His Prairie Omega Box Set

by MacKenzie Wilde

  “…line… indicates the cessation of an estrous cycle due to pregnancy?!”

  He stood silently for a while. Of the seventeen tests, sixteen had indicated a pregnancy, whereas one came back inconclusive. Kyle tried to stop his hands from shaking but they couldn’t. He mouthed his sister’s name, still somewhat in shock. “Jess?”

  Kyle thought about the past few days. No, there was no chance, I hadn’t come into heat yet, he thought to himself. It was probably too early to tell anyhow. He casually took one of the unused Styrofoam cups from the back of the toilet and after a few minutes, managed to fill it halfway with urine. He nervously took one of the unused tests and placed it in the cup. He waited. The seconds ticked by murderously slow. After two minutes he removed the stick and held it closely to his eyes.

  The reason that his own heat had ended almost as soon as it began, according to the two blue lines, was because he had recently become pregnant.

  He placed his hand to his belly and gasped. His hands shook and his mind raced. He was so excited, yet so scared and uncertain of what to do. Kyle tried to assure himself that the line could represent many outcomes, and not every cessation of a cycle necessarily meant pregnancy. He even started to believe himself. He and Jake would discuss it soon, maybe in a few weeks. And this was a good thing, wasn’t it? They were getting along so well, and Jake had commented about how he felt the odd man out amongst his friends, being one of the few without children. Yes, yes, this was good. Things would be better, somehow. So why did Kyle feel as if his lungs were going to collapse, or his heart was going to beat out of his chest?

  Calming himself, he gently placed the positive test alongside the rest of the other ones, dumped out the cup of pee, and put the cup in the garbage. All in good time, he kept repeating to himself. The important thing now was to not panic, and to just act like nothing unusual was happening. He was pretty sure that he’d at least partially slid into a state of shock, but a much larger part of his brain assured him otherwise.

  As stealthily as possible, Kyle slunk his way back downstairs. Sitting on the edge of the low, stained couch, Jess was about to begin painting her toe-nails. She shook a small phial of colour as she browsed a splashy magazine. A sheaf of similarly glossy offerings were piled beside her.

  She didn’t scent him yet and was apparently unaware that he was in the room. Unsure of how to proceed, Kyle cleared his throat.

  “Oh Jesus fuck!” Jess practically jumped from the couch, sending a dog-eared Cosmopolitan scattering to the floor below. “Shit. Don’t do that. I thought that you went out for a run?”

  “Yeah, I did. Got lost in a yearbook first though, and then, I uh…stopped to take a pee.” Oh, if only she knew.

  “Oh. Uh okay. Well fuck. I… surprise?”

  Kyle’s hands immediately went to his face as he covered his mouth. He was somewhere between shrieking, laughing, and swearing in a silly falsetto as he bounced from foot to foot. He was partially aware that his reaction may have also been about his own secret pregnancy news too.

  Jess burst into damp-eyed laughter and ran to her brother. “Congratulations uncle Kyle.”

  He was about to reply with, ‘congratulations Aunt Jess’, but barely stopped in time. Kyle hugged his sister as tight as he could and bounced happily. Laughing and sobbing uncontrollably, he was a mess. “Oh, I’m just so happy… so happy…”

  He dried his eyes and they sat down on the couch. He had so many questions but didn’t want to crowd her out just yet. “Does dad know? How long do you think you’ve been pregnant?”

  She took a pull of iced tea. “Dad does not know. He will soon enough, we just need to figure out a way to break it to him without actually giving him a heart attack. And I’ve probably been with pup for just shy of a month. Briggs and I have, uh, been trying for a while now.”

  Kyle nodded in wonder, still in shock that his sister was going to be a den mother. Oh well, at least they’d be in it together.

  “I mean, I’m kinda shitting myself right now. It took Nat and Richard, like, seven years to have their three, fourth on the way. She said it could be slow going but… I just… fuck, Kyle, I’m going to be a mommy.”

  Kyle hugged his sister again. The room seemed brighter and his troubles were a distant, hazy memory. He so desperately wanted to tell her his good news, but couldn’t.

