Category: Tour Life Page 7 of 22

They saw it before they heard it.

A rolling mass of humanity sprawled across a dusty valley outside Flagstaff—miles of RVs, pop-up tents, shirtless fans waving banners, and a massive handmade archway reading WOLFSTOCK in black spray paint and red duct tape. Smoke curled from a dozen barbecue pits. Someone in the crowd lit a flare. A giant inflatable Gabriel bobbed above the treeline like some bass-wielding balloon god.

The van screeched to a halt at the crest of the hill.

“Nope,” Mark muttered. “No. I refuse. This is how horror movies start.”

Gabriel was pressed against the window, tail wagging so hard the whole van vibrated. “LOOK AT IT. LOOK AT OUR FREAKIN’ CULT.”

Thane leaned forward from the passenger seat, mouth slightly open. “This is… not sanctioned.”

Cassie scrolled on her phone. “It’s real. Fans planned it online. Coordinated on Reddit and Discord. Called it a ‘celebration of lunar fury.’”

Maya snorted. “Translation: Three straight days of screaming, questionable decisions, and mud.”

Jonah poked his head between the seats. “Y’all. Someone made a Thane piñata. It’s full of tiny black T-shirts.”

---

They rolled in slow.

The crowd parted like they were royalty and rockstars wrapped in one. Fans howled. People banged drums on overturned trash cans. A kid in face paint slapped the side of the van yelling, “BITE ME, GABRIEL, I’M READY!”

Gabriel leaned out the window. “WE DON’T DO UNSANITARY BITES, LITTLE DUDE.”

“MY MOM SAID THE SAME THING!”

---

They set up camp right in the middle of it all. No fences. No security detail. Just Feral Eclipse, their big black tour van, and a thousand rabid fans throwing an unsanctioned festival in their name.

Mark rigged string lights and a DIY power grid using portable batteries and a suspicious number of extension cords. Jonah set up a drum circle. Gabriel handed out signed guitar picks like candy.

And when someone dragged out a cheap PA system and begged them to play? They didn’t hesitate.

They climbed onto the roof of the van that night—barepaw, electric, clawed up and uncaged—and launched into a stripped-down acoustic set under the stars. No lights. No pyro. Just howling voices and raw chords echoing into the dark.

---

On night two, chaos hit full throttle.

Someone attempted a full moon ritual. Two fans got matching Gabriel tattoos in the mud. A food truck sold out of “Werewolf Waffles” by noon. Someone proposed to their boyfriend with a guitar pick that said Scream For Me.

And then there was the hot tub.

Built from a tarp, PVC pipe, and a fire pit. Dubbed The Wolf Bath. Its temperature? Unholy. Its legality? Questionable. Gabriel got in anyway.

Thane refused to speak to him for an hour.

---

By day three, even the media couldn’t ignore it. Drones buzzed overhead. Headlines flooded the net.

“UNSANCTIONED WOLFSTOCK FESTIVAL DRAWS THOUSANDS.”
“IS FERAL ECLIPSE BUILDING A CULT?”
“BASS, BARE PAWS, AND BLOOD MOONS: A WEEKEND AT WOLFSTOCK.”

The band just smiled, sipped their drinks, and leaned into the madness.

Because this wasn’t chaos.

This was home.

And the howling never stopped.

The studio was a dream.

Glass-walled control rooms. Warm-toned hardwood floors. A grand piano that looked like it had been blessed by a dozen Grammy winners. The walls were lined with platinum records, and the soundproofing was so clean even Thane’s claws on the floor didn’t echo.

They’d booked the place for five straight days — no distractions, just music. Every track on the new album was coming together in beautiful, feral chaos. The beats hit harder. The guitars screamed brighter. Gabriel’s bass thundered like a heart under a full moon.

Even Mark was caught smiling during playback. Smiling.

Jonah ran around shouting “Album of the freakin’ decade!” and Cassie kept replaying vocal takes just to hear herself crush the high notes. Thane, always the practical one, kept watch over file backups and session logs like a paranoid cyberwolf. The plan was airtight.

Until it wasn’t.

---

It started with a message.

