My Stepmom Is A Vampire & Her Entire Bloodline Wants To Breed Me

Chapter 179: Sealed Bargain

Seamus snapped.

He grabbed both of her wrists and slammed her back against the wall, the impact echoing sharply through the room.

The dagger slipped from his hand and clattered against the floor, its metallic ring loud, but still quieter than the fury roaring in his chest.

"Take it back," he said, his voice low and shaking. "Take it back. I never killed my mother."

"Not directly," Isolde replied calmly, lifting one shoulder in a careless shrug. "But that does not make it false. You were grown to be—"

"Shut up." His grip tightened until she hissed.

"You are the worst kind of monster, Isolde. I am done being pulled around by your words. I am done with your games."

"Ouch," she muttered, then laughed softly. Her smile returned. "Be gentle. Or what will you do? Kill me?"

She leaned closer despite the pressure, eyes gleaming with provocation. "Go on, try. Do you not have Roanna’s power now?"

For a moment, he truly considered it.

If his attributes were fully synchronized with Dahlia’s and Isolde’s, his output would surpass hers.

He knew the calculation instinctively. He could end her. The thought burned hot and intoxicating.

"But you will never get this Vitalis Core," she continued smoothly. "The moment you decide to kill me, I will destroy it. Then Viviane stays dead forever."

Her confidence was infuriating, absolute. Still, Seamus forced himself to breathe.

"You would never kill yourself just to spite me."

"Why not?" she replied, unfazed. "I killed my daughter. I killed my husband and even my mother. Hell does not frighten me. Death does not frighten me."

She leaned close enough for her breath to brush his ear. "But you should be afraid. Because if you keep searching for a compatible core, you will have to slaughter vampires and even hunters too."

"And when that is not enough, you might start turning people into scavengers. You might finish Roanna’s experiment yourself."

Her voice softened. "Is that how you want your story to end?"

His breath caught. His hands trembled, rage shaking through him because she was right. Finding a matching Vitalis Core for Viviane might be impossible due to his short lifespan and little sacrifice.

"So what is wrong with following my plan?" Isolde murmured. "You are strong. You are capable. And don’t you want vengeance for your mother?"

Her presence shifted. Suddenly her arms were around him, hands sliding over his back as she pressed against him from behind. Her lips brushed his ear, sending an involuntary shiver through him.

"Come now," she whispered. "I killed her knowing I could bring her back. I am not as cruel as you think."

She paused, then added softly, "I let her rest because my daughter was suffering."

Seamus’s breathing quickened. He hated her touch, hated how his body responded anyway.

He hated that her scent, old wine and roses, made his head spin. He hated that part of him that wanted to believe her.

Their reasons were different, but their destination was the same.

The vampires who hunted his family. The hunters who broke his parents. The cycle of pain that never truly ended.

Isolde wanted them dead.

And so did he.

"Is this why you killed Viviane?" Seamus asked quietly. "So I would have no choice but to walk the same path as you?"

Isolde smiled faintly. "Smart boy. You are finally learning."

She rested her head against his back, arms sliding around him as if clinging to something precious.

"And I like you, you know. Do you not think we would make a wonderful couple?"

"I would rather die."

Her laughter rang out, sharp and delighted. She spun him around and looped her arms around his neck, looking up at him with shining eyes.

"Oh, I adore this side of you," she said. "The push and pull. It makes things meaningful and fun."

Seamus did not answer. His brow furrowed as his thoughts tangled into something ugly and unresolved.

He couldn’t simply serve the woman who killed the one he loved, who molded his life into a series of calculated miseries. The anger burned, but beneath it was exhaustion.

"Then tell me," he said at last. "Why do you need me? Why not do this yourself?"

"I cannot," Isolde replied without hesitation. "Unlike you, I only possess one blood style. You think I can stand against them all alone?"

He let out a short, humorless chuckle, looking down at her. He had always believed her power was monstrous, absolute, something that eclipsed the rest. Hearing her admit this felt strangely hollow.

"So you admit you are weak."

"I am," she said calmly. "I am swimming in an ocean full of predators. Creatures like Corvane hide their strength until it is too late. I am not arrogant, Seamus. I am cautious."

He said nothing. He didn’t ask how she understood the nature of his power so well. Of course, she knew. Isolde never acted without information.

She was right. His potential had no clear ceiling. Even Corvane sought ways to surpass their limits.

Still, the realization left a bitter taste in his mouth.

’Will I ever find peace?’

The thought lingered as he exhaled slowly. Perhaps peace was impossible. Perhaps the only end was erasure. Vampires, hunters, all of them driven by the same hunger.

In the end, their purpose is the same.

"I will help you," he said finally. "But stop treating me like a pawn. We should have been partners, not master and slave."

His hands clenched. "And I hate what you did to Viviane and to Diane. They were your daughters. Do you truly feel nothing?"

Isolde didn’t respond immediately. Her face was unreadable, distant.

Then she nodded once. "I will give you the information you seek."

It was an answer, but not a comforting one.

Before he could speak again, she pulled him closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "And I missed you. Why not have my feed time tonight?"

"You just want to evolve," he said flatly.

"Evolution means strength," she replied. "And strength benefits us both."

He sighed. "It is Leah’s schedu—"

She covered his mouth with her hand. "This is why you frustrate me and why you can’t be my partner, Seamus. You think too much. You question everything. Just say yes and stop resisting."

He wanted to argue. Instead, he swallowed the words.

Once again, she was right.

"Whatever," he muttered.

And that was how the bargain was sealed.