Allegra tried to keep her distance, but it was no use. She followed the Winchesters everywhere they went, always looking out for the elder of the two. Now that Dean knew of her existence, he sometimes tried to find her in the crowded bar or outside his motel. She sensed him thinking about her from time to time, after which she occasionally allowed him to see her. The Hunter would then smile at Allegra, reassured that she did actually come when he thought of her. She never approached but simply smiled back at Dean from across the room or from the parking lot outside. It was their way of saying hello.
The young woman often found herself inclined to help, albeit indirectly. Like when Dean got infected with ghost sickness in Colorado, she managed to slow down the symptoms by protecting Dean with her shield so that Sam had time to find a cure for him. And at night, she kept watch outside their motel and wrap Dean up as he slept. It wouldn't help keep the nightmares away, but it kept him calm when he relived the tortures he had faced in Hell.

The angels left Allegra alone for some reason. She didn't really understand why. Maybe they knew she was still following the Winchesters, and they thought that was fine for now (Castiel told her to gain Dean's trust, after all). Allegra enjoyed the quiet she had when she slept. She still heard their faint voices in the back of her head, but the bright beings of light didn't appear in her dreams anymore.
Castiel hadn't dropped in for another visit either. Allegra assumed she'd scared him away since their last conversation. She didn't mind not having the pleasure of his company. The one who did sometimes get to see the angel of the Lord was Dean. And he didn't like it one bit.

Dean was furious when Castiel dropped in with a buddy of his, a pompous Archangel named Uriel, during one of their last cases. They actually threatened to level the town and everyone in it to prevent some Seal from opening. The Winchesters managed to stop the witch responsible, but the demon Samhain escaped nonetheless, and the Seal was broken.
After that close encounter, Dean left Allegra a note outside his room, asking her to find out everything she could about some ritual with 66 Seals. It had kept her busy for a few weeks now. She went from town to town, chasing one lead after another, all the while checking in on Dean and Sam at night to make sure they were doing okay. But they were far from okay.
Sam was falling further and further down the rabbit hole. That bitch Ruby had him wrapped around her finger. Dean tried his best to keep the two apart, but it would always end in a fight between Sam and him. So he was left with no choice but to accept her popping up for now. Allegra wished she could help Dean with his brother, but it was too great a risk. If Ruby discovered her and figured out who she was and what she could do, she could summon the HellHounds to drag her back to Hell.

Allegra's research eventually took her to a Priory in Nebraska. She sat on the floor, books around her stacked on top of each other, and documents scattered on the floor. She only had a few candles to read by, but for someone who often spends her time in the dark, it was enough. 
So far, Allegra found evidence of over 200 Seals. But as it seemed, there were still so many more. And all that was needed to let Lucifer out of his cage was 66 of them. 66 broken Seals, out of a couple hundred that existed. Things were not looking good.

Suddenly Allegra sensed Dean thinking of her. Something was wrong. He was... hurting. She hastily gathered her notes, stuffed them in her backpack, and swung it over her shoulder. She locked onto Dean's soul, to his thoughts, and disappeared from the dark cellar. 
Allegra found herself on a cliff in a park, overlooking a small town. The lights from below looked like a reflection of the stars above. A black '67 Chevy Impala was parked a bit further ahead. She saw a man seated on top of the hood - Dean. He seemed to be on his own.

Cautiously, Allegra looked around to make sure Sam wasn't lying in wait to surprise her, but all seemed clear. She carefully walked over to Dean. The Winchesters were still Hunters, and she wasn't about to take any chances with either of them.
At the sound of her footsteps on the gravel, Dean turned around. Allegra gasped at the state of him. His shoulders were hunched, his legs swinging in the air. His cheeks were wet, meaning he'd been crying.

"Allegra? Wha... What are you doing here?" Dean quickly rubbed the back of his hand over his tear-stained face.

"You tell me. You were thinking of me after all."

"Nah, I... I wasn't thinking of you." He averted himself, but not before Allegra detected the faintest blush on his cheeks.

"I'm gonna pretend you didn't just lie to me," she said and sat down beside him whilst dropping her backpack on the ground. "Let's try this again. What happened?"

When Dean kept quiet Allegra put her hand under his chin and turned his face to make him look at her. They stared right into each other's eyes, and for a moment, Allegra thought she felt something. She couldn't describe the feeling, but it was good. Really good.

"I euhm... I told him," said Dean. "I told Sammy... about what happened in Hell."

"How did he take it?" asked Allegra, trying to ignore the odd yet exciting sensation creeping up on her.

"I don't really know. He's disappointed, I think. That I caved in."

"No, you can't think that." Allegra took both of Dean's hands in her own. "Hell is designed to make people suffer beyond what they can handle, Dean. You didn't give in, they just..."

"Allegra, I tortured people! For 10 years! I wasn't the one who suffered at that point!"

"Weren't you?"

Dean shook his head and tried to step away from Allegra, but she held on to him. She hopped off the Impala's hood and stood in front of him, making it practically impossible for him to leave.

"It's another kind of suffering, but it's still suffering."

