Iron Claws and Fragile Hearts
Chapter 14: The Unknown
To say Isaac was frustrated with Ethan would have been putting it lightly. Nothing he did ever made any sense. Just when Isaac thought he had figured out the 'rules,' Ethan was changing them. They were enemies until suddenly Ethan was working with them to stop the Darach. Ethan was his tormentor until suddenly he was being nice. Ethan made Isaac feel weak and worthless until suddenly he was making him feel special and wanted. Ethan had asked Isaac to come out to the woods and now suddenly he was hiding from him.
Isaac sniffed the air, once again trying in vain to locate Ethan's scent. This was ridiculous. Over the past several days he had gotten really good at recognizing Ethan's scent. This should have been as easy as detecting the aroma of freshly baked bread in a library or the stench of fertilizer in a shopping mall; it should have stood out. Yet the only traces of it were old and secondhand. The actual primary source, which should have been the strongest and most apparent, was nowhere to be found.
Isaac: This is stupid. I'm going home if you don't come out.
Several minutes earlier Isaac had walked toward the coyote's den, expecting Ethan to appear behind him like he usually did. When he hadn't, Isaac had sent him a text.
Isaac: I'm here. Where are you?
Unknown: Nearby. I can see you. Find me. [winky face emoji]
"That's it, I'm leaving," Isaac said out loud as he folded his arms and turned a full three-hundred-and-sixty degrees while glaring. Wherever Ethan was, he was getting a glare.
All at once Ethan's scent flooded his nostrils. It was like a dam had broken and drenched Isaac – and yes, Isaac had developed some positive associations with that scent, especially over the past twenty-four hours, but the cloying smugness pervading it made him want to gag. He turned toward the strongest point. Sure enough there was Ethan, barely fifteen feet away, leaning against a tree and waving at him with mock innocence.
"You're not funny," Isaac said, trying to keep the anger out of his voice so Ethan wouldn't know how much his antics had affected him. He felt like a complete failure to have screwed up something as relatively simple as near-range scent tracking on a familiar target. In his head, his dad's voice reminded Isaac he had always been useless while Derek's sneering face informed Isaac he regretted ever turning him.
Ethan's smirk faded as Isaac turned away, intent on leaving. Before he could take more than a couple steps, Ethan had crossed the short distance and grabbed his wrist in that damn obnoxious way of his.
"I'm sorry." Ethan's voice dripped with too much sincerity for it to be natural, but a quick heart rate and sniff test confirmed that he did mean it; he was just laying it on intentionally thick.
Great. He fucking pities me.
"You didn't make any mistakes. I was just showing off," Ethan said, tugging Isaac's arm too gently. If he would have only yanked it or squeezed too hard, Isaac would have been justified in growling and shoving him away, but with him being apologetic and gentle, Isaac would have looked like a petulant child who couldn't control his emotions. "I'm good at stealth," Ethan continued. "You weren't supposed to be able to find me."
"So why couldn't I smell you?" Isaac asked hesitantly. He was playing into Ethan's hand, but he was too curious not to ask just to deprive him of the satisfaction. Besides, maybe Ethan did have a valid explanation that would let him off the hook for his failure.
"I was masking my scent," Ethan answered, pride bubbling to the top of his emotional soup. It was a relief. The sympathy and remorse that had been there were much harder to take, especially coming from Ethan. The past few days notwithstanding, Isaac still desperately wanted to believe Ethan was an unconscionable asshole.
"How do you do that?"
"Well, there are the simple ways like staying downwind of the person you're trying to evade, not staying in one place too long, and not touching anything."
Isaac nodded. That wasn't 'scent masking,' just common sense and basic werewolf training.
"But," Ethan added, his voice rising dramatically, and okay yes, it was kind of cute how excited he was getting about this, "you can also literally stop releasing your scent and hold it close to your body."
"Yeah, right!" Isaac pulled his wrist away and folded his arms over his chest. Ethan was messing with him. If that was a thing werewolves could do, he'd have found out about it by now.
