My Protector (Bewitched and Bewildered Book 2) by Alanea Alder

handsome man behind him is his mate Justice O'Malley. They own The Jitterbug."
    Elizabeth couldn't help but smile at Sydney's enthusiastic greeting. "Thank you. Gavriel is everything I've ever wanted in a mate." She winked at him and he threw his head back and laughed.
    "He's what a lot of women wanted, if you know what I mean. Now. What can I get you two lovely ladies?" He wiped his hands on a red tea towel and looked at them expectantly.
    "I need coffee. Like I really need some coffee." Meryn yawned wide.
    "Poor thing. Definitely a double strength Bittersweet Mocha for you. What about you Elizabeth?" Sydney asked, reaching for a large cup to get started on Meryn's drink.
    "Make it two."
    Sydney grinned. "You got it. So while I get these drinks started, tell me all about your yummy mate. Ow!" Sydney rubbed his bottom and scowled at Justice. Justice kept walking towards the supply room.
    "I'm mated, not dead!" Sydney yelled. Justice turned and gave his mate a dark, heated look before walking through the double doors.
    Sydney turned to them with a shit-eating grin. "I love it when he gets possessive. But seriously, what is Gavriel like? He's always so stoic. All of the unit warriors defer to him without question; he just has this commanding air about him."
    "He's gentle, that surprised me, but it's true. Every time he opens his mouth I lose a piece of my heart," she sighed and smiled thinking about her mate.
    "Look at that face, she's already a goner. But seriously what can you expect when it's Fate herself bringing the warriors their mates?" Sydney poured a delicious looking chocolatey substance in each cup and stirred in a generous serving of steamed milk. When he was finished he placed each cup in front of them with a small plate of shortbread cookies.
    Meryn took a sip and sighed. "Perfect as usual."  
    Elizabeth lifted the cup and took a small sip. The bitter chocolate was perfectly balanced by the espresso and milk. "Pure heaven." She wrapped her fingers around the cup letting the warmth seep into her cold fingers.
    "So what have you been up to?" Sydney asked Meryn, settling in on a stool behind the counter.
    "Just helping Adair with the trainee program, I got an email this morning that the council is willing to try it out and will give a final decision after a few months. I've also created the online feedback forum that the council wanted and the community message board."
    Sydney smiled. "I saw that the kids have taken over the message board. They have been posting our version of urban legends on there for the past two weeks. I hadn't heard some of those stories in decades."
    Elizabeth set her cup down. "Did they have the story about the Dark Prince? That one was always my favorite growing up."
    Sydney nodded. "And the one about the shifter who couldn't make up his mind whether to be a human or animal."
    Meryn looked from Elizabeth to Sydney and back. "I haven't read the one about the Dark Prince, who is he?"
    Sydney leaned forward. "He is practically a God amongst vampires. One of their most famous legends of him is how he single handedly stopped the Great War five thousand years ago. After going berserk and decimating a large portion of the shifter's ranks he came upon an enemy who was dying, a shifter commander. Supposedly the shifter expressed a single regret, that he hadn't made it home to meet his newborn son before joining his mate who had died giving birth. His story struck a chord deep in the Dark Prince's heart. He carried the shifter to the vampire medical tent and made his people treat the enemy so that he could live to see his son. That single act of compassion triggered other acts of kindness on both sides of the fighting by those who longed for peace, until a cease-fire was called."
    Meryn leaned forward eyes bright. "I know this story! After the cease-fire the shifter commander disobeyed orders and abandoned his post. He walked on foot back to Lycaonia to meet his son."
    Elizabeth and Sydney both