Cassie spotted it first. A fan tweet. Then another. Then hundreds.

“I don’t know if this is real but if it is, the new Feral Eclipse album just dropped on a sketchy Russian forum and IT. IS. INSANE.”
“Track 4 broke my soul in half, thank you Thane.”
“Leak or not, I’m buying five copies when it’s out.”

Gabriel nearly dropped his coffee. “Wait… what?”

Thane was already across the room, pulling up the studio’s master cloud vault. Sure enough—someone had gotten in. Tracks uploaded. Rough mixes. Unfinished vocals. Even one take where Jonah dropped a stick and cussed mid-fill.

Mark leaned over his shoulder. “We’ve been compromised. Time of breach: yesterday afternoon. Entry point’s either the session share link or someone from the label being real dumb.”

There was a pause.

Then Thane chuckled.

Maya blinked. “Wait… you’re not mad?”

“Not mad,” Thane said. “Just amused. It leaked. Big deal.”

Gabriel flopped onto the couch with a grin. “Man… let ‘em have it. If fans are this hyped over unmixed demos? Wait ‘til they hear the real thing.”

Cassie tapped away on her phone. “Too late. There’s already a TikTok dance to the bridge of ‘Teeth Like Prayers.’ It has forty thousand views. No video. Just audio and vibes.”

Jonah burst into laughter. “Okay, that’s amazing.”

Thane stood, cracked his knuckles, and looked around at his band — his pack — who weren’t angry or panicked, just buzzing with the raw energy of being heard.

“Alright then,” he said. “Let’s ride the wave.”

---

Within hours, Feral Eclipse posted a single image to their socials: a snarling wolf silhouette over a glitchy, distorted version of the album’s cover.

“So… you found it. We see you. We love you. See you on tour.”

The fans lost their minds. #LeakedAndUnleashed trended within the hour. Bootlegs flew through every corner of the internet — and the band? They leaned in. Started releasing behind-the-scenes footage. Dropped early merch tied to the leaked track titles. Even hosted a livestream from the studio, where they laughed at the chaos and answered fan questions.

Someone asked Gabriel if he was mad.

He grinned, shook his head, and said, “Not mad. Just glad the wolves are listening.”

The music had escaped the cage.

And that was exactly what it was meant to do.

It started like most strange things did—with Gabriel laughing way too hard at his phone.

They were parked outside a diner somewhere between Sacramento and Reno, morning sunlight cutting across the dashboard of the big black tour van. Thane was reviewing the venue layout for that night’s show, while Mark tried to block out Jonah and Rico arguing over the last bag of mini powdered donuts.

Gabriel was curled up in the back bench, grinning like he’d just found a meme that could cure depression.

“You guys…” he said through laughter. “You guys. You need to see this.”

Cassie grabbed the phone and hit play.

The video was low-lit, full of neon strobes and screaming fans. At the center of it all: a hyperactive pop/EDM star with platinum pink hair, a rhinestone bodysuit, and massive glitter platform boots. KALI VENOM. A household name with sold-out world tours, fifteen million followers, and three Grammys for “Best Music to Dance to While Crying.”

She was on stage, dripping glitter and sweat, yelling into a mic between drops.

“Y’all heard the leaked Feral Eclipse album? THAT’S real music! If those wolves don’t collab with me, I swear I’ll start a riot!”

Cue a bass drop that nearly ruptured the phone’s speaker.

Mark blinked. “What… in the synth-pop hell was that.”

“Apparently,” Gabriel said, still laughing, “she’s obsessed with us. Like, superfan obsessed. She followed all of us on socials last night. Even messaged our band account.”

Cassie tapped her screen. “She wants to remix Howlcore Symphony. Says she has ‘a vision.’”

Thane raised an eyebrow. “Is the vision loud, sparkly, and smells like bubblegum and glitter glue?”

Gabriel bumped his shoulder. “C’mon, my wolf. It could be fun. Besides, you should see her fanbase. Those people are rabid. They’d love us.”

“Or eat us alive.”

Maya snorted. “Aren’t we used to that by now?”

