The diner was bursting at the seams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People were crammed into booths, lined up against walls, squeezed between pie displays and window sills. Phones were everywhere\u2014live streams, selfies, shaky videos with captions like \u201cHE\u2019S REAL\u2014THANE IS REAL\u201d<\/em> and \u201cMARK MOPPED. I REPEAT. MARK. MOPPED.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Outside, the crowd had only grown. Fans who\u2019d never even made it to the radio station were now holding handmade signs, waving foam claws, and chanting things like \u201cWE LOVE YOU, GABRIEL!\u201d and \u201cHASH BROWNS FOR HOWLERS!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Inside, the pack tried to carry on their “normal” breakfast. Plates clinked. Laughter bounced off the walls. Gabriel had somehow convinced Lindsay the waitress to try sitting down with them (“You’re on break now, new pack rule”). Emily was in the corner showing a young fan how to take a proper concert photo on her phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But then…<\/p>\n\n\n\n The flash of red and white emergency lights<\/strong> hit the front windows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A fully loaded fire truck screeched to a stop outside Ruby\u2019s, followed by a black SUV with \u201cDALLAS FIRE MARSHAL\u201d in bold white text. The crowd parted with a mix of excitement and confusion. Sirens shut off, but the tension didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The diner door slammed open with a clang<\/em>, and in strode the fire marshal\u2014mid-40s, sharp crew cut, crisp navy-blue uniform jacket, tablet clutched tight under his arm. Behind him, five full firefighters in bunker gear and helmets followed like backup dancers with axes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAlright, everyone! This place is officially over occupancy<\/strong> by a lot!<\/em>\u201d the marshal barked over the noise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Booing erupted immediately. Loud, unfiltered, passionate<\/em> booing. Someone shouted, \u201cDON\u2019T BREAK UP THE PACK!\u201d Another waved a paper napkin with \u201c#FeralFreedom\u201d scribbled on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel stood slowly, then\u2014with fluid, athletic grace\u2014leapt up onto the table<\/strong>, tail flicking for balance as he raised both clawed hands for quiet. The room hushed instantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOkay, okay, everyone chill!<\/em>\u201d he called out, his deep voice cutting through the din like a bassline. \u201cHe\u2019s right. This isn\u2019t safe. I mean… we\u2019ve got paws, claws, fans sitting in the plants, and I\u2019m pretty sure Jonah just tried to use a pie tin as a drum.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s a cowbell,<\/em>\u201d Jonah mumbled, holding up the tin in question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel smiled, then looked the fire marshal square in the eye. \u201cBut we\u2019ll cooperate. Totally. Just\u2026 please don\u2019t make everyone leave. It\u2019s been a long road for all of us to get here. We\u2019re not just a band. This is our pack.<\/em> These people? They\u2019re family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The room held its breath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The fire marshal blinked, looked around at the sea of hopeful faces\u2014then finally, slowly, his stern expression cracked. \u201c…You\u2019re the werewolf bassist, right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel nodded. \u201cGuilty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The marshal exhaled. \u201cWould you, uh\u2026 mind signing my fire coat?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That was all it took.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The five fully-geared firefighters surged forward, grinning like kids at Comic-Con, each holding out a helmet, a sleeve, or a clipboard. Thane grinned and obliged, sketching a fang-shaped \u2018T\u2019 over a shoulder patch. Cassie added a heart next to the department\u2019s logo. Mark, still holding the mop, signed \u201cStay flammable<\/em> \u2013 Mark\u201d on one guy\u2019s boot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rico slapped a sticker that said \u201cFeral Approved\u201d onto the ladder truck parked outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After a few selfies (including one where Jonah climbed into the driver\u2019s seat of the truck and honked the horn to mass applause), the fire marshal raised his voice again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAlright, folks! Here\u2019s what we\u2019re gonna do: We\u2019ll stay here, keep the exits clear, monitor the crowd. No one else comes in, but no one has to leave. Deal?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The diner exploded.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cheers, applause, whoops, howls\u2014someone even fired up a portable Bluetooth speaker and started blasting the band\u2019s latest single. Emily jumped up and down in the corner, overwhelmed with joy. Lindsay high-fived a firefighter. Gabriel leapt down from the table and immediately got mobbed for photos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Outside, fans chanted, \u201cFire fam! Fire fam!<\/em>\u201d while a firefighter hoisted a little kid onto his shoulders for a better view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane leaned against the counter, arms crossed, watching it all with a slow shake of his head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBreakfast,\u201d he murmured, \u201cis wildly<\/em> overrated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark stood beside him, handing the mop back to a shell-shocked employee. \u201cAt least no one\u2019s bleeding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYet,\u201d Thane muttered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel popped up between them, fur fluffed and grinning. \u201cBest eggs I\u2019ve ever had.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The diner was bursting at the seams. People were crammed into booths, lined up against walls, squeezed between pie displays and window sills. Phones were everywhere\u2014live streams, selfies, shaky videos with captions like \u201cHE\u2019S REAL\u2014THANE IS REAL\u201d and \u201cMARK MOPPED. I REPEAT. MARK. MOPPED.\u201d Outside, the crowd had only grown. Fans who\u2019d never even made […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tour-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1030"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1030\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3106,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1030\/revisions\/3106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}