I hope she doesn't hate the surprise.
Rhydian hoped so, too. If there was one way to get the news out and have it be full of eyewitnesses to his genuine attachment to Delaney, then being a little possessive of his future mate in front of the parents would do the trick. While not everyone loved to gossip, enough of them did to ensure it'd spread throughout the clan within a day or two.
He normally didn't care for gossip, but it would be a lot safer—as well as easier—than having a formal gathering and making Delaney face all of Snowridge at once for the announcement. This way, they should at least get used to the idea first, and then he could remove the highest threats before allowing her to be exposed in the large gathering hall.
His dragon grunted. I don't like all this waiting and seeing. I want to be direct and tell everyone outright. That way, we'll have her sooner.
No, ensuring there's less drama and commotion, meaning we can focus on the operation with Stonefire, will make any sort of claiming happen sooner.
Before his dragon could say anything else, Rhydian entered the main waiting area of the school and waved to the parents already there. One of the females—Nerys—came up to him and asked, "Are you picking up Rian again? I was surprised to see the human yesterday."
He raised an eyebrow. "Why? She's his aunt."
"Yes, but…"
The honorable male in him wanted to challenge Nerys for her implication, but the clan leader in him knew he had to be more diplomatic.
At least until he was officially mated, and then everyone knew that to mess with his mate was to poke at both his human and dragon halves.
So he forced a smile and said, "But what, Nerys?"
She glanced to the side and shook her head. Nerys wasn't very high on the dominance scale among the Snowridge clan members. Well, when it came to the males anyway. She seemed to challenge the females every chance she got, causing her fair share of headaches that Rhydian had to smooth over.
His dragon snorted but thankfully remained silent.
Rhydian spoke again. "If I didn't approve of her taking care of the lad, she wouldn't have picked him up yesterday. You should know that, Nerys. I take the clan's security very seriously, especially after what happened with the children not that long ago."
Nerys bobbed her head, murmuring, "I know, Rhydian," and moved to talk with one of her friends.
Rhydian didn't like having to remind people of their place, but sometimes it was necessary. Otherwise some of their dragon halves would become uncontrollable. And if it happened often enough, they could even turn rogue and risk not only other lives in the process, but theirs as well since the DDA handled rogue dragons.
Which sometimes resulted in death.
Pushing aside such thoughts, he mingled with some of the other parents. Rhydian had barely made a few more greetings before he felt Delaney enter the room. Even with his back turned, every inch of his skin came alive, alert to her presence and movements.
Murmuring his pardons to the male dragon-shifter he'd been talking with, Rhydian turned toward Delaney and walked straight to her. Without a word, he took her hand, raised it to his lips, and kissed it.
The warmth of her skin sent heat through his body, but only through years of experience did he keep his cock from responding.
Delaney blinked. "Um, hello."
He raised his gaze and winked. "I wanted to share our secret."
On cue, one of the dragon-shifters in the room asked, "What secret?"
Rhydian stood, pulled Delaney to his side, and answered, "Delaney Murphy has agreed to be my mate."
Nerys blurted, "Why?" at the same time Lily Owens shouted, "That's wonderful!"
Everyone spoke at once, and Delaney whispered into his ear, "What are you doing?"
He replied low enough that only she should be able to hear it. "Garnering you protection."
"And what about Rian? Shouldn't he know first?"
Rhydian had thought long and hard about that detail. "If we want the word spread quickly, this is the best way to do it."
There were questions in Delaney's gaze, but Rhydian didn't have a chance to answer any more of them before Lily was right in front of them. "So when did this happen? Is she your true mate? Or was it that you just couldn't resist her? Not that I can blame you. She's clever and beautiful. You can't go wrong with that package."