The teenager tilted her head and studied Delaney. "The new human. Nice to meet you. I only know my brother's mate—she's a brilliant reporter, which is what I want to be one day, too—and so my knowledge is limited about humans. Maybe I can ask you some questions for the school paper? I'm sure lots of people would be interested to learn more about you."
Delaney blinked. "Um, aye?"
Delia nodded. "And I should record you, too, to make a video. The accent alone will interest my classmates. I've never been to Ireland, even though it's so close. You'll have to tell me all about the places to visit so that when I'm older, I can go."
And before Delaney knew it, she was being herded out of the room by Lily and Delia, listening to a barrage of questions Delia never allowed her to answer and wondering what had just happened.
Eira had warned her about the clan not trusting, or even liking, most humans.
And yet, the Owens were half dragging her for tea and biscuits so that she could listen to some Welsh dragon ballads.
If this experience was what being part of a dragon clan meant, then maybe living with them would be all right. True, she didn't blindly trust everyone and knew there could still be danger lurking. But for the first time since learning about Rian's existence, Delaney thought that maybe her life wouldn't be as isolated inside Snowridge as she'd thought.
Chapter Six
After more hours than he'd wanted to spend, Rhydian had finally finished hashing out the details of helping Kai and Stonefire with a “silent dragon” drug bust.
Apparently, some of the IT people on Stonefire had finally found and hacked the sites used on the dark web for the product. And while Rhydian and Stonefire had only suspected the main business was operating in Wales, Stonefire now had proof.
And so the two clans were teaming up to take down the supplier an hour north of Cardiff. Even though Stonefire had more Protectors and support staff than Rhydian, his people knew Wales much better than them.
Carys, in particular, was a skilled tracker. She would be needed for certain.
The only unease he possessed was not having enough protection for Delaney if something happened while his people were down south, completing the raid.
His dragon spoke up. That just means she
should live with us until the operation is over.
Right, because that won't be tense.
It doesn't have to be. If Delaney lets us kiss her, then Rian can stay with the Owens. They would look after him.
No, it's too much of a risk. A kiss would most likely set off the mate-claim frenzy, and with some of my best Protectors down near Cardiff, the clan will be vulnerable.
Stonefire said they'd send some support, and maybe even a few Protectors from Lochguard, too. Bram always has a plan in place.
Bram Moore-Llewelyn was Stonefire's clan leader, one Rhydian wanted to trust implicitly but still hadn't quite reached that point yet. Delaney is staying down the corridor from us. That's near enough to protect her whilst avoiding temptation.
His beast paused before adding, I think she needs to be watched closer. And there might be one other person she could stay with who could do that without me getting jealous—Gwen.
Gwendolen Price had once been a Protector-in-training. However, during her required stint in the British Army, she'd fallen in love with a human and had become pregnant with his child. The human male had soon after sacrificed himself during a battle to save Gwen. The army had then kicked her out once they'd learned of her pregnancy. Human-dragon relationships had been frowned upon much more five or six years ago compared to the present.
Rhydian sighed. She's skilled and has continued her self-defense training, but it's risky. Gwen rarely comes out of her quarters, unless it's for something related to her daughter.
Well, Gwen has a half-human child, and Delaney wants to help raise her half-human nephew. They have more in common than you think. Besides, we trust Gwen. She's a distant cousin, one we used to play with when we were younger.
His beast was correct. Gwen was slightly younger, and he'd done his fair share of teasing the female when they'd been children.
Just remembering his larger extended family back then, before the epidemic that had killed off most of his family about fifteen years ago, constricted his heart. It hadn't been easy going from a large family to him and Gareth. Even Gwen—who he'd never been close to as they'd gotten older—had distanced herself, too, after what had happened in the army.
His dragon said softly, It could also help us to reconnect with her. Ever since seeing Dr. Allonby for counseling, Gwen has been less of a recluse. This might be the next step she needs to becoming even closer to whole again.
Nice to see your ability to guilt-trip has only strengthened with age.
It's not guilt-tripping. It's taking the facts and devising the best solution.
Rhydian's inner dragon had always been his partner. Regardless of how annoying he could be at times, Rhydian was still grateful for the beast. He replied, Let's talk with Gwen first. We can order Delaney to stay with her if need be. But I won't do it without Gwen agreeing to the plan.