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  She breathed gently on the embers until they flickered into flames.

  Drioth added slivers of wood and small twigs.

  There were teeth marks on a lot of the wood, but she wasn't up to guessing what kind of shape could fell a tree and crack the branches and logs in that manner.

  She nodded to Drioth when he took over on the fire and then she sat back against the wall. "It's my talent. Thanks to the forced enhancement the raiders provided, I can find whatever I need whenever I need it."

  Hexar tilted his head, his dark hair sliding along his neck and brushing against his bare shoulder.

  She bit her lip as her gaze quickly broke him down into the sum of his very attractive parts.

  "Are you the first in your family?"

  She shook her head. "My grandmother told me her grandmother had the same talent that we shared. It skips a generation."

  "What did your grandmother do?" Hexar settled near her.

  "She raised her family and used her talent to untangle yarns and threads when she did needlework. She said the only truly enjoyable bonus to her talent was when it showed her my grandfather."

  "What do you mean?"

  She could feel his body heat from where she sat. Her own flesh was cold and clammy, but since they didn't have any food to offer her, she couldn't ask them to risk hunting for her benefit.

  Her stomach rumbled again and Hexar looked down at it.

  She talked over the noise. "She claims that when she first saw my grandfather, a gold glow surrounded him. That glow followed him through their entire life together. She had to chase him down a few times until he realized that she was the one for him. Forward women were not common in his time. She eventually landed him though."

  Nene was talking way too fast, her words were tripping over each other as her vision blurred. She slumped to the side.

  She heard Hexar calling to her, but she was busy falling into darkness.

  With her body relaxed after a day of tension and no food, it did what it needed to do--it shut down for a rest.

  A sharp, tart scent woke her.

  "Welcome back, Nenita. We have obtained some fruit for you. You have to wake up to eat it though." Drioth was smiling at her, his eyes bright and the glow around him brighter.

  She was sitting in Hexar's embrace, Drioth had a peeled segment of fruit in his hand, the enticing scent was coming from his fingers.

  "Open."

  She opened her mouth and he popped the fruit in. It exploded in a burst of flavour. The liquid spread through her parched tissues and trickled down her throat. It was better than sex. The low moan that broke from her throat caused her companions to share a look.

  "Sorry. I was just really thirsty. I don't know how you guys can go so long without eating or drinking." She sighed and opened her mouth for another slice.

  "They fed and watered us this morning. I am guessing you did not get the same treatment." Hexar's tone felt as well as sounded soothing.

  "No. Haven't eaten for a few days, Nishino likes to show me who is boss by making my food random. That or he is just a dick." She chuckled at her tiny show of spirit.

  "Why does he torture you?" Drioth fed her another piece.

  "He wanted me to fall for him so that I would come along quietly, possibly besotted by love. I didn't, he killed one of my friends and shot another on the way out and I almost killed him when he managed to get me here, wherever here is. He wants my genes, nothing else."

  Hexar asked, "Not to be indelicate, but why doesn't he simply get you pregnant via in-vitro or with force?"

  "Ah, because I promised him that I would kill myself before bringing a child of his to term. Heck, with my talent, I can probably keep the sperm from taking at all." She lifted a shaking hand to take the next piece of fruit, but Drioth dodged her and lifted another piece to her lips.

  "Really? Why does he want you so badly?" Hexar's words weren't flattering, but they were to the point.

  "I have no idea. It might be because a child of mine would have citizenship in the Alliance, I carry talented genes, or he just wants a Terran because we are a limited commodity."

  Hexar nodded and settled her head more firmly on his shoulder. "I can understand that. Were you married before he took you?"

  "No, the Alliance never made a match for me. They said I was a complicated case." She grimaced at the statement as it came out of her.

  "Ah. I know that that information can be distressing. It is the same reason that we were assigned to Mkara. There was no one for us back home."

  "Us? Oh. You two are…" Her Terran mind had no words for that situation.

