It was the day before the tournament, held once each year to determine who would have the right to be on the Council. All of the packs and clans had been invited, given playes to stay at five-star hotels, which the Council would pay for. Before, Kourtney had thought that she was going to be staying with her pack at the hotel, but then had recieved a notcie saying that she and Mark would be staying in a guest room at the Council's home, which was loacted inside the thier headquarter's building.

This was a problem for Kourtney for three reasons.

One, she didn't like the Council(well, most of the Council).

Two, she wouldn't get to see her pack as often, as well as the other packs and clans who were staying at the same hotel.

Three, she wouldn't get to spend as much time as she could with Chen.

The two had been secretly dating for a few weeks now, careful to keep it hidden due to it being, well...not allowed. As a pureblood werewolf, a rare female pureblood werewolf, Kourtney was going to be forced to mate with another pureblood once she turned eighteen, the legal mating age. To stop the Council from taking her away from her pack, she, the pack, and JB's pack had lied, saying that Kourtney and Mark were in love with each other, hinting at possibly mating. 

Kourtney had hung out with Mark a few times since then, but she never felt the same spark that she did when she was with Chen. She wished she could be with him, mate with him.

But the law wouldn't allow it. As a pureblood, she must mate with a pureblood. Chen wasn't a pureblood, but a half-blood.

And that made their relationship even more unacceptable, to the Council.

Kourtney and her pack arrived in front of the Coucnil's headquarters around 10am, as well as JB and his pack. Kris, JB, Kourtney, and Mark were greeted by Leeteuk and Heechul, as well as a woman that Kourtney did not recognize. She was almost as tall as Leeteuk and had beautiful long, wavy blonde hair. 

"Welcome." Leeteuk greeted. "So glad you could make it."

"We trust you to take good care of them, Head Councilmen." JB said, bowing to them.

Heechul smirked. "As they are purebloods, they will recieve the highest treatment while staying here."

I'd rather sleep on the streets, Kourtney thought.

Kris bowed and thanked the Head Coucilmen before he and JB left, traveling with their packs to the hotel they'd be staying in. Leeteuk gave Kourtney and Mark a smile.

"Shall we go inside?"

He led them through the front doors with Heechul and the woman at the back. Inside, there was a large, wooden desk, as well as an open area with a plasma screen tv, couches, chairs, tables, and computers. 

"This is our visitor's area." Leeteuk explained. "Anyone is welcome here."

"However," the woman continued. "to visit other floors, one must have permission from a member of the Council."

"Any member?" Kourtney asked.

The woman nodded. "Yes." She then shook both her and Mark's hands. "My name's Hyeon. It's nice to meet you."

Leeteuk put an arm around her. "She's my mate."

So this is Leeteuk's mate!

Kourtney smiled kindly to her. "It's nice to meet you, too, Hyeon." Mark also gave her a kind smile.

To the side, Kourtney noticed Heechul glacing at Leeteuk and Hyeon with a sad expression before quickly hiding it and going back to his signature smirk.

What was that about?

Leeteuk led them to an elevator and they rode it the very top floor, Floor 10. When the doors opened, it revealed a long hallway with many double doors. They went right and were led to a room that was near the end of the hallway. At the top of the doors was a gold plate with the numbers 1023.

"This floor is what you might call the Council's home." Hyeon said. "There's bedrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, a few extra bathrooms, an entertainment room, a library, a laundry room, and of course, guest rooms."

Leeteuk opened the doors, leading them into the guest room. It was very large and colored in gold and white. There was a large, king-size bed, as well as long couch in a corner. "You two will stay in here. And, as you are the only guests staying with us for the tournament, our workers have been given orders to make your stay as comfortable as possible."

Kourtney almost freaked out when she noticed that there was only one bed in the room. Granted, it was very big, but still. She glanced over at Mark, who looked surprised as well. 

"Go ahead and get comfy." Hyeon said. "Lunch will be at noon sharp. The dining room is in room 1017."

"1017." Mark nodded. "Got it."

Heechul gave the two a sly wink. "Have fun, you two." He then left the gest room, followed by Leeteuk and Hyeon.

When the door closed, Mark looked at the bed, then at Kourtney.

"You take the bed." He said. "I'll sleep on the couch."

Kourtney smiled. "Thanks, Mark."

Mark returned her smile and then the two quickly unpacked their things, each taking a side in the walk-in closet. Once they finished packing, it was almost 11am. 

"Still got some time to spare." Mark said. "Wanna look around?"

"Sure."

The other three doors at the end of the hall were other guest rooms. Moving back the other way, they found the laundry room, a few bathrooms, as well as the kitchen and pantry. Next, they found room 1017, the dining room. After that, they entered room 1016, where noises could be heard. Inside, they found a large room with an asortment of game tables, love sacs, video games, movies, and a large tv. 

Kourtney recognized Sungmin, Donghae, Kyuhyun, and Henry, who were playing a game of pool. There was also a girl with long black hair and pale skin watching them, standing close to Sungmin. I wonder if she's his mate. Kris said he had one, too.

