Property of a Gordon

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

The meeting had begun a minute ago, yet I had already confused myself in the jumble of words Kendall spoke. Everything he said with a smooth voice was going in one ear and straight out the other with very little difficulty.

There were five other people in the room, excluding me, Kendall, and the herd of guards lined against every wall. Among them was Lex, who must've been a Prince as he had a Protector when he had first entered, only to have it escorted out by a guard. It was considered inappropriate to bring your Protector into meetings unless you were the one conducting it. However, one of the men didn't obey the traditional rule. His Protector stood tall by his side.

The wolf differed greatly from me. He was massive in size, his thick body structure unlike my smaller, slender form. The layer of fur surrounding him was pitch black, almost shining in the light dancing around him while my white fur stood out naturally in the room. His eyes were on mine, but they certainly didn't hold a friendly look. They reflected his ego which seemed to find itself superior to myself.

While Lex looked slightly relaxed, the other four people all held themselves stiffly as if they couldn't allow their bodies to find comfort in a room with an infamous Gordon, with formal looks on their faces. There was no humor to be discovered in the room, yet I found myself wanting to laugh at the thick atmosphere.

No one in the room seemed to want to befriend one another. They all paid close attention to Kendall, who looked the most comfortable in the room. However, Kendall held the majority of the power as it was his territory they all resided in at the moment.

There were occasional glances towards me with mixtures of confusion and disgust. I wasn't the standard black-coated wolf, meaning I was a lowly mutt in their eyes. I highly doubted they had yet learned of my gender. Confusion would rest in their eyes as none of them could understand why a Gordon would go against such a resolute tradition.

Kendall furthered their confusion when he reached his hand down towards me, running a hand through my thick coat. I wouldn't admit it to a soul, not even when I lay taking my last few breaths, but the pressure of his hand against my fur felt nice.

However, Protectors were supposed to be treated with little to no physical contact from their Master. Few Masters interacted with their Protector, if only to serve them a beating. There were a few kind guards who nurtured and took the wolves into their care, like a maid who watched over the King's children while he tended to his land.

Those guards were suddenly sent away without a notice and the Protectors were left alone, receiving beating after beating for each simple mistake they made. They grew into dangerous, harsh wolves who had nothing to lose. Most stayed by the side of a Master out of fear or simply because they had no place to call home.

Kendall ended his speech, suddenly saying, "That is enough for now. We will take a break, allowing each of you to gather your thoughts and questions."

They each nodded before four of them exited the room, the wolf following behind his Master. I only watched them exit, wondering if I would be a topic of discussion among them.

"You have them wrapped around your every word, as always," Lex sighed, drumming his fingers on the table.

But Kendall didn't seem satisfied with his comment. "And you? How do you feel about the proposal?" he asked lazily, but his eyes never left Lex.

"I'm interested, as always," Lex reluctantly admitted, sighing once again, but this time with open defeat. Kendall must have been proposing something valuable for all of them to consider it.

"Excellent," Kendall murmured, his fingers reaching behind my ear and scratching. My eyes involuntarily closed for a moment but snapped back open at the sudden sound of Lex's laughter that filled the room.

"Are you sure she isn't part dog, not part wolf?" Lex asked in a teasing tone. He must've not expected any reaction because his posture indicated otherwise, and he didn't even glance at me as he spoke.

I jumped up without warning, snarling and running towards him at full speed. It was enough to make his eyes widen with a considerable amount of fear and in his struggle to escape, fall straight out of his chair.

I slowed down, walking towards him, calmly stopping when my face was over his own. I could see the storm raging in his eyes, which seemed to explode when I allowed my tongue to roll out of my mouth.

He yelled at me, quickly standing up while shouting obscenities. I only faked a yawn before carelessly walking over to Kendall who watched the two of us with sparkling amusement.

"Can you not see she is harmless?" Kendall asked his friend, a laugh caught in his throat. However, Lex didn't seem to feel near as amused as Kendall did.

"I'm not so naïve as to call the bluff of a predator," Lex snapped, clearly angry as he sat back in his chair with an audible huffing sound.

The small break soon ended because the doors yawned open, revealing two guards escorting everyone in. The first pair of eyes that met mine were the dark golden ones of the Protector.

He bared his teeth at me, and the longer I stared, the more I seemed to notice something was slightly off about them. They were incredibly sharp, even for a werewolf. It was almost as if he'd had them sharpened even further than their natural state.

Everyone took their seats, sitting in their previous chairs. However, the man who owned the other wolf sitting in the room seemed to have moved closer to Kendall than he had been before the break. I stared, watching the wolf whose eyes had never left mine.

Kendall continued proposing whatever idea he had been proposing before while I focused all my attention on the wolf. He was furthering my confusion and suspicion the longer he stared at me. Protectors were owned by Masters to ensure their safety, yet this wolf didn't seem at all concerned with his Master's safety. If he had been, he would've assessed the others who held spots in the room. He hadn't glanced at a single one of them, not even the man beside his Master.

The closer I looked at him, the more I noticed. His skin looked as if it shined, but he'd clearly not been properly groomed in a long time. The fur on his chest looked to be matted in several places, but no one would notice because of the dark color. No one would also notice because none of them cared about the wolf's condition. None of them would care about the small, discrete patches where no fur was to be found. They wouldn't dare care about the rugged look of his nails either. None of them would take time out of their day to notice the tired look that had buried itself deep within his eyes.

I found my own eyes softening, feeling pity for this wolf. He had done nothing wrong, yet he was treated like an animal. He was treated as if he was a pet to be neglected and untended to. His own Master, the person he was to be found around most of the day, probably didn't notice these small things either. If he did, he clearly didn't care. His Master's attention was on Kendall, not his malnourished Protector.

I would later realize letting pity show in my eyes had been a mistake, a very great one. The wolf recognized it, and his own hardened, a nasty look growing in them. I could feel myself tense and briefly glance away to try and calm him, but it hadn't been enough. The wolf had made up his mind. He let out a snarl before charging at me in the same manner I had been doing to Lex. Except this time, it wasn't for show.

I let out my own snarl, adrenaline pumping through my body. I had been in fights at home, though none in wolf form. But I'd been in my share of fights, thus giving me some form of experience. Of course, I didn't realize it wouldn't be enough.

The wolf charged at me, his sharpened teeth glistening. I lowered myself closer to the ground, hackles raised in preparation. He took me off guard by lunging, his nails locating themselves deep within shoulder, tearing the skin. I snarled again, but it was already over. He tackled me to the ground, standing over me before growling and sinking his teeth into my neck.

I gritted my teeth, painfully swallowing the yelp that had built inside my throat. I wouldn't allow him to see or hear my pain, which exponentially grew with each second. But, without warning, all my senses seemed to fade. First, my vision seemed to dim slightly, my hearing following right behind. The ringing came right before the feeling of floating did. All of that led to the black slate that filled the world.