The hotel wasn’t fancy—but it wasn’t a roadside dive either. No buzzing flickering signs. No mystery stains. The sign out front even had all its letters.

“Forest Glen Inn,” it read. Tastefully outdated. Floral bedspreads. Real keys on lanyards. A fridge that didn’t hum like a generator on its last legs.

The band had claimed a cluster of rooms on the second floor.

Cassie and Maya were already crashed, pizza box balanced between the beds.
Rico and Jonah had a sitcom marathon playing at full volume through the wall.
Mark, of course, was still in the van double-checking the lock codes on the lighting gear before he’d allow himself to sleep.

Thane and Gabriel ended up in a room with two queen beds, a working A/C unit, and miracle of miracles—quiet.

They didn’t say much at first. Just peeled off the day’s weight. Gabriel flopped belly-first onto the bed with a muffled groan.

“Why are beds so much better after a show?” he grumbled into a pillow.

“Because you’re not on a hard case lid in a tour van,” Thane said, tossing his jeans into a corner and stretching with a satisfying shoulder-pop.

Gabriel rolled onto his back, tail draped over the edge of the bed. “That kid today…” His voice softened. “That was… I don’t know. The way he looked at me. Like I was something bigger.”

Thane sat on the opposite bed, elbows on his knees. “You are.”

Gabriel looked up.

Thane met his eyes. Calm. Solid. “You’re his hero, my wolf. Just like you’re mine.”

Gabriel blinked. “That’s illegal. You’re not allowed to say things like that before I’ve emotionally decompressed.”

Thane gave the faintest smirk. “Sue me.”

Gabriel chuckled, quiet and genuine. He rolled off his bed and padded over, dropping beside Thane, pressing their shoulders together.

For a while, they just sat like that—shoulder to shoulder, fur to fur, listening to the hum of the A/C and the muffled laughter from Jonah’s TV next door.

Then Gabriel murmured, “We’re gonna keep doing this, right? No matter how weird it gets?”

Thane nodded once. “We’ve fought too hard to stop now.”

Another pause. Gabriel nudged his nose against Thane’s cheek.

Thane leaned into it.

“No stage. No lights,” Gabriel whispered. “Just you and me. That’s still my favorite show.”

Thane huffed a soft breath. “You’re getting sentimental, young wolf.”

Gabriel grinned. “Don’t push it, old wolf.”

They stayed like that for a long time, not talking. Just warm. Safe. Home.