The air backstage was electric, buzzing with leftover adrenaline and a light haze of fog fluid that hadn\u2019t quite settled yet. Everyone was still riding the high from the Frankfurt set \u2014 Jonah drumming out rhythms on the catering table with two chopsticks, Cassie breathlessly recounting the way the front row had screamed every lyric, and Gabriel practically glowing with the afterglow of playing to a sold-out German crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was warm and loud and happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Until the tour phone rang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane barely glanced at the screen, but when he saw the name \u201cNathan\u201d flash across it, his entire posture changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He stepped away from the group without a word, disappearing into the darker, quieter part of the venue\u2019s backstage hallway. Concrete walls. No one to hear. He pressed the answer button and kept his voice steady.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHello.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHeyyy, is Gabriel around?\u201d came the voice on the other end \u2014 smug, smooth, manipulative as ever. \u201cWe\u2019ve been watching the tour highlights on social media \u2014 man, it\u2019s crazy! Anyway, I\u2019ve got some friends back home who are huge fans, and I was wondering if you guys could maybe \u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not speaking to Gabriel,\u201d Thane said sharply, already done. \u201cYou\u2019re speaking to me. And I know why you\u2019re calling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWoah, chill. I just wanted \u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou wanted to guilt him. Again. Into giving you tickets, money, access \u2014whatever selfish garbage you cooked up this time. You don\u2019t care about Gabriel. You never have. You only call when you want<\/em> something.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n There was a pause. Then a mocking laugh. \u201cMan, what are you, his bodyguard now?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane\u2019s eyes narrowed. His claws extended slightly without thought. \u201cAs far as you’re concerned, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And his voice dropped to a low, dangerous growl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd I\u2019m telling you right now \u2014 if you ever<\/em> call this number again\u2026 if you ever<\/em> try to manipulate him, use him, or twist your way into his life again\u2026 I will<\/em> get on a plane, fly to Massachussetts from wherever I am, find you\u2026 and rip you clean in half with my bare paws.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n There was a silence on the other end. Thane didn\u2019t wait for a reply. He hung up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He stood there, breathing hard, his heart pounding, claws still slightly curled. His tail lashed once, sharply, before he forced it still. He took a deep breath, rolled his shoulders, and turned to head back toward the green room<\/p>\n\n\n\n Where Gabriel was standing in the hallway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI heard,\u201d Gabriel said quietly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane froze. \u201cI didn\u2019t mean \u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo,\u201d Gabriel said, his voice breaking just slightly. \u201cYou don\u2019t need to explain anything. I heard everything.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n His eyes were glassy. But not angry. Not embarrassed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just full of emotion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou didn\u2019t have to do that for me,\u201d he whispered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane stepped forward and cupped Gabriel\u2019s cheek gently in one clawed hand. \u201cI know. But I wanted<\/em> to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel exhaled, his breath hitching slightly as he leaned into the touch. \u201cYou\u2019re the first person who\u2019s ever stood between me and my brother like that. The first one who didn\u2019t just\u2026 let him keep using me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane pulled him into a firm, protective embrace. \u201cNo one hurts you. Not while I\u2019m breathing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel buried his muzzle against Thane\u2019s neck, arms wrapped tight around him. \u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And in the chaos of the post-show whirlwind, the crew respectfully gave them space \u2014 even Jonah, who was halfway through a story about someone puking on a merch table, stopped mid-sentence and waved everyone toward the other room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a world of screaming fans and thundering applause, this moment was private. Quiet. Unshakable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The air backstage was electric, buzzing with leftover adrenaline and a light haze of fog fluid that hadn\u2019t quite settled yet. Everyone was still riding the high from the Frankfurt set \u2014 Jonah drumming out rhythms on the catering table with two chopsticks, Cassie breathlessly recounting the way the front row had screamed every lyric, […]<\/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-1744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tour-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1744","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=1744"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1744\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2989,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1744\/revisions\/2989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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