Landon sat in the restaurant with his friends, practicing their set for the Labor Day Celebration that the girls were planning for the resort in a couple of weeks. All of the cabins and campsites had been reserved for the weekend since April. According to Brady, this was pretty common, but this year would be different because they were actually hosting a fireworks display this year to honor all of the hard workers of the American workforce. It was really just an excuse for Landon and his friends to set shit on fire, but he didn’t think anyone would be complaining. Fireworks in these parts were loved by everyone. Liz was already starting to plan the menu for that weekend too. She had been prattling on about it to the guys for three days now.

Apparently she had a plan for a traditional picnic style dinner. She’d even made Jesse go with her yesterday to buy out Treasure Valley’s entire stock of picnic baskets for her to fill with food for the guests. There had been mention of apple pies, honey ham, cheeses, rolls, and Fates only knew what else. The girl was a force to be reckoned with in her kitchen and she made Jesse happy, so Landon just played along for their sake.

Liz poked her head out of the kitchen and smiled at Jesse, her eyes lit up like he was where her universe ended and began. “Hey guys, I whipped up some Philly cheesesteaks for lunch with some hand cut fries. Do you wanna take a break from practicing?”

“Damn, those sound good. I’m game!” Tyson exclaimed as he set his drumsticks down on his snare drum.

Landon’s stomach rumbled in agreement with Tyson. Food did sound good. Walking over to his guitar case, Landon pulled the guitar strap over his head before stooping down to nestle his guitar in the velvet inside of the case. Satisfied that his prized possession was safe in the case, he crossed over to the table where Liz was setting their food down.

Without making eye contact with her because he knew his eyes frightened her when they were glowing for no reason, Landon mumbled, “Thanks, Liz.”

“Sure thing. Let me know when you boys are done eating and I’ll bring out some cake,” Liz said sweetly before giving Jesse a quick peck on the lips.

Jesse tapped her on the ass playfully. “Sounds good, sweet cheeks. Thanks for the grub. I’ll have to be sure to thank you properly later.”

Liz flushed several shades of pink before she slunk back into her kitchen.

Trying to keep from rolling his eyes at them, Landon tucked into his sandwich. The peppers and onions were done just right so they weren’t too crunchy or too soft, and Liz had been sure to properly coat the entire sandwich in cheese. She had even sliced the meat to perfection. While Landon struggled with the sappiness of their new relationship, he sure had appreciation for her cooking skills.

“What’s up with you, man?” Tyson asked around a mouthful of sub.

“Nothing,” Landon grumbled before stuffing another bite of deliciousness into his maw.

“You’ve literally been growling in your chest since the other night when you gave Brady Kaylene’s number,” Tyson pried.

“I know, Tyson, but Brady’s cub’s needs come first. I didn’t have a choice. Just let it go,” Landon said defensively as he looked up at Tyson with his eyes blazing blue at him, hoping maybe Tyson would take the hint.

“Whatever you say, brother, but if you asked for my opinion, I wouldn’t have given Brady her number after the number she did on you,” Tyson said, holding his hands up in surrender before turning his attention back to the food on his plate.

“Tyson’s right though, Landon. You’ve been Captain Snarly Britches since last week. Maybe it’s time to spar to burn off some excess aggression?” Jesse suggested as he polished off the last bite of his sub, clearly trying to shift Landon’s focus.

“No, no sparring. I don’t want anyone to get hurt. I’ll just go for a run before she gets here this afternoon. Maybe that will help,” Landon glared down at his plate in frustration.

He loved his friends, but damn were they nosey. He knew they were just worried about him because normally he didn’t say much and kept to himself anyways but he’d become unbearable the past few days. Constantly being in mental warfare with his panther wasn’t helping either. The damn cat was relentless about the subject of Kaylene. It was going to be a battle keeping his paws and claws to himself once she showed up.

“If you say so. Just wait to go until after Liz has finished feeding us. You know how she gets if someone leaves the meal early,” Jesse frowned at him.

He was right. Last time Landon had to leave the dinner table early, Liz had freaked out. She had thought she had given him food poisoning or that he didn’t like the food or that he had been offended about the dishes she had served. The girl worried too damn much, but Landon was going to do his best to keep her and the rest of his crew content.

“I, for one, hope that she’s as hot as I remember,” Tyson smarted off as he shoved his now empty plate away from in front of him. “None of the guests have held my interest, so it would be nice to see a hot piece of ass sticking around here for a while that wasn’t already spoken for.”

“Watch your tongue,” Landon growled.

Tyson tossed a bewildered look in Landon’s direction, “Why should I? You guys aren’t together. She may wear your mark but you said it yourself, you don’t want her anymore.”

“I didn’t say she was spoken for or that she wasn’t. You just need to keep your paws to yourself when she gets here, you hear me?” Landon snarled at Tyson, feeling his incisors growing longer and his nails getting sharper.

“Not. In. Here,” Jesse bellowed at the two, standing and slamming his hands on the table as he did so.

Landon turned and hissed at his friend, feeling the control over his panther slipping. “No one touches her. Mine. My mate. Mine. Mine. Mine.” Shaking his head as he struggled to regain control of himself, Landon backed away from the table, almost tripping over his chair. “Just stay away from her.”

“Landon, I think you need to go for a run,” Liz said firmly from her kitchen door.

Landon nodded once to show her he understood and turned to head towards the front door to the restaurant. For a human that was so new to the shifter thing, the girl could hold her ground when it came to protecting her mate just as good as any shifter mate could.

Stalking across camp back to his cabin, Landon teetered between the line of control and losing it. He needed to run. He needed to let go of his skin for a little while. Once he was close enough to the cabin, he tugged his shirt over his head revealing the powerful muscles beneath. Rounding to the back side of his home, he climbed the mountain until he felt he was well out of sight of the campgrounds. Sending up silent thanks to the Fates for the lack of hiking trails on this side of the camp, Landon stripped out of his jeans and boots and propped them up next to the tree that Brady had shown them to hide their belongings.

It only took seconds for his panther to take control and shift. His bones quickly popped and cracked as they reshaped into something new. His body was covered in bright white fur, his nails and teeth growing to form points. Slamming down on all fours, he gave his body a quick shake before taking off at a sprint. It was time to stop thinking and just do what he knew he was good at. Being an animal.