Ethan gave him a cocky smirk and shrugged. A moment later his scent disappeared.
"Holy crap!" Isaac leaned into Ethan's personal space and sniffed his neck, too shocked to feel self conscious. His scent was there, but it was staying close to his body like he had said. "Okay, how are you doing that?!"
Ethan chuckled and his scent flared back to normal, prompting Isaac to take a step back since the close proximity was no longer necessary. Ethan took a small, half-step forward in response, keeping them slightly closer than standard conversation dictated.
A thoughtful look crossed Ethan's face, and he paused before answering. "It feels sort of like holding your breath but in reverse."
"I think that's called exhaling," Isaac remarked.
Ethan ignored him. "It's a specific type of shift. Like how you can control just your eyes or only your claws if you want to, but it's less instinctual and more learned."
"So why haven't I heard of it?"
Ethan shrugged. "It's fairly advanced. A lot of werewolves never learn. It's easier for born wolves or alphas."
"Oh." Isaac frowned.
"But I'm sure you can learn."
Isaac glanced at him curiously. "Really?"
Ethan smiled and placed his hand on Isaac's shoulder. "Absolutely, you're a natural at werewolf stuff."
Isaac gaped at him. "You always make fun of my werewolf abilities."
Ethan smirked. "Well yeah, you still suck compared to most werewolves, especially alphas, but considering you're a bitten wolf who was only turned – what, eight or nine months ago? – you're doing incredible."
Isaac couldn't keep the smile off his face. Scott was the only other werewolf who had ever praised his abilities, but while Scott's opinion was certainly extremely important to Isaac, Scott was probably biased what with being Scott and all. Ethan on the other hand was an experienced former alpha who wasn't even Isaac's friend. If he said it, it must be true. Unless...
"Are you hitting on me?"
"Your smile is breathtaking, and those jeans make your ass look so good my cock throbbed when I first saw you in them."
Isaac's jaw dropped, and he backed away slowly.
"That's hitting on you." Ethan laughed and stepped forward, staying close. "Noticing that you're a quick learner and a naturally talented werewolf isn't. So do you want to learn how to do it or not?"
"You'll teach me?" Isaac was excited but uncomfortable with the implications.
"Of course," Ethan answered with feigned nonchalance. His words might have been casual, but his body language revealed hesitancy, and his heart rate and scent belied mild anxiety. This was the least sure of himself Isaac had ever seen him.
That meant they both recognized this for what it was: a show of good faith on Ethan's part. If Isaac could learn how to mask his scent it would make him more difficult to track or capture and considerably more dangerous at stealth attacks.
"So while we're waiting for the coyote?" Isaac turned in the direction of her den.
"No." Ethan gripped his upper arm to stop him. "We need to stay quiet once we get there, or we'll never catch her. I'll teach you the basic technique now, then you can practice while we wait. I'll practice too, and she'll be even less likely to know we're there."
"You still practice?" Isaac narrowed his eyes. "I thought you were already really good at it?"
"Only half as good as I used to be," Ethan said with a frown. "It's not something you can just turn off and on. You have to hold it, sort of like clenching a muscle."
"Or holding your breath?" Isaac smirked at him.
"Indeed." Ethan nodded and smirked back. "When we were alphas, Aiden and I could keep our scents masked for over fifteen minutes individually, and about nine in merged form."
"Why–"
"It took more coordination and concentration to do it merged," Ethan answered before Isaac could finish his question. "But now that we're betas again, we're around seven minutes each. It's meant to be a short burst thing anyway – use it to get away or sneak up and attack – but still the longer the better."
"So which one of you can last longer?" Isaac asked innocently, fighting the smile tugging at his lips.
"Are you making a twin sex reference? Not cool, dude." Despite his words, Ethan looked mildly amused before annoyance flared across his face. "But Aiden can go about ten or fifteen seconds longer right now. That's why I need to practice. I have to beat his time."
