Kris T. Bethke–Author of M/M Romance

**On my last Friday of vacation, let’s have the conclusion of Jace and Ian’s story. New job starts on Monday and I’m making no promises about new flashes/serial. While I will try to get something done, it’s going to involve getting into a new rhythm so bear with me. In the meantime, enjoy!**

I was sort of astounded at the amount of goats Ian owned. Hundreds of them. All separated into smaller herds and held in different paddocks on his massive amount of acres. Mack had taken me on a tour because I asked, all to happy to show off. He’d worked here since he was a teen and even though the goats didn’t like it when he shifted, they loved him as a human. Every paddock we entered, the goats came running for pets and, apparently, the treats he usually had with him.

I’d taken a chance and shown up at Ian’s even knowing he might not be home. Though the goats on the land adjacent to mine and done their job and had been brought back home, he had several other contracts at the moment and Ian made it a point to try and check in on his goats every day.

He was a protection dog, and though he trusted the actual dogs who stayed with the herds, he felt better when he had eyes on them himself. I would be lying if I said that mile-wide protective streak wasn’t one of the things I liked about him best. He was tall and handsome, unfailingly kind and had a huge heart. All of that endeared him to me. But that protectiveness was something I valued as well. It got my blood humming and my heart singing.

I’d be in trouble once Ian figured that out.

We’d been dating for a few weeks by now. Ian liked to take me out, but we often ended up in my bed at the end of the night. We talked for hours, and Ian was as good a listener as he was a sharer. But more often than not, when we made it back to my house, the kiss on the porch didn’t end until we were naked, sweaty, and mutually satisfied. Then he’d curl around me, keeping me close as we fell asleep. If I managed to wiggle free in the night, he’d chase me over the bed until he had me snugged up against him again.

I loved it. Ian knew it. And I wanted more.

Ian knew that too.

I’d been out to the farm once before, but hadn’t gotten a real look at the place. It wasn’t because Ian was keeping anything from me. The schedules just hadn’t lined up. But today I had an unexpected afternoon free, so I took a chance and showed up. Ian wasn’t around, but he’d be back soon, and I wouldn’t put it past Mack to send his boss a message that his boyfriend had shown up. Ian wouldn’t shirk his duties to come back, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he hurried things along.

We were in one of the far pastures when the dogs—all three of them, there were always three with each sub-herd—suddenly stood, attention off in the distance. I knew what that meant, and turned to look where they were, to see a huge white blur speeding toward us. My heart pounded and the smile that bloomed across my face made my cheeks ache.

Mack mumbled something and walked away, but I barely noticed or cared. Ian was here and that had my entire focus.

He shifted as soon as he skidded to a stop in front of me. His gaze never left mine as he stood, and he gave the dogs a quick command that had them running off after the herd that had meandered away. I gave Ian a once over, my smile turning to a leer. He preened, which made me laugh.

“Hey there, sweetheart. Whatcha doin’ here?”

“Wanted to see the place.” I tried for non-chalant and failed. “Wanted to see you?”

Ian’s soft smile made my heart melt, and he grabbed me, pulling me in and kissed me util I couldn’t breathe. It took a few minutes, and I was more than happy to allow it. When I finally had to pull back, Ian rested his forehead against mine.

“Wanna run with me?” He murmured.

“Oh, I, uh…” I took a breath. “I don’t want to scare the goats.”

Ian chuckled, a soft sound. “They’re goats, honey. Scared, curious troublemakers is kind of their default. Besides, they need to get used to you. They’re never going to be comfortable, but they at least won’t be as wary.”

It took a second for his words, and their implication, to sink in. Ian wanted me around for a long time, and therefore, his herd would need to get used to my scent. I practically melted into a puddle, because it was too fast, too soon, but my heart didn’t care. I wanted that too. We might have met under strange circumstances, and our first few days might have been a whirlwind of weirdness, but it was clear we were compatible. Every moment we spent together was proof of that.

“If you’re sure?”

“I’ll keep you, and them, safe.”

I knew he would.

I stripped fast, leaving my clothes on the back of the ATV Mack had driven us out here in. The man himself was nowhere to be seen but I hoped if he took this back to the house, at least I’d have my clothes. And if he didn’t, at least they wouldn’t be laying in the dirt. And maybe the goats wouldn’t eat them.

