Do not disturb

Ryland stormed through the lobby and up to his room, slamming the door behind him. William has no idea what he's talking about.

Wren bit her lip and hesitated, wondering if she should follow. She'd never seen Ryland quite so angry before, but then again she'd seen men get angry before - however, not all of them were her clan leader.
Deciding to take the chance, she started off upstairs at a slower pace, letting him get there first and hoping he'd cool down before she arrived. She knew it wasn't likely, and so stopped in her own room to dig out and change into a pair of her own jeans. She'd get the others cleaned up later.
Ten minutes later, she arrived outside Ryland's room, where she hesitated one last time before knocking calmly on the door. "My lord, is there anything you require?" she called, keeping her voice firm, but not overly loud. Wren hated that, especially in her own voice.

Ryland opened the door, in fresh clothes as well. He eyed Wren warily before saying, "No there isn't." He smirked slightly as he added, "They should have headed whatever warning you gave them."

Wren paused, thinking in what way she should reply before answering. "...Unfortunately it's not yet illegal to be foolish, my lord." She hoped the joke would lighten things a little, since she was still uncertain whether Ryland had heard anything she had said to them. She tried not to look to relieved as she remembered something that would hopefully change the subject.
"Mike Carden is turning avian, my lord. I thanked him for the tip-off." she added, smirking slightly. She prided herself on having caught Mike out so quickly, but still hoped her prayers would be answered as they had so many times before.
Ironic that it was only after she had given up on her faith and become an 'unholy creature' that her prayers - however few she made - started to get answered.

Ryland nodded, "And I hope his fledging is particularly painful." He moved back from the door to extend his arm towards a table and chairs just inside the room. "Do you want to come in?"

Wren smiled and nodded, stepping inside almost cautiously. She knew Ryland had been angry not too long ago, but the only explanation she could put to his current calmness was either his pleasure about Mike's condition, his unwillingness to lose control in front of her, or that he wasn't calm and that she was, in fact, in great trouble.
She hoped it wasn't the last one.
"Thank you, my lord. I'm sorry I was not of greater help earlier, but several humans were trying to call the police. I sent their families on their way, although I'm pretty sure I killed about three of them." she shrugged. "Patience isn't my strong point, especially when it comes to humans."

"I'm fine," he pulled out a chair for her before going to the opposite side of the table to sit down. "I keep forgetting that humans have a nasty habit of sticking their noses where they don't belong."

Wren nodded, serious again. "It's just another reason to kill them." she replied. "But killing police officers would be more...tedious." she pulled a face at the word.

"It would be televised heavily," he groaned, remembering a messy situation one of his clan members almost got caught up in. Luckily, humans were greedy creatures and money almost always persuaded them without fail.

"Of course. Apparently the humans take the phrase 'no news like bad news' to the extreme." Wren winced slightly as she realised which incident had made Ryland groan. "It's almost...unamusing."

Ryland caught her wince, "So you remember? I should be more careful. We don't want a repeat of that. I was lucky I brought you along." He smirked, letting her read his words whatever way she wanted to.

Wren bit back a small blush at his words, not entirely sure how to take them. She decided to stick to the 'straight and narrow' and assumed he meant the shopping centre incident. She wasn't entirely sure, though.
"Yes, I remember. It was a very difficult time...even Carden was more careful." she pulled another face. "I'm not keen to repeat that, either." she added, letting him read her own words how he wished in return.

"Carden," Ryland chuckled when he realized something. "I'll enjoy plucking his pin feathers out when he gets his wings." He smiled warmly at her, a bit too warmly considering his previous mood.

Wren caught this and frowned a little, not wanting to spoil his apparent happiness. "I wish you luck, my lord." she replied calmly, trying to brush it off as paranoia.

"Tell me, Wren. Is it so wrong of me to want to keep everyone in their places," Ryland looked around and sighed when he couldn't spot a mini bar anywhere.

Wren frowned, thinking hard about the question. "I...I suppose that depends on who you're aiming to place, my lord." she replied quietly, deciding to go ahead and give her honest opinion. "If it was a clan member, I don't think it's wrong, as they've agreed to stay in their place, and you're simply keeping the rules in place as leader. Carden is..." she paused and drew in a long breath, mulling over what she wanted to say. "Carden is different. As is William, now."

"William always had to be difficult," Ryland said darkly. "If he knew what was good for him none of this would have ever happened." He was starting to regret going for the prettiest one now. He thought William would have learned over the years.

Wren sighed, wishing she were able to comfort him at least a little. "My lord, I believe that some things are meant to happen, if only so we can learn more. Perhaps you should try looking at it that way?" she posed her question as a mild suggestion, not wanting to give him the wrong impression.

"You're right," Ryland sighed, realizing that if he had been holding anything he would have snapped it in half. "I won't make the same mistake again."

Wren smiled, glad she had been able to assist him in some small way. "Is there anything else you want, my lord?" she asked calmly.

"For nine months to pass quickly, but you can't do that," Ryland chuckled. "I hope William gets huge. Serves him right, vain bitch."

Wren laughed quietly. "William's vain? Hmm, personally I never really knew him. All I know is he tried to stop them from burning me a third time." she pulled a face a shuddered at the memory. She laughed a little louder as she realised something. "I'm speaking like he's dead. I suppose he is, though, in this clan."

"He's got a few months left to live through that reasoning. Yes, he tried to help you. He never seemed to grasp the fact that being the leader's mate meant he had the power to order things done." Ryland started playing with a pen he found on the floor.

Wren frowned, realising this was true. "He was soft." she stated quietly. She smirked suddenly. "Maybe that's why he turned so many weaklings: to make him look stronger."

"That or he didn't realize what he was doing," Ryland sighed, wondering how he'd gotten himself in this big mess. It was nothing he couldn't handle. He could get the clan back where he wanted it; that was his job after all.