Read Novel Full Chapter 185: An Unlikely Ally
Chapter 185: An Unlikely Ally
They finally reached a private room. It resembled a karaoke lounge more than anything else, with a large screen mounted on the wall, soft sofas arranged around a low table, and a tablet embedded at the center for ordering food and drinks.
Judging by the spread already laid out, Vincent had placed the order well in advance.
A knock sounded just as Seamus started to stand, but Vincent reached out and stopped him, rising instead to answer the door himself.
His broad frame filled the doorway almost completely. From inside, Seamus could hear excited female voices squealing, trying to peek in.
"No need, ladies," Vincent said casually. "I have a baby with me."
"A baby?" one of them gasped. "Your new girlfriend?"
"Of course not," Vincent scoffed. "My nephew. I am babysitting."
The word made Seamus bristle.
’Baby? He must be joking. I have slept with women far more dangerous than you ever—’
"Oh, I see," one of the women laughed. "He must be a cutie like you. Call us if you get bored!"
Their voices faded as they left. Vincent closed the door and turned back, his expression sour the moment his eyes landed on Seamus.
"So you know," Seamus said flatly, "I am not a child anymore."
"You will always be a child in my eyes," Vincent replied, unfazed.
He poured whiskey into a glass, added ice, then mixed in another liquor Seamus did not recognize.
Seamus rolled his eyes and leaned back into the sofa. "Fine. Then answer this. I want to know about the two Covenants my father destroyed. How and why did he do it?"
Vincent raised a brow. "Straight to the point."
He swirled the glass slowly. "They wouldn’t stop targeting my sister. Stalking her. Planning to kidnap you. Pressuring her from every angle."
He took a sip. "My sister was kind. Just terrible at choosing men."
"Andrew is many things," Seamus said coolly, "but not a bad husband. He tried. I know that."
"And she still died," Vincent snapped.
"By vampire hunters. By people you now call allies." Seamus added.
Silence followed. Vincent’s stare sharpened, hostile and heavy, as if daring him to react.
Seamus didn’t flinch. He knew his own strength. He could end Vincent easily and even anyone in Vampire Hunter HQ who wanted a taste of his power. Isolde’s blood style, Leah’s, even Dahlia’s. Breaking him would not be difficult.
Vincent sighed instead. "Andrew betrayed them first. Did you know that?"
Seamus stiffened. "What?"
"So you really do not know," he sneered.
"There was a time when vampire hunters stood beside him. Then he ran. He knew they would lose without him, or maybe he knew they would lose even with him."
He leaned forward. "He changed his name, yours, and my sister’s. He ran as far as he could."
"And to this day," he added bitterly, "we still do not know why. But we know this. He is a coward."
"So all of you decided we were enemies?" Seamus laughed softly, bitterness lacing his voice. "If loyalty breaks that easily, it was never real to begin with."
Vincent studied him. "Answer me honestly. Would you protect someone who betrayed you and caused the deaths of your friends, your family members, your lovers?"
Seamus fell silent.
The answer was obvious to him and to anyone.
Vincent chuckled and drained his glass. "See? You didn’t answer because you know what you would choose when cornered. Loved ones first. The world’s second."
He set the glass down. "Morality is a luxury, Seamus. No one truly believes in it anymore."
The weight of those words settled heavily in Seamus’s chest.
It was not the first time he wondered if his existence was ever truly needed in this world but it still hurts.
Vincent reached out and gave Seamus a light shove on the shoulder, strangely gentle despite the force behind it.
"You should be grateful you look like your mother and not your father."
"If you looked like him," he added with a tired sigh, "I would have buried you six feet under already."
He took another breath, his voice lowering. "Still, I understand your position. No one chooses to be born as a burden."
He paused briefly. "I suppose I failed to see my sister’s perspective before I joined that damn association."
Seamus fell silent. As rough as Vincent’s words were, they carried a strange warmth. In their own twisted way, they felt like reassurance. Even selfishly, even shamefully, Seamus wanted to live.
"So," he asked at last, "what would you do to me, then?"
"Nothing," Vincent replied.
He pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took a slow drag as smoke curled lazily through the room.
"I just wanted to see what my sister left behind. To be honest, I am a little disappointed."
He exhaled. "And I know that whatever you plan to do, I will probably not stand on the same side. So doing nothing is the safest option."
Seamus studied him. He did not know whether making Vincent an ally was wise, but his instincts told him the man was trustworthy. His gut had never failed him before.
"What if I told you I plan to eliminate all vampires?" Seamus asked calmly. "Would you still stay out of it?"
Vincent froze. His eyes widened, mouth opening and closing as he searched for words.
"You have a way?" he asked slowly. "I don’t want blind slaughter. Not like your father."
Seamus smirked faintly. "I don’t intend to kill everyone. Only those with power and influence."
He shrugged. "But I understand if you don’t want to join, humans have limits, after all."
Vincent scoffed. "You are underestimating me."
He extended his hand. "Deal. I will help. I am sick of vampires and the bureaucracy of that rotten association anyway."
"But you still need to stay in the association," Seamus said carefully. "They might target me, and I don’t want any more human casualties."
"You want me to keep them in check?"
Seamus nodded. "And inform me first. I also want to know what my father did to them. What pushed them this far."
Vincent smirked. "Trying to prove them wrong?"
"No," Seamus replied. "If they are victims, I will apologize. No side is completely innocent. My father certainly is not."
His voice hardened slightly. "Even with me, he carries sins that are still hard to forgive."
Vincent blinked, then laughed quietly. "Alright. I will do what you ask."
He shook his head. "Never thought there would come a day when I did not hate you."
"I hope that feeling lasts," Seamus replied.
The tension finally eased. They spent the rest of the time talking about Alice’s family, Seamus’s grandparents, and just how absurdly wealthy they were.
Wealth on a scale that made Seamus wonder what his life might have been like if he had grown up under their roof instead.
"Damn," he muttered, "Andrew wronged me yet again."
Vincent laughed and clapped his shoulder. "Welcome to the Andrew hate club, pal."
For the first time that night, Seamus laughed without bitterness and he never thought that it would be with someone who tried to kill him when they met for the first time.