clap. “Let’s talk business, and then we can have some fun. What can I get for you?”
Rogan immediately looks over at me, and I clear my throat. “I’m in need of some bones.”
Riggs chuckles heartily and pulls me in for a side hug. “Of course you are, you wouldn’t be here if you weren’t,” he teases. “What’s your poison?”
“I’m not really sure what you have. Caribou would be ideal, but if you don’t have that, then deer or elk will work too,” I start, thinking through the recipe that I want to make and what bones the grimoire taught me would be compatible.
“We have caribou,” Viv tells me confidently. “Would you prefer male or female bones? And any particular part of the body?” she asks.
I stare at her for a beat, surprised that they’re that thorough. She just smiles warmly at me, like she’s used to the reaction.
“Um, male, please. And any part of the legs would be great, maybe some vertebrae too if you have them?”
She flips open a tablet and ticks away at it. “Small, medium, or large bundle?”
“Let’s do...small to start with,” I reply, completely impressed with their business acumen.
“Got it, anything else for you, Leni?”
“If you have any gray wolf, I’ll take that too. Ribs or pelvis is fine. Preferably a female who’s at least had one litter of pups,” I request, thinking of some protective potions that Rogan and all his never can be too careful talk has me now wanting to have on hand. Nothing better than a protective base of mama wolf when it comes to those kinds of recipes—or so the grimoire tells me.
Viv just nods and jots it down.
“What else do you have?” I ask, suddenly feeling like a kid in a candy store.
“We can get pretty much everything, even human, but that’s a special request and we need at least a month to procure the order. We have a sale running on polar bear bones right now, and I think we have a little bit left of tiger if you’re interested?”
“No, I don’t have any need for virility potions at the moment, but that’s good to know,” I answer absently as I do a quick rundown of some potions and powders that could come in handy.
Riggs chuckles and gives Rogan an atta boy elbow to the ribs. I ignore the innuendo and think through what I need for some defensive spells and brews.
“If you have any male bison, neck or skull, and any wild boar, any part, I’ll take it. Oh, and one polar bear jaw, too, please.”
“You got it,” Viv chirps. “I’ll head down to the warehouse now. It should be ready in about an hour, is that okay?”
“Perfect. Thank you, I’m super excited.”
She squeezes my arm affectionately and then lopes off without another word. I spin and take in my surroundings, feeling light and happy. I realize in that moment that it’s been a long time since I felt this way. I didn’t realize how much I missed it.
“Come on, you two, we’ll watch the brawls while we’re waiting,” Riggs announces, gesturing for us to follow him.
“Do you deliver out of state?” I ask Riggs as we start to weave our way in and out of people to get to wherever the brawls are.
“We do. Internationally too if you need. We do standard shipping on everything, which is included in the cost of whatever you order. We also have ley line delivery options, but those are an additional ten percent of your order cost.”
“How’d you get into this business?” I ask, unable to bite back my curiosity. It seems like such an unconventional thing, but they’re so good at it, there has to be passion for it somewhere in the foundation of it all.
Riggs tosses me a wide toothy smile over his shoulder. “The business has been passed down from father to son for many generations. It started as a way to build better ties in the community, to be seen less as outcasts and more as valued members of the magical community,” he tells me, a kind smile on his face, but I can tell from his words that this lycan clan hasn’t always been as carefree and appreciated as it seems to be now.
There’s a lot of history I can sense in the tone of his simple explanation, and if it’s anything like human history, it was filled with bloodshed and battles.
“It all started with us collecting what we could hunt and grow, but we quickly