The meet and greet tent behind the Desert Howl main stage was electric, buzzing with fans still high off the show. A long line twisted out the back flap and down the pathway, filled with screaming teens, giddy adults, and at least one guy in a full-body LED wolf suit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gabriel signed posters with a relaxed grin, tail wagging lazily. Thane stood beside him, arms crossed, his ice-blue eyes scanning the crowd for trouble out of habit. Mark sat off to the side, quietly sipping water and fixing a minor glitch in the band’s lighting sequence on his tablet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then came the moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maya, mid-signature on someone\u2019s guitar case, heard a voice shout from the back of the line:
“\u00a1AY DIOS M\u00cdO, LOOK AT MY BABY ON HER THRONE!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her head jerked up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNoooo way,\u201d she whispered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From between two stunned security guards emerged a woman in her fifties, short, stout, with fire in her eyes and red lipstick that could melt steel. A long braid hung over her shoulder, bouncing as she marched forward in wedge heels and a bedazzled denim jacket that read “Mamacita Feroz”<\/strong> across the back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “MOM?!” Maya yelped, already blushing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I told<\/em> you I’d come see your little rock band someday!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel choked on his water. Cassie damn near fell out of her chair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The security guards looked to Thane, who just shrugged and smiled. \u201cShe\u2019s fine. That\u2019s a mami<\/em>, not a threat.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maya\u2019s mom charged in, tackled her daughter in a bone-crushing hug, then turned to the rest of the band like she\u2019d been managing them for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “\u00a1Ustedes son geniales! That light thing, the sky-wolf, the fire\u2014Maya, baby, you did that?!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLighting\u2019s Mark,\u201d Maya muttered, still red.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Pues then Mark, you little genius, if I had three more of you, I\u2019d replace my IT department!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark blinked. “…Thanks?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The crowd loved<\/em> it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Until he<\/em> showed up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bret. Vandal Saints’ own walking ego blister. He strutted through the tent flap uninvited, sunglasses on despite the dusk, and zeroed in on Gabriel and Thane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “You think you\u2019ve won something? That crowd\u2019ll move on. They always do. You\u2019re a damn meme band.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel started to rise. Thane already had one hand curled into a claw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But before either of them could move, Maya’s mom slammed her purse<\/em> on the table and stepped forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “OYE, CLOWN SHOES!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The entire tent fell silent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bret blinked. “Excuse me?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n She advanced like a bull.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “You come in here, throwing shade at these kids who EARNED their fans? You\u2019re just mad nobody wants to hear your whiny little man-baby sob rock! What\u2019s your band’s name again? Vaginal Stains<\/em>?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The tent exploded with laughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bret turned bright red. “It\u2019s VANDAL SAINTS.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Ah, perd\u00f3name, pendejo,” she fired back. “I forgot. Because nobody cares!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cassie covered her mouth. Jonah fell off his stool<\/em>. Mark simply whispered, “Good grief,” without blinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maya buried her face in her hands. “Mami, please\u2014”<\/p>\n\n\n\n “No, no. Let me finish.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n She jabbed a manicured finger in Bret\u2019s chest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “You think these people made it ’cause of luck? Gabriel played with his fingers BLEEDING. Thane runs sound tighter than my Tupperware lid drawer. And Maya? Maya grew up watching me<\/em> work three jobs and still never complain\u2014so don\u2019t you EVER try to cut her down, cabr\u00f3n.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel whispered, wide-eyed, “…Can we hire her?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bret backed out of the tent with a muttered curse and nearly walked into the same security guard who’d let Maya’s mom through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She turned back to the crowd, blew kisses, and grinned. “Now. Who wants a selfie with Mama Feroz?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pandemonium.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Maya, hiding her face, muttered to Thane, “I’m never living this down.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane patted her on the shoulder. “You’re not. But damn if she didn\u2019t make a fan outta me.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark, still fixing a script on his tablet, chimed in, “That was… deeply efficient.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maya groaned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cassie giggled. “So… can she come to all<\/em> our shows?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabriel just howled with laughter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The meet and greet tent behind the Desert Howl main stage was electric, buzzing with fans still high off the show. A long line twisted out the back flap and down the pathway, filled with screaming teens, giddy adults, and at least one guy in a full-body LED wolf suit. 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