---

The band debated it in the van, on stage, in green rooms and airports. Even the fans were split—some couldn’t wait to see the wolves step into the world of pop-electro chaos, others feared a sellout.

But the band made a decision.

Lean in. Full send.

---

A month later, in a fluorescent jungle of lasers and thumping LED walls, Feral Eclipse walked on stage at the Electric Bloom Festival in Las Vegas.

Kali Venom screamed their name as Gabriel’s bass roared across the crowd, now spiked with thousands of new fans in glow sticks and crop tops. Her remix of Howlcore Symphony dropped into a breakbeat so filthy it made Jonah cackle mid-set. Thane didn’t smile—but he didn’t stop headbanging either.

Kali herself was bouncing across the stage in 7-inch heels, yelling, “FERAL FREAKIN’ ECLIPSE! DROP THAT FANG-FIRE!!”

When it ended, the crowd exploded like a warzone of confetti and strobe.

Backstage, Kali tackled Gabriel in a glittery hug, then looked at Thane.

“You. Big one. Let me remix every song you’ve ever written.”

Thane crossed his arms. “Only if you stop tagging me in memes at three in the morning.”

She grinned. “No promises.”

---

The remix charted. Viral. Unstoppable.
Their fanbase? Doubled.
Their critics? Speechless.
And somewhere, in the dark corners of rock purist forums, old fans quietly deleted angry posts and downloaded the track anyway.

The wolves had conquered the neon jungle.

And the beat never stopped.

The studio looked slick on the outside—black glass, chrome trim, downtown LA vibes with just enough edgy graffiti to feel “underground.” Inside, it was all LED backlighting and faux-hipster charm. Shelves stacked with vinyl, a few scattered awards on the wall, and one oversized sign above the booth that read: LOUDER THAN WORDS – With Jax Ryder.

Gabriel eyed it as they walked in, his ears twitching slightly. “Louder than words,” he muttered. “That sounds… subtle.”

Thane gave a soft growl under his breath. “Yeah. Subtle like a trapdoor.”

Jax Ryder greeted them with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. Slick hair, high-end sneakers, and the smugness of someone who thought they knew the music world inside and out. “Feral Eclipse! What’s up, legends? Wolves in the booth today, huh? Hope you don’t shed on the mic.”

Gabriel grinned politely. “Hope your questions don’t shed their professionalism.”

That earned a chuckle from the producer, but Jax just waved them in like they were walking into a wolf-proof cage.

The pack took their seats. Thane and Gabriel at the mics, Mark behind them off-camera, casually sipping a bottled water. Jonah, Cassie, Rico, and Maya hung back near the glass window, just in case things got weird.

And they did.

The first ten minutes were fine—talk about tour life, musical influences, what it was like being literal werewolves in a human-dominated industry. But then Jax started poking.

“So, Thane,” he said, leaning forward, “you used to be a system engineer, right? Lotta folks online say you were just another tech bro who lucked into viral fame. What do you say to the people who think this band is a gimmick built on claws and eyeliner?”

Thane didn’t even blink. “I say they’ve never heard us live.”

Gabriel chuckled. “Or stood too close to the pit.”

Jax smirked. “And Gabriel—there’s been a lot of… speculation. Some people think you play up the ‘sensitive werewolf’ angle for clout. That the whole kid-with-the-bass story was staged. You wanna clear that up?”

The air snapped tight.

Thane’s eyes narrowed. Mark slowly uncapped his water bottle like he was imagining how best to pour it into Jax’s laptop.

Gabriel leaned in, ice-blue eyes suddenly far less friendly.

“That kid’s name is Leo. He’s real. So is the Ernie Ball I gave him. So is the show he rocked in front of fifteen thousand fans. You wanna call that staged?” He paused. “I’ll happily put you on the guest list for the next one. Front row. You can ask him yourself.”

Jax hesitated, but only for a second. “Okay, okay, fair. Didn’t mean to strike a nerve—”

“No,” Thane interrupted, voice like thunder. “You meant to go viral off our backs. It’s cool. That’s your job. Ours is to make music that breaks bones and builds legends. Guess which one lasts longer.”

