The address came through last-minute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
High-paying private party. \u201cUpscale crowd. Keep it classy. Dress nice, no stage-diving.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cassie had raised an eyebrow. \u201cDo they know who<\/em> they booked?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n They didn\u2019t. Or they did\u2014and that was worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By dusk, the Feral Eclipse<\/strong> tour van was winding its way down a private road carved through thick Tennessee woods. Trees pressed in on either side like silent spectators. Even Mark looked uneasy\u2014and Mark wasn\u2019t afraid of anything.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n They pulled into a gravel lot surrounded by expensive cars, all sleek and black. Up ahead stood a sprawling southern mansion with glowing windows and stone gargoyles perched along the roofline like they were waiting for something to happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jonah muttered, \u201cAnyone else getting vampire cult vibes?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel leaned forward between the seats. \u201cIf we play a gig for the undead and no one tells me until after<\/em>, I will riot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ll mix the audio,\u201d Thane replied flatly. \u201cYou riot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Inside, the vibe was off<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Too quiet. Too smooth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The guests were dressed like old money: tailored suits, cocktail gowns, diamonds you felt<\/em> before you saw. They didn\u2019t dance. They hovered. Whispered. And they stared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not at Cassie. Not at Rico or Jonah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At Gabriel<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And especially at Thane.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n One woman whispered, \u201cThey don\u2019t look like they\u2019re wearing prosthetics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another, in a breathy giggle: \u201cYou think it\u2019s real?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maya clocked it immediately and sidled up next to Thane. \u201cThis is a damn werewolf fetish party.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cassie almost choked on a champagne flute. Jonah looked like he wanted to crawl inside the bass drum and hide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They were led to a small stage in a velvet-draped ballroom filled with unsettling taxidermy and one-too-many wall mirrors. A tall man in a crimson suit met them there. Thin, waxy, and too smooth. The kind of man who would compliment your shoes while ordering your autopsy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPlay well,\u201d he said with a smile that stretched a little too far. \u201cOur guests are\u2026 eager to hear you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The set started normal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cassie belted her way through the first track. Rico and Maya traded solos like fire. Jonah hammered the kit like he was exorcising demons. Gabriel\u2019s bass rumbled the room, tail flicking in time with every beat. Thane monitored the soundboard from stage left, expression unreadable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then the lights flickered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once. Twice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then darkness<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Total blackout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The crowd didn\u2019t panic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They cheered.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n In the pitch dark, a voice hissed from somewhere in the audience: Maya growled. \u201cOh hell no.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jonah whispered, \u201cThane\u2014what the hell is this?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark\u2019s voice buzzed through the comms in their ears. Calm, dry, and urgent. The tall man in red appeared again\u2014this time high on a balcony, silhouetted by candlelight, drink in hand like this was theater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019ll have to forgive our enthusiasm,\u201d he said. \u201cWe rarely get to observe your kind in such\u2026 intimate conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rico narrowed his eyes. \u201cOur kind?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou think we booked you for the music?<\/em>\u201d The man chuckled, gesturing to Gabriel. \u201cA real werewolf. And your engineer\u2026\u201d He looked directly at Thane. \u201cThe seasoned one. How long have you been hiding, hmm?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jonah muttered, \u201cOh my god. They\u2019re werewolf groupies with a science budget.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo,\u201d Maya growled. \u201cThey\u2019re hunters.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another figure lunged forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel didn\u2019t wait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One moment he was beside Thane\u2014the next, a blur of black fur, claws, and fury. The would-be attacker hit the floor hard<\/em>, skidding across the parquet with a broken table leg lodged in his ribs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane moved more deliberately\u2014less flash, more weight<\/em>. His clawed feet scraped against the floorboards as he stepped forward, a living wall of muscle and menace. One low snarl from his throat made the front row stumble back without a single strike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI warned you,\u201d he rumbled, voice like gravel and stormclouds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another man charged with a syringe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane grabbed him mid-stride and threw<\/em> him through a marble end table. The legs snapped clean off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Screams finally broke out\u2014but not from the band.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They were from the audience.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGet them out!\u201d Thane snapped over the comm. \u201cMark, light us a path!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Red spotlights exploded to life from the hallway entrance\u2014burning beams cutting through the smoke like blades. Mark\u2019s signature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cassie, Jonah, Rico, and Maya moved fast, hauling gear, covering each other. Gabriel cleared the path\u2014feral, gleaming, a blur of teeth and claws. Every time someone got too close, he dared<\/em> them to keep coming. No one did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the kitchen door, a man in a suit blocked the way, holding a taser. The taser clattered to the floor a second later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Moments later, they burst through the rear exit into the humid Tennessee night. Mark already had the van idling, side door open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGo!\u201d Thane barked, hauling the last case inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They dove in one by one\u2014panting, shaking, still riding the adrenaline. Thane slammed the door, and Mark hit the gas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The mansion faded behind them in the mirrors\u2014just flickering lights and long, twisted shadows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Inside the van, silence reigned for a long stretch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then Cassie: \u201cSo\u2026 we\u2019re never<\/em> doing another private gig again, right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jonah coughed. \u201cI think they Yelp\u2019d us under \u2018live music and light werewolf mauling.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel, still catching his breath, flopped onto the bench with a lopsided grin. \u201cDon\u2019t care who they were. They came for a show.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane\u2014fur still bristled, claws still out\u2014gave him a side glance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel winked. \u201cWe gave \u2018em one.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The address came through last-minute. High-paying private party. \u201cUpscale crowd. Keep it classy. Dress nice, no stage-diving.\u201d Cassie had raised an eyebrow. \u201cDo they know who they booked?\u201d They didn\u2019t. Or they did\u2014and that was worse. By dusk, the Feral Eclipse tour van was winding its way down a private road carved through thick Tennessee […]<\/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-393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tour-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393","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=393"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3230,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393\/revisions\/3230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\u201cShow us what you really are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBreaker\u2019s still intact. That was cut. This is on purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel\u2019s claws tapped once on the tile. \u201cYou really<\/em> want to try that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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