Delaney motioned for him to answer. Her movements were a bit stiff, and he had a feeling she was angry.
However, he could handle her anger when they were alone. With Lily Owens on their side, it would go a long way toward getting the clan to accept his human.
Yes, Delaney had already become his. He may have to woo her and win her still, but merely having her at his side relaxed him in a way he hadn't felt in years.
He finally replied, "True mate or not doesn't matter. Which you should know, given what happened with your son."
Lily's son, Kai, was mated to a human who wasn't his true mate. And the pair held a stronger bond than many of the true pairings he'd seen over the years.
Lily never looked away from his gaze. "That doesn't mean I'm not curious."
Delaney spoke up. "I'm his true mate."
Gasps echoed in the room, but Rhydian didn't let them unsettle him. "She's right. But the mating ceremony won't take place just yet. I'll let everyone know when it does."
Delaney muttered, "I hope I'm included in that."
His human was most definitely upset. The question was why. She'd wanted to stop all the dragon-shifters from questioning her at every turn, and his actions would most definitely help with that.
His dragon rumbled but didn't say anything. So Rhydian said, What, are you against me now, too?
I'm staying out of it.
At that moment, the kids started filing out for the day. Rhydian didn't release his hold on Delaney as he headed toward Rian. Although he'd have to be completely clueless to not notice how stiffly she walked next to him.
Aye, they would be having a serious talk as soon as possible. He wanted the teasing, warm female from earlier to come back.
Rian rushed toward them. "Rhydian, Auntie Laney, you both came!"
Delaney stepped away and hugged Rian. "We did." She released the boy. "Are you ready to be my helper again tonight?"
Rian shuffled his feet. "I want to, but Osian asked me to go home with him after school for dinner. I promised last week I'd go. And Rhydian said we're supposed to keep our promises."
Delaney squatted down to Rian's eye level. "Don't worry about it, Rian. Go to your friend's house. We can make something extra special tomorrow, okay?"
Rian lifted his gaze, his eyes bright. "Yes! I can't wait. Maybe I'll go to sleep early so I can wake up early."
Delaney laughed, and Rhydian secretly wished he'd been the one to make her do it.
The human female replied, "You can always try. Now, where's this friend of yours? I'd like to meet him and his parent or guardian."
Rhydian of course already knew Osian's parents and decided Delaney would do best to talk with them by herself.
However, he leaned down and whispered to her, "We'll leave together and go to my office. My schedule is free for at le
ast an hour, so we can talk."
She bobbed her head curtly. Standing, she took Rian's hand and went to meet his friend's mother.
His dragon finally spoke up again. You fucked up somehow.
Yes, I gathered that. The question is, how.
You'd better find out. I don't like Delaney this way. She shouldn't be distant.
I agree, dragon, I agree.
As another clan member came up to ask him about something, Rhydian did his best to focus a few more minutes on his clan. He'd have Delaney alone soon enough, and then he'd find out why his human was so upset.