Lilly Linton groaned, staring at the clock. 10:25! Two more hours to go! Turning back to the files she was sorting, she tried to keep her eyes open. 'Just think of all the solid chocolate you'll get at the Halloween Ball!'

I don't actually want to go to that blasted ball!

'You will if your Aunt says you will! Now keep working, this is the only way that bastard will let you have Monday off!' 

Admittedly, her annoying inner voice was right, yet again. 

'Of course I am!' 

Two more hours until twelve, and then she could go home! "78XXII34," She muttered, glancing around for the file folder. Mr. Ambrose was forcing her to sort out his newer files while he read some of his older ones. Whatever he was doing, Lilly didn't know, as she still hasn't understood what exactly his business was. "Yes! Done!" After finding the right folder, she saw that she had finished. Unwilling to get up to ask that chauvinist what else she had to do, Lilly laid her head down, preparing for a quick nap. 'I'll just close my eyes for a bit...' 

"Mr. Linton!!" His loud, booming voice echoed in the stone walls of her office. I don't pay my employees to sleep, especially when they won't be coming in again on Monday!" Lilly's head shout up, eyes blinking open in confusion. Mr. Ambrose stood, glaring at her, the sharp planes and angles of his face even more clearly defined than usual by the flickering glow of the candle in his hand. 

"Sorry sir, I just.. I fell asleep for a moment. What else do you need?" 

"Come here," Following her boss unsteadily back into his office, Lilly glanced at the clock at again. 10:45! Ughhh... "I need you to find the name Sherlock Holmes in these files and if you do, come tell me. And stay here, I don't want you falling asleep again." 

Dropping tiredly into the hard chair of his office, Lilly guided her tired, sleepy eyes around the pages, looking for this Sherlock Holmes. Most of the files had no sign of this elusive name, but the files that did, she set aside for him. The room was dark and lit only by one candle, whose flame flickered now and then. Mr. Ambrose, apparently, was having trouble seeing too, as he stood and went to the window, flicking open the blinds. 

As the bright moonlight flowed into the room, Mr. Ambrose stiffened and Lilly looked up at the sudden tenseness of her employer. 

"Sir?" 

Mr. Ambrose was frozen, bathed in the silvery light of the full moon behind him. Lilly couldn't tell from here, but were the tips of his ears slightly longer than before? 

"Mr... Linton I need you to go home, now." His voice had deepened too since the last he'd spoken. Lilly looked surprised at his words. 

"Sir? It's only 11:30." 

"I don't care! Mr. Linton, GO HOME!" Yelling the last two words, Mr. Ambrose turned away from the stunned Ms. Linton. Getting up hurriedly, she gathered her things and ran from the office. Her shoes clacked loudly in the empty corridors of Empire House, and the seemingly friendly shadows from earlier this morning had darkened and had spread through the whole building. She ran swiftly down the front steps and looked around the streets, fruitlessly hoping that a carriage would somehow be rolling by. Of course, seeing as it was almost midnight, there were none. 

Resigning herself to walking home, Lilly kept on, hugging herself tightly. The dark silhouettes of the brick buildings cast menacing shadows across the ground. She shivered, fully awake now. She knew that many dangers lurked in the dark. Trusting that her disguise as a man would protect her from some of these dangers, Lilly relaxed. The cool wind blew a few leaves around, the rustling the only sound in the night. The bright full moon allowed her enough light to see just a few steps ahead of her. 

Suddenly, a snapping of a twig brought her back to full alertness. She whirled around, expecting the tall figure of a man to be looming behind her. There was no one. 

Letting out a nervous laugh, she breathed out. "It's alright Lilly, there's no one here but you." She continued walking, but kept hearing small sounds that kept her on her guard. She tensed again, hearing a sound akin to the dragging of nails on a chalkboard. Her pace quickened, bringing her to a jog. 

'Lilly! Stop it, you're a feminist, tell the weird bugger behind you to STOP IT!!' 

