Fractured Lives, Matched by Magic Book 3

By Jenna Castille

Her heart left reeling from yet another disastrous relationship, Nora Renault yearns for a man who can love her despite her half-breed, fox-shifter and kitsune heritages. But time after time, she ends up alone.
Once a single, astral-projecting spy, Alexander Dimorus was slammed with a Fae curse, ripping him into two people. As a result, Lex and Xander can’t permanently rejoin yet can’t live apart. Finding a woman willing to deal with their unique condition seems impossible.
Only a paranormal matchmaking service like Divine Intervention could put these three together. And this match explodes with love and ecstasy from the first spark. But when long-lost relatives enter the picture, Nora will have to fight to protect herself or be torn from her newfound soulmates forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jenna Castille
• Release date: Aug 14, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463896013

Jenna Castille

It’s always the quiet ones. Mild-mannered Jenna Castille lives a rather normal life with her husband and daughter in Reno, Nevada. Only her husband and closest friends know about the twists and turns her imagination takes. She’s loved fantasies and horror stories since childhood. Then she discovered erotic romance. As a writer, she never could decide which genre she liked better, so she decided to throw them all in a pot and see what came out. Her friends love to read her stories. They tell her at least now they understand the glassy-eyed stares and all the mumbling to herself. Happily, they don’t have to worry about her anymore. Being a writer is much better than being committed.

Book preview

Fractured Lives

Matched by Magic Book 3

Jenna Castille

Fractured Lives

By Jenna Castille

Copyright 2018 Jenna Castille

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

Thank you for purchasing this ebook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

Content Warning: this book is intended for adult audiences only, and contains violence, adult language, and graphic sex scenes.

About This Book

Her heart left reeling from yet another disastrous relationship, Nora Renault yearns for a man who can love her despite her half-breed, fox-shifter and kitsune heritages. But time after time, she ends up alone.

Once a single, astral-projecting spy, Alexander Dimorus was slammed with a Fae curse, ripping him into two people. As a result, Lex and Xander can’t permanently rejoin yet can’t live apart. Finding a woman willing to deal with their unique condition seems impossible.

Only a paranormal matchmaking service like Divine Intervention could put these three together. And this match explodes with love and ecstasy from the first spark. But when long-lost relatives enter the picture, Nora will have to fight to protect herself or be torn from her newfound soulmates forever.

Contents

Title Page

About This Book

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Epilogue

About Jenna Castille

A Personal Note from Jenna Castille

Sneak Peek at Matched by Magic Book 4: Elf Bound

Other Titles by Jenna Castille

Chapter One

Nora’s dreams haunted her.

With utter darkness surrounding her and the tight space hugging her on all sides, Nora should’ve felt secure. But the jagged sounds of crying and hoarse begging had her delicate ears flicking back and forth. Danger and fear ruffled her fur, her lips peeling away from tiny, sharp teeth. The little white fox kit curled herself into a tighter ball, wrapped her tail beneath her nose and tried to become invisible. Mother had told her to do whatever her big brother Takeshi said. Takeshi said to hide and not make a sound, no matter what happened. Then he left her in the narrow crawlspace he’d made by prying up the floorboards under the bunk bed. She would be safe here.

He promised.

Nora heard fierce snarls and wondered if they were shifters. Shifters might find her, no matter how well she was hidden. They were harder to fool than most paras, human or nonhuman. And Mother said they hunted for her, hated her. Nora mustn’t get too close to any of them. The little fox didn’t really understand why they despised her family so much. They were like her and her family. They changed shape too. Takeshi said it was because of Father, because he wasn’t fox shifter. He was a nonhuman para, and there was a war going on between those of human descent and the paranormals who had never been human. But Nora didn’t really understand. Changing shape was changing shape. Why did it matter how you did it?

Her ears flicked again, now straining to catch a sound, any sound. It was too quiet—practically silent. No more fighting or crashing echoed through her home, but where was Takeshi?

Then she heard music. Nora loved music, all types. But Mother listened mostly to what she called bluegrass since it reminded her of her childhood, and this was nothing like what Mother listened to. There were no cheerful voices with banjoes and fiddles playing in the background. Instead it was light and lilting, chimes and flutes and some stringed instrument she didn’t recognize. The smell of a spring breeze oozed through the cracks in the floor, though winter snow covered the ground outside. Her fur stood on end, and she curled even tighter.

Magic. Strong, strong magic. Stronger than Takeshi. Stronger than Mother. Not normal. Wrong. Otherworldly.

