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Dietrich

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I had only hoped to be able to control the light on a whim, I didn't think that it was possible. And as I looked around I saw that our little area was the only place with pure darkness. Beyond where we were I could see the light shining like normal.

So, what was actually going on here?

There we were, plunged into total darkness like there was an eclipse but it only affected maybe a quarter square mile radius, if that. And while we stood there, confused, a silver light was moving closer to us, weaving through the trees just beyond the clearing.

I had a sense of deja vu while that light was moving toward me. Like I knew what it was but couldn't place it. It wasn't until the slow moving light was right at the edge that I figured out what it was. No, who it was.

The Goddess Selene, the mother of all vampires. She had just stepped out of the trees and started walking toward where Shawn and I were standing.

"So nice of you to make the perfect setting for this meeting." Selene was grinning at me as she came to a stop about five feet from me. "I take it you are better rested than you were the last time we met."

"Who-." Shawn began but I interrupted him.

"Shawn, this is the Goddess Selene."

"It is good to see you, King Shawn."

"K-King?" Shawn stuttered when he heard that title for him.

"Well, you are mated to King Dietrich, that makes you a royal as well, does it not. Surely you would not like to be called Queen Shawn." Selene's voice held laughter.

"No, no definitely not." Shawn's face was red when he answered her. "But we are not married, how can I be the King?"

"Mated is enough for me." She smiled at him. "And, you are the first Hybrid vampire, therefore you are the King of the Hybrids."

"Oh." Shawn seemed to be in such a state of shock as Selene spoke to him.

"Selene, mother, to what do we owe this wonderful surprise?" I couldn't believe I was having another meeting with the Goddess so soon.

"I felt you were strong this time, and more able to accept my visit. And I wanted to meet my first Hybrid son." She was beaming at Shawn like a proud mother welcoming a child home from a long time away. "Shawn, you are the first of your kind, but I see a future that is filled with more half breeds."

"More?" I looked at her shocked. I was the only one who could make them.

"Yes, but I think you are worrying about something unnecessary." She grinned at me like she could read my mind. "I will have you share some of your new powers with your partner."

"What powers are those?" Now I was the one who was confused.

"Your mate, Shawn the Hybrid King, can make the Hybrids as well, same as you. He will be able to speak telepathically to your people, the same as you are. He will share in every natural talent that a vampire has when they are freshly turned. Now, for you my son." She was looking at me, a proud smile on her face.

Selene's beaming face and content looking eyes were intense to behold, all things considered, but it was also calming. Looking directly into her face gave me so many different emotions and feelings at the same time that I felt confused.

Dietrich, the gifts I am bestowing upon you are as follows. The ability to control the darkness, and to summon it. Much like you have done here. You will have a limited mind reading ability. I say limited because you will not get every thought that someone has, but you will know when someone around you has ill intentions toward you and yours. It also works a little like precognition I guess, you will know when something bad is coming. And you now have the ability to use illusions. The scale of which can vary depending on what you need. You can make minor changes to what people are seeing like color or size, but you can also make them think they are somewhere else entirely. And as long as they do not realize they are in an illusion they will be able to interact with it as if it were real. This is a gift I have worked with Thoth to bring you, so please use it well."

I couldn't believe my ears as I heard what she was saying. But she wasn't done. She just turned to look at Shawn and continued speaking.

"Shawn, my newest young one, you will be the first of my children who can do more with shadow warping, I believe my children call it shadow walking. You will be able to move anything or anyone through the shadows at will, using your telekinetic powers. You will also find that moving through the shadows in wolf form might give you an added benefit for it. I believe your senses are going to be even more heightened now. And I learned from Nehalennia that you have an animation type of power that comes with your telekinesis. For that purpose I have decided to bestow upon you a true animation ability. If you were to choose it, you could bring something to life for whatever time frame you chose to. It could be something as simple as making a child's toy dance merrily for their enjoyment or it could be a hand crafted tool to use as a minion, I am sure you will practice this ability at some point in time."

She was smiling at us again after she finished speaking to Shawn. Stepping forward she placed a hand on each of us, one on my right cheek, the other on Shawn's left cheek.

"My children, you are special, and I cannot wait to see how you both grow. There may be more gifts I give you in time, but for now this is what I leave you with."

With those final words it seemed as if Selene just disappeared into a cloud of glowing silver smoke. The smoke just seemed to blow away on the wind leaving Shawn and I standing there, still cloaked in the darkness.

"Well, that was unexpected." Shawn broke the silence first. "So, that was the Goddess."

"Yes, and I didn't expect she would come back so soon."

"Well, we seem to have a big future ahead of us." I heard something in his voice then, something that made my heart race a little more. Shawn will be there with me, for my entire future.

"As long as you are part of my future, my love, then I will take it all on happily."

"Shall we get back to work?" He was grinning now. "I want to see what she meant about my wolf moving through the shadows."

"Yes, let us continue our work." I leaned forward and kissed his cheek then.

Shawn disrobed then, no need to rip his clothes. I turned my back to give him privacy, but I couldn't help but look over my shoulder at him anyway. He was my love and I had seen him naked before anyway.

Once he was naked Shawn shifted into his wolf form. As soon as I saw him, covered in fur, I knew he was changed. His silver wolf was now tipped with an ice blue at the tip of every strand of the fur. It was a very intriguing look for him. And the other difference was the extra long set of teeth in the front. The longest teeth should have been his canine teeth, of course. But the teeth directly in front of those teeth were also elongated now as well. It was like he had a set of wolf fangs and a set of vampire fangs in this form. They were very subtle changes, but it was enough.

We practiced for nearly two hours then. The both of us moving around in the darkness. Selene had been right, Shawn was able to move so fluidly through the dark in his wolf form. He was also able to move me at will. He pushed and pulled me away from him with his power.

We might have been practicing, but we were having a lot of fun as well. I loved seeing my mate excelling and having so much fun. And watching him run around in his wolf form was so fulfilling, considering how close he was to death recently.

After a while he came bounding toward me, running with his wolf tongue hanging out and looking so happy. Before he reached me he shifted and crashed into me as a man instead of an animal.

This was the most forward that Shawn had ever been, but I was not about to complain.

Shawn literally tackled me to the ground, and I didn't try to stop him from taking me down either. Before I realized what was happening Shawn had placed his lips against mine. He so rarely initiated kisses of this type, the kind where I felt the need, the intensity as he pressed his mouth against mine.

My mind nearly went blank then, Shawn was exploring my mouth with his tongue. Lips,and teeth. He was giving me all of them as he latched onto me. I didn't know what had gotten into him.

"Dietrich." He whispered my name when he finally broke the kiss, though his lips were still touching mine.

"Liebling?" I whispered back at him.

"Marry me?" He didn't seem like he was asking just on spur of the moment, his voice was intent even though he still seemed playful. "Marry me Dietrich, be mine forever."

"Yes, Liebling. Yes, I will marry you." He pressed his lips against mine again, kissing me more deeply than he had just a moment ago.