The next city on the tour was Amarillo.
The drive in was slow—flat plains, wind-blown fields, distant neon signs flickering over dusty roads. The bus cruised along in the late afternoon sun, painted gold by the hour, shadows stretching long over the highway.
Inside, things were quiet again.
Cassie dozed in her bunk, face smushed into a pillow. Jonah was half-awake, lazily drumming on the armrest with a pair of chopsticks he’d stolen from a sushi place two cities ago. Maya and Rico traded dumb puns over a half-played card game.
Thane sat up front with Diesel, one arm slung over the seatback, the other hand nursing a bottle of Diet Mountain Dew. Gabriel was beside him, staring out the window with a soft look in his icy blue eyes.
The road rolled on.
Then Diesel slowed the bus, blinking toward a small pull-off area. “We got something up ahead…”
There was a girl on the roadside.
No more than maybe sixteen, maybe seventeen. Standing next to a beat-up old pickup truck with a hand-painted sign held high:
“FERAL ECLIPSE SAVED MY LIFE. THANK YOU.”
And below it, in smaller print:
“Just want to say hi. I don’t need anything.”
She stood alone. Wind in her hair. T-shirt far too big for her. Shaking slightly from nerves or maybe hope.
Gabriel was already on his feet. “Diesel—pull over.”
Thane nodded. “Now.”
They stopped just off the shoulder, hazard lights flashing.
The side door hissed open, and Gabriel stepped out first, barefoot paws silent on the gravel. He walked up slowly, tail flicking behind him, hands relaxed and open. Thane followed a few steps behind, calm and steady.
The girl gasped when she saw them—wide eyes, tears immediately welling up. “You stopped. Oh my God—you really stopped.”
Gabriel smiled, soft and real. “Of course we did.”
“I—I didn’t think you’d see me,” she whispered. “I just—I didn’t know what else to do. You guys… your music… it’s gotten me through everything. I’ve been in hospitals, and foster homes, and just… some really bad places. But every time I thought I couldn’t do it anymore, I’d listen to Field Notes or Starshine Skin or that video where Thane was laughing while Mark tried to keep Jonah from setting off fireworks indoors—”
Thane raised an eyebrow. “I knew I heard a pop in that footage.”
“Not my fault!” Jonah yelled from the bus.
The girl laughed, covering her face. “You guys make the world better. Even just knowing you’re out there. It makes me want to try. To stay.”
Gabriel’s smile flickered a little—like it cracked his own heart open. He stepped forward and gently, wordlessly, pulled her into a hug.
She melted into it, sobbing quietly, arms wrapped around the black-furred werewolf like he was safety personified.
Thane stepped closer and gently rested a clawed hand on her shoulder. “You’re still here. That’s your victory. Not ours. We just make noise—you’re the one who keeps choosing to stay.”
She nodded against Gabriel’s chest. “But it’s easier because you exist.”
Gabriel gave her one more tight squeeze, then leaned back. “Wait here.”
He padded back to the bus, returning a minute later with a signed copy of the band’s tour vinyl, a backstage pass… and the softest, warmest hoodie from their personal merch stash.
It smelled faintly of cedar and cinnamon.
“You’re coming to tonight’s show,” he said. “On us.”
“I… I don’t know what to say,” she whispered, clutching it all to her chest.
Thane smiled, voice low and gentle. “You already said it. That was enough.”
Back on the bus, everyone was quiet again—but different now. Lighter. More grounded.
Gabriel sat beside Thane with his arm around him, eyes distant.
“She meant that,” he said quietly. “Every word.”
Thane nodded. “That’s why we stop. That’s why we show up. Even if it’s just for one kid on the side of the road.”
Gabriel bumped their heads together, closing his eyes. “Best part of the tour so far.”
Diesel revved the engine and pulled them back onto the road.
That night, in Amarillo, the show wasn’t the biggest or the wildest—but it was honest. Raw. Real.
And in the front row, wearing that hoodie with both hands clutched to her heart, was one girl who would never forget what it meant when the wolves stopped alongside the road… just to say hello.