The air in the backstage hall hadn\u2019t even settled from the final applause when the venue crew started funneling the VIPs into the meet and greet lounge. What had been planned as a relaxed, private event for a few hundred ticketed superfans now looked more like a rave waiting for a lightning strike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane stood just inside the door, arms crossed, watching the flow of people like he was monitoring a floodgate. \u201cThis was supposed to be small,\u201d he muttered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think \u2018small\u2019 got eaten by \u2018viral\u2019 about four weeks ago,\u201d Mark replied, already scanning exits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The lounge had soft lighting, velvet rope dividers, a fully stocked bar, and printed signs clearly stating: NO HUGGING THE WEREWOLVES.<\/strong> Those signs were completely ignored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cassie was immediately swarmed by fans begging her to sign body parts. Maya tried to fend off someone who insisted she was their \u201cfuture alpha.\u201d Jonah had already been tackled by three fans and had lost one of his drumsticks to a woman who claimed it had \u201csoul vibrations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel, predictably, leaned into the chaos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHELLO, LOVELY BRITISH WOLFCUBS!\u201d he howled, arms outstretched like a chaos god stepping into his kingdom. A wall of fans surged forward with a roar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Someone fainted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another fan handed him a giant Union Jack flag with \u201cFERAL 4 LYFE\u201d written in marker. Gabriel wrapped it around his shoulders like a cape and began offering hugs, completely ignoring the printed warnings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGabriel \u2014 boundaries,\u201d Thane growled, stepping in to intercept a woman mid-sprint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe said it was for medical reasons,\u201d Gabriel grinned. \u201cLike emotional support contact.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI don\u2019t care if she has a prescription for cuddles, you\u2019re going to end up on another<\/em> tabloid cover.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cToo late!\u201d Emily called from the sidelines, frantically snapping photos as fans climbed over each other to reach the band. \u201cWe\u2019re trending again. Multiple hashtags. #PackAttackUK<\/em> is number one!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSomeone just asked if we\u2019ll officiate their wedding,\u201d Cassie reported, ducking behind Rico, who was fending off a fan with a framed painting of him as a centaur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark was mid-autograph when a wide-eyed teen girl shoved her phone at him. \u201cPlease! Just say hi to my mum! She\u2019s outside in the car but she\u2019ll DIE.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark stared into the phone\u2019s camera. \u201cDon\u2019t die. Your daughter\u2019s a menace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The girl squealed and ran off sobbing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Security tried to regain control. They failed. The venue manager tried to cut the meet short. He was ignored. Thane finally climbed on top of one of the snack tables and let out a howl that silenced the entire room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis ends in ten minutes,\u201d he said firmly, voice echoing. \u201cAutographs, selfies, and questions about Gabriel\u2019s shampoo brand need to wrap up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI use coconut oil and dark magic,\u201d Gabriel stage-whispered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane shot him a look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chaos continued until the very last second. Gabriel high-fived someone dressed like a werewolf lawyer. Jonah signed a prosthetic leg. Rico talked music theory with an eleven-year-old. Maya danced briefly with a fan in a full moon costume.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then, at last, the lounge was cleared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They\u2019d survived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Barely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cassie dropped onto a sofa and groaned. \u201cI need food. And not microwave backstage snacks. Real food. Fancy food.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rico cracked his knuckles. \u201cYou thinking what I\u2019m thinking?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel grinned. \u201cAre we about to traumatize a fancy London pub?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane rubbed his temples. \u201cFine. But we behave. No climbing things. No throwing bread. No unsolicited howling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n No one made eye contact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLet\u2019s go,\u201d Thane sighed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The air in the backstage hall hadn\u2019t even settled from the final applause when the venue crew started funneling the VIPs into the meet and greet lounge. What had been planned as a relaxed, private event for a few hundred ticketed superfans now looked more like a rave waiting for a lightning strike. Thane stood […]<\/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-1652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tour-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1652","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=1652"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1652\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3024,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1652\/revisions\/3024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}