Luci was already growling when Zubair opened his eyes.
Not the bark of alarm, not yet… just a low, rolling sound that came from deep in the dire wolf's chest. It seemed to echo in the primary bedroom as he stared out the window like the enemy was about to crash through at any moment.
Zubair's hand found the rifle beside him out of habit. It was impossible to know how long they had been sleeping. The house was still bright, the same unchanging light that had stretched across the fields since they entered Country M.
He glanced toward the window. Nothing moved in the yard. There was no wind, no insects, no birds, everything outside was quiet.
The only the sound came from Luci's warning.
Rising to his feet, he heard it then. Three soft knocks at the front door.
It wasn't a pounding sound, it wasn't frantic. Instead, it was polite.
Three measured, polite taps on the front door.
