Oh man!

He'd been rolling around in bed for a good twenty minutes already trying to settle his mind enough to sleep, but it definitely wasn't working. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Erin, and not just his gorgeous smile and beautiful eyes, but them, kissing.

No more!

Hun, what's got you so upset? I can hear your thoughts from downstairs. His mother replied through their bond.

He paused in his rolling around.

Uh, it's nothing, mom. Just thinking too much about things.

He could tell that she didn't believe him, or at least believe that he was telling the whole truth. Thankfully, she let it go.

Alright, just get some sleep, Arron.

Easier said than done, but he didn't argue.

Good night, mom.

Good night, Arron. Love you.

Love you, too.

It was a few hours later when Arron sat up in bed, rubbing at his eyes as he heard some sound coming from outside. Quiet growls echoed up to his room, drawing him out of bed and toward the window.

When he opened it and looked out, his mind took a moment to process what he was seeing.

"A cheetah?" He said, confused.

He knew right away that it wasn't his mother, and after a moment of sniffing the air, he could also tell that it was a male. They didn't know any male cheetahs, though. He hadn't even seen one at school.

When he spoke, it stopped its pacing and looked up with a slight swish of its tail. Its eyes shone in the darkness before a deep grumble echoed through the night air.

What the heck? I'm not supposed to be releasing any pheromones right now, but then why is this cheetah pacing outside my window?

"Listen, whoever you are. I'm not breeding with you, so go away."

The cheetah actually looked offended.

"Get lost!" He shouted as he slammed his window shut.

Arron heard him growl outside his window for awhile longer, but it finally left when it realized that he wasn't going to get anywhere.

Stupid horny cat.

The next morning came with a knock at his door.

"Hun, come downstairs soon please. There's someone who wants to meet you."

Huh? Mom sounds upset.

Arron grumbled and sat up, shaking his head to try and get himself out of his doze. After a quick shower he pulled on a pair of blue checkered boxers, tan cargo shorts, and a white sweatshirt he had gotten for Christmas the year before.

Alright, time to go see who mom wants me to meet.

"Coming!" He yelled toward the stairs.

He was pretty cheerful as he hopped off of the last step and walked over to the table where the... cheetah? Arron's face instantly skewed into a snarl and he hissed at the man. He seemed upset at the response, but holding back a retort, he just gave him a hesitant smile.

"Arron! Stop it, right now!" His mother reprimanded him.

He glared at her but growled again as his attention quickly returned to the male cheetah shifter at their table.

"This asshole was outside my room last night! I want him out!" He yelled.

The slight pang of anger he felt from his mother had Arron smirking and the man flinching, but all he did in response was carefully stand up and step toward him. Arron quickly gave a warning hiss, effectively stopping the man from getting any closer.

"Arron, please, calm down. I just want to talk to you. I'm sorry I growled at your window last night, I just, I don't know, I'm terrible at confrontations."

Arron bristled at his words.

"You seem pretty damn confrontational right now!" He grumbled.

Feeling his mother's hands on his shoulders, Arron forced himself to calm down a little.

"Marcus, why don't you explain why you are here?" His mother said.

The man sighed, obviously glad that his mother had stepped in. As he began to talk, he started running his fingers through his hair, showing obvious signs of stress.

"I, well. I came to make things right."

Arron's eyes narrowed and he growled again, but his mother held him back when he tried to step forward.

"Let me explain. I'm, well, I'm your real dad."

You want to explain why you forced yourself on my real father!

Arron's mother held him back again as he tried to lunge, but after a second he dropped to the floor in his kitten form and bounded out of his clothes. He knew that he wasn't much of a threat at his current size, but his teeth were definitely sharp and they were now digging into the bastard's ankle.

Hearing him scream brought a little warmth to Arron's heart. Serves you right! And it was about time that his kitten form did something useful.

He was pried off of him a minute later, his kitten smirking oddly as his mouth came away coated in blood.

"I'm not sure this was the best idea. Maybe you should go." His mother said.

She quickly carried Arron toward the sink to wash his face off. The man followed, but kept his distance after grabbing some paper towels and disinfectant from the cabinet.

Once he had the bite bandaged, he stood back up and sighed, but didn't leave. Arron gave another growl and started trying to go after him again, struggling to get out of his mother's hands as she held him in a towel near the sink.

He managed to get free after another minute, and even with a slightly painful fall to the tile, he was still dead set on making another wound on the bastard. His other ankle looked a little too bare for his teeth's taste.

Unfortunately, this time Marcus was faster than him and jumped up onto the counter. Arron's mother growled at him for that, but at least he wasn't wearing his shoes. If he thought that he couldn't jump up there, though, he was dead wrong.

"Arron, don't you dare!" His mother warned.

He sat down right in front of the man with a grumble and waited for him to try and come down.

I want him out, mom!

She sighed and leaned against the sink, shaking her head slowly.

"Marcus, I don't think you're going to be winning him over." She said.

It was obvious that he hadn't even won her over.

"The courts said he is partially mine. Took them plenty of time, but I'm not going to give up on my chance to know my son. You both have hidden him from me for long enough, even after the court had served you with several notices to let me meet him." He said.

While he sounded calm, Arron could hear the anger and annoyance beneath his mellow words.

"In all honesty, I have more claim to him then you do, Ariel."

Okay, now Arron was jumping up onto the counter and biting the guy. He gave another yell when his little teeth sank into his wrist, but instead of tossing him away, Marcus scruffed him too tightly and shook him hard. Arron felt his head hit something hard, then black dots danced in front of his vision.

The last thing he heard before he went unconscious was his mother's angry growl and Marcus's returning one.