Agreeing with her subconscious for once, Lilly turned around, setting her feet firmly. "Whoever you are, come out!! I know you're there!!" She paused waiting for an answer. "Come out!" Again, no answer. She breathed a small sigh of relief, beginning to turn back around. Then she froze, her eyes trained on the large animals stalking towards her. The light shone on their sharp, gleaming fangs, and malicious eyes. The wolves stalked into the light, 6 of them at least, all large brutes. Most were colors ranging from brown and grey, though their thick fur could not conceal the pink scars littering their body. 

'RUN LILLY!!!' Following her instincts, Lilly ran, legs pumping and her heart thumping loudly in her ears. The wolves behind her howled, sending shivers down her spine. Soon, the telltale thumping of paws alerted her to her pursuers. Lilly ran, her lungs screaming for air. 

A wolf pounced, landing squarely on her back, sending her tumbling to the ground. She struggled fruitlessly against the animal, but she could feel the jaws snapping closer and closer to her neck. Tears leaked from her eyes. 

She had never said goodbye to Mr. Ambrose! 

Wait, why was she thinking about him? UGH! STOP IT LILLY! 

The weight was suddenly lifted off her shoulders, her ears assaulted by the deafening roar in her ears. Twisting around, she gaped at the pure black wolf digging his teeth into the other wolf's neck. He was larger than all the rest, astonishingly, and his fur was sleeker and thicker.  No scars adorned his body, though he was large and muscular. Lilly knew immediately, from her readings of wildlife in North America, that this wolf was Alpha material. 

Apparently, the other wolves knew this too, for they backed up and stood at a respectful distance from the wolf. Lilly watched from the ground, as the black wolf released the brown one from its grasp. It skittered away, blood leaking from the bite on his neck. To her complete astonishment, the black wolf started to speak. 

"What did I tell you?" Surprisingly, it's voice was human like, and sounded intensely familiar and cold. "I told you not to attack her!" 

"My Lord, forgive us," one of the wolves whimpered. "We did not know it was her, and we thought she was a threat." 

"Forgive us!" The other wolves added. 

"Continue on your patrol, don't let the East Pack get on our land." Muttering apologies, the other wolves ran on, melting back into the shadows. The large black wolf turned to Lilly, meeting her wide brown eyes. "It wasn't my intention for you to be attacked. I apologize, Mr. Linton." 

Mr. Linton. 

Scrambling to her feet, Lilly threw one last glance back at the wolf and started to run blindly into an alley in an effort to get away from him. Right. Left. Right. Straight. Left. Left. Right. Left. Straight. Losing track of the corners, turns, and streets, she had run through, she glanced behind her. Sure enough, the black wolf was racing after her, and gaining. Spotting a gap between two buildings, she veered for it, then turned sideways, along her shoulders to squeeze through. The black wolf seeing this, tried to push his wide shoulders through but could only force his neck into the gap. 

Lilly panted, staring at the fearsome, snapping jaws of the wild animal in front of her. It's cold, ocean colored eyes glared at her through the gap. "Don't go through the other side," it's growling, rasping voice said. "That's the East Pack's territory." Lilly backed away, not trusting the animal. "Lilly!! Stop!" She ran on, emerging from between the buildings and into a wide square. This part of London seemed cleaner, richer and unfamiliar. However, Lilly could feel an aura of evil seeping from the very stones of the street itself. 

Quietly, she walked down the street, staying in the light of the gas lamps. Every creak of a tree or a snore from within the house shook her, almost paralyzing her. Lilly turned a corner, trying desperately to find her back to St. James Square, her home. A wolf greeted her there, tall, regal, and an interesting yellow brown color. She stopped, gazing back into its green eyes. Soon, more wolves padded into view, glaring haughtily at the human among them. 

"Hello," Lilly whispered. "I'm just trying to find my way back home, and if you would be so kind..." Her voice trailed away as the yellow wolf stood. 

