Chapter Text
Things were bad. Izzy had foolishly thought that without Bonnet around things would be better, but somehow it was worse. Much worse.
Izzy had been an idiot to think he could captain Bonnet’s lot of worthless fucking layabouts, especially after they’d found out he was an omega. He could never have hoped to secure their respect and loyalty. It had been a fool’s errand to even try, and only landed him tied to an anchor about to be pitched overboard when Edward had suddenly climbed aboard the ship.
It had felt like a miracle, like Edward was some alpha hero in a story, returning just in the nick of time to rescue Izzy from his plight. His appearance had stopped the mutiny in its tracks.
But Edward wasn’t there to be Izzy’s hero. That became crystal fucking clear when he spent the better part of a fortnight moping while Izzy tended to his every need, managed the ship, and tried in vain to convince the crew that their captain was not sobbing into a jar of marmalade in a blanket fort in his cabin. Bonnet’s lot might have been idiots, but if they lost faith in Blackbeard then it might be both Izzy and Edward tossed overboard.
Izzy was desperate to know what had happened. How did Edward escape the English? Where was Bonnet? Where was Jack? How had that knothead possibly let Edward be captured in the first place?
But Izzy couldn’t ask Edward uncomfortable questions when he was like this. It was clear that things had gone horribly wrong, and so Izzy was careful to tiptoe around his captain, praying he would alpha up sooner rather than later, that he would snap out of it and be Blackbeard again, like he had so many times before. But deep down, Izzy worried that this time was different.
Edward did come out of it, at last, but what emerged from his doldrums was decidedly not Blackbeard. It wasn’t even Edward. At least not the Edward Izzy knew. It was … something else. Something feeble, daft, mawkish … something fucking Bonnet. He was even wearing that God forsaken pink robe of Bonnet’s, flitting about in it with the crew of idiots, talking about quitting piracy, and acting like Izzy wasn’t even there.
Unless he needed a cup of tea or his chamber pot emptied, of course.
Izzy couldn't go on like this.
Today, he was helping Edward clean up his cabin, which was, admittedly, a disgusting mess. Izzy watched Edward carefully, judging his mood. He seemed in high spirits. Foolish, but not at risk of falling back into a depressive spiral if Izzy said the wrong thing. Izzy cleared his throat.
“Edward, permission to speak plainly?”
“Of course, Iz. You know we share our thoughts on this ship.”
Izzy suppressed the urge to roll his eyes.
“I was … thinking about leaving,” he said, the slight wobble in his voice betraying nerves.
Edward blinked. “What?” He gave his head a disbelieving little shake. “What are you talking about?”
“Leaving the ship. The crew. Handing in my resignation. For real this time. I don’t … I can’t …” he took a deep breath. “Just reckon it’s time. Time to leave you to … whatever it is you’re doing here.”
“Whatever it is I’m doing?” Edward scoffed. “You mean being happy? Enjoying myself for once?”
Izzy ground his teeth. “Sure. Yeah. This is … it’s just … not for me. I’ll find another ship.”
“Really, Izzy?” Edward curled his lip. “On your own? How long do you think you can hide your scent from a new crew? You think it’s a good idea to put yourself at risk like that? They’ll kill you … or worse.”
Izzy’s face flushed with shame, with anger. “I’ll … I’ll go with Jack, then,” he spat, knowing it was probably still a sore spot.
Something like rage passed across Edward’s face for half a moment before he sneered and let out a dry, humorless laugh. “Jack’s dead.”
Izzy stared at him, not understanding the words at first. His stomach turned slowly to lead as the room began to spin. He had to hold onto the bookshelf and take a few steadying breaths, swallowing down the rising bile. He shook his head, telling himself that he must have misheard, misunderstood. “He’s …” Izzy swallowed, mouth dry. “Wh-what did you … say?”
“Dead,” Edward said bluntly, sniffing and turning away. “English cannonball took him out. Serves the fucking bastard right for double-crossing me.”
Pain and fury lanced through Izzy’s middle and he bared his teeth, snarling like a beast. “I should have let the English kill you instead!”
Edward balked at that, eyes widening as he seemed to actually see Izzy for the first time in weeks.
“You were right about bonding after all,” Izzy sneered. “It’s made you fucking weak. It’s ruined you. This … whatever this is you’ve become is a fate worse than death.”