I crouched and shifted, my transformation not as quick as Ian’s. I was slightly taller, but he was much more muscled. All in all, we were roughly the same size and I loved that. Ian didn’t waste any time scenting me all over, leaving his mark, and I let him. When he was done, I returned the favor.

Then he gave one big booming bark and took off. It took me a split second, but I was right behind him. We ran over his fields, jumping fences, chasing each other, tagging and pouncing. I hadn’t played like that since I was a pup, and my heart soared with the sheer freeness of it. Eventually, he herded me back toward the house where the ATV now sat by the porch but when I veered toward it for my clothes, Ian blocked my path.

He shifted. I followed suit. He was breathing hard, but his pupils were dilated and he licked his lips. He grabbed me and tossed me over his shoulder, and I laughed.

“You won’t be needing those.”

He carried me into the house, and I couldn’t stop laughing, because I hadn’t felt that carefree and cared for in a long time. I knew, with startling clarity, that this was one the beginning of a long life for us.

**It’s been a bit but let’s see what our protection dog is doing! One more after this. Enjoy!**

“You could come inside, you know? You don’t have to spend the night on the back porch..”

The big white head turned to me, and I didn’t know if it was something all dogs did, or if it was because Ian was a shifter, but he gave me an epic side eye. I had to stifle my amusement because I did actually feel bad about him staying out there.

Three days. Or nights, I should say. Three nights of a Ian taking up residency on my porch, not moving, keeping watch. Mack had said that the trail Davy—and it was Davy because I’d shifted and scented it out—had left wasn’t old, with multiple trails overlapping. I wasn’t nearly as good a tracker as the bear shifter was, so while I could tell he’d been there several times, I had no idea how old they were.

Ian wanted to know why I hadn’t scented it before. Truth was I hadn’t looked for it, and hardly ever shifted when I was at home. My sense of smell as a human was crap. Not as terrible as a regular human, but nowhere near someone who’d practiced the ability. I shifted with my pack, when we ran, and that was about it. I didn’t have a reason to do it at home. And I was a mid-pack wolf, so my abilities mirrored that. I was no one special and that’s how I liked it.

For some reason, Ian had looked angry when I mentioned that, and every night for the past three days, he’d shown up at my house, shifted, and taken up residency. I’d put out a big fluffy pillow to make him more comfortable, but he remained sitting and alert. I didn’t know when, or if, he actually slept. Considering he was dealing with his goat farm during the day, or the herd on the adjacent land, and then spending his nights with me.

I narrowed my eyes at the back of his big head and opened my mouth to ask when he suddenly went completely alert. Up on all fours, his body rigid. I expected that huge booming bark, the warning sound I’d heard from his actual dogs, but it never came. He just took off, paws pounding the ground, and pounced halfway across the yard. I took off after him to see what he’d caught.

When I was closer, I heard the weird chirping of a stoat. That was the only way I could think to describe the sound.  I’d know it anywhere, the amount of times I’d been around Davy’s caravan when they shifted. They’d never really liked me, predator that I was, so it was familiar. And even though one of Ian’s paws kept the stoat pinned, it was wiggling madly and chirping like crazy.  

The stoat started shifting when it was clear he couldn’t get away from Ian. Ian remained as he was though, on high alert and ready to pounce. I realized it was, in fact, Davy about halfway through the shift and the petty part of me wanted Ian to scare Davy enough that he’d pee himself or something equally as embarrassing.

“What the hell, Davy?” I hissed, anger making my tone sharp.

Davy hunched over, hands over his naked crouch, and let out a squeak when Ian gave a warning growl. I didn’t think the little weasel was going to run now that he’d been caught, but I was secretly a little pleased Ian was keeping him in check.

“I was just looking out for you.” Davy’s voice had always been on the higher pitched side, but he was downright soprano right now. He really was scared. I didn’t know Ian well enough to say for sure that he wouldn’t attack, but I didn’t think so. Davy, clearly, wasn’t convinced.

“We’ve been done for a long time now,” I responded with patience I didn’t feel. “There’s no reason for you to be sneaking around my house and I certainly don’t need looking after.”

“Not even if the goats came into your yard?”

