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"But like aniht?" I asked hopefully, but Mae kept her eyes down, so I looked up over at Jack, who just shook his head

"We can’t live on animal blood" Jack kept his pale blue eyes on me, so I had to focus not to look even mildly revolted "It’s the same reason a person can’t live on a blood transfusion fro or rat Essentially, we require a weekly blood transfusion to survive We just have to ingest it"

"You… you kill people?" I know , but then Mae’s eyes shot up and both her and Jack looked appalled

"No! No, of course not!" Mae vehee amounts of blood before they die"

"We just drink blood from people," Jack elaborated "It’s a painless process Our saliva works as like an anesthetic and ood at it that most people don’t even know they’ve been bitten," Mae explained, somewhat proudly "Jack and I live mostly on blood froood, but it’s et blood fro down to a Red Cross and asking for a pint of blood for the ride hoently touched my knee and smiled at me "There’s a va to some place like the Red Cross, but it’s for us So we have a fridge in the baseet into it," Jackin the tietic "They’re purists"

"So… they… what? How does that work? They just find so anyone else uely nauseous

"No, they have clubs where people willingly donate, and a lot of ti on a date and getting a long kiss on the neck, but really they’re just getting a snack," Mae clarified

"You’re okay with that?" I asked Mae "Ezra’s out and about dating and drinking other women?"

"It’s not pleasant," Mae admitted, with a pained expression "But it’s the nature of e are And I’d rather have hi them It’s the price of eternity, love I can be with him forever, but he has to kiss other women" She smiled sadly at me, and I wondered if I’d ever be able to come to ter blood," Jack interjected brightly, and I turned ht you pickedhow suddenly drowsy I was and that I couldn’t reotten home, my eyes widened "Did you bite me?"

"No!" Jack put his hands up defensively under the scrutinizing glares from Mae and me "No! I didn’t! Honest!" Then he looked sheepish "I’d actually just coht before I saw you"

"You et into?" I wondered if Jane had ever been picked up by a va it She probably had, and that served her right

"No, it’s a vauys were trying to go, so you ht’ve Most people don’t know it’s a vampire club That’s how I turned"

"Peter picked you up at a club?" I raised rinned "I followed these two hot chicks in, and they turned out to be psychotic va to eat But the girls went crazy and left me for dead Peter found me in the alley behind the club, and for some reason, he decided to save me"

"Do you have to be dead to turn?" I asked

"No, you can’t be dead," Jack clarified "Once you’re dead, you’re dead That’s it Vampires aren’t undead We’re just a different form of people Ezra explained it to me that vampirism is a virus, sorta like AIDS, except whereas AIDS makes you sick, this makes you better"

"It’s a virus?" I looked skeptical

"I guess" Jack shrugged "That’s what Ezra told me It’s like an evolutionary mutation His theory is that people have no predators The only thing that really takes people down is weather and disease The plagues actually helped keep the population in check When cities were overflowing, a plague would come and knock the nuue"

"Yeah, that’s great and everything, but a virus?" I shook ain, Ezra is more of an expert than I aet exactly e need all the ti We live on pure, fresh nutrients And it stops decay When we die, we’re like Styrofoaet injured, we heal at an alaruys are really va tihed and leaned on the counter