{"id":169,"date":"2023-04-18T01:00:14","date_gmt":"2023-04-18T06:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/?p=169"},"modified":"2024-02-10T10:23:15","modified_gmt":"2024-02-10T16:23:15","slug":"load-in-livid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/load-in-livid\/","title":{"rendered":"Six-String Confessions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Backstage, 45 minutes to showtime<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The backstage tension was thicker than the stage fog. Cables were being flung instead of coiled, doors closed a little too hard, and nobody made eye contact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rico had cracked the wrong joke at the worst possible time\u2014some smug remark about Thane and the van repairs that sounded more like mockery than ribbing. Thane had gone from calm to apex predator<\/em> in two seconds flat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now Rico stood, tense and pale, his hands spread like he was about to surrender to airport security. \u201cI was just messing with you, man\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thane, muscles tight and hackles up, took a step forward, a low growl in his throat that made the air itself seem to retreat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark\u2019s arm shot out like a steel gate, planting himself firmly between the two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThane,\u201d he said calmly, \u201cno murder before load-in. We talked about this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thane didn\u2019t look at Mark\u2014his eyes were locked on Rico like crosshairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDeep breath,\u201d Mark continued, not budging. \u201cI know you\u2019re tired. I know what happened today sucked. But he\u2019s not worth losing your temper over.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe disrespected me,\u201d Thane snarled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe disrespected your van<\/strong>,\u201d Mark corrected. \u201cAnd I\u2019ll remind you, it\u2019s barely holding itself together. Unlike you, who can.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was a long pause. Thane\u2019s claws flexed. He took a breath\u2014shaky, but controlled\u2014and stepped back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark kept his eyes on Thane a moment longer, then turned to Rico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou,\u201d he said dryly, \u201cgo tune something. Quietly. Somewhere far away from Thane\u2019s claws.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rico blinked, nodded, and backed away like someone retreating from a live grenade. \u201cYeah. Yeah, got it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he was gone, Thane exhaled hard and dropped onto a road case. His clawed hands rubbed over his face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark crossed his arms. \u201cYou good?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thane gave a low, grumbling reply. \u201c…Thanks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark just nodded. \u201cThat\u2019s what I do. I prevent homicides.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thane chuckled, just a little. \u201cYou\u2019re the real MVP.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDamn right I am,\u201d Mark muttered, already walking off. \u201cNext time, let Gabriel handle it. That one look of his could end wars.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Backstage, 45 minutes to showtime The backstage tension was thicker than the stage fog. Cables were being flung instead of coiled, doors closed a little too hard, and nobody made eye contact. Rico had cracked the wrong joke at the worst possible time\u2014some smug remark about Thane and the van repairs that sounded more like […]<\/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-169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tour-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169","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=169"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3303,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169\/revisions\/3303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}