Her father lost everything at the gambling table. When there was nothing left to wager, he offered the one thing that was never his to give—his daughter. Now aboard the Serpent’s Wake, she finds herself at the mercy of Captain Dan, the dangerous and infuriating pirate who won the wager. Torn from her home and thrust into a world of rough seas, dangerous ports, and ruthless men, she refuses to accept that a bet can determine her fate. But as days at sea become weeks, the captain she despises begins revealing unexpected sides of himself, and the life she once longed to return to no longer seems quite the same. With danger on the horizon, an unlikely bond forming, and one tiny kitten at her side, she must decide what freedom truly means. She was wagered away—but what happens next will be her choice.