Author Note: After taking a break from writing for a few weeks, I decided to write something a little different than what I'm accustomed to writing. I hope that it's something that you readers would like and will be a success like my previous ones. There are several songs that inspired me to write this. One of which was 'Not Strong Enough' by Apocolytica feature Brent Smith of Shinedown. Enjoy and let me know what you think. Thank you ahead of time for taking time to read it.

Prologue

The smell of stale cigarettes and cheap perfume intoxicated the air that Ayva breathed as she walked into the local night club with two of her closest friends. It was the first time she had been out with the intent of fun since the day she learned of her husband's death a little over a year ago. He had been a proud soldier of the military and lost his life in an air raid overseas. Now it was all different. What she thought was happily ever after turned out to be the worst heartache she had ever known. It was supposed to be the best years of her life. Unfortunately, that's not how it turned out at all.

Ayva shook her head, ridding herself of the gut retching thoughts of what eventually would make her to cry. Her friends knew only what she told them; but they weren't idiots, the pain was something she was going to have to move on from on her own. The only thing they could do was be there for her when she needed them to be.

"What do you want to drink, A?" Becky asked in her beautiful crisp Irish accent, turning her head in Ayva's direction. Her orange red hair fell of her shoulder framing her face.

"A beer is fine." Ayva answered softly trying really hard not to disappoint them by thinking about the past.

"Are you sure that you're up for this?" Paige asked tossing her ebony hair across her shoulder.

What could she really tell them? That she was okay and they would have tons of fun, when the reality was she didn't think she'd ever be okay to let him go. She looked at her two friends dead in the eye with her own blue ones. The pleading looks made her feel guilty. They were trying to help her in anyway they knew how to and she appreciated it, she really did; but there was still so much pain deep within herself. "I need to come out sometime. I can't hide forever no matter how much I want to."

"A...we miss him to; but he wouldn't want you to do nothing for yourself. He'd want you to live your life." Becky explained taking her right hand into her own.

"Yeah, it's been over a year since his death. I think enough time has passed to allow yourself to live a little."

What they were telling her made sense; but it still hurt to think about moving forward. Her lips curved upward into a smile as she gave Becky's hand a squeeze. It was enough to satisfy them for now. The cold bottle of beer was handed to her. The night had officially begun and the music started to blare out from the large speakers surrounding the stage housing the DJ for the night. Bass pounded against Ayva's chest, urging her move along with the beat. With a tug on Becky and Paige's arms, she drug them out onto the dance floor with a smile.

Across the room, at the bar, several sets of eyes watched intensely. Crystal blues eyes stared at Ayva weaving her way through the growing crowd of people on the floor. The memory of being one of two that came to her, delivering the heartbreaking news that her husband had died in the line of duty. The look on her face that day was something he would never forget. "So is that the one?" A voice asked behind him.

"Yes...that is Ayva Bradly." He answered the question hesitantly.

"Did she know of Damien's secret?" Another asked.

"No...she was kept in the dark about everything. He planed on telling her once he got back; but he never got the chance to."

He didn't know why that hurt to say; but it did. The secrets they all kept from the world was something none of them could take lightly. The fact was, there was more to the secrets than just their own. "Finn, what do you intend to do now with her? I mean she's..."

"I know what she is!" He interrupted his pleading.

His voice boomed, making the others cower backward. Their leader had quite the temper when provoked about certain subjects and it just so happened that Ayva was one of those subjects. Finn turned away from the others to watch her more. Questions circled his mind. Most of them revolved around the woman in their sights. "I guess I will have to do what Damien could not..."

His subjects understood what that meant and what it meant for all them. It wouldn't be long before war would be on the doorstep of Miami's underground societies and there wouldn't be anything they could do to stop it unless they had help. Help in the form of Ayva Bradly.

Chapter 1:

-Three Months Later-

Ayva crouched down behind some shrubbery, hiding herself from sight. No more than fifteen feet away from her was a mother deer and a young fawn grazing. She held up her camera, focusing on the targets and quickly pressed the shutter. A smile curved her lips. The sight of the animals enjoying life made her happy, even if she couldn't always be. Going out and capturing photos of the world's creatures was her escape and it kept her from crying most days.

The mother nudged her fawn onward, deeper into the woodlands. Ayva stood up and started to walk away towards her parked car. In the distance she could see a group of people running in her direction. It wasn't uncommon for people to do their daily runs through the paths. It was a quite place to exercise. As the group passed her, she could feel anxiety pound against her chest and take her breath away.

She leaned against her car and took several deep breaths, forcing herself to calm down. Once the group was out of sight, she felt better and began to pack her camera up into the travel case. She never understood feeling random emotions that weren't her own when she came in close contact with other people. When her eyes shifted, she caught sight of someone else running in her direction; but when he came closer, her breath became lodged in her throat. She recognized him. How could she forget? He was one of the ones that told her that her husband has died. Instinctively, she moved several steps away from her car.