  “Oh, and while we’re on the topic: another family secret? We eloped a few months ago.” Kyle’s eyes nearly rolled out of his head. “Jess, that’s… I’m…wait, why?”

  “Briggs and I had been flirty for years, but I only caved in and started dating him after you left last year. We connected immediately. Like magically… it was insane. He knew that a wedding would’ve crashed into the strained family relations of the Daniels clan, but also knew that I wanted to at least be engaged before I start trying to shoot ‘em out, heh. So one weekend in early spring we’re out doing this road trip to the Humboldt County beer and chili fest, and he pulls into the Humboldt courthouse. Acts like he’s pulled something in his side so I run over to him, and right then and there, with one knee in the slush, the fucker asks me to marry him.”

  Kyle listened in rapt silence.

  “I said yes. I mean, it was a little weird at first, but he said he didn’t want to be apart any longer than we had to. He knew that I was the one and hoped that I felt the same way about him. Plus, this way, we could try for our pack at our own speed and slowly let folks know that we’re legit. He’s really sweet. He even said that we could stage a whole fake engagement and wedding for Dad’s sake, if it meant a lot to me. You know, ‘cause Dad’s old fashioned.”

  “Wow.” Kyle sank back. It was a lot to take in, especially after the emotional gut-punch he’d recently received.

  “Yeah, wow is right. That’s what Nat said. She’s the only other one who knows. She said it was that way with Richard. Said he just came home from the quarry one day, sayin’ how his brother Danny nearly died in an accident, dropped to his knee and practically begged her to be his. The rest is history.”

  “Wait, Danny? Shit, is he okay?” Kyle straightened up at the sobering news.

  “Oh fuck, yeah, you probably never hear about that! I… I didn’t want to mention Danny earlier, what with Dad’s former heart attack and all. Okay, where to start? He made it out alive but was banged up pretty bad. Don’t know if you heard, but he got to the semi-final draft of the NHL scouting picks last winter. This year was going to be his year, but now he’s got super intensive physio and after a summer of surgery, there’s no way he’ll make it to the semi-finals this year. I dunno, he’s big and strong, just like Richard… but last Nat told me, he’d fallen into a pretty bad funk. Poor kid.” Jess looked glumly at the floor.

  Kyle was speechless. Hearing news like this always made him feel that whatever was troubling him in his own life was insignificant. He was heartbroken for the young rookie.

  “But yeah, when you find your Alpha, you just know it. It’s in their scent, how they look at you, and how they think about you. I can’t explain it any better.” She squeezed her twin brother’s hand for reassurance. “And I don’t want to tell you how to live your life, but I genuinely believed Jake when he said that he just got swept up in Dad’s stupid plan.”

  The Omega nodded to his sister.

  “If he’s the one for you, you owe it to him to let him know that. Don’t let Dad get in the way of that. I’d hate to think that you’re shutting yourself off from experiencing love for the rest of your life, just because you’re angry for like, two hours.”

  “Look at you, already with the den-mother wisdom.” Kyle hesitated and exhaled deeply. Where was his den-mother wisdom? Was he broken?

  Summoning his courage, Kyle continued. “I think you’re right. I’ll text him back after dinner. Heck, maybe we’ll meet up tonight. Honestly though, I haven’t stopped thinking about him since our fight. I knew it was stupid at the time, but was so mad because it was the same dumb shit that Dad always pulls with me.�
�

  “Well, Dad did something stupid, and you got hurt and angry, and nobody was willing to back down. That’s been the last almost thirty years of your life. I mean, it’s practically our family crest at this point – stubborn sons of bitches refusing to admit they’re wrong over the smallest things ever. Or, at least should be, if we Daniels were classy enough to have one.”

  Kyle laughed and hugged his sister, but he still felt bad. Jake was willing to back down, he thought to himself. If only Kyle had heard his Alpha out and had given him a better chance to explain things. And there was clearly a lot to explain between the two of them.

  “M-maybe I’ll check that text right now.” Kyle nervously unlocked his phone and clicked over to his three unread messages. Jess went back to her magazine and gave him the time he needed.