Mark, still behind the glass, held up a phone. On it? The live fan chat. Hundreds of comments were pouring in. “Jax just got wrecked.” “Protect Gabriel at all costs.” “Thane’s voice just ended a bloodline.”

The producer leaned in, panicked. “Can we, uh… maybe pivot?”

Gabriel grinned wide. “You mean roll credits?”

Thane stood up, slow and deliberate, his claws tapping once on the edge of the soundboard.

“We’ll send you a thank-you card. This one’s gonna trend for days.”

---

By the time they hit the van, the clip had already gone viral. Fans were posting reaction videos. Someone remixed Thane’s “guess which one lasts longer” line into a synth drop. The show’s subreddit was locked due to overwhelming traffic.

And somewhere, deep in LA, Jax Ryder sat in a silent studio, realizing he’d just been steamrolled by the pack.

Never muzzle a wolf.

Especially not on their own mic.

The roar of the crowd still echoed in Thane’s ears as the pack filed offstage, high on adrenaline and the smell of sweat and electricity. Gabriel bumped shoulders with Jonah, who was practically glowing. Maya and Rico fist-bumped mid-jump. Even Cassie, usually cool after a show, let out a breathless, giddy laugh.

Then the hallway got quiet.

Too quiet.

At the corner where the backstage corridor bent toward the dressing rooms, the headliner’s lead singer stood leaning against the wall, arms folded over a vintage leather jacket. His face was carved granite—expressionless, but his narrowed eyes spoke volumes. Beside him, their bassist clutched a bottled water like it was a weapon. Their crew flanked them like palace guards, every one of them giving the pack that same bitter, territorial glare.

Gabriel saw it first and grinned, because of course he did. “Hey, old dogs. Fun show, huh?”

No answer. Just a cold, controlled silence.

Thane stepped forward, calm but deliberate, with his massive clawed hand still gripping a coiled XLR like a leash. “Something you want to say?”

The lead singer pushed off the wall and stepped forward just enough to crowd the hallway.

“You think because you got the crowd hot for five songs, you’re gods now?” he said, voice like gravel in a blender. “This is our show. Our name on the tickets. You’re lucky you even got a slot.”

Gabriel’s tail flicked once.

“We didn’t ask for a slot,” he replied coolly. “We earned it.”

“You earned an ego,” the bassist muttered.

Maya stepped in now, fire behind her eyes. “You mad the fans liked us better, or that you finally realized they’ve moved on?”

One of their guitarists scoffed. “You’re a gimmick. A circus act. A band with dog costumes and social media clout.”

Thane didn’t flinch, but the hallway seemed to constrict around him as he took a slow, measured step forward. His claws clicked once on the concrete.

“We’re wolves,” he said simply. “Not mascots. And I suggest you learn the difference before one bites.”

It was not a threat.

It was a fact.

The tension spiked like a feedback squeal, crackling in the air. The headliner’s crew bristled, but nobody moved. Nobody dared. Even the stage manager, who’d come barreling in to break things up, suddenly found something fascinating on the floor instead.

Then, of all people, Mark strolled out from the dressing room, a protein bar in one hand and his tablet in the other, oblivious to the blood pressure in the room.

He looked up.

Paused.

Glanced around at the tension.

Then took a loud, slow bite of his protein bar and said casually, “Well… this is awkward.”

The moment cracked. Cassie snorted. Jonah outright laughed.

The headliner’s lead singer scowled and turned away, brushing shoulders with Thane as he passed. “You’ll burn out,” he muttered. “All of you.”

Gabriel watched him go, then leaned toward Thane. “Should I have told him that our merch sales tonight beat their last three cities combined?”

Thane smirked. “Let him find out when he checks the numbers.”

Later that night, as the van pulled away from the stadium with the full moon rising overhead, the pack was still buzzing.

They hadn’t just stolen the show.

They’d claimed their territory.

And no aging rock god was gonna take it back without a fight.

The stadium loomed ahead like a colossus — all concrete, steel, and attitude. One of those massive old-world venues, known more for classic rock anthems and beer-drenched nostalgia than anything remotely modern. It seated over 60,000, and tonight, every single one of them was sold out for a double bill: a legacy rock titan… and the upstart pack nipping at their heels.