Isaac snickered, wondering just how competitive they got. "Okay, so what do I do?"
"Start by focusing on your own scent. Let me know when you have it."
Isaac raised his arm and sniffed the sleeve of his shirt. He smelled the soothing scent of pack where Scott and Stiles had touched him throughout the day; the fresh, clean fragrance of the fabric softener and laundry detergent Melissa used on his clothes; even traces of the astringent chemicals and dyes that had been used during manufacturing – but he couldn't catch his own unique scent.
"Not your clothes." Ethan took Isaac's elbow and repositioned his arm so that the back of his hand hovered beneath his nose. "You. Your skin."
Isaac frowned, his nostrils tingling from a different scent only a couple inches away on his wrist. "I smell you."
Ethan nodded, a satisfied look on his face. "I like my scent on your skin. But ignore it for now."
Isaac couldn't focus as he felt the first stirrings of a physical reaction that definitely wouldn't help. "Yeah well...it's distracting."
"You're welcome," Ethan answered with a smirk.
Isaac hooked his thumb in the neck of his shirt and sniffed his bare shoulder. There were traces of Stiles here too, but they were faint enough to look beyond. His brain shifted gears, and all at once he had a lung full of his own distinctive scent. Now that he had found it, it was obvious and pervasive. He released his collar and raised his head. "Got it."
"Okay, now feel it emanating from your body, out through your skin and hair. Maybe try visualizing it as its own color." Ethan shrugged and smiled playfully. "I see it as a slate blue if that helps, but that's probably just because it's your favorite color."
Isaac blinked at him and lost his scent. "How do you know my favorite color?"
Ethan rolled his eyes and flipped his hand up, his claws flicking out. He pointed at the back of his neck, reminding Isaac he had been inside his head.
"Fuck you!" Isaac snarled, his eyes flashing with golden heat as he felt the violation all over again.
"Just being honest." Ethan retracted his claws and took a step back, granting Isaac the space he needed in his agitated state.
Isaac tried to calm down. Ethan knowing his favorite color was hardly the most personal thing he had learned by invading his mind. He turned his head and sniffed his shoulder again. "Okay, I've got my scent, and I'm feeling it and visualizing it. What next?" He didn't add that he was picturing it as a slate blue like Ethan had suggested, or that he was curious about Ethan's favorite color so he could likewise ascribe it to Ethan's scent.
"Stop it, block it, squeeze it shut. Maybe imagine your pores closing around it."
"I-I don't know how to do that."
"Hmm." Ethan traced his thumb across his chin as he thought. He had soft-looking lips and a great jawline – but Isaac didn't notice. "Okay, you know how when you do a shift it feels sort of like your eyes get warm, or your fingers feel sharp, or your face feels fuzzy?"
"Yeah."
"It's like that but more of a cold, tight feeling. To me it feels like holding my breath but on the outside, and it'll feel sort of like clenching a muscle around your entire body, but especially your chest."
Isaac closed his eyes and concentrated, trying to find and feel those sensations.
"Keep visualizing your scent. Picture it as a cloud of gas slowly wafting out of a pipe and you're squeezing a valve shut to seal it."
Isaac strained and tensed his whole body. He thought he might have located the 'muscle' Ethan was talking about, but it didn't feel like it was within his control. He grunted and tried to force it to yield to his will, but he barely managed a few seconds of weak twitching before his strength gave out and he gasped. "I can't do it."
"You did it," Ethan countered with a serious look.
"No, I didn't. The...valve stayed open."
"Well yeah. You're not gonna shut it completely on your first try, but your scent flickered and got weaker for a moment."
"So, you really think I can do it?" Isaac asked.
"Like I said, you did do it. You just need to keep practicing." He squeezed Isaac's shoulder. "And I'm impressed by the way. Aiden and I couldn't even find it the first time we tried...of course we were only about eight at the time, but still, great first effort."
