A Beta's Determination

Organized Chaos

Lucy

This handsome hunk of man standing before me couldn't possibly be my mate. After all these years of waiting, he's here occupying only a mere foot away from me as his scent lingers through my nostrils, making me feel the euphoric high through my entire body.

He smelled of strawberries and cream, and I could lick him up and down, relishing every bit of him in my mind.

"Looks like Connor found his mate," Sam said, snickering, making Colleen elbow him in the side.

After Jonas sat my mate back on the floor, he and Jonas had a few words, then made Elijah speak up and instruct everyone out but me, Connor, Jonas, and the Luna, Julia. I knew Jonas was fuming as I could see the whites distinctly in his knuckles and his jugular vein distending so far out of his neck I thought it may burst.

"It has come to everyone's attention that Connor and also Lucy, as I may, have found their respectful mate. Jonas, I know your relationship with Lucy is more of a family title, but when a wolf finds its mate, they are very dominant and territorial; I take it bears are the same way?"

"Yes, Alpha. Bears are the same way. Lucy is like a little sister to me, and when this punk rushed her and was practically eye-f*****g her when he walked in, it rubbed me the wrong way. I didn't realize they could have been mates and didn't know he was unmated."

"I got your punk, you overgrown asshole. Of course, I am unmated; did you see a woman with me at all from the time I arrived here?"

I could feel the tension in the air rising as things were getting more heated by the second. I had to make a move. Jonas is like my brother, and I will always love him unconditionally, but now that I found Connor, which makes me grasp things I have never felt with another man, I don't ever want to pass up that opportunity. The chance to find my real soul mate, my other half, is standing before me, staring me down as if I am the last thing on Earth, like the rarest of jewels.

"Guys, look. Both of you mean something very dear to me. I don't want the two most important men in my life to be at each other's throats just because they don't like to share. Jonas, I have known you for the past few years, but it feels longer than that because you know me like the back of a book. Connor, I literally just met you, but as soon as I could sense you coming down the hall to the office, my wolf was going crazy, and I couldn't help but feel excited internally. I want to be your mate, Connor; I accept you as my mate."

I could see the smile widen so far across his face it almost looked as if it hurt.

"Well, I guess that answers my question on whether you accept Connor as your mate, Lucy," Elijah said, shrugging his shoulders and massaging Julia's shoulders as she sat comfortably on his lap.

"Yes, Alpha. I do accept Connor as my mate. I have been waiting a decade; it feels like for my mate to walk into my life, and I will be damned if I miss out on the chance of being happy and having what everyone else here that I see has. You all are so happy and in love with one another, and I want that in my future," I said, turning to look at Connor, giving him a small genuine smile, then turning to look at Jonas, giving him a tender look.

"Jonas," I slowly walked over to him, lifting my hand to caress his cheek.

"You are my family. You are my brother, and I know you love me and have looked after me and will continue to look after me even when I am not around, BUT do you really want me to be unsettled about the fact you and Connor can't get along all because you want to be selfish. I love you, Jonas, unconditionally; that is never going to change. You will always be on my top priority list of significant people in my life, and you will be the one to walk me down the aisle when I decide to get married. You will be the one I get to send my children to when I know they need guidance that their father and I can't give. I need you to be happy for me, please. I need you to be the one to tell me it's okay to fall in love."

I could detect sniffles and noses being blown as I turned around to see Julia sobbing in Elijah's lap. Even Elijah seemed to have a few tears pooling in his eyes. I wasn't going to tell him that, but acknowledging that my words and feelings moved some of the people in the room warmed my heart.

"If that's how you genuinely feel, Lucy, I will support you all the way. If you want to be with him, go for it. Go for love. I love you, Luc; if he hurts you in any way, I will take him off somewhere even the buzzards won't be able to find him." Jonas laughed, giving me a hug. 

He released me, walked over to Connor, stuck his hand out to shake it, "I'm sorry about earlier. Lucy is family; I always protect family no matter what. I see she is quite fond of you as you two are destined mates, so I give you two my best and I hope you make her very happy."

"Thank you. Sorry about the asshole comment earlier. Making Lucy happy for the rest of my life is now my top priority on my list, along with running my pack and business. I will treat her with the utmost respect and love she has ever received in her life. You are more than welcome to come to my pack to meet everyone and are welcomed anytime. You are Lucy's family, so you are my family." Connor shook Jonas's hand, giving one another a brotherly slap on the back and hug.

"Now that we have that issue resolved, we need to get back to the tasks at hand; the storm."

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Elijah

"From what I gather on the path and estimated time of arrival of this storm, it will be hitting New York in only a matter of hours. So, with that being said, Connor, I know I told you earlier you and my uncle are guests and wouldn't lift a finger; I now need all the hands I can get to ensure the pack's safety. We have the main issues covered, but there are still tasks that need to be done beforehand."

"I knew you needed me," Connor laughed, making me roll my eyes at him.