Feral Eclipse.

The van rolled into the loading zone under gray skies. Thane stepped out first, eyes scanning the bustle of crew members, semis, and grizzled old roadies. This wasn’t their usual scene. This was big-league, high-budget, and deeply territorial.

“Here we go,” Gabriel muttered, sliding out behind him. He adjusted the strap of his Ernie Ball DarkRay 5 and gave a little smirk. “Smells like ego and old amps.”

They were directed toward the side stage entrance—not the main one. Subtle, but intentional. The message was clear: the headliners didn’t want to share space.

Mark took it in without a word, only raising one brow and muttering to himself, “Classic insecure sysadmin energy.”

Inside, the headliner’s crew barely acknowledged them. One guy actually scoffed. Another rolled his eyes at Gabriel’s claws as he carried his own gear instead of waiting for a tech. Thane growled low in his throat. Gabriel just grinned wider.

“Bet they think we’re cute,” he whispered.

Cassie met them near the dressing rooms, arms crossed. “They gave us a broom closet to warm up in.”

Rico laughed. “Perfect. Brooms are where we sweep the floor with ‘em.”

Maya cracked her knuckles. “Let’s show them what chaos sounds like.”

By the time Feral Eclipse stepped out into the wings, the stadium was buzzing. Most of the crowd hadn’t even sat down yet — they were still getting drinks, finding their seats, milling around like it didn’t matter what happened during the opener.

Until it did.

---

The first power chord ripped through the PA like lightning. Mark’s lighting rig, scaled down but deadly precise, burst into motion with synchronized LEDs dancing through the mist. Jonah hit a beat that shook the bleachers. Rico and Maya dove into a harmonic duel that turned heads. And then Gabriel stepped into the spotlight — black-furred, bass slung low, icy blue eyes locking with the front row.

“We are Feral Eclipse,” he growled into the mic. “Let’s make ‘em hear you in the nosebleeds.”

And oh, they heard.

The crowd, caught mid-concession, froze. Fans sprinted back to their seats. Phones flew up. Within minutes, what had been an indifferent audience turned into a roaring sea of fists and claws.

Cassie’s voice soared. “Midnight Collapse” hit with earthquake force. “Run With Me” brought the whole front section to tears. And when they closed with “Howlcore,” the entire stadium joined in the final howl — a guttural, primal scream that echoed into the rafters and made the headliner’s crew stare open-mouthed from the sidelines.

Backstage, the legacy band stood silently near the wings, watching with stunned expressions. Their lead singer whispered something to his tour manager, who only nodded grimly.

The moment Feral Eclipse walked offstage, the crew erupted in adrenaline-charged celebration. Gabriel high-fived fans still reaching through the barricade. Mark pulled his tablet off the rack, checked the metrics, and just said, “That’s gonna be trending.”

Thane, ever composed, glanced back over his shoulder toward the darkened hallway where the headliners stood. He locked eyes with their guitarist for half a second. No words. Just a nod.

A quiet, territorial warning.

This wasn’t just an opener.

This was a declaration.

The pack had arrived. And the old guard had just been eclipsed.

The sun had barely crested the skyline when the van rolled into Sacramento, golden light stretching across the R Street Corridor like a warm hand pulling them in. The buildings around Ace of Spades stood aged but proud—industrial bones turned holy ground for music. It wasn’t massive like the stadiums they’d hit, but that was the charm. This place was raw. Tight. Intimate. The kind of venue where every drop of sweat felt earned and the roar of the crowd didn’t just echo—it pressed into your skin.

The crew moved like clockwork. Gabriel backed the van into the tight alley behind the club, cutting the engine with a satisfied thrum. Inside, the venue was already humming with energy—sound techs double-checking cable runs, bartenders prepping the taps, and a quiet rumble of diehard fans starting to line the block outside.

Mark stepped in first, surveying the place like a conductor walking into a symphony hall. “Oh yeah,” he murmured. “This’ll do nicely.” He was grinning before he even powered up the rig, already mentally syncing the LED bars to pulse with every beat, every guitar squeal, every drop of Cassie’s voice.