"Hello, Ayva." He greeted warmly. His rich Irish accent rolled across her skin sending a chill up her spine.

"Finn..." She replied softly unable to think of anything else to say.

"It's nice to see you out and about."

"Yeah...I uh..was taking photos of the wildlife here."

He noticed her nervousness immediately. He supposed it came as no surprise. The woman was so devoted to her husband and it was all ripped away from her in the blink of an eye. He knew that Damien loved her, despite everything he was advised against. That had to count for something, at least in his eyes it did. "So your a photographer now?" He asked trying to make conversation.

"Yeah...I decided that I needed to do something with my time."

Ayva watched his smile grow wider. There was something about him that she never noticed before now. He was definitely attractive; but that wasn't what she noticed. It was his eyes. They held such pain behind them, even when he was smiling. She could tell that he had seen much in his lifetime and not all good things. "That's good. I'm glad to see you're doing better." He finally stated looking away from her.

"How are things within the unit?" She asked changing the subject.

Her question caught him off guard for a moment. He never thought she'd ask about the unit or anything that had to do with Damien in general. The woman surprised him and he didn't know if that was a good thing or not. "We were all discharged after what happened with Damien..."

"I'm sorry...I didn't mean..."

"It's okay." He interrupted, not really wanted to go into the specifics. There was more to what happened than she knew.

Ayva watched him a moment. He avoided eye contact with her and continued to stare out into the wood line. Call it an intuition; but she felt guilt radiate off him in waves. She wanted to know what he was feeling guilty for; but thought better of it. She didn't really know him, despite knowing that her husband had been close friends with him. "I really need to get going. I have a deadline for these photos." She stated.

"Of course. It really was good seeing you again. Maybe I'll see you around."

"Oh if you keep running up here, you probably will."

She mentally cursed at herself for even saying such a thing. She honestly had no idea why that even came out of her mouth; but it caused him to smile and now she knew it was time to leave. The awkwardness of the situation was embarrassing. Turning away, her legs carried her the rest of the way to the car. Getting inside her hand turned the key, starting the engine.

Finn watched once again. He studied her features. Stunning ocean blue eyes and long auburn hair cascading down her back in ringlets. A small mole was delicately placed near her left eye and a vibrant tattoo on the inside of her left arm of the Celtic trinity knot and words in a fantasy font. It flattered him to know that there was a symbol from his heritage on her skin.

He gave her a half wave as she drove away down the path. Since that night three month ago in the club, he couldn't shake her face from his mind. Accepting the mission, he never knew it was going to be this difficult to maintain a professional stand point and hope that things went how he foresaw them to proceed. He could feel his hands tingle as his fingers were clenched into fists at his side. "Oh Ayva, I believe you will see plenty of me." He whispered before shimmering away from sight.

Across Town

Ayva pulled into the driveway of her small home on the outskirts of the city of Miami. The newspaper was neatly placed on her porch awaiting her hand to pick the item up. It had become an everyday routine. Pick up the paper and look at the odd deaths if there were any. She couldn't understand why the strange called out to her in the way it did.

"Please let there be no strange deaths..." She whispered picking up the paper.

Unfolding it and looking directly at the image, her heart dropped. "Girl found Dead with Occult Symbols". She couldn't bear to read the article below the image. Seeing it gave her chills and not in a good way. It was the third strange death in two weeks. There was something going on and it was looking more and more like a serial killer. The nagging sensation to find out why it was happening overwhelmed her more than she liked to admit, even to herself.

Her finger traced the lines of the symbol on the upper part of the circle. The familiarity of it was beginning to scare her. Ever since she turned twenty-five three weeks ago, her world was changing around her. She was drawn to strange deaths with symbols that she felt like she had seen before, even though she knew that was impossible. Empathy took a whole new meaning for her, since she seemed to be able to feel others emotions just by standing near them. Finn was no exception. The guilt rolled off him in waves. Thinking about her dead husband's best friend only brought his face to mind. Crystal blue eyes, rounded nose, well kept facial hair and perfect smile. His brown hair was slightly longer on the top compared to the sides. She didn't think running into him again could be just a coincidence. No, there was more to it than that. There had to be.

"Damien, I don't understand what is happening to me..." She whispered collapsing on the sofa behind her.

Closing her eyes, she allowed sleep take over. Praying that things wouldn't seem so bad when she woke up. Behind her closed eyes, she could see light. A pure radiating light that seemed beyond familiar and loving. Sinking deeper into slumber, she never noticed the gazing eyes upon her sleeping form.

Finn looked down at Ayva's peaceful form. He could tell she was dreaming, of what he didn't know; but the newspaper on the coffee table indicated that she had seen the third death. Looking at her at the park, he could sense something was different about her. Something pure. It was starting and he knew than now more than ever, she would need protection. Sometimes he wished that Damien had been right about her all along. Things would be so much similar if he had been.