"You can gloat later; we have s**t to do."

The rest of the ranked members had filed back into my office once our little family feud meeting was finished and began handing out the last of the items on the list.

"Elijah, I think this storm is going to be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, we have ever encountered. I could feel the uneasiness of the wind blowing and the temps dropping when we were out checking the cabins," Sam stated with an uneasy feeling in his voice.

"I have a feeling you are right, Sam. To continue to be safe and warm, I have also opened up the warehouse by the training grounds for anyone that loses power or runs out of wood. I have six generators plus the ten wood-burning heaters throughout, operating as we speak. I had the warriors begin on it as soon as I observed the size of this storm. It has a twenty-mile wide span, with winds coming in at twenty to thirty miles per hour. All loose equipment has been tied down, and the vehicles are parked in a garage or under a carport."

"What about the animals we have on the territory? They will freeze to death in this weather," Cat addressed.

"That is something I need help to decide on. We can either put them all in the warehouse on one end and have them separated; that way, the animals are warm at all times, or I can ask the owners if they prefer to keep them in their homes."

"I don't know about that, Elijah. Can you see the Walkers in their home with all their cows, chickens, and goats? Their homes will be torn apart from the animals instead of the storm doing it."

Christian did have a good point.

"The warehouse it is. I need all available hands to the warehouse to help get this makeshift, homemade barn up as fast as we can. I know all the animals have been tagged somehow, so organizing them and coordinating them won't be an issue. The only thing I think the owners would have a problem with is if someone else's goat starts mating with a neighbors goat."

"I don't think they would be too concerned with that at the moment. I mean hell, it's either take them to the warehouse and stay warm, bring them into your home and tear it to hell and back, or let them stay outside and end up frozen yard ornaments the next morning," Christian stated, waving his hands weighing the pros and cons of the problem.

"That's true," Sam agreed.

"I will send out a pack link to the members for them to start gathering all their animals. That will give the warriors and us, along with any carpenter that can lend a hand to get this ball going. Sam, Christian, Rex, and Lucius, you four start on the Northside, help any member with animals, and transport them via any way you can to the warehouse. Connor, Jonas, Jax, and my younger brothers, can you all give a hand at the warehouse? I will link the other warriors and let them know you all are coming. We only have a short amount of time to get this s**t done, so I need us to pull together like the pack and family I know we are and get it there."

"Yes, Alpha," they all replied in unison, then started trying to make it out the office door at the same time, almost taking out my door frame in the process.

"Don't break my s**t," I yelled at them as they were running out the door.

After they were gone, I linked the pack, giving them a heads up on the situation. Some were not too happy about the options they were given, but most were more than happy to take them out of their comfort zone if it meant for their safety and well-being.

Julia, can you meet me down in the kitchen? We need to start getting some easy-to-fix meals going like soups and loaves of bread. Lots of it, too. We have a huge pack to feed, and regardless if they have plenty to eat in their homes, I want to be 100% sure we have food in the packhouse for those in need.

Yes, honey. I will meet you down there as soon as I get finished feeding Olivia.

Okay, honey. I love you.

I love you too, my Alpha.

For me to say I wasn't worried about this winter storm approaching would be a lie before the Goddess. I was terrified, but I knew that we would be safe and weather this storm with the help and cooperation from all involved.

Julia met me in the kitchen as I started taking orders from the kitchen Omegas. Usually, I would give orders, but I felt this was their domain and knew the kitchen like the back of their hands. Plus, I didn't want to look like an i***t rummaging through cabinets and pantries looking for ingredients when all I had to do was listen to them and their instructions on mixing and how much.

"Alpha, Luna, shall we begin?" Mrs. Johnson said, giving us both a courteous smile and handing us a sheet of paper a piece.

"These are the recipes on the meals that I think would be beneficial in this time of need."

"Thank you, Mrs. Johnson. We will get started on them right away," I replied with a smile.

"I have the ingredients and measuring devices laid out for you; I have a few things I need to take care of, but I will be back shortly to check on you two. Is that okay, Alpha?"

"Yes, Mrs. Johnson. I think we can manage until you return."

Mrs. Johnson nodded and headed out of the kitchen as Julia and I began on the meal prep. 

Things were going smoothly as we continued mixing and cooking each batch of bread, cornbread, and multiple soups varieties. We were almost halfway through when Mrs. Johnson returned to help. She jumped right in to help, never missing a beat, and took up where we left off.

"Elijah, I am going to go check on the kids to see if the nannies need anything. I talked to your mom and dad this morning, and they are going to take the kids this evening; that way, we don't have to get them up so early and try to get them to their house in the snow."

"That sounds good. I am actually glad my parents had their house built not even a hundred yards from ours in case of emergencies like this after mom and dad stepped down."

"Your dad assured me they had plenty of firewood, and all the plumbing was wrapped and good to go. Apparently, your mom made him do the pipes a few months back; she said she had a feeling winter this year was going to be treacherous. Guess she right."

