**3rd Person POV**
Lady Tristan wanted to laugh. She loved the twins and not only because they were her great grandchildren but because they had sense.
“Why won't she stop crying?” asked Reginald, looking at Harriet who could not stop crying.
“I think she needs a doctor, she may be in pain. People cry when they're in pain like that bad lady,” returned Charlotte, trying to explain the crying aunt.
“I'm fine. I'm fine. These are happy tears… happy tears,” returned Harriet.
The twins looked at each other in confusion.
“You must be very tired, I will show you your rooms, okay?” said Lady Tristan leading the twins away from Harriet who had not stopped crying.
****
Two hours later Lady Tristan, Tyler, Harriet and Emily converged in a study deciding what they were going to do with the arrival of the twins.
“We shouldn't let anyone know we have them; it could jeopardise their safety,” that was Harriet’s opinion. Her eyes had turned red from all the crying. Tyler looked at her with a heavy heart. He had never seen her looking this down before. His heart ached for her but Emily's stern gaze on him forced him to divert his gaze from Harriet.
“It will be known sooner or later. I say we let them know and explain the reason we would not be letting them out of the palace,” recommended Lady Tristan.
Emily could not understand why her grandmother would do her best to keep their coming here a secret only to reveal it to the world.
“Grandmother, you did all this work just to…”
“I understand how these things work, hon. If we pretend we do not have them, the other side might think we are holding the children hostage.”
That made sense to Emily. She knew Dagen's people were spying on them. They could not do so very closely because they did not belong to the same Council as the werewolves but they monitored each other very closely. Besides, Lord Tyler was in their midst and had assisted in bringing the twins back. There was also Lord Edvin who had assisted them every step of the way. They had a right to know.
“I will let them know we have the twins but we will not release them until they have returned Regina to us alive,” said Emily. She needed a reason for them not to give up on finding Regina. Although she had received word that Dagen had gone under to look for her and the twins, she did not trust Dagen to prolong his stay if he knew his children were doing fine.
****
“I am not comfortable with Queen Irvette joining this meeting. It is like giving the enemy free access to our private thoughts,” Elder Davis voiced his concern to the other Elders. They were yet to be joined by the Alphas and Betas of other packs. Word had gotten to them about the end of Hades and the current battle in the underworld. They were here to discuss where they should place their loyalty; Lucian or Aegan.
“We have cleared her and she appears to be doing amazing work in her pack, “ came Elder Thaddeus' response. Elder Davis was the sceptic in their midst and usually it was for good reason but he hoped the other men would give it a rest. They had not been able to find anything wrong with Irvette. They could only hope that she was still not working for her father. However, excluding her from such a meeting was impossible. Her people would see it as a slap on the face of their pack and the Elders had to avoid that.
“I’m just saying that perhaps there are things we should not discuss during the meeting. We shouldn't say anything that would prove advantageous to her father,” suggested Elder Davis.
“How do we do that? If we do so, then we shall not speak of anything,” said Elder Walker.
“I just think that…”
“I understand your worry Elder Davis but there is nothing we can do at this point but hope for the best,” returned Elder Thaddeus.
“Elders, I was hoping to have a quick word before the meeting commences,” said Lord Edvin as he walked towards them.
“What is the matter?” inquired Elder Davis who was hoping that Edvin wanted to raise the same concern about Queen Irvette that he had. He knew that if Alpha Dagen were here, he would defend him.
“Word has just reached me from the Hybrid Queen that the twins are with them,” said Lord Edvin. It was not the news they were expecting but they were happy and relieved. They had expected that Dagen would be the one to bring word of the twins.
“When will they allow them to return home?” asked Elder Thaddeus. At least, they did not have to worry about an heir to Dagen's throne. This way they could keep any insurgency on the rise at bay.
“About that… They want Regina to return home safely before they can release the twins. They are also worried that the twins might be kidnapped if they were to hit the road,” replied Lord Edvin.
“That is understandable. We will have to go see the twins of course. I hope that we are welcome in their palace,” Elder Davis said, this time reminding the others of Dagen who had been imprisoned on his visit.
“These are different circumstances, I am sure we are welcome. But I will ask anyway,” replied Lord Edvin.
“For now we have one less thing to worry about. Of course, we must find a way to reach Dagen and let him know that he should waste no more time there. We need her,” said Elder Walker.
“The conditions stated…”
“I know what the conditions say and beyond that we need to find Regina before the night of the fiery red Moon,” said Elder Thaddeus.
“We need to send others that can bring Regina back,” said Elder Thaddeus.