Call me if anything goes wrong.

MERLIN

I was stunned when Greta collapsed into my arms. Her body felt feverish hot and her heartbeat was so fast that I feared she was suffering a heart attack.

"Greta?" I called and she gave no response. "Greta!"

I immediately carries her into the lobby and was quickly shown to a seat long enough to lay her on.

I took out my phone and immediately called 911, fear gripping my heart at the thought that something might be happening to her or the baby.

Once the call was made, I hurried over to her side and held her hand as a few onlookers stared at us and hotel staff rushed over with a first aid kit, asking me about whatever led to her fainting.

I was just as clueless as they were so all we could all do was try whatever might help and hope against all hope that she would be okay.

After what felt like an hour, paramedics eventually arrived and immediately got to work once they saw Greta.

They checked her pulse and moved her to the ambulance where they performed a few treatment procedures on her while I sat with them.

Eventually, Greta slowly opened her eyes with great effort.

"Merlin," she managed to voice out and I immediately held her hand.

"I'm here, Greta," I gave a relieved smile. "I'm right beside you."

She tightened her weakened fist around my hand and then closed her eyes as she laid back.

The lady who took care of her looked up at me with a relieved look on her face.

"Thank you," I said with a short bow.

"That's no problem, she waved dismissively. "I was simply doing my job."

I nodded appreciatively before asking the question that worried me.

"Is everything okay with her? What could have possibly caused this?"

"I have absolutely no clue," she sighed. "I can be sure that everything is okay with her and her child. What bothers me is the fact that her body seems to have somehow overworked itself, or become too healthy that it quickly exhausted her. Has she done anything tedious lately?"

"I can't be sure," I said thoughtfully. "But she has gone through her fair share of mental and emotional stress within the past few days."

"That might have been the problem," she sighed. "You should know better than to stress a pregnant woman to this extent. You should learn to do better to take care of her."

I gave her a puzzled stare.

She must have mistaken me for her husband or the father of her child, but she wasn't wrong that I had a hand in stressing her this much.

"I will," I nodded with a nervous smile as she gave me a cold stare. "I promise."

"Well, let's hope it's nothing when we get to the hospital," she sighed and finally looked away. "Life would be easier for us health workers if you men know how to handle your women."

"No," Greta said weakly. "Please don't take me to the hospital. I'm fine. I just want to go home and get some rest."

"But, Greta-"

"Please, ma'am," Greta cut me off, looking directly at the woman. "I promise you that I'm fine."

The lady stared at her for a few seconds and then back to me.

"Do you trust him to take care of you?"

Greta's eyes drifted to me and she gave a small smile.

"I trust him, ma'am."

"That settles it then," she sighed as she gestured for me to carry her. "Call me at the smallest indication of discomfort. Do you understand, sir?"

"Yes, ma'am," I nodded as I took her in my arms and carried her out of the ambulance.

"Put me down," she said slowly once we were out of it. "I can walk on my own, Merlin."

"No," I repeated. "If you complain then I'm calling the ambulance lady."

She looked up at me with what I assumed was supposed to be an annoyed glare but I simply laughed it off.

"Stay put, Greta."

We reached the lobby and receptionist who made sure to get Greta's approval thrice before giving me her room number as well as a key card to the room.

We got into the elevator and enjoyed the ride in comfortable silence as she remained in my arms. Even though I wasn't exactly happy about her condition, I was a little delighted as this was the closest Greta has ever let me come to her.

We reached her room in no time and I took her in, careful not to hit her head on the door.

I laid her on the bed and then walked over to lock her door when an ear piercing scream startled me.

It was coming from Greta.

Forgetting to hold back, I was beside Greta in less than a second and looking at her in confusion.

"What's wrong, Greta?" I asked. "Should I call 911 again?"

She shook her head vigorously as she pointed behind her. She tried clawing at it to no avail and I quickly looked at her back and was surprised to see something that shouldn't be there.

Greta had a werewolf mark engraved in her back.

That was already weird enough, but it wasn't the weirdest thing that left me dumbstruck.

The mark itself was what shocked me.

It was not only the werewolf mark given to Alphas, it was also the exact same as Nora, my dead mate.

There was absolutely no difference between both marks and it spooked me.

Every werewolf mark is unique to the werewolf or Alpha. I have never heard of a phenomenon where two individuals werewolves shared the same mark.

Even worse, Greta wasn't even a werewolf.

...right?

She couldn't be one.

I have been with her until now and I've never gotten a whiff of a werewolf's scent from her.

It was strange to me that the woman I love had the same mark as the woman I once loved.