"Mrs. Johnson, do you need anything else from the Luna and me?"

"I think we have it, Alpha. Thank you two so much for lending a hand. I only have two more batches of each to make, and that should be enough for everyone."

"Okay, if you are finished with us, we have some last-minute business to attend to before we take off for Tennessee in the morning."

"Oh, Alpha! I hope you are not planning on flying in this kind of weather. It could be very dangerous," Mrs. Johnson stated with concern in her eyes.

"We will be fine, Mrs. Johnson; thank you for the concern, though. I promise we will be careful getting there, and I will make sure you are informed when we land."

"Thank you, Alpha. You know I am going to be so worried about you all until I hear from you."

"I know."

"Well, get your business taken care of; we have the kitchen covered. Enjoy your much-needed vacation, you two."

"Thank you, Mrs. Johnson," Julia and I said at the same time, then walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

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Sam

I could feel the winds howling through the trees as branches in the distance were snapping due to the force. We all began to finish up with our tasks, linking one another to let each other know we were finished to head back to the packhouse after meeting up with one another at the warehouse. It didn't take long, with all the helping hands for the temporary barn for the animals to be put up; we were finished in no time.

The animals were organized, as Elijah stated so, making sure the ones who were not friendly with others were separated and put in their own stall. I could feel the intensity of the breeze picking up and the temps dropping even further than earlier.

"Christian, did you feel that?"

"Yeah, man. It's snowing. I thought Elijah said we still had some hours before it was going to hit?"

"Elijah isn't the damn weatherman, and you never know these days how the weather is going to be."

"That's true. How the hell were we supposed to know a damn blizzard was on its way when last week it felt like summertime going into winter?"

Elijah, the warehouse is secured with all the animals divided up and put in their own stalls. They have plenty of food and water and wood-burning heaters along the temporary barn's outer edges for warmth. I left about fifteen of our top warriors in charge to ensure the warehouse is maintained and cared for. Is there anything else you need before we head back to the packhouse? It's starting to snow, the temps have dropped tremendously, and the wind is becoming disastrous.

Sam, thank you all for getting those issues taken care of. I can't think of anything else of importance, but I am sure I will let you know immediately if I do. Go ahead, and you all come back to the packhouse. I will see you when you get here.

I cut the mind link off, signaling everyone to start making their way back. Before we reached a mile from the warehouse, snow began falling like rain, thick and heavy. We all decided to make a run for it, taking off for the packhouse's back doors.

Elijah, it's snowing, fast and hard. It's almost as if it feels like it's raining, but with snow. Can you have the back doors unlocked? We are making a run for it. I can barely see in front of my hand. I have never seen anything like this s**t, never this intense. Are you sure we are going to be able to take off in the morning? 

Sam, I have the doors unlocked. I am hoping by morning, the majority of the storm will be past us. The arctic blast seems to be moving pretty fast, so hopefully, we won't get too much of the worst of it. I plan to leave on time, but if I think it is too dangerous, we will postpone it. I take my pack's safety over any vacation, any day. I do know one thing is for sure. We are going on this trip.

Cutting the mind link, I kept pushing myself through the winds and the snow. The coldness burning and stinging my cheeks every step of the way. My fingers were beginning to become numb, and I knew we still had some miles to go before reaching the house. Regardless of being a wolf, I was freezing, and my body and brain knew it. 

Guys, we're going to have to shift. It's entirely too cold for our human selves to make it to the house before getting hypothermic.

I'm freezing, Sam.

Me too, Christian.

Soon after communicating with the others, I could hear everyone starting to shift and take off faster to the house. I thought we would make it in time before the bottom falls out, but the snow was so unbearable to move in, let alone see right in front of your face. The guys were tailing right behind me as I couldn't see who was who, only the sounds of their paws hitting the ground with full force.

I could barely make out the back porch light on the deck in the distance. Straining hard to see, even as a wolf, was unlikely, but I wanted to get there at this point.

Finally, I came running up to the porch, skidding and trying to stop myself from sliding, hitting the side of the house in the process. Good thing I didn't hear anything crack from the home or myself, so I knew I was in the clear.

I stood there, enduring the bone-chilling winds cutting through my fur, making me whine and shiver. Christian was not too far behind me as he came colliding with a chair. The rest of the guys were trucking it as fast as they could. The snow was now almost up to my chest, which was nearly five feet. Elijah said it would be a horrendous storm, but I didn't realize we were probably going to be snowed in. 

All of us finally made it, shivering and shaking. I could hear a few warriors whining in the background as we started piling in through the back door into the kitchen.

"Sam! Is everyone here?" Elijah asked frantically.

"Yes. We had to shift. The snow was coming down too hard and fast. Man, it's nothing like I have ever seen before out there. It's already almost five feet deep. The temps are beyond freezing; I don't think we will be going anywhere right now. There's no way we will make it."