  “So sorry about all of this. I had no idea that any of this would get so out of hand. Honestly never meant to hurt you.” Jake’s texting was impeccable and he was clearly taking his time. He wasn’t at the bar with his boys, he was probably home, and just as miserable as Kyle. Fuck. Kyle’s heart sank as he read the second message, sent two hours after the first.

  “Kyle, we just hit the base camp and I don’t know if you’ve been getting any of my texts. Lots of interference in the area and emergency bands can really screw with cell reception, my HQ told me. So we just had that shitty fight, and I’m so damned sorry. I can’t excuse the role I had in what your father was planning, and I should’ve told you. I love you so much and it’s killing me to think that after waiting so long for this, things are done between us. Would love to hear from you, even just to talk. No pressure.”

  Well fuck.

  Jake was sorry and sad. He had always been sorry. All Jake wanted to do was talk and now they couldn’t even do that. The Omega began to realize that it was in fact he who was acting way out of line. He almost wanted to blame it on the pregnancy but then realized that he was being a horse’s ass for the better part of a year. He wanted to break down and cry that he was being so cruel to the father of his pups.

  He quickly pulled up the third message, sent just before dawn. The instant that Kyle began reading it an icy pall of fear began to seep through his blood.

  “Sorry if this wakes you up. Just got the call and we’re shipping out. That storm yesterday made a mess of flash floods through the low country & Timberlea Fire & Rescue is already dealing with some fires caused by downed power lines. The province is on edge about Fort Mac and they’re sending out everyone they’ve got. We leave today at ten. I was hoping that you could meet me for nine by the old swimming hole near your place, so I can put all of my cards on the table. If you’re not there, then I know what your answer is and I won’t bother you again. Love, Jake.

  With shaking hands Kyle glanced at his phone. Ten after ten. The air felt like it was being sucked from the room as the Omega struggled to breathe.

  He’d missed the rendezvous with Jake! Why had he been so stupid? He slammed his fist on the coffee table, startling Jess.

  “Kyle! What the fuck?! You okay…?”

  He held back angry tears and struggled to explain. “The low lands are on fire and Jake’s already shipped out. He wanted to meet earlier but I missed it and he’s gone now. And I just wanted to tell him… that…I’m…”

  Her eyes went wide with concern. “Shit! Is he okay? Can you text him?”

  “I don’t know! Fuck. The firedogs run silent to free up emergency RF bands. At best I could make a request with his HQ, who could push it along to his unit at best a few days from now. Assuming they even wanted to.”

  Jess was stroking his arm trying to comfort him, but Kyle was already totally numb. For a few, brief, magical days he’d had everything that he’d ever wanted in life. It was the best week of his entire life, but now it was all gone. Kyle had abandoned the father of his pups, his soul mate, over a stupid and silly misunderstanding. Jake probably thought that he was alone in the universe after Kyle failed to show for what should have been a heartfelt rendezvous.

  Jake was out there somewhere, wet, muddy, and miserable. Surrounded by tens of thousands of kilometres of wilderness, alone and heartbroken, Jake was trying to fight a fire fast enough to outrun a car, and hot enough to devour a mountain.

  Twenty Six

  Red and swollen from crying, Kyle was too shattered to hide his eyes when he heard his dad walk through the noisy screen door to the kitchen. Jess was in the shower and that left Kyle to deal with his father alone. While the creaks and groans of the wood announced his arrival, his old man was somehow quieter than usual. His dad fumbled at the cupboard for a few seconds and then walked over to the kettle. He poured the lukewarm water into his plastic thermos, alongside several spoonfuls of instant coffee crystals and gave it a few good swirls.

  “Morning son.”

  Kyle managed a half-smile and greeted his father. He just sat at the kitchen table and sipped his own coffee in silence while his father noisily drank his coffee, leaning against the wall beside the fridge. The old man craned his head toward the large French doors leading to the deck. The sky had already become a tapestry of navies, indigos, magentas, and warm pinks, but the horizon was thick with a smoky, orange haze.

  “Beautiful sunrise, if’n weren’t for the smoke.” His father broke the covenant of silence.

  “Yeah.” Kyle nodded without looking out of the window.

