{"id":2002,"date":"2024-12-22T01:01:03","date_gmt":"2024-12-22T07:01:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/?p=2002"},"modified":"2024-02-10T10:22:33","modified_gmt":"2024-02-10T16:22:33","slug":"midnight-at-maureens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/midnight-at-maureens\/","title":{"rendered":"Midnight at Maureen\u2019s"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The sun had long since disappeared by the time the pack saw the flickering neon sign just off the highway exit: MAUREEN\u2019S DINER \u2013 OPEN 24 HOURS<\/strong> in pink and blue cursive that had definitely not been cleaned since the \u201880s. It sat like a time capsule in a patch of gravel, surrounded by bug-splattered light poles and a pair of rusting payphones no one had touched in a decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diesel pulled the bus into the lot with a tired grunt. \u201cWe eating or getting chased out of here?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Gabriel said, already halfway to the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cassie muttered something about caffeine and pancakes and followed him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thane stood at the top of the bus steps, arms folded, scanning the parking lot with those icy blue eyes. \u201cNo howling. No climbing things. No licking neon signs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel paused mid-stride and lowered his paw. \u201cYou can\u2019t prove anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inside, the diner was pure retro chaos\u2014red vinyl booths, checkered floor, a jukebox that only played songs recorded before the moon landing, and one bored teenager behind the counter clearly wishing he was anywhere else. The place was empty except for a couple truckers and a woman in her sixties reading a paperback romance novel with a highlighter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wolves piled into two booths. Emily was already taking aesthetic photos of the salt shakers. Jonah was trying to order every item that included both bacon and whipped cream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cassie just slid into her seat and sighed. \u201cThis is sacred. Do not ruin this for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rico raised a hand in solemn promise. \u201cNo chaos. Diner rules apply.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThank you,\u201d Thane said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At that exact moment, the bell above the diner door jingled again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A group of teenage girls stood in the doorway. One of them dropped her phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tallest one squeaked, \u201cThat\u2019s Gabriel<\/em> from Feral Eclipse\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before Thane could move, Gabriel turned around in his booth, gave a dazzling grin, and said, \u201cLadies. Welcome to your origin story.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two of them burst into tears. The third immediately called someone on speakerphone. \u201cYOU NEED TO GET HERE. NOW. NO I\u2019M NOT JOKING. HE JUST SPOKE TO ME.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The one with the lip ring took a blurry photo, accidentally used the front camera, then screamed and dropped her phone again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rico laughed so hard he had to hide behind the dessert menu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy are you like this?<\/em>\u201d Thane groaned, getting up to intercept before it could get worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To his credit, Gabriel was trying to be polite. To his detriment, he was also now trying to sign a paper napkin with a claw.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want this tattooed on me,\u201d the lip ring girl said reverently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAbsolutely not,\u201d Thane cut in, stepping between the group and Gabriel. His presence was calm, firm, protective in that way only a pack alpha could manage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He lowered his voice. \u201cHey. He\u2019s happy to meet you. But it\u2019s been a long day. Can I ask you to keep it low-key?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The girls blinked, clearly startled to be addressed by a six-foot-two-tall brown werewolf with light gray streaks and the vibe<\/em> of someone who could flip a tour bus with one hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They nodded immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thane gave a small smile. \u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He turned and pointed at Gabriel. \u201cSit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel raised both paws and slid obediently back into the booth. \u201cYou\u2019re so scary when you\u2019re nice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thane sat beside him with a sigh. \u201cAnd you\u2019re exhausting when you\u2019re awake.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The girls remained at the counter, whispering and quietly freaking out but respectfully staying put. One of them made a heart shape with her fingers. Gabriel returned it with his claws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jonah leaned over to Emily. \u201cTen bucks says someone gets a tattoo of this night.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emily whispered back, \u201cOne already posted: \u2018just made eye contact with Feral Eclipse\u2019s bassist and now I have a religion.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thane muttered something under his breath and reached for the coffee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The waitress arrived with their food and barely blinked at the werewolves in the booth. \u201cYou boys want creamers? Syrup? You look like trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark gave her a half-smile. \u201cOnly on stage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

They didn\u2019t leave until after midnight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As they stepped back out into the parking lot under the flickering diner sign, a second carload of fans pulled in. Thane waved them off with a tired but kind, \u201cWe\u2019ll see you all soon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gabriel took one last look at the sign and sighed happily. \u201cWe should put this on a shirt.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAbsolutely not,\u201d Thane said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the bus doors closed behind them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The sun had long since disappeared by the time the pack saw the flickering neon sign just off the highway exit: MAUREEN\u2019S DINER \u2013 OPEN 24 HOURS in pink and blue cursive that had definitely not been cleaned since the \u201880s. It sat like a time capsule in a patch of gravel, surrounded by bug-splattered […]<\/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-2002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tour-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2002","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=2002"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2002\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2954,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2002\/revisions\/2954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}