957 Are You Still My Brother?
The scene continued to play in Dean’s head from the moment just before he left the pack. How he and his brother had come close to trading blows.
Sure, they had fought physically many times as kids, with Lupus always being the victor. When they got older, though, that had stopped.
Both of their strengths were far too mighty to just have a simple scuffle without seriously hurting the other.
It was because of this that, now that he was in front of Lupus, he found it hard to speak.
‘In my mind, this was a lot easier than I thought,’ Dean thought. ‘I guess I was just remembering the good times we had together.’
‘How he would follow and listen to my advice, but I can’t be so sure about that right now.’
Yet the idea still stayed in his head. If he couldn’t stop Lupus, sure, he and Rickle could continue to work on stopping the fight between the vampires and werewolves, but that would last forever.
A type of truce needed to be signed between the two. He had to convince Lupus to promise the vampires he wouldn’t act out further than he was doing.
Because of this, he needed to stay, but he just needed more time before he could state his true reasons.
“There’s some trouble at home,” Dean awkwardly answered, staring at the side of his head.
“You know, it’s hard to get away from the family from time to time, and I just needed someone I was familiar with to clear my head.”
Dean hated the fact that he was using his family as an excuse, but it was the only thing that felt believable to him.
“You should have told me sooner,” Lupus said, lifting his hand up, and then whacking it down, he patted Dean hard on the shoulder.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner that you have a family now!” Lupus said. “You missed out on a pretty big detail. Come on, why don’t I give you a tour of Ruin City? You can see what’s changed, and you can tell me all about your family.”
This was the feeling that Dean expected, making him think again that maybe things wouldn’t be so bad.
Standing up, Lupus did exactly as he said and gave a tour around Ruin City. Showing the various locations, large domes, well-crafted working spaces.
Relaxing parks with a sense of openness, even deer were walking through the area with the public with no trouble at all.
Lupus was showing him things that Dean couldn’t even imagine, and he couldn’t help but feel proud of his brother.
His brother had talked about the wants he had, and in all honesty, he was afraid with Lupus at the helm as a leader.
Yet it was clear he had done an incredible job; no one could say otherwise. As they walked from area to area, Dean explained how he had met Maya and the two children he had.
When Dean started to talk about them, he couldn’t stop, and then he realized something as he continued to tell his story.
He hadn’t kept up with them. The last time he had, he had received a letter from their old house stating that they had moved.
Dean was sure it was due to financial strains. He had thought about asking Rickle to help with his family situation, but then Rickle would also know where his family was, and he certainly didn’t want that.
However, he no longer had any stories to tell, to ask how his children were in school. He couldn’t answer Lupus when it came to these questions.
“You know, I’m the leader of this place, not just the pack, but my name is nearly on every piece of land and building here.
“We have grown into quite a big organization and influencing force. If you wanted, you could leave that small town; your family could live here. You wouldn’t have to worry about costs, and I would get a nice place for you.”
His successful brother was being nice to him with open arms, but with his connection to Rickle, he wouldn’t be able to accept them.
Still, with everything he had been through, he thought that maybe it was time to tell Lupus everything and ask him about the situation with the vampires.
As they had come to the edge of the city, they reached the last stop. There was a large gate and wall that blocked off the general public from the castle by the cliff.
In the past, the whole area was the biggest tourist attraction, so it was strange to see it that way.
Looking ahead at the castle where they grew up, Dean was a little excited to head inside and see what had changed there.
He walked up to the gate, and that’s when two guards came and stood in front of him—two people he had never seen before.
“Lupus?” Dean asked, turning his head.
“Sorry, Dean, we have a strict rule: anyone that doesn’t smell like us isn’t allowed past this point,” Lupus explained.
“I see. Then can’t you explain that I’m your brother? I wanted to see what’s changed inside or talk with John Luca and the others as well,” Dean asked, with a smile on his face.
Yet the look on Lupus’s face was quite painful, and eventually, he shook his head.
“That area is for pack members only,” Lupus replied. “The pack is the family, and you are no longer part of the pack. I’m sorry, but even for you, I can’t make an exception. You understand that, right?”
Although Dean did understand where his brother was coming from, it didn’t stop it from hurting any less. Coming back here, now no longer an Alpha, Dean thought things might be able to go back to normal.
Yet he was still an outsider, still not a member of the pack, and the pack was the number one priority for the Alpha.
Just like Dean had his own family, which was his priority now, Lupus had his pack, which was his number one priority as well.
‘I understand now. No matter what I said, you wouldn’t listen to me. Because I’m just an outsider. It’s a good thing I didn’t mention anything,’ Dean thought to himself.
“Thank you for everything. I think I might have spent more time in this city than I have,” Dean replied and turned around, starting to walk away.
“Wait, you’re leaving already? But it’s only been a few hours,” Lupus called out. “What I said before, I was serious, Dean. If there is anything you need help with, your family or anything, I will help you out!”
Dean turned around and opened his mouth, but he soon closed it.
‘You would help out with anything unless it’s to do with harming your pack,’ Dean thought.
The journey to Ruin City had ended, and Dean left feeling more disheartened than before. He hadn’t really fixed anything.
It was only later that he would learn that his visit to Ruin City had made things worse—much worse.
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