To the surprise of nearly every person he meets, Stede Bonnet is an Alpha. But, in his favor, he is rich. Second only to the monarchy rich. Stede's great-grandfather had purchased the outrageous debts of the then-Crown Prince Whitney Badminton, and then promptly forgave them, destroying thousands of crowns in debt and saving the Royal Family from having to acknowledge the profligate nature of the Prince and from emptying the coffers to pay those markers.

Henry Bonnet had been created Duke of Fairfax and gifted the duchy of Fairfax. It was a modest dukedom, but through the marriage of Stede's grandfather and father, the duchy has grown quite large.

Stede, Duke Fairfax, was a wealthy landowner who had little to do save recreation and salary.

He was also unbonded and unmated. This made him quite popular during mating season, and while he attended every party he was invited to, he remained unmated. Rumors flew, and Omegas from practically every family were offered to him.

Instead, it was no secret that he often visited the breeding market, purchasing a new Omega for his twice-yearly ruts.

What was not known was that after his rut, and the Omega's heat, he freed the indentured Omegas, gave them freedom papers, a large purse of coin, a horse, and a letter from the Duke stating that the Omega bearing the letter was a dear friend of the Duke and should be treated accordingly.

Several Omegas had remained in the Duke's household, paid a fair wage, and were treated as family. Stede had even provided doweries for several of his friends, and they brought their mates to the Duke's manor.

Lucius Spriggs, whom Stede had purchased as a child to keep him from being sold, had found a bondmate in Pete Black, the blacksmith of the village. Oluwande Boodhari already had a bondmate when he'd been kidnapped for the farms; Stede had freed him immediately and sent word to the man's Alpha, and now Oluwande was the manor's steward and his Alpha Jim Jiminez was Stede's chief bodyguard.

Spriggs had just brought him a letter from Jeffrey Fetterling, who owned the breed farm for Stede's village.

Stede, I thought long and hard before I wrote you, but I believe that you are the best person to deal with this. An Omega was sold to the farm yesterday, unbonded. The Alpha who brought him was foul with drink and dirty. The Omega himself was dirty and bruised, malnourished. He was also collared and cuffed, his Alpha claiming that he was disobedient and needed to be "broken in right." We collected the keys and sent him along his way. I'm certain he's been abused, but he lets none of us Betas near him to find out. He needs your gentle hands, my friend. J.

Stede called for Lucius immediately, and the young man helped Stede dress and collect a large amount of coin, clean clothes, and keeping in mind what Jeffrey had written to him, Stede sprayed his scent glands with a scent blocker that heavily muted his Alpha scent.

The last thing he did was ask Jim and Lucius to accompany him. Jeffrey had said that the new Omega refused the betas; perhaps Alphas or Omegas would be more acceptable. Clicking his tongue, the carriage rolled.

Izzy looked around. As far as breeding farms went, it was luxurious. This place had rooms, not stalls, which was a surprise. Plush carpet was easy on his bare feet. Fresh water was available, a barrel of it outside of every room he could see.

Of all the places Jack could've dropped him, the Alpha asshole, it could be worse. This place seemed to be run by betas, no Alphas in sight. There were clothes in the dresser--basic linen shirts, trousers, smalls, boots and stocking socks, in various sizes.

He'd been relieved of his collar and his cuffs, and even now his fingers were free to massage the bruises Jack had left on him.

Problem was, he had no idea where he was, and no idea how to get word out to his Captain.

Food was provided for him, three times a day. Good food, even. Simple, but portioned generously, served hot and regularly.

"Excuse me?" The Beta at his door was knocking on the open door. "My name is Jeffrey, and I'd like to welcome you to the Fairfax breeding farm. I own the place, keep it running for the Duke. I want to ask if you have any needs that we can help you with, and a few other questions. Most importantly, if you are on suppressants, we can gladly provide you with what you need, or if you need help with an upcoming heat, we can help you with finding an appropriate Alpha."

"I have an Alpha, you imbecile, and his name is Blackbeard," Izzy snarled, and he was pleased when the Beta paled in recognition. "You want to help, get me fucking paper and ink so I can send for him."

"Begging your pardon, but there are no claim bites," Jeffrey said. "I am assuming that you haven't mated yet?"

"You fucking idiot, do you think Blackbeard is going to tie himself down to an Omega that makes him vulnerable? Bad enough he goes through ruts, but at least he can trust me not to take advantage of it!"

Jeffrey was glad to be handing this problem Omega over to his friend. "The Duke of Fairfax will be here before the end of the day, and he'll want to speak with you. I'll see that you're brought paper and an inkwell. The water just outside the door is fresh, refilled daily for bathing and laundry. Are your meals satisfactory?"

"They're fine," Izzy bit out.

"When was your last heat, sir?" Jeffrey didn't know what else to call him. "I'm sorry, the Alpha who sold you didn't give us your name."

"Hands, Izzy Hands." Another feral smile as the Beta paled further. "Know that name, yeah?"

He certainly did. "Blackbeard's first mate, the Dread Hands," Jeffrey whispered. "We didn't realize, Mr. Hands. I'm certain that the Duke will be glad to host you properly. I'll return promptly with your letters."

Sometimes, name-drops, even his own, were the best way to get a point across.

As soon as Stede's carriage arrived, Jeffrey ran out to meet him. "Stede!"

Stede caught the panicked Beta, steadying him. "I'm here, mate. What's got you in such a fix?"

"The omega that was dropped off, he says his name is Izzy Hands and that his Alpha is Blackbeard!"

Those names Stede absolutely recognized. "Well, it seems like my arrival is most fortuitous, don't you think? The Duke should certainly receive such an esteemed visitor."

"He's written letters, four of them, asking Blackbeard to come fetch him!"

"Calm down, Jeffrey, Give them to Lucius, and he will see them properly posted. I'm going to offer the man my home to wait for his Alpha--"

"But Stede, there are no claims, no bites. The one who dropped him off had collared and cuffed--"

Stede stopped the recitation. "Regardless, he obviously doesn't belong at the farm or the market," he answered, and he realized that he really hated calling these places farm's and markets. "I will speak to him about everything and get back to you later." He turned to Jim. "I may need your help, but until I know for sure, wait here."

They gave a silent nod, and Stede gave himself several more spritzes of scent blocker. "Lucius, I hate to ask you..."

"It's okay, Stede," the young man reassured, and took a couple of deep sniffs. "I know your scent, so I smell it if I look for it. Mostly it's just a little whiff of like, fresh grass."

"Yes, thank you. And I apologize to both you and Pete--"

"Oh, please, that man loves it when I get a little wild. I promise it's fine, Stede. You aren't obviously scenting, and your natural scent is hidden with the blockers." He patted Stede on the arm. "I'll be there too, and I'll tell you if you start scenting."

"All right. I just don't want to make things any more difficult for Mr. Hands."

"Unless he's already in heat, you are absolutely fine."

Izzy's sensitive nose caught the scent of another Omega outside the door, and a highly muted scent that smelled like nothing--which meant scent blocker, which meant another fucking Alpa twat. "Come in," he shouted.

The door opened, and it was utterly and completely obvious who the Alpha was. Tall, blonde, exquisitely dressed and carrying himself regally, the young omega beside him bounced almost like a cheerful pup. "Duke Fairfax, I presume?"

Stede got a good whiff of the Omega's scent. Clean, but sharp, like metal from the smithy. It left his mouth feeling almost coppery in the aftermath. But there was something else behind that hard metal, something withering, like hot sun mirages or salt-heavy water. And even further behind, the barest hint of spicy-sweet, too much cinnamon in the dough or cayenne pepper added to chocolate. It made Stede's mouth water.

Lucius nudged his boss. "Uh, Stede. You might want to control yourself, you are beginning to scent right now and it's making me itchy."

"Er, yes. Sorry. Excuse me one moment." Stede stepped back out in the hallway, and practically doused himself in the scent blocker. "Pardon my lack of control, Mr. Hands," he said, coming back in.

Izzy's nostrils flared as Stede came into the room and scented. Christ, the Alpha smelled good; grass was a heavy note, as was sunshine, but also harsher notes, things that jangled hard against the sweetness. There was something that smelled like dirt, dark and earthy that you could almost sink your fingers in. And something beyond that, even, another dark and heavy thing that made his skin prickle.

