The Alpha Who Tried to Unmate Me

Chapter 9 – House Arrest with an Alpha

They didn’t cuff me for long.

The human officer recited something about rights and procedures while Daxen’s gaze drilled into the side of my head. The suppression band on my wrist buzzed against my skin, making my wolf curl up and snarl.

“Enough,” Daxen said finally. “You’ve tagged her. She’s coming with us.”

“Sir, the cordon—”

“You want to be the one explaining to Mr. Marq why you tried to drag a bonded combat medic through central booking?” His voice stayed level, but the word bonded landed heavy.

The officer’s jaw worked. “Temporary custody remains—”

“Under alpha authority,” Daxen cut in. “Per city statute §17‑C, paragraph three. You can ride along if it makes you feel safer.”

They argued. I stared at the dead wolf until the lines blurred, forcing myself to memorize every detail. Someone had carved her open and painted me across the scene like a signature.

Selyne’s words crackled in the back of my skull. They broke you too.

Ten minutes later I was in the back of a Vaelir SUV, damp clothes clinging to my skin, the human restraint still humming on my wrist. Daxen drove. A uniform cop rode shotgun, radio murmuring static.

No one spoke until we crossed into Vaelir territory and the car slowed in front of the main house.

I swallowed. “You’re really taking me here?”

“Alpha’s orders,” Daxen said. “Volen’s people were already sniffing around the idea of ‘secure containment.’ This is more secure.”

“You mean more convenient.” My voice came out sharper than I intended. “For you.”

He put the car in park, finally meeting my eyes in the rearview. “Liora. If they get you, you go back on a table. You know that.”

The door clicked open before I could answer.

Corren stood on the front steps, sleeves rolled back, tie gone, the veneer of the perfect city alpha stripped down to something rawer. Porch light carved planes of shadow across his face.

“Out,” he said.

The cop shifted, glancing between us. “We’re required to maintain—”

“You’ve logged her transfer,” Corren said. “You have your chain of custody. If anyone wants more than that, they can bring it to me. In person.”

There was something in his tone that made even the human think twice. After a beat, the officer retreated to his car.

Daxen removed the band from my wrist with a small key, leaving a red mark. “Don’t make me regret this,” he murmured.

“I didn’t ask you to play hero,” I snapped.

“No,” he said. “But he did.”

He nodded toward the doorway.

Corren waited, arms folded, eyes tracking the bruise the band had left like he wanted to tear metal apart with his teeth.

“This is not how I imagined you coming home,” he said.

“I’m not home,” I said. “I’m contained.”

“For now,” he agreed. “Under my roof, under my protection, until we find who’s painting you into their kills.”

My wolf bristled at under, soothed at protection. I hated that she responded to him at all.

“What if your council disagrees?” I asked. “What if Volen demands his ‘object’ back?”

Corren’s gaze didn’t waver. “Then they can try to take you from my pack house.”

He stepped back, holding the door open to bright, warm halls that smelled like cedar, pack, and the ghost of our old future.

“Come in, Liora,” he said quietly. “Before the whole city decides you’re the monster they’ve been waiting for.”