Page 39 of More Than Meets the Eye

He narrowed his eyes. “I didn’t choose the location. Anyway, the innkeeper was a lovely lady and a great baker. I told her about you, and she pointed me to the man who hand carves her baking utensils. I got you a mortar and pestle.”

He handed me the bag, careful not to touch me.

“Carlos! You didn’t have to do that!”

“Jack said I couldn’t give you a BMW.” He gave Jack a sly grin. “This was the next best thing.”

I pulled out the lovely elm mortar and pestle, which the artist had carved with great skill. “Thank you so much!”

“You’re very welcome. Oh! One more thing.” He pulled an envelope from a pocket. “She gave me this for you with her best wishes. It’s the recipe for her prize plum cake.”

“Ooh! Gimme! Thank you, Carlos. And you have to give me her address so I can write and thank her!” I was already pulling the handwritten recipe card out of the envelope.

“It’s written in Romanian, but I knew you’d find a way.”

“I will!”

“And make it for me.”

“For us,” Jack said pointedly. “And hey, vampire. Are you busy later tonight?”

“No, shifter, not particularly. What do you need?”

Jack told him about the full moon run. “Might not hurt to have stealth backup. Tess is going to stay here, where it’s safe.”

“Wasn’t safe last night,” I remind him. “What if I’m here alone, and the killer comes back? I’m going with you.”

Carlos laughed. “You’ve met your match in Tess, my friend.”

We talked over and around the problems until we were all sick of talking, and then it was time to go pick up Lizzie. Carlos said he’d meet us in the forest, but we wouldn’t see him unless Jack or I gave the signal. When I asked what the signal was, my vampire friend only raised one eyebrow and said, “Yell, ‘hey, Carlos.’”

Everybody’s a comedian.

“Jack? What happens if Lizzie isn’t able to shift?”

His jaw clenched, and I saw his hands tighten on the steering wheel. “That would be bad, Tess. Really bad.”

Considering all the things that had gone badly recently, we were thrilled when one thing went completely, magically right:

Lizzie was abeautifulwolf.

The special magic that happened when a pack got together beneath the full moon helped her transform for the first time. One moment, Lizzie stood there, naked under a blanket—none of the other wolves bothered with blankets, to my embarrassment—and the next moment, a gorgeous, chocolate-brown wolf with huge brown eyes and a splash of white fur on her chest stood looking up at me.

“Lizzie! You did it!”

The new wolf was unsteady on her paws for a few moments, but her new pack mates surrounded her, welcoming her, and soon they all bounded off together. Jack waited until they entered the woods, and then he looked at me and smiled.

“Tess, you are so tenderhearted,” he said, hugging me.

“I know,” I sniffled. “It was just so beautiful. I’m so happy for her.”

“Me, too. But I’m also wary. Even if Reynolds isn’t our killer, one of his pack may be. I need to get out there with them.”

“Okay, but be careful. I worry about you with all those wolves.”

He grinned, and then a tiger stood next to me.

“I worry about the poor wolves with you out there,” I said dryly. “Go! I’ll be in the truck, reading.”

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