Edward’s brow furrowed. “Well, I am still Blackbeard.”
“No!” Izzy roared, losing all sense as his vision clouded with rage and hurt and regret. “You’re just some … some rut-drunk alpha pining for his omega whore!”
Before Izzy knew what was happening, he was up against the wall with Edward’s hand around his throat, pushing against his windpipe, cutting off his air. Izzy grunted, winced, grabbing Edward’s wrist to try and stop him.
“Choose your next words wisely, dog,” Edward growled.
The unmistakable alpha timbre made things go a bit fuzzy, and Izzy felt infuriatingly limp and submissive. He couldn’t stop himself from smiling at the alpha he’d loved for years. Weak at the knees, he reached out to touch Edward’s cheek, the skin warm where his beard used to be. Maybe, just maybe they could work things out. Without Jack … without fucking Bonnet ... they only had each other. Maybe things would be different between them now …
But Edward slapped his hand away, reeling back with a look of disgust on his face, and Izzy’s heart shattered. He hurried to recover, to sheath his hurt and misery in a veneer of anger, narrowing his eyes and growling back.
“Fuck you, Edward. You’re not the captain I knew. You’d better watch your fucking step.”
And before he could say or do anything else he regretted, Izzy stormed away.
It took Izzy ages to fall asleep, tossing and turning in the muggy heat of the small room, his stomach roiling.
Jack was dead.
Izzy had just threatened his captain.
He’d fought with Edward before, of course, countless times, but it had never felt like this. Izzy closed his eyes and pressed the heels of his hands against them, holding back the tears as he took big, wet gulps of air. He should go and apologize. Edward was hurting, too. Bonnet had clearly left him; had obviously realized that he was a rich fucking fop and given up on playing pirates; given up on entertaining a dalliance with one of the common folk, an outlaw, no less. Izzy almost went to Edward then, but something held him back. Edward’s rejection had stung more than he was willing to admit.
Jack was dead. Dead. The memory of Jack was still so fresh in Izzy's memory: his large, warm hands, his mouth, his tongue, his cock. The feel of him. The taste of him.
Jack was fucking dead.
He should go apologize to Edward. But hadn't Edward made it abundantly clear that he didn’t want Izzy?
And all of it was Izzy’s fucking fault. He curled up on the pallet and whimpered. After what felt like hours, a blessedly dreamless sleep came at last.
Izzy awoke to pain—sharp, piercing pain on the back of his neck—and he screamed. A hand clamped over his mouth, and a low, feral growl made him go slack as alpha fangs dug even deeper into his skin. The alpha jaw clamped down hard, gave Izzy a little shake, and then released him with a hot, wet breath on the fresh wound.
“Stop crying. This is what you wanted, isn’t it?”
Edward. Izzy felt his body pressed against his bare back, felt him hard against his arse. Izzy could smell him now, too, could smell that he had worked himself into a rut. Fuck. Izzy wasn’t in heat, but the stimulation of a bite to his bond gland had sent a jolt of pleasure between his legs just the same, along with a gush of slick, and he moaned into Edward’s hand, instinctively spreading his thighs.
A small voice in his the back of his mind was screaming: No! No! No! Not like this! But Edward was right. This was what Izzy had always wanted, what he’d wished for all the years they’d sailed together. Though if he were being honest, at the moment he was feeling equal parts desperate for and sick about it, his fixation on Edward spoiled by recent circumstances. And he knew Edward was still furious with him. The scent of lust radiating from Edward was unmistakably tinged with anger.
How had they gotten to this point?
“Do it,” Izzy rasped, hating himself, even as his sex pulsed with need. Why not do it? Izzy wasn't in heat, so it wasn't like they could truly bond. Easier to give in. Why should they bother denying themselves now? After everything that had happened?
“You will never threaten me again,” Edward growled. “Understand?”
“Ye-yes, Blackbeard,” Izzy answered, panting hard and writhing beneath him.
“Budge up.”
Izzy let Ed slide his smalls down to his knees, gasping when, without hesitation, Ed slid his entire length inside with one forceful thrust. He pulled back, then began snapping his hips at a rapid pace.
They were fucking. After all those years, after everything, they were actually fucking.
