Volatile Love: Gilded Sovereign, page 1
Volatile Love
Gilded Sovereign
Dani René
Contents
Acknowledgments
Foreword
Playlist
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Epilogue
Bonus Scene
COMING SOON!
SNEAK PEEK!
Prologue
Also by Dani René
Stalk Links
About the Author
Copyright © 2019 by Dani René
Published by Dani René
Cover Design by Jay Aheer, Simply Defined Art
Cover Photography by CJC Photography
Cover Model, Brock Aaron
Edited by Becky, The Fairest of All Book Reviews
Proofed by Michelle Myers
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.
The following story contains mature themes, strong language, and sexual situations. It is intended for adult readers.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in the work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owner.
Acknowledgments
I’m honestly at a loss for words. This is my last release for 2019, and I’m emotional because this story comes at my fourth year in this industry. It’s been a rollercoaster, but I wouldn’t change a thing.
Etienne and Rukaiya may have had a difficult start, but I’m so in love with their fire and passion, and I hope you enjoyed it too. Thank you for taking a chance on me as I veer off into a new genre. Your support humbles me daily. <3
My Alpha BETAs—Cat, Allyson, and Heather, thank you for reading this story from it’s first draft to the final proof.
Thank you to Rebecca for taking Etienne and Rukaiya and polishing them up so beautifully. You’re a gem and I’m so happy to be working with you. <3
Michelle Myers, I know you’ve claimed Etienne, and I’m sure you’ll have to share him with a few hundred ladies, but he’ll always be yours. Thank you for your love and support, and for proofing at the last minute. You’ve really been amazing.
The Street Team, you ladies work your ass off to get my name out there, thank you. From the bottom of my little black heart, THANK YOU!
My Deviants!! This group is like my own personal form of therapy. Thank you!! There is never a dull moment, and that’s what makes me thankful for your love and support. It’s not easy working with the intense stress and deadlines, but you always seem to brighten my day!
To my fellow authors who are there with advice, support, and just a general pick me up. Thank you. It means more to me than you know. Thank you for sharing my work with your readers, and giving me a friendship that is second to none.
To the bloggers, you ladies read, read, read, support, post, review, and you do it with a smile. Thank you!! We wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you, so keep what you’re doing, we appreciate you! #AllBlogsMatter!
Lastly, to the readers, thank YOU! It’s because of you I’m able to put out book after book. Giving you what you ask for, and hopefully making you excited about the next book. Thank you for your reviews, keeping them SPOILER FREE ;) But most of all, thank you for buying our books. For your support, love, and encouragement.
THANK YOU!
D x
To the kick ass girls who don’t need a hero to save them. To the women who are strong, resilient, and stubborn. You don’t need a knight in shining armor, darling, because you’re a queen!
Mad love xo
Dani
History has a way of repeating itself.
Long ago, the world was ravaged by men who believed they were gods. They knew that with wealth would come supremacy and the possibility to reign, creating a society with limitless power.
A chosen handful of self-proclaimed rulers, who wanted more, took it upon themselves to band together.
Hungry for the privilege and influence that came with being one of the men who would sit at the table within the society aptly named, the Gilded Sovereign.
The men, who became known as the Crowns, would be succeeded by their first-born sons on their twenty-first birthday, walking the halls of Tynewood University as if they’re paved in gold.
Whispered about by mere mortals.
The Sovereign reveled in the domination afforded to them.
They wanted people to bow down to them. To fear them. They believed that when fear was present, respect would inadvertently come with it.
With every year that passed and each new generation claimed their seat at the table, the darkness took over. When mortals hold the future in their hands the way the Sovereign do, only bad things can happen.
Men hunger for more. They crave it like an addict hungers for his next fix. But they didn’t realize that the one thing that gifted them the power could also bring them to their knees.
All their secrets are kept locked up tight.
They not only rule their town but the country. There is one rule they vow to hold till death—never speak of the society drenched in money and power.
War. Love. Life. Death.
Wealthy. Stylish. Powerful. Regal.
Deviant. Destructive. Dangerous. Deadly.
By blood. By oath.