  "Bond brothers. We share a mind and most of a soul. It is not unheard of among our people, but usually a third appears within the population. That was not our case." Hexar's voice was solemn and Drioth kept feeding her.

  "How do you tell when you have found your mate?" She tried to sound nonchalant, but Drioth smirked.

  "Our folks engage in the most basic of attachments for shifters. We go by scent."

  She blushed as she noticed that Drioth's nostrils were flaring and Hexar's chest was rising more than was usual under her head and shoulder.

  Chapter Six

  Grubby and full of fruit, Nenita made it through a full night without waking in a panic of someone coming into her cell. Hexar was spooning her and Drioth was guarding her front. Nothing was getting to her with two mountains of muscle on either side. Unfortunately, being guarded did not stop nature from calling, so she lifted Hexar's arm and got to her feet.

  On silent feet, she crept to the cave opening and shivered in the morning air. Dawn was just making her appearance on the horizon.

  Skimmers were appearing and disappearing in the woods. "Oh hells."

  She retreated into the cavern and came face to face with the Oefric. "They are looking for us in force."

  Drioth nodded. "We heard them and came to get you."

  "Can we go deeper into the cave?"

  "No, it doesn't go anywhere, but that one does." Hexar pointed to a small crack in the ground.

  "Oh balls. I can't see in the dark and the fit will be really tight for me."

  "If you can get in, we can lead you. It opens up after ten feet." Hexar gave her a quick hug. "If you want, we can make a run for it, but if you want to be safe, it's the cave."

  Nenita left his embrace and after a quick look at the skimmers gradually getting closer, she slipped feet first into the narrow crack in the earth.

  The feeling of falling lasted seconds until she struck the bottom of the cavern. It opened up and she could feel nothing on either side of her. A soft slithering repeated and her companions reformed with glowing skin. She didn't want to know what shape they had taken to get through the narrow opening, it had sounded very creepy.

  "Come along. They are almost here and their scanners can go fairly deep." Hexar grabbed one hand and Drioth the other as they started to move.

  The glow from their naked torsos was enough for her to see by, but she still stumbled in the darkness on the rough floor of the cavern. They caught her every time her footing was unsure.

  With every passing step, the air grew cooler. Her urge to pee was also becoming un-ignorable. "I need to stop."

  "We need to get to the next opening in the rock. Why do you need to stop?" Drioth's voice was impatient.

  "For the same reason I had to get up and sneak out of the cave this morning. I can't just pee against a tree." Her frustration made her testy.

  She could hear his amusement when Hexar led her to a small outcropping of wall and explained that she could attend to nature there and then follow the glow down the hall. Or she could call and they would come and get her.

  Nenita attended to the essentials and straightened her ragged wrap with a sigh. Now, she needed a pool or a bath and she would almost feel human again. She took one step away from the outcropping and then another. Her eyes looked blindly around her and saw nothing, so she took another step. A sigh of relief swelled i
n her and she returned to her ideal men. There was no arguing with the talent, it knew her perfect matches when it saw them.

  "What are the chances of finding a place to bathe? With your accurate sense of smell, I am quite sure you know I need one." She stood between the glowing monoliths and looked into their faces expectantly.

  Drioth laughed and took her hand again. "Just a stronger scent to enjoy, love. Come along, there is clean water this way."

  Hexar was chuckling as he brought up the rear.

  A phosphorescent blue that allowed her to see a waterfall and a pool in the midst of a cavern soon eclipsed the glow from the men.

  "As you wished, love. Into the water with you." Drioth smiled and waved her on.

  "Is there any wildlife I should know about?" She was almost to the pool by the time she thought of it.

  "We will be right beside you, don't worry about that," Hexar whispered in her ear as she paused on the edge.

