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“I am not a pirate.” He shoved me back against the wall, his styled hair falling in his wild eyes, making the polished man appear more feral.

“Really?” I dipped my chin at him. For a beat, he glanced down at his sliced-up knuckles, his hair and suit in disarray. The polish was off, theKill-ian I remembered coming out.

“Killian…” Kat’s voice jerked his head, swinging him back to her.

“You…” He shook his head, inching over toward Kat. “How could you? After all he’s done to you?” He motioned back to me. “He sent you away, practically leaving you to die on the streets.”

“You don’t understand…”

“No, I don’t,” he belted. “He murdered your father, Katrina! In cold blood. I watched him do it.”

“You saw what you wanted to.” I spat blood on the ground, pushing myself up to stand.

“I saw you stab her father,yourfirst mate, in the heart with his own dagger. Tell me how I saw it wrong?” He shot back at me before facing Katrina again. “And how can you forget what he’s done to you? The girl I knew wanted to hunt him down and kill him. Now what, you’re fucking him instead or something?”

Pain and grief streaked over her face, giving credence to something I don’t think he truly believed. Until now.

“Are you serious?” Killian stepped back, his head whipping between us. “You’refuckinghim?” He flung his arm in my direction. “Look at me!” He got in Kat’s face, tears streaking down her cheeks. “This is how you avenge your father? Become thewhoreof your father’s murderer?”

“Fuck you!” My anger, the need to stand in front of her and block her from his wrath, burned through my muscles.

“Kill, it’s complicated,” she cried. “I-I can’t explain…”

“You know that’s all you are to him, right?” Killian’s temper was spiraling, years of pent-up emotion blasting out.

I normally was even-tempered, but everything in me vibrated with wrath, the need to protect, destroy anything that went after what was mine.

My mate.

The word rang through me again, settling into my gut with truth.

I had known it for a long time but didn’t want to acknowledge it, thinking if I pretended it wasn’t there, it would go away.

“He will fuck you over like he did all the rest.” Killian got in her face, his body touching hers. “How can you be with him? How can you look at yourself? What would your father think? He betrayed your family. He took your father from you!”

A possessive roar scored my lungs, and I tugged on the chains. Fury consumed me.

“Get the fuck away from her!” My bellow shook the room.

“She doesn’t belong to you!” Killian screamed back.

“Yes, shefuckingdoes,” I growled low in my throat. “And I wasn’t the one to betrayhim. Rotty betrayed me. He is why I lost everything that night.”

“Wh-what are you talking about?” Kat’s head wagged with confusion, pain filling her eyes, needing answers. “That’s not true. He would never do that.”

“He did it foryou.” The memory spilled out; years of being locked away popped to the surface, whether I wanted it or not.

“I don’t understand.”

“You’re the reason for it all.”

“Go! Go!” I ordered what was left of my crew to abandon ship. The water washed the dead bodies back and forth across the deck, Master Yukimura’s being one of them.

The pain of his death radiated so deeply, almost dropping me to the ground, wanting the sea to take me too. But I knew he’d berate me for not fighting to keep the rest of them alive. So many depended on me.

“No!” Scot bellowed over the stormy sea, the ship breaking apart with every crashing wave.

“That’s an order!” I shouted, turning to retrieve Rotty. “From your captain.”