Rocco immediately went for the attack, aiming a fist at Ryeowook's face. Ryeowook barely dodged it in time and jumped back, also avoiding a kick. For a few minutes, it was just Rocco throwing attacks at Ryeowook and the smaller quickly dodging them.

"That's the difference between them." N said. "While Rocco is very strong and a lot larger than him, Ryeowook's fast. Very fast. That'll be an advantage to him."

Everything was going smoothly for Ryeowook and his previous worry was gone. He looked confident again. After dodging a bit more, he quickly moved to kick Rocco down.

Only Rocco didn't go down.

Instead, he grabbed Ryeowook's leg and threw the small vampire into the ground, hard. Some of the spectators actually cheered upon this happening. Kourtney stood up, worried, as Rocco moved to attack Ryeowook.

Ryeowook quickly recovered from the throw and jumped up just as Rocco's fist connected with the ground. The impact made a large crevice and the arean shook for a few seconds.

Jackson whistled. "That'll hurt if it connects."

Kourtney stayed standing, eyes not leaving the battle for once second. Rocco tried attacking Ryeowook again but it went back to how it was in the beginning, Ryeowook easily dodging them. Koutney sensed Mark move over to stand beside her.

"He's being more cautious about attacking now." Mark said. "If Rocco gets a hold of him again..."

Kourtney nervously gulped, hoping that wouldn't happen.

But it did.

Ryeowook punched Rocco in the face but it didn't affect the large vampire at all. Rocco grabbed Ryeowook's wrist then formed a fist in his other hand, connecting hard with the latter's hip. There was a sickening crunch and Ryeowook screamed. Kourtney gasped, covering with both hands. Most of the crowd started the cheer, some chanting Rocco's name.

Kourtney glanced over to where the other Council members were standing and saw Eunhyuk watching in shock. She shifted her gaze over to Heechul, expecting him to be feeling the same. Instead, he didn't look worried or concerned. He was calm.

Even as Rocco continued to throw Ryeowook around, mercilessly kicking his hip over and over, Heechul wasn't fazed. Kourtney scowled, shifting her gaze back to the battle.

"Don't vampires heal quickly?" She asked.

Kala nodded. "We do, but some injuries take a bit longer than others. Broken bones are one. While cuts and burises take only seconds to heal, broken bones take minutes."

"And he keeps attacking the hip." N added. "So it doesn't fully heal."

Kourtney flinched as Rocco kicked Ryeowook's hip again. The crowd was getting more fired up now, cheering and hollering loudly. The chants of Rocco's name could be heard more clearly now. Kourtney looked back over at the Council. Heechul still looked stoic, expressionless as we watched Ryeowook being thrown around like a doll. She glanced over at Mark, who was nervous as he watched. 

"Come on, Wookie. come on." Kourtney whispered. "You can do it."

Rocco threw Ryeowook down again, the latter not moving after the impact. The large vampire then turned to the crowd. 

"You guys like that?" He hollered. The crowd roared in response. "I hope you're all ready for a new Council Member, cause today, you're getting one!" 

Kourtney looked to see Mark's previous nervous expression gone. Instead, he was smirking.

"Mark?" Kourtney questioned. "What is it?"

"Game over." Mark said.

Rocco turned to Ryeowook, who wasn't moving on the ground, and began to slowly walk over to him. 

"Time to say goodbye to your little Council friends, shrimp." Rocco taunted, kneeling over Ryeowwok's body. "You've lost."

A loud voice suddnly rang throughout the satium.

"Take him down, Ryeowook!"

Kourtney looked over in surprise, recognzing the voice. Heechul was standing, smirking. She looked back just in time to see Ryeowook open his eyes and disappear in a flash. Rocco froze as Ryeowook suddenly appeared behind him, hands around his head as if he was about to snap it.

"No, you've lost." Ryeowook whispered.

Eric rang the victory bell. "And that does it! Battle over! Ryeowook wins!"

The crowd seemed baffled at first, but then erupted into cheers. Kourtney gazed over at Mark in awe.

"How'd you know?" She asked.

"The minute that brute turned his back to him and started running his mouth." Mark chuckled. "Kala said it takes minutes for broken bones to heal for a vampire, right?"

"Right."

"However, with Ryeowook's family blood, it only takes a minute. Not minutes." Ravi said.

"While Rocco was amping up the crowd, Ryeowook's injury was healing." N smiled. "Plus, he was faking not being able to move."