Mine.

Then the scent disappeared as the Alpha stepped out of the room, and when he came back in, the scent was muted into almost nothing.

Izzy's skin still prickled.

Stede's skin prickled. Even under scent blockers, he was having a hard time stopping his scent from flooding the room. He'd rarely reacted to Omegas before, and never like this. "Mr. Hands?" he repeated.

"What?"

"Jeffrey told me you had written letters; if you'll pass them to Lucius, he'll see that they're posted." Stede stepped back so that he wouldn't be unduly influencing the Omegas.

"Hi, I'm Lucius, and I work for the Duke." Lucius gave a little wave. "I'll take your letters straight to the post, and I'll bring back post receipts, okay?"

"Fuck's a post receipt?" Izzy demanded with a scowl.

"A note from the post office that your letter has been posted, with the date it's been sent and the destination address. It's just basically proof that it's been posted, really."

"Yeah, okay." Izzy passed over the stack of letters, four of them.

Lucius thumbed through the envelopes. "Stede, there's no seal on these, can't we get the man some wax or something?"

Izzy looked startled, almost as if he'd expected them to read his letters.

"I'm certain Jeffrey has some in the office, please remain with Mr. Hands whilst I take care of this," Stede answered from the hallway.

He took the chance to send one of the Betas out to Jim, asking them to return the estate and have a guest room prepared for Mr. Hands, and to make sure that the room was free of any other scents.

Then a stop by Jeffrey's office procured several sticks of sealing wax, and a brass seal with a peacock feather.

Izzy took a deep breath once Stede was gone. "Fucking Alpha. What's he doing, scenting like that in a place like this?"

Lucius was just as mystified. "He doesn't usually scent like that. God, I hope he isn't rutting already."

"Keep him the fuck away from me," Izzy spat out. Fucking Jack had pulled him off the ship to try and trigger a heat, but Izzy had been utterly repelled by Jack's noxious hormones, and in a fit of anger Jack had decided that if he could not trigger a bonding heat, neither would anyone else.

Hence being sold to a breed farm in the ass-end of somewhere.

"Don't worry. Stede is very careful around the Omegas in the house, especially if they're unbonded. Right now we're all bonded to our Alphas, but since you aren't, Stede will make sure that you are safe."

"I don't need safe, I need my fucking Alpha. Fucking Blackbeard is going to kill to get me back," Izzy warned. "He's the only one who has ever fucked me through a heat, and I'm the only one who can handle his rut."

"Are you in a heat now? If you are, please let me know so I can tell Stede, and we can make other arrangements." Lucius was suddenly eyeing Izzy askance. "Is that why Stede scented?"

Fuck. Probably. But he had to get the fuck out and find Edward. "I'm fine, don't know what crawled up your boss's ass."

Pausing outside of the room, Stede made sure that he was not scenting. He forced himself not to think about the delicious scent of the Omega waiting for him, despite the fact his skin prickled and felt tight at the merest whiff.

Determined to remain in control of himself, Stede took out the scent blocker and daubed small drops just under his nose, and it helped blunt the scent.

Fixing a smile on his face, Stede swept into the room. "Here you are, Mr. Hands. Wax and a seal."

Izzy yanked the wax out of Stede's hands, but ignored the stamper. Matches were in the desk, and Izzy lit the wick of the wax stick and snatched the letters back from Lucius.

Red wax dripped over the lip of the envelopes, sealing them tightly. Instead of the seal, Izzy pulled a gold and emerald ring from his hand and pressed it into the wax. The last thing Izzy did was etch a small X into the wax, and blew over each to harden it.

Charleston, Nassau, Bath, and St. Kitts. Blackbeard's four "home" ports. Lucius gathered the letters after the wax had set. "Right, I'm going to the post office, do you think you can wait for me to get back?"

"Of course, yes. I need to speak to Mr. Hands anyway," Stede reassured.

"Won't be a tick. Behave, you two."

Lucius' departure left Izzy alone with the Alpha twat. "So what do you want?"

"I would like to invite you to be my guest at the estate," Stede answered. "Obviously you don't belong here, and I wouldn't want you to be hurt because someone got the wrong idea about your position. As far as I know, you are a free Omega, and I would like to offer you a place to stay. As guest of the Duke, you will be exceptionally easy to find, and Blackbeard will see you were treated well, with the kindness and respect due your position. It would be an honor to have you as my guest."

Izzy did notice that Stede was careful not to give a direct order and he appreciated it. He noticed, too, that Stede acknowledged him as a free Omega, and as Blackbeard's property, which he also appreciated. "Okay, yeah. Whatever."

"Excellent. I was hoping to secure your agreement, and I have already sent word back to the estate to prepare a guest suite for you. It's a bit late to change what the cook has been doing for dinner, but if you have any meal preferences, please let me know in the morning and I'll see it taken care of."

Izzy grit his teeth. The poncy fucker talked and apparently didn't know how to shut up. It was giving him a headache. "Hey, fuckwit, how about you shut up?" he snapped, rubbing over his eyes.

Stede had an unfortunate thought about the headache. "I have a few personal errands to attend. When Lucius returns, I shall send you both ahead in the carriage so that you can get comfortable, Mr. Hands. I will also send the physician to you as well, to check out and treat any injuries."

Every word out of the Duke's mouth was like sandpaper in Izzy's ear, prickly and rubbed raw. "M'not injured, I'm just tired and hung over."

"Then you can rest here and when Lucius returns, you can leave together."

Stede fled the room, searching for Jeffrey. He found him fretting in the kitchen. "Jeffrey, I need to talk to you. Please."

"Of course, my lord." Jeffrey met Stede in the hallway. "How can I help?"

"First, Mr. Hands has agreed to stay at the estate; when Lucius returns, they'll go together. Second, are any of these Omegas in heat now?"

"Not for several days--oh my." Even under the blockers, the Beta could smell Stede's faint scent.

"Then I have to leave now, but tell me quickly, is Jackie still draining scent glands?"

"She is, yes, we occasionally procure Alpha scent from her to stimulate some of our Omegas. But you cannot be seen going to her!" Jeffrey said hurriedly. "Leave here, wait for me behind the carriage house."

Stede departed quickly, keeping focused on holding in his scent. He could feel the swelling of his scent glands in his neck, primed for the bite of his mate.

Which he did not have.

Jeffrey came hurrying over, and he was leading another man carrying a leather case. "Here, John, take him inside. Stede, this is my assistant, John Feeney. He can drain the glands for you."

"Hi." The big man's voice was soft, completely at odds with his gruff appearance. "Sit down?"

Stede sat at the dusty table and loosened his collar, revealing his swollen glands.

John shook his head. "This is going to take a while. Might need more bottles. Um, Mr. Stede, when I tap your gland, you're going to scent heavily. Might be a good thing to give Mr. Jeffrey your clothes, otherwise you'll have to burn 'em."

Jeffrey nodded. "Yes, I'll take them to my office, and leave word for Lucius that you're taking care of some personal issues."

Stede quickly undressed, keeping only his underwear. "Thank you for your discretion, Jeffrey." Stede was honestly grateful for the man's friendship. "Feel free to use or sell this at your convenience, I imagine you could get quite a bit of coin for such strongly smelling Alpha scent."

"No, Stede, I wouldn't do that, I wouldn't want it getting out and someone recognized it. John, I'll be sending Frenchie along with more bottles."

"A'right," and the gentle giant guided Stede back to the chair. "Ready, sir?"

Stede nodded. "Yes, I suppose I am."

The last thing John did was to plug his nose with softened wax. Then the needle pricked his skin and the gland, and Stede's scent roared out, flooding the room and soothing Stede's ruffled nerves.

Even as a beta, Jeffrey could smell Stede's scent from the carriage house, and knew that the Omegas would, too. He hurried to the doctor on call, and quickly discussed how to avoid a problem with the Omegas, and eventually decided on a round of suppressant for every Omega on the property.

Lucius had returned to the farm to find Stede gone, though his scent was heavy. Izzy was still resting, and Lucius woke him up. "Mr. Hands?"