Nora’s nose twitched at a slight musky scent almost covered by the Others’ smell—Takeshi. He was in the room with the nonhuman.

The young shifter girl flinched as an unfamiliar voice growled above her. Where is the kit from your mother’s second litter, the girl who survived?

I don’t know what you're talking about. Takeshi’s soft voice sounded fierce and defiant.

Nora struggled not to cringe and bump into the wood above her when she heard a sharp strike followed by her brother’s gasp of pain. Don’t lie, boy, the Other sneered. A bunk bed—that means two children. Where is the other?

Why should I tell you? You plan to kill me either way, just like my mother.

Tears rolled down Nora’s furry cheeks and her nose twitched again, this time against the urge to sniffle. Mother. Not Mother. Who will take care of us with Mother gone? Who will cuddle me and tuck me in at night? Who will sing happy songs and tell stories about life before the war between the paranormal races? Who will tell me all about Father and about the kind of person he was?

We don’t plan to kill you, boy, another, female, voice answered. There were few of your kind left even before the human half-breed scum started massacring the pure para races. You have much of your father in you. We need that kitsune power on our side. If your sister is the same, we need her as well. You’ll both be taken to Otherworld to be trained, to learn to control your powers.

And if she isn’t, if she’s more shifter than kitsune? Takeshi whispered, his pain and despair clear in each word he uttered.

The Other didn’t answer. Nora shivered in the heavy silence.

Doesn’t matter, Takeshi continued. Mother sent Nora away to live with other family. She thought it would be safer that way. Guess she was right, even though she expected shifters to attack us, not Fae assassins.

You’ll change your mind soon enough, boy, the male Fae growled. Your father’s people will teach you the truth. You’ll learn your duty to wipe the human half-breed scourge from the earth.

Nora heard the man dragging her brother from the room. The musical sound got louder for a moment, followed by a crackling noise. She stayed very still, waiting for some sign, some signal that they were really gone. She’d told Takeshi she wouldn't leave until he came or she was sure it was safe.

Instead, she smelled smoke.

Someone pounded on her door. Lady, checkout was an hour ago. You don’t leave now, you pay for another day.

Nora jerked awake with a soft cry on her lips and the stinging smell of smoke still lingering in her memory. She looked around, frantically trying to place herself and gather her thoughts as she resisted the urge to rush to the closest small space. As the dream faded, she took in her surroundings—a sterile, no-name hotel room a short walk from the Greyhound station.

She clenched her eyes shut and took a deep breath. I’m on the run again. That’s right, from my latest bastard of a shifter ex this time, not the Fae. But I’m safe here, safe for now. No need to hide. It will take time for Jake to track me to the other side of the country, especially since I only used cash. And that’s only if he feels that I’m worth chasing. All things considered, I’m probably low on his list of priorities.

She blew her hair out of her eyes, staggered to her feet and stumbled to the door.

How much for another day? she asked through the crack without disengaging the security lock. A woman alone can’t be too careful, especially a woman like me.

The man on the other side of the door couldn’t have possibly looked more bored if he tried. Thirty-eight after tax.

She reached for her purse and carefully counted her remaining cash. She could manage…barely. She shoved some crumpled bills out the door to have them snatched from her fingers. She quickly closed and locked it again. That taken care of, Nora leaned back and stared at the rumpled bed, the only furniture except for a chest with one broken drawer and a single wobbly chair.

This is my life—broken, crumpled, wobbly and rumpled.

She ran her fingers through her sleep-tousled hair and sighed. She couldn’t go on like this. It was pathetic, and she had no intention of being pathetic. She owed it to her family to be strong, not to be a victim. She pushed away from the door and walked over to the chest. She glanced down at the unassuming card she’d dropped there, the card a grim-faced lupin woman had shoved in her hand moments before Nora darted out the bathroom window of her ex’s home to freedom. DivineIntervention.com.

If anyone needed some kind of intervention, it’d be me.

Keep to yourself. Keep moving. Try to find another pack but don't put too much trust in them. She’d been living by those words for her entire life. It was time for something more, something permanent.

Nora sat on the bed, wrapped her arms around her knees and stared at the inconspicuous white card. Thirty years now she'd been alone. Even when she hooked up with the latest in a line of loser boyfriends she was still alone.

