Tainted Crown: A Kinghood Novella

  Tainted Crown

  A Kinghood Novella

  G.N. Wright

  Copyright © 2022 G.N. WRIGHT All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording or other electronic or mechanical methods, without prior written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotation embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  This is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the authors imagination or have been used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons and things living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.

  COVER DESIGN: Sunset Bibliophile Graphics

  Created with Vellum

  To my broken wrist, you really were a fucker.

  But hey look what you made me do!

  Contents

  Playlist

  Author Note

  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

  THE END….

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by G.N. Wright

  LISTEN NOW

  Goddess - Xana

  Bad for Me - Always Never

  Young God - Halsey

  Wicked Games - The Weekend

  Feel Something - Bea Miller

  Does She Like It Rough? - Flavia

  Slow Down - Chase Atlantic

  Bad Intentions - Nike Heaton, Migos

  Cravin’ - Stileto, Kendyle Paige

  Like A God - Lia Marie Johnson

  Sick Thoughts - Lewis Bissett

  Dirty Mind - Boy Epic

  Do It For Me - Rosenfield

  Use Me - Makk Mikkael

  Chills - Mickey Valen, Joey Myron

  Please read the following warning before proceeding.

  This is a dark romance novella containing mature, explicit sexual scenes. They include voyeurism, weapon play, rope play, blood play, degradation, public humiliation, and some aspects of dom/sub/bdsm play. It also has scenes of drug and alcohol use, violence, and murder.

  Please respect your boundaries before diving in.

  If you require any more information or would like to discuss any of the above in more detail then please do not hesitate to reach out to me.

  Email - authorgnwright@gmail.com

  Instagram - @authorgnwright

  Facebook Readers Group - GN Wright’s Rebels

  For my devils who are excited by all of this…

  Welcome to the Kinghood.

  The Kinghood is a sacred brotherhood of boys and men.

  They value honor, order, loyalty, and sacrifice.

  When you become a King you will gain status, wealth, and power. There is no one you can’t have and nothing you can’t do.

  To become a King is to become a God.

  And all you need is one little gold coin.

  The blue strobe lights illuminate the hoards of writhing bodies. Swaying, gyrating, rippling, all of them moving to the deep thump of the music. Just another weekend at AGU. Except this isn’t just another weekend, this is the last weekend, well it is for me anyway. It’s been hours since I discarded my graduation robe, but the feeling of things coming to an end still lingers all around me.

  If it wasn’t for the stench of privilege lingering in the air, I could actually forget for a moment that I was at a Kinghood party. The Kinghood. A secret society that is anything but a secret at AGU. Made up of rich and powerful families whose sons run Anders Grave University and everyone in it. Well, everyone except me. Their elite club is strictly for those who have more money than sense, and that just isn't me. I landed myself at AGU on a scholarship, I grew up poor after my parents died, which deemed me unworthy to be welcomed into their circles. Which suited me fine, bottom of the food chain in their eyes, meant I wasn’t even considered to be lavished with their attention.

  Except for tonight apparently. I was easily surprised when I found the blue envelope sealed shut with their signature gold coin crest waiting for me on my doormat. This is the first time an invitation to one of their parties has ever been officially extended to me. Not that it’s my first time attending one, every party has a back door after all. On any other night I wouldn’t even be here, but this isn’t just any other night, this is my last night. Once I leave here tomorrow I won’t see any of these sorry fucks again, so tonight is the only night I have to play.

  I only have one goal for this evening, make Alexis Darling pay. Alexis is your typical Queen bee, sitting on her throne beside the Kings and looking down on everyone. The only puppets she doesn't pull the strings of are the ones who have a gold King coin in their possession. It's their stupid token of power which in reality means nothing to anyone outside of their circles, but not once in three years has she ever let me forget that I don't possess one. Little does she realize the only thing I have an interest in possessing is her.

  I hope Alexis and the Kings enjoy the irony of my outfit for the evening, because of course tonight is a costume party, they are nothing if not predictable. So, I am decked out in a fitted black suit, black loafers, and a steel gray crown rests upon my head. A dark king if you will. My ebony hair is slicked back, a silver chain hangs around my neck, and my inked forearms and upper chest are completely on display. The black blade I never leave the house without is slipped into my inner suit pocket, and there is a glock tucked into my waistband. You can never be too careful, especially around the Kings.

  We’ve all heard the sordid stories, the twisted tales, the reigning rumors, the depravity of their actions knows no limits. Some people might wonder how they still walk free, but I guess that's the thing about money and privilege, it makes you untouchable. I’ve had to work hard to hide the skeletons in my closet, but for the Kings it’s nothing more than a threat here and a bribe there, and their problems completely disappear. It must be nice to kill without fear of being caught, something I could only long for.

