Fear.

That was what she was supposed to feel. It was what they expected. They wanted the fear to invade her and take over, to paralyze her completely. Anybody would have frozen under the desk while the huge wolf-like, but-definitely-not-a-wolf, creature roared and snarled on the top of the desk, only inches from tearing her face off. Fear would not be shameful, especially after seeing the way the claws shredded and tore into the fake wood of the desk, the same desk that creaked and groaned under the weight of the creature.

She could almost hear the whisper of the desire to give in to the fear, let the adrenaline flow, feel the heat of the terror. It would have been so easy just to let the terror take her and accept the fact that she was going to die screaming as that thing tore at her stomach with those sharp claws while its jaws closed on her face—

Marco had no use for fear.

She also had no time for the irrational thoughts that the monster on top of the desk was an impossibility, could not possibly exist, because it clearly did. Its claws gripped into the wood, little splinters raining down with every movement and put to lie any thoughts that it was all in her mind, that it could not possibly be happening. No, this was happening all right and she needed to do something or she was going to die.

The thing gripped the edge of the desk and howled, a savage and triumphant sound that during a hunt would have called others of its kind, but since Marco was trapped in the fourth-floor office with it, she caught the sense that the howl was designed to terrify her and make her run.

Her heart pounding blood through her veins, adrenaline surging through her, Marco stood up and pushed against the desk above her with all of her might—

The thing stopped mid-howl, its claws scrabbling for purchase as the desk swayed and then tipped forward with a crash that seemed to shake the entire office. The creature may have been impossible, but gravity didn't care about impossible. It smacked into the floor with a meaty thud and a pained yelp.

Marco didn't stick around to see how badly it was hurt.

She tore through the office at speed, feeling the adrenaline flow through her, this time gladly welcoming it as an old friend as she ran for her life, hoping she had enough time to reach her manager's office at the end of the corridor. Once there she might be able to get her hands on the weapon in the desk, the one she had to pretend for the past week that she hadn't seen. Maybe she could even make it before the creature got to its feet—

There was a roar from behind her, followed by a crash, and she knew that she was never going to make it. Still, she ran faster, pushing her self harder and harder, fighting the urge to look back, the open door invitingly close.

There was a series of crashes behind her as the creature closed on her fast, no doubt knocking over every desk and cubicle wall in its way. It was huge and fast and now it had her on the run, just like it had wanted from the very beginning.

Marco felt the presence more than anything, and acting out of pure instinct, she dropped down onto the tiled floor into a slide. A very surprised looking creature passed overhead, eyes red and insane, fangs bared in surprise and anger, hairy arms folding closed onto a Marco that was no longer there.

Marco turned her slide into a sideways roll and bounced to her feet as the creature

(notawerewolfdontyoudaresaywerewolf)

crashed into the wall of her manager's office, effectively cutting off her access to the only thing she knew would do any kind of harm to that thing.

She darted back as it scrabbled to its feet, and there it was, that impossible head that was more wolf than man, and that heavily muscled and hairy body that vaguely resembled both a man and a wolf at the same time.

She should have been shaking in fear as she stared back at the impossible creature

(goddammitnotawerewolf)

but for some reason, fear was not even an option. Looking into the creature's enraged and intelligent eyes, she knew that she was about to die, but even this didn't phase her. Death could come later, and so could fear for that matter, but right now, she was going to have to make this thing fight her for the only thing of value she had left: her life.

Marco braced herself as a low rumble started deep in the creature's chest, a coming earthquake that promised violence, pain and evisceration—

"Who are you girl?" A voice came from behind her and Marco would have turned to look, but the creature was still right there, ready to tear her to shreds. There was no way she was going to take her eyes off if it, outmatched as she was or not.

"Hello?" Marco called out. "Little help here? Please?"

"First, tell me who you are and who you work for." The voice belonged to a woman and she was maddeningly calm. What the hell was going on? How could anyone be calm in the face of this creature? Marco realized then that the rising growl had stopped.

