Page 131 of Code of Heart

Selene thrashed, wild and desperate, but she couldn’t break free. Couldn’t block the blows that followed.

Aurelia swung hard. Again. And again.

“I was yourfriend!”

Selene’s nose crunched under her fist.

“I didn’tdeservethis!”

Blood poured from Selene’s split lip as Aurelia kept hitting her, years of pain and betrayal fueling every strike.

“I didn’t deserve this!” she cried out again, pounding her fists into the woman who pretended to be her friend.

She barely noticed the strong arms that wrapped around her from behind, pulling her back. She fought against them, kept swinging, lost in the storm.

It wasn’t until she was lifted off Selene, yanked back into a solid chest, that she felt herself starting to break. They fell to the ground together, her body cradled against hard muscles and warm, familiar arms.

She didn’t fight anymore. She simply sobbed. Her whole body shook as the weight of it all poured out of her.

The arms holding her rocked gently, keeping her upright when she didn’t have the strength. Soft kisses rained down from above before a chin rested on her head.

“You didn’t deserve this,” Levi’s broken voice whispered against her ear. His cheek pressed against hers, his tears mingling with her own.

Safe.She was safe.

Somehow, Levi had come for her, exactly when she needed him most. Through the haze, through the regret, she realized how close she had come to never seeing him again.

Her cries quieted. Her body sagged against his, her mind finally allowing her to take in her surroundings. The pain from her fresh injuries returned, sharper now. But it didn’t matter.

Levi came for me. He’s here.

His arms held her tight as the darkness took her. And for the first time in a long time, she let it.

Levi

Until the day he died, Levi would never forget the fear that gripped him during the entire drive to Aurelia’s house.

But nothing could have prepared him for the sheer terror that slammed into him when he walked through her door and saw Selene lunging, knife in hand, straight at the woman he loved.

For a split second, he and Isaac stood frozen, horrified by the scene unfolding before them. By the time they remembered to move their bodies, Aurelia had already acted. A fast and fierceblur that disarmed Selene, took her down, and pinned her to the floor in a matter of moments.

Those few heart-stopping seconds would haunt Levi forever. He was terrified he was too late.

Now, with the police on scene and the chaos behind them, his chest filled with pride and awe. He couldn’t stop shaking every time that lunge replayed in his mind, but his brave, unstoppable wife had defended herself. She had faced a monster and forced it to submit.

That was the woman he had always known lived beneath her soft exterior.

But it was the raw, blinding rage that had overtaken her after—the fury that had truly gutted him.

If he hadn’t reached her when he did, he had no doubt she would have beaten Selene to death. There was no way in hell he would let her go to prison for taking the justice she rightfully deserved.

He tried to be careful when he pulled her off, mindful of her injured ribs, but he knew he couldn’t avoid hurting her a little. There was no other way. He prayed he hadn’t made things worse.

Isaac had rushed to Selene to make sure she was still alive and no longer a threat, while they waited for the police. They arrived about ten minutes later, with Owen right behind them.

Everything after that became a haze.

All Levi could focus on was the unconscious woman in his arms and getting her the help she needed. This was her second ambulance ride in as many days. But this time, he was going with her.