Ryeowook, Eunhyuk, and Yesung were sitting on love sacs, playing Mario Kart. Eunhyuk seemed to be winning, since he was shouting things like, "Can't catch me!" or "I'm the king of Mario Kart!" That and Ryewook was yelling in outrage as he would try to pass Eunhyuk but would get bested. Yesung seemed bored and like he wasn't even trying, staying silent.

Henry walked up to the two, having just finished his turn. "The lovebirds made it, huh?"

"Uh...yeah." Mark held out his hand. "I'm Mark."

Henry didn't take it, instead fixing his hair, sighing. "I've always wondered what i'd be like to love. Girls don't seem to want to have anything to do with me."

Maybe because you're a spoiled, rich brat.

Henry shrugged. "Anyways, welcome. Feel free to do whatever you want in here."

He then returned to the pool game. Kourtney, curious, walked over to Sungmin and the girl, bowing.

"Hi, I'm Kourtney."

"The pureblood werewolf, I know." The girl smiled. "Iseul. I'm Sungmin's mate."

Bingo. I knew it!

"So...only Leeteuk and Sungmin have mates, right?" Mark asked, standing beside Kourtney.

"Yup." Sungmin chuckled. "We're the only romantics in the Council."

"Hey!" Kyuhyun spat.

Sungmin smirked. "22 years old and still no mate! That's pathetic! Same with Donhae!"

"I just haven't found her, yet." Donghae said as he shot the yellow and red ball into the corner pocket.

Kourtney turned to the ones playing Mario Kart just as Eunhyuk jumped up, cheering.

"Whoohoo! I won! I'm number one!"

Ryeowook moaned as he layed back in the love sac, tossing the controller to the ground. "So close!"

Yesung said nothing as he...eventually passed the finishing line, too.

Eunhyuk waved Kourtney and Mark over. "Come and join us, guys! We'll rotate whoever gets last place!"

Mark looked at Kourtney. "You want to?"

Kourtney shook her head. "You go on ahead. I want to keep looking around." And possibly sneak out for a bit to see Chen.

Mark joined the three as Kourtney left. She walked down the hall before stopping in front of a door numbered 1015. She thought she could hear voices inside and slowly, pressed her ear to the door. As a pureblood, she had special abilites that others didn't. While training, she had discovered that she could become invisible, as well as mask her scent completely, making it seem as if she wasn't there. She activated the scent block, not wanting to be caught evesdropping.

"Why didn't you have the pureblood come live at the estate with the others?" A man spoke, his voice unfamliar to Kourtney.

"She insisted on staying with Kris's pack." This voice she recognized. Heechul's. "She'd be closer to JB's pack, to Mark. We didn't see any problem with letting her stay."

"She's a pureblood. One of the few female pureblood werewolves. She should stay at the estate, where she'll be safe and with her own kind."

"Her own kind?"

Kourtney then heard a loud noise that sounded like a slap.

"Purebloods!" The man roared. "Her kind! Not some pack led by a man who doesn't even value proper blood! His pack is dirty! JB's as well! When the tournament ends, move Kourtney and Mark to the estate! There, they can stay together, be with proper company, and be well protected!"

"But we already told them-"

There was a loud crash, casuing Kourtney to flinch.

"What does the law state?" The man asked.

There was a moment of silence before Heechul answered. "All purebloods must be placed under proper care and protection and must only mate with their own kind."

"Kourtney will mate with Mark. That much is certain. However," Kourtney heard another slap. "They have not been put under the proper care and protection!"

"Kris's pack is strong." Heechul stated. "And the neighboring packs and clans are strong as well. They have the strength to care for and protect them."

"Their blood is not proper! Therefore, they are not proper protection!" It went silent for a few minutes. "Do as the law says and move them to the estate!"

Kourtey heard footsteps and she quickly moved away from the door and started to make her way back towards the entertainement room. I have to tell Mark!

"Miss Kourntey!"

She paused. It was the voice from before. She turned around to face a tall man with very pale skin, long, dark brown hair and a bit of stubble on his chin. He quickly moved to stand in front of her and bowed.

"So nice to finally meet you." He said.

Down the hallway, Heechul stepped out of the room. Kourtney thought she saw a cut on his face, but when she blinked, it wasn't there.

Maybe I'm seeing things.

She turned back to the man. "Who are you? You're not in the Council."

The man chuckled. "True, but I was once. I still live at headquarters, just on a different floor."

Heechul threw the man a dirty look before walking off in the opposite direction.

Kourtney asked again. "Who are you?"

The man smiled. "My name is Heejoon(a/n: not the singer). I was once the Head Councilman on the Council until my seat was taken seven years ago in the tournament. The boy was only seventeen years old, very talented and strong."

Kourtney felt like her heart stopped as she thought back to the day when Kris had told her about the Council.

About seven years ago, his father was defeated in the tournmanet by someone who was seventeen.

"I think you've already met him." Heejoon said. "Sungmin."

Kourtney's eyes widened as she pieced it all together.

This man...he's Heechul's father!

A/N: Yay! Finally starting the sequel! So excited!