"Fuck off." During his nap, Izzy had kicked off all the bedclothes and was scrunched into the last cool corner.

"Ah, Lucius!" Jeffrey was sweating as he hurried to catch the young Omega. "Stede wished that you could see Mr. Hands to the estate, as he had a personal emergency to attend to."

Stede's scent, everywhere, the cranky unbonded Omega, and Lucius put the pieces together. "God, tell me he did not go to Jackie's."

"My assistant is taking care of the situation down at the carriage house, and we'll send him along," Jeffrey reassured.

"Right, and I need to get Mr. Hands out of here. If you need anything--"

"Yes, thank you," Jeffrey hurried. "Mr. Hands, your carriage awaits!"

The Beta's voice woke Izzy up when Lucius hadn't. His headache was getting worse and he was in an absolutely vile mood. "What?"

"Stede has asked me to escort you--"

"Yeah, yeah, he had shit to do, so you got stuck with me." Izzy rubbed the back of his neck. "Are we leaving, or what?"

"Yes, sir, we're leaving. Got your stuff?"

Izzy's stuff was the clothes on his back because fucking Jack had kept his weapons. "Yeah, I got it on my back, let's fucking go already!"

Lucius hurried to lead Izzy out of the complex and into the carriage.

"Home, Mr. Spriggs?" asked the driver.

"Yes, please."

The driver clucked to the horses and cracked the whip. The carriage rolled out, and the further they got from the farm, the more relaxed Izzy seemed to be. By the time they reached the Fairfax estate, Izzy had relaxed entirely. "The fuckin' loot in this place," he muttered. "But I got to admit, whoever built this place is fuckin' smart, he's got it far enough offshore that you're not gonna get raided by anyone. Not even close to a river for dinghy assault."

"I think it was Stede's great-grandfather or something, I don't know. It's rather titillating, for countryside gossip, seems Henry Bonnet bought up the massive debt incurred by one of the princes, and then forgave it. That saved the crown's face and their money, so they made him Duke Fairfax," Lucius explained.

"Why do you think I give a fuck?" Izzy demanded. He was vaguely interested, but he had more interest in other things, like possibly a warm bath, and a drink, and maybe a wank. He was still bristling under his skin from the exposure to Stede's scent earlier.

"You seem interested in the place, that's all." Lucius shrugged and got out of the carriage.

Izzy hit the ground behind him and breathed deeply. "I miss the smell of the sea. Not used to being landlocked."

"Your Blackbeard will be here before you know it," Lucius answered encouragingly. "And you'll be back on the sea in no time."

A normal drain would've filled two, maybe three jars. Five full jars, and part of a sixth, sat on the rickety table between Stede and John Feeney. "There you go, Mr. Stede."

Stede felt drained, physically and mentally. The draining of his scent glands had felt like his very life force was being drained out of him, and he barely had the strength to lift his head. "Thank you, Mr. Feeney. I appreciate your help, very much. If you'll escort me back to the facility, I'll make sure you're compensated."

"Don't have to do that, Mr. Stede, you're a friend of Jeffrey. You're fine." John reached out and helped yank him to his feet. "Think you can walk?"

"Certainly." Stede wobbled a bit, but made it steady to his feet. "All right. Thank you, again, for your assistance and your discretion."

Leaving the jars for now, John steadied Stede until they were back in the facility. Then John left him in the hallway, in his smalls, while he went and sealed and retreived the jars.

Stede walked the short distance to Jeffrey's office, found it empty, and saw his clothes carefully folded on a chair. He stripped off his underwear and put the outfit back on, gratified to notice the scent dying down as he put the clothes back on.

"We'll burn those for you," Jeffrey offered, coming back into his office as Stede was slipping back into his jacket. "We have an incinerator on site for just this sort of thing." In his hands was a bag, and he sealed Stede's underclothes in it. "Thank you again for taking Mr. Hands off my... well, my hands."

"It's no problem, Jeffrey. Thank you for calling me and letting me know the situation. I should be paying better attention here, and I have no excuse. If there is anything you are in need of, please let me know, and I'll put all my money and power into obtaining it."

"Stede, you keep us in as much luxury as I've ever seen. Most Omega farms are actual farms, with stalls in place of rooms, bare plank floors, basic provisions, little to no medical care. There is nothing we need, and little we want. I promise you, if there is anything that comes up, I will bring it to you." He put his hand gently on Stede's shoulder. "Go home, my friend. Get some rest, you'll be tired for a day or two afterwards. And if you need John's services again, send Lucius to me. We'll arrange a safer place than the carriage house."

"Thank you." Stede was running out of ways to be thankful for the kindness being shown to him. "I'd like to impose on you one final time, and borrow a horse."

"Nonsense. I've already hired a carriage for you, told them you sent yours ahead with one of our patrons, and they'll drop you off at your door. They're waiting for you now, I've already paid them."

With more gratitude, Stede mounted the carriage and dozed until he got home.

Lucius met Stede at the door, a harrowed look on his face. "Sir, uh, maybe you shouldn't... maybe you shouldn't come in right now."

"Lucius, what's happening?" he asked instantly. He took a deep breath, and he could scent Izzy. "Oh, goodness. He is in heat, then?"

"Right on the brink of it, yeah," Lucius agreed. "He was okay until we got him to his room, and then he said he could smell you everywhere, and wanted a cold bath. That was it, I figured that's what it had to be." He sniffed. "How did your extraction go?"

"It went fine, don't worry about me. Make sure Izzy has plenty of cool water available, and give him some of my soft linens to bathe with, his skin will be sensitive, so none of the fragranced soap, please." Stede pulled off his jacket and shoved it at him. "Please see these to the laundry, and make sure they're laundered with scent blockers. I'll change the rest before I go and see him."

"Izzy has an Alpha," Lucius reminded him. "A very dangerous Alpha by the name of Blackbeard, who would take pleasure in slicing off your knot if you even look at his Omega."

"I don't intend to knot him, Lucius, but I do intend to see that he's given nesting materials, whatever food he can stomach, and is cared for in every other way possible." Stede was going up the stairs to his own apartments, and had to remind himself not to veer off towards the delicious scent coming from the guest wing.

Lucius was hot on his heels. "And what if he triggers your rut, what then?"

"Then I will return to Jeffrey's, and see if I can find someone willing to help me out. Or I will isolate myself and ride it out alone. I believe the room off the cellar was intended for that purpose, in fact." Stede pulled fresh clothing and fresh underwear out and started to remove his dirty clothes.

"At least let me check in on him," Lucius pled. "I just had a heat a while back, and I have an Alpha to take care of me."

"I will certainly let you take care of many things, but I must see to him myself."

Lucius sighed; he knew Alpha instinctual stubbornness when he heard it. "Just... I'll remember to pick up the body parts when Blackbeard is done with you." He blinked. "You aren't wearing that."

That was a pair of soft boots, linen trousers, a white ruffled shirt, and a gold dressing gown belted around his waist. "What is wrong with this? This is my usual evening attire."

"That looks like you're absolutely going in to knot him," Lucius spelled out clearly. "You show up like you're ready to fuck, he's gonna present to you before you get in the door."

"Oh, FINE." Stede flounced back into the wardrobe, and emerged several moments later, dressed in tan trousers, heeled shoes with bows, the same flowy shirt but instead of the gold dressing gown, he was wearing a buttoned-up cream vest and matching jacket. "There, is that appropriate enough for you, or shall I try the full royal appearance costume?"

Lucius scowled. "That's better. At least you look like Duke Fairfax and not a hungry Alpha."

"I protest the insinuation," Stede muttered. "Make yourself useful, go to the linen closet and fetch those green sheets."

"You mean those dappled green silk sheets that you specifically purchased for more money than I have ever seen in my life?"

"Lucius!"

"Look, this is what you hired me for, right?"

"I happen to think that green would look lovely with his complexion and skin tone, and I believe they are the finest I have to offer our guest for nesting materials, so would you please get the damn sheets!"

Lucius recoiled at the shout, because Stede never shouted, and especially not at him. "Er, um, sure, Stede. I'll get your sheets right away, shall I?"

"Yes, thank you," Stede snapped. "Bring the blue ones as well, if the green ones don't suit."

