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… t
