Page 33 of Snowed in: With the Alien Tentacle Monster

The Queen's cool voice cut through the tension. "I warned you not to attempt this." She moved to support the King, who was still pressing his hand to his temple. "We might have convinced our son to live up to his duty, but now, thanks to your actions, we never will."

The King tried to speak, but she silenced him with a look. "Enough. You've donemorethan enough." To Valen, she added, "I will take your father back to his ship."

Her perfect features betrayed no emotion as she guided the King out, but the temperature in the room seemed to warm slightly with their departure.

CHAPTER 10

As soon ashis parents left, Valen thought he was going to collapse with the receding adrenaline. He could barely hold Logan upright, but he refused to let go. He'd come too close to losing everything, to losing Logan.

His mate's skin felt cold against his tentacles, too cold. His mate was shaking, breath coming in short gasps.

"Logan?" Valen held him closer. "Are you…can you…?" He couldn't even form the words. The memory of his father's psychic assault, of feeling Logan's consciousness starting to fade, made his tentacles coil tighter.

Logan's hand came up to touch one of Valen's tentacles. The simple gesture sent relief coursing through their bond. He was alive. He was here.

"That was..." Logan's voice was hoarse. "Your father tried to..."

"I'm sorry," Valen whispered. "I'm so sorry. I never thought he would." He broke off, rage and guilt warring inside him. "I should have protected you better. Should have known he might..."

Logan's other hand reached up to touch Valen's face, fingers brushing away the iridescent blood still trickling from his nose. "You did protect me. You fought him."

The awe in Logan's voice made Valen's hearts clench. "I've never defied him like that before. Never even knew I could." He helped Logan to his feet, supporting him when his legs wobbled. "But when I felt you slipping away..."

He guided Logan to sit on the bed, still unwilling to break contact. Every beat of Logan's heart, every breath, reassured him that the worst hadn't happened.

"You should rest," Valen said, noticing how Logan's hands still trembled. "That kind of psychic assault... it takes a toll."

Logan shook his head. "I can still feel you in my head. More than before." His eyes met Valen's, full of questions. "What you showed me, before your father..."

"All of that was true." Valen's tentacles curled around Logan's wrists, seeking his pulse points. "The heat inducers might have started this, but they couldn't have given me the strength to defy my father. You did that."

"You chose me." Logan's voice was quiet, wondering. "Over everything."

"Yes." The word came out fierce, certain. Valen touched his forehead to Logan's, their bond humming with shared emotion. "And I would do it again."

He felt Logan's lingering doubts through their connection, saw flashes of memory. Jeff's death, years of loneliness, the fear of being left behind again. But underneath that was something warm and bright, growing stronger.

"When your father was... when he tried to..." Logan swallowed hard. "You werefurious."

"He tried to take you from me." Valen's tentacles tightened possessively. "No one gets to do that. Not my father, not the alliance, no one."

A soft knock at the door made them both tense. The Queen stood in the doorway, looking composed despite everything that had happened.

"Your father is resting in his pod," she said, her voice neutral. "I would like to speak with you both, if you're able."

Valen's tentacles tightened protectively around Logan. After what his father had tried, he wasn't about to let anyone near his mate. "I'm not leaving Logan."

"I assure you, Valen, I have no intention of forcing you now," the Queen said, remaining in the doorway. "What your father attempted was..." She paused, choosing her words carefully. "Unconscionable."

Logan's pulse still raced under Valen's tentacles, but he straightened slightly. "Why are you here?"

"Because we need to discuss what happens next. Your bond," she gestured between them, "is clearly too strong to be severed."

The Queen stepped further into the room but maintained her distance, seeming to understand Valen's protective stance.

"The alliance with Prince Seren's family..." she began.

"I won't—" Valen started, but his mother held up a hand.

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