"No... I was good in it, Allegra." Dean's voice broke. "I... reveled in it."

He bit his lip but didn't try to get away from her again. In fact, Dean gripped Allegra's hands tightly, desperate for her support. She recalled what she felt like after returning from Hell and using her powers for the first time. The angels had been there for her, in a way, but... Surprisingly, it was actually a human priest who helped her through that time. And she remembered what he told her then.

"Dean, listen to me. You're good. You save people. And a demon's sole purpose is to destroy all that is good. They wanted to destroy you, and they found the way. Those other lost souls may have endured physical torture at your hands but don't forget the demons were still occupied with you too. You lost a piece of yourself every time they made you do their bidding. That was Hell's torment for you. And you have to stop blaming yourself for it."

"I can't just forget about it, Allegra..."

"I'm not telling you to forget. You should never forget what they made you do. It'll only make you stronger. What I'm telling you, asking you... is to forgive yourself."

Allegra leaned in. Their foreheads touched. She closed her eyes to focus. A warmth coursed from her soul to Dean's, enveloping them both in a sort of bubble. His tense posture melted away.

"That... is a seriously cool trick," he whispered.

"The one power I actually like to use." 

"Allegra..."

She opened her eyes when Dean said her name. Why did her heart flutter? 

"I know you've been doing this almost every night," he said. "I still have nightmares, but they're not as bad as before. I know I only have you to thank for that, so... thank you."

"Yeah, well... don't mention it."

Allegra's throat was dry. She suddenly became very aware of how close they were actually standing against each other. She could actually feel his breath on her face. The way Dean smelled, the way Dean's impossible green eyes traveled down to her lips, the way Dean rubbed his thumb over the skin of her hand... He intoxicated her. He scared her. Dean's expression warned her of what was about to happen, so she let go and recoiled, burying her hands deep in the pockets of her leather jacket.

"I euhm... I found out more about the Seals," she said, hoping the change of subject would be enough to distract him. "Do you still need to know about them?"

Dean was surprised by her abrupt retreat and seemed at a loss for a few moments.

"The Seals... Oh, right, yeah." He coughed to clear his throat. "Yeah, I'd love to hear what you found out. But maybe Sam should hear too."

Allegra cringed at the mention of Sam's name. She immediately regretted it, for Dean noticed.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Come on, Allegra, suck it up! Nothing's gonna happen, and they need to know.

"Nothing. Just... meeting Sam. Worried he might not like me and all that."

"You'll be fine." Dean waved her worries away and stepped around the Impala. "Besides, I don't really like you either, and we're getting along just fine."

"Huh, funny." Allegra scoffed as she took her backpack and threw it in the car. "Are you always this charming, or am I just lucky?"

"Very lucky." 

Dean winked and opened the door.

"Dean, wait. Could you euhm... Can we not tell Sam about my powers? It's just, the fewer people know, the better. Safer, you know?"

Allegra thought she saw suspicion cross his face, but it was gone in the blink of an eye. 

"Yeah... Sure thing," he said. "Actually... Whilst we're keeping things from Sammy, you euhm... mind not telling him about tonight? I'm just not usually like this."

"What, all cry-baby like?"

Dean rolled his eyes, making Allegra laugh.

"Relax, Winchester. As far as I'm concerned, you're 100% badass."

***

About half an hour later, Dean pulled up at the motel he was staying at with his brother. He led Allegra to his room, finding it incredibly hard to believe that he was actually bringing a girl 'home' just to talk about a case they were working on. Well, first time for everything.
He hid it well, but Dean was still confused about her and about what had almost happened on the cliff in the park. He cursed himself for showing himself in such a messed-up state. Because he wasn't like that - he was Dean Winchester, the toughest Hunter alive (in his opinion anyway). But his stay in Hell left him damaged. And then suddenly this chick comes along who suffered as he had. Even worse, she'd been killed and dragged to Hell when she was still a kid. There was just no way they could be that much alike. No such thing as coincidences in his book.

Allegra kept secrets; that much was obvious to him. She was pretty forthcoming about Hell and most of her powers, but there was something else. Dean was sure of it. Why would the angels choose her of all people to help him? And what was her deal with Hunters? She told him she had bad experiences with them and feared them, but she still hung out with him. If it was really that bad, why the hell did she stick around? Dean was determined to find out. No doubt his little brother would have his own opinion about Allegra too.

***

Sam was sitting at the table, trying to find a new case online. He came across several ones that looked promising and wrote them all down for Dean to take a look at. He was about to click on an article about something that was happening in Sioux City, Iowa when the door opened, and his brother walked in.

"Hey Dean, I think I found something interesting. Something is going on in..."

Sam fell silent when he saw Dean wasn't alone. Behind him was a redheaded young woman, about Dean's age, Sam guessed. She wore ragged jeans and combat boots. Her green leather jacket hung loose, revealing a black and white shirt. She had a fair complexion and dark eyes. Bewitching eyes, almost. 
Dean took a step sideways so that she could come in and closed the door behind her. He met Sam's questioning look.

"Sammy, this is Allegra Galen. Allegra, my brother Sam."