"Okay." Lucius disappeared on his way, and Stede squared his shoulders, fidgeting his cuffs and his collar until he was satisfied. Despite the fresh drain of his scent glands, Stede sprayed himself in scent blocker.

The guest wing was only a few hallways over, and Izzy was in the Ivy suite, and Stede could smell him before he got there. It was going to be a doozy of a heat for the Omega. "Mr. Hands?" he called out, knocking on the door of the suite. "Mr. Hands, it's the Duke--er, Stede Bonnet. We met before?"

"Fuck off!" The room was hot, stifling against his skin, and the fucking Alpha twat was not helping. "I don't need it, whatever you're bringing!"

"Lucius is on the way with some nesting material, and if you'll tell me what else you need, I'll see that you have it."

What Izzy wanted was his Alpha. He wanted fucking Blackbeard but thanks to Jack, that was fucking impossible. "Leave!" Izzy shouted. The mere knowledge of the man's presence on the other side of the door made his gut clench, the grass-heavy scent seeping in from every corner of the house.

"All right, I'll stay outside until Lucius brings the nesting material; I've brought you two sets of sheets, but if you need different material or more, please let me know." Stede's lungs were saturating in every particle of scent rolling off Izzy in waves, and his head throbbed.

Thank Christ he'd been drained, or else he'd been drowning the Omega in his scent. His instinctual thoughts towards Izzy were mine, claim, take, own and those thoughts didn't even register as he pushed into the room with the Omega.

Izzy whined when Stede entered the room, naked on the mattress and sweating on the fine sheets. "Get the fuck out, now, fuck," Izzy ordered, his cunt red and swollen, burning like fire. As Stede grew closer, Izzy could physically feel the throbbing inside his walls.

Stede's chest was straining with the urge to drag Izzy in close. "Mr. Hands," he said, voice heavy and rough.

"Izzy," he panted out. "Alpha, it's Izzy."

Lucius pulled the door open to find Stede standing halfway inside the room like his feet were bolted to the floor. "Stede." When there was no reaction, he said it louder. "Stede!" He shook the Alpha. "You need to leave. Now."

"I'm not going to leave this Omega alone with no one to help him." Stede's voice was deeper than usual.

To Lucius' surprise, Stede was scenting again, even after he'd just been drained. That was going to be a lot of trouble. "You have to leave now, Stede." He wasn't even sure he could get Jim and Pete to help him drag Stede out.

"Leave the nesting and go, Lucius." Stede's eyes were trained on the needy Omega in bed.

"Uh, no, I don't think so." Lucius did have the bedding in his arms, and when he approached the Omega on the bed, Stede growled once, deep and rumbling in his chest. Instantly he dropped the nesting materials and backed away. "Shit, Stede."

"Get out." His attention was fully focused on Izzy, who was surging against the mattress, rubbing full-body against it. Slick shone brightly on bed and skin alike, and the hot red of Izzy's cunt glistened.

Stede stepped toward the bed, and Lucius tackled him around the knees. The Alpha stumbled, but didn't go down.

"Alpha." Izzy's voice had gone reedy, and he curled in on himself as he reached out toward Stede. "Alpha, please."

"I'm here, Izzy, and I won't leave you. There's material for your nest, and I will bring you food."

"Don't want food." Izzy was hot, nauseated at the thought of eating. But he did want to nest, even though it didn't smell like Edward. But the scent from the laundry soap and Stede, and the little Omega clinging to his legs.

Not his pack, but a pack nonetheless, and he grabbed the green sheets and gasped. Soft and silky, they flowed through Izzy's hands like water and felt just as cool. "For me, Alpha?"

Stede rumbled affirmation. "For you, little Omega."

Izzy scrunched and twisted the green sheets into a big, cool pile on the bed, and stripped his clothes off before squirming into the nest with a sigh.

Stede gently kicked Lucius away. Once he was free, Stede knelt by the bed, passing the blue cashmere up to be incorporated into the nest.

Lucius ran.

Stede stayed on his knees beside the Omega. Izzy took Stede's wrist and dragged it so that his scent mixed with the Alpha's. "Please," Izzy whimpered. "It hurts, Alpha."

Stede's eyes went dark, his tongue slipping out to moisten his lips. His gaze latched onto Izzy's wet, slick cunt, and he reached out to touch.

His arm was jerked back, and Stede growled. Another Alpha's scent was in the room behind him. Baring his teeth in a snarl, Stede put himself between the Omega and the other Alpha.

"Madre de Dios, fucking Stede, this is a mess!" Jim glared at the other growling Alpha. "Oluwande, get that Omega covered up, for fuck's sake!"

Stede snarled at Oluwande, and that got Jim's temper raised. "Don't threaten my mate, cabron."

"Get away from my Omega!" Stede called, and lunged at Oluwande.

Everything went black.

Stede heard voices. "Yeah, he's in a rut, all right." That was Oluwande, bonded Omega.

"Hope Lucius gets back soon."

Oh, Stede knew that voice, it was Jim, the Alpha who'd tried to move on his Omega. He struggled to sit up, and found he was chained to the wall.

He couldn't smell his Omega.

Stede growled, rattling the chains on his cuffs.

"Oy, he's awake, where's Lucius?" Jim again.

"Uh, hey, Stede. You're in rut right now, but don't worry about it, Lucius is on his way with help."

"Izzy." He couldn't smell Izzy and he was getting angry. "Where is he?"

"In his nest, which you are not going near," came Jim's voice.

"IZZY!" he roared.

"He has an Alpha, stupid! You can't claim another Alpha's mate!"

Stede launched himself to his feet, breathing hard and oozing scent in his rut. "Not claimed. Mine. He is mine."

"Fuck, has he imprinted already?" Oluwande asked.

"Imprint? Stede's imprinted on Hands already?" That was Lucius. "Well, we'll find out. Stede? I have someone to see you. Leila, this is Stede. Stede, Leila is here to help you."

Stede sniffed. This was a different scent, lemony and soft and bright. "Lord Bonnet, may I come in?"

"Yes, you can."

Lucius and Jim exchanged relieved sighs. Stede was calming, softening with the arrival of the female Omega. If he was responding to her, then he hadn't imprinted on Izzy yet. "Jim, I need you and Olu to help me out with something I borrowed from the farm, Jeffrey insisted."

Stede was quietly speaking to the female Omega, who was already undressing.

Lucius cleared his throat. "Um, Stede? Can we leave you alone?"

"We'll be fine," answered the female. "Lord Bonnet won't hurt me, but I need to take care of him. Please give us privacy, and the key to the cuffs."

Stede crowded close to the female, sniffling at her neck. The scent was calm, with no fear of the rutting Alpha. He licked her bared neck and followed down to her cleavage. His cock poked obscenely through his trousers, straining to get to the woman's cunt.

Jim scowled, but gave the woman the key. "Hey, if you need us, yell. We'll have someone close by."

"Thank you, Alpha," the woman said, bowing her head politely.

Lucius was dancing back and forth. "Can we please get that machine unloaded and see if Izzy will use it? Jeffrey is shitting himself afraid of Blackbeard. Made me bring back that damn machine in a wagon so Izzy can use it and get through his heat."

"Okay, yeah. Oluwande, grab Pete, send him to the wagon, then come back here. Pete and me will get that machine loaded in, and we'll come back here to watch over Stede and make sure he doesn't hurt the girl."

As soon as the woman unlocked his hands, Stede was already pawing under the woman's skirt, fingers seeking the folds of her slick-filled cunt. Leila squealed as Stede found it, and she lifted her skirts as he guided his prick to her cunt. Another squeal rang out as he started to fuck her roughly.

"Oh-kay," Lucius sang out. "Leila, looks like you're gonna be busy for awhile. We're just… going to go… now."

Leila nodded, all she could do. Stede's face was buried in her neck, his cock thrusting roughly into her cunt. Her slick dripped and thickened when Stede bit her scent gland. Not enough to break the skin, but enough to set her hormones in overdrive and send her into heat in response to the strength of Stede's rut.

Even as Stede fucked into the female Omega, his instincts told him the scent beneath him was wrong. The feel of the body was wrong; soft curves and gentle weights that gave him everything, when he craved a rangy, hardscrabble body that made him fight for every inch.

