur that was floating about, which felt like it had a life of its own just a moment ago.
“Getting rid of the powers would be nearly impossible. After all, getting rid of something is impossible. When we exchange things, we are more placing them into something else or using energy in another form. So it’s impossible to get rid of your powers.”
“So are you saying all of my werewolf self is in that fur right now? Will it become a werewolf itself?” Dean asked.
“No, don’t worry. I will keep it in place and continue to experiment on it. After all, I am reaching new ground myself. Who knows what it will do or what it can do, but as it is in this state, it is harmless. You don’t have to worry about that.”
Although he didn’t like leaving such a problem with the vampire he hardly knew to deal with, he was just happy that his solution was done. Exiting the NIRV building felt strange. He turned around and thought that he would never have to return to this place again.
Now the real question was, where would he go? After all, could he go back to Lupus and the others? Yes, he was no longer an Alpha, but now he was also no longer a werewolf. The same feeling as before would occur as well.
‘I guess I can’t return back there. It would be best for both of us, and everyone else in the pack. It seems like I managed to avoid destiny somehow,’ Dean claimed.
Dean, being thrust into the real world, found it harder than he imagined. For one, he had always lived in Ruin City, so getting a job was hard. With no experience, no qualifications, it was almost impossible for him to get a job in the tier 2 or tier 3 cities.
Finally, though, he managed to get some work in a tier 3 town. His body was still physically fit and strong for a human, so he got work in construction and continued to live his life as he explored until he eventually ran into Maya.
He had run into the love of his life, a sweet woman who knew next to nothing about his past. It was love at first sight for Dean, at least, and his persistence managed to win her over.
The two of them continued to work and had earned enough with a wish to start a family. The first had come, a young baby named Gary. As they continued to raise their son, Dean felt blessed in his life.
They weren’t in the best environment. They weren’t in the biggest place, but they had more than he had dreamed of. Each day felt unreal, and he soon had another child on the way, a daughter named Amy.
Maya and Dean continued to raise both of their children lovingly, sacrificing everything they had for them.
Gary was four years old and soon to start school. He could walk and speak, while Amy, who was two years younger, at the age of two, was able to say a few words and experience things, but she would be too young to remember any of what happened when she was older.
Then, in the following year, Dean felt his heart sink for the first time as he felt his left pocket vibrate, a place where he always kept a particular phone.