I narrowed my gaze. He seemed so confused, as though that made perfect sense to him when it actually didn’t make any sense at all. It took me a second to put the pieces together, because I had to put myself in his brain. Sometimes he was really dumb.

“Did you…” I had to take breathe to get the incredulity out of my tone. “Did you think that if the goats swarmed my yard I’d call you for help?”

Davy nodded so earnestly I couldn’t help the eyeroll.

Ian took a menacing step forward, his posture threatening. Davy yelped and retreated a few steps. I took a chance and placed my hand on Ian’s head. Ian relaxed, just a fraction, but he maneuvered until he was between me and Davy. Not that Davy was a threat. At all. But a warmth spread in my stomach at Ian’s actions.

“Why would I ever call you for a goat problem?” I didn’t both to try to check the disbelief this time. “If Ian hadn’t shown up himself, I would have figured out who owned the goats and called them for help.”

Davy’s mouth dropped open, staring at me with open surprise. After a minute or so, where I let him work things out, he snapped his jaw closed. “Yeah, that, um, actually makes sense.”

I sighed and then rolled my eyes. “We’re done, Davy. We’ve been done. Just stop, okay? We aren’t getting back together. I’m not going to take you back and you need to stop coming around. If I catch you again, I’m reporting you to the Council and having you sanctioned for stalking and harassment. You got me?”

He wanted to argue. I could see it all over his face. But then his gaze dropped to Ian, he took another small step back, and then looked at me again. His shoulders slumped. “Yeah. Okay. Fine.”

Davy dropped to his knees and I knew he was going to shift back. But just before he started, I remembered something. “Wait. How’d you cut the fence and not leave your scent?”

Davy waved that away, crouching low. “Oh I had Rob do that.”

And before I could say anything else, he shifted and scampered away. From the tension in Ian’s body, I knew he wanted to chase, but he stayed by my side and we watched until the little stoat body was gone from sight. I sighed, and Ian huffed a breath. A moment later, he shifted to human.

“What a tool,” Ian ground out, his voice rough from the shift.

“Yeah.” I sighed again. “Come on inside, would you?”

Ian nodded and rose. I purposely kept my gaze pinned to his face so as not to take in any of his glorious body. Now was not the time to perv on his beautiful form. Maybe later, but not now.

“Who’s this Rob he mentioned?”

“Red fox shifter.”

Ian nodded, and I got the impression he was thinking what I was. Foxes were stealthy as hell, and some of them could mask their scents completely. I didn’t know Rob was one who could, but clearly he had, considering the lack of scent at the fence.

As we walked toward the back door, I glanced sideways and ogled Ian’s shoulders, because they were just that magnificent. He caught me looking and gave me a smirk.

“So, I, uh, I bet you’ll be glad to sleep in a real bed tonight huh?”

Ian’s smirk grew. “Yours?”

I flushed hot, blood rushing at the implication. I wanted to say yes, because he was beautiful and kind, and I really liked his protective streak. But I didn’t want him to think that I was only doing it because he’d helped me. More than that, I didn’t want him, or me, to think that sex between us was some sort of payment for services rendered.

“Not tonight.” I laughed when he gave an exaggerated pout. “I’m not that easy. You need to wine and dine me first.”

Ian’s smile was radiant and my breath caught. He leaned it close just as we reached the porch. “I can do that.”

*After taking last week off with the conclusion of the last serial, here we are with a new flash fic! It’s slightly NSFW though, so beware. What do you think? Want to see more of these guys? Lemme know! But in the meantime, enjoy!”

Goats.

Goats everywhere. Eating my grass and shrubs. Bleating and pooping and tussling and climbing all over each other. There had to be at least twenty. No wait, here came some more. Running in from the acreage behind my property to join their friends. More noise and more chomping. 

I stood on my back porch just staring. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Last time I checked, the acreage was nothing but wilderness and was owned by an older gentleman who had no plans to develop it. Had that changed? Had he suddenly taken up goat farming?

The predator in me wanted to shift and chase. To run down one of those tasty morsels and gorge until I was full. Then maybe drag the carcass home to snack on later. But I was more than my wolfy instincts and though my fangs prickled at my gums, I didn’t change. 

I still wanted to know how the goats appeared though. And what to do about them.