He craved the scent of metal and hot glass.

Stede bared his teeth and growled angrily. "Izzy," followed the growl. "Where is Izzy?"

Leila panted under Stede's rough thrusting. The rush of heat hormones blasted through her system, made her force out an answer. "Up--upstairs, my Lord," she got out.

Stede growled again, his thrusting becoming more mechanical as his knot refused to engage the wrong Omega. "IZZY!"

The bellow of his name reverberated through the house, and Izzy's cunt spasmed at the Alpha's anguish. "Get me out of here, I can't fucking stand it!"

Lucius was fretting. Izzy had flatly refused to use the knotting machine that Jeffrey had sent, and all the household Alphas had fled the scene. Lucius stayed, and Jim had sent the only two Betas in Stede's employ to join him. Roach the chef and Frenchie the valet were in the room with the two Omegas.

"I have to go check on Stede, it sounds like he's really in trouble," Lucius fretted.

"You go, and you're not coming back in here. He doesn't need you dragging Stede's scent back," Roach pointed out practically.

Izzy moaned again as Stede shouted for him, curling around the aches in his belly and cunt, which was soaked with slick.

Lucius and Roach smelled the rush of slick at the same time. "I think I'd be more worried about taking Izzy's scent to Stede."

"There is that," Roach agreed. "Maybe scent would be enough. Take Izzy's scent to Stede, ease him off, and let Izzy calm down."

Out of the box suggestion, but Lucius was almost ready to try it.

On the bed, Izzy was nested in the soft sheets that were saturated with Stede's Scent and now his own. It was a heady mix, and Izzy breathed open-mouthed to suck the taste out of the air. He was craving a knot, would absolutely murder for one. But Edward wasn't there, and Izzy couldn't accept anyone else.

Except he wanted Stede. And the Alpha wanted him. The knowledge was painful, knowing a willing Alpha was being kept from him, wracked his body with waves of agonized needing. "I'll be good," he gasped out, reaching out to blindly grasp the closest arm.

It happened to be Frenchie, who was trying to sponge the heat-sweat from Izzy's body. "Sssh," came the Beta's calming voice. "We'll get you through this, Mr. Hands."

Izzy's eyes were glassy, and he was using the last of his good sense to speak as he lifted his head. "Please… get me out of here before I can't stand it anymore," he croaked.

"Don't think you're in any fit state to be going anywhere," Frenchie answered, trying to be comforting.

Another spike drove through Izzy's slick cunt, and he curled even tighter. "Fuck, Edward… where are you? Stede… Alpha… need you, Alpha!"

Lucius and Roach traded glances. "He can't honestly say yes, he's in heat."

"Don't see as we have much of a choice at the moment," Roach countered. "May just have to give it a try."

Lucius sighed. "Okay. I'll go down and take one of the sheets to Stede, and bring back Stede's clothes. Maybe that'll be enough to convince him to use the machine."

Stede was completely ignoring the female Omega. Leila had managed to get the manacles back on Stede's wrists, but she, like Izzy, was fully consumed by the heat.

But he froze, nostrils flaring, as he caught a strong whiff of Izzy's scent. It grew heavier as it got closer, and his knot swelled in anticipation. "Izzy!"

Lucius opened the door to the cell, almost gagging at the strength of Stede's rut. "Yeah, boss. Izzy." He held the slick soaked sheet out.

Stede snatched it quickly, burying his face and inhaling. His tongue lapped eagerly at the slick stains, and a loud rumble of content purring filled the room.

Scrambling quickly, Lucius collected Stede's discarded clothing and looked down at Leila. The female Omega was moving towards Stede again now that his knot was ready to pop. Without another word, Lucius left them together and Stede was still restrained.

As soon as Lucius was in the hallway, Izzy cried out. Stede's delicious scent was thick and heavy in the air, and the nearness practically made his entire body convulse. When he realized it was only the other Omega carrying his Alpha's scent, Izzy felt the tears come and he couldn't stop. The Alpha didn't want him, had put scent on--"

"Izzy. Izzy, hey." Lucius knelt by the nest. "Stede wanted you to have these, okay?"

Stede had sent these? Izzy snatched them away from Lucius and rubbed them all over his face, deeply inhaling. The rut and want clearly saturated the fabrics--

Izzy froze.

Another scent, unfamiliar. Female. Another Omega, hot and prickly in his nose. A deep, resounding growl issued from Izzy's throat, and he struggled to his feet.

A clamor of voices arose as three men rose at once to restrain him, but Izzy ignored it all. He bellowed out a challenge that rattled Lucius' bones. Izzy sniffed the Omega, knew he wasn't the one, and snapped his teeth at the Betas as they tried to stop him.

Izzy wasn't going to be stopped, and he bellowed out his challenge once again.

Leila hissed as she heard the echo of Izzy's challenge. The Alpha was hers, his knot was filling her, and her hiss was loud enough to be heard in the hallway.

Stede's head snapped up at Izzy's challenge. That was his Omega coming to fight and claim. His chest puffed out, and he struggled to pull his knot free of the female so he could be ready for Izzy.

Jim was the only Alpha who put themselves in Izzy's path. "You don't want to do this, hombrecito, just stop right there," didn't work, and neither did, "Oye, what about Blackbeard?"

Izzy was simply too far gone, instinct and biology driving him instead of intellect. "You're not my Alpha," is all he said, shoving them aside.

Jim reached out, grabbing for Izzy's arm. He spun around and Jim saw stars when Izzy headbutted their nose. Blood poured, and Izzy won his freedom.

The cell door swung open, and a wall of scent and hormones slammed into the Omega. He was all but drowning in Alpha rut, but the sticky heat of the female Omega caught in his throat and strangled him. "Mine," he snarled at Stede.

Leila snarled back. "Mine."

Izzy jumped towards the female, but he was caught from behind. Roach pinned Izzy's arms behind his back as he said "Go on, get her out of here."

Snapping teeth and a low growl filled the air as Lucius and Frenchie dragged the female out, shoving her into her clothes and escorting her away.

Once she was gone, Roach tightened his grip on Izzy's arms. "Look. You don't let him bite you." He glared at Stede next. "You understand, boss? No bites. I'll gag you if I have to."

Izzy could not, in his current state, figure out why his Alpha was not being allowed to claim him. "Bite."

Roach had the good sense to realize the absurdity of his words. "Right." Yanking at his apron revealed a tear from a knife, and he tore along the length of the hem with one hand while keeping hold of Izzy with the other, and ended up with a ragged white strip that he tied around Izzy's neck. It completely covered his throat and his scent glands, keeping him from being bitten and claimed. "That should work for now."

Izzy wanted to howl. The other Omega was gone and the Alpha was his. He did lick his lips, imagining the thick cock and fat knot that would soon be filling him completely.

"Izzy." Stede had twisted the silk sheet into a loose wad, approximating a nest at his feet, prepared for his Omega.

"Alpha," came the answering whine as Izzy struggled against Roach.

The chains holding Stede rattled as he shifted restlessly. Having Izzy this close was calming, yes, but it was also inciting his rut and pushing him towards an instinctual frenzy of needmateclaimmine.

Lucius peeked back in. "We got Leila settled on the machine, so that's a problem solved. What's with the--"

"No biting," Roach explained quickly. "Are we going to let this happen?"

"I mean, do we have a choice?" Lucius asked back. "Because really, I don't see a way to stop it now, short of drugging them both, and I'm not even sure that would be enough. I've never seen Stede react to an Omega like this, and honestly, I've never known an Omega to react back this strongly."

"No offense, but you are the Omega here, shouldn't you know?"

Despite the situation, Lucius flashed a tired, stressed-out smile. "Oh, honey, I only pretend to know everything. You'd be shocked what people will let slip out when they think you already know it."

"Your secret is safe with me." Then Roach sobered fast. "I'm going to get the morphine, and I'll make up a dose for each of them. Once they've finished, I'll dose Stede first, then Izzy. I think me and Frenchie can carry Izzy back to his room, and we can keep them out for the rest of the three or four days."

"And once Stede and Izzy are back in their right minds, they'll understand." Lucius really wished he felt the confidence he was projecting into his voice.