"Finn, I don't think we were right about her." A rough voice entered his ear.

He turned to see his best friend and most trusted follower, Damien Bradly. His hazel eyes was glazed over with red, indicating that he had just been in a fight. Half-Demons could easily blend in with humanity, except when they engaged in battle or felt intense rage. Finn Bálor was the leader of a large group of half-demon subjects that were cast out by pure bloods. Claiming them abomination and not fit to work alongside the pure ones.

"Why do you say that?" He asked.

"She seems so human. Naive maybe; but very normal. If she was a Nephilim, she would have come into her power by now. Considering her age."

Finn took the suggestion in and thought about it. Nephilims were children born from rouge angels and humans. However, their power was strong. Strong enough to eliminate a pure demon just by willing it to happen. Over the years, they've heard things through the grapevine of rumors that the king of demons was looking to eliminate all Nephilims to ensure his race's survival. He wanted to create chaos amongst humanity. Though he doubted that the Angels would stand by and allow that to happen. It would cause an inevitable war between the species. That was something Finn and his followers did not want.

"Are you sure that it's not your personal feelings for her clouding your judgment of the situation?" Finn asked turning away from Damien.

"My feelings have nothing to do with it. It's been recorded that Nephilims come into their power by the age of twenty. Ayva has shown no signs at all that she is one."

Boy did Finn wish that he had been right that day, because the days that followed changed everything. Damien did everything he could to protect her from the King including doing things that was frowned upon by the entire group. His death was unforeseen and he would carry the burden for the rest of his existence for however long that would be.

It was his job now to protect the woman that meant the world to his best friend. If he couldn't do that then he would die trying. None of them could afford the king to get his hands on her. It would spell disaster for humanity and every species in the world. Finn looked back down at Ayva, who had rolled over onto her side facing away from him.

"I will do everything I can to protect her, Damien. You have my word." He whispered before shimmering out of the house and back into his own. The fire crackling under the chimney. The smell was refreshing.

The walls were painted a brown color accented with several paintings hanging at several points in the room. A large rug was neatly placed in front of the fireplace, adding texture to the black leather furniture. He sat down in a reclining chair, letting out a breath of air. Just as his eyes closed, he could hear voices outside of his chamber doors. Rolling his eyes, he could hear the debate about whether or not to disturb him. Getting to his feet, he opened the door to come face to face with a woman with long orange red hair curled in ringlets down her back and chocolate eyes surrounded by subtle makeup choices. She wore black vinyl pants with heeled boots that came to her knees and a white tank top. Beside her was a man a little over six foot with shaggy brown hair and blue eyes. He wore a black leather coat over his black-shirt with a random design and light colored jeans.

"Becky...Dean...what seems to be the problem?" He asked.

Becky looked at her superior with a worried look upon her face. She had been ordered to befriend Ayva years ago in hopes of proving her Nephilim status; but like Damien, she never saw anything until recently. Dean was Finn's second-in-command and Becky's lover. He had a rocky past and she seemed to calm all the rage that was buried deep within him from years of torture under the king.

"They are killing Nephilims. The three deaths in two weeks...that's what they all had in common." Becky stated with a plea in her voice.

"I assumed that was the case. One of the symbols surrounding the bodies was the ancient mark for Nephilim. There was no doubt in my mind that's what they were after." Finn answered walking back towards the chair allowing them access to his private room.

"So what is your plan?" Dean asked giving his lover's hand a gentle squeeze in reassurance.

Finn didn't really have one. The only thing that was certain was Ayva's safety. No one in the entire clan wanted a war between demons and angels. It would be catastrophic to humanity and could very well wipe them out entirely. "I wish had a plan to tell all of you; but I don't. Damien did everything he could to ensure war would never come to pass. As things stand now, war is coming. Ayva is the only known Nephilim to us and if we could get her to help us things might be different. Unfortunately, she knows nothing of any of this..."

"I don't know how much time we have left. She needs to know this now." Dean stated firmly.

"Dean...you can't just lay all that on her at once. She will bolt for sure. Trust me, I know her." Becky countered.

It was the truth. Becky knew her better than anyone in the entire clan now that Damien was gone. Finn ran a hand over the top of his head. There was only one thing left to do. "I guess I'm going to have to get involved in her life and ease into things with her, make her understand that she is our last hope."

"Just don't fall for her like Damien did. It forbidden for a reason." Dean commented before turning away from his leader.

Becky could only smile. She knew Dean was only concerned with Finn's well-being. Following her lover out the door, she turned back to smile at her leader. She was assuring him that things would be okay. Just because they were half-demon, they weren't heartless killers. That was far from the case. Their emotions were what made them understand that not everything is about the evil in the world. That's what made them frowned upon by the pure blooded demons.

"What the hell do I do now? I don't the first thing about her..." He said aloud to himself leaning back in the chair, closing his eyes to allow sleep to overtake him. He would deal with the problems in the morning when he had a better understanding of what to do next.