I set down my coffee on the railing, gave it a mournful look because I knew it would be cold by the time I got back, and set off toward the herd. The bleating got louder, panicked, most likely because they could sense I was more. Dangerous. The scramble they did to get away from me would be amusing if it didn’t create more chaos.

A thundering boom of a bark snagged my attention. It was quickly followed by two more, and before I realized it, three large white dogs came barreling through a fence—that hadn’t been there before—and took up a guard position between me and the herd. I froze, recognizing the livestock protection dogs for what they were even if I didn’t know the breed. I made a mental note to look later to see if I could figure it out, just to assuage my curiosity, and focused all my attention on the one who was clearly the leader. 

I didn’t think the dogs would attack me as long as I didn’t go after their goats. Was that something I’d learned somewhere or just instinct? It didn’t matter. I just knew it was better to stay still, not make a move toward the goats that were still running around and screaming, and hope that a solution presented itself.

A fourth dog came tearing into my yard, expertly maneuvering around the goats without losing speed. It was bigger than the other three, taller and heavier, and they gave ground for the newcomer. The new dog skidded to a halt right in front of me. I probably should have stepped back. Probably should have gone inside and figured out who to call. But the wolf in me wouldn’t back down and so I stayed, staring down the dogs. Peripherally I was aware the goats were calming enough to go back to eating my foliage, but I couldn’t worry about that right now.

The new dog hunched and then shifted. I blinked. How had I not scent him? I chalked it up to the goats—because that was a distinctive and overpowering smell—and waited patiently for him to finish his shift. When he did, I sucked it a breath. He was huge, several inches over six feet and as broad as a barn, with defined muscles, a chiseled jaw, and hair so blond it was almost white. He cocked his head, looking far more like a dog than a human, and then narrowed his gaze.

“Wolf?”

I shrugged because there was no denying it. “I’m Jace. These your goats?”

“Yeah. Sorry. We’re clearing the land over there,” he gestured behind him, “because it’s so overgrown.”

“Okay. But this is my backyard?” I hadn’t meant for it to sound like a question, but he was utterly distracting. His voice was a deep rumble, like the barks from the dogs, and I wanted to push closer so that I could touch, and that was weird for me. It was not an impulse I usually had.

“Looks like the fence is down. Which is strange, because we build them to keep the goats in the acreage they’re supposed to stay in.” Without a word, he turned, pushing through the herd without care for his dangling bits. The dogs walked at his side and the goats moved out of his way. I followed along behind him because I didn’t know what else to do.

He crouched and examined the fence. My gaze zeroed in on his ass, which was literal perfection. I told myself to stop staring but my body didn’t cooperate. I wanted to bite it. To touch it. Hell, I just wanted to be up close and personal with it, I didn’t even care how.

He was speaking, but I was so focused on his skin I didn’t notice until he said my name. I jerked my gaze to his.

“Hmm?”

“Were you staring at my ass?” the quirk of his lips told me he wasn’t mad. Besides, it’s not like I could lie. I’d been caught.

“Yep. It’s great. What were you saying?”

“This is had been cut.” He motioned to the fence where, now that I was looking, I could see where it had been snipped through cleanly.

“Why?”

“I don’t know. But I’ll find out. Don’t suppose you have any cameras or anything back here?”

I shook my head. “We’re in the middle of nowhere and this is the backyard that butts up to acres of unused land. It didn’t seem necessary.”

He blew out a breath. “Okay. Well, first order of business is to get the goats back where they belong and to fix this fence. Then we’ll have to figure out why it happened. I’ll need to shift and run back to my truck where I left my phone and clothes. I’d only just arrived when I heard Boomer, Gracie, and Tornado bark.”

“You can, uh…” I coughed, feeling silly before reminding myself we were a dozen yards from my backdoor and I was just being hospitable to offer assistance. “You can use my phone, if you want.”

He studied me for a long moment, gaze narrowed and assessing. Eventually he nodded. He ordered the dogs to stay—and it was then that I got confirmation that while he was a shifter, the others were just dogs—and followed me into my house. I handed over my cell and got him a bottle of water while he made his call.

“It’s Ian. Yeah, we’ve got a problem.” Ian took the bottle from me with a thankful smile, and then his gaze raked from my head to my toes. The smile turned into a smirk. “Though maybe it’s only half a problem.”