  It was all the confirmation she needed as she stripped off her wrap and jumped into the icy water. Holding her breath, she explored the bottom of the pool, coming up with handfuls of sand. She started to scrub with a vengeance. Her hair and skin got a working over that left her body humming and tingling. She reached out of the pool and grabbed her wrap, sluicing it up and down, getting as many of the stains out as she could.

  Her companions were swimming and watching the depths carefully. At one point, Nenita could have sworn that she saw a tail on one of them. Her very own mermen had a nice ring.

  They were her ideal matches. She knew it. What they thought of her was another matter entirely.

  She finished with her wrap and rang it out, draping it on the rocky floor of the cavern. Tugging her hair over her breasts, Nenita climbed out of the pool and drip-dried on the edge. She watched Hexar and Drioth frolic in the water until they finished.

  With powerful surges that started her heart pounding in her chest, they left the water and joined her on the side. Their boots and leathers were on one side of the pool and they were as naked as she was.

  It was very hard to keep her eyes on the water as they sat to either side like bookends. "Thank you for the break. I needed that."

  Hexar leaned over and nuzzled her neck. "Nope, it didn't wash off. You are the one."

  Drioth worked at her other side. "You are correct. This is the scent we have been looking for for ten years."

  Nenita shivered as their soft caresses caused her nipples to tighten and a soft pulse started between her thighs. "Are you sure about this?"

  "We are." Their voices bracketed her as their hands started a slow pattern of caresses that made her arch to get full contact. She closed her eyes and felt the difference in their touches. Hexar's caresses were lighter, teasing her as he skimmed along her thighs, breast and belly, while Drioth used a slower stroke that left heat in its wake.

  Her sighs echoed off the roof of the cavern and ran through her companions. She felt the fine tremor in their hands and opened her eyes to look into their faces.

  Drioth leaned down and kissed her while Hexar cupped her breasts from behind.

  With the burning blue-green eyes looking into hers, she leaned up and tangled her tongue with his. He tasted of the cool water and something that was distinctly him alone.

  Her hands explored his textures and the heat from his flesh. How he could be so warm when the pool and the stone cooled her was a mystery, but it was one she was willing to investigate.

  Hexar continued his slow exploration at her back while Drioth lifted her to straddle his hips where he knelt at the poolside.

  She didn't even have a chance to investigate the cock that was prodding at her, but when he speared through the slick folds of her sex, she blinked in surprise.

  He slid in to the hilt.

  She leaned back to look him in the eye, but the feral grin on his features gave her pause.

  "Don't over think it, just feel." Hexar's voice in her ear focussed her on what was happening inside her.

  What had seemed no thicker than a finger began to expand within her until it filled her perfectly.

  Drioth's grin expanded as he cupped her buttocks and began to lift and drop her on the pillar of his erection.

  Hexar remained at her back, cupping her breasts, stroking her nipples and caressing her belly as she rode Drioth.

  Her moans and cries came fast and furious as Drioth's grip tightened and he slammed into her with determined force. She screamed as her orgasm came over her, sweeping her mind blank and sending her body into shuddering convulsions.

  Nenita opened her eyes to Drioth's slow smile and Hexar's hands waking her body all over again.

  A sharp tingling deep within began the moment that she was flipped from back to front and Hexar slid into her with the same ease as Drioth. There were definite advantages to sex with a shifter. She bit her lip the moment he started to widen within her, just as Drioth had.

  She wasn't sure she wanted to run through that mind-blowing pleasure again so soon, but if he was willing, so was she.

  Drioth nibbled his way down her spine and back again, his hands caressing the warming flesh with strict attention to finding every inch of sensitive skin.

  Nenita gasped as Hexar swelled to a very filling proportion. He didn't lift and drop her, he simply began to twist and writhe inside her.

  The friction against her front wall struck her g-spot, causing a sharp jerk. Hexar narrowed his eyes and repeated the motion until she was twitching with every inward slide.

