"Okay. What?"
"The most important skill a shifter can know is how to revert back to human form. Otherwise, get used to being stuck as an animal for however long before the changes wear off."
"So how do I turn back?"
"You already know how. Just think about what you looked like as a normal boy. Then go outside and make sure there's no one else in the house. We need to leave."
Leo focused his mind, and he began to feel himself turning back into a human. His feline muzzle and mane receded back into his human face, his fur turned back to bare skin, his tail retreated back inside, and his paws grew out into hands and feet, ripping through his socks in the process. Now naked, he dressed himself and went outside. Julie was still downstairs, watching a movie on her laptop and chewing on some cereal. Her headphones were the only reason she hadn't heard him roar.
Leo was relieved, but when he went back to his room, he was surprised to find Rex was no longer there. Instead, there was a naked teenage girl with shoulder-length hair and eyes that were the exact same color as his former pet's fur.
"You...you're a girl?"
"Yes." The girl spoke with an American accent. "Sorry about the deception, but I had to condition myself to avoid being detected. That meant altering my voice and physiology so I could pass as a boy. I couldn't risk revealing myself before I knew I could trust you. And before you ask, yes, we shifters can change our gender, but it takes years of practice to pull off successfully. Oh, and my real name is Roxanne."
Leo stole Julie's spare clothes so Roxanne would have something to wear. She insisted, however, on keeping the collar she'd worn as Rex around her neck. As soon as she tied her shoes and put on Julie's denim jacket, she sighed in relief. "I can't remember the last time I wore panties. And months of drinking out of a bowl and peeing in the grass. Now then, let's go."
"Where?"
"My place."