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Dietrich

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About an hour or so after Trinity and Reece left my room to go to their own I got a call on my cell. It was from them.

"Servus!" I answered with a friendly greeting.

"Hey Dietrich, there was just something I wanted to ask you."

"What is it Trinity?" I was curious, but not enough to take my eyes off of Shawn, not for more than a second that is.

"Could you not tell anyone about the babies yet."

"It's not my news to share, Mein Freunde. Do not worry, your secret is safe with me, even from Shawn. I will tell no one."

"Tell no one what?" I heard Shawn's voice as his eyes fluttered open..

"Liebling, you're awake." I could tell that my voice was full of happiness at that moment.

"What happened, Dietrich?"

"I will tell you. I will tell you all of it, but not the Luna's news, that you must wait for." I giggled as I spoke to him, giddy now that he was finally awake. "Excuse me, Trinity, I must go now."

"I know Dietrich, take care of him. We will come see him in the morning."

"Yes, yes. Goodnight." I rushed to get off the phone.

"Goodnight." The words were barely out of her mouth before I ended the call, tossing my phone to the side on the table.

"Shawn, my dear, Liebling, I am so happy that you are awake my love." I dropped to my knees next to the bed, grasping his hand in mine and holding it tight.

"What happened, Dietrich? The last thing I remember was being glad that I had managed to kill those things. I thought I was going to die."

"You nearly did, Herzchen, I thought I was going to die right along with you. I knew something was wrong, I felt it the entire time we were apart."

"But what happened to me? I feel so tired, so hungry, so thirsty. What actually happened to me?" The discomfort on his face, in his eyes, told me of the struggle he was going to have.

"That would be my fault my love. I had to do it. I couldn't lose you. Please don't hate me, Liebling." I was pleading with him now.

"What did you do?" He looked curious at the moment but not mad at all.

"You were poisoned, my love, you truly were dying. Even the healer Griffin could not save you. The poison was moving too fast in your system. I had to turn you, I had to make you more like me."

"Like you? You mean like a vampire? How is that possible?" He looked so confused by my words that he just couldn't help but ask this.

"You are a hybrid my love. The Goddess Selene has told us so. You are the first of your kind, but you needn't be the only one." I did my best to explain it to him.

"You spoke to the Goddess?" This seemed to be beyond him at the moment, with everything that had happened to us all recently.

"The Goddess spoke to both Trinity and myself. She has named a successor to her line."

"Don't tell me, Trinity is the vampire queen now too." He laughed but it seemed to cause him pain so he stopped right away. Still, I couldn't help but grin at his words.

"No, Geliebte, she is not."

"Really? Well that broke her streak." He chuckled again but it hurt him once more. "Who did she choose?"

"Me."

The way Shawn's head snapped to the side to look at me, the surprise in his eyes and the way his mouth was hanging open, it all told me that he had not been expecting that bombshell.

"Y-y-you're t-th-the V-Vampire K-K-K-K-." He seemed incapable of finishing that statement. Or was it a question?

"I'm the Vampire King. Aside from powers like Trinity's it doesn't change much."

"And I had just finally come to terms with the fact that I was dating the Vampire Emperor, and now you're a king."

"No matter the title, I am first and foremost your mate. Never forget that Shawn."

"I know, I know you are." He smiled at me, that sweet look of his filled my heart with so much love. "But, Dietrich?"

"Yes?" His eyes were full of curiosity and fear now, something that was perplexing me in the moment.

"What exactly changed about me? What does it mean to be a hybrid?"

"That, we will have to figure out on our own I think. Selene didn't give me a guidebook or anything."

"Great." He flopped his head back on the pillow, looking exhausted. "Could you try to tell me why I am so tired, hungry, and thirsty all at the same time?"

"I think it has to do with the change. I did not know that it was over because your heart never stopped. Not like when you become a true vampire. For me and all the others our hearts stopped beating for a few moments before our transformation finished. It started beating again, but with a different rhythm and pumping altered blood."

"But that didn't happen to me?" He looked worried.

