The hotel lobby smelled faintly of cinnamon rolls, chlorine, and something that might\u2019ve been disappointment. Thane stood near the front desk, arms crossed, wearing the universal face of a man who\u2019d slept on a van bench, wrangled half a lighting rig into a trailer at 2 AM, and still hadn\u2019t had his diet Mountain Dew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel, by contrast, was happily curled into a lobby armchair like it was his personal throne. He had a triple-shot iced coffee in one clawed hand, his phone in the other, and his tail swishing with pure morning glee. Mark stood nearby, flipping through a weathered paperback titled Lighting the Apocalypse: A Memoir<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then came the lobby fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The front desk clerk peeked over the counter. \u201cUmm, Mr. Thane? There\u2019s\u2026 someone here to see you guys?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane\u2019s ears flicked. \u201cUs?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lobby doors slid open, and in came three people in full-blown, homemade werewolf costumes. Like\u2026 dollar-store fur, glued-on claws, and enough makeup to choke a MAC store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, no,\u201d Mark muttered, already regretting waking up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel lit up. \u201cYES. I love commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the fans approached with a gift bag held reverently in both hands. \u201cWe\u2019ve been following Feral Eclipse since the underground demos! You saved my life during my second divorce! This is for you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane accepted the bag warily, like it might be ticking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Inside was a hand-drawn comic titled \u201cThane\u2019s Thicc Claw Chronicles\u201d<\/em>\u2014an epic saga of him slashing through evil with heroic thighs and glowing paws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark read over his shoulder and nearly dropped his book. \u201cI\u2014Is that me in a maid outfit?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The fan beamed. \u201cYes! You\u2019re the voice of reason in chapter seven!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel, sipping his coffee, held back laughter. Barely. \u201cPlease tell me there\u2019s a musical number.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another fan leaned in. \u201cGabriel, I knitted you a cozy for your bass guitar. It\u2019s got paw prints and your face. It\u2019s reversible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBless your chaotic soul,\u201d Gabriel grinned, accepting it like a golden idol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The third fan, who\u2019d been silently staring at Mark this whole time, finally blurted, \u201cYou\u2019re my favorite. You look like you\u2019d destroy me with one look. That\u2019s so hot.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark blinked. \u201cThanks. I guess?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The desk clerk was now actively trying to not die of laughter. Gabriel finally stood, looping an arm around Thane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHey, big guy,\u201d he whispered, \u201cyou ok?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane looked dazed. \u201cI need a drink. A strong one. Preferably without glitter in it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n From across the lobby, the fans began excitedly taking selfies\u2014with Gabriel cheerfully posing, Mark halfway behind a ficus, and Thane visibly questioning every decision that had led him here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel winked at the camera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFeral Eclipse, baby. Changing lives\u2014and maybe your search history.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The hotel lobby smelled faintly of cinnamon rolls, chlorine, and something that might\u2019ve been disappointment. Thane stood near the front desk, arms crossed, wearing the universal face of a man who\u2019d slept on a van bench, wrangled half a lighting rig into a trailer at 2 AM, and still hadn\u2019t had his diet Mountain Dew. […]<\/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-259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tour-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259","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=259"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3272,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259\/revisions\/3272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}