In the small town of Bear Creek, bear shifter, Stellan guards an old wound. As a direct descendant of the town's founders and member of the Bear Creek Guardians, he is sworn to protect its secret shifter inhabitants. But now history threatens to repeat itself as shifters fall mysteriously ill—the same sickness that took Stellan's father from him years ago. As a doctor at Bear Bluff Hospital, Stellan carries the burden of responsibility to help others avoid the pain he and his mother experienced. Mia arrives in Bear Creek with secrets of her own. A gifted herbalist, Mia has all but given up on finding love, but she is inexplicably drawn to Stellan's caring nature, though her past has left her slow to trust. When Stellan reveals the truth about Bear Creek's shifters and asks for Mia's help, she agrees to use her skills to find a cure Working together in close quarters, Mia and Stellan's attraction ignites. But with time running out and shifters' lives at stake, love seems a luxury they can't afford. To save the town and secure their future, Mia and Stellan must stop the sickness, heal old wounds, and overcome their differences. The fate of the town hangs in the balance, and so too the second chance both Stellan and Mia have been hoping for. Descended from the first Bear Creek Guardians, Stellan is one of six protectors, each with a story to be told. He has guarded his heart for too long, but in coming together to safeguard their town, this shifter doctor and gifted healer may just find that love is the most potent cure of all.