Excluding sesamoid bones, of course.
Focus, focus, focus!eight are carpal, five are metacarpal.
Not to be confused with the metatarsals in the feet!
Wow, he has calluses.
I kind of didn’t expect that with him being wolf-royalty.
Wait, was his father, like, a king?
The hand also has fourteen phalanges!~The knee bone’s connected to the leg bone!~
Is shifter bone structure different?
“Hey, why don’t you just close your eyes and breathe with me for a bit?”
“It’s okay,” I said shakily, trying to quiet my torrential thoughts. But it was kind of like trying to wrangle jumpy water with a colander. Mostly just made a mess and got everything wet.
And not in the fun way.
“I’m used to this kind of stuff,” I finished lamely, even though I really tried to avoid being in crowded areas if I could help it.
“I know, but you’re not alone in it now. I want to help if I can. It’s the least I can do after you saved my brother’s life.”
“I dunno. I get the feeling he might have been able to handle that assassin without being tipped off ahead of time.”
“Perhaps, but perhaps not. Especially since security found weapons laced with wolfsbane in the assassin’s bag. Because of your tip, he didn’t have time to use them.”
“Okay… maybe I helped a little.”
“So humble.”
“Yes, it is one of my greatest character traits.”
The talking worked as a balm, and before I knew it, our stop was lighting up on the old, yellow-aged board on the side runner of the car. “Here’s our exit,” I said gratefully. Much to my dismay, Paul withdrew his hand.
I wasn’t virginal—not by a long shot—but I hadn’t really had time for dating in, what… years? I’d had my share of flings, sure, but then my mom got sick, and my whole life had shifted, and I hadn’t had time for that anymore. What, was I supposed to download an app, swipe on a line of digital cardboard cutouts, and waste my precious time going on dates to hope I’d found a catch? Ugh. Not really my scene.
Not when I had my mother’s legacy to preserve.
“So it is,” Paul said with a nod. “We’ve made good time.”
“Let’s hope that trend continues.”
***
“Whoa,” I said, dubiously staring at the derelict building. It was after sundown by the time we arrived, and I had to say, the dark cover of night suited the decrepit place. It looked like it might have once been a factory of some sort, maybe even a brewery, but it had long since fallen into disrepair. Even the light from the streetlamps didn’t seem to touch the dinginess of the area, the dank of it all weighing heavily in the air.
“You know, for a magical, seedy underbelly, I kind of expected a little more traffic,” I said, looking around. I couldn’t even see any emotions lingering about, which seemed especially devoid compared to how eye-burningly fluorescent the subway had been.
“Probably because it’s glamoured,” Paul said.
“Glamoured? Like what vampires do? Aren’t they mostly in Europe?” That was a mystical creature I’d never met in all my twenty-six years. Which was kind of crazy, since I was a night owl and my sleep schedule was more akin to playing hopscotch with a rabbit on a pogo stick than following any sort of discernible pattern.
“They have that natural ability, yes. But a lot of magic users can make an artificial glamour. After the assassin saw ahealer and got a solid meal in him, he told our security guys that this glamour is a powerful one made by a conglomerate of meteorshine and moondust traffickers. The rest of the black market enjoys the umbrella of their protections.”
“Meteorshine and moondust?” I repeated, letting out a low whistle. I didn’t really judge people for what they did in their free time, but those substances were powerful enough to affect even an alpha bear shifter in full rut and were insanely addictive. I’d never even tried this stuff, and I never would, not even if someone told me it could perfectly manage my ADHD and turn me into a model citizen. Some things just weren’t worth the risk. “And people know about this? Why does the law allow this to be here?”