Gabriel stood near the back of the stage, bass cradled lovingly against his chest, his tail flicking with nervous energy. “Feels electric,” he said to Thane, who was tightening the last truss clamp on a fog machine.

Thane gave a small nod, eyes scanning the empty floor that would soon be full of sweat, screams, and sheer love for the music. “They’re gonna eat us alive. In the best way.”

Backstage, Maya was already pacing like a wolf in a cage while Rico leaned casually against a wall, fine-tuning his guitar’s intonation. Jonah beat out a warm-up rhythm on his knees, and Cassie stood by the door, eyes closed, humming a final vocal scale. The pack didn’t need hype. They were the hype. All of it bristling just beneath the surface, ready to detonate the moment the lights dropped.

When the house finally went dark and the low rumble of the crowd hit a crescendo, a hush washed through the venue. Then—pop. Pyro flared from the stage wings. Mark’s LEDs flared blood red, then dropped to blue in time with the drum roll. And then Gabriel stepped forward, voice like thunder crashing through velvet.

“Sacramento,” he roared, “are you awake tonight?!”

The crowd didn’t answer—they howled.

What followed was an hour and a half of pure feral fire. The band tore through every song with the confidence of seasoned warriors, tight as ever, moving in sync like a single beast. “Wolves Awake.” “Deadlight Serenade.” “Echo Burn.” Maya and Rico played off each other like fire and gasoline, while Jonah’s kit became a war drum guiding the storm. Cassie’s vocals pierced everything—sometimes gentle, sometimes savage, but always commanding.

Somewhere mid-set, Gabriel slowed the energy, easing the crowd into a hush. Alone with his bass and a single spotlight, he plucked the opening to “Run With Me,” looking out over the sea of faces. A hand-painted sign near the front caught his eye: “Rowan, we miss you.”

He smiled, voice soft but steady. “This one’s for a young wolf who helped us get here.”

Thane glanced sideways but didn’t say a word. Everyone in the band knew what that moment meant. And as the chorus rolled in, the fans sang louder than the amps. It wasn’t just a performance. It was pack.

By the end, they had nothing left in the tank. Gabriel tore into the closing notes of “Howlcore” like his strings were made of fire, while Cassie and Jonah led the final drop. Pyro flared again, smoke filling the rafters. The howl that ended the song echoed for what felt like minutes after they took their bows.

Back in the alley, slumped against the tour van, the band sat in silence for a moment—steam still rising from their skin, hearts still pounding.

“Small room,” Thane said finally, pulling off his headset and shaking out his fur. “Huge energy.”

Gabriel leaned back and let out a breathless laugh. “Just the way I like it.”

Mark stood nearby, tapping a few final commands into his tablet before slinging his backpack over one shoulder. “This code rocks. Literally.”

Cassie stretched, bones popping. “This town… damn.”

And from behind the wheel, Maya just revved the engine once and said, “Where to next?”

The pack didn’t answer. They didn’t need to. The music would lead. The pack would follow. And the world wasn’t ready for what came next.

They were holed up in a budget hotel just off the freeway — rumored to have checked in drunk, loud, and nursing a bruised ego the night before. When the Feral Eclipse van rolled into the lot, it wasn’t with fanfare. It was with fury.

Thane and Gabriel stepped out first. Silent. Focused. Behind them, Maya and Mark flanked the doors while Jonah and Rico hung back with Cassie by the van, all of them watching with tense anticipation.

Thane banged on the room door with one clawed fist.

It swung open after a pause. Bret stood there, shirtless, bleary-eyed, a hangover practically steaming off his skin. “What the hell do you —”

Gabriel grabbed his shirt collar, shoved him back against the wall with a low snarl. “You could have killed people.”

Bret sputtered. “What are you talking about?!”

Thane loomed beside him, the calm gone from his voice. “The prop. The fire. You left it smoldering. That field had over three hundred people in tents.”

Bret shoved Gabriel off weakly, stumbling. “We didn’t light anything — probably some fan —”

Maya stormed in. “You trashed that stage in a tantrum and left broken gear piled on dry brush. That’s arson whether you struck a match or not.”

