Chapter 5: Sera's Offer

I woke up to a sharp pain in my body. Adam really did a number on me last night. Dry blood stained the sheets on the bed. Parts of the mirror were still on the ground. I felt hungry, so I got out of bed to make myself some breakfast. Adam wasn't present this morning thankfully. He had some work to do with his army. I hope he won't be back anytime soon.

I didn't feel better after eating breakfast. I had a pounding headache. I went to my room to get dressed. I got one of my comfort hoodies on which was some merch from my favorite YouTuber, the Spy Ninjas. I had the pink hoodie. I got on some warm black leggings. Partly to protect myself if I get hurt again, and partly to cover up the wounds on my body. I was still bleeding a little.

I needed medical attention before the cuts got any worse. I was about to leave the house when I heard footsteps behind me.

"And just where do you think you are going?"

I turned around to see my wife, Lute standing behind me. She was here? I thought she was with Adam like she usually is.

"I wanted to take a walk. If that's okay with you." I said.

Lute sighed. "Fine. Just don't take too long." She said.

"Thanks," I said.

I left the house. I didn't have wings, unfortunately, so I had to walk. It would take me longer to where I needed to go. As I was about to take another step, I felt the collar going off. I screamed when it shocked me. I completely forgot about it. With this thing pierced around my neck, I needed to be careful where I was going so it didn't alert Adam or Lute.

It's engulfed with my skin so I couldn't take it off. I walked close to the golden gates where St. Peter was. Peter greeted me with a smile.

"Hey sweetie, you doing okay?" Peter asked me.

"Uh... is Sera around? I would like to talk to her." I said.

"Sure. Give me a few minutes. Wait right here." Peter said.

"Thank you," I said. Peter flew away from his spot. He came back a few minutes later with Sera. Sera landed in front of me.

"Lana? Is everything okay?" Sera asked.

"Not really... I need help." I said. I lifted up the sleeve of my hoodie to show her the cuts I got from Adam last night. I showed her the deep gash on my leg where Adam stabbed me with the mirror glass. Sera and Peter's eyes widened with horror. Sera also noticed the black eye and the few bruises I had.

"We need to get those taken care of fast!" Sera said.

Sera held onto me and flew me above the Heaven skies to her place. When we arrived, she laid me on her bed.

"Emily, can you hand me the medical kit?" Sera asked.

Emily's face widened when she saw me. "Oh my gosh, Lana!" Emily cried. "Right away!"

Emily quickly went to get the medical kit. I took off most of my clothing so Sera could work on the wounds.

"This will hurt a bit. Hold still." Sera said. I held onto Emily's hand when Sera applied medicine to the cuts. I cried in pain. Emily rubbed my back to comfort me.

"Almost done," Sera said.

I cried in pain again when she put some more drops on me. Sera rubbed the wounds with alcohol and took out some small bits of glass shards that were stuck inside with tweezers.

"Who did this to you?" Emily asked.

"Adam. He- he was pissed with me last night." I said.

"Is that a collar?" Emily asked.

Sera looked up to see the collar around my neck. "That son of a bitch..." She muttered as she finished applying the rest of the bandages.

"There is a tracker on this thing. Can you see if you can disable it? I'm going to get in trouble if he finds me here." I said.

Sera nodded. It took Emily and Sera a good hour to figure out how to disable the tracker. We were eventually able to get it disabled. Sera left the room, muttering under her breath. She looked worried. Emily stayed with me. Emily read a few stories to me to comfort me. I was still very sore, but the stories helped. My favorite one that she read to me was the story of the Titanic.

I've seen the Titanic movie as well. I loved reading stories about it as well as watching the movie. Emily noticed the logo on my hoodie.

"What's that, Lana?" Emily asked.

"It's from the Spy Ninjas, my favorite YouTubers," I said.

"That's cool," Emily said.

"Can we watch some of their videos?" I asked.

"Sure," Emily said.

Emily turned on the TV so we could watch a few of their videos. After a few videos, Sera returned to the room with a plate of food in her hand.

"Emily, can you leave? I need to speak with Lana." Sera said.