"Ms. Linton," he drawled, eyes roaming her male's attire. "What a pleasure to see you once again." Lilly stared wide eyed at the wolf. Lord Dalgliesh? "I see you've wandered onto my territory. What a surprise." His lip pulled back, revealing a white incisor. 

"I'm sorry." 

"You should be, girl." Dalgliesh turned back toward his wolves. "Well? What should we do with her?" 

Howls and yips of "Bite her!!",  and "Kill her!!" were heard throughout the quiet square. 

Suddenly, all the wolves fell silent, and a few of them raised their noses into the air. A chill went down Lilly's spine. The feeling was... Familiar. 

"I don't think so, my Lord." The black wolf padded into view, flanked by a few other wolves. A burly, scarred grey and black wolf was at his side. From Lilly's point of view, it seemed as though it had a beard. "Ms. Linton just lost her way, forgive her." 

The blonde wolf narrowed its eyes at his rival. "But it does not excuse your being on my land, does it, Lord Ambrose?" 

The black wolf dipped its head. "I see your point. Give me back Lillian and no blood will be spilled tonight." The other wolves snarled, coming closer to stand by their leaders, and Lilly suddenly found herself in the middle of two wolf packs, intent on devouring each other. 

"No!! Get the girl!" Lord Dalgliesh's wolves sprang, and Lilly ran back toward the black wolf and its pack. The wolves met in the middle in a whirl of snapping claws and flying fur. Terror coursed through her, seeing such vicious fighting. Then her attention was drawn to the two wolves heading straight for her. Lilly grasped her Uncle's cane, preparing to swing. The first swing smacked a wolf straight in his snout, sending it yelping in pain. The second wolf dodged the blow, and latched its claws in her tailcoat, shredding the material. 

"HEY! NOT THE WAISTCOAT!"

With a grunt of effort, Lilly punched the wolf in the stomach, sending it reeling back. A sharp pain flashed through her and she fell suddenly to the ground. The wolf sank its teeth into her leg once more, and Lilly screamed. 

The black wolf, hearing her cries, finished off his opponent, throwing its limp body back into the throng. He then whirled around, raking his claws down the offending wolves back, the skin tearing beneath his claws. His blue eyes found Lilly's face, scrunched in pain, and he grasped her wrist gently between his teeth and dragged her out of the maelstrom of blood. 

With a gentle popping sound, Mr. Ambrose stood over her again, his top hat askew and his tailcoat torn. "Ms. Linton! What did I tell you?" Lilly stared at her employer as he pulled her upright to lean against the wall of the alley. "Go home! I have to finish this!" 

"But sir-" He leaned forward, capturing her lips with his, sending her reeling back onto the wall. Heat pulsed through her, and when finally they broke away, she was panting hard. She gazed into his eyes, and found they had changed. His pupils were dilated, almost wolf like. 

"Go home! It's that way!" Pointing down the alley, he turned back around. When Lilly next blinked, the last she saw of him was the tip of a wolf's black tail. 

Lilly pulled her tired limbs into her room, collapsing onto the floor. She was shaking, she noticed. Probably because of all she'd gone through in the last hour and a half alone. The moon was clear in the sky again, a round orb of light. Her mind flashed through all that she'd seen tonight. Mr. Ambrose's elongating ears when his skin touched the light of the moon. The muscular black wolf. The wolf that looked suspiciously like Karim. Lord Dalgliesh. The East Pack. The battle. Faintly, she wondered whether they were still fighting. 

Tonight, she'd learned many things. Werewolves were real, and Mr. Ambrose was one. 

"And," She thought staring at the blood running down her leg. "I had been bitten." 

Happy Halloween!! 

So... I know I promised a few of you fluff, but I couldn't help myself. It's the Halloween weekend, so I wanted to try to write a 2-3 part story about how Mr. Ambrose is a werewolf. This idea actually came from 2ndWaris so dedication goes to her!! Love ya guys!! Seriously, 3K? Already? It's only been like, 1 and a half weeks!! I'll try to update again tomorrow!