Joseline couldn't believe her eyes. The thing in front of her was a monster, but it was protecting her from the scorpion. Her teeth were chattering as she watched the scene unfold from underneath the big, burly hunk's arm.

"What did you say your name was?" she asked him.

"I'm Tucker." He was trying to step in front of her again, but she was having none of it.

"I've already seen whatever that was already. You can't hide it from me."

He frowned. "Damn. Would you believe this is a dream?"

"No chance."

He pulled her close. "Fine. But be ready to run at any moment."

"What is that thing?"

It was big and brown. It had some dark brown spots on its coat and long fur around its mouth. It sort of looked like a big cat, but it had giant fangs coming out of its mouth. She'd never heard of or seen anything like it.

"I don't think you guys have the same word for it, but I'm pretty sure you call it a saber-toothed tiger."

"Like from the Ice Age?" Joseline racked her brain, trying to remember anything about the creature, but she came up blank. Whatever this was, she was thankful it had come along. She would be dead without it. She was pulled up close to the big man who had pulled her free, but it was the saber-tooth that was doing the real work.

"I'm Joseline. You're a shifter too, right?"

"Yeah. How could you tell?" He flashed her a bright smile in the dark.

A rumble of thunder made her shiver before she answered. "You're big and very handsome. Also, you're hanging out with an extinct animal, and you're not scared of a giant scorpion thing. If you're not a shifter, you're crazy."

"So you think I'm handsome?" He winked at her. "What were you doing out here?"

"I was coming to visit a friend," she lied. He was kind of a friend, but she didn't want to reveal too much to Tucker. Not all shifters loved that humans came into their towns for hookups—but from the way he was winking and flirting in this situation, she had a feeling he wouldn't mind. He was flirting while their lives were in danger, for goodness' sake.

He was handsome and tall, with brown hair and deep blue eyes. Even with the chaos happening around them, she couldn't help but notice his perfect smile. She knew that if that scorpion got close or hit them, his strong arms would be enough to cushion her from the blow.

With all of that, it was the tiger thing that dulled her nerves. She could sense that it was more than powerful enough to take out the scorpion. That was what was going to protect her.

"We need to get farther away." Tucker looked at the sky and pulled her back a few more feet.

"Don't you think your friend can handle it?"

"He's a little out of shape," Tucker mused. "Better safe than sorry. He's putting himself in danger to protect us. I'm not going to make it harder on him than it needs to be."

"Don't you shift?" She wasn't nervous, exactly, but he was making her feel worried.

"I can, but I'm tired. That thing already took a crack at me, and I'm not ready for round two."

"So, you got your ass kicked?" She stepped back and looked at the trees around them. They probably weren't even enough to slow this thing down. It was snapping at the saber-tooth, but if it knocked the tiger out, it would come after her again. "Why is this happening? I thought shifters didn't attack humans."

"I don't think the scorpion was after you, exactly. I think you happened to get in its way."

"Why doesn't it leave, then? If we stop attacking it, maybe it will go away on its own."

"Shh." He was studying the sky intently.

Joseline pulled her coat tighter around her. "What? Do you hear something else?"

She was ready to run. She was tired too, but if her life depended on it, she knew she could keep running. She wished this was done already. If the scorpion thing was going to get her, it was going to. This whole night had gotten out of hand. She wasn't feeling much of anything, but it was all so surreal.

"Come on." He pulled her behind the closest tree and crouched down, pushing her behind him.

"What is it?" She studied the sky and strained her ears for any out-of-place sound. "Do you hear something? Are there more shifters coming for us?"

"Coming to help us." Tuck pointed up. "My buddies are here."

She followed his gaze, but she didn't see anything at first. The sky was all black and full of endless clouds. But as she watched the clouds, shapes emerged. Big shapes with wings.

Shaking, she pushed closer into Tucker's side. The giant saber-toothed tiger was still keeping the scorpion in place, but now it was widening the area, giving the giant creature more and more space. The scorpion wasn't charging forward; it was hanging back and pinching at the air. Joseline wondered if it sensed whatever was coming.

The shapes from the clouds were getting clearer. Dragons. Two dragons. One was red, and the other a dark gold. They were massive. She wanted to bolt, but Tucker kept his arm tight around her. Suddenly, everything went white. She was glad Tucker had his arm around her. She was temporarily blinded.

"These are friends."

"Wasn't the scorpion your friend too?"

Her teeth were chattering. Dragons? Those things weren't even supposed to be real. It was a rumor she'd never put much stock in. But now she could see with her own eyes that they were very real. What if they went crazy too? The scorpion had almost ended her. These things could take her out with only one flick of their giant tails.