Roach let Izzy go.

He smacked into Stede's naked chest so hard he landed on his knees. Izzy's hands trembled as he turned in the makeshift nest and presented his slick cunt to his Alpha.

Stede growled possessively, kneeling behind Izzy's prone form. His hands grabbed roughly at Izzy's hips, lifting and hauling him into position. The growl became louder as his cock slid into Izzy's cunt, and with a single thrust he sheathed his full length.

Izzy wailed in desperate relief as his Alpha finally fucked him properly. His forehead pressed against the soft silk sheet and the hard floor as Stede's thrusts pushed him across the floor. Stede's sweat mingled with Izzy's, saturating the Omega's skin with their mixed scent and he wore it like perfume.

Stede dragged Izzy upright, back to chest. The chains binding the Alpha bruised Izzy's skin as Stede yanked, feeling and touching every inch that he could reach. Stede dragged his nose over the white scarf, could smell the scent glands beneath, but couldn't reach the double-knot Roach had tied to pull it off.

But Izzy could. He yanked and pulled at the knot and finally got the white strip free. His throat felt better instantly, and he could breathe freely again without constriction.

Stede's knot pressed a brief warning against the lips of Izzy's cunt before popping easily in. Izzy wailed again, this time in pleasure as Stede roared his victory. His teeth closed on the nape of Izzy's neck, biting hard enough to draw blood.

The bite sent a rush of endorphins surging through Izzy's exhausted system. He had pleased his Alpha, and his Alpha had chosen to mark him. A primer bite, meant to prepare the Omega's body for the bonding bite over the glands. Overwhelmed and pushed to his limits, comforted by Stede's knot and his presence, Izzy passed out.

Stede clung carefully to his Omega, gently guiding their still-joined bodies into the nest. He curled protectively around his exhausted mate, tucking Izzy's head under his chin, but he didn't dare to close his eyes. While his mate rested and recovered, Stede would protect him.

"You know, I could do this all day," Edward said calmly. He dragged the tail of the bullwhip through his fingers, flicking off droplets of blood and gobbets of clinging flesh. "And I will. Until you tell me what you did with Izzy."

A windy, reedy chuckle drifted over from the mainmast, where Jack Rackham hung like a side of beef. "Come on, Blackie, you're just playing around. Let's get fuckin' serious."

Serious.

The flesh was hanging off Jack's back in ragged strips, and blood pooled at his feet. One hand was missing two fingers, both of which currently resided in Jack's belly. He still had both eyes, for the moment, and his tongue--which he got to keep as long as he talked about Izzy.

"All right, Jack," Ed coiled the whip onto his hip and took out his knife. He went to Jack's unburnt arm and dug the tip in. A slow drag cut a wide gash, parting the skin. Ed kept cutting from wrist to elbow until he had filleted a thin, spaghetti-like strip. He walked around the mast and pressed the strip to Jack's lips. "Down the hatch."

"Not really hungry," Jack answered, resting his forehead on the mast as his stomach roiled. The only thing in his belly right now was his own fingers, and he was torn between vomiting and exhaustion.

"Not really asking," Ed parroted, pinching Jack's nostrils together. As soon as Jack opened his mouth to gasp for breath, Ed shoved the skin strip in and slapped his hand over it, forcing him to swallow. "Now, where is my Izzy?"

Jack did gag on his own flesh, but he still smirked around it. "Prob'ly gettin' fucked by some rutting Alpha," he replied with a wan chuckle.

The knife in Ed's hand slammed into the mast, stabbing through Jack's hand and pinning it there. "For your sake, I hope you're wrong."

Jack choked back a shout, and tried to flex his hand instinctively. He forced out a laugh. "Like you're gonna do anything about it," he scoffed through gritted teeth.

Ed ground the knife, twisting it and scraping against the muscle and bones in Jack's hand. "Tell me where Izzy is. Now. Or I will skin you myself."

"By this time, he's been fucked or sold off," Jack laughed. "I dropped him off at an Omega breeding farm."

"Where?" Ed yanked the knife out and pressed the tip right below Jack's left eye. "Where, Jack?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Jack coughed, choking up a bit of bile and skin. "Tried to breed the little fucker, but he wouldn't go in heat. So I dumped him off at a breeding farm and told 'em to break him in right. With no bond marks and his prime Omega ass, he's probably already long gone."

"Where?" roared Blackbeard.

"Charleston!" Jack shouted the lie. "Fuckin' Charleston, big ass port like that he'd be gone real fuckin' fast."

"Thank you, Jack." Ed removed the knife from Jack's face. "Just one last thing."

Jack screamed for real this time as Ed's blade sliced through testicles, cock, and knot. It required a bit of sawing at the last, through the strong tissue of the knot, but Edward didn't stop until Jack had been completely emasculated.

"Won't be needing this any longer," Ed smirked. "Just in case you get any further bright ideas about Izzy again." He flung Jack's penis over the side of the ship, and the severed organ hit the waves with a splash. He turned on his heel, leaving a sobbing Jack hung on the mast, and headed towards the wheel.

Fang was on watch, and Ed relieved him. "We're setting course for Charleston. Let the quartermaster know to make a resupply list, and we'll do a bit of legitimate trading while we're there." Then an afterthought. "Send the doctor up and have him do what he can about Jack. I want him to live long enough to let Iz deal with him."

"Aye, cap'n." Fang disappeared belowdecks to deliver his messages while Ed changed course. They were still a week and a half at least out of Charleston, and Izzy had already been missing for three weeks before. It'd taken him that long to find Jack, but Ed already felt calmer knowing they were on the way to Izzy.

This time, fuck the rules. He was going to bond Izzy and to hell with the consequences.

A hoarse, ragged scream was accompanied by the smell of charred and cauterized flesh. Ed lit his pipe to drown out the smell and studied the horizon. "Just hang on, Iz. I'm coming."

Roach peeked into the cell, hoping to find Stede sleeping. Instead, wary eyes stared at the Beta in the doorway, but at least he didn't growl. Roach let the door close quietly and looked at Lucius. "He's wide awake and he's got Izzy in the nest," he reported back.

"Fuck," Lucius swore. "That's not good, that's mating behavior. He's like, totally wrapped around Izzy, isn't he?"

"From what I could see, yeah. Couldn't see much of Izzy at all, but I did notice the scarf was on the floor."

"Oh, God, I hope Stede didn't bite. If Stede bit the scent glands, we're fucked. That's a bonding bite and Blackbeard will just slaughter Stede and take Izzy back," Lucius babbled, panicked.

"I'll go make a tray," Roach reassured. "Simple stuff, water, bread and cheese, maybe some fruit. I'll put something in the water to help knock them both out, and then we can properly dose both of them and see how far up shit creek we actually are."

Izzy drifted into wakefulness. At first he didn't realize why; his Alpha's knot wasn't fully deflated yet, so he was still comfortably full. The back of his neck tingled from his Alpha's teeth, and his Alpha was still physically wrapped around him.

And then he smelled it.

Now that the desperate flood of needy arousal and possession had dulled into contentment, he smelled it. The sweet, soft scent of the female Omega. It burned in his sinuses, rested like ashes on his tongue, and frazzled his nerves.

How dare Stede have another Omega here, when Izzy had been so desperately aching for him? He shoved at Stede's clingy grip with a disgruntled growl.

Stede reacted immediately, loosening his grip as Izzy pushed as far away as the deflating knot would allow. A sudden fear of being rejected by his mate washed over him, and Stede licked over the bite mark to try and calm Izzy down.

Izzy purred instinctively at the gentle lick, but scowled again in the next moment as he smelled the other Omega all over Stede. He pawed unhappily at the sheet forming the nest, because somehow the female's slick had leaked onto it. "Alpha," Izzy whined, unable to vocalize beyond, "Stinks."

A deep breath told Stede everything he needed to know; Izzy was scenting distress and Stede still smelled the female. And he knew how to fix it. Giving his hips a twist, his knot slipped free of Izzy's body and he surged to his feet, moving as far back as the chains would allow.

A stream of fragrant Alpha urine hit the silk sheet, soaking and thoroughly ruining the fine fabric. The strong scent of Stede completely obliterated the smell of the female, and Izzy had to stop himself from moving to stand directly in the stream.

