The C Word (Just a Word Book 1) (7 page)

8

BITE ME

“Come on fuck
face, we’re going out,” Alex barks as he barges into my room.

Oh man, here
he is. Our future alpha. I shudder at the mere thought. You might wonder why my
eldest brother and heir to the pack legacy didn’t take the job of VP. Well, it’s
simple, Alexius McQueen, (notice my parents have a thing for Latin names?) the
rightful successor, is, to put it tactfully, a brute.

“Where?” I
ask, knowing I’m not getting the relaxing evening I had planned.

“Going to
remind you that we have decent nightlife around here in the dreaded ‘burbs’.
Not as sophisticated as fancypants London, I’m sure, but you could do to live a
little,” he replies, slugging me in the arm.

See, a brute.
His name means defender and it’s bang on. He is alpha material born and bred
and he is already showing promise leading the pack. He will make a fine alpha
because he is strong and has the same excellent qualities of leadership as my
father.

My father is
far from ready to step down, but Alex is in the wings, positively salivating.
As for the running of the bank? Alex lacks the finesse the job requires and to
be honest, he lacks the interest. Perhaps because where business is concerned,
I have always been my father’s shadow, so he never got a look in, but he has
never wanted the life I have and there’s resentment.

I roll my
eyes, “I live fifteen miles away, Alex, not on another planet.”

“It may as well
be,” he huffs. He wants the pack life. His role will be leadership and
protection and he will be damn good at it. He and his mate are churning out
kids already. They live here on the estate with my parents and the rest of the
pack, where there is green grass and trees and lakes and, you know, ‘outdoor
stuff’, all of which I hate. I belong here about as much as he belongs in
Mayfair.

I get to my
feet as he approaches and he appraises me. “Got anything that says ‘I know how
to relax’ or did you only pack the ‘stick up the arse’ collection?”

I shake my
head and the corner of my lips curl up in a warning. He knows it’s coming
before I open my mouth. He makes it too easy to fuck with him. “Actually, it’s
not a stick up the arse, it’s—”

He presses
his hands to his ears and groans. “Stop! I don’t want to know.”

I pause, then
start to laugh. “Too easy.”

“I could
always rough you up a bit,” he says cuffing me round the ear. He takes another
halfhearted swing.

I shove him, “thanks,
but I’m good.”

“So seriously,”
he says, pulling his T-shirt straight. “Do you own any clothes you can loosen
up in, or are you this up tight all the time now?”

“I can loosen
up in my clothes,” I reply.

Who am I
kidding? I don’t do loose. I do in control. I hate it when he’s right. He gives
me a disbelieving look and opens my wardrobe, digging to the back into the
stuff I left behind when I moved out.

“Ah ha!” He
comes out triumphantly with my old leather jacket.

I take it
from him and hold it up. Actually it’s not bad, I forgot I had this. I say ‘old’
but only a few years and it’s Armani, so it’s not like it will ever really be
out of style. The black leather is so soft it’s barely there, I hold it to my
nose to breathe in the scent. I bought it with my first real earnings when Dad
took me on at the bank. It was the first time I really spent money on clothes
and I loved it. I slide my arms into it and slip it on. It’s a little tighter
around the chest and biceps, which makes me smile. Glad to see my time in the
gym pays off.

While Alex is
still digging around, I look at myself in the reflection of the mirror on the
wardrobe door. Not bad. I think I might take this home with me. But he’s right,
it’s not a good look with the rest of the outfit. I find the jeans I brought
with me and there is a plain white T-shirt with a V-neck that will do. He’s
still rummaging which is pissing me off because now it will all be in disarray,
but I know if I say something he will mess with it even more. So I start
getting changed behind him. I’m just slipping my feet into my shoes when he
turns around.

“No,” he says
firmly. He comes towards me shaking his head and pushes me away from the shoes
so I can’t put them on. Put this on, he shoves a balled up T-shirt at my chest
and promptly stomps out of the room. I frown at his weird behaviour and shake
out the T-shirt. My Misfits shirt, another forgotten classic. It’s pretty faded,
but it’s better than nothing.
   

“Maxi!” I’m
slapped on the back, hard enough to knock the wind out of me as I’m pulling it
over my head.

“Hey Ben, how’s
it going?” Ben is my second oldest brother. He also lives here with his mate,
who I adore, for… reasons.

“Good, good.
How’s thing’s with you? Haven’t lost the family fortune yet?”

“Not yet.
Your life of privilege and luxury is still safe for the moment.” I nudge him
with my elbow.

“Good job
little bro.”

“So where are
we going?”

Ben looks at
me with disbelief. “The bloody pub! Where else?”

I roll my
eyes, picking the jacket back up and slip it on.

Ben looks at
my outfit and I can feel the comment coming. “Who are you and what have you
done with my brother?” He chuckles, his eyes falling to my socked feet. “You’ll
be needing some shoes though.”

I look down
too and wiggle my toes, then glance at my shoes on the floor. “Yeah, apparently,
my footwear is the devil.”

Just then
Alex reappears and thrusts a pair of beaten up black converse at me. “Put these
on.” It wasn’t a request.

“Is Zac
coming?” I ask innocently.

“Pffft!” they
both chime in unison.

“What?”

“He doesn’t
stay out past nine, it’s not worth the hassle.” Alex scoffs.

“Fair enough,”
I concede.

Zacchaeus is
the third born son. The fact that his name means clean and innocent is
laughable. He is anything but. Wholesome maybe, but clean is not a word I would
use to describe him. Crusty, if anything, would be the way I’d go. He’s just so,
earthy. He’s heavily involved in the estate and runs the farm.

