I was thinking he'd sneak him in through the window, then realized that window doesn't actually look like it opens. Time to stealth through the inn!

Maybe he's not a complete egoist, but I don't understand how he manages to get mad at a wolf, openly despising him, and at the same time feeling sorry for him? What an emotional swing.... I do not know what to do. I'm still mad at Zudrec, but I also respect him for not letting his selfish side win.

It’s called he’s around dragons who hates wolfs so he has to keep up a mask in a sense if you ever lived or been around a getto area you would understand it

Zudrec was NEVER an asshole, he was just lashing out because of the pain. Considering this is a prequel, this Zudrec probably never had developed feelings for anyone before now.

So, he's so lonely that he doesn't want to trust anyone? What about Jokann? Or is even a koel not the cougar's closest friend?

Jokann was Zudrec's "work buddy?" I guess the closest comparison I can make is Jokann is kinda like a butler to a castle owner. It's pretty obvious Jokann's completely outclassed in terms of intelligence and drive to Zudrec. Zudrec's probably not completely closed off to trusting people, but just doesn't like dealing with the hassle of having them get close only to learn how temporary and fleeting their existence can be. Zudrec's main passion is studying the fall of an entire empire and species, after all.

Only in the future will we see that Cobby also became part of Zudrec's life, and in retaliation for his death, the cougar destroyed Lord Vlagg's castle.