Of Beauty & Beast (Scomiche)

2. Two Unknowns

The boy sucked in cool air and locked it within his chest, his back pressing firmly against the rough bark of an evergreen. He could feel the hairs on his body rise like antennae; the forest was warning him that his seekers were closing in.

His amber eyes scanned his surroundings in the minimum light that dusk provided and he focused on tracking their exact whereabouts. Knowing what he wanted, his magic formulated an image in his eyes of a group of wolves creeping through the heavy undergrowth. They were only a few yards from stumbling upon his weak excuse of a hiding place. His clearing would have left him with far more options if one hadn't stayed behind to sunbathe there.

Mitch shut his eyes and the image washed away. He knew that they all relied solely on their senses the way he relied on his magic, so why not even the playing field. His mouth moved silently around his request to put an illusion in place that guranteed their skilled eyes would now mistake him for the tree his body was molded into, and that their noses would confuse his scent with that of the nature around them. Then he opened his eyes and waited.

A minute later, five prowling wolves emerged from behind the maze of trees and scented the air. But much to their dismay, his trail went cold. He watched as they continued on, all slowly sauntering by him as he expected they would, oblivious to his whereabouts.

Well, all except for one.

Mitch glared at the wolf with the white coat as it stopped only two feet from him and surveyed the area. Mitch would've thought he imagined the smirk on the animal's muzzle, but a second later the wolf was shifting into a stark-naked, young man-really more beast than man-and that smirk was still present. He looked directly into where Mitch's eyes were leveled, though the brunette still wasn't visible, and the latter swore internally. The beast boy chuckled, feeling his annoyance like an itch beneath his own skin.

It wasn't his fault that Mitch's distinct smell had hit him immediately. The heady combination of forest, lavender, wild honey, and a subtle bitterness was something he'd gotten used to after so long. He never knew exactly how to describe that last negative thing that made up Mitch's aroma aloud, so he pretended it didn't exist, but it was unmistakable. It was always part of the shorter male. Nothing could ever mask it, and the attempt to smother it with magic only made it more potent to him. Maybe it was his magic.

But, of course, Mitch still tried to hide behind his powers.

"Reveal yourself to me," the older teen demanded smugly. He closed the space between them and placed his large hands to either side of the tree trunk. "Come on, I know it's you."

Mitch shivered at his soft, nearly seductive tone. He let his tricks wash away, peering up at the boy bracketing him in. "No fair, Scott," he complained with a faked pout.

Scott smiled wide in response, his lower canines almost peeking past his bottom lip due to their length. He ducked down to the brunette's height, "But you're the one cheating yet again. How many cheated games in the last eight years does this make?"

"I am not sure, but how else am I supposed to attempt to finally win a game of hide-and-seek with a group of werewolves and my beasty?" Mitch wondered with a small quirk to his lips.

"You already know that hiding from me is pointless. I can still smell you, feel you near even if I can't see you. Your magic can't hide you from me," his hands found Mitch's narrow hips and he leaned in to whisper, "I thought you would have learned by now that it fails when it comes to me."

"Don't remind me..." Mitch's mind temporarily wandered at Scott's too-close proximity, and he couldn't seem to keep his eyes off those intriguing and still smirking lips that were mere inches away from his own... Still smirking... His brain caught up then and his black-polished fingertips found Scott's bare chest to gently push him away.