The circumstances were less than ideal, but Izzy could easily push all that away, focusing only on the delicious drag of Ed’s cock, the hot weight of Ed’s body against his back. He closed his eyes and moaned, and though he wasn’t in heat, when Ed’s knot swelled and his teeth sank into Izzy’s nape again, he came with a helpless wail, while Ed gently shushed him.
Ed withdrew his teeth and gave a couple perfunctory laps across the bite, the scrape of his tongue making Izzy shudder, and then he was up, adjusting his clothes, leaving Izzy alone and cold on the bed.
“Next time you’re in heat, I’ll bond with you for real, Iz. Knot and bite you good and proper.”
That should have made Izzy happy, should have made his heart flutter, should have given him a renewed burst of lust, but what Izzy felt most of all was fear. Even so, he answered obediently, “Yes, Blackbeard.”
“Good,” Edward said with a nod, looking so relieved Izzy couldn't regret it. He breezed over to the door. “Now, get yourself cleaned up and come and find me. There’s much work to do.”
After a few moments, Izzy pushed himself up off the bed, legs still wobbly, Edward’s seed seeping out of him. He wiped himself clean with a rag, staring blankly into space. Somehow, he felt sore, sick, and satisfied all at once. His head was fuzzy, his ears muffled, as though he were underwater.
Edward was going to bond with him.
It was what Izzy had always wanted, wasn't it? He’d even been tempted when Edward had suggested becoming Bonnet's second. Fucking Stede Bonnet. He’d come along and ruined everything. But Bonnet wasn't here now. It seemed that he was gone for good, and Edward had decided to settle for Izzy. It was a far cry from the romance Izzy used to imagine as a pup, but a not insignificant part of him still wanted it. He couldn’t help but feel pleased, like he'd somehow won, his inner omega preening.
He still had reservations, though. So much had changed since Izzy was the young, lovestruck omega he'd once been, mooning after his alpha captain. Did he still want to bond with Edward now? Would Edward even give him a choice when Izzy’s heat came?
Izzy could always leave.
But where would he go? An old, unbonded omega outlaw on his own? Ridiculous. He sighed heavily, using the rag to blot the blood seeping from the bite on his neck. Suddenly, something Jack had popped into Izzy’s head.
Bond bites always permanently scar, even if they don’t take.
Ah. Well, then. That was that. Izzy was forever marked by Edward. Not like he hadn’t already been, in every way he could be. The "X" on his face mirrored the mark Edward had made on his heart. It was just as well he now had a fresh, visible and painful reminder of where his loyalties lay. He’d always been Edward’s, after all.
He already knew he wasn’t ever going to leave.
“What happened to your scent boss?” Fang asked, ignoring the order Izzy had just barked at him to hurry up. “S’different.”
The crew was currently throwing all of Stede Bonnet’s rubbish into the sea, with Izzy urging them to work faster.
So even a beta could tell the change in Izzy’s scent. Izzy knew very well that it was temporary, but he couldn’t help but smile, happy to flaunt his intimacy with Captain Blackbeard. Let them all think that they were already bonded. They would be soon enough. If nothing else, it would give him more authority with Bonnet’s leftovers—the ones they planned to keep, at least.
“Blackbeard is himself again,” Izzy told Fang with a smug grin.
He isn’t, a voice whispered in the back of his skull, and his expression faltered. The doubt had been niggling at him all day. Deep down, he knew Edward was most definitely not all right.
But he would be. Izzy just had to keep it together, to put up a brave front for the both of them.
Growling, he shouted again. “Quicker!”
They marooned most of the crew on a tiny island, and it wasn’t lost on Izzy that Edward had split up all the romantic partners. It was a risky move to forcefully separate a newly bonded pair like Jimenez and Boodhari, but Izzy wasn’t about to question his captain’s authority. Clearly, Edward wasn’t over Bonnet yet. But he’d get there. Izzy would see to it.
Izzy kept telling himself that everything would get better once they were bonded, the flood of fresh hormones healing old wounds and rekindling what they had lost. Bonnet was still out there, but he’d fucking left, hadn't he? If the rich bastard hadn’t already sought out a medicinal means of breaking his bond with Edward, then maybe he was already dead. They should be so lucky.
Izzy stood on the helm at Edward’s side and cocked his gun, pointing it down at the minstrel who was reluctantly hoisting their new flag.
Things were going to get better.
Probably.
Izzy frowned as the Revenge set sail on what felt like all too fitting choppy waters.