All Chapters of Crowned in Fire, Baptized in Blood: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

The car rolls to a slow stop outside the entrance to Mark’s pack square. It’s bright out, too bright, and loud with the high-pitched chaos of a kids’ party in full swing. Balloons bounce in the summer breeze. Music thumps from a speaker someone clearly thinks is a good idea. Kids are running in every direction like sugar-fueled lunatics, screaming and laughing.But all I can do is sit here, sweaty and hollow and aching in a way I can’t even explain.Caden’s thigh is pressed against mine, his arm draped behind me like it’s casual. It’s not. He’s been watching me like a hawk since we left the shop—tense, unreadable—but I’m too uncomfortable to fully care. My head’s foggy, my stomach’s rolling, and my clothes feel like they’re glued to my skin. Everything’s wrong and tight and hot.“Okay, we’ll just walk Granny to the door, then head out,” Mum says from the front, cheerful like it’s any other Sunday. She turns to look at us. “You alright back there, baby?”I nod, but it

The door creaks open.Mum walks in, eyes flicking from me wrapped in a blanket on Caden’s lap to the state of the room, then back to me. She closes the door gently behind her, voice calm but urgent.“I just got off the phone with Caron,” she says carefully. “Baylee… we think we know why your heat won’t end.”My heart’s already pounding. Caden’s arms tighten around me.“It’s the contraception implant,” she says. “The bar in your arm. It might be blocking the final stage of the bond.”I blink at her, sweat sticking to my skin despite the bath and cold air. “Blocking it?”“It’s hormonal,” she says, crouching in front of us now, eyes soft. “It’s likely confusing your body. The bond’s trying to complete, but your hormones are sending mixed signals. Caron thinks if we remove the implant… the bond might settle on its own.”I sit up a little. My brain is foggy, like someone stuffed it full of cotton and static.“But what about—” My voice cracks. “I’ll get pre

I glance down at my phone, thumb hovering over the screen. The second I open the first message, I already regret it.Avi – “When are you coming home? Are you and May May dropping out?”My eyes roll so hard I nearly sprain something. Of course.Avi’s been passive-aggressively poking at me for weeks. Ever since Davi. She hated that I ended him—even though he was a traitor. Even though he nearly got us all killed. And now she only messages me when she wants answers or attention. Never to check in. Never to say “I’m proud of you”. Just constant poking.I type back, dry as hell.Me – “Finished school at 8, so not really dropping out. And when we come back, we’re getting sworn in. May will be Beta female. No time for homework when you’re helping lead an entire pack.”I hit send and barely get a breath in before her response pings.Avi – “She’s not even marked? That’s stupid. What if Ryan isn’t her true mate?”A growl builds in my throat before I even proces

He growls, low and seductive, like he’s already claimed what’s his—and isn’t above reminding me. In one swift move, he pulls the dress from my body, tossing it aside like it offended him.His lips trail a path down my chest, over my stomach, tongue teasing and teeth catching every few inches in ways that make my breath hitch. His hands stay clamped firmly around my ass, possessive and deliberate. Like he’s anchoring me here. Like I might float away if he lets go.Gosh, I’m soaked. He hasn’t even touched me properly and I’m already losing it.The bulge under his shorts is shameless, tight and proud. My wolf, Ailm, is practically panting.Take. Mate. Now.But I flip us with a smirk, watching his eyes darken as his back hits the lounge cushion. I straddle him, slow and teasing, just to assert a little control—not that I ever really have any around him. My fingers go to the buttons of his shirt, undoing each one agonizingly slow. I kiss every new inch of exposed skin

Caden grips my hand a little tighter than usual as we make our way toward the front of the yacht. The hallways feel longer now, quieter—like the boat is holding its breath.He leads us into the control room where the captain stands behind a wide console of glowing screens and antique brass levers. Everything looks normal. Too normal.“Something urgent’s come up with the company,” Caden says smoothly, offering the man a tight, polite smile. “We need to be back on land as soon as possible. Are we far out?”The captain pauses. Just a beat too long.His eyes flick to Caden’s hand—still linked with mine—then back to the horizon. “Of course, Mr. Moon,” he says, smiling, but the corners of his mouth twitch like the expression doesn’t quite fit. “We’re about two hours from the coast. I’ll turn her around now.”“Two hours?” I repeat in my head.Wrong.Everything about his tone, his body language, even the way the other crewman in the corner stiffens—it screams off