Surely there was someone out there for her. The god and goddess couldn’t be as unkind as to leave her mateless. But could she trust Divine Intervention? If they knew she was a mixed breed, a mixture of human and nonhuman paranormal stock, would they still be willing to help her? The treaty should protect her, but she knew from experience how easy it was to get around the treaty just to hurt her.

She had two hundred and twenty dollars left. She had no job. She had nowhere to go. She had no friends she could turn to, not as long as her latest ex might be hunting her. She had nothing left to lose.

What was there to even think about?

She slipped her shoes back on, grabbed her purse and headed to the Internet café she’d spotted down the street.

Chapter Two

Oh, Lex, just like that. It’s so good. Don’t stop. The lean blonde dug her long, scarlet nails deep into Lex’s hair, tugging in time with each lap of his nimble tongue. The bed squeaked and bounced as she twitched, slamming the headboard against the wall.

Lex caught her clit between his teeth, holding it gently as he flicked the tip of his tongue over and over the imprisoned flesh. The woman tossed her head, crying out incoherently. Her thighs tightened around his shoulders, forcing him to push them apart. The tips of her red stilettos raked at his lower back.

Shit, yes. I’m so close—so close.

He felt her leg muscles tremble and strain beneath his fingers. Her breath caught in her throat. He pulled back right before she flew over the edge.

She jerked at his hair, the sharp bite of pain forcing his gaze back to her shining blue eyes before she began pouting. Damn it, Lex. I was almost there.

Sorry, sweetie. He flashed his best playful boy-next-door grin, pulling his longish hair free to fall forward to hide his mischievous expression. I want you to wait for me.

Lex pulled away, rolling off the bed and reaching for his jeans. He fished around for his wallet and pulled out a condom. He let his eyes rove over the bounty lying before him as he rolled it on.

The woman gave a predatory smile, spreading her legs farther and reaching down to rub her clit. I guess you can stop for that. But you better hurry up and come back here to finish what you started, or I will.

We can’t have that. Lex crawled forward between her legs. As he settled himself over her, he reached up to wrap her hair around his hands and tilt her face up for him. He devoured her mouth, swallowing her moans. She wrapped her ankles around his lower back, using her heels almost like spurs, and dug her nails into his shoulders.

He pushed into her, groaning as he sank all the way in one thrust. She cried out, her voice echoing against the bare walls of the hotel room. Lex eased out of her only to plunge back inside, setting a punishing pace. She clawed at his back, muttering disjointedly as she hung on for the ride.

The pressure built higher, an electric ache forming in the small of his back.

Yes, right there. Lex. Lex! the woman beneath him screamed, biting and ripping at his shoulders as she came apart beneath him. He took that as his signal and let go of his tightly held control, pounding into her two more times before his balls drew up tight. He moaned, gnashing his teeth as he came.

The woman let go with a sigh, her hands falling lax beside her head. She smiled up at him, eyes shining. Mind if I stay the night? I don’t think I can move.

Lex rolled to the side, gasping and trying to catch his own breath. That’s fine by me. The room’s paid for. One extra person sleeping here won’t bother anyone.

Groaning, he staggered to his feet and made it to the bathroom. By the time he’d disposed of the condom the woman had snuggled in under the blankets, utterly peaceful and replete. He stood over her with a soft grin. She was pretty and nice. Not the brightest bulb on the tree, but she made up for it with one hell of a sex drive. She was completely uninhibited. All in all, this could work. He could spend some time with her, just the two of them. She might not be his soulmate any more than he was hers, but they could build something enjoyable together, maybe something lasting.

Then the urge to sleep washed over him like a tidal wave, dragging him down in the undertow. Without thought he crawled into bed next to her, eyes closing automatically.

Shit.

Hours later Lex blinked and squinted against the bright morning sunlight streaming through the huge glass door that covered the majority of one wall of the bedroom. A familiar, plush comforter was tucked close around him. The bed felt uncomfortably warm, probably thanks to the large body pressed against his back. Already knowing what he would find, Lex rolled over to face the person sleeping next to him. An identical face framed by slightly longer hair stared back at him, a single eyebrow raised.

Lex covered his face with his hands and groaned.

Good morning to you too. His twin shoved the blankets off his bare chest and scooted up to lean against the headboard. I take it your latest spell didn’t work either?

Shut up, Xander. Lex sat up, swinging his legs over the side of their bed. He rubbed his face and groaned. It should’ve worked this time. The incantation with the distance I put between us plus the sexual energy I’d worked up should’ve been enough to at least break the tie between us.

Instead, it looked like he’d struck out again.

At least he’d paid