The red one landed with a heavy thud between the saber-toothed tiger and the scorpion. The gold one landed behind the saber-toothed tiger. Joseline was surprised that the saber-tooth was almost at eye level with the dragons. She'd known it was big, but this only underscored it.

"Why is the tiger thing so big?"

"Rhett? He's old-school. He isn't a panther. Saber-tooth tiger."

That was why he didn't shift much. She'd never seen a dragon before, either. The three were now working in concert. They were surrounding the scorpion. "You said this guy is your friend? They aren't going to hurt him, are they?"

"Not if they don't have to," Tucker said grimly.

It was still a human under there. If she was having the worst day ever, she hoped her friends wouldn't show up and kill her. And she for sure didn't want to see them kill the scorpion. Would it turn back to a human after it was dead? Running the scenarios made her shiver with fear.

The gold dragon had maneuvered his way behind the scorpion, and the saber-toothed tiger was now to the far right with the red dragon to his left. The scorpion was turning in circles and snapping its claws and tail at all three. It was spinning faster and faster but wasn't doing any damage.

The red dragon reared up on its hind legs and roared. The ground under Joseline's feet shook, and her hand flew to her mouth. "My God!"

Tucker squeezed her. "Don't worry. They won't hurt him."

She wanted to close her eyes, but she couldn't turn away. The scorpion faced the red dragon and lunged, but it was no use. The red dragon descended on the scorpion like a cloud of poison. Its movement was fluid and confident. It was terrifying.

The saber-tooth tiger roared and dove for one for the legs. The scorpion snapped a claw out, but the red dragon pounced on it.

There wasn't much more for it to do. It couldn't move without hurting itself. Joseline could barely watch as the creature struggled and kept crying out in pain.

"When will it be over?" she whispered.

"He'll tire himself out soon. It won't be able to go on much longer," Tucker promised.

The scorpion tried to beat the red dragon with its free claw, but it was no use. Its skin looked leathery and very tough. Not as hard as the scorpion shell, but it was enough to keep it protected from the pinching. The scorpion was moving much slower now. It made a final cry of pain, and then it was gone.

"What?" Joseline moved away from Tucker. "Where did it go?"

Tucker let out a shaky breath. "He shifted back. Come on. We're safe now."

On wobbly legs, Joseline followed him to the circle of shifters. Sure enough, in the middle of the three was a naked, unconscious man. He was much smaller than she had expected. He had messy brown hair and creamy white skin. He looked so vulnerable in the middle of all the giant shifters.

Tuck took off his shirt and covered the man. "Murry?"

The man didn't move. Joseline crouched next to the two of them. "Is he still alive?"

Tucker nodded. "But he's out cold. We're going to need an ambulance."

The other three finally shifted back to human. All were men, and they too were naked. Joseline was suddenly aware that she was surrounded by four very naked and very attractive men.

The red dragon changed into a gorgeous blond man. He and the gold dragon both looked young, younger even than Tucker. She would say that Tucker looked like he was in his late twenties or early thirties. These two looked like they were barely out of college. Even though she was only twenty-eight, they looked like kids to her. Still, they had model good looks. They were striking, with their strong jawlines and perfectly muscled bodies.

But it was the saber-toothed tiger that took her breath away. It was her Rhett from the Speed Mating app, and he was even better-looking in person. Impossibly tall, with a gorgeous face and intense eyes. She swore he was looking into her very soul.

"Hi." She smiled at him. He had to recognize her.

"We can't call an ambulance." He tore his eyes from her and spoke to Tucker over her head.

"Agreed," the red dragon said.

"He needs help," she said.

All four men looked at her. She tightened the belt on her coat, remembering that she was only wearing black lingerie underneath it. She'd been going to a booty call, for crying out loud. She hadn't known she was going to be drawn into a shifter conflict, but she wasn't going to be intimidated. This man needed help, and she wasn't going to let them talk her out of it.

The red and gold dragons looked at each other. The gold one nodded, and then the red dragon stepped in front of her. "What did you say your name was?"

"I'm Joseline Herza. And who are you?" She raised her chin and met his gaze. She'd been up against much tougher men in her job. If she could convince a hoarder that they needed to get rid of a decade-old newspaper, she could convince these guys to help their friend.

The red dragon looked at her without speaking, and there was a familiar tingle behind her eyes. She blinked three times until it disappeared, and then laughed. "Are you trying to use magic on me?"

The dragon's eyebrows shot up, and he looked at his friend. "I think we're going to have a problem."