Two

We developed a pattern. I’d give my leopard three months of what I referred to as roaming time. He’d take the lead, telling me to switch from a highway to a back road or vice versa. If he hadn’t found our forever home, a town or region in that time, I took control and we’d rent a place of my choosing. As renting required a commitment, I insisted we stay a minimum of six months. He agreed as long as we shifted frequently.

The few shifter friends I’d made on my travels came up with suggestions as to why my beast was anxious. Their reasoning ranged from him wanting to be with his own kind, to returning to the place where I’d first heard him during puberty, and even him searching for our mate.

My leopard’s answer to the first was a resounding no. Snow leopards didn’t grow up in packs or prides, much like their wild cousins. We’d met another snow leopard at college but apart from having the same beast and being students, we had nothing in common.

He first revealed himself at my folks’ home