Irene's POV
The children's laughter echoed through the stronghold.
I watched from the courtyard as Carl and Karin raced between the buildings with a group of young werewolves from the Dark Hollows Pack. They had been playing for hours, their energy seemingly endless.
Hide-and-seek was the game of the afternoon. The Dark Hollows children had shown my twins all the best hiding spots—behind the old stone well, inside the hollow oak near the eastern wall, beneath the overgrown hedges that lined the garden path.
Carl was currently "it," counting loudly with his hands over his eyes while the others scattered.
"Ready or not, here I come!"
He took off running, his silver-streaked hair flying behind him. Karin shrieked and darted behind a crumbling statue, pressing herself flat against the st