  I push through the slews of utterly intoxicated people, nodding my head at a few friends and people I know, choosing to ignore the paws of multiple underwear clad girls vying for my affections. Lord only knows what costumes they’re trying to pull off, but tonight I only have my sights set on one person.

  Alexis and I have spent the last three years in a battle of wicked words and tainted taunts. She has relished every second of reminding me where I come from and how little I matter to her, but does she think I missed the gleam in her eye every time we went head to head? Never have I had such a worthy opponent, and never have I wanted to silence someone more with my cock down their throat.

  She has made my days at AGU feel like hell with her constant torture and bullying, and my nights like heaven dreaming of all the things I want to do to her. I just need an in, one chance at one more battle, one chance at making her beg, making her mine, until morning at least. My knife burns a hole in my pocket, aching to come out and play, and just the thought of having her splayed out with her blood pulsing against the blade has my cock twitching in my slacks.

  I spy the Kings as soon as I enter the large kitchen area, all standing tall and regal around the center island as everyone surrounding them hangs off their every word. Paxton Parker is in the middle of course, if the King’s had a true King among them its him. Too much money and more connections than fucking God. He’s joined by three of the four other Kin
gs, Finn Hilton, Joseph Grant, and Theodore Wells. The former are paying more attention to each other than anyone else as they appear in deep conversation, and the latter as always has his eyes everywhere, seeing everyone, and noting everything in his mind. Out of all the Kings he is the only one to ever put me on edge, I see the same darkness in his eyes that I know stains mine. If I’m a monster then Theo is the goddamn Devil himself.

  But my gaze doesn’t linger on any of them for long, instead it moves to the star of the show by Paxton's side. Alexis is his Queen for all intents and purposes, they are the golden couple on campus, but they are far from perfect. Their relationship is more kinship than anything else if you know what to look for, and I do. I’ve seen Paxton fuck his way through half the campus, and Alexis indulge in her own fair share of secret entanglements, but their entanglement with each other is the thing that interests me the most. Why out of the King’s did she pick him? Why even pick one at all? Did she even have a choice?

  My obsession with her means I know more than I ever wanted to about the Kinghood and how they work. It was easier than I imagined considering they are supposed to be a secret, but the Kings have gotten comfortable in their notoriety. I spot Paxton flicking his signature gold King coin across his knuckles out of habit, as he laughs at something one of his minions has just said. That coin is the key to everything, a token of their power and pull, but most of all it’s something for them to enjoy. A game. That’s what everything is to them. What it must be like to have so much money that they have to find other ways to fulfil themselves.

  I watch as Paxton leans down and murmurs something into Alexis' ear, her fake smile never faltering. I know it's fake because I've seen the real one on a few occasions, rare, but I've seen it, it's magnificent. It's a smile I want as she is splayed out before me as I fucking feast on her sweet cunt. A smile I want to draw blood from.

  "Careful, Wren, drool stains." My thoughts are interrupted, and I cock my head to the side to find the one King missing from the ranks. Logan Royton.

  He's the only one of the Kings who would ever actually deign to even speak to me. His older brother is the youngest billionaire in the country, meaning he has more family money than all the other Kings combined. I'm not sure why he’s even a member of the Kinghood, he doesn't give a shit about their legacy, or the fucked up games they partake in. He has enough status in his name alone to ensure everyone on campus knows who he is and how much he's worth.

  I grit my teeth, already annoyed that I have to even try and converse with any of them, but for tonight to go my way I don’t have any other choice. "I'm always careful, Royton," I reply with a fake smile and he chuckles.

  "Oh I know that, that's why I invited you tonight." He drops back against the wall in front of me in a lazy manner that can only be achieved with his family's net worth, and slowly lets his eyes trail over me. "You look good,” he smirks, licking his lips slightly, “But you already know that."

  I'd heard the rumors about him playing for both teams but I wasn't sure if they were true until now. For someone as well known as he is, and as outgoing as he is, he keeps his private life just that, private. He makes a show of checking me out, lingering on where my shirt lays open revealing my inked chest.

  "So you're the one I need to thank for my presence here." Never in a million years did I think that the invitation I received would be from one of the Kings themselves.

  "I mean you don't need to thank me, but I'd be open to accepting your gratitude." He bites his lip as he trails his eyes over me once more. "I'd make it good for your first time." His cocky swagger proves how easy it must be for him to have people from any gender falling at his feet.

  "What makes you think it would be my first time?” I quip, knowing I am more than comfortable in my fluid sexuality, but tonight is about her, so I add, “But you're not really my type, Royton."