"Who am I?" Marco snapped. "Who are you?"

"Girl, you're inches away from being torn to pieces by a werewolf, something that should by all rights already have killed you two times over. This kind of thing doesn't happen. You don't ask the questions."

Marco decided that the creature wasn't about to rip her face off. Apparently, it and the annoying lady were working together or something, although it looked more like the woman was calling the shots. Whatever it was, she suddenly that meant that the woman was the more dangerous one.

Marco turned smoothly, but very carefully.

There was a tall black woman standing a few feet away in the midst of the destruction that the office had become. Shredded paper and furniture decorated the destruction, a few errant sheets finally deciding that the ground was safe again and drifted down to the ground behind her. The woman was statuesque, tall and striking; she wore a stylish black suit that fit her well. She regarded Marco carefully, but forcefully.

"I actually work here," Marco said. "In this office actually. My desk used to be somewhere over there." She pointed helpfully and lamely. Her desk had been demolished and with it the rest of her few remaining belongings. Dammit.

"I just transferred a week ago," Marco continued. "Danny Teller is my boss."

"And your name?"

"My name is Marco."

The woman smiled knowingly. "Ahh, the first lie."

"But that is my name—"

"It's what you like to be called, but it's not really your name, now is it? 'Marco.'"

Marco blushed. "Sorry. Force of habit. Jennifer Marco. That's my name. Now, who the hell are you?"

The woman looked at her for a moment and then glanced behind Marco at the waiting creature. She made a dismissive motion with her fingers and Margo heard a grunt and movement as the creature she still didn't want to admit was a werewolf, moved away.

The woman appraised Marco, curious.

"Why haven't you asked me about the werewolf? Anybody else would be telling me about how impossible it is, but not you. Why is that?"

Marco shrugged and glanced behind her at the retreating werewolf.

"He's already tried to kill me. You on the other hand... You're still trying to figure out what size body bag I'm going to be wearing tonight."

The woman beamed, seemingly pleased by something.

"You're a sharp one, Marco. And that is exactly why I'm not going to kill you."

Marco should have felt relieved at this. It was the kind of statement that was designed to put her at ease, to make her thankful that her life was going to be spared after the horror of the last ten minutes. And of course, it would be all because of this woman, whose name she still didn't know. After all, she was the one who had stopped the werewolf from killing Marco... but could she also have been the one to set it on Marco in the first place?

"Hard pass," Marco said.

The woman was surprised. She blinked rapidly. Obviously, she had seen this playing out differently.

"Excuse me?"

"You want something from me and you're being extremely deceptive about it, so for me, that's a hard pass. Personally, having the threat of death having over my head is hardly the best way to start a relationship with anyone. I mean, you're already in a position of power, so there's no need for that, but for some reason you want me to literally owe you my life. I'm always going to be looking over my shoulder, wondering if you're going to change your mind. That's not a great working environment if you know what I mean. I'd prefer to take my chances with wolf-boy if it's all the same to you."

Marco paused, letting the words sink in, letting them settle in the silence between the woman and herself.

There was a moment and then the woman turned on her heel and walked away.

"Come with me. Or stay here and die. It makes no difference to me."

Marco looked around the wrecked office, a tableau of destruction that was going to need a lot of explanation and cleaning up. It would be an awful way to die in this place, but Marco was beginning to suspect that no one would ever know what had happened to her.

The woman had already vanished down the hallway, but Marco could still hear the deliberate click-click-click of her heels on the floor. If she listened carefully she could also hear the ragged breathing of a monster waiting to kill her.

After a moment, she followed the woman.

***** AUTHOR'S NOTE*****

New chapter drops in a week, but I hope you like the introduction to Marco. I know there's a lot of mystery around her, but I like the slow reveal rather than the info dump. So we'll find out more about her, what she was doing in the office to get attacked by a freaking werewolf!