Chapter 126: 126. I admired you
"I know it’s a lot to deal with at the moment, that is why I asked you to meet let’s talk about what we can do," Lazarus said and Darren continued to glare at him. "The other alphas won’t listen to what I say but they will listen to what you say because you are their alpha."
Darren wondered if this was the other part of his course, where he would not find peace even agree having his maye with him, by his side. "I will talk to them," Darren said finally relenting. "But I want you to be there, Lazarus."
"I will, just tell me when." Lazarus was ready to do whatever he could to make sure his family and pack were safe. As long he could guarantee their safety, there was nothing he was not willing to do.
"I will let you know," Darren said and stood up ready to leave. "Have someone follow this David and his wingman, I will send my men to you to make the search easier. I want to know what and who we are dealing with." He took a step away from his seat when Lazarus spoke and he stopped and stood still.
"There is something I have been wanting to ask you." He said and watches as Darren stopped and turned to look at him with raised brows. "In the past, why didn’t you come after my pack?" Lazarus asked still sitting while he and Darren locked gazes. "You went after every other pack except mine."
Darren’s lips hooked up into a smirk. "Were you expecting me?" he asked. The playful smirk stayed intact but Lazarus gave no reaction and just stared at him with a serious expression. Darren sat back down and tapped his finger on the table before looking up and meeting Lazarus’ gaze. "I don’t know." He said in a somber tone. "Maybe because...." He trailed off.
Darren did admire Lazarus both in the past and now. Lazarus was the alpha he had admired even before he became the Supreme alpha. The way he led his pack and the fact he was deemed the strongest alpha was true until the lycan, which was him came into play and knowledge of everyone. And Lazafus was among the few who did not come to him trying to ’put him in his place’ like everyone else did before he had to force them to submit to him.
Lazarus was quiet as he waited for whatever reason Darren was going to give to him. It was not like he would have handed his pack to him or bowed to him if he had come but he was surprised when Darren did not attempt to attack his pack and make him submit to him. And now seeing as he found it difficult to speak, he was even more interested in what his reason might be.
"When I was young, I did admire you," Darren said truthfully. "Most, if not all of the alphas that I ’visited’ were all self-conceited and power-hungry creatures who wanted to prove a point or to gain recognition of some sort for having taken down a lycan. Or maybe they thought I was some abomination that was not meant to exit and thought to get rid of me." He said and looked at Lazarus who had no expression on his face.
"I did what I had to do back then for my survival, Lazarus, and if you had been among those, surely one of us would be bowing to the other right now or would have wound up dead and forgotten by now," Darreb said and stares deep into Lazarus’ eyes. He wondered what had made him ask that question at such a time.
Lazarus heard all that Darren had said and he could agree with some of the things that he said. Most of the alphas were not content with their packs and wanted more or wanted to be recognized in some way and taking down a lycan would have been a big deal if Darren had not been the one who made them submit to him instead.
Darren used fear to rule his pack and even the others all feared him and that is why they all obey him and do whatever he says and tells them to do. He did not fully agree with that method but the alpha needed to be feared as well as respected by his subjects. In the case where you are hated by them, fear was the only option and Darren utilized it very well to keep everyone and everything under grasp.
Why they did not like him? Even his original pack, the Shadow Moon pack, did not like him. Lazarus did not know why and he did not make the time and effort to find out. Darren was young when he lost his parents and instead of being accepted and taken care of by the pack as the Alpha heir, he disappeared no one went out to find him and instead, they appointed another alpha and forgot all about him completely.
"Won’t you say something now?" Darren asked not liking the way Lazarus was quiet after all that he had said. He was not asking for his pity and his sympathy but he just wanted him to say something. Somehow, Darren found it much easier to talk to Lazarus than to anyone else. Maybe it was like he said, he admired Lazarus.
"I was just wondering how you survived out there as a pup alone," Lazarus said he looked at Darren and he could see a child who needed someone to be there for him but had no one and had to grow on his own, it was a good thing that as a lycan his beast was always on the surface to protect them both from danger. If Darren was a regular shifter, it was a no-brainer to know that he would have died a long-time ago from the dangers of the wild. A rogue pup was as good as dead without the protection of an adult. "It must not have been easy."
