Xael and her Grams had been canning veggies for most of the day. Beans, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, not to mention the strawberries, apples and pears. Thankfully, vegetables didn't take that long to process. Xael even made some spaghetti sauce, pickles and two kinds of salsa.
With the canning session winding down, Xael called for her pups. Again they were at the front door. Paws cleaned and fur brushed out the pups laid down in front of the couch. They were tired after spending most of the day out in the forest.
Xael decided to fix some roasted veggies and potatoes along with homemade rolls to go with the chicken the guys were bringing back. Meanwhile Grams worked on canning her bone broth. Xael put a pot of coffee on also as she knew her Grams and Skylar would want some after dinner.
Veggies in the oven and bread rising, Xael had a seat at the table.
"Man, we canned a lot of food Grams!"
"I know! We are all set for winter!"
"Good. Are you set on fire wood?"
"Oh yes. That tree Wes and Adam chopped up was enough. How about you two? You may want to check with Wes to see if you need to have the flue on the wood burner cleaned out."
"Okay." Xael rested her head on the table. Her Grammy sat next to her and rubbed her back. Letting out a long and heavy sigh, Xael turned to look at her Grandma. "Why am I going into heat again so soon Grams?"
"Oh sweetheart....That's your Alpha's doing. Since your Adam's first Omega, he may not realize he's doing it."
"Oh he realizes it, trust me! I just didn't think it would be so soon though."
Ms. Emma kissed her on the head and returned to the stove as Xael rested for a bit.
Riding back to town, Adam was fairly quiet.
"You okay over there Shado?"
"Yeah, just pissed at my mom, nothing new."
"She is something."
"That she is."
"So when are you going to tell Max and Parker that they have the job?"
"Sunday at the BBQ! Xael's going to be excited to have them here."
"Yes, I think she's glad that her family Pack is growing and coming together. She's never really had that."
"I know how she feels, neither have I."
"So what are you going to do with your apartment now that you guys have the cabin?"
"Well, Chris and Eli are going to crash there Sunday. There's no point in them driving back to the city just to come back out in the morning. Xael suggested to Max and Parker that they stay there until they can find their own places. But that was only if they got the jobs."
"Good idea!"
Chatting about this and that, the Alphas were back home before they knew it. Again Skylar backed his truck to the deck to unload stuff. As Adam walked in, Ms. Emma was quick to quiet him. Xael had fallen asleep at the table. Adam quietly walked over to her and nuzzled her. She slowly woke up, her stomach growling causing everyone to laugh. Xael nuzzled him and stood up, stretching her long frame.
"Hey sleepy head."
Xael hugged him and went to help unload stuff.
{You okay babe?}
{Yeah, I'm just tired}
Adam and Xael carried in the cooler of butter then returned for more stuff as Skylar brought in the chickens. Suddenly there were loud squeals and yelling as Xael rushed back into the house.
"Max and Parker got the jobs!!" She was jumping and clapping all over the place.
"They did!"
"Yeah, we talked to Mr. Hunt. You two have a seat real quick." Skylar filled Xael and Grams in on the awesome news. The council approved not only Max and Parker but Houser as well. Adam let them know that the tourists thing was a go also.
While Xael slept at the table, Grams had fixed the dinner rolls. Xael placed one of the chickens in the oven to warm it back up. After everything was unloaded. Xael fed her pups and let them back out for the rest of the day. The others sat at the table and enjoyed a nice cup of coffee. Xael had a seat next to Adam and rested her head on his shoulder.
"What are you two doing for the rest of the day?"
"We need to tend to that deer hide out back." Skylar smiled at Xael
"I'm doing that." Adam laughed and nuzzled into her hair as the alarm went off on the stove. Xael set the table and everyone ate. They used paper plates as the sink was already full of jars. The Alphas headed out back and Xael and her Grams got started on canning the butter. All it had to do was melt down. The guys went to change and headed out back. Xael filled a stock pot half full with sticks of butter and waited for it to do it's thing.
Walking out to the deer hide, Skylar scanned the treeline. Adam noticed him.
"You looking for them too?"
"Just checking the area."
"Sure..." The two of them laughed when Gunner and Moose trotted out of the woods. Moose with a dead rabbit in his mouth. Skylar and Adam stopped.
"What did Momma tell you two?" Both pups just grumbled at Adam. Moose looked up at Skylar and the Alpha already knew what he wanted. Skylar picked up the rabbit and took it to the area he had set up. He skinned it, chopped it in half and gave each pup a portion. They took their meals and went off to the side to eat.
"Silly boys." Adam just shook his head at them.
"Ahh! They're good pups, they'll make fine Pack Alphas one day."
"Wow, you know, I never thought of them leaving Xael. That's gonna tear her up."
"Yeah, but she knows it's coming, especially now that she has you. They know their momma is in good hands."
"Thanks Skylar. This world of hers is something else."
"Yup."
"Hey Skylar? Can Omegas go into heat soon after intially mating?"
Skylar laughed to himself. He knew Adam was talking about Xael. "It's a little odd for her to be going into heat again so soon." Skylar was busy getting things set up.
"Really?"
"Yeah. She still probably hasn't fully recovered from your initial mating but, her body must be ready for it otherwise she wouldn't be."
"I didn't know Omegas could be so complicated."
"Oh yeah! They are truly something else."
They laughed as Adam learned more about tanning and other things that Skylar shared with him. The pups laying down after filling their tummies yet again.
Back inside, Xael and her grams were busy spooning melted butter into jars. Careful to clean the rims of the jars before putting on the lids. Ms. Emma loved having her granddaughter help with things like this. It was their special bonding time.
Now that they had all the jam jars filled with butter and sealed, they had to gently shake them every thirty minutes until they solidified. Grams went to the living room as Xael cleaned up the kitchen. She returned all the pots and pressure canners to the back of the store room. Xael left most of the extra jars with her Grams. She would take a case of the jelly jars as she had forgotten to get her some.
"Grams what do you want me to do with the propane tanks?"
"How full are they?"
"About three-quarters."
"Just set them on the edge of the deck. Wes will know what to do with them."
"Yes ma'am."
Everything was put up and the house returned to normal. Xael was crashing again as she dragged herself into the house, hugged her grams, went to the bedroom and flopped across the bed. Her grams laughed at her and put on a movie while she did her beadwork.