Property of a Gordon

Prologue

The word "property" differs, depending how you use it.

For you, it could be something as simple as that small but precious piece of gum you're holding, making it your property. You cherish it, don't you? I mean, I don't see you offering it to those around you, giving it away. That's because you consider it to be yours.

Maybe for you, it's something worth a little more value. Maybe for you, it's a house. You worked day and night, and you finally earned that last dollar that assists you in calling that house your own. You're now the proud owner of a house, congratulations. It's all yours now, just yours. It's your property.

Okay, now maybe that house has value. That property you now own is of worth; it's paying for itself over the years. It now houses that little boy and girl; it keeps them warm and sheltered during the long, hard winters. It's where you held the frail hand of your wife as she lay dying, smiling and telling you to take care of the kids. It's where you heard her take that last breath.

Now, let's flip the tables. What if the property isn't yours, but the property is you? For example, maybe a friend helped you pass the chemistry test, and he tells you that "you owe him one." In a way, you're his at the moment: you owe him. In a way, he owns you for that slightest time until you repay him in full. Is owing someone considered near the same context as becoming someone's property?

Those were only mere examples. I could give you a more genuine one. Consider this:

You don't owe anyone because they haven't done anything for you. You were instead captured. They took you, and now you're theirs. No, no, I don't mean just as a hostage. They have more control over you than that.

To them, you're just a mute animal. 

Once recognized for our brute strength and feared by all, we became known for the beauty of our fur and by what it took for the humans to break us. We were suddenly a show of immense wealth and magnifying power. I mean, it's not every day you saw werewolves dragged from their lives by the humans. They've all gone into hiding, deep and far away. It's almost like they never existed. But you see, we, the Protectors, are living proof that they still do.

They make sure you realize you're theirs, too. They don't even consider letting you forget. You now walk by the side of royalty, by your precious Master. They're all that matters now, not your own safety. Putting yourself first only results in punishment and perhaps death.

That's their way of telling everyone else that you're theirs. But their way of telling you, making sure you know? That's simple. They try breaking you before turning you over to a Prince or guard. They try turning the largest wolves into docile animals that obey someone's every command.

They also brand you. They brand you with their symbol, like the tribal sun symbol that appears on the ear of a Gordon's property.

I have that symbol, that horrid symbol. I don't truly notice it anymore because it isn't visible unless I try searching for it, but I still know it's there.

It's my marking. It's the permanent marking that portrays someone's claim on me. It's what shows that I don't belong to myself, that I'm a caged animal.

It's what shows I'm the property of a Gordon.

For those of you reading this, there ARE NO mates. The Prince is not her mate, because what? There are none. And the Prince is human, not werewolf.