James "Barney" Barnwell is losing his all-powerful mind. Between the threat to the white werewolves and the mystery he's been ordered to solve, he can only go ten minutes without thinking about Heather, the woman destined to be his mate. No matter how much he yearned to have the redhead under him, the safest place for her... was far from him. If the bad guys even caught a hint of her scent on his skin, she would become a target. The way Heather sees it, the faster she helps the stubborn bear solve the riddle, the faster he will bite her...literally. But when she's shot while protecting her cousin from an attack, she finds herself where Barney never wanted her: right in the middle of an investigation. Whether he likes it or not, Barney is forced to completely immerse her in his crazy world. With his mate's life in his hands, he is in a race against time to solve a maddening mystery before the enemy discovers that the Hunter has finally been caught by love.