For his part, Stede was very careful not to urinate on Izzy; that was a punishment, a way to break an Omega's will, and even in his rut he did not want to do that. When he was done, the cell no longer had any trace of Leila's scent.

Izzy kicked the sodden sheet into the corner and pulled Stede back down to the bare floor. "Thank you, Alpha," Izzy murmured, nuzzling into Stede's neck and purring. He let Stede lay him down and curl tightly back around him.

Stede nuzzled the bite mark again, and Izzy's rusty purr kicked into high gear. The exhausted Omega was almost asleep again, distress replaced by utter contentment. No longer afraid of being rejected, Stede gathered Izzy against his skin, feeling the Omega's purr deep in his own chest.

His own contented trill matched his mate's, and before Stede realized it, he had joined his mate in the deep sleep of exhaustion.

Roach peeked in, half-irritated to see both Stede and Izzy fast asleep after he'd gone through all the trouble of special preparations, but it did make things so much easier. "Hey, bring in the needles," Roach called softly.

Lucius passed the syringes over, and Roach quickly injected Stede's bare hip. In his stupor, Stede felt the pinch and struggled to open his eyes as the morphine took effect.

They waited fifteen minutes, more than long enough to let the drug circulate, then Lucius started to carefully unwrap Stede's clinging limbs so that Roach could pull Izzy free and medicate him as well. But even in his sleep, Stede was reluctant to let Izzy go.

Roach pulled the smaller Omega away, and Izzy whined deep in his sleep at the loss. At the whine, Stede struggled against the blanket of drugs, reaching out feebly though he couldn't even open his eyes. The Beta quickly drugged Izzy as well, stilling his movements and quieting his cries.

As Izzy quieted down, so did Stede, though the Alpha still showed some signs of restlessness. Lucius had a sudden idea, and leaned over Stede's side to whisper, "Bathroom, Alpha," in his ear.

That seemed to settle Stede's restlessness, and he relaxed back into the sedated stupor.

Roach let out a slow breath. "While Stede is out, go to the farm and ask Fetterling if he will lend us a couple of Betas to help us here."

"Jeffrey told me Stede just had his glands drained before we brought Izzy here, like, while we were on the carriage ride home, and his rutting already means he's full up again, cause of his reaction to Izzy. Think it's safe to do it again this soon?"

"Nah, they'd have to move him somewhere very far away from here, and I have to be close to monitor the shots," Roach answered. "But we'll still need some help, so go ahead and do what I've asked," he encouraged gently. "Then get some rest." Cause the boy had tremendous dark circles under his eyes and he, too, looked exhausted.

Lucius gave a wan smile. "Yeah, it's been a day. I'll see if Leila is ready to go back, and I'll spend tomorrow writing up her freedom papers so they're ready for Stede's signature." He looked at the Beta. "Anything I can get for you?"

Roach shook his head no, and as Lucius left, Frenchie came in. "Hey, man, let's get this guy back to his room, yeah?"

"I already changed the sheets and aired the room a bit," Frenchie answered, helping Roach lift Izzy's sleeping form. "What about the boss?"

"Leave him for now, we'll have to clean him up before we move him." Together, they carried Izzy back to his bedroom. They laid him on cool sheets, and Roach dropped into the closest armchair to catch his breath. "Wonder if they'd notice if I jumped the first ship leaving port?"

"Look, go take a bath or something," was Frenchie's suggestion. "I'll sponge him off and call you if anything happens."

"Fine, but I'll be back. I sent Lucius to see if we can borrow a couple of Betas from the farm to help out. Hopefully our bonded Alphas here won't rut after this."

Frenchie knew less about Alphas and Omegas than most Betas. "Think we'll be okay, they all got out of Dodge. Go on, mate, you've really earned some rest, yeah?"

"Okay, yeah. Thanks."

Stede woke disgruntled and very confused.

He was back in his bedroom, for one, when the last he recalled, he'd been in the cellar room.

For two, he was alone, and he vaguely recalled a female Omega before his rut blacked out his recall.

For three, he could still taste the stale copper tang of blood not his own.

That he was buck naked didn't surprise him, and he quickly donned the clean clothing that had been laid out for him and tossed his gold robe over it all. He hopped foot to foot, pulling his boots on as he crossed the bedroom, and before he got halfway down the hall, Lucius met him with a breakfast tray.

"Stede! Hi! Good morning and hey, I got breakfast! Bet you're hungry." Lucius lifted the full tray invitingly.

Actually, he was close to starving, but "Bring it along, Lucius, perhaps Mr. Hands will feel up to sharing."

"Yeah, no, Izzy's already got breakfast and Oluwande is out getting him some new clothes," Lucius reported, steering Stede back towards the bedroom suite.

Stede let himself be led back. "It sounds like our guest made it through his heat all right. I really must check on him, I wouldn't want him feeling neglected by his host."

It was a struggle for Lucius not to giggle insanely. He managed to turn it into a cough instead and merely said, "I'm sure he understands." He was going to have to talk to Stede about this Izzy situation, and right now. "Uh, boss?"

"Yes?" Stede was cutting the sausage links into bite-sized pieces and wolfing them down. There was also a rasher of bacon, three boiled eggs, three slices of toast with a pot of orange marmalade, and a full kettle of steaming hot tea to wash everything down. "Did write up the papers for the woman?"

"I did, yeah. So, what do you remember?" Lucius put his elbows on the table and his chin in his hands.

"Not very much, I'm afraid," Stede admitted. This rut had been particularly rough. "I recall sending you for nesting materials for Mr. Hands, that is quite clear. I rather ill-advisedly went to check in on him. Then I recall the cellar room, and the female. Then I woke up in my bedroom." Stede washed the words down with tea, and dug into the eggs after salting them.

"Well, you certainly missed a fun party. You'll probably remember more later, but, uh. Izzy challenged Leila over you, we got her away before there was any violence, and. You knotted Izzy, bit him on the back of the neck, and we had to drug you both to get him away from you. So maybe we can talk about putting Izzy up at the inn or something until Blackbeard gets here?" Lucius finished in a rush.

Stede was staring open-mouthed at Lucius, fork frozen almost comically still in mid-air, halfway to his mouth.

This time, Lucius couldn't stop the maniacal giggle. "Stede? Sorry, that was probably too blunt. Sorry again, it's just been a rough few days. You should probably give out raises, cause Roach is ready to stow away on a merchant vessel and you owe Jeffrey something really expensive cause he lent us their knotting machine and three betas to help us manage you two and pick up the household slack."

Carefully, with exaggerated caution, Stede lowered his fork to his plate like he held a live grenade. "I'm sorry, I'm certain I misheard you. I took advantage of my guest and made attempts to claim him even though he was clearly biologically compromised?" To his credit, Stede sounded horrified by his behavior, even scandalized.

Like nothing else had, Stede's reaction proved to Lucius that Stede was past his rut and back in his right mind. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, Izzy--or at least, his instincts--were just as into it as you were," he offered helpfully. "I mean, he is the one who--"

"Not another word, Lucius," Stede snapped firmly. "I don't want to hear another word. As an Omega, you know full well what Mr. Hands was struggling against. It was my responsibility as both host and Alpha to keep him safe and comfortable, and I am the one who failed him. I should have insisted that I be removed from the premises entirely, and that is my fault."

"Uh, yeah, it is actually. Because it's not like Jim and I tried to tell you exactly that, except your stubborn Alpha ass wouldn't listen! So don't lecture me, Stede Bonnet, cause I already know the drill," Lucius snapped back. "I really am sorry you're feeling guilty or whatever, but you do not get to yell at me about it."

Stede's mouth snapped shut as Lucius' vehemence swept over him. He waited until the younger Omega finished, and then looked at him seriously. "You are absolutely correct, and I do apologize to you as well. I should be saying thank you, instead of fussing."

"Yeah, you should be," Lucius agreed, but Stede's obviously genuine apology had mollified the bitchy tone in his voice.

