So they went back to Zach's home. And that was appropriate too, Teri thought. They were building a home together. This home would be hers, sometime—she was willing to wait until Joel was comfortable with the idea, but she was sure that it would happen eventually. So it was right to start her new life as a shifter here, just as she'd started her new life as Zach's mate upstairs in his bed.
The thought made her flush. It felt like forever since they'd made love, even though it had only been last night. She couldn't wait to get him up there again, get his clothes off, see all that fantastically tanned, muscled skin, feel it under her hands...
"Teri?"
Teri started, and glanced over at Zach. "Hm?"
"We're here." He was wearing a knowing smile that suggested he knew approximately what she'd been thinking about.
Teri hustled herself out of the car and into the house. Zach was vanishing upstairs, but he reappeared after a second. "Joel's still asleep," he said quietly. "Let's store his dinner and do this."
They put the takeout order they'd gotten for Joel in the fridge. So domestic, Teri thought, with a strange shiver of delight, picking up food for her family when she went out with her mate, just like it was an ordinary evening.
Then they went out to the backyard. Teri stopped when Zach did, not sure exactly how this was going to go. The nervousness was getting sharper now.
Zach turned and took her in his arms. Instantly, all apprehension vanished; Teri just wanted to be this close to Zach for the rest of their natural lives. Did they ever have to let go of each other? And why? It seemed silly.
After a long moment, Zach let her go—and then kissed her fiercely, as though he couldn't help himself. Teri pulled him close and kissed back, opening her mouth. The kiss became a hot, passionate thing, with tongues and teeth and panting breath. For a second, Teri wondered if they were going to have to put off the change so they could have sex right here on the lawn.
But Zach tore himself away, breathing harshly. "Are you ready?"
"Yes," Teri said breathlessly. "Let's do it."
Zach nodded, took a step back...and changed.
It was still weird, watching his whole body shift and blur, but now Teri was trying to picture herself doing that. She couldn't imagine it. What would it be like?
When Zach was fully in his leopard form, Teri took a step forward and reached out. He came to her, sliding his head underneath her hand, and her fingers closed in his fur. He felt so warm, so right...and there was such a sense of leashed power underneath his skin. This was a wild animal...but it was also her mate, and she knew that all that wildness was hers.
And soon she'd have her own.
Zach opened his mouth. His teeth glinted sharply in the twilight. Slowly, Teri pushed back her sleeve and held out her arm.
His jaws closed around it. She could feel his hot breath washing over her skin, and then he bit down. Lightly, so lightly, too lightly to do anything. The pressure increased so slowly, by tiny increments. He didn't want to hurt her, she could tell, so he was taking no chances.
Finally, the aching pressure of his teeth sharpened, and at last there was a lancing pain as her skin broke. A wave went over her.
All her life, Teri had felt unsettled. Like she wasn’t in the right place. Like she didn’t belong in her parents’ house, or with her dull and passionless boyfriends, or working her menial job. But even more than that, like she had to get out, to find where she fit. She’d never had the means to leave town, so she’d found her out in the Park.
That had always felt right to her. The most right she’d ever known for herself.
But that was nothing compared to this.
The snow leopard rose inside her. Her own leopard, hers, curled in her chest and waiting to be set free. She was gorgeous and fierce and alive. She was wild and free and nothing could stop her.
And she was Teri, and Teri was her.
Teri embraced the snow leopard with all of her being, and changed.
She was conscious of being on four feet, of her heavy thick tail balancing her body. She flexed her claws, and it felt wonderful; shook out her fur, and it felt even better.
She padded forward on the grass. Looked around the yard.
There was the tree Zach had climbed when he’d shown her his own leopard the other day. She could understand why. With her new eyes, it looked like the ideal place to sit and wait for prey, or survey her domain, or take a lazy afternoon nap.
Without thinking, she started toward it, speeding up until she was running lightly across the grass. She leapt for the trunk, claws sinking into the wood like she’d done it a thousand times before, and climbed swiftly up into the branches. She settled onto the widest of them, tail hanging down, and looked down at Zach, sitting on his haunches on the grass below, blinking a slow feline blink of approval.
Teri leapt down from the tree, startling herself with how quickly and easily she managed it. She hadn't even hesitated at jumping from such a high branch, because she knew in her bones that she could do it without any trouble at all.