It was just past noon, and the bus was parked along a tree-lined curb not far from the old rec center. Jonah had wandered a few blocks away, hoodie up, trying to clear his head after the rush of seeing himself on the front page. He still couldn\u2019t quite believe it \u2014 his phone buzzing constantly with texts from cousins, old teachers, and kids he hadn\u2019t seen in years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He was sitting on a low brick wall across from the corner store when the voice hit him like a slap to the back of the neck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, well. If it isn\u2019t Little Drummer Boy.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jonah stiffened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He didn\u2019t have to turn around to know who it was. The voice was all teeth \u2014 greasy, sarcastic, and dripping with the same venom he\u2019d heard for years growing up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Travis Bell. The one guy who never let him breathe in peace back in school. Bigger, older, always angry about something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jonah stood up, slowly, fingers clenched. \u201cDidn\u2019t expect to see you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Travis stepped forward, still built like a busted pickup \u2014 broad-shouldered, mean-eyed, wearing a stained tank top and an attitude twice his size. He held a copy of the Dispatch<\/em>, now folded and crumpled like he\u2019d rolled it up to swat flies \u2014 or egos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou think you\u2019re some kind of big shot now?\u201d Travis sneered. \u201cBand\u2019s just a bunch of freaks. You ain\u2019t special. You just got lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI worked for this,\u201d Jonah said, voice low.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Travis stepped closer. \u201cYou got rich while the rest of us stayed stuck. Maybe it\u2019s time someone knocked you down a peg.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jonah took a half-step back \u2014 and that\u2019s when a low growl cut through the air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Travis blinked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane had appeared from behind the nearby bus, eyes locked on him, ears forward, and every inch<\/em> of his tall, muscular frame radiating quiet, simmering power. His clawed hands were open, relaxed \u2014 but his stance said very clearly: not for long.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHey there,\u201d Thane said, voice calm, cold, and not<\/em> to be mistaken for polite. \u201cYou lost, or just stupid?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Travis scoffed. \u201cWhat, you his bodyguard now?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane stepped forward, slow, deliberate. \u201cNo. I\u2019m his pack.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And then, without another word, Thane moved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He didn\u2019t hit him \u2014 didn\u2019t need to. He closed the gap in a heartbeat, and suddenly Travis found himself face-to-face with an alpha werewolf who towered over him, eyes like glacier-fire, clawed hands flexing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Travis stumbled back, tripped on the curb, and landed hard on the sidewalk with a yelp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane crouched beside him, voice low and steady. \u201cIf you ever come near Jonah again \u2014 if you ever<\/em> raise your voice at him, lay a hand on him, even think<\/em> about making him feel small \u2014 you\u2019ll wish the only thing you had to deal with was stage lights and headlines.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Travis scrambled back on his hands, heart pounding, sweat beading on his forehead. \u201cY-you\u2019re crazy \u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane gave the smallest, most terrifying smile. \u201cYou don\u2019t want<\/em> to see me crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n With that, he stood up, dusted off his jeans, and looked back at Jonah. \u201cYou okay, drummer?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jonah exhaled slowly, chest tight. \u201cYeah. Thanks, man.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane nodded. \u201cLet\u2019s get out of here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n But before they could head back to the bus, voices called out from nearby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYo, JONAH!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Three of his old friends \u2014 Marcus, Luis, and Dee \u2014 jogged up the sidewalk from the direction of the library, phones still in hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe saw that,<\/em> man!\u201d Luis was already laughing. \u201cDid you see his face?!<\/em> He looked like he peed a little!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDude,\u201d Marcus added, slapping Jonah on the back, \u201cYou\u2019re a rockstar<\/em> and now you\u2019ve got your own werewolf security detail? You\u2019re living in a comic book!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dee held up her phone. \u201cThis is absolutely<\/em> going on TikTok. With dramatic music.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jonah let out a breath and finally, finally smiled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Marcus grinned. \u201cSaw the paper. We\u2019re proud of you, bro. All of us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jonah blinked fast. \u201cThanks. That\u2026 that means a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thane gave him a little nod. \u201cC\u2019mon. Let\u2019s get you back to the pack.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n They walked off together, Jonah\u2019s friends in tow, still talking, still laughing. The air felt lighter. The sun a little warmer. And the old fear \u2014 the shadow that had followed him from childhood\u2014was finally behind him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Where it belonged.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It was just past noon, and the bus was parked along a tree-lined curb not far from the old rec center. Jonah had wandered a few blocks away, hoodie up, trying to clear his head after the rush of seeing himself on the front page. He still couldn\u2019t quite believe it \u2014 his phone buzzing […]<\/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-592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tour-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592","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=592"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3149,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592\/revisions\/3149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/threewerewolves.com\/tourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}