Her Fated Destiny

• Chapter Sixteen •

"How far is too far?"    

She was lost in an ocean. 

Everything was changing around her. 

Cassius presented her with new challenges everyday as she tried to wrap her mind around the little bit of freedom she was allowed. She was treading water in an ocean, and the riptide had swept her up, attempting to push her under.

She struggled to keep Sekhet under control as things threatened to become overwhelming because she knew that if she lost control, it would leave a catastrophic mess.

The changes came like shots firing from a gun, and every one would hit her right in the heart, but instead of killing her, every bullet thrust more life into her. She couldn't even think straight, and whenever Cassius was near, she found herself fighting with her primal instincts.

She was fighting harder than she ever had in her life, and it was tearing her. 

Her insides were raging in war, as if two beings were fighting for the dominance over her. Her mind was a mess, torn, a hurricane. Every instinct in her body was screaming to return to the shadows where she held control, but the feelings Cassius evoked from her fought to thread its fingers into the bright future. 

That little voice wasn't so little anymore, it had grown to be a massive presence in her mind. It took its place with Sekhet, and somehow, she felt like it was meant to be there, like it was long lost piece of herself. She still struggled against its wishes, but she gave into it more often than Sekhet.

It was utter chaos. 

Yet, somehow, she managed to hang on. She tried to ride out the waves instead of fighting the riptide, but sometimes she would just let everything slip. She returned to her habit of becoming emotionless instead of trying to understand them. 

Cassius was with her every step of the way, though, encouraging and supportive. He tried to understand what she was going through but she knew he would never know the true extent, but allowed him to believe he could anyway. 

The moment that door opened to allow her into the pack house, she had known that there was no going back. She didn't just walk out of a door, she walked out of a piece of her past, and she had willingly done it in trust.

She didn't know where her courage had come from, but it urged her everyday. She was unsure about the strange house and its empty halls during the first few days, as it reminded her of the ghostly cells of her prisons, and she expected someone to jump out at her any second, but as the days progressed, she grew comfortable. 

She dared to venture away from Cassius for short periods of time as he went about his daily activities. She had searched the entire house for an escape, and there wasn't one provided. She had memorized every scent and its location, discovering that ten males--most of higher ranking--shared the house.