Page 29 of Snowed in: With the Alien Tentacle Monster

The words hit Logan like a physical blow. He pulled away from Valen's tentacles, earning a distressed sound from his mate. "You were forced into this by drugs?"

"Logan—"

"Tell me," Logan demanded. "Did you sleep with me because you were drugged? Is it this drug thatstillmakes you want to please me?"

The temperature in the room seemed to drop as Valen's parents exchanged a satisfied look, as if Logan's reaction confirmed something for them.

"Logan, please." Valen begged him with his eyes. "Let me explain."

"As regrettable as this situation is," the Queen interjected smoothly, "it can still be salvaged. The alliance must be preserved." She turned to address her son directly. "Valen, you understand your duty as third royal son. Sometimes we must make sacrifices for our people."

"The Crystalline prince's family will be understanding, given the circumstances," the King added. "It's not ideal, but with the proper apologies and compensation... these things have happened before. A marriage can proceed even without a true bond."

Logan felt sick. Every touch, every moment of intimacy with Valen… had it all been nothing but chemicals? His skin crawled at the memory of drinking Valen's nectar, of craving it, needing it.

He steeled himself. "None of this was real, was it?"

"Of course it's not real," the Queen said, her voice too gentle for the words she spoke. "The bond you feel was engineered for agreater purpose. I am very sorry you were dragged into this as a bystander. Valen should never have landed on your planet."

"But I did!" Valen spoke up. "And we bonded, no matterhowthat bond came to be, it's real now. Would you have me turn my back on that?"

His mother did not seem moved. "Would you turn your back on your people?"

"I can't leave Logan now," Valen argued. "Our mating is still young. He still relies on my nectar."

"I don't want it." Logan's voice cracked. "Not if it was all just... chemicals. Not if none of it was real."

"But it is real," Valen insisted, his tentacles reaching for Logan only to pull back when Logan flinched away. "Yes, the heat inducers were meant for someone else. Yes, they made me bond with the first compatible being I encountered. But everything that came after…"

"Was the result of those same chemicals," the King cut in. "You know this, Valen. The bond compels certain behaviors, certain feelings."

"The same would have been true with my intended mate," Valen argued. "You would have had me form an artificial bond with them, yet you call what Logan and I have fake?"

The Queen's perfect features arranged themselves into a sympathetic expression. "The difference, my son, is that one serves a greater purpose. What you've done here, taking a mate who didn't know what was happening from a non-spacefaring world… It's not right. You know that. You couldn't expect us not to correct that mistake."

"Youcan'tcorrect my mistake!" Valen insisted.

Logan wrapped his arms around himself, trying to hold together the pieces that felt like they were falling apart. He should haveknownhe would end up getting hurt again. "Stop. Just... stop. I won't be the reason you abandon yourresponsibilities. I won't drink your nectar again. I won't. If you have to go, just go."

Logan turned and walked away, leaving Valen with his parents. In his bedroom, he sank onto his bed, deflated, exhausted. Through the closed door, he could no longer hear their voices. They'd probably shifted to their natural forms to communicate.

The silence felt oppressive.

He stared at his hands, remembering how just an hour ago they'd been covered in snow, building a snowman with Valen. How could something that felt so real, soright, have started with a lie?

The door opened several minutes later. Logan didn't have to look up to know it was Valen.

Despite everything, they were still connected.

"Logan."

"Don't," Logan said softly. "Just... don't."

"I need you to understand," Valen said, moving closer but not touching Logan. "What happened that first night…"

"I don't want to talk about that night." Logan's hands clenched in his lap, even as he couldn't stop the memories from assaulting his mind. "I don't want to talk about any of it."

"Logan, please?—"

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