“No,” Nick says. “I’ve never killed a human.”

“Why would they believe you’ve decided to start with me?”

“I think they’ll want to believe it. It will gratify them to imagine that I’ve given into temptation and become like them. So long as they think I have a claim on you, they’ll leave you alone.”

“Claim?”

“The Bloodfangs don’t think much of humans in general. They’ll see you as my ...