  His father paused for a few moments. “They have mornings like this in the big city? Don’t imagine that you’d see much with all of them buildings and smog in the way.”

  “No, not really.” Kyle sipped his coffee.

  Another few minutes of silence passed between them. Only the blissful sound of Cromwell sawing logs filled the air.

  “Look son, I get that you’re mad at me.” His father waited for Kyle to look over at him before continuing. “And you’ve every right to be. But please don’t take it out on Jake. I see how he looks at you. I’ve always seen how he looks at you, and how you look at him.” His father paused to collect his thoughts.

  Not exactly feeling up to a lecture from his father, Kyle began to protest. “I know dad, but you…”

  “No, you don’t get it.” The old man spoke in a cool, even-handed tone as he put his mug down on the table. “You don’t see what a father does. You and Jake should’ve been together ages ago, but you wanted to do your own thing. An’ that’s fine and fair. Maybe I pushed you too hard because I didn’t want you to have to search so hard to find the happiness that was right in front of you all along. I was wrong in doin’ that son, and fer that I am sorry.”

  Kyle wondered what this was leading up to.

  “Jess told me that Jake shipped out yesterday, and I’m sorry about that too. But now he’s out there trying to save the whole of Shale River from another Godforsaken blaze and you’re in here too angry with the world to see things clearly.”

  Oh, this was going to be good. Kyle crossed his arms. He planned on waiting till his dad got out of breath before saying anything else. But the look on his father’s face changed. The old farmer was suddenly sad and full of regret, it was a side of his father that Kyle had only seen a handful of times. It truly broke his heart.

  “…and…you take my word for it, but you won’t know what you’ve got ‘till it’s gone. You know that…” His father paused and looked off to the side with tear-stained eyes.

  “Dad?” Kyle was seriously worried at the sight of his upset father – the old coot had cried maybe twice in his entire life.

  “You know, the… last thing that your mother and I discussed was a recipe that she’d gotten from the church bulletin for tuna casserole. Had I known that would’ve been…the last time I’d see her on this earth…” His father slumped down at the kitchen table. He was clearly burdened by an awful lot of guilt.

  Kyle had never seen his dad like this before and it caused pangs of concern to sweep over him. “I know dad, I just, I wish that you…”

  “I did what I did because you w
ere the only one who couldn’t see what the rest of us could. And each year you just got further away from our pack. I couldn’t stand to lose you day by day like that. I did what I did because you’re stubborn as a goddamned mule, just like your mother.” His father smiled and placed a rough, weather-calloused hand upon Kyle’s. “Please son, don’t let words guided by anger be the last thing that you said to the man you love.”

  Kyle nodded in stunned silence. He hugged his dad and gave him a kiss on the head. “I know Dad, I’m just scared. I don’t know what to do. Jake could be anywhere by now.”

  “He could. But, fer the sake of argument, let’s say that I’ve got a hunch that he’s probably an hour or so along RR 8, just off of Tower road….” He squinted at a piece of paper in his hand. “But I mean, if’n you shoot past the MacKay Energy Facility, yer probably gone too far.”

  Kyle was stunned. “Wait, what? How did you know that…?”

  Despite his years of lecturing both of his children never to do so, Old farmer Daniels proudly leaned back in a chair. “About twenty years back, I served as the cookie of duck lodge for a season when Denny Roberts broke his ankle gettin’ down offa that great foreign monster he calls a tractor. Brought along your mother’s finest recipes too. Anyhow, after he retired from the Fire Marshall’s office in Wood Buffalo, his son took over. Denny and I go way back. A few phone calls later and he pries from his son that Jake’s unit was deployed on the stretch of woods between Fort Mac and MacKay Energy.”

  A powerful energy cascaded along Kyle’s entire form. Flushed with hope, he immediately felt restless. He had to move, and he could barely contain his joy. He could see Jake; he had to see Jake.

  “Dad, holy shit, I… I just… fuck… fuck!”

  “You’re welcome, son. And watch that language.”

  Kyle stood up and then sat down again. He finished his coffee in a single heroic gulp, nearly choking on it, and then made for the shower. “Can you let Jess know that I’m borrowing her car?”