The road south curved along the coast, winding through salt-tinged air and endless stretches of sun-bleached highways. After the whirlwind of Myrtle Beach, the crew welcomed the slower pace—until Diesel radioed back:

“Fifteen minutes out. Looks like we’re rollin’ into a party.”

No one quite knew what to expect from Cape Glenn, a sleepy, mid-sized coastal town tucked into the bend of the Carolinas. The venue wasn’t an arena, just a well-loved regional hall with a history of beach concerts, pageants, and old-school rock shows.

But the minute the Feral Eclipse tour bus crested the main street hill, it was obvious—the wolves had stirred something deep.

The line wrapped around the venue twice. Fans were packed against the front doors, some in full DIY werewolf gear, others holding handmade signs and posters. Street vendors had popped up selling knockoff Eclipse shirts, wolf plushies, and even bootleg cassette singles of songs that had never been released on cassette.

Emily was filming from the dashboard, wide-eyed. “This town’s going feral for us.”

Thane smirked from behind her. “Let’s make it worth it.”

Load-In Chaos

The venue crew, bless their hearts, had never handled a tour with werewolves, wireless packs, fog machines, or a lighting guy who expected truss to be suspended “at exactly a 32° angle.” Mark nearly had an aneurysm at the rigging situation. Thane reran half the stage wiring himself. Rico ended up fixing a broken outlet in the green room using a butter knife and a borrowed LED flashlight.

Outside, fans screamed the moment the bay doors opened. Gabriel waved with both hands and howled back, instantly triggering a chain reaction of howls from the crowd that echoed all the way down the marina.

Security tried their best.

They failed immediately.

The Meet & Greet

The venue had set up a VIP lounge off the loading dock—nothing fancy, just string lights, a merch table, and folding chairs—but it was more than enough.

Dozens of fans filtered through for the pre-show meet and greet. Emily snapped photos. Jonah signed an inflatable drumstick. Maya got handed a fan-made “Alpha Female” pin and wore it with zero irony.

Then came Penny.

She couldn’t have been older than seven. Short curly hair. Big purple glasses. A homemade Feral Eclipse shirt with glued-on glitter letters that read “TEAM THANE.” She clutched a stuffed wolf toy in one hand and her dad’s sleeve in the other.

When it was her turn, she looked up at Thane and froze. Completely starstruck.

Thane crouched slowly, giving her space.

“You okay, little wolf?”

She nodded—then pulled her toy close and whispered, “I wanna be a werewolf when I grow up.”

Thane smiled. Not his PR smile. His real one.

“You already are,” he said. “Takes heart. You’ve got that.”

Penny beamed. Her dad teared up. Gabriel handed her a backstage pass lanyard “just in case she got bored during the show” and made her pinky-promise to howl during the encore.

Behind the Stage: A Human Moment

Later, while the wolves were off doing last minute checks, the human members of the band gathered on the venue’s back patio — just a few folding chairs, a cooler of sodas, and the soft roar of distant waves.

Rico took a long sip of his drink. “You ever think about how weird this all is?”

Cassie laughed. “What, touring with werewolves?”

“Yeah,” Rico said. “I mean… it’s normal now. But we’re literally playing music with supernatural apex predators. And not just that — they’re better people than most humans I’ve ever met.”

Maya, lounging with her boots on another chair, nodded. “They work harder than anyone. They don’t complain. They look out for the crew. When’s the last time a human lead engineer gave away half a million bucks to a shelter?”

Jonah added, “Gabriel’s a handful, but I’d trust him with my life. Same with Thane and Mark. They’re wolves, yeah. But they’re our wolves.”

Cassie leaned back, staring at the stars coming out. “You know what gets me? Sometimes I forget they’re not human. Not because they don’t stand out — but because they do. Like… in the best way.”

There was a long, quiet pause.

Then Maya added, “We’re lucky. Most people only get one kind of family.”

Jonah smirked. “We got the kind that sheds.”

They all laughed — just as the low pulse of Thane’s opening bass reverb test rolled through the walls.

Time to go back inside.