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

Chapter 193: The Black Lotus Club

"Seal me beneath the white land. Erase all my paths. Let them forget my name, for my existence is nothing but a stain upon this world, in life or in death."

Andrew let out a slow sigh as he closed the thin book Ulrich had given to him and Matthew.

The pages were worn, the ink faded in places, as if the words themselves had survived more out of stubbornness than care.

The book told the story of Iscaron, the King of Morum, a figure spoken of as both myth and history.

According to the records, he alone wielded every Bloodstyle and passed fragments of that power to his seven children, laying the foundation for what would later become the Seven Great Covenants.

"He is the beginning and the end," Andrew read quietly, "the illness and the cure, and the peace that follows chaos."

On the surface, it was no different from countless historical texts. Triumphs, disasters, wars, and uneasy peace, all compressed into neat Chapters as if history itself could be organized and understood so cleanly.

The book listed the names of the first Patriarchs and Matriarchs, including the infamous twins, Rohan and Johan, whose cruelty was described not as a flaw but as a kingly trait.

Their desire to conquer and dominate was framed as something natural, even necessary.

According to the text, Iscaron had sent the twins to the North to be trained, believing hardship would temper their ambition.

They were meant to understand the lives of commoners before returning east, once the Crown Prince was formally appointed. It was a familiar story, one Andrew had seen repeated in different forms across history.

Then came the inconsistency.

The book stated that the king suddenly fell ill and died shortly after the crown prince was appointed.

Andrew frowned at that part, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Vampires did not fall sick. Not like that. Illness was either metaphorical or fabricated, and neither explanation sat well with him.

"Something happened here," he muttered, flipping the page again as if the answer might appear through repetition. "Something important, and it was erased."

The silence in the room felt heavier after that realization. If parts of Iscaron’s life had been deliberately removed from history, then whatever lay beneath the white land was not just a grave. It was a secret powerful enough to be buried alongside a king.

Andrew closed the book and leaned back, exhaustion finally creeping into his bones.

Tomorrow, they would travel to the site suspected to be the king’s resting place, and whatever they uncovered there would likely change everything they thought they knew.

As he dimmed the light, a final thought crossed his mind, quiet but persistent.

"I wonder what Seamus is doing right now."

***

Seamus didn’t sleep at all. When morning arrived, there was barely any visible change. Snow still swallowed the sky, muting light and sound alike.

He stayed awake to guard Otto and even helped Dylan bury the ashes beneath layers of snow and frozen dirt.

They had no choice but to be thorough. A vampire’s body carried unstable pathogens that could contaminate anything it touched, so disposal had to follow the same protocol used for infected livestock, complete eradication with no trace left behind.

Seamus sighed, "too much work for a single vampire."

"Just a thought, next time don’t kill our lead?" Dylan put the shovel end to his shoulder as he narrowed his eyes and tilted his head, "Huh? Spider nets in the snowy land? Weird."

Seamus turned his head and he could see the pinus tree being covered by it, not much but noticeable. Even looking at that, he has a bad feeling about it.

"Let’s go inside." He said as Dylan followed behind.

They resumed their journey without exchanging words. There were no arguments, no forced conversation, only the hum of the engine and the unspoken weight of what they had done.

After three hours on the road, they finally reached Nieve. The first thing they did was check into the hotel Bianca had booked, where they would wait until midnight, when the club opened.

For the first time since arriving in the North, Seamus allowed himself to smoke freely. He stood outside, staring up at the towering skyscrapers cutting through the gray sky.

This place finally felt like a metropolis. People hurried past him, wrapped in coats, busy with work or daily routines, moving as if the world was still intact.

Someone leaned gently against his shoulder.

He did not need to turn to know who it was.

Madeline finally appeared beside him.

"Where have you been all this time?" he asked quietly.

"Reading," she replied with a light chuckle. "I knew the journey would be chaotic, so I thought I would show up once you arrived. Turns out I was right."

"Hm."

He could feel it immediately. She was lying, or at least hiding something, but he didn’t press her. Instead, he let himself sink into the warmth radiating from her presence.

It was strange how comforting it felt. Every woman he had been with carried the cold of vampiric blood, but Madeline was different. She was warm..

"X said the Emblem of Bjorne is dead," Seamus said after a while. "Is it true? How did that even happen?"

Madeline did not answer right away. She stared ahead, watching the city move, before finally letting out a quiet sigh.

"In times of chaos, Emblems are allowed to choose. They can remain neutral, or they can side with an ideology they believe in."

She turned to him. "I will remain neutral, Seamus. At least until I no longer can."

Ash from his cigarette fell to the ground like snow. Her words carried too much meaning to ignore.

If Emblems could choose sides, then the ones tied to the Covenants he intended to destroy could easily become his enemies.

"Then tell me," he said slowly, "how do I win a fight against your kind?"

Madeline smiled faintly. "Honestly? The same way you fight anyone else. Head on. We don’t follow the strict limitations of Bloodstyles like vampires do, but we are not invincible either."

Seamus looked at her, at the woman he never thought he would hesitate to stand against. His purpose aligned with Isolde’s, to erase vampires entirely, but where did that leave Madeline?

"Will there be a day when you take a side that isn’t mine?" he asked. "If that happens, then..."

He could not finish the sentence.

"Stop worrying about a future that hasn’t arrived," Madeline said softly. "Focus on what is in front of you."

Her voice faded into the wind, and so did she, leaving Seamus alone with his thoughts. He had never imagined the future would feel this terrifying.

***

By nightfall, they were ready.

They lined up outside the club alongside teenagers and young adults, all waiting impatiently in the cold.

The Black Lotus symbol loomed over the entrance, large and unmistakable, its design identical to the name it bore.

"I brought new people," Otto said, gesturing toward the four of them.

The bouncer lifted his sunglasses slightly and grinned. "Good. Welcome to the Black Lotus, pal. Enjoy the party of eternity."

The doors opened, and chaos poured out to greet them. Music thundered through the air, lasers sliced across the darkness, and the smell of alcohol and marijuana clung thickly to every breath.

Bodies moved in rhythm, dancing as if the outside world did not exist. Humans and vampires mingled freely.

Seamus even spotted one vampire feeding openly in a dark corner, drinking from a human who looked more intoxicated than afraid.

The place felt like heaven and hell fused together. It was also the perfect hunting ground for Vitalis Cores.

Seamus noticed Otto beginning to drift toward the crowd. He grabbed the back of his collar and pulled him close, his voice dropping to a lethal whisper.

"If you try to run," Seamus said coldly, "I will kill you and everyone in this club. Now show us the way."