The den smelled like popcorn, damp fur, and fresh laundry \u2014 evidence that someone (probably Emily) had tried to make it halfway respectable for the evening\u2019s meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane sat at the far end of the sectional with his laptop open, a spreadsheet glowing on the screen and a pile of printouts in his lap. Gabriel was curled sideways across the middle cushions, legs hanging off the armrest and a half-finished iced coffee tucked between his paws like a security blanket. Cassie and Maya were sprawled on the carpet with a bowl of peanut M&Ms between them. Jonah sat upside-down in an armchair for no discernible reason. Rico leaned against the kitchen doorway, picking at an unplugged acoustic. Mark stood near the window, arms crossed, occasionally glancing out like he expected another drone to buzz by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane cleared his throat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll right, wolves and humans \u2014 tour management sent the final European leg itinerary.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He tapped the spacebar and the living room TV \u2014 miraculously free of game consoles for once\u2014flickered to life with a calendar layout, banded in color-coded rows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was a collective groan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo many dots,\u201d Gabriel mumbled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s\u2026 a lot of red,\u201d Maya added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the \u2018you\u2019re playing two festivals in three days across different countries\u2019 red,\u201d Thane said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to be flying a lot. Tight connections. Some overnight setups. But it\u2019s doable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark grunted in agreement. \u201cIf we run it clean.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane nodded. \u201cWe will.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He went on, calmly walking everyone through the cities \u2014 London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Barcelona \u2014 and then into the nitty gritty: gear shipment deadlines, customs paperwork, backline rental confirmations, and showtime expectations. He even had a tab just for international power adapters, which Mark had personally highlighted with four exclamation points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rico gave a soft laugh. \u201cYou\u2019ve thought of everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane smiled. \u201cI try.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The mood in the room started to shift. There was still nervous energy \u2014 Emily had wide eyes, and Jonah looked like he might fall off his chair in either excitement or dread \u2014 but it wasn\u2019t fear. It was\u2026 something bigger. Hopeful. Eager.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor those of you who\u2019ve never been outside the U.S. or Mexico,\u201d Thane said, glancing at Gabriel, Cassie, Maya, Jonah, and Emily, \u201cyou\u2019re going to love it. First-class flights, real beds every night. Yeah, it\u2019s a grind \u2014 but we\u2019re gonna do it right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel\u2019s ears perked. \u201cWe\u2019re flying first class?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane nodded. \u201cEveryone. No exceptions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark deadpanned, \u201cI already told the management company if we get stuck in coach, I\u2019m setting the plane on fire.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cReasonable,\u201d Cassie said, sipping soda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just then, a thud<\/em> hit the window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Everyone froze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another thud.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane slowly turned his head toward the blinds. \u201cPlease tell me that was a squirrel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark moved to the window, peeked out \u2014 then sighed. \u201cNope.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He opened the front door to find two teenagers in Eclipse t-shirts crouched behind the bushes, both clutching notebooks and smartphones like sacred relics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUh\u2026 hi,\u201d the taller one squeaked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe brought cookies,\u201d the other offered, holding up a slightly crushed plastic container with trembling hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Behind them, the faint sound of a live TikTok stream could be heard: Mark took the cookies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThanks,\u201d he said, then turned and closed the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The living room burst into laughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane leaned back, exasperated but grinning. \u201cWe need better security.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel held out his paw. \u201cHand over the cookies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo,\u201d Mark said, already walking toward the kitchen with them tucked under one arm. \u201cThese are for people who show up on time to logistics meetings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou cold-hearted lighting bastard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane smiled, leaned over, and closed his laptop. \u201cAll right. We\u2019ve got the plan. We\u2019ve got the gear. We\u2019ve got the cookies \u2014 kinda. Next stop: Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n There was a pause. Then Rico strummed a warm, familiar chord. Gabriel hummed along without even realizing. Emily hugged her clipboard. Cassie stretched and flopped over onto Maya\u2019s lap. Jonah, finally sitting upright, just grinned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The den may have been bursting at the seams lately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But right now, it felt like home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The den smelled like popcorn, damp fur, and fresh laundry \u2014 evidence that someone (probably Emily) had tried to make it halfway respectable for the evening\u2019s meeting. Thane sat at the far end of the sectional with his laptop open, a spreadsheet glowing on the screen and a pile of printouts in his lap. Gabriel […]<\/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-1632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tour-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1632","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=1632"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1632\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3032,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1632\/revisions\/3032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\u201c\u2014 we\u2019re literally outside their house right now, guys, oh my god \u2014\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n