The command struck again, weaker but still sharp enough to slice my thoughts. My muscles twitched with the effort to resist. My teeth ground together so hard my jaw ached. I felt sweat slide down my spine and my fingers dug into their shirts like I needed proof they were real.
“My mind is not mine,” I choked out. “He put something there. It's pulling.”
Jack growled, low and dangerous. “We will rip it out.”
Beau shook his head, eyes burning with something fierce. “Not rip. Replace. Override him. Stay with us.”
My chest lifted unevenly as I dragged air into my lungs. Their proximity helped. Every heartbeat synced with theirs, not by choice, but by something deeper. Something primal. Something mine.
The handler’s voice pushed again, a desperate edge creeping in. “Report.”
The word scrap
