“Listen,” she said and then knocked a pattern. Dun dun dun dun-dun.
The return knock was dun,dun, as though answering a question.
“What was that exactly?”
“It was what we would tap on each other’s windows when we snuck over,” she explained with a smile.
“What does it mean?”
“Each knock is for a word. The single knocks are ‘give me the’ and the double knock at the end is ‘all-clear’.”
“And her two knocks?”
“Two knocks is ‘all clear.’ One knock is ‘no.’ Which means get your butt gone.”
“Why did you all sneak out?” Costin asked. “Wouldn’t your mothers have let you go over to each other’s houses?”
“Not always, especially on school nights. Regardless, it seemed more exciting to sneak out.”
“Is that what Jen said?” Costin’s grin made his dimple appear.
Sally rolled her eyes. “Yes and because keeping Jen happy was easier than arguing with her, Jacque and I just did it. Pick your battles, Jacque always said.”
“What about cell phones? Couldn’t you have just texted each other when you were outside?”
“Remember Jen likes military operations? There are no cell phones in war,” Sally said.
“War?” Costin laughed.
“The war on the parentals, as Jen called it. Easier not to argue,” she reminded him.
“So is that Jen or Jacque on the other side?”
“I have no clue. We didn’t make a signal to distinguish who it was.” She stared at the wall as if she could somehow look through it. Sally wished they knew morse code. Why didn’t they know morse code? That was a freaking military thing. How had Jen not forced them to learn it? She turned to look at her mate. “Hey, you’re old. Do you know morse code?”
Costin’s brow rose. “I’m old?”
She nodded. “That’s not news, babe. Nor is it what’s important. Do you know morse code?”
He smirked at her. Holy crap, he did. “How do you know morse code?” Regardless of the fact that he’d been alive for sixty something years, why would he need morse code?
Costin stood slowly, with the ease and grace of aCanis lupus. He walked over to the bed and laid Titus down, pulling the blanket up over him. He looked so small in the big bed. Sally forced herself not to get upset. It wouldn’t help anything. She was trying to keep her wits about her and not freak out like a trapped squirrel.
“There weren’t cell phones when I was younger, and sometimes the pack needed to communicate without anyone listening in,” Costin said as he walked over to where she stood.
“What if those listening that you didn’t want to be listening knew morse code?”
“We created our own version of it after we learned the actual morse code.”
“Of course you did.” Sally sighed. Was there anything her mate, and the otherCanis lupus, couldn’t do?
Costin pressed a kiss to her nose as he quietly laughed at her annoyance and then knocked on the wall. There was a distinct pattern to it. She realized a moment later that it was probably pointless for him to do morse code if neither Jacque nor Jen could respond.
“What did you say?” she asked, though it wouldn’t matter if the person didn’t understand.
“I said this is Costin, and I asked who they were.”
Sally was completely still as the anticipation built. She wasn’t even breathing because for some reason it felt like if she breathed then the responding knock wouldn’t come, and she knew that made no sense whatsoever.
