Kris took Kourtney over to sit on one of the couches by the fireplace while he had the others do work around the cabin. He took a deep breath before he spoke.

"I guess I'll start with the oldest, Leeteuk. He's Head Councilman alongside Heechul and is the representor for werewolves. While he is the oldest, he's not the strongest. He's 28 years old, along with Heechul and Kangin. He also has a mate but i won't get too into that"

"How long has be been on the Council?" Kourtney asked.

"For almost eight years. His father was on the Council at the time and had decided to step down. This made things a little differnt, so for the yearly tournament, instead of challengers fighting him, they battled each other to decide who would replace him. Leeteuk won it by a landslide and as the oldest werewolf, he became a Head Councilman."

"You said that Kangin's 28, too? How much younger is he?"

Kris leaned back on the couch. "He's four months younger than Heechul and five months younger than Leeteuk. Had it been reversed, Kangin would be the Head instead of Leeteuk."

Kourtney nodded. "Is he strong? Kangin?"

"One of the strongest." Kris glanced to the side. "They're all strong, but there are defintley members you don't want to piss off. Heechul is one of those members."

Kourtney scowled. "He doesn't look that tough. I bet Kangin's stronger than him."

Kris shook his head. "No." His face suddennly went serious. "Listen, Kourtney. There's a reason why the other Council members follow him and obey his orders. Why we asked you to stay silent when he came, why no one spoke against him even after what he said. Heechul is the strongest member currently in the Council. I know he may not look it, but he could have taken out everyone in the room without breaking a sweat."

Kourtney's eyes widened. "Seriously?"

"Heechul's family blood is rare, almost as rare as pure-bloods. In his entire ancestry, only three family members were human and that was many, many decades ago. That, and all the training he did growing up, gave him his strength. While everyone in the Counil has...'proper blood,' Heechul's is the most pure."

"That explains his attitude." Kourtney scoffed. "He probalby thinks of himself as almighty and above everyone."

"Not everyone. Like Leeteuk, Heechul's father was once in the Council. About seven years ago, his father was defeated in the tournament by someone who was seventeen. I'll get to him later. But a year before that, Heechul had become a Council member at 20, like Leeteuk, after he defeated Eunhyuk's father."

"Eunhyuk's father was on the Council, too?" Kourtney sighed. "I'm starting to see a pattern here."

"Not really. There's only one other member who's father was on the Council. Again, I'll get to that later. But back to Heechul, his father was one of the Head Councilman but after that it was given to the next eldest vampire."

"Was it Heechul?"

"No, it was someone else. Let's see...next is Kangin. He became a Councilman around five years ago, when he was 23, by winning the tournament of course. The guy he defeated kind of...disappeared. Many do out of shame for being defeated. That will be more of a patter you'll hear."

"So, his father wasn't on the Council?"

Kris shook his head. "Nope, but I think on of his past relatives did, I'm not sure. He's a werewolf and, as the third oldest, is a High Councilman."

"Kangin kind of explained this to me. So, does this mean Kangin can order around those younger than him?"

"Yes and no. He can only command the regular Councilman. He cannot command the other High Councilmen, since they're the same rank. Likewise, Heechul and Leeteuk cannot command each other."

"I forgot to ask...is Leeteuk...on Heechul's side?"

Kris leaned forward. "No. He's against what Heechul believes. But...as he's not as strong, he acts like he does. As does the others. Kangin is one of the opposers, as you've probalby guessed."

"I guess that makes sense." Kourtney shrugged. "They're both werewolves."

"That doesn't mean anything, though. Not all of the werewolves are on Leeteuk's side, same with vampires and Heechul. Eunhyuk's a good example of that. Okay...next is Shindong. He's a werewolf and is 27 years old. He's...a bit on the chubby side." Kris chuckled. "He's also a pretty funny guy. You'll see when you meet him. He got on the Council 6 years ago, when he was 21. The guy he defeated disappeared as well."

"A strong, chubby funny werewolf. Seems nice."

Kris chuckled. "Oh, he is. He's a Hgih Councilman, like Kangin, and he's the last werewolf who's on Leeteuk's side."

"So...the other three are on Heechul's side?" Kourtney shook her head. "That acutally surprises me."