Four young men will take charge as their fathers step down. They’ll be the future leaders—heartless and cold. Nothing can change their fate, and nobody can stop their path. This is their destiny.
The town of Tynewood is their playground. A place where the rich and famous come to hide their most depraved acts within the small, almost forgotten town.
Darkness lurks within the walls of Tynewood University, and danger simmers just beneath the surface. If you look closely, you’ll see the depravity that reigns supreme.
Welcome to the inner sanctum.
A society of gods.
Welcome to the Gilded Sovereign.
Foreword
Love, like hatred, is born from passion. The only difference is that love can heal a lot more than hate even can.
Playlist
Demons - Jacob Lee
I Hold You - CLANN
Kill For You - Skylar Grey, Eminem
Call Out My Name - The Weeknd
Someone You Loved - Lweis Capaldi
Breathe - Mako
Saint-Tropez - Post Malone
Bruises - Lewis Capaldi
Not Your Hero - Emanuel Vo Williams
Be Alright - Dean Lewis
Hold On - Chord Overstreet
lovely - Billie Eilish, Khalid
Find the playlist here
Prologue
Present Day
Once I knew I was in this life for good, I promised myself I would never let anyone else in my family feel the impact of what’s to come. I fought it; I asked and begged Abner to let Etienne go, but he refused.
The man is a monster.
And now my son is one of the Crowns.
At first, I thought he’d fall into the same trap we all did. But seeing him here, grown up, more mature than I could’ve ever expected, is far more jarring than if he’d been a party animal. When I left Tynewood, Etienne and his friends were always at the lake house drinking and having keggers and I worried about him. But then I realized it was normal teenage behavior, I’d done the same.
What concerned me more though was the thought of him turning into Abner Lancaster. Even though the man was a friend, I knew how much of an asshole he was. I knew he wasn’t good.
My formative years were spent with Abner, and Tarian’s uncle and mother, Thane and Yasmine. I knew all along I didn’t want Etienne to be like me, or them in any way. We did things I’m not proud of, but Abner always took it a step too far by reveling in the violence,
I never wanted my son to be burdened with the darkness that came with the Sovereign. Once you’re sworn in, it’s as if your soul is blackened with the filth that resides within the walls of the dungeons where our meetings are held.
Knowing how Abner tore apart the Tynewood faction only cements my need to break the whole Sovereign down, but I know it will never happen. As much as I want to deny that I wouldn’t cross the line if I needed to, I can’t. If it means keeping Etienne safe, I’ll do anything. I pray with all I have that Etienne, Tarian, Ares, and Philipe will find a way to change the filth that’s plagued the society and turn it into something good. Something worthy of being a part of.
As much as I hate being a Crown, I can’t forsake what I’ve worked so hard to accomplish. Lifting the glass to my lips, I take a long sip of the deep crimson liquid. Port has been my drink of choice for a long while, and I savor the sweetness and burst of flavors that hit my tongue.
The office is silent, and I close my eyes for a moment to soak up my aloneness. It’s not often I get the chance to be with my own thoughts. Running the London wing of the Sovereign has its pitfalls, one of them being that I’m always watched by the men who I govern.
It’s been a long time since I first walked into this room and took the seat at the head of the table. When the man who I worshipped ran this place, it felt as if we were in the army—he ruled with an iron first. But the day he died, a part of this manor house went with him.
I’ve lived here for almost seven years, and I swear I still feel his presence. As if his ghost still walks amongst the carpeted halls. Every step that creaks, each window that affords a view of the vast grounds make it feel as if I’m living in a museum.
A knock at the office door draws my attention to the heavy wood. It’s a soft sound, one that lets me know who’s on the other side without hearing her voice.
“You know you don’t have to knock,” I call to her. When my wife told me to choose between her and the Sovereign, I walked out. I prayed that Etienne would find something to occupy his time and mind that didn’t involve the Crown, but the wish was futile. I should’ve brought him with me, but I couldn’t take him away from his friends.
When the door slides open, Maisy walks in. Long dark hair flows down her back, the wide blue eyes that I’ve come to love pierce me with questions, but I can’t give her any information as to why I’m hiding in the office.