  He smiles wider. "No, you like other people's Queens with a stick up their ass." He preens under his own assessment of me as he pushes off the wall to close the distance between us. "It's the reason I invited you tonight, it's the reason I think you'll enjoy my gift." He seems excited to meddle in my affairs and that should put me on edge, but the mention of a gift annoys me.

  I can’t hold back my scoff. Of course it all comes back to money. "I don't need your charity, rich boy."

  The laugh that bursts from him is big and genuine before he calms himself down and shakes his head with a smile. "Even my bank balance couldn't afford to buy you class and manners, or a soul for that matter.” He tuts as if scolding a child, “No, what I have for you is much more valuable than something as simple as money." He waves his hand in a dismissive manner when he says the word money, in a way only rich people do. Clearly he doesn’t know what it’s like to ever be without something as simple as money.

  He looks me over once more before he reaches beneath his shirt and pulls out his coveted gold King coin from beneath it. It’s hanging neatly on a smooth black roped necklace, allowing me the closest look I have ever managed to get. I flick my eyes back to him to find him watching me and then back to the coin.

  I make sure to choose my words carefully, I don’t want to get myself caught up with a King without knowing the full extent of what is being offered. “I’m not sure I’m following you.”

  He drops his hand from the coin and presses me back against the wall. “Don’t play stupid with me, Wren, I might seem playful, but I could make you disappear so fast it would be like you never existed at all.” His hands splay out beneath my jacket trailing over my torso until his fingers find my knife and gun. His voice lowers to a husky whisper, “And as much as these turn me on, even they wouldn’t be able to help you.”

  “So what? You’re giving me your coin? What do you want in return, your dick sucked?” I bite out against his hot breath against my cheek.

  His smile is savage and playful at the same time as he caresses the gun at my back once more before pushing away from me. “Of course not, I hate getting sloppy head. Besides, I’m about to go home for the summer and I have my own toys to play with.”

  I assess him closer now after his threat, his playboy demeanor and sexual innuendos aside, I don’t really know much about him. He was missing a lot at the end of last year and beginning of this year. Although of course he has enough money to ensure his absence wasn’t an issue with the University.

  “So what do you want?” I wonder what kind of strings are going to be attached to his bizarre offer. It’s not like a guy like me could offer a guy like him anything he doesn’t already have.

  “No.” He shuts me down completely. “The question is what do you want, Wren? What do you crave? What gets your blood pumping?”

  My eyes wander back to Alexis and the other Kings but Logan’s hand grips my chin and pulls my stare back to his. “You could be a King for a night or a King for the rest of your life, so choose wisely.”

  Something hard and cold is pressed into my hand before I even register his retreating form, by the time he disappears, my palm has opened and I am staring down at his gold King coin, no, my gold King coin.

  In the space of one-second the tables have been turned in my favor, and for once I have the upper hand. His words play over and over in my mind as I decide what to do next. The answer is simple…

  This King needs a Queen.

  I loathe attending these Kinghood parties, they’re always the same. Same people, same drama, same games, it’s tiresome. People are always fighting for the Kings attention and I’m always pretending that I don’t hate every second of it. Growing up within the Kinghood meant I have always been confined to the four men that surround me now. Protected, looked after, watched. It’s claustrophobic. I can’t remember the last time I ever made a decision that was just mine, for something that I truly wanted. It’s not the King way, and even as a Queen I don’t get much say.

  College is supposed to be a time to enjoy yourself, explore your desires, and decide on your future, but all it was for me was more s
uffocation. I was told what to study, where to live, and who to date. It’s been three years of sorority events, charity galas, sporting games, and I despised every second of it. The only time I have ever been able to indulge in something for myself is in the stolen moments with unknown willing partners at parties like these. I wonder if I could engage in one final bout of freedom tonight before the shackles are tightened forever.

  I flick my eyes up to Paxton, my boyfriend, but really just one of my best friends. I am lucky with the Kings my age, we are all close friends, have been since we were kids. We endured private school together, then holidayed in the Hamptons over summer, and in the Swiss Alps for winter. Every memory I have from my childhood includes them. I should count myself lucky that Paxton is the one that was chosen for me, we have always had a mutual understanding of how our relationship works, at least until we have to take it to the next step.

  Joey and Finn are of course showing more interest in one another than anyone else here, it’s always been that way with those two, thick as thieves. Then Theo is being his usual creepy self, staring down everyone in our vicinity, it always makes me laugh at how people cower from him. As if my mind spoke to him, he looks my way, a smile he saves only for me on his face as he nods slightly before returning to his assessment of everyone.