he black tour van cruised down the Pacific Coast Highway like it belonged there\u2014sunlight bouncing off its glossy wrap, windows cracked to let in the salt air, the roar of the ocean competing with whatever chaotic playlist Jonah had synced to the van speakers. Spirits were high. The West Coast stretch of the tour was already shaping up to be a victory lap, and the van practically vibrated with anticipation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNext stop: Long Beach,\u201d Cassie called from the passenger seat, holding her phone up triumphantly. \u201cSold out. Again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel gave a delighted whoop from the middle row and kicked his clawed feet up onto the back of Thane\u2019s seat. \u201cDude. Four in a row. I told you this coast would hit different.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thane glanced back at him with a knowing smirk. \u201cYeah, yeah. Let\u2019s just hope Vandal Saints didn\u2019t follow us all the way here to throw another tantrum.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey did,\u201d Maya said flatly, not even looking up from her phone. \u201cThey\u2019re opening tonight. Again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mark, from the back row, groaned. \u201cI swear if that frontman tries to flirt with the merch girl again I\u2019m lighting something on fire.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The van erupted in laughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Backstage at Long Beach Arena, the atmosphere was tense and electric. Crews buzzed around with cables and clipboards, lights pulsed in time with the bass during soundcheck, and down the corridor\u2026 Vandal Saints strutted in like they owned the place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Their frontman wore the same faux-leather jacket and resting \u201cI\u2019m the main act\u201d face he always did\u2014despite once again being the warm-up show. The rest of the band looked like they knew it, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They spotted Gabriel and Thane near the stage-left loading ramp. The singer gave a mock-salute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDon\u2019t worry,\u201d he sneered, \u201cwe\u2019ll leave the crowd warmed up for your little dog and pony show.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel didn\u2019t even look up from his phone. \u201cDo your best, man. I\u2019m sure someone<\/em> out there remembers who you are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark choked on his soda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane stepped forward, slow and steady. \u201cHere\u2019s a tip \u2014 when the crowd leaves halfway through your set, don\u2019t assume they\u2019re going to the bathroom. They\u2019re just bored.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The frontman muttered something under his breath and stalked off, the rest of the band trailing behind with the energy of men walking toward their own funeral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When the lights went down for the opening act, Vandal Saints took the stage to scattered cheers and polite applause. They hit their first few songs hard\u2014visibly trying to command the crowd\u2014but it wasn\u2019t working. The pit barely moved. Phones stayed down. One by one, fans drifted out for drinks, merch, or to find their seats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The final nail came during their last track, when a group near the front started a slow chant:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFE-RAL! FE-RAL! FE-RAL!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n And it caught.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Saints tried to play louder. It didn\u2019t help. By the time their last chord hit, over half the arena was either at the merch tables or chanting for the headliners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then came the wolves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Feral Eclipse hit the stage like a thunderclap. The light show was blistering. The first chord nearly knocked the roof off the place. Cassie\u2019s voice was raw power and fire. Maya and Rico danced their solos across the stage with effortless precision. Jonah\u2019s drumming hit like an earthquake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And Gabriel? He owned<\/em> the stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He howled into the mic during the first breakdown of \u201cRun With Me,\u201d<\/em> and the crowd howled back\u2014ten thousand strong. Fans waved homemade flags and foam claws. A giant sign near the front read:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOPENING ACT? NEVER HEARD OF ‘EM<\/strong>.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n From his position near the mixing rig, Thane caught it and smirked. He didn\u2019t even need to look at Gabriel to know the grin on his face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After the show, the band crashed in the green room\u2014sweaty, hoarse, and high on adrenaline. Gabriel scrolled through his phone, laughing uncontrollably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou guys. Someone filmed the Saints walking off stage early. They were so mad<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He flipped the phone around. A TikTok showed the Saints trudging offstage to light boos and scattered applause.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane leaned against the doorframe, claws casually folded over his arms. \u201cThey thought they were lions. Turns out they\u2019re just housecats in eyeliner.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel licked Thane\u2019s cheek without looking away from his phone. \u201cC\u2019mon, let\u2019s go make the next city cry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark grumbled from the couch. \u201cCan we at least stop for tacos first?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The whole room cracked up. Outside, the crowd still hadn\u2019t left the parking lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The wolves were rising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And the road ahead was wide open.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" he black tour van cruised down the Pacific Coast Highway like it belonged there\u2014sunlight bouncing off its glossy wrap, windows cracked to let in the salt air, the roar of the ocean competing with whatever chaotic playlist Jonah had synced to the van speakers. Spirits were high. The West Coast stretch of the tour was […]<\/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-480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tour-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480","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=480"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3199,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480\/revisions\/3199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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