"Thank you, Lucius, for everything you did for Mr. Hands and for myself," Stede replied. "And I will make personal thanks and apologies to Roach as well, as soon as we are done here. Perhaps Roach would appreciate a few days vacation with pay? And I'd like to offer the same to you, and your Pete, of course."

"Can't speak for Roach, but I'll take that, you know I will. Pete's been wanting to do a whole beach thing, bless his heart. But let's get back to the question of maybe it'd be better to get Izzy a room at Jackie's inn?"

Even though he knew the boy had a very fair point, Stede was having a hard time agreeing to it. "I really don't think that's necessary. Both his heat and my rut are over and done with, and it will be many more months before either happens again. Not to mention my home here is far grander than Jackie's inn. Nor do I want to expose Mr. Hands to some of Jackie's more private clientele. Any Alpha there to get drained would not hesitate to take advantage of an unguarded, unbonded Omega."

Reluctantly, Lucius had to admit Stede had a point. Some of Jackie's Alpha clients were mean and dangerous. And he couldn't send Izzy back to the farm for the same reason. "Okay, so maybe you're right that here is the safest place for Izzy right now. But you have to swear that if Jim or Roach or I tell you to leave, you'll go. Cause Izzy's under your skin, now. You almost gave him a bond bite! I don't know how the two of you are going to react, and I got to make sure you'll listen."

It was Stede's turn to admit that Lucius might have a fair point of his own, because if he were being totally honest with himself, he was already eager to visit Izzy after breakfast. "Yes, you're quite right. I give you my word that I will remove myself, if and when you say. And if I do not, or if I argue, you have my standing orders to do whatever it takes to make sure that I do. Jim and Roach as well, and I will communicate this to them myself when I apologize."

Stede had agreed far too easily for Lucius to be comfortable with the situation, but it did seem like Stede was trying. He satisfied himself with that.

The Queen Anne's Revenge was still three and a half days out of Charleston, and they couldn't get there fast enough to suit Ed.

He'd cleaned and loaded Izzy's pistol, sharpened his rapier and his dagger. He'd moved Izzy's bedding around, from the hammock strung up in Ed's cabin to the bed he intended for them to share.

He'd gone through the chests of looted treasures in the belly of the ship until he'd found an emerald signet ring with a bird carved into the stone. There'd been an amethyst in the same chest, set in gold filagree, and both rings were safely stowed in his desk drawer. Of course Izzy would have a very obvious bond bite from Ed, but he'd have a ring, too, just in case somebody was blind enough to miss the teeth marks.

Jack was still somewhere belowdecks, being tended by the doctor and pissing out of a wooden tube. But for the most part, he was out of sight and out of mind.

A part of Edward tried to put forth the thought of maybe he'd gone too far--but then he felt the gaping maw of emptiness where Izzy usually was, both by his side and inside his chest. Hollowness threatened to overtake and suffocate him, and he realized his only real regret was that Jack had given in so easily.

Izzy's breakfast tray was even more robust than Stede's because the heat burned through an Omega much harder than an Alpha's rut. Izzy had bacon and sausage, yes, but also two thick slices of salted ham. Eggs and fried potatoes, toast and fresh fruit, coffee instead of tea.

It was far more food than Izzy had ever seen in one place, and the extravagance disgusted him. It also smelled more delicious than anything he'd ever smelled--including Edward. HE fell on the tray like a starving man, only belatedly realizing the Beta chef was still sitting in the room with him, sipping his own cup of coffee. Suddenly, Izzy felt guilty. "This your breakfast, too?"

The sudden swell of pity Roach knew would be unwelcome. "Nah, man, that's all yours. Just wanted to make sure you had enough, or if you wanted anything different."

"If I had enough?" Izzy repeated. "Are you fucking kidding me? This could feed half my crew!"

"You need the calories," Roach said simply. "You're a skinny fucker anyway, and heats really take it out of Omegas."

"Yeah, no shit." But even as Izzy was complaining, he was eating just as quickly as he could chew and swallow. "Where's my clothes?" was the next logical question.

"In the laundry, having the heat scent soaked out," was the answer, and Roach smiled at Izzy's surprised look. "Oluwande, he's Jim's mate, he measured your clothes and he's picking you up some new things."

Izzy looked down at the green robe and clean underwear that wasn't his own. "I guess these are Bonnet's?"

"The robe is Stede's, but Jim's closer to your size, so they donated a pair they'd never worn before."

"Give me some paper, or even better, a ledger book, and I'll keep track of all this. When Blackbeard gets here, I can get to my shares and pay you all back."

Roach laughed softly. "You can try, but I bet you ten pounds nobody will accept it."

Izzy scowled at his breakfast. "You're sure about that?"

"Sure enough to put ten pounds on it."

Izzy crunched a fried potato. "You're on."

Roach smirked. "I'll talk to Olu and get a ledger for you."

"And I'm gonna start with the boy, and pay him for those four letters I wrote."

"Double luck with that, man." Roach lifted his coffee cup in a toast.

Izzy didn't quite smile, but he did lift his cup in answer. In the next second, his head snapped towards the door, nostrils flaring. "Bonnet." His hand rose to rub the tingling bite mark on the back of his neck. "What did that fucking Alpha do?"

"Stede, I have to reiterate just how much I hate this. Why don't you let me check on him for you and see if he's ready for visitors?" Lucius suggested, walking backwards in front of Stede, hands out to slow his progress. At least he'd managed to persuade the Alpha to finish breakfast and get properly dressed first.

"Don't be ridiculous," Stede scolded. "After my quite unforgivable behavior, I owe it to Mr. Hands to make sure I didn't cause him harm, and I owe him all manner of apologies."

"Look, I don't actually disagree in principle; Izzy is absolutely due an apology from you--just maybe not immediately after the heat-sick has ended. Maybe give it a couple of days so he's not quite so sensitive to your scent," Lucius suggested. "There's enough of us Omegas and Betas that we can handle anything Izzy needs for a day or two."

Stede stopped at the end of the hallway and let the young man's words soak in. "All right, perhaps you have a point. I will remain in the hallway here, if you will check in with Mr. Hands and report back to me."

That might have been Stede's first good decision since his rut had started and ended, and Lucius fervently hoped that it meant Stede's good sense was returning. "Okay, yeah, I can absolutely do that," Lucius reassured. "Just, wait right here."

Stede stood with his hack against the stair railing, his eyes focused on the door where Lucius knocked.

Roach answered the door, just about ready to tell Stede to fuck off in just those terms, but swallowed the cursing when he saw Lucius. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Um, well, Stede wanted to check in on Izzy personally this morning, but I talked him into letting me do it instead, so, hi!" He waggled his fingers in a little wave.

"Where's that Alpha bastard?" Izzy shouted over Roach's shoulder. "Get in here, Spriggs, I have questions!"

"Hope I have the right answers!" Lucius chirped, a bit nervously. "But first of all, you're okay, right? You need a doctor?" His eyes darted around guiltily so he didn't have to meet Izzy's glare. "A cutwife?"

"I'm not fucking whelping and even if I were, you and that fucker are the absolute last people on this fucking island I would tell!" Izzy shouted.

"Well, then! I'll just pop out, tell Stede you're tip-top, and send him along his way. Then I'm all yours, right?" Not waiting for confirmation, Lucius left the room and was practically run over by Stede reaching for the door. "Stede?"

"I heard raised voices, is everything all right?" He could smell Izzy's irritation, sharp and tickly like black pepper in his nose, and he held back the sinus-clearing sneeze.

"Everything is fine," Lucius reassured. "Izzy's finishing up breakfast and Roach is in with him. He's healthy, he's not injured, and doesn't need any medical attention or intervention," he finished. "So now you're going to go away, and I am going to answer his questions best I can, and I will do my best to get him downstairs for dinner tonight." He made shooing gestures with both hands.

Stede was absolutely unhappy at being told to get out, but he did trust Lucius. "All right, I'll be downstairs in my office, I'm sure there's plenty for me to catch up on."

"Leila's documents are on your desk, they just need your signature, and don't forget the bank draft," he reminded Stede. "I'll go to the bank this afternoon and deliver everything in the morning."

"Take Jim and Pete, I'm going to be sending several large drafts and you'll need the extra protection." Stede put a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "Thank you, Lucius; I don't know what I'd do without you."