Kris's face went solemn. "The next four oldest in the council are all on Heechul's side. First is Siwon, a werewolf. He's very strong and is 25 years old. 5 years ago he won the tournament and became a High Councilman. Second is Sungmin, a vampire. He's also very strong and is the one who replaced Heechul's father."

Kourtney paled. "That means that Heechul's...stronger than his father?"

Kris nodded. "And Sungmin's strength is just under him. He's 24 now and became a Councilman when he was only 17. Now he's ranked as the last High Councilman. He also has a mate as is very overprotective of her. Next is Donghae. He's a werewolf and is 23 years old. He became a Councilman about a year ago. The one he defeated is still around, named Zhoumi. The last of the four is Kyuhyun. He's 22 years old and became a member 2 years ago after replacing the member, Hankyung. He's still around, too."

Kourtney ran the names through her head. "So Siwon, Sungmin, Donghae, and Kyuhyun are all on Heechul's side?"

"Yes. Moving on, then..."Kris suddenly chuckled." Next is Yesung. He's...an intersting character. You'll understand when you meet him. He's 21 years old and is one of the stronger members. Like Eunhyuk, he became a Councilman at age 16."

Kourtney smiled. "Impressive. I"m guessing he's on Leeteuk's side?"

Kris nodded. "He is." He chuckled again. "He's just...odd. Yes, that's a good word. Odd."

"Odd?"

Kris smiled. "Like I said, you'll know when you meet him. Okay next is..."his smile fell. "The rich brat himself, Henry."

Kourtney laughed. "Rich brat?"

"That's exactly what he is. A rich, spoiled vampire brat! While I would say he's completely on Heechul's side...he's just a natural jerk and does whatever he wants. Basically, he's self absorbed. Believe it or not...more than Heechul is. He's earned the nickname Prince Henry, which he prefers to be called."

"So he's a royal pain in the ?" Kourtney joked.

Kris nodded, smiling. "That's a good way to put it. Henry's father was in the Council but stepped down 5 years ago. Yesung is the one who replaced him.  Moving on, the last two are both 19. You've met Eunhyuk and already know that he's a vampire and that he became a Councilman at 16. The youngest member, by five months, is Ryeowook. He became a member a year ago."

"And the guy he beat ran away?" Kourtney guessed.

Kris gave a quick nod. "Yup. Went into hiding. And I don't blame him. Ryewook's skinny and small and the guy was, like, 6 feet tall and well built!"

"And he got beat. Yeah, that's pretty embarassing."

Kris sighed, leaning back on the couch. "So anyways...that's the Council. Hopefully that can help you prepare to meet them."

"Thanks, Kris." Kourtney stood up, turning. "I'm going to go check on..."

She went silent as she looked up at the top of the stairs leading to the rooms upstairs. Chen was standing there with Hana an Baekhyun beside him.

"Look who finally woke up!" Hana announced.

In a rush, Chen was surrounded by the other members as they all hugged him, relieved that he was finally awake. Kourtney slowly made her way over as Kris placed a hand on his shoulder.

"How are you feeling?"

Chen glanced over at D.O. "Very hungy."

D.O smiled. "Say no more!"

As D.O rushed into the kitchen, Kourtney walked up to Chen, who gave her a questioning look.

"Thank you." Kourtney spoke softly.

Chen looked away. "For what?" 

"For saving my life."

Kourtney moved to hug him but he held his hands up. "Sorry, I've had enough hugs for one day." He patted her head. "But I accept your thank you." Be then proceeded to the kitchen. "Yah! D.O! Can you make deer meat?"

Kourtney watched in amusement as the two began to bicker.

............

Later that night, Kourtney stepped outside to find Baekhyun alone out on the porch, leaning forward on the rail as he gazed up at the stars. She could see different emotions running through his face. Sadness, anger, relief. She went over beside him, giving his shoulder a gentle nudge.

"You okay?"

Baekkhyun sighed. "I guess."

Kourtney followed his gaze to the stars and they stayed like that for a few minutes.

"Baekhyun..."Kourtney hesitated, glancing back at him. "Is this about...what Heechul said to you? About your brother?"

He didn't respond, though Kourtney could see that he looked tense. After a few moments he finally spoke.

"I've been thinking about this and...I think Im' ready. No, I know I'm ready."

Kourtney blinked in confusion. "For what?"

Baekhyun looked at Kourtney, his expression serious. "To tell you about my past."