"In other words." Mark said. "He outsmarted him."

Ryeowook let Rocco go, giving the man a quick bow before turning around to walk out of the arena. Kourtney saw it before it happened. Rocco looked furious and she could tell from the look in his eyes that he was going to attack.

"Look out!" Kourtney screamed.

Ryeowook turned around as Rocco moved to punch him in the face, only to have his fist caught in someone's grasp.

Heechul's.

In the blink of an eye, Heechul twisted Rocco's wrist, breaking it, and forced him to his knees. The look he threw Rocco sent chills down Kourtney's spine. It was cold and rutheless.

"Do that again," Heechul snarled. "And next time i'll break more than your wrist. Got it?"

Rocco gulped, nodding. Heechul let go of his wrist then went over to Ryeowwok, throwing an arm around his shoulder as he led him over to the other Council members. 

Eric cleared his throat. "So, uh...that ends Day 1 of the tournament. Hope everyone has a great rest of the day and we'll see you tomorrow."

..........

Later, at Headquarters, Kourtney and Mark sat in their room quietly. Kourtney was reading a book that she borrowed from the Council's library and Mark was watching something on his phone. After finishing a chapter, Kourtney placed the book aside and went over to sit by Mark on the couch.

"Mark...I need to tell you something."

Mark set his phone down and moved to face her.

"Okay, shoot."

Kourtey hesitated before speaking. "Chen and I...well, we've been...secretly together." She sighed. "We love each other and...we want to spend as much time together as possible."

Mark didn't seem surprised by what she said.

"We thought we had a year." Kourtney looked away. "But now..."

Mark smiled. "I knew there was something going on between you two."

Kourtney blinked in surprise. "Wait, you knew?"

Mark laughed. "It wasn't that hard for me to figure out. I see the way you look at him. The way he looks at you." He smirked. "Plus, you sneaked out this morning and I have a pretty good idea why."

Kourtney looked away blushing.

Mark then cleared his throat. "To be honest...there's some I love, too."

Kourtney scooted closer curiously. "Really? Who?"

Mark rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Ella."

Kourtney gasped. "From Yongguk's pack? That Ella?"

Mark nodded. "Yeah."

Kourtney smiled. "That's so sweet."

Mark leaned back on the couch. "It , being purebloods. We both have someone else we love but can't be with them. It's cruel."

"Yeah it is." Kourtney sighed. "It really is."

..........

Back at the hotel, Kris's pack met up with Namjoon's clan and Yongguk's pack in Jin and his mate, Yunseo's room, size large. Chen had sent Kourtney a message and she quickly made her way over to join them. The leaders had ordered pizza and while they waited, they started to play some games. While this happened, Saemin, Yoongi's mate, went over to Lay. 

"Excuse me, Lay? Could I talk to you in private for a minute?" She asked.

Lay nodded. "Sure." 

The two left, watched by Yoongi and Hoseok, as well as Suho and Kourtney.

"What was that about?" Hoseok asked.

Yoongi shrugged. "No idea."

"You think she's okay, since she went to Lay?" Kourtney asked, concerned. "She might not be feeling well."

"She seemed fine this morning." Yoongi said.

"How would you know?" Hoseok chuckled. "You sleep longer than her."

Yoongi seemed like he wanted to retort, then just shrugged. "Fair point."

A few minutes later, Lay and Saemin returned and the latter walked over to sit down beside her mate.

"You okay?" Yoongi asked. "Why'd you need Lay?"

Saemin rested her head on his shoulder. "Just another migraine. Lay had something for it, though, so it should pass in a mew minutes."

Kourtney glanced over at Lay, who was watching Saemin with a bright smile on his face. When he noticed that Kourtney was watching him, he quickly looked away and went over to join in the games.

Okay, that was suspicious. Kourtney thought. What was that smile about?

She decided to froget about it for now and joined in the games until the pizza arrived. After filling their bellies and playing games late into the night, they finally headed off to bed. As Kourtney left, she saw Saemin outside with Yoongi, whispering something to him. Whatever she said to him shocked him at first, then he smiled and the two embraced. Kourtney was curious but didn't want to intrude, so she continued waling back to Headquarters.

Next time I see Lay I'll ask him about it. To me, it seems like it was something more than a migraine.

A/N: I'm really going to try and include the other packs and clans more in this story, since some didn't get a whole lot of time in the first one. 

Also, going to have to move the Mythnal Academy update to tomorrow. Something came up.