"Answer him, Omega," Xavier's voice boomed from across the room, a lazy command that held the weight of a mountain.
"I… I don't know," I whispered, my voice a dry, raspy thing. It was the truth. I didn't know why I was weak, only that I was. A hollowed-out vessel where power should have been.
Jax laughed, a harsh, grating sound that scraped against my nerves. "Wrong answer." He let go of my hair, and before I could brace myself, he brought his hand down hard on the back of my thigh. The sound of the slap echoed in the silent room, followed by a wave of burning pain that made me gasp. The compulsion to 'stay' held me rigid, forcing me to absorb the blow without the relief of flinching away.
"She's stubborn," Kael grunted from beside me. "Needs to be loosened up."
My gaze, fixed on the g
