had wasted her looks on the breeding camp. She had “harem” written all over her with those long legs and fuck-me eyes.
But I imagined many humans were built like her nowadays with all the specialized breeding Lilith had put into place.
So robotic and boring. Although, I supposed it was efficient. They created Willow, and for that, I could be temporarily pleased with the system.
I went to my fridge to find some bread, deli meat, and cheese. With Damien’s recent visit, I had some fresh groceries from Silvano Region. He lived just inside the nearest city, making him a decent connection to current society when I wanted an indulgence.
While I had pretty much everything I needed in storage, I sometimes craved something a little different. And Damien knew my appetite well.
Willow watched while I assembled two sandwiches—one for her, one for me. Her eyes grew round as I moved, her shock coming to a head as I slid a plate across the island to her.
“You don’t like turkey?” I guessed.
“Wh-what?” She shook herself. “I… I mean, I think, yes.” She frowned at the food as if it were foreign to her.
“Do they not give you sandwiches at the university?” I wondered out loud, unclear of what was customary for the human diet these days.
“Um, no,” she said, lifting the bread to examine the contents.
I picked up my sandwich and took a bite while she watched. Then I asked, “What do they feed you?”
“Vegetables. Protein.” She set the bread back on top, then picked up the food like I did, and brought it to her nose for