Accidentally Yours, Alpha.

The Discovery.

FRED'S POV:

I couldn't focus on anything for the rest of the day.

Not Mr. Park droning on about quadratic equations, not dissecting that poor frog in biology, not even Tony's terrible jokes at lunch.

My mind kept circling back to one thing:

Susie Lockwood had the mark – the one Dad used to whisper about to Mom late at night when they thought Roy and I were asleep.

The mark that meant someone was bound to a werewolf for life.

Poor Susie. She obviously had no idea what it was, which was why I didn't waste any time warning her about it, although I think I could have done it with a better approach.

The final bell rang and I made my decision to skip soccer practice and head into the library in search of much needed answers.

The school library was practically empty by the time I got there.

Ms. Chen was at the front desk, probably cataloging returns, and a few freshman were huddled around computers working on what looked like a history project.

I slipped past them and headed straight for the back section, the one with books that hadn't been checked out since the first administration of this centuries-old Academy. The air back there always smelled like dust and forgotten stories, but today it felt heavier than usual, like the books themselves knew what I was looking for.

My fingers trailed along the spines until I found it: a thick, leather-bound volume wedged between a biography of Benjamin Franklin and a guide to 1980s computer programming.

The title was barely visible, worn away by years of neglect: ‘The Moon-Bound Vow: Ancient Bonds and Modern Consequences’.

I'd only seen this book once before, when Dad caught me snooping in his study three years ago. He'd snatched it away so fast I barely got a glimpse, but I remembered the weight of it, the way the leather felt soft and worn under my fingers.

Alone in the library's forgotten corner, I opened it.

The pages were yellowed and fragile, filled with handwritten notes in margins and passages highlighted in faded ink.

Someone had studied this book intensely. As I flipped through, my stomach dropped with each page.

‘The Moon-bound vow is irreversible once spoken. The bond consumes both parties until one breaks—or dies.’

I slammed the book shut, my heart hammering against my ribs like it was trying to escape. But I forced myself to open it again. I had to know.

The next section made it worse. There were diagrams showing the mark's progression, photos of real people with crescents that started small and grew larger over time.

In the final stages, the mark covered entire necks, pulsing with an otherworldly silver light.

And at the bottom of the page, in someone's urgent handwriting: ‘If the human doesn't accept the bond willingly, the mark becomes a death sentence.’

"Fred?"

I nearly jumped out of my skin.

Susie Lockwood stood at the end of the aisle, backpack slung over one shoulder, looking at me with those curious brown eyes that had probably gotten her into trouble more than once.

"I thought that was you," she said, walking closer. "Hiding back here with the ancient history books?"

I tried to close the book casually, but she was too quick. Her eyes caught the title before I could hide it.

"'The Moon-Bound Vow'?" she tilted her head.

"That sounds familiar. Wasn't that the scene in the Winter Bride play I was rehearsing with Roy yesterday?"

My blood turned cold. "What exactly did he make you rehearse?"

She laughed, but it sounded nervous.

"Look. I know you think he's binding me and all, but it was nothing major. I feel it was just a dramatic dialogue about eternal bonds and.."

She stopped, her hand moving unconsciously to her neck. To the mark.

"Fred, I'd appreciate it if you stopped looking at me like that. I do my best to cover the weird glow but I guess that's not enough."

I stared at her for a long moment, weighing my options. I could walk away and pretend this conversation never happened.

Or I could just tell her the truth, in detail.

"Susie," I said carefully, "I need to show you something. But first, I need you to promise me you will not freak out."

"Finally. Though that's literally the worst way to start a conversation," she responded, and then sat down across from me at the dusty table. "What's going on?"

I reopened the book and turned it toward her. The page showed a detailed illustration of the crescent mark, along with text describing its appearance and significance.

"This mark," I said, pointing to the drawing. "You have it."

Her hand flew to her neck. “I have always had this, since birth."

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

"Oh! That makes a lot more sense now. It began to glow right after rehearsals with Roy, didn't it?"

The color drained from her face.

"It did, and it very much freaks me out. I haven't even been able to bring myself to tell my guardian or even Darcy.”

She continued; “Initially, I thought it was just a weird rash or something. It doesn't hurt though, it's just..." She trailed off, staring at the illustration.

"This thus look exactly like it."

I pulled out my phone and found the photo I'd taken of another page – the one with the ritual words.

"Tell me if this sounds familiar."

Her eyes widened as she read. "By moon and vow, I am bound to you. Blood to blood, breath to breath, fate to fate."

“Exactly, Fred. These were the lines stated in the script the Drama teacher gave us."

"Hold on. Do you think Professor Jefferson is in on this?" I asked.

“Well, I guess so. He did admit to me that they weren't just lines. Oh, he gave this to me earlier today to go study.”

She replied, bringing out an old book from her backpack with the words ‘The Luna's Oath’ inscribed on it.

I exhaled quietly. “That's a good start.”

“You think? Cause I'm honestly scared to know the entire truth now.”

"I understand. But you've got to start somewhere. Speaking of, there's some other things I feel you need to know about Roy, about his family, and about... our world."

She leaned back in her chair.

"Our world? Fred, you're starting to scare me."

I took a deep breath. This was it, the moment that would change everything between us.

“Do you believe in werewolves?”