The Wolf and the Natural ✔️

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I MADE ARLIS'S KITCHEN INTO AN ACTUAL VR PLACE AND IM SHOOK AT HOW GOOD IT IS! I'M CRYYYING!!! LOOK HOW NICE IT IS!!!! (I should add some more photos of the rest of the house, huh, becuase this one is not very descriptive (me just wanting to show off what I did)) I'm just a little upset because the Refrigerator/Freezer isn't a freezer drawer and that's a little upsetting, but I'll get over it.

"So basically he's PMSing?" I asked, causing Iris and Melloni to nod and laugh.

Melloni stumbled forward in the dark, the heels, alcohol, and forest grounds weren't doing her good. She grabbed my shoulder and continued walking. "Yeah!"

"So... men PMS not women?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

She shrugged. "Only when they first meet their mates. Before they mate."

I don't know whether to feel really grossed out or proud that Mother Nature for once screwed over the male species. "I... I don't even have words."

Iris laughed. "Neither did we back in High School when we learned that." She scratched the back of her head. "But I must admit... how Arlis acted scared me nearly half to death."

I'd seen worse, but that's not what I said. "How come?"

"He called me Iris instead of mom." She muttered, coming to stop. "Listen, Arlis can be... well..." she struggled to find words, looking to Melloni for help. Melloni didn't help her, in fact Melloni started to walk away. "Arlis thinks the world is against him."

"But he has you, and the twins." I say, frowning.

She sighed heavily. "And now he has you. But having people around you doesn't fix memories."

"Like?" I prodded, taking every advantage I had to learn anything about Arlis. I was a sponge for information about him.

She licked her lips and played with the hem of her blouse, shuffling her feet. "His parents got murdered by a hunter named Stone, Constance's ex husband." She explained.

"Woah!" I couldn't help but take a sickening step back. "Constance had a husband?"

Iris nodded. "Yeah. She killed him though."

Not shocking. "He watched his parents get murdered. Hunters don't kill kids, they still have morals, and 19 is really young in this world. Stone left Arlis alive."

He watched his parents get murdered? I couldn't help the gasp that left my mouth in a small cry. I raised a hand to my mouth and I bet Iris could see the shadows in my eyes.

"In 1837, Constance came back to Montana and met up with a guy named Becker, a powerful witch. Arlis was taken and tortured by Becker's father because Arlis was the only one who could kill him. Took weeks for Becker and Constance to find him and save him. He still has scars." Iris took in a deep breath. "I'm only telling you because I know he won't."

So many things ran through my mind. Why wouldn't he tell me? Who could hurt Arlis, he was harmless? Why did 1837 sound familiar? And then it hit me.

"1837... the year Chleo and that gir—"

Iris growled like a wolf, her teeth rattling. "Yes. Same year. Same year that Arlis went Rogue. He went Rogue because of what happened in the months he was taken. 1837 was a bad time to be alive." She was mad, I could tell by the way her hands clenched in and out of fists. Her eyes narrowed and her gaze could set fire to water. "It's rare we talk about 1837."

"Rogue?" I asked.

She nodded. "Girl, how do you not know?"

"Parents died when I was young. I don't know anything." I answered quickly, too quickly. Iris noticed this, but didn't say anything.