"Hi. I-It's nice to meet you, Sam," she said a bit hesitant.

"Euhm, likewise?" Sam looked from Allegra to his brother as Dean took her backpack over and put it on the floor. "Sorry, I didn't know you were bringing anyone, Dean. You guys want some privacy? I can continue research in the bar."

"What? No, it's not like that. We're..."

"Old friends from college," finished Allegra. "My college, that is. Dean was investigating a case when we met a few years ago."

"Really?" Sam raised a brow. 

"Yeah, I caught Dean breaking into the library one night. My friend was one of the victims, and I had my own doubts about it being a 'normal' killer, so I helped him out with his research. We were just in time to prevent any other killings from happening. We stayed in touch after that. He sometimes calls me to ask my opinion on a case when there's a religious aspect, since I majored in religious studies."

It was so convincing. Sam almost believed it. Almost. For the moment, he decided to roll with it.

***

Dean was amazed at how swiftly Allegra lied to his little brother. He caught Sam looking at him and managed to nod, confirming Allegra's perfectly credible story. But by the look in Sam's eyes, it didn't appear he was buying it. He had to step in.

"I called Allegra a few weeks ago and asked her to find out whatever she could about the 66 Seals. Figured with what she studies, she could help us out."

That certainly got Sam's attention. His entire posture and attitude changed and he invited Allegra to sit at the table.

"Well, what did you discover?" he asked interested.

Allegra sighed and pulled her notes out of her backpack.

"Nothing good. This is everything I gathered from libraries, church records... Turns out there are a whole lot more Seals than just the 66 required to free Lucifer. So far, I've found over 200, but that's not even the tip of the iceberg."

She passed the notes to Sam, who looked them over eagerly. Dean watched the two of them together. His brother really needed to back off. He was the one with the weird magical link to Allegra, not Sam. 

Okay, wow, where did that come from? 

Dean shook his head and took a beer out of the mini-fridge. He moved behind them. Moonlight came in from the window and caught Allegra's hair. The color play it created mesmerized Dean. Since he stood right behind Allegra, he noticed her shifting in her seat. She sat at the very edge like she was preparing to make a run for it. Like she was uncomfortable being this close to them. No, not them - Sam.

"This is unbelievable." His brother's voice pulled Dean back to the moment. "Based on your research, there is no way we can stop this. Demons can just move on to the next one if we do manage to keep one Seal locked."

"As I said, there are more Seals out there, but I haven't found out what they are yet," said Allegra. "I made a copy of the ones I did find, so you keep all this, and I'll track down the others."

"Okay, great. We'll check out the ones on the list. Thank you for helping us with this."

"Yeah, well, Lucifer walking the Earth is a bad thing for everyone, so... yeah."

"You believe in that stuff then? Lucifer, demons, angels even?"

For a moment, Dean felt like kicking Sam. What the hell was up with all the questions all of a sudden?

"Kinda hard not to when you start reading all this.é

Dean was sure he imagined things, but it seemed like Allegra was trying very hard not to look Sam in the eyes as she spoke. Suddenly, she got up from her seat, nearly bumping into Dean.

"I'll euhm... leave you guys to it then."

"You don't have to leave," Dean said quickly as she slipped by him to pick up her backpack. "I mean, it's late, and you shouldn't go out alone. Have my bed; I'll sleep on the couch."

He chose to ignore Sam's inquisitive look.

"That's okay; I have something for tonight, and it's close by. Besides, I wanna get an early start. You know how to reach me, Dean. Sam, nice meeting you."

"Yeah, Allegra, nice meeting you..."

And out she went.

"... too."

Dean felt Sam's eyes on him as he stepped over to the window to watch Allegra leave. One moment she was still walking there, and then she was gone. Vanished into thin air. Almost similar to what Castiel and his douchebag buddies did.
He sighed and turned back around to find Sam sitting back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest. He reminded him so much of their father right now.

"Something you wanna tell me, Dean?"

"Not really, no," reacted Dean.

"Oh, come on, you don't really expect me to believe that story, do you? You never mentioned any case at a college."

"You can believe what you want, Sammy, but that's what happened. We help each other out from time to time, nothing wrong about that."

"Then how come you never mentioned Allegra before? She an old girlfriend? You two... friends with benefits?"

"What? No! I never... we never..." Dean couldn't understand why that question had him so flustered. "Look, we're just regular friends, and she's helping us out with this crap. Now leave it, okay?"

"Fine, whatever. I'm going to bed. Night."

Dean didn't say anything else to his brother. His mind was still on the young woman who vanished in the night.

***

Allegra fell to her knees as she appeared in the park and gasped for air. Her hands dug into the ground. Her heart was racing, and her head was pounding. She left the Winchesters in the nick of time. If this happened in front of them, they wouldn't have let her leave. But she had no choice. She had to get away from them. From him.
Things with Sam were far worse than she feared. She felt Ruby's hold on him the moment she stepped into the room. Sitting beside him, she could clearly sense that the blood rushing through him was unnatural. It was dark and evil. Sam wasn't a demon; that she knew for certain. But he did have demon blood in him. It fed something within him. Something that longed to break free.