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I sighed. "Many, many years of bad blood. My parents ran the dominant pack in the city. And my father's parents before them. The Dagens gathered enough power to move against them. They slaughtered my parents and a lot of other white wolves. They took over the territory. They ran it until about seven years ago, when I took it back."
"You were young when that happened?" Cooper asked softly.
"I was eight." I looked down at the table. "They liked to think they had morals, or some shit like that, so they didn't kill the children. They just sent us off to live with various associates of the Dagen family. I was raised here in Sydney by Helen Dagen, Alastair's aunt. It was her job to brainwash me into thinking my role in life was as the omega of their pack."
I looked back up and smiled savagely. "She was one of the first people I had killed."
"Taking out that hag was a pleasure." Jake had a self-satisfied smirk on his face.
"What about you?" Cooper asked him. "What were you doing? You wouldn't have been a kid, I'm guessing."
"I was doing what any smart wolf would do," Jake replied. "What most of us were doing. Biding our time and waiting for the right chance, and the right person to fight back against Dagen. The moment I saw Ivory, I knew she was the person we were waiting for. She was so full of anger and hate. The stupidest thing Barnaby Dagen did was not kill her. He didn't see the rage inside her. He was so sure he won, he didn't even think to look."
"He was so sure we were all broken," I said. "If he won me at that auction, he might have been right. Everyone was happy to join me when I started to move against Dagen, but no one dared to start it before me."
"No one else had the guts," Jake said. "That includes me. If Dagen knew you would grow up to be a banana throwing pancake lover, he would have been shaking in his shoes."
I laughed. "That does sound terrifying, doesn't it?"
Cooper was staring at me with open admiration. "For a long time, I've heard about you and how badass you are, but you're next level. I can't believe I got to fuck you. Anytime you want to do it again, I'm here for it."
I believed him. The truth was, he was as easy to like as he was hot. If I was honest with myself, I would admit I could fall head over heels for a guy like him. The gods knew that would complicate my life even further. Not to mention my relationship with Jake.
In spite of not wanting to cross the line, I did love him. I loved him from the moment he won my auction, when he looked at Dagen with a smug expression on his handsome face. Dagen was a vengeful bastard, but even then the financial cracks were starting to show. Given time, his empire would have probably imploded without me lifting a finger. I just helped it along a bit.
Jake bidding against Dagen in the first place showed the world he had balls after all. That the Ivory Claw pack was not as beaten down as people thought. Stepping up could have gotten him killed. Instead, he helped me to get a whole lot of other people killed.
Jake sighed. "Welcome to my world, kid. You work for her now. The only time your cock will get near her, will be in your dreams."
"Is that what happened to you two?" Cooper asked. "Because you obviously have the hots for each other. I can smell it on both of you. Hells, it would be obvious to a human."
One of Jake's eyebrows twitched. "Do you always say the first thing that comes out of your mouth?"
"Yeah," Cooper admitted. "It gets me into trouble occasionally. But I'm not wrong."
"Sometimes it’s not as simple as wanting to do something," I said softly. "You have to think about the consequences of doing it." The bad as well as the good.
"But you admit you want to fuck me?" Jake cocked his head and looked smug.
So. Fucking. Much.
I cocked my head at him. "Did I ever say I didn't?"
"Hell yeah." Jake grinned. He and Cooper shared a high-five.
Men.
I rolled my eyes at them. "Has it ever occurred to you that this, right here, is why I won't sleep with you? Because you need to grow the fuck up?"
They exchanged amused looks.
Jake shook his head. "Naw. You like my boyish enthusiasm."
He wasn't wrong. But that didn't make any of this simpler or easier.
"Sex complicates things," I said.
"I dunno, it seemed pretty simple to me," Cooper said. "I wanted you. You wanted me."
