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agreed on this point.
    Cian wondered at how the female would deal with two hunters so different in character. Tirin's easy laugh and amazing strength made him as popular with the citizens of the subter as Cian was feared.
    While the blond hunter was greeted warmly and welcomed into quarters of both men and women, Cian was only called upon when illness struck or an injury was suffered in the subter community.
    Hunters with the healing psyche were rare among the populace, so a certain reverence accompanied the visits and requests for help. Day to day, however, only his friendship and partnership with Tirin allowed him complete freedom in the underground city. Cian was feared for his abilities and his fierce expression, usually grim and tight with the knowledge of what any thinking creature was capable of.
    * * * *
     
    In the pilot seat of the trawler, Tirin, Cian's lieutenant, shifted 28
     
    uncomfortably. The piloting of this rough craft above ground was always difficult for a warrior his size. And now the female hovered near him.
    He envied Cian his position, holding their mate, able to feel her softness and comfort her. He knew that with Cian's healing gift came the psychological depletion of his mental resources. Cian had seen many thoughts that would turn the stomach of a hardened warrior but had been cautious to report only those who would hurt children or women. On occasion, he had come across a warrior so mentally scarred from battle that he had relieved him of command. But those incidents had become rare. Most of the populace of the subter were abiding citizens that prayed for the success of the Colony and wanted to be left in peace.
    It was draining for the big hunter to heal the minds and the bodies of the people in the subtercity. In the last millennium the warriors and their descendants had craved quieter society and left the battles to be visited outside their Colony.
    Tirin's telepathic connection to Cian told him that his first in command examined the woman, mentally soothing her injuries and assuring her of safety while, in his own thoughts, he assessed her physically and desire raced through his brain.
    Tirin nearly groaned aloud as Cian's hands moved over Keer. He accelerated the trawler. His own need was rising his cock pressing hard against the skins he wore. They needed to lay claim to this woman, to drive inside her and pound her mercilessly so she would think of no other, warrior or human.
    His thoughts turned to the human she had called "Drak". He would come looking for her. She had been sure of it in the scattered words she gave them before the healing sleep took her.
    "Commander, who is this Drak, do you think?" He pushed the question to Cian through their mental link, addressing him formally to break the persistence of the sexual drive Cian thrummed into his thoughts via the woman. Cian could stroke the woman freely and
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    Tirin would have knowledge of the touch.
    The mate sharing ritual between hunters and all the principles attached to their agreement must be followed. His own frustration was Tirin's, as Cian's was his. They would share the need, burning them until their mate could accept them.
    "Someone she hunts with. A...colleague. She respects him. Finds him a worthy male." Tirin's hackles rose. "Stay those thoughts, Tirin."
    Cian felt the anger coursing through his lieutenant. "She does not want him. He protects her, helps her in her journey. We will treat him as brother."
    Tirin grunted and closed the mental channel between them. While Cian had the ability to force him to maintain the link, he did not do so in deference to Tirin's privacy. His commander had learned many moon turns ago that forcing a link on a warrior whose blood coursed hot did not hold merit. His lieutenant's loyalty was of greater value to him than any information or thought he might hold. Tirin would still feel the pressure he applied to the woman's skin without sharing his own feelings.
    Tirin leapt from the trawler as