"No, it did not, my love. You are still very much alive, and your heart beats just the same as it did before I turned you." He looked visibly relieved to hear those words, so much so that it looked as if some enormous weight was lifted from him.

"As for the hunger and the thirst, that may just be the initial craving for blood that your body will have. As you know, it is very possible for me to eat food, but I do still need blood from time to time."

"Really?" He blinked in surprise. "But in the three months that I have known you I haven't seen you drink blood once."

"I drank before I came here, and I was pushing it a bit far. I would have been in dire need of blood if I went too much longer. I am only able to go for so long because I am as old as I am. Young vampires will need to feed more often."

"I didn't know you could go that long."

"I shouldn't have, it's probably why I was getting to the point of being unable to control myself sexually. I am sorry again for rushing you that night."

"Oh shut up Dietrich." He laughed again, grimacing through the pain. "I told you already, I am fine and I wanted it too."

"And hearing that still brings me so much happiness." I grinned right back at him. "Come, my love, I will give you some of my blood to hold you over for now."

"Ugh, that sounds so strange to hear." He laughed it off though so I knew he was not completely repulsed by the idea, just weirded out by it.

Shawn didn't know how to force himself to shift into his vampire form yet so I aided him by biting into my wrist again, getting the blood to flow freely for him. He sniffed at my wrist for a moment and actually smiled.

"You must have drank a lot in the past." He laughed. "You smell so much like cognac that I can smell it in your blood too." He was still laughing when he wrapped his right hand around my left, cradling it gently. His left hand grabbed my arm just above the elbow, gently but firmly.

Now that he was in position he ran his tongue along the line of the blood, curiously, like he was testing it. He seemed to brighten almost instantly in joy and surprise.

"It tastes good." He smiled at me. "And I can taste your scent."

"Yes, you will taste exactly what it is that appeals to you most about my scent."

"Does that make me the alcoholic then?" He laughed as he lapped at it again. "I almost feel like I am drinking it straight from the bottle but without the burn or the intoxicated feeling."

"You are so adorable, my love." I grinned at him as he wrapped his lips around my wrist, around the bite mark.

Having had a higher status than most, and never turning anyone before Shawn, I had never had anyone drink my blood since my change. The initial biting back then was beyond my memory so I don't know how it felt for me then, but it couldn't be anything like this.

Every draw of his mouth on my wrist was like a shot of arousal straight to my groin. It was better than any aphrodisiac I had ever heard of. It was perfect, and wonderful, and made me want to explore more of it with my mate when he was healed more.

Shawn drank from me for a little more than a minute, just enough to get him what he needed. When he'd had his fill he released my wrist and dropped his head back to the pillow.

"Haa haa." He was panting heavily like he had just had some intense physical activity. "That….was…..amazing." He was grinning now, unable to hide what he was truly feeling. "And now the hunger and thirst are gone."

"You did wonderful, my love. You stopped on your own without going too far."

"Well yeah, I was full." He looked at me with confusion.

"That's kind of what I mean." I laughed at him. "Many newborn vampires don't know when they're full. They're like newborn babies, unable to tell what it is they're feeling. You stopped yourself and didn't go into a blood frenzy. I think that has to do with you being a hybrid, or because of your sweet, gentle nature."

"I would never want to hurt you Dietrich, so I am glad that I didn't go into a frenzy."

"Don't worry, my love, I am here for you. I will help you learn all about what you are." I leaned forward and kissed him gently on the lips, a trace of my blood had still been there for me to taste.

Shawn yawned then, seemingly unable to stay awake much longer.

"Come now, Kuchen, let us get some sleep." I crawled into the bed, still wearing my clothes, and cuddling in close to him. "We both need some sleep, we will learn more in the morning."

"MMhmm." Shawn didn't say anything, he just scooted a little closer to me and nuzzled my head with his as we settled in to sleep.

I held him close to me all night, making sure that he would not disappear on me. I couldn't help but realize how much it resembled that night when I had been hurt and Shawn felt the need to hold me. I liked that we both showed our care and concern in the same ways.