Chapter 3

*3 years later*

"Alaska, I'm home"

Jax’s voice reverberates around the cavernous space as he walks into the warehouse. It is unrecognizable from the empty, near rundown place that he walked into three years ago. It looks very much the same on the outside and anyone would still consider this an abandoned warehouse. Inside it is polar opposites.

Of course, it wasn't a quick process and they have only put the final finishing touches on it recently. It was a massive effort to get it to where it is now, to get them to where they are now and it wasn’t a rapid incline from the near unlivable space to the wonderland that appears in front of him now. It remained near uninhabitable for a long time.

He receives no reply, not a single sound can be heard, his face tilts up and he takes a deep breath in.

"I know you are here, I can scent you"

Jax’s eyes scan the once empty space that is now filled with training equipment, a set up that they never dreamed of having within the autumn pack. They use the upper space as much as the lower space. Wolves are creatures of the earth, yet they have not confined themselves in such a way.

Jax extends an arm directly out from his body as a stick comes flying at him, his large hand wraps around the fighting implement as his eyes continue to scan the area. One would think that the direction the stick came from would give away Alaska’s location, but she seems to live up high, moving around with a closer resemblance to a monkey than a wolf.

Finally, an agile figure propels herself out of her hiding place, a stick in her own hands. Jax calmly grips his own with two hands as he blocks the savage hit. The quality piece of timber bends and groans with the force but stays in one piece.

Alaska is dressed in only a deep red sports crop and a pair of lightweight sports shorts, revealing her long and streamlined body. She has visible muscles, slender and strong, her body is a lot different to that of the past. She has always had fitness and strength but she had softer curves, more sweet and feminine. Now she is lean and tight, but she is still as beautiful as she has ever been.

Her brown hair is longer than before, hitting the bottom of her shoulder blades as she goes through her movements. What proceeds is nothing short of an epic battle, with such brutality, but neither receives a single hit. The near new sticks are dented and scarred from the interaction.

As aggressive as the attack was, it stops just as quickly and calmly. Alaska takes the stick from Jax while wiping the sweat from her forehead.

"Dinner is in the slow cooker. I have training to do"

Alaska turns to replace the sticks in a large display of weapons, used purely for training purposes. Jax walks behind her and as soon as the sticks are in place, he grips her around the bicep, his touch is gentle but firm.

"Come and eat with me"

Alaska looks in Jax’s softened blue eyes and yields in a second. She hasn’t been able to say no to Jax many times in her life. He has one of those faces and it is always helped by the fact that he always wants the best for her, even when she doesn’t want it for herself, and also, the fact that he is her only friend in this life plays into it a lot.

"Fine, but I should’ve fought a little longer if I knew you were going to blink those blue eyes at me and make me cave to your whim"

Jax raises his eyebrows, a look of mock shock on his face.

"Are you telling me that my eyes are my secret weapon?"

Alaska rolls her eyes as she leads them toward the kitchen.

"As if you didn’t know, it is not impossible for someone to look so innocent and sweet without doing it intentionally"

Jax raises a hand to cover his heart like he has just been mortally wounded.

"Maybe I am just that innocent"

"Ohh please don’t make me gag"

Jax laughs as he deposits Alaska on one of the seats on the dining table before making his way to the kitchen. The dining table is a new addition and while they have space to put something large in, there has never been more than just the two of them, so it is just a small four-seater table with two of the seats stored away.

The run-down old kitchen with the shelves rotting away and the counter bowed and chipped is now replaced with a much larger kitchen with all the modern appliances. Sleek shiny surfaces with useable space. Jax takes two bowls out of the cabinets in a practiced manner and skillfully serves the food. He had never even made a piece of toast himself before it was necessary for survival. It was a rough start trying to gain skills at a rapid rate with no time, no money for food and looking after someone that had no interest in living much less eating, but he persevered and ended up a decent enough cook before Alaska was finally able to take some of the burden from him.

Jaxson walks around the kitchen island and delivers a bowl in front of Alaska before taking his own seat.

"Just once I would love to get home and call out to you, and instead of fighting for my life I would love nothing more than to see your smiling face, asking how my day has been"

Alaska looks up from her bowl, her fork still hanging out her mouth, she gives a toothy grin around the fork, a sinister look on her sweet face. She pulls the fork out with a flourish, placing it on the table as her elbows rest on the surface on either side of the bowl, her hands placed one on top of the other, her chin resting on the upper hand, her head slightly tilted, her long black eyelashes flutter exaggeratedly over her emerald green eyes.

"Ohh Jax you have returned from the big bad world back to me, my fearless leader. How was your day? Don’t leave a single thing out. I want to hear every thought and every emotion because I always take the non-violent approach"

Jax doesn’t even care about her sarcastic yet jovial tone as he stares at her eyes. They are shining in a way he hasn’t seen in a longtime. As her eyelashes flutter, his heart flutters at the same pace. Jax coughs into his tightly clenched fist to cover up the sound.

"Well, since you are asking in such an interested manner, I will let you know just how trying my day has been, how much perseverance it took to keep a calm half smile on my face in their presence, the tenacity displayed having to listen to the slimy voice saying sleazy things and pretend to be so completely clueless to the point that they must truly believe that I am an imbecile"

Alaska’s overly sweet, mocking face is gone, the glimmer in her eyes has once again disappeared, her hands fall onto the table and the fork returns to her mouth, this time her teeth grind against it in an aggressive fashion. Her tone so exageratedly cold that it is hard to believe the two voices came from one person.

"I forgot that was today"

Jax casts his eyes back down at his bowl, her happiness is so fleeting even after all these years, every time he thinks he has her back she disappears just as quickly again. He knew this conversation would have this effect, which is why he was trying to keep it as lighthearted as possible, even though it hurts her. He has promised himself to be as transparent as he can with Alaska. They are in this together, for better or worse. Shielding her from it will have no good end.

"They want to see you next time"

Alaska’s lips curl up into a snarl.

"I can’t play the part as well as you can, it makes me violently ill to be in the same room as them, to act like everything is alright, to smile at them, make light-hearted conversation"

Jax shakes his head not believing that for a second.

"You have always played the part better than me"

That is true, the first time that Alaska had to show her face alongside him he was terrified when she walked out after her preparations. He thought that just the mere thought of being in their presence, any progress they had made was lost again. It was only then that he noticed that she had made herself look worse than she was. She purposely deceived them in order to keep their guard down.

It was ingenious and he had no idea why he hadn't thought of such a thing.

He has followed that lead over all these years. At the start, it was easy, they were in such a bad way, there was no need to act, a few sets of clothing were worn through easily, the toiletries were barely effective, their lack of healthy eating and anyway resembling a good night sleep was a aspiration. But as they pulled themselves out of the quicksand which threatened to suffocate them both and progressed, they never allowed them to see that progress.

"I can’t do it again, it kills me every time"

"I know Alaska. I feel the same way. When I have to put up with their lies, their condescending tone and pretend I am something that I am not, hiding myself to make them feel superior and that they have won, it beats me down"

"We don’t have to put up with it Jax, this hatred is eating me up, they need to pay for what they have done. We are ready, I know we are"