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“We’ll get you to the truck and be warmed up in no time,” I said.
Her face twisted in a grimace. “What if your truck won’t start? It’s been sitting for a while. Hell, what if it’s gone?”
Both things I hadn’t considered, but there was only one way to know.
We walked carefully through the hardened snowpack and came around the corner. Right where I’d left it was the black truck I’d bought when I first got here after selling some enchanted stones from Drago to a local witch coven. That had been a gamble, given the unique energy they’d contained, but we didn’t have currency back home and I’d needed transportation.
I pulled my keys out that I’d thankfully remembered to grab before leaving to check on Lykem earlier. I’d known Dawsyn would be ready to go sooner rather than later.
The key fob still unlocked the truck, so the battery wasn’t dead. That was a good start. I opened the driver’s door and gestured for Dawsyn to slide over the bench seat. She stopped in the middle as I got in and quickly shut the door.
I reached between her legs and grabbed the charging cord, then pulled my cell phone from my jeans. It had died soon after coming back from talking to Dawsyn’s parents last time, and I was sure they’d left plenty of messages for me.
After depositing the charging phone into the cupholder between Dawsyn’s legs, I put the keys into the ignition, but all that happened when I twisted them was the sound of a struggling engine for two seconds before it died again. Given all the lights were on and the phone was charging, I knew it wasn’t a battery issue.
I glanced at the gauges and snarled. “It’s out of gas.”
Someone must have drained the tank while it was sitting here, but I would have assumed they’d have broken in as well. Yet, nothing was touched.
“And it wasn’t when you left it?” Dawsyn asked.
“No. At least a quarter tank was in there.” My fist slammed against the steering wheel, and I tried to think of other solutions.
Dawsyn could shift into her wolf form and run in the cold weather. I could tolerate walking and running as myself for quite a while in these temperatures, but it wasn’t ideal.
Though, I wasn’t sure what the point would be. The nearest gas station to here was close to an hour’s drive, which would take a lot longer with me on two feet.
Just as I turned to look at Dawsyn and ask her what she thought we should do, a face appeared in the window on the passenger’s side.
My entire body tensed, and I muttered a few choice words. “Your grandmother is starting to get on my last nerve.”
Dawsyn grimaced. “She has a tendency to do that with everyone she meets.”
She leaned over and opened the door. “Hello, GiGi.”
Beatrix’s eyes were locked on me. “Did you think I was going to leave you with an operational vehicle without proof that my granddaughter was okay?”
Now that she mentioned it…I wasn’t the least bit surprised.
“Get out of the truck, and let’s get out of these godforsaken mountains,” Beatrix said, moving out of the way.
Dawsyn glanced over at me. “Are you okay going with her?”
Beatrix scoffed. “Isheokay? Shouldn’t you be asking me if I’m okay, or even your parents? We all thought you were dead.”
“It’s fine,” I said softly and got out of the truck.
She exited on my side, and we walked around the front of the truck to Beatrix who hadn’t moved from the passenger’s side. I met her hardened gaze. “I told you I would bring her back.”
“What is your word worth to me yet?” she asked, this time without malice. “I don’t know you. None of us do. Don’t expect us to trust you with her so soon. You’ll be disappointed otherwise.”
Given how special I already knew Dawsyn was, I wasn’t fazed by Beatrix’s words. “Noted. Where do you want to take us?”
“Texas,” she said with a groan. “Not my first choice, but Roman insisted you both came to the pack. They’re probably sleeping, but I’m sure they won’t mind being woken up.”
The old witch should have been sleeping as well, but I didn’t bother to tell her that.
She grabbed Dawsyn’s wrist and then mine. Before I could ask what the hell she was doing, the ground fell out from underneath me, and my knees buckled in the next second.
