Free Exodus by Bailey Bradford

brother in danger, but the pack wouldn’t follow the beta, not when fear led the wolf nature to take over. A weaker wolf leading the pack could cause fights and death, many deaths if they didn’t get out of the way of the impending flood.
    As Valen ran, the ground shook almost constantly, and the skies turned a dark shade of green-gray that set off more alarms in his wolf. Death! Death. The skies are bringing the deadly twisters. Valen had heard of them before, old tales used to terrify pups and keep them from running off. Don’t get too far away or a twister will drop from the sky and whisk you away. He remembered the threats, and when he was older, asking his father about them. Based on fact but no longer relevant, Varex had said.
    It appeared he’d been very wrong, and Valen knew now what the sound like that of a thousand hooves was.
    Death on the wind. Death in the water. Death in the lightning, the skies, the earth — The way it shook under him wasn’t just from the thunder. It was as if the ground were erupting from the inside out.
    Valen wondered if the world was about to explode, so volatile was everything around them. He nudged Aaron in front of him. “Run!” he growled. Surely Aaron understood what that snarl meant.
    The pack would accept the alpha putting his mate first. If they didn’t, Valen would take on whoever thought his life held more value than Aaron’s.
    Valen kept close to Aaron for several minutes as the world went crazy—scents, sounds and sights so frightening he couldn’t deal with them. He focused on his mate, on leading his pack.
    Then Aaron yelled and stumbled. The ground rose up violently and Aaron fell.
    Valen didn’t know what was happening—an earthquake, twisters, a flood—it was the end of the world, and if not, it would be if Aaron was killed. He lunged after his mate, even before Aaron hit the ground. He had visions of Aaron falling into a crevice and being swallowed up by the ground, by the hungry, angry Earth itself as payment for some unnamed sins.
    No! He leaped and caught Aaron by the heel, biting hard, pulling his mate back. Now that he was close enough, Valen could see that there was indeed a tremendous, gaping hole and the ground was definitely uneven, like a layer of it had been knocked up out of place.
    The shock of seeing such a thing was quickly stamped out by a flavor in his mouth. Valen tasted Aaron’s blood and knew he’d hurt his mate. He hated that, causing harm in such a manner, but he’d have hated losing Aaron more. Valen let go of Aaron’s heel and shifted. “I’m sorry, Aaron. Are you hurt anywhere else?” He had to shout to be heard over the noise surrounding them.
    “My h-h-head.” Aaron shook so hard it looked like he was an earthquake himself. His eyes rolled back in his head, then his lids slid shut.
    “Aaron!” Valen found his pulse, and spotted a nasty cut on the side of Aaron’s head. “Shit! Shit!” He scooped Aaron up while the pack slowed down.
    “Go!” Valen shouted at them. “Run! Don’t stop until you’re safe!” He hoisted Aaron up on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, mate. I’m sorry I hurt you.” Damn it, he should have gone first. By sending Aaron ahead, he’d thrust him right into harm’s way.
    All the hells he’d ever heard of were coming after them. Why is the Earth so angry with us? Maybe he was being melodramatic. Even so, Valen didn’t know what he’d done to bring on such an all-out assault. It felt personal. He took it as such. Valen threw back his head and shouted at the vicious sky. “Fuck you! You can not have me or mine!”
    Lightning struck not a dozen feet away.
    Valen stopped challenging Fate or Nature, whatever hateful thing that was driving this evil force. He wanted to live, and he wanted Aaron, as well as the rest of the pack, to live, too. That wouldn’t happen if they didn’t get out of the unnatural, brutal storm. Valen dug his toes into the mud and ran.
    Running as a man was more tiring