Rukem by Lucian Bane

In the world of the Creole Kings, Rukem, a reluctant visionary, is assigned to find a commoner female for an unprecedented challenge – understanding love and romance.

Rukem must roll the Bayou Bishops’ Fate Dice and ends up with Shank, his designated Marsh Mutt to help navigate the messy details. Once he chooses his female from the non-gifted sector of humanity, the race is on for Rukem to prove the entire fiasco is doomed to fail.
Surprisingly, Rukem forms an odd alliance with the pretty commoner and they both set out to prove that experiencing love isn’t required to understand and teach it. But the intimacy enigma is about to teach them that some fires aren’t to be toyed with.
While they both dodge the bewildering intricacies of this assignment, an ancient prophecy arrives in the King’s midst and the only salvation in sight points directly to their odd bayou family.