Wrestling the other male beneath him, Asher pressed his forearm against Shane's throat, pinning him in place. "I won't kill you, but are you ready to surrender?"
Shane gurgled his reply, "Never."
Talons dug into Asher's back, and he roared. However, he only increased the pressure against Shane's neck. Not to kill him, but hopefully to knock him out.
Digging his claws in deeper, Shane's face began to shift into his dragon one.
Fuck, maybe the male was insane. Asher threaded every bit of dominance he possessed into his voice as he said, "Stop it, Shane. You'll collapse the tunnel and kill us all."
The idiot continued shifting, wings starting to sprout from his back.
With a curse, Asher wrenched Shane's talons from his back, jumped away, and headed for the rear door. Honoria stood in the entrance, horror on her face as Shane continued shifting.
She moved aside and Asher dove into the next room. "Shut the door. Now."
Honoria and Fraser moved to do so, just locking it as a loud crash came from the other side. Asher waited to see if the door would hold against the sudden weight of earth from the cave-in. And while it creaked a few times, it didn't break or bust open.
He tried to sit up and cried out as intense, sharp pain exploded through his body. Without fighting for life or death, his body was telling him to take it easy.
Honoria appeared on one side and Fraser the other. Fraser spoke first. "Bloody hell, was he trying to kill you?"
Lowering her face closer to his, Honoria asked, "What are your injuries?"
The corner of his mouth ticked up. "Practical even now."
"Stop it, Ash. I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong."
"He stabbed my back, but I don't know how badly." He turned, gritting his teeth against the pain, until he rested on his side. Even though his vision was beginning to swim, he added, "Sorry, Ria. I'm not going to be much help soon. But I know you can save us."
"Don't you even talk about leaving me. I'll poke your wounds if I have to."
"You won't…"
Unable to stay conscious any longer, the world turned black.
~~~
Tears threatened to fall, but Honoria managed to keep them back. Crying wouldn't help any of them.
Especially since the so-called emergency help button was useless so far underground—it relied on cell towers and she'd yet to see any kind of amplifier in the tunnels—which was something the coordinating team should've realized. Until they reached somewhere closer to the surface, they were truly on their own.
Trying not to panic at Asher falling unconscious, she ripped off his shirt and sucked in a breath. Shane had stabbed him several times, and it would be a miracle if he hadn't hit something vital.
Looking at Fraser, she threaded every bit of dominance into her voice she could muster. "What are the back-up protocols for this place?"
The defiance from earlier was gone as Fraser replied without missing a beat. "Assuming the Protectors watching the place have been
compromised, then the other only fallback is a secret tunnel, the entrance to which is in the next room. It should lead to a room full of emergency support staff."
"Then fetch them."
Fraser didn't move. "Not until we move him into the next room, just in case the weight of the dirt breaks the door. Whoever that dragonman was, he was bloody insane."
Not wanting to think about the dragonman who might've mortally wounded Asher, she motioned toward her partner's upper half. "You carry the front and I'll take the legs."
Somehow they managed to get Asher into the next room. While there wasn't a bed, there was a table and they gently laid Asher on his stomach.
The second he was settled, she forced herself to look away from Asher's injuries and she pierced Fraser with an urgent look. "Where's this door?"