The crowd had finally begun to thin, the town square slowly returning to its previous sleepy pace \u2014 minus the glitter confetti, sticker-covered food carts, and the rapidly deflating inflatable Gabriel head now curled up on the lawn like a dying moon bounce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The band trickled back toward the bus, still signing the occasional hoodie or paw print sketch, all riding that weird post-gig adrenaline slump that hits once the fans start leaving and your blood sugar crashes like a dropped cymbal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark was already at the bus door, arms folded, tail flicking slightly with every tired footstep behind him. He was eyeing the last fan stragglers like they might suddenly break into interpretive dance or ask him to join a TikTok.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cassie jogged up beside him, stretching her arms over her head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cY\u2019know,\u201d she mused, \u201cyou really<\/em> give off that whole \u2018pack therapist\u2019 vibe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark didn\u2019t blink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Didn\u2019t move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just turned his head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That stare.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cassie held up both hands like she\u2019d just walked into a crime scene. \u201cJust saying! Emotional stability! Quiet strength! Calm presence! \u2026Terrifying glare. It\u2019s comforting!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jonah trotted past eating cotton candy. \u201cHe\u2019s totally our emotional support werewolf.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel, ten feet behind, snorted. \u201cNope, that\u2019s canon now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane, without looking up from checking the side of the bus, growled, \u201cPut it on the merch board.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark\u2019s eye twitched.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s when it happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A young woman \u2014 maybe mid-30s, frazzled but determined \u2014 approached nervously with a wide-eyed toddler on her hip and said, totally sincerely:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHi. Sorry. He doesn\u2019t usually like strangers but\u2026 he really calmed down when you were standing nearby. Would you mind just\u2026 holding him? For a second?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark blinked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Twice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She was serious.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Before he could object, the kid reached out \u2014 tiny hands latching onto Mark\u2019s sleeve with the desperate grip of a sleepy cub \u2014 and settled into his arms like he belonged there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dead silence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The whole band froze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The toddler yawned and patted Mark\u2019s snout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark looked down at the child, then up at the mother, then over at the band\u2026 who were all openly watching with giddy smirks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI will,\u201d he rumbled slowly, \u201cend<\/em> all of you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cassie was already taking photos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel was biting his lip, tail flicking wildly with barely-contained joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jonah whispered to Rico, \u201cOh my god, the pup chose<\/em> him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane just grinned. \u201cTold you. Emotional support werewolf.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Diesel leaned out the bus doorway, saw the scene, and nodded like it made perfect sense. \u201cYou break it, you bought it, Mark.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark sighed through his nose, held the kid like a mildly offended statue, and muttered\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c…I miss the hangover.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The crowd had finally begun to thin, the town square slowly returning to its previous sleepy pace \u2014 minus the glitter confetti, sticker-covered food carts, and the rapidly deflating inflatable Gabriel head now curled up on the lawn like a dying moon bounce. The band trickled back toward the bus, still signing the occasional hoodie […]<\/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-1091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tour-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1091","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=1091"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1091\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3081,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1091\/revisions\/3081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n