Title: The Prince and His Bedeviled Bodyguard
Series Title: Paranormal Princes #1
Author: Charlie Cochet
Genre: Paranormal Shifters
Word Count: 31, 417
Release Date: September 19th, 2019
Blurb
Prince Owin
Being a fierce predator—not at all adorable, despite my graceful stature—the last thing I needed was a bodyguard. Especially a wolf shifter, whose presence alone was an insult to my princely principles. As Prince of the Ocelot Shifters, I prided myself on my infallible feline instincts, uncompromisable dignity, and flawless fashion sense. If having a canine follow me around at all times wasn’t bad enough, I now faced the most important moment of my entire life. The time had come to prove I was worthy of my crown. If only I could find a way to get rid of the pesky bodyguard.
Grimmwolf
When the King of All Shifters asked me to guard Prince Owin, I admit I had no idea what to expect. Cat shifters tend to be a little intense, not to mention kinda cranky. Owin was no exception, though he seemed crankier than most. Being his bodyguard was proving to be one of the greatest challenges of my life—but not nearly as great as convincing him there was something special between us. When Owin is faced with a perilous quest to prove his worth, I was determined to keep him safe, even if the same couldn’t be said of my heart.
“I can’t believe you chose that to wear to see the king,” I hissed, waving my arms at his general person. “Humans invented fashion for a reason. Look at me.” I stood tall and motioned to my tailored blue suit and cute little bow tie, which I could totally pull off because I was fabulous. “Now look at you.”
Grimm shrugged. “This is my uniform. It’s what I always wear. Everything in my wardrobe is exactly the same.”
“Exactly!”
“That makes no sense. You make no sense.”
I poked him in the chest. “I don’t have to make sense. I’m the prince.”
“You’re something all right,” Grimm muttered.
“What did you say?” I narrowed my eyes at him, sizing him up once again in case by some miracle the guy had shrunk. Over the last six months that I’d been stuck with him, I’m not proud to admit I’d been tempted to smack him on more than one occasion, but that would have required having a chair brought to me, and that sort of indignity was beneath me. I could have shifted and bitten him, but again, not how the Prince of the Ocelot Shifters should comport himself. Or so I’d been told by my advisor. Several times. Whatever. I was the prince! If I couldn’t randomly bite someone who annoyed me, what good was my title? I was a cat, for crying out loud. Might as well tell the birds they shouldn’t chirp or fly.
Grimm pointed to the large painting on the wall beside us. “Isn’t that an interesting piece of art?”
“Don’t try to distract me, you—” I made the mistake of glancing to where he pointed. “Oh, it is, isn’t it? Look, there’s a little rabbit in its burrow!” I loved rabbits. Granted, I mostly enjoyed eating them, but they were fluffy and cute when they weren’t being eaten. They were an ocelot favorite, but then so were most small creatures that we could hunt and catch. Not that I couldn’t catch something bigger than myself if I wanted, but that’s what the royal hunters were for. As if I’d get my fur dirty.
“You’re right,” Grimm replied, sounding amused.
“Of course I am. I’m—”
“The prince,” he said with a smile. “Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten.”
“I loathe you.”
“And I think you’re adorable.”
I hissed at him. Adorable? I was a predator! I was fierce! Fierce, I say! Stature wasn’t everything you know. Grimm was clearly compensating for something with his size and height.
“You’re only strengthening my case, really.”
“And you look like you’re about to go to war.”
He seemed to consider this. “As I’ve been assigned by the king to guard you, that’s a fair observation. And a fact.”
I chose to ignore that. “What’s with the gray camouflage?” Honestly, of all the clothing options available to us. The wolf had no sense of style whatsoever. My image had suffered greatly since his arrival. At least I thought so.
Grimm pointed to his face—“It matches my eyes.”—then his head. “And my hair.”
“I’m sorry, are you telling me you wear an all gray military uniform because it matches your eyes and your hair?” He couldn’t be serious, could he? Then again, he was a canine, and they were… easily distracted. Perhaps I should have done some research on wolves when he’d been assigned to me?
“I’m a gray wolf. See what I did there? Actually, I just like gray. But hey”—he pointed to his chest—“this part’s black.” He wiggled his fingers, drawing my attention to the black fingerless gloves. “See? Also black.”
“And what’s with all the pockets?” I motioned to his pants. “Who needs that many pockets?” No response. Ugh, whatever. “You’re a bodyguard. Shouldn’t you be wearing a suit or something?”
“That’s a little cliché, don’t you think?”
I rolled my eyes and started pacing again. This day was nerve-racking as it was, without adding him into the mix. “I don’t understand why King Alarick would assign you to me. I really don’t.”
“Probably because you ran off every other bodyguard you ever had, and anyone who hasn’t been your bodyguard refuses to be in the same realm as you?”
I rolled my eyes. “Such drama queens.”
“Or,” Grimm said, holding up a finger. “Hear me out now. Or, maybe you being a complete and utter jerk is the reason they wouldn’t piss on you if you were on fire. No offense.”
My jaw nearly hit the pristine red carpet. “What?”
“I said—”
“I heard what you said! That’s the problem. Aren’t bodyguards supposed to be silent? Shouldn’t you be standing stoically, brooding while you practice your menacing scowl?”
“Do I look like a cat to you? I’m a wolf. We don’t brood.” He paused in thought. “Okay, maybe some of us do, but generally we’re quite cheerful by nature. Unless you try to take our food. That would be bad. I enjoy conversing, smiling, and wagging my tail. Did you know a lot of humans don’t realize wolves can wag their tails?”
I stared at him. “Oh my Goddess, my bodyguard is an idiot.”
“That’s harsh.”
“Why are you smiling?” Who was this guy? All he did was follow me around and smile for no apparent reason.
“Why not?”
I was going to explode into sparkly prince confetti at any moment, I just knew it. He was going to make me burst.
Charlie Cochet is the international bestselling author of the THIRDS series. Born in Cuba and raised in the US, Charlie enjoys the best of both worlds, from her daily Cuban latte to her passion for classic rock.
Currently residing in Central Florida, Charlie is at the beck and call of a rascally Doxiepoo bent on world domination. When she isn’t writing, she can usually be found devouring a book, releasing her creativity through art, or binge watching a new TV series. She runs on coffee, thrives on music, and loves to hear from readers.
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This is so cute. I just love the banter between the two main characters Yes ,I’ll definitely have to read this. Thank you so much. =)
Read yesterday – really enjoyed it. Loved the chemistry between the MCs. And liked the lead up into the next book 😊