The den was humming with the usual brand of post-chaos calm \u2014 coffee brewing, Jonah playing a random beat on his knees, Mark grumbling about someone adjusting his thermostat again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then the doorbell rang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not a knock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not the frantic pounding of rabid fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just a calm, deliberate ding-dong<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane set down his coffee and sighed, already pulling up the porch cam on his phone out of habit. What he saw made him squint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUh\u2026 guys?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He stood and crossed to the door slowly, but not before muttering, \u201cIf this is another delivery drone, I\u2019m feeding it to Mark.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He cracked the door \u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n And immediately regretted not bracing himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because standing right there, prim and poised with her hair practically laminated to perfection, was a live KFOR-TV reporter, flanked by a full camera crew \u2014 and beyond them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hundreds of people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fans. Neighbors. Reporters. Police officers. Random people holding signs like \u201cOKLAHOMA LOVES WOLVES\u201d and \u201cI DROVE FROM AMARILLO FOR THIS.\u201d Drones buzzed in every direction like curious mechanical gnats. Even the mayor was somewhere in the back waving a Feral Eclipse t-shirt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane blinked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The reporter cleared her throat, clearly unsure whether to speak first or run for her life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That hesitation was fatal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because from somewhere inside<\/em> the house, a black-furred blur shot past Thane, nearly knocking him flat against the doorframe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n He skidded to a dramatic stop right in front of the mic, barepaw claws clicking on the porch wood, fangs bared in a feral grin. \u201cLADIES. GENTLEMEN. AND ALL YOU WILD CREATURES OUT THERE\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He raised both arms like a victorious fighter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI AM<\/em> READY.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The crowd erupted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cheers. Screams. Chants. Several people passed out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane just stood there in the doorway, expression blank. \u201c…Ready for what,<\/em> exactly?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel turned to him with a flash of teeth. \u201cWhatever comes next!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh gods,\u201d Thane muttered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By then, the rest of the pack had poured out. Cassie, Maya, Jonah, and Rico emerged like some bizarre suburban fashion show. Emily stepped out clutching a clipboard like it might save her. Even Mark shoved open the door, coffee in hand and a look of pure why is this my life<\/em> on his face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIs this the porch now?\u201d he grumbled. \u201cAre we porch people?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The KFOR reporter, wide-eyed but to her credit still standing, held out the mic again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m \u2014 uh \u2014 live with the full Feral Eclipse crew on what appears to be their front porch. Gabriel, can you tell us what the fans can expect next after the whirlwind European tour?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel leaned in like he was giving away national secrets. \u201cChaos, my friend. Beautiful. Ferocious. Chaos.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another cheer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Someone screamed, \u201cWE LOVE YOU, GABRIEL!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane stepped next to him, deadpan to the mic. \u201cPlease stop climbing our backyard fence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Laughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Emily gave a sheepish wave. Jonah dabbed. Rico winked at someone in the crowd who dropped their phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark just sipped his coffee and shook his head. \u201cIf this turns into a block party again, I\u2019m buying a flamethrower.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Behind them, police cruisers pulled up slowly \u2014 not in any official capacity, just to lend moral support and maybe enjoy the show. One officer leaned out the window and gave a peace sign to Maya, who flashed him devil horns in return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The whole thing devolved into a pop-up concert atmosphere again. People were chanting. Someone had already set up a makeshift merch table. A local bakery dropped off free cupcakes. Drones captured it all \u2014 front yard fame in real time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And there, in the middle of it, Gabriel grabbed Thane\u2019s paw with a big, toothy grin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTold<\/em> you I was ready.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane groaned. \u201cI really need a nap.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Too late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because the chaos had returned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And they were right at the center of it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The den was humming with the usual brand of post-chaos calm \u2014 coffee brewing, Jonah playing a random beat on his knees, Mark grumbling about someone adjusting his thermostat again. Then the doorbell rang. Not a knock. Not the frantic pounding of rabid fans. Just a calm, deliberate ding-dong. Thane set down his coffee and […]<\/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-1927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tour-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1927","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=1927"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1927\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2971,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1927\/revisions\/2971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}