Back at the cottage, Tristan undressed and propped his legs on a small table. The long walk had killed his feet.
Dinner with Shannon had left him with more to think about than he expected.
Until now, he had seen Shannon mostly as a benefactor—someone who stepped in, offered protection, and kept a certain distance. Tonight had been different.
He had learned about Shannon's bloodline, how long his family had been wolves, the pain of his first change, and the discipline it took to control it.
He now understood that being Alpha was not just about strength, but about carrying the weight of decisions that affected an entire pack.
The answer about Eira had been straightforward. No hesitation, no sidestepping. Shannon had said plainly that their relationship was professional, not romantic. That detail had eased a question Tristan had not even realized he was carrying.
And Shannon's admission that he wanted a mate someday—by choice, not arrangement—lingered in Tristan's mind. Despite his responsibilities, despite the authority that pressed on his shoulders, Shannon valued freedom in personal matters.
Tristan thought about the similarities and differences in their lives.
Shannon had a large family. They all knew their wolf ancestry by heart. Though spread across the territories, they always found ways to remain connected. He held a position of authority, and the pack respected him for it.
Tristan's family ties were fractured, tainted by grudges, deceit, manipulation, and debts that never seemed to end. It would be better if they never saw each other again.
And yet, there was one thing they had in common: both knew what it was like to live under decisions made by others. Shannon was made an Alpha and accepted the role. Tristan, a musician accused of theft, had accepted his fate and paid for it with two stolen years.
Tristan found himself unexpectedly intrigued by the wolf pack.
They lived scattered across the territory, in smaller groups—sometimes visiting, sometimes keeping apart to avoid conflict. Tristan wanted to see that for himself. Would they accept him? Or would they see him as an outsider, a human who could never be trusted?
He recalled how Shannon had said the first change for a young wolf was painful. That discipline was what separated safety from danger. That kind of control did not come naturally. It had to be taught, earned, endured. Tristan respected that.
He tried to imagine walking into a pack gathering. Would they be suspicious of him? Would they test him? He had faced enough judgment from his own kind to know acceptance would not come easily.
And yet, the fact that he was even considering it told him something in him had shifted.
Shannon had earned his trust—a fragile thing Tristan had not given easily when they first met. At first, he had kept his distance, but now he felt more at ease in Shannon's presence. Shannon had once been someone he owed, not someone he confided in.
But now, he realized Shannon had earned more than repayment. He had earned a place in the short list of people Tristan could speak to without fear of betrayal.
That trust came not just from Shannon's protection, but from the rare honesty in his answers. Even tonight, with personal questions on the table, Shannon had been direct. No half-answers. No vague promises. Just the truth as he saw it.
It was so different from the home Tristan had known. In his family, every conversation was a contest of what to say and what to hide. Questions were answered with more questions. Promises meant nothing. But Shannon's way was nothing like that.
Shannon had been raised with certainty. He had known what he was from the beginning, trained for it, given rules that shaped him for his role. It had been strict, but it had prepared him.
Tristan's own upbringing had been unstable, tugged apart by others' ambitions and shaped into whatever served them best. He wondered if he might have been stronger, sooner, if he had grown up with rules instead of chaos. Maybe his own family would have trusted him, instead of casting him out.
Shannon had also spoken of wolf society—how they ended disagreements before they could turn into lasting feuds. Tristan was curious. Humans could argue for years without resolution, but Shannon made it sound as if wolves preferred solutions that endured, even if it meant hard words or a physical challenge.
Tristan wanted to know more. Not because he dreamed of belonging, but because it seemed… stable. Predictable in a way his life had never been.
He decided that, if the chance came, he would ask Shannon about their customs: how leaders were chosen, what happened if someone refused to follow, what rules they lived by that humans did not.
Another thought came to him, quieter but steady. He wanted to know more about Shannon himself, not just the Alpha.
Shannon had spoken of wanting a family, of leaving the pack stronger than he found it. That was a hope Tristan could respect. It was not selfish, yet it was still personal.
He wondered where he fit into Shannon's vision of the future. Did Shannon see him there, even in some small corner of it? Or was Tristan only a passing responsibility, a burden to be carried until he could stand on his own?
It was strange to think about. Shannon had entered his life in a position of power, yet tonight's dinner had felt like two people talking—not a commander giving orders.
And that made Tristan consider the possibility, faint and distant but undeniable, of seeing Shannon as something more than a benefactor.
He was not ready to name that possibility.
But he was entertaining it now, and the thought refused to leave him.
Tristan turned the lantern lower and leaned back. He thought again about Shannon's first change: the pain, followed by the struggle for control. Maybe that was something they shared, though in different forms. Tristan had been forced through his own change, not in body but in circumstance. And like Shannon, he had learned control because survival demanded it.
For now, he would keep listening. Keep asking questions. He would leave the door open for more conversations like tonight's. The true test of understanding would come when he finally stood in front of Shannon's pack—when they could see that he knew more than just the Alpha's name.