Hey, guys! I know you guys really want me to continue with Heart, but this sadly is not an update. I'm NOT DISCONTINUING! Don't worry. However, I need to get some things straightened out with the plot so I don't confuse or disappoint you guys when I do start writing it again.

For now, I'm giving you guys another book excerpt so you can learn more about the characters. Several of you like these, so please, enjoy! For those of you who don't, sorry!

Contradictory

"To you guys, does it seem like Frost is very…open?" I ask as I pluck unicorn berries off of their vines. Dream, Ever, and I had been sent to harvest the fruit. When we got here, the vines seemed more like a spider web than a vineyard, but navigating through the thickets was somewhat exciting. Multicolored berries dotted green vines as they crisscrossed through the trees like prom balloons.

"Born lycanthrope thing." Dream shrugged and messed with the bobby pins that kept her hair folded under. The black leather pants and matching, long jacket didn't match her personality, nor did her crimson contacts. I don't know who Shiki from Togainu no Chi is and I doubt that I want to.

Ever had her hair done the same way, but her clothing was more casual, though just as edgy with the fur-lined, dark jacket and gray contacts. Akira from the same anime. She said, "Born lycanthropes are more animal than human. They don't censor their emotions and rarely feel things like embarrassment because of it. It's not that Frost is more open than any of us; we're just more closed than he is, or any of the alphas."

"And here I thought it was due to his scientific personality," I mutter and toss a few blue and red berries into my bag.

Ever smiles. "Well, that might be a contributing factor."

"I just think he's a scientific moron," Dream says.

"Sissy, don't be so rude!"

"What? He's not going to find out I said anything."

"It's still rude."

I furrow my eyebrows as Ever chastises her sister, the only person Ever ever chastises. Geez, I think I gave myself a headache with repeated words.

Dream sticks her tongue out at Ever and continues her foraging.

"You know, for twins, you two act nothing alike," I comment.

"That's because we're opposite personas," they say in unison.

I give them a blank stare.

"Since Dream wasn't there when this happened, I guess I'll tell you," Ever says as she plucks a pink unicorn berry off the vine. "About seven years ago, a girl named Lily Phillips died. When she was little, her father walked out on her and her mother. Said mother was an alcoholic and would physically abuse Lily when she was drunk.

"When Lily went to high school, she started getting blackouts and would often get in trouble and not remember what she did. People told her she was lying, that she wasn't shy or quiet, just a loud-mouthed brat, but she couldn't figure out why they would think that.

"Her senior year of high school, she was taken to a mental institution, and the woman there told her that she had Dissociative Identity Disorder. During the time she would blackout, she became Lila Phillips. A year after that, a man appeared to her one night and told her that in exchange for her loyalty and a bit of pain, he would take her to a world where she wouldn't be a multiple personality.

"When I woke up, I looked like this, and there was a girl named Lila lying next to me." Ever smiled. "How many people get to meet their alternate personality?"

Dream grinned. "I was a bit of a trouble maker in school, but I like it better here."

I hold up my hand. "Wait, so Lily's body split into two people?"

Ever nodded. "Yes. That's what Frost said."

"And because of Lily's illness, the world seemed dream-like. Therefore, Frost named us 'An Everlasting Dream', Ever and Dream."

I fall into silence for a moment, turning and contemplating this new information. "That's interesting."

"Really?!" Ever's ears perked, and her eyes sparkled. "You don't think it's weird?"

I shake my head. "It's not normal, but who wants normal? Weird is good."

Tears bubbled over Ever's eyes. "R-really?"

"Um…yeah…" I look at Dream, desperate for help since I'm horrible with emotion. She simply stares back at me, not offering any support whatsoever. That's not rude at all.

"You…you're the first one to say that since Frost," Ever cried as she wiped her eyes. "Thank you…."

"You're welcome," I say.

Oo_oO_Oo_oO

"Frost? Are you in here?" I peek into the man's lab. The door was next to his nightstand, but I'd never been inside before.

Against the left wall sat a metal table covered in beakers and vials. To the right, there was another matching table with a microscope and more glass containers. Unlike everywhere else in our magically complex home, the lab had a rock ceiling, though the room was well lit with Light trapped in the said ceiling. Several odd plants grew in pots around the room. At a large, organized desk on the far wall, Frost spun around to look at me in his rolling chair. "What do you need?"

Glasses slightly enlarged his flaming eyes, his hair tightly held on top of his head with two pencils, the same way Iris wore her hair. A white lab coat covered his arms. That's certainly a different look.