"Thanks," Isaac said quietly, referring to both the compliment and the lesson in general.
"Come on," Ethan said, guiding him toward the coyote's den with a hand on his middle back. "Next time I'll teach you how to hide your heartbeat."
"Wait what?!" Isaac whirled around.
Ethan laughed and pushed him forward. "Keep walking."
Once they were within the same of clutch of trees as the night before, Ethan raised a finger to his lips and quietly sank to the ground, leaning back against the tree Isaac had clawed during his orgasm the previous night.
Isaac frowned but reluctantly sat a few feet away from Ethan, leaning against a different tree near where Ethan had put on his show. He pulled out his phone and sent Ethan a text since they weren't supposed to talk.
Isaac: Really? We had to come back HERE?
Ethan smiled and winked at Isaac as he sent his response.
Unknown: I like it here. It smells good.
Isaac rolled his eyes but gave in to the urge to take a deep breath and roll the scent around in his lungs. The pheromones had weakened considerably in the past twenty-four hours, but he could still smell the rich, bold yet nuanced scents of their cum. He was practically but not quite on top of where Ethan had released his seed the night before, and Ethan was sitting directly on what had been Isaac's wet spot.
A few seconds later, Isaac was fully hard and his stomach was clenched in a combination of anxiety and excitement. He tried to keep his breathing steady as he crossed his legs and hunched forward, hiding his erection as best he could.
He chanced a glance at Ethan, who was taking a very different approach. He had spread his legs and leaned way back, showing off the sizable bulge in his pants. As Isaac watched, he winked at him again and slowly stroked his fingers along the full length of that obscene outline a couple times before roughly rubbing his palm over the tip.
God that thing was huge, and Isaac really wanted to see it out in the open again, but he knew that couldn't happen.
Isaac: We can't mess around again tonight or we'll never catch the coyote.
Ethan nodded as he responded.
Unknown: I know. I don't want mess around. I'm just having some fun.
Isaac frowned, unsure whether he was more disappointed or offended. His phone lit up again a moment later.
Unknown: But I'm just talking about tonight. Let me know when you're ready to do more stuff – or the same stuff again. That's a standing offer.
Isaac looked up and made eye contact with Ethan. He nodded, completely serious before resuming typing.
Unknown: Whenever, whatever
Isaac gasped, his heart racing. That was an awful lot of possibilities.
Isaac: I still don't even like you.
Ethan let out a silent laugh.
Unknown: We both know that isn't true. But you don't have to like me. Use me [winky face emoji]
A low, involuntary whimper escaped Isaac's throat as Ethan lifted his shirt with one hand, flashing his lean, rippling abs as he hooked the thumb of his other hand into the front of his pants and pushed them down enough to show off his most of his pelvis and the dense, trimmed bush that covered it, but none of his actual penis.
By now the scent of Ethan's fresh arousal was blanketing the air around them, and all Isaac wanted to do was swaddle himself in that libidinous aroma for the rest of his life. He gave up trying to control himself as he typed back.
Isaac: Open your pants.
Ethan shook his head and sat up, drawing his knees up and obscuring his bulge. A moment later his scent disappeared entirely.
Unknown: Sorry man, we really can't tonight. We need to stay on task. I'll quit being a cocktease.
Isaac frowned and glared at Ethan. He really had been a cocktease, and Isaac was angry he'd fallen for it. Ethan was playing a game with him – get him hot and make him ask for it, then deny him.
Unknown: I brought us back here because our old scents will obscure our new ones, and she's probably used to the old ones by now. Ignore them and practice your new skill.
Isaac didn't look up as he inwardly admitted that was a good strategy. It didn't change the fact that Ethan had intentionally wound him up for nothing, but Isaac decided to take Ethan's advice. Sure, he couldn't do the sort of experimenting he had been hoping to do, but trying to mask his scent was an equally exciting new thing he wanted to explore.
