“Here?”
“Yeah. Most of the pack members have eaten already but I’m sure the cook can whip up something for us.”
“Uhm…sure,” Tristan said, shrugging. While he wasn’t eager to stay, having something other than truck-stop food sounded good.
Chapter 39
On the way to the dining hall, Tristan paid close attention to Reeve as he pointed out different buildings used by all pack members. Much to his surprise, he was fascinated by it all, especially since he and his mother had never belonged to or lived in a pack. “Are there many fights?” he asked, certain his host would confirm what he suspected.
“Rarely, if ever,” Reeve replied, holding open the door to the building where the dining hall was located. “Wolf shifters have a pack mentality, just like natural wolves do. On the rare occasion that it happens, pack enforcers quickly break it up.” Leading Tristan to a corner table, Reeve waved to someone before sitting down opposite his guest. “The ones involved in the fight appear before the Alpha who decides who’s at fault and what the punishment will be.”
“What happens if one of them doesn’t agree with the Alpha’s decision?” asked Tristan.
“Tough shit…Alpha’s word is law in a pack,” Reeve said, watching Tristan’s reaction.
“Even if he’s an asshole like my father was?”
“Unfortunately, yes…and this pack suffered because of it.”
“How?”
“Have you ever lived in a pack?’ Reeve asked, ignoring the question.
“No…my mother refused to do it.”
Nodding at the waitress who’d brought them their food, Reeve turned back to Tristan. “Have you ever wanted to live in a pack?”
Shrugging, Tristan said, “Yeah…I mean I thought about what it might be like but…”
“But what?”
“I was happy living with my mother.”
Reeve knew that wasn’t what Tristan really meant, but he decided not to push it. “You and your mother aren’t living together anymore?”
Sorrow crossed his face before Tristan could stop it. Her death was still too fresh and the thought of not ever hearing her laugh or seeing her smile shattered him. Shaking his head, he mumbled, “Not anymore.”
Reeve finally had his answer. Left adrift by his mother’s passing, Tristan had shown up at the Silver Point Pack, looking for his father. Lacking a pack, whose members could offer him solace, he needed a new anchor in his life. But there was still one part Reeve didn’t understand. “Why did you want to fight your father?”
“It doesn’t matter anymore…he’s dead.”
“Humor me.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Everything,” Reeve said with a gentle smile. As Tristan relunctantly complied, Reeve paid careful attention to what the young man didn’t say as much as to what he did. By the time Tristan fell silent, Reeve was impressed by his character and knew he’d found the answer to the problem that had haunted him for days. “So you were prepared to become Alpha of the Silver Point Pack if your father lost the challenge?” he asked.
Snorting, Tristan said, “Fucking stupid of me, wasn’t it? I don’t know the first thing about being an Alpha.”
“It’s not hard, you know,” Reeve said.
“Uhmm…right,” Tristan chuckled.
“What if you had someone to teach you…would you want it then?”
“I…I don’t know. Why?”
“I’m looking for a new Alpha for this pack and since you’re Josiah’s eldest son, the job’s yours if you want it.”
