Sunlight filtered through the living room blinds like an accusation. The place looked like a band of raccoons had thrown a rave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Empty Solo cups littered the floor. A pair of jeans hung from the ceiling fan. Someone\u2019s drumstick was jammed into the toaster like a forgotten art installation. A faint, muffled guitar riff came from the backyard\u2014probably Rico asleep with his wireless pack still on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane stepped out of his bedroom, squinting like the sun owed him money. His fur was matted. His black polo was on inside out. He stepped over a pile of hoodies, a spilled bag of chips, and what may have been Jonah curled up in the laundry basket muttering something about needing \u201cmore hi-hat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel appeared beside him in pajama pants and a tour hoodie, holding a spatula like a trophy and grinning way too wide for this hour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe makin\u2019 breakfast or conducting search and rescue?\u201d Thane asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBit of both,\u201d Gabriel said. \u201cCome on. I\u2019m outta eggs, but I got frozen waffles and exactly one pot of decent coffee left.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark was already seated at the dining table in complete silence, staring at the mess with a thousand-yard stare and sipping from a coffee mug that read \u201cWorld\u2019s Okayest Lighting Tech.\u201d He didn\u2019t speak. Just handed Thane a bottle of ibuprofen like a battle-worn medic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was a knock at the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then a full police cruiser siren chirp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane raised a brow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel peeked through the window and laughed. \u201cOh, you are not gonna believe this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two uniformed officers stood on the front porch, coffee cups in hand. The same ones who\u2019d showed up the night before to \u201chandle\u201d the backyard concert. Behind them was a black-and-white SUV. From it stepped a tall, square-jawed man in a pressed uniform with four gold stars on his collar\u2026 and a teenage girl vibrating with excitement beside him in a Feral Eclipse hoodie two sizes too big.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cChief of police,\u201d Gabriel said, nudging Thane. \u201cWith his kid. We\u2019ve been upgraded.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane opened the door. \u201cMorning, officers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMorning,\u201d one said. \u201cJust checking in on crowd control from last night. Also \u2014 \u201d he held up a crumpled t-shirt, \u201c \u2014 your bass player signed my uniform, and I\u2019m not even mad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The chief stepped forward and extended a hand. \u201cI\u2019m Chief Ramirez. My daughter, Ava, is\u2014well, let\u2019s just say your band has been the only thing playing in our house for about a year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ava looked like she might pass out from excitement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel gave her a small wave and whispered to Thane, \u201cI got this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ten minutes later, the living room had been turned into a makeshift waffle buffet. Jonah emerged from the laundry basket, bleary-eyed and victorious. Maya passed out disposable plates like a breakfast goddess. Rico tuned a guitar with one hand and poured syrup with the other. Cassie plopped down next to Mark and immediately stole his toast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And Gabriel?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He sat cross-legged at the dining table with a roll of laminate paper, a hole punch, and a lanyard. \u201cAlright, Ava. I hereby grant you full VIP access to the official Feral Eclipse Den Venue.\u201d He presented the pass with a dramatic flourish. \u201cGood for life, non-transferable, and comes with bragging rights.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ava took it like it was made of solid gold. \u201cCan I take a picture?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane nodded, grinning. \u201cHell, take ten.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She did. With Gabriel. With Thane. With the waffle stack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The chief, watching from the corner, shook his head but smiled. \u201cYou guys throw a hell of a show. Just, uh\u2026 maybe give us a heads up next time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane chuckled. \u201cThat\u2019s assuming we<\/em> know when it\u2019s happening.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Outside, a few lingering fans had started a small acoustic singalong on the sidewalk. A neighbor dropped off a tray of cinnamon rolls with a handwritten note that said \u201cThanks for the music. Come to the HOA meeting next week?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark read it and muttered, \u201cOh, I\u2019ll come. With a fog machine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel high-fived him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The house was still a disaster. The fridge was mostly condiments. The fence needed replacing. But the air was warm with laughter, coffee, and the kind of joy that only follows absolute, no-holds-barred mayhem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And as Ava clutched her all-access pass like it was the key to the universe, Thane leaned against the counter, watching the pack \u2014 his pack \u2014 and smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They were home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sunlight filtered through the living room blinds like an accusation. The place looked like a band of raccoons had thrown a rave. Empty Solo cups littered the floor. A pair of jeans hung from the ceiling fan. Someone\u2019s drumstick was jammed into the toaster like a forgotten art installation. A faint, muffled guitar riff came […]<\/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-1613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tour-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1613","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=1613"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3037,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1613\/revisions\/3037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}