I'm seeing a lot of assumptions about the nature of vampires that don't fit the revealed lore, both here and on discord and I just want to say that, while I understand that Doc Alys might not be the perfect expert and people may doubt her words, until/unless some different information is provided she is still the best source on how vampires work in this universe, and that may be same, similar or completely different compared to what vampires are in other universes.
For those who don't want to go back and re-read what Zoey or Alys said about the subject, or check relevant Glossary entries, here's a tl;dr offered during the visit to Doc for those who didn't want to slog through the long explanation:
"In short, you became what you are when a vampire injected you with a viral load - The Bite, thus infecting you with a parasite that converts your body into that of a vampire."
"What you call mesmerizing is most likely a chemical you release while in close proximity to your target, used to make your victim more cooperative."
"The common trait you share with other vampires is fast regeneration. As for any other capabilities, they are mostly inherited from your Creator."
"These traits come from various mutations within the genes of your creator."