After Zac,
came me, the greatest, but we’ve established that. Fourth in line, yet bestowed
with half of the Alpha’s birth right. This is no small thing and it has been
noted. People have whispered and queried my father’s decision, could it show
lack of confidence in Alex’s leadership abilities? Does it mean that I will
take over as Alpha one day?

Hell no.

My father
will not be questioned or doubted. It is simple for him, his children have all
impressed him and he has allowed them ALL to grow to their strengths. He stands
by his decisions and justifies them to no one but himself.

“Is Theo
home?” Alex asks Ben.

“Dunno, I’ll
go check.” Ben disappears and I finish tying my laces.

Theodorus,
meaning gift of God, because my mother thought she wouldn’t be able to have any
more after me, so Theo was like a gift from God if you believe in that sort of
thing. The truth of the matter is actually that he thinks he is God’s gift, a
very different thing. Trust me. He just graduated with a pass, because he was
otherwise engaged on campus for about 90% of his time at university.

He wanted to
come and live with me in London rather than go home so that he could pursue a
privileged playboy lifestyle, but I killed that idea fast. No bloody way is he
coming to the city to mooch off me and kill my private life. I felt bad for
saying no but I needed my space.

Five mins
later, Ben and Theo are waiting for us in the kitchen.

“Well, look
at you! You look halfway normal,” Theo grins.

“Yeah Yeah,”
I sneer. I definitely made the right decision, little shit.

“Come on, let’s
go before Flo demands a lift somewhere,” Ben says glancing over his shoulder,
checking that Flo is nowhere near.

It turned out
that God’s gift was not the final ‘blessing’ on my family, Flo, is the baby.
Floretta, means little flower and being the only girl, you can imagine that’s
just what she is to my parents. She’s the family’s closely guarded little bloom
and it drives her crazy. She is dying to move away to study next year; I think
my father might cry.

The pub is
busy and Ben shoves his way to the bar, returning with four beers.

“How come it’s
so busy tonight?”

“I think
there’s music on later,” Alex says casually.

I listen to
my brothers’ easy banter. I miss them a lot.
Typically
they are bagging on Zac as he’s not here to defend himself.

“Do you do
this to me when I’m not around?”

“Yeah, you
always get it. Zacky is getting it today because we can hardly talk about you
when you’re standing right here,” Ben teases.

“Ha ha. Hey,
any idea who the band is?” I ask.

Theo shrugs. “Some
rock band. Not your kind of thing dude. I saw them here about a month ago. They
were pretty good.”

Not my kind
of thing? What’s that supposed to mean? “You don’t know it’s not my kind of
thing.”

“I have a
pretty good idea,” he smirks.

Cheeky fuck.
The music might not be me, but the musician? Different story. I just shake my
head and take a long drink of my beer. That’s when I feel him. I
doesn’t
hit me hard like before. I feel that too familiar
pull of the beast inside demanding to be free, but it isn’t panic, its more of
an urge. I have it under control before I even lower my beer. My brothers are
clueless and I feel satisfied and much more in control. I don’t bother looking
for him but he knows I’m here, he’ll have felt it too. Instead I try and focus
on Alex’s witty anecdote about something or other. It makes no sense as I
missed the beginning, but I laugh along anyway.

Some time
into the second long-winded tale Alex is telling, the pub is filled with the
muffled sound of a heavy baseline. It is obscured by the slight soundproofing
of the back room it is coming from, but I’d know that sound anywhere. It has
his name written all over it. It is as much him as the rich tone of his voice
and the green of his eyes. I glance in the direction of the music, turning back
to my brothers after a moment.

“Oh he’s back,”
quips Ben.

“Huh?” I ask,
glancing again, before trying to focus on the conversation at hand.

Fingers snap
in front of my face. “Earth to Max,” Alex teases.

“You seem
distracted little brother.”

I shake my
head to try and concentrate, even though I can feel his sound inside me. I want
to get closer. “Sorry,” I mutter.

“We could go
and listen,” offers Ben.

I shrug,
trying to appear nonchalant, relieved when the others nod and Ben leads the
way.

The room they
are playing in is dark and blue hued like before. It’s a more intimate room and
I take a place just behind Theo so that I can watch without being seen.

From the
darkness behind the pool of light the singer is standing in, the base throbs. I
can’t see him because he is hiding in the shadows. While the sound of him
embraces me, I run through the things that have happened over the past few
days. He has made an impression, that’s for sure. I’m all for instant
attraction, but having this draw to someone is something I’ve never known.

I catch the
odd glimpse of him, but he shuns the light tonight, even playing his solos from
the darkness. I start to worry that maybe he thinks I came here tonight to find
him and he’s uncomfortable about it. Maybe we should get out of here before
they finish their set?

As they
finish and the lights come up, I look for him, but he disappears through a side
door as soon as he hops off stage.

Fuck.

“Should we
finish these and make a move?” I ask Ben.

He looks at
his watch, “Nah the night is young!”

Theo laughs, “Yeah,
he has at least thirty five minutes before the nagging starts, let him enjoy
it.”

I frown. “Nagging?”

Ben puts his
arm around my shoulder and leans in, doing his big brotherly bit. “Let me
explain something to you little bro. When you find the love of a good woman,
you have to, you know, grease the wheels. A little give and take.”

“What he
means is, if he gets home too late, he won’t get his dick sucked.” Theo roars
with laughter.

“Leave him
alone, Theo.” Alex scowls.

“Oh please!”
Theo chuckles. “You’re no better,” Theo turns back to me, “he won’t get his
dick sucked because he came out in the first place!”

I shake my
head and grin, while Alex deals with Theo by way of a headlock and some vicious
looking ear pulling.

“See this is
the advantage of not having a mate. I go where I want, do what I want and still
get my dick sucked.”