THE DRAGON TWINS' FATED MATE

THE DRAGON TWINS' FATED MATE Prologue Kael Draven hated royal festivals. The admission would probably give his father a heart attack if he ever voiced it aloud, but it was the truth. Every year, the Dragon Kingdom celebrated the Lunar Ascension Festival. Every year, thousands of dragons gathered beneath the Silver Moon Tree. Every year, nobles drank expensive wine, politicians lied through their teeth, and young dragons desperately searched for their fated mates. Kael had grown tired of all of it centuries ago. Well. Not centuries. He wasn't that old. But twenty-six years of attending the same festival was more than enough. His crimson eyes swept across the massive palace courtyard as servants hurried between tables carrying trays of food. Laughter filled the air. Music echoed through the kingdom. Above them, silver lanterns floated like stars against the dark sky. Everything looked perfect. Exactly as it should. Yet Kael felt absolutely nothing. "You're making that face again." Kael didn't need to turn around to know who had spoken. Only one person in existence could annoy him this effortlessly. Lucien. His twin brother. "You know," Lucien continued, appearing beside him with a glass of wine in hand, "if you keep glaring at everyone like that, people might think you hate them." "I do." Lucien laughed. A loud, shameless laugh. Several noble daughters immediately turned to stare at him. Of course they did. Lucien attracted attention everywhere he went. Golden hair. Amber eyes. A smile that could probably convince people to hand over their life savings. The younger twin was a menace. Kael sometimes wondered how they were even related. "Mother keeps asking when we're going to find our mates." Kael took a sip of wine. "I know." "Father too." "I know." "The council is worried." "I know." Lucien groaned dramatically. "You know, if I hear the phrase 'future king needs an heir' one more time, I might actually burn down the council chambers." Kael almost smiled. Almost. The council had been obsessed with the subject lately. As future king, Kael was expected to eventually find a mate. Produce heirs. Continue the royal bloodline. Simple. Reasonable. Except mates couldn't be chosen. They couldn't be arranged. Fate either gave you one or it didn't. And despite what the kingdom believed, Kael had long since accepted the possibility that he might never find his. Not everyone did. Some dragons spent their entire lives searching. Others found their mates only after hundreds of years. It wasn't something he wasted energy thinking about anymore. Lucien clearly disagreed. "What do you think our mate will be like?" Kael sighed. "There is no mate." "There could be." "There isn't." "There could be." Kael pinched the bridge of his nose. Sometimes he genuinely considered disowning his brother. Unfortunately, royal law didn't allow it. "Imagine if he's cute." Kael nearly choked on his drink. Lucien grinned. "Oh, come on. You've never thought about it?" "No." "Liar." "No." "You're absolutely lying." Before Kael could respond, a sudden wave of power crashed through the courtyard. The world stopped. Music died. Laughter vanished. The air itself seemed to freeze. Kael stiffened. Beside him, Lucien dropped his glass. The crystal shattered against the stone floor. Neither of them noticed. Something was wrong. Very wrong. A strange scent filled the air. Warm. Sweet. Impossible. Kael's heart slammed against his ribs. The wine glass slipped from his fingers. Across the courtyard, nobles stumbled. Servants froze. Dragons looked around in confusion. But none of them reacted the way Kael and Lucien did. Because none of them felt what the twins were feeling. A bond. A pull. A connection so powerful it stole the breath from their lungs. Mate. The word exploded inside Kael's mind. His dragon roared. Mine. The voice was so loud it nearly brought him to his knees. Beside him, Lucien looked equally shocked. Golden scales flashed briefly along his neck before disappearing. "Kael..." For the first time in years, Lucien sounded genuinely speechless. Kael couldn't answer. His pulse raced. His entire body burned. Mate. Mate. Mate. Every instinct he possessed screamed the same thing. Find him. Now. A deep growl echoed inside his mind. Umbra had awakened. The massive black dragon rarely showed interest in anything. Now he sounded dangerously close to losing control. Find him. Kael clenched his jaw. "I'm trying." Where? Where was their mate? Why couldn't he see him? Then something incredible happened. A glowing silver thread appeared before him. Kael froze. The thread shimmered beneath the moonlight. Beautiful. Ancient. Powerful. Fate's Thread. The connection between fated mates. Across the courtyard, Lucien stared at it too. "You see it?" "Yes." The thread stretched beyond the palace walls. Beyond the city. Beyond the kingdom itself. Lucien inhaled sharply. "That's impossible." Kael agreed. Because the thread wasn't leading toward another dragon. It wasn't leading toward a neighboring kingdom. It wasn't leading anywhere within their realm. The thread stretched beyond the magical barrier separating dragons from humans. Beyond mountains. Beyond oceans. Beyond everything. Straight into the human world. And suddenly every conversation in the courtyard stopped. Because everyone else could see the thread too. A collective gasp swept through the gathering. The Dragon King rose from his throne. The Queen looked stunned. Council members exchanged alarmed glances. Nobody spoke. Nobody moved. Then Lucien broke the silence. "Our mate is human?" The question echoed across the courtyard. And nobody had an answer. Far away, completely unaware of the chaos he had just caused, Jordan Hayes turned another page in his archaeology textbook. The university library was almost empty. Most students had already gone back to their dorms. Jordan remained seated near the window, scribbling notes into a notebook. He didn't notice the silver moon hanging unusually bright outside. He didn't notice the strange sensation that suddenly settled in his chest. And he definitely didn't notice the two dragon princes whose entire world had just been turned upside down because of him. Jordan yawned. His eyes burned from hours of studying. "One more chapter." He had been saying that for the past hour. His final exam was approaching. His professor was terrifying. And archaeology was a lot harder than people thought. By the time he finally packed his bag and left the library, it was almost midnight. The campus was quiet. Cool air brushed against his face. Jordan shoved his hands into his pockets and started walking toward his dorm. Completely unaware that thousands of miles away, two dragons had just found him. And neither intended to let him go.