  Nenita reached out and dug her nails into Hexar's shoulders for balance as her body jerked and the inner tension became unbearable. She was sure that her eyes were crossing as her body tried to find release.

  Hexar chuckled, sweat dripping from his brow as he took pity on her mewling cries and he drew his thumb across her clit. Her nails dug into his shoulders as her body locked in place to allow burning pleasure to rip through every nerve. She didn't scream, merely offered a choked cry as pulse after pulse of release ran through her consciousness.

  She heard his own groan as he jetted inside her, his hands clenched on her waist to hold her on him.

  Drioth nipped her shoulder and her channel clasped Hexar once again, causing another groan to emanate from him.

  She waited until Hexar relaxed his grip on her before she spoke. "I think another bath is in order."

  Drioth laughed. He lifted her free of Hexar and stood, taking a few steps before he pitched her into the pool, jumping in after her.

  Nenita only had time during her arc to screech in shock before the icy water closed over her again. She swore to herself that she would deliver endless nagging to Drioth for that little exhibition, but she didn't have time to come up with a good plot. A merman with Drioth's eyes lifted her from the depths of the pool and carried her to the surface with a kiss that warmed her from the inside out.

  When they broke the surface, he swam with her wrapped in his arms, his chest supporting her while his tail slipped between her thighs.

  "So, what is your opinion of the Oefric?"

  She laughed at Hexar who was in the merman form beside her.

  She pondered an answer that wouldn't make her sound like a tramp. "I am thinking that your species has some advantages over most others I have met."

  "Very politic. Shall we continue this discussion out of the water?"

  She chuckled and nodded. "Parts of me are getting pruney."

  Chapter Seven

  Dried, dressed and back in the dark, Nenita hung onto each of the Oefric in turn. She had learned more about multi-shifters in the last three hours than she had ever imagined.

  She would have enjoyed it a little more if she didn't have a splitting headache.

  "Do either of you feel a scrabbling at your mind?"

  They looked at each other and shook their heads. Drioth was frowning, his skin glowing in the darkness.

  "I need to get closer to the surface. This thought needs to get closer. Can we go closer to the surface?" Sh
e rubbed at her forehead.

  Hexar lifted her chin on his knuckles. "If you are sure that there is no danger, yes."

  "I am not sure of anything, except my brain exploding if this continues."

  "Good enough. There is an air passage this way. If you simply need to get closer to the surface, that will do it." Hexar turned toward the air passage. "Get on my back and ignore the shift."

  She sighed and jumped on his back wrapping her legs around his hips.

  Drioth shifted into a snake form from the waist down and with the scales between her inner thighs, Hexar had done the same.

  They slithered rapidly through the open channel and Nene had to admit that they were quite quick, if disconcerting.

  The tingling in her mind increased until she got a few words in the scrambled thoughts.

  Nenita Chase…rescue…Seeker…triangulation.

  With a grin on her lips, she announced, "The Alliance is here. They are looking for me."

  Drioth asked, "How do you know?"

  "They sent a Seeker attuned to my frequency. We just need to get close to the surface and they will come to find us."

  "Are you sure it's a Seeker?"

  "Well, since I can hear it and you can't, it is set for Terran frequency. It knows my name and is merely honing in on my signal for triangulation of my location."

  They looked at each other in surprise. "Why would the Alliance come for you?"

  She felt her lips tighten. "Because lives were lost when they took me from active duty on the station. That makes me worth recovering."

  They sobered immediately. "How close do we need to get?"

  "I have no idea. I am thinking they can--" She didn't finish. A blast turned the wall of rock in front of them into vapour.

  She coughed and when she finished, she completed her sentence. "Find me from the mental contact."

  Alliance uniforms were blessedly familiar as a ground crew came forward. "Nenita Chase?"

  She waved from her perch on Hexar. "That would be me. Hello."

  "We have been sent to retrieve you and all Alliance members as well as liberating all other confined beings on this planet." The male had Azon blood and captain's bars.