Mark folded his arms. “Not to mention the part where we have it on drone footage.“

Bret paled.

“We’re not pressing charges,” Thane said darkly. “Yet.”

Gabriel stepped in close. “But if you ever endanger our fans, our crew, or our family again — there won’t be a warning next time.”

Bret said nothing. Just nodded, eyes downcast.

As the pack turned to go, Maya glanced over her shoulder and added, “Mama Feroz is gonna love hearing about this.”

The door slammed shut before she could finish the grin.

The next morning broke warm and golden. Dew sparkled across the field, the stage crew long gone, the lot mostly cleared of food trucks and vendor tents. Birds chirped, gear cases clicked shut, and the crew packed the van at a leisurely pace while sipping strong coffee.

Gabriel was the first to smell it—a sharp, acrid scent that didn’t belong.

He froze, sniffed the air again, then bolted.

“Thane. Smoke. Not wood. Come on!”

They rounded the back hill just as a plume of gray lifted from a cluster of trees. The unmistakable orange flicker of flames was climbing fast.

“Wildfire,” Mark muttered, appearing beside them, already scrolling his tablet for a signal. “It wasn’t on the forecast.”

“Did someone leave a grill burning overnight?” Cassie asked as the others ran over.

Jonah pointed to the source—a smoldering pile of what looked like one of the Saints’ trashed props. “Looks like Bret left us a gift.”

“That son of a—” Maya started, but Mark raised a hand.

“No time. Wind’s shifting. We need to get everyone out.”

Within minutes, Thane had activated emergency channels on the van’s PA. Gabriel and Jonah sprinted through the far field to wake up the last group of camping fans, while Maya grabbed a bullhorn and started barking in both English and Spanish.

The fire wasn’t massive—yet. But the terrain was dry, and the wind was picking up.

As the last of the fans were herded toward the road, Thane turned back toward the rising smoke, eyes narrowed.

Mark joined him. “That wasn’t an accident.”

Thane didn’t answer. But the growl low in his throat said everything.

This wasn’t just a twist of fate. Someone wanted to mess with Feral Eclipse.

And they were about to find out that was a big mistake.

The festival grounds were quiet now.

Long after the crowd had filtered out, the barricades stacked, and the stage dimmed to a faint electric hum, the pack sat together near the rear of the tour van. The wide desert sky was scattered with stars, cool night air rolling in like a gentle tide after the blistering heat of the day.

Thane leaned against the side of the van, arms folded, his fur ruffled by the wind. His ice-blue eyes scanned the horizon, but his posture was finally relaxed. Beside him, Gabriel lay on his back in the grass, bass propped beside him like a trusted companion, paws laced behind his head as he stared at the stars in content silence.

Mark sat on a folding crate near the small camp lantern they’d set out, sipping a bottle of water, legs crossed. He hadn’t said much since the meet and greet chaos. But there was a faint smile on his muzzle, a twitch at the corner that only those who knew him well would notice.

Cassie and Jonah were off a little ways, tossing handfuls of popcorn at each other from one of the leftover snack trays. Maya, still red from her mom’s surprise appearance, sat barefoot beside Rico, who was casually tuning his guitar by ear. Every so often, Maya let out a muffled groan and muttered something in Spanish, while Rico smirked without looking up.

No one was in a rush. For once, there was no fire to put out, no fan mob to dodge, no Saints to outplay. Just the low murmur of crickets, the soft rustle of breeze, and the afterglow of another incredible show.

Gabriel broke the silence. “You think Mama Feroz is still taking selfies with fans at the taco truck?”

Thane chuckled. “Probably leading them in a conga line by now.”

Maya groaned again, burying her face. “She is never allowed to come to a show again.”

Mark took another sip. “Pretty sure she got more applause than Vandal Saints.”

Everyone laughed.

Gabriel rolled onto his side, eyes meeting Thane’s. “You good, my wolf?”

Thane nodded slowly. “Yeah. I am.”

He looked around the group—laughing, teasing, tired but glowing from the energy of the night.

“We’re good.”

And under the open sky, for just a while, everything was still.