Even if the sacred guardian is still in a cat form and doesn't transform yet, the ownership imprint is still there until the day the owner releases the imprint to return the beast to the prairie. It happens when the owner can't handle the beast anymore.
Luan Shi Kuang Dao, Mad Blade During Troubled Times, Warrying Blade, 乱世狂刀
“However, the Naxi clan has already returned the favor. If it weren’t for the help of the Naxi clan, the Yun family would probably…” The Great Elder of the Yun family couldn’t help but feel a bit sad when he said this. Qu Lanyi chuckled. “No matter what, my feelings for Fengfeng are there. As the son-in-law of the Yun family, the Yun family’s business is certainly my business.”
This old man was dressed in a dirty manner with messy hair and some dirt on his face. His eyes were large with brown light shining in his pupils. Two whiskers grew on the corners of his mouth like fish whiskers.
That's quite a scary thing to imagine. Ainsley would feel like sitting on lines and needles, and God knows whether she could sleep or not. Under such pressure, even an adult would be wide awake for days.
Qi Xuewen stared at Ye Hua, as if he had refreshed his worldview. "No wonder he was able to win the favor of the Emperor and the heroine. Just based on what he just said, no woman cannot not love him."
Finley might look like a boy outside, but he's still a young man inside. Of course, he wasn't flustered when Ainsley was around, because she's still only three years old.