I had promised her father I wouldn’t let her get too involved in the society. I couldn’t allow her to get hurt. Even though she knows about the Sovereign, after her father died and I took his place, I kept most of the dealings contained in the office, locked up tight.
“I missed you in bed,” she tells me, settling herself on my lap, taking my glass and sipping the alcohol. At thirty, she looks closer to twenty-one. With smooth, creamy skin, blemish-free and perfect, she’s like a doll.
“I needed to finish up some paperwork,” I tell her. “Etienne is coming to the manor tomorrow.”
Her gaze snaps to mine. She knows I have a son. I was upfront when we met, but she’s always been scared that he’ll think she’s trying to take his mother’s place. Frankly, I think he’d be happy with a woman he can talk to other than my ex-wife.
Hilary is nothing more than a goddamned alcoholic. But then again, I feel responsible for pushing her down that path. I wasn’t the perfect husband, but she was never the woman I should’ve married.
“I look forward to meeting him,” Maisy tells me eagerly, and I can tell she’s not just saying that, because the truth is right there in her sky-blue gaze. She settles herself against me, handing me the tumbler before twining her arms around my neck.
I feel myself respond to her softness and warmth, but I don’t take her. Not tonight. There’s a war waging inside me, and it’s best I not do anything to hurt her. Violence runs rampant in my bones, deep to the very marrow of my being.
That’s where my son and I are different. We’re polar opposites, always have been. Silence hangs in the air between us, and I’m waiting for her to bring up a baby. Every time I’ve ever spoken about Etienne, she’s asked about us having a child of our own.
But that’s one thing I vowed to never do again. I can’t have another child because the moment I do, he or she will belong to the Sovereign, and I can’t take a chance that the child will turn out like me.
Closing my eyes, I inhale Maisy’s perfume before I set the glass down and scoop her up. Making my way out of the office, I carry her to our bed and set her down on the mattress.
“Sleep,” I tell her, and without debate, her eyes flutter closed. If only she knew that love is nothing more than a volatile emotion. It burns and rages inside you until there’s nothing left and you’re a slave to it.
Now all I have to do is convince my son to go back to Tynewood and hope the secrets I swore to keep when I walked out stay buried.
But secrets have a way of escaping, no matter how deep you hide them.
1
Etienne
Two weeks earlier
Rolling over on the plush mattress, I focus on the geometrical patterns in the ceiling that loom over me. The alarm clock glares at me with bright red numbers, informing me that it’s not even six yet. I should get up, but I don’t feel like moving. Last night, I ordered room service and drank a bottle of Jack on my own. Thankfully, the Brits have my poison fully stocked in the hotel.
Even though there’s an apartment in the city I can crash at, I don’t because I need quiet. And staying with Dad is not an option. I hate being around people when I’m anxious. It only makes it worse. I can’t concentrate; I can’t focus, and right now, I need to find out where my girl is. I already consider her mine because I laid claim to her when Ares and I first saw her and her friend Dahlia.
I scoot onto my side, glancing over to the window. It’s still somewhat dark, and I already hate that I’m here in winter. I remember visiting as a kid, my dad bringing me to the city and telling me how exciting it is because London is full of history.
At the time, I wasn’t overly impressed with London and all it had to offer. My best friends were back in the US, and all I wanted to do was spend time with them, learning about the secrets that Ares’s dad hid in his library.
We found books about secret societies and reading those made me antsy, wondering if I’d ever get to become one of the important men in the country. I wanted to be someone, a hero of sorts. And I knew the only way was to have the strength of my brotherhood behind me.
These groups were dangerous, that much I knew. They had too much power, and when men have iron fists, ruling over those they perceive as lowly, is never a good thing.
At the time, we were sixteen and thought the world revolved around us. We made plans about what we would do if we ever joined the Gilded Sovereign, a society that our fathers attempted to hide from us, but they had let a few things slip through the cracks.
Instead of being assholes like our dads were, we were going to get all the girls. Build a harem and drink all the whiskey we could while playing X-Box. A chuckle vibrates in my chest at the thought. We were so goddamned innocent back then, thinking that being a Crown was an honor. Now, though, we know what it entails—violence, bloodshed, and power—all which Abner used to hurt innocent people.