It also scared me.

What was happening to Greta?

Could I have indirectly brought harm to her by getting close to her?

Or was there something I was missing?

"What's going on, Merlin?" She croaked out with great effort.

"Oh, it's nothing," I replied hurriedly as her voice snapped me back to reality.

I had so many questions about this mark and whatever else was going on with her but this was obviously the wrong time. She has a lot going on already. That might be too much for her.

She screamed again as the mark slowly became more defined and made itself clearly on her skin as if it was always there.

"It's stings so badly, Merlin! What's going on with me?!"

I couldn't explain the sensation it gave me but I wasn't too enthusiastic about seeing it again.

I quickly looked away from her back and simply held her close as she screamed and tried thrashing against my grip to no avail.

She eventually calmed down and slumped on my body, breathing heavily.

"What happened, Merlin?" She said through laboured breaths.

"It's nothing," I forced a smile as I parted her head. "You'll feel better in no time."

She nodded as she could and kept breathing slowly as I held her close in my arms.

"You probably need a bath to help you feel better," I suggested.

"I have no strength to do something as tedious as taking a bath," she said between deep breaths. "You might have to bathe me, Merlin."

"What?" I asked, surprised once again. "You would let me do that?"

"I trust you," she replied calmly. "Besides, I don't think I have a choice. I need to take a bath and I can't do it by myself."

"Okay then," I said as I very gently lifted her off the bed and carried her into the bathroom.

Once we were in the bathroom, I folded my sleeves and sat her in the empty bathtub where I proceeded to take off her clothes.

It was the first time I was seeing her nude and the sight of it was nothing short of breathtaking. Every inch of her body seemed to have been sculpted to perfection.

Her boobs were the perfect size, her skin flawless and her thighs tempting. She kept her legs closed and I did my best to look away from her pubic area as I focused on her face.

There was not a single blemish on her skin and the sight of it was more than beautiful to stare at.

I filled the bathtub once I was done undressing her and then with lather which cover her up to her shoulders.

With just the feeling that of her skin on my hands, I scrubbed her clean and intentionally avoided her pubic area which she cleaned on her own.

As I felt her body, I could feel a strong urge within me as my wolf seemed to have grown restless, threatening to tear itself out of me.

It seemed so eager to be released and I had to do everything in my power to keep him restrained.

I quickly rounded up the bath, quickly dried her body and got her dressed in her nightwear before carrying her back to the bed.

"Thank you, Merlin," she said as I laid her in bed.

"There's no need to thank me," I said calmly as my wolf slowly grew calmer as well. "I would do more for you if you needed me to."

She smiled at me as I laid her in bed, staring into my eyes.

"Well, I guess I should get going now," I sighed. Take care of yourself, Greta."

She held my wrist before I could take a step. "Do you think you could maybe stay here for the night. If it's not to much to ask, I would appreciate it. I am a little scared of sleeping alone after everything that happened to me this night."

I stared at her for a bit, grateful that she suggested it instead of me. I was hesitant to leave her alone in this condition as well.

"Of course," I smiled as I got in bed with her. "If you want me to, then I will."

She smiled as well and laid her head on my chest as she slowly fell asleep while I calmly watched her, stroking her hair as she did.

All night, I could not sleep.

The mark on Greta's back worried me.

That was Nora's mark.

Who exactly was Greta and why does she have Nora's mark?

Asking Greta would be a waste of time as she doesn't remember anything about her past but I couldn't just dismiss the uneasy feeling I feel as well.

I could tell in my gut that there had to be some connection.

Sunrise came sooner than I expected and I stared at the rising sun with an expression that even I wasn't sure of.

Greta soon woke up and greeted me good morning.

"How is the pain in your back now?" I asked.

"I don't feel a thing," she shrugged. Her voice was more energetic after a good sleep.

That was reassuring.

The mark was still on her back though but I showed no reaction to it like last time.

"Thank you for everything," she said with a smile as she hugged me. "You can go home and get some rest now."

She looked into my eyes and kissed me, pleasantly surprising me as I returned the kiss.

I was dumbstruck but smiled at her as I got off the bed and headed to the door.

"I'll call you," I said to her as I left. "Call me if anything goes wrong."

Once I got home, I immediately got into my car and headed for my pack. I needed to investigate the mark and there was only one person I could confide in.

An elder of the pack.

As I reached the pack, I noticed something was strange.

Just then, werewolves blocked my path and attacked me before I could react.

I got out of the car just before they smashed through it and got ready to fight but something was used on my face and I immediately passed out.