New York felt different.
I walked through the streets with a freedom I had never experienced before. There were no suppressors disguising my pheromones, no fear that someone would discover my secret, no parents waiting at home with disapproval and rigid rules.
It was just me, with access to practically unlimited funds and the desperate need to find clothes that weren't infernal robes or Bearer uniforms.
Zara was my first stop. I found some jeans that fit perfectly to my new slimmer figure, and some t-shirts that were soft against my sensitized skin. At Levi's I got a denim jacket that somehow made me feel more normal.
American Eagle had comfortable hoodies and polo shirts that smelled new, but none of these purchases were giving me the inspiration I needed to solve the Bearer problem.
When the sun began to set, I decided to find a place for dinner. A small Italian café seemed perfect—quiet enough to make some calls but public enough to not run into someone who might want to claim me.
"Hi, Dad," I said when Lucifer answered on the first ring.
"How's your exploration day going?" I could hear the smile in his voice.
"Good. I bought clothes. I'm going to stay at a hotel tonight, if that's okay."
There was a pause, and I could hear voices murmuring in the background.
"Voren isn't happy," Lucifer admitted. "But I'm reminding him that you need space to be a teenager."
"Tell him I'm fine," I said, taking a bite of my pasta. "My weapons are still active, my wings are ready, and I promise to call if anything feels wrong."
"Have fun!" Kael shouted from the background, clearly having grabbed the phone. "Just don't bring strange demons home!"
I laughed despite myself. My family was wonderfully overprotective and completely insane at the same time.
After paying for dinner, I decided to make a visit I had been postponing.
The witch's shop looked exactly as I remembered it—small, cluttered, and with an aroma that was half magical herbs and half mystery. When I entered, she looked up from whatever she was preparing behind the counter.
Her eyes opened with immediate recognition.
"Alexander Rasis," she said, although there was something different in her voice. "Or should I say Alexander Morningstar now."
I was surprised. "How—?"
"Honey, the entire supernatural community is talking about you," she laughed. "The Prince of Hell who bent the Seven Sins with his aura, who made the Egyptian gods tremble, who changed the cosmic balance of power."
She paused, studying me carefully.
"Though I must admit I didn't expect you to come here. Infernal royalty don't usually visit small witch shops in New York."
"Please," I said, approaching the counter with a laugh, "don't treat me differently. I need our friendship to continue as before. I need... I need something normal in my life."
Her expression softened. "Of course, dear. You'll always be the nervous boy who came here looking for suppressors."
I sat on the stool in front of her counter, feeling how part of the tension vanished from my shoulders.
"I need advice," I said. "About the Council of Gods and about the punishment I'm supposed to implement."
I told her about my decision to change something in Bearer society instead of simply punishing them, about my frustration at not finding the right solution.
"You know what surprises me?" she said when I finished. "The way you talk about them now."
"What do you mean?"
"Before you loved them. You talked about your family, your friends, with so much affection. Now you talk about the Bearers as if they were strangers."
I paused, processing her words.
"I suppose... I suppose something changed."
She sighed—that sigh was tired.
"It always happens, dear," she said gently. "Supernatural beings who get too close to the Bearers. Something about their system, their mentality, makes us eventually despise them. It's as if we could see through the facade of good or righteous toward the corruption underneath."
Her words hit me harder than I had expected.
"Have you talked to Kaius?" she asked suddenly.
I almost choked on the tea I had been drinking. "No. I can't. Not yet. And with what Lucifer did... maybe he won't want to see me."
"Kaius never had a strong desire to command his legion," she said thoughtfully. "Unlike his father, he was never interested in power for power's sake. Maybe advice from him could give you an idea of what you can change in their society."
"I don't want comments from other species to give me a horrible idea," I admitted. "Although I know they deserve everything other species think of them, I want to be as impartial as I can."
"That's very noble of you," she said. "But maybe you should make peace with Kaius. Maybe you need someone like him—someone who understands both the supernatural world and the Bearer world."
"I'll consider it," I promised.
I left her shop with more questions than answers, but at least with a direction to look toward.
I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I barely noticed the commotion in the alley until I heard the screams.
A vampire—I could recognize the species by the smell of blood and ancient magic—was being attacked by a creature I immediately recognized. It was identical to the one that had killed me at the docks, with the scorpion tail and eyes that glowed with malice.
The vampire was losing. It was clear that, no matter how strong he was, these creatures were designed to kill supernatural beings.
Without thinking, I jumped into the fight.
My wings deployed automatically, and the creature turned toward me with a roar that echoed off the alley walls. This time, however, I was prepared.
I tore off its scorpion tail in one movement, ignoring how its fangs sank into my shoulder. The venom wasn't lethal—I could feel my body processing it—but it definitely hurt.
Using its own tail as a weapon, I pierced the creature's body. It disintegrated into ashes with a shriek that sounded like metal scraping against stone.
"Thank you," the vampire gasped, leaning against the wall. "I thought it was my end."
"Are you okay?" I asked, retracting my wings.
"Better than I would be if you hadn't appeared," he laughed. "I'm Cole Whisper. And you... you have to be Alexander Morningstar."
"Am I that obvious?"
"The golden wings and the power you just deployed are pretty distinctive—the spirits won't stop talking about you," he smiled. "My house is here in the alley. Would you like to come in? It's the least I can do."
His "house" turned out to be a boutique hotel hidden behind what appeared to be just another alley door. The interior was elegant but cozy, with a modern gothic aesthetic that somehow felt warm instead of intimidating.
"Tea?" he asked, guiding me toward a living room where several other vampires were relaxing.
For the next few hours, I found myself immersed in conversations I had never expected to have. Cole introduced me to his coven—vampires of different ages and backgrounds, but all incredibly cordial.
And when the conversation turned toward the Bearers, their reactions were... illuminating.
"Arrogant," said one, grimacing. "They act like they're the only ones with the right to exist."
"Killers," added another. "They've killed several of ours just for being in the 'wrong territory.'"
"And don't even get me started on how they treat their own omegas," growled a female vampire who had remained quiet until now. "It's disgusting."
"Their omegas?" I asked, feeling something awaken in my mind—the rumors about omegas had spread so far.
"We don't make those distinctions," Cole explained. "Vampire omegas have the same privileges as any other. They fight, hunt, lead clans when they have the ability to do so."
"Really?" I straightened up. "There's no... special structure? Different rules?"
"Why would there be?" asked the female vampire. "An omega with centuries of experience and accumulated power is as lethal as any alpha. It would be stupid to waste that potential."
And there it was.
The idea I had been looking for without knowing what I was looking for. I said I wouldn't focus on what other species said, but maybe for this I had to be that way. Besides, I think that not wanting to hear from other species was an excuse not to see Kaius.
"Cole," I said slowly, "could you tell me exactly how omega dynamics work in other supernatural species you know? Not just vampires—werewolves, fae, anything."
His eyes gleamed with understanding. "Thinking about social reform? I can tell you about the fae, but for the others you'd need to go to them."
"Yes, I'll do that. Thanks."
I said while pulling out a notebook from my magical liminal space.
We spent the rest of the night talking, and with each story I heard, with each example of how they and the fae treated their omegas as complete individuals instead of property, my idea solidified.
When I finally fell asleep in one of the hotel's guest rooms, I had the foundation of what I was going to do—at least I had that. My uncle was right.
Instead of thinking of it as punishment, I could lead it as a new reform they couldn't ignore, and it would begin with completely dismantling their caste system.