At first he didn't have much luck, but after about ten minutes of trying he managed to squeeze his scent off fully for a few seconds before buckling and letting go. When he looked up, Ethan was grinning and nodding at him.
Unknown: You are doing so well! You seriously shouldn't already be that good.
Ethan's scent flared back, heavy with admiration and approval.
Isaac felt himself blushing and looked away. It was embarrassing how good Ethan's approval made him feel. In truth, approval from anyone tended to have a stronger effect on Isaac than he would have liked, but Ethan's approval felt way too important considering its source. Isaac knew he desperately needed to get a hold of himself and not let Ethan's opinion matter this much. Ethan would hurt him, it was only a matter of time.
Isaac gritted his teeth and plunged into another scent blocking session, this time as much to hide his emotions from Ethan as anything else.
Unknown: Relax your body. It may seem counterintuitive but it makes it easier, and you'll use less energy.
Isaac nodded as he broke again after another few seconds. The next time he tried, he made a point of keeping his body slack. It took more focus, but it did seem to help.
About forty minutes later Ethan texted him again.
Unknown: You should take a break.
Isaac shook his head and kept going. He had been timing himself on his phone and he was up to twenty-one seconds. This was one of the coolest things he had ever done, and he had resolved to beat twenty-five seconds before stopping for the night.
Isaac was frustrated as his progress seemed to stall almost immediately after that. He hit twenty-two seconds than started regressing, falling back to the teens for awhile before eventually flat-lining at ten-to-twelve seconds. It was all he could do not to rake his claws through the dirt in frustration.
Unknown: You're tired. Try again tomorrow. Besides 22 seconds is enough time to put some solid distance between yourself and an enemy.
Isaac cocked his head and quirked his eyebrows at Ethan.
Isaac: Were you timing me?
Ethan nodded, not seeming even remotely self conscious.
Unknown: I was curious
Isaac: And 22 seconds really is ok?
Unknown: No, it's fucking UNHEARD OF for your first time.
The scent of Ethan's approval was back, accompanied by a fond smile – the first Isaac had ever gotten from Ethan.
Isaac flashed a small smile back then pointedly started scrolling through his phone, trying to pretend he wasn't going to memorize this moment and play it over and over again in his head.
Tonight had made Isaac curious about what kind of alpha Ethan had been. Cold and heartless had always been Isaac's assumption, but he was forced to reconsider that assessment. He was still certain Ethan had some kind of endgame in mind with him, but he obviously had the capacity to be patient and supportive when he was teaching someone. Isaac frowned as he realized something.
Isaac: Have you ever had a beta? I mean you were in a whole pack of just alphas so...
Unknown: No. After Aiden and I killed our old pack we immediately joined Deucalion and the others. We never had betas.
Isaac's blood ran cold. He needed to keep things in perspective and remember the stakes. Ethan wasn't just someone who could hurt him by manipulating his emotions; he was someone who could kill him without batting an eye. The fact that Ethan could be charming or even display occasional kindness didn't change that. It made him more dangerous.
When Isaac looked up again, Ethan was staring back at him with emotionless eyes. They may have been brown on the surface, but Isaac knew they were blue underneath.
-000-
End Note: This chapter was a little shorter than I originally intended. However, I'm leaving town in a few days and this may be my last opportunity to write until I get back, so I wanted to update before I leave.
I think I'll do something different this time since it might be a little longer till my next update. Here are a few teasers for what I have planned for the next few chapters:
-An event to make Isaac more aware of his feelings for Stiles and his distrust of Ethan
-A confrontation or two involving Aiden and Isaac
-A deepening of the Iron Claw and related storylines
-A cameo chapter or two featuring a certain preppy bisexual werewolf. It'll be a good bit further down the line, but I'm excited about it, and if there's reader interest he may get frisky with the boys
-The introduction of several new canon characters, obviously one of them is Malia.
Anyway, as always I hope you enjoyed this chapter and feedback is greatly appreciated!