"Okay," Emily said. Emily left the room, closing the door behind her. Sera put the food on my lap.

"What is it, Sera? You look upset." I said when I finished eating. Sera sets the plate on the ground.

Sera sighed. "I can't let you go near Adam anymore. He's too dangerous... I was thinking... what if we get married?" Sera said.

I blinked in surprise. "Married? But I am already married." I said.

"I know," Sera admitted, her cheeks flushing. "But if we marry, I can protect you. If we tie the knot, Adam would see you as mine then he would think twice before hurting you."

I considered this, the seriousness of Sera's proposal sinking in me. This would be a good thing. But it comes with a risk. If Adam found out about this, then I am dead. He would do another extermination day. "You want to marry me to keep me safe?" I said.

"Yes. But this is your decision, just so you know. I won't force you like Adam did." Sera said.

I looked at Sera, a hurricane of thoughts racing through my mind. "You'd do that for me?" I said.

"Yes. I'd do anything for you." Sera said.

Silence hung between us. In that moment, I felt a warmth between us. "Alright. Let's do this. If it means protecting me, I'm in." I said. "But what if Adam finds out?"

"Then I promise to protect you with my life. I won't let anything happen to you." Sera said.

I gave Sera a hug. "Thank you, Sera," I said.

"You're welcome." She said.

"When is the wedding?" I asked.

"We can get married tomorrow if you want," Sera said.

"Sure," I said.

Sera and I had a private wedding to ensure that no one would find out about our marriage. If people found out, then I would be in danger. As we prepared for the ceremony, I took a moment to mentally prepare myself for the new change. We were in the Heaven courthouse where I married Adam and Lute a few months back.

We both exchanged our vows, with Sera promising to protect me. Sera and I exchanged rings. We then sealed our union with a kiss. This wedding was more pleasant than the previous one I had.

Sera only had one rule for me. That rule was I was to never tell anyone about this marriage. Not even my parents. Sera had this rule to keep me safe. We left the courthouse. I still had an unsettling feeling.

"Sera? I'm worried. What if Adam finds out?" I said, nervously.

She squeezed my hand tightly. "Then I will protect you, like I promised. We are bound now. Adam won't dare come near you." Sera said.

I hugged Sera tightly. "I love you," I said.

Sera had a look of shock on her face, but she returned my hug. "I- I love you too."

Adam's POV:

I flew over the skies of Heaven, returning home from my work with my army. I had spent a lot of time putting my girls into shape to prepare them for extermination day if Lana got out of line. As I continued flying, I felt an uneasy feeling inside me like something was off. I decided to do a bit of investigating before going home.

I landed on the ground to see if I could find anything out of the ordinary. I soon got a notification on my phone, letting me know that the tracker to Lana's collar has been disabled. I grew angry. That whore. I'm gonna give her the punishment she deserves when I return home.

I then soon heard Lana's voice in the distance. I was going to confront her until I heard another voice. It was Sera's. What the fuck is she doing with her? I decided to spy on them to see what they were up to.

"Sir?" I heard a voice behind me.

I turned around to see Lute. I grumbled in annoyance. "What is it, bitch?" I said.

"I just wanted to tell you that Lana has not returned home in a couple of days," Lute said.

"I know. And I am going to find out why." I said angrily.

Lute's anger grew when she saw Sera and Lana together. I watched Lana enjoying herself with Sera. Her laughter was one of the most annoying things to me. Then, it happened. Sera cupped Lana's face gently, then leaned in to kiss her. Time seemed to freeze as fury exploded within me, dark and uncontrollable. I felt anger rising in my body.

Lute screamed as she threw her weapon to the ground. How dare she be with another woman while we are married? My fists clenched in anger.

"We should kill her now!" Lute shouted.

"Not yet. I am going to make sure she understands the consequences of her actions." Adam said.

"What about extermination day, sir?" Lute asked.

"That will still happen. I don't care that our marriage was supposed to stop it. Lana brought this upon herself. She will pay the price for her defiance." I said.

As I retreated into the depths of Heaven, my heart was hardened. But some satisfaction ignited within me. I would ensure Lana would learn the consequences of her actions, and her defiance would not go unpunished.