956 The New Ruin City
In order to meet his brother, there was really only one place that Dean could go, and that was Ruin City—the area where his brother had remained, along with the rest of the pack.
Unlike before, Ruin City was now an actual city where many people lived; it had grown in size and had an unusual quirk compared to others.
This allowed Dean to easily enter, and he was stunned by the sights he could see: how the city had integrated large parks and cycle lanes everywhere.
It was a paradise for those like him, and for those who preferred the free natural life of living.
For a moment, he stopped in the middle of the street and took everything in as he looked far ahead at the castle still located on the cliffside.
"I've managed to get into the city, but getting into the castle is a whole other thing altogether," Dean said. "My stomach is churning, turning round and round. I don’t really want to do this, but it’s a must."
As Dean was thinking of this, from the corner of his eye, he saw something moving high up in the tree. He couldn’t see anything other than a few leaves rustling.
"Must be a squirrel or something," Gary thought.
Walking around, Dean was pretty exhausted; he had too many thoughts on his mind. For one, he hadn’t told Rickle about what he was planning to do.
He knew how Rickle would react, stating that it was pointless to talk to his brother. The reason he knew this was because Dean had brought it up several times before—as a way to quell the fear of the two sides fighting—but it was never accepted as an answer.
At times Rickle felt like an ally, but at others, not so much. Now he was in another place that didn’t feel safe to him; it was getting to him quite a bit, and he just needed to sit down and drink some coffee to clear his mind.
Heading off the side, he had entered quite a small establishment; there were four booths lined up at the back and a few tables out front—maybe twenty people could fit in the place at most.
He noticed there were a few people inside but just continued on with getting his drink. He sipped it away, his hands rushing through his hair, almost pulling them out from stress.
To the point where he didn’t even notice the person walking toward him until the chair was pulled out.
"I’m sorry, I’m sitting here," Dean said.
"Oh, it’s okay. I think you wanted to meet me, right?"
Dean looked up at the deep, raspy voice and set his eyes on a muscular man who had a chiseled frame. His face looked a little rough around the edges, more so than when he last saw him, but there was a giant smile on his face.
"Lupus, how did you—"
Lupus opened up his arms and went in for a hug; the two of them embraced tightly as he went to sit back down.
"This is my city; I know who comes in and out through those doors," Lupus explained. "Besides, there’s still a lot that would recognize you, but you now have a lot of explaining to do—a lot of explaining."
Lupus tapped the side of his nose, and Dean knew what that was an indication for: the fact that through his sense of smell, he could tell that Dean was no longer an Alpha.
"There was so much I thought happened to you; I don’t think there was a day that went by," Lupus explained. "I thought it wasn’t possible to stop being an Alpha; I thought that we would have to fight no matter what. So, you had done something that our old man would have done—just sealed yourself in a corner somewhere, not getting involved in anything. But you actually managed to get rid of... you’re no longer a Werewolf yourself?"
Dean was a little nervous as he twiddled his thumbs, but he had expected this. How could he not, going to see his brother? He had to come up with something to tell him.
In the end, he decided to tell the truth. Dean explained how he had met someone from NIRV and what had taken place, but he did decide to omit some details. For one, the fact that Rickle was a vampire, and the second was the exact method that had been used to remove the fur from his body, which was now located in the lab itself.
He just explained it as some science mumbo-jumbo that he didn’t really understand.
"The fur ripped off from your body and is now in the hands of NIRV!" Lupus said, shocked by this. "I wonder what they plan to do with it."
Dean was happy with this reaction; he was sure if he had mentioned Rickle was a vampire, the reaction would have been much worse.
"I am in your debt, brother," Lupus continued. "I can’t believe that you would go through all of that, that you would decide to give up this gift of ours just so the two of us wouldn’t be able to fight. If it was the same situation, I’m not so sure I could do the same."
This was where Dean knew him and Lupus were different, seeing their werewolf selves as different as well. He knew that Lupus could have never done such a thing; it wasn’t in his nature.
"So, are you going to tell me then?" Lupus asked. "Why, after enjoying your life the way you have been, you decided to come back and meet me after all of this time... you’re free now, right, and no longer like me, so this is not your home."
Dean gulped as he thought, how was he going to stop the man in front of him from starting a fight with the vampires?
He wouldn’t listen to him before, so why would he listen to him now?
****
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