"Raine wanted me to tell you that Blossom was here to see you," I say, my eyes glued to him. I knew I was staring, but I couldn't help it.

"Then get in and close and lock the door." He turned back to his papers.

I gulped and did what he told me. It suddenly felt much warmer in the room, despite the sixty degree temperature.

"Will you be my test subject?"

"Eh?"

Frost stands and moves to a large plant in the corner. It resembled a cactus with spines several inches long, and at the end of each narrow, white spine, drops of green liquid beaded and fell into a pan around the pot. The bluenette pulled a spine out of the plant, the base fleshy and turning black once it was pulled, along with the rest of the segment. After he dropped the spine into a beaker of a deep purple fluid, the liquid bubbled and fizzed, gradually changing to a mint color.

Frost picked up the beaker and swirled it a bit. "I need you to drink this."

"It's not poisonous, is it?" I ask, though I moved to stand beside him anyways. He shakes his head. "It won't do anything bad."

"Like what?"

"Nothing harmful."

I raise an eyebrow at him. "But what will it do to me?"

"If I tell you, it may affect the results." He frowned. "Can't you trust me?"

I don't reply. After a moment, he says, "If you don't want to do it, I can ask Amethyst or Haven."

Disappointment leaked into his voice like water out of a broken faucet, and his ears laid back. My microscopic conscience poked at me while my mind murmured, Even if he's a pain in the butt, he's cute when he pouts.

I hold in the urge to smack myself at the thought. Frost is NOT cute!

"Fine. I'll do it."

His ears perked immediately. "Thanks."

I look to the side. "Whatever."

I take the beaker from him and down the mint-colored liquid. It tasted metallic, like blood almost, but also sweet like honeysuckles. As I set the glass on the table, I mutter, "That's probably the weirdest thing I've ever tasted."

"I don't doubt it," Frost said. "How do you feel?"

I shrug. "No different." Then I pause. "You seem hotter."

As soon as I said it, I realize how that must have sounded, but before I could correct myself, Frost frowns. "That's odd."

He turns, his body heat hitting me in a strong wave. My body felt somewhat heavy, and I stumble towards his desk. When I get there, my feet decide it's a good time to take a break. Before I could face plant into his desk, Frost grabs my waist and holds me against his burning body, his eyes glued to his clipboard. I read the elegantly written title. "Fox Breath Serum".

"What's Fox Breath?" I ask, trying to see around his chest to read the rest of the file.

"An illness wolves can get when they're exposed to catnip. It's not too serious, just coughing, sneezing, abdominal pain, and headaches, but Blossom, Reflection, and I have been working on a cure for it that doesn't require weeks in bed."

"Why use it on a cat?"

"I can't really explain it. It has to do with feline versus canine genes mixed with certain plant and element properties." Frost flips the page of the clipboard. "On you, it should have caused your wings to react, not your body."

I growl, "Didn't you say it wouldn't hurt me?"

"It's not hurting you. Just complications."

"My neck down feels like gelatin! You call that 'just complications'?"

"Yes, I do."

"And tell me, what's the worst that could have happened to me?"

He pauses. "You could have had a bad reaction to the serum and gotten high from it."

"And what's the worst you've done to someone through experiments?"

"It wasn't my fault."

I lay an ear back. "What did you do?"

"I accidently switched bodies with Blossom."

"What?!" I was suddenly very glad that near-paralysis was all that happened to me.

"Be quiet for a bit. Let me think."

In the process of him thinking, he flipped back to the first page and I was able to read all of it this time. Unfortunately.

Three drops catnip extract.

Five milliliters born lycanthrope blood.

One dragon scale.

One Earth cactus spine.

Ten milliliters Shadow honeysuckle nectar.

Two Water rose petals.

I pause for a long moment. Then I ask, "Did I drink your blood?"

"Yes."

"That's…messed up…."

"Get used to it. Most every serum, potion, and remedy I make has my blood in it."

Before I could grumble about not being a vampire, there's a knock on the door. "Frost! Open up!"

He doesn't say anything.

"I know you're in there!"

Nothing.

"I'll tell Iris that you had a sexual dream about her!"

Frost rolls his eyes.

"I'll tell Anubis that you had a sexual dream about him!"

I frown. Still not cracking?

"I'll tell River that you had a dream about an alpha orgy!"

At that, Frost said, "Coming!"

"My point exactly," Blossom replied from the other side of the door.

"You know what I meant!" Frost set me in his chair. "Try not to fall over."

"Thanks for the advice," I mutter.

Once the door was open, Blossom glanced at me and then her brother. "What did you do to Kyle?"

"Fox Breath Serum," he answered. Blossom walked right past me and grabbed the clipboard. "What happened?"

"Near-paralysis from the neck down. Anything else?" Orange eyes moved to my green ones.

"Frost feels like a hot coal," I say. "It's like I'm oversensitive to his body heat."

Blossom scans the papers. "Is it like that with me?"

"No."

Frost crosses his arms and stands next to Blossom. "He couldn't be having a reaction to the Shadow ingredients, could he?"

Blossom shakes her head. "Your blood would neutralize that even if his Light did attack it. Are you sure you measured everything correctly?"

"I checked twice. Everything added up perfectly."

"There's nothing he could be allergic to." Blossom paused. "Did you check his pulse?"

"Normal."

"Breathing?"

"Normal."

"Then I need you to walk through the boys' wing and back."

Frost furrowed his eyebrows. "Why?"

"Because I said so. Now go! Slowly though."

Frost sighed and walked out of the room, calling over his shoulder, "Don't mess up my lab, Blossom!"

"As if I would!" she retorted. Once he was gone, Blossom turned to me and said, "Okay, I need you to be completely honest with me."

"Okay," I say. Good luck with that.

"Do you have a crush on Frost?"

I choke on my saliva. Once I get over my shock, I say, "No! Why would you think that?!"

Blossom's silver eyes focused on mine. "Because your symptoms could be explained by Heat Syndrome, but the only way you could have that is if you like Frost."

"I don't like him like that!"

"Really?"

"Really! Where do you people come up with this stuff?" I grumble. She says, "I came up with it because Frost wears his heart on his sleeve. He's obviously head over feet for you."

"Well, I'm not head over feet for him."

Blossom plants her hands on her hips. "Kyle, if you're not being truthful about this, there's a lot more going on than a simple bad reaction."

I don't reply and look away. Heat Syndrome didn't sound fun, but it sounded better than whatever other names they could give it. Frost is attractive…maybe I'm just a sucker for a pretty face. There's no way I like him though. Falling in love is not an option.

"I guess he's good-looking…" I murmur.

"That's all I need to hear!" Blossom chirped. After a few more moments, I felt Frost's body heat before he reappeared. "Am I allowed to come in, or do I need to jog out to Lake WillowDrop and back first?"

Blossom smiles, which gave me shivers. "He has Heat Syndrome. Nothing serious."

"Heat Syndrome?" Frost repeated. "That only happens if he ingests the blood of the person he…loves…."

Again with choking on my saliva. "I don't love you! You're kind of cute, that's all!"

But when I look at Frost, his eyes gleam with joy. Blossom was right; he really did wear his heart on his sleeve.

"How do we fix it?" I ask. Blossom skips out the door, her tail swishing and curling behind her. "All you got to do is kiss and make up! I'll be in the living area!"

I gape as she disappears and leaves me with Frost and his thousand degree body. This was not happening. Nope. If I pretend nothing's wrong, my problem with vanish. Poof! Nonexistent.

"Is there a way around this?" I ask. Frost shakes his head. "Not really. You could be bedridden for a few months if you prefer."

"I do prefer."

And again with his pouting. "You would rather be in bed for three months than kiss me?"

I glare into his now fireless eyes. "Are you trying to be manipulative or are you just naturally like that?"

"Like what?" he asked, one ear perked, the other laid back.

"You pout like a beaten puppy!"

"I do?"

"Yes, you do! It's pitiful!"

"Why are you getting so aggravated?" Frost asked.

I turn my head away from him. "Because you're so aggravating!"

"How am I aggravating?"

"Because I never knew how hard it is to deal with people who don't censor their emotions!" I curse under my breath. "Why can't you be an arrogant jerk all the time?!"

"Because I don't try to be an arrogant jerk and I don't try to hide my true self."

"And that's why you're so aggravating!"

"Kyle, from what I can tell, you're more aggravated at yourself than me."

"How do you figure?" I spat.

Suddenly, hands are under my arms, lifting me. I find myself standing against Frost, held up by his arms. Sunset eyes gaze at me with that Frost-look, the one that made me feel like I was his specimen. "For once, can you be honest with me and yourself?"

"About what?" I mutter. I held his gaze, though in the back of my mind, I wondered where his glasses had gone.

"You're falling for me, aren't you?" Frost said. My eyes widen, and I stumble over my words to protest. However, when his hand came up to caress my cheek, I stop my half-coherent ramblings. "I don't…I don't know…."

To break his gaze, I rest my forehead on his shoulder with a sigh. "You need to stop flipping like a switch."

"How am I doing that?"

"Half the time, you're sexy and all business, and the other half, you're adorable and emotional." Heat rises in my cheeks. "I don't think animals are like that. That's a you thing."

"So which do you like more?"

"Huh?"

Frost chuckles. "Do you like sexy and business or adorable and emotional?"

"They're both too much. If I didn't see it myself, I wouldn't think you could be emotional or adorable."

"Why's that?"

"Because it's like you're a lycanthrope that goes from wolf to bunny."

"So you think I'm a bunny?"

"You've turned someone into a rabbit before, haven't you?" I tease.

Frost tenses. "How did you find out about that?"

I pull away from his shoulder to look at him. "I was joking. Have you seriously done that before?"

"I…um…" He glances to the side. "The effect was just to give Anubis rabbit ears and a tail for a few days, but I accidently turned him into one instead."

"Why did you―?"

"I had a lab mishap and spilled a potion on myself that gave me ears and a tail for about a week. He wouldn't shut up about it, so I wanted to get back at him for it."

"What kind of ears and tail?" I asked.

"A…a mouse…."

"That's, uh, unusual."

Frost muttered, "Anubis deserved to be that rabbit."

"Think on the bright side. If you had turned into a mouse, someone might have eaten you," I say.

"You're not helping."

I laugh. "Sorry."

Frost gives me another Frost-look. I frown. "What?"

"You're cute when you laugh."

I look to the side to cover my blush. "Idiot! Don't say stuff like that!"

"Why not?"

"Because you're supposed to be embarrassed when you say things like that!"

"Why would I be embarrassed? You're cute."

"Stop!"

"Kyle Eden is absolutely adorable."

"Frost!"

"Even cuter with bunny ears."

"I swear, I'm going to shove my foot so far up your―!"

"Frost? Kyle?"

At Whisper's voice, I look away since my face is probably redder than her deep crimson eyes. Frost says, "What is it?"

"I…I don't mean to interrupt, but Raine says that if you don't hurry up, he'll start dinner without you two. I think Blossom's staying the night, too."

Frost nods. "Go ahead and start. Tell Blossom she can stay in my bed tonight."

"Okay." I hear Whisper walk out of the room.

"I'm sharing a room with Blossom?" I ask, glad to be off the topic of how cute I apparently am.

"I'll just sleep in the floor with you." Before I can object, Frost continues, "I'll sleep in my lycanthropic form. You seemed to enjoy sleeping next to an oversized wolf during training."

"Because you're fur is really soft and warm."

After a long silence, Frost ran his thumb across my bottom lip. "Am I going to have to feed you at dinner, or are you going to let me kiss you?"

"Who said you were going to kiss me?" I stretch my neck out to press my lips against his. Despite not wanting to be the more submissive of us, I had no idea what I was doing. Maybe it was sad, but this was my first kiss. Twenty-three and this is my first kiss. With an alpha of a lycanthrope pack and four years older than me. No one ever wanted to kiss me until now, and I never wanted to kiss anyone until now. I pointedly kept myself from wanting to kiss anyone until now.

Luckily, Frost didn't seem to mind my inexperience. He moved his lips against mine gently. But then his tongue prodded my lips apart. I never read the romance novels or watched anything explicit because it never interested me; I had no clue what he was doing. French kissing? Was that normal?

I press my lips together. As soon as I did, Frost pulled away. "Are you okay?"

"I…yeah…I'm fine," I say. I guess French kissing is normal. Wouldn't that feel weird though? It'd be all slimy and weird. What if someone had bad breath? Or bits of lunch left in their mouth?

"Have you ever kissed anyone before?" he asked.

"Of course I have!" I lie. "Just because I'm saving myself for marriage doesn't mean I'm inexperienced!"

He smiles. "Your lying skills fail you, Masquerading Liar."

I glare at him. "Shut up, Snowball."

He ignores my comments. "There's no reason to be embarrassed. Everyone has to have their first kiss at some point."

"You've obviously already had yours."

"Technically, my first kiss was at two. My first real kiss that I was a willing participant in wasn't until I was twelve. Take into consideration that at four, I was a teenager."

At this point, my body felt heavy in Frost's arms. Though I was a bit shaky, I could stand and support myself.

As I pull away from Frost, I mutter, "I need raccoon and Hollywood Undead."

"I think we have groundhog, deer, and unicorn berries tonight." Frost smirks. "You can eat the unicorn berries from my mouth if you'd prefer it."

"No, thank you."

So what did you think? Suggestions and constructive criticism is welcome as long as it is CONSTRUCTIVE. Some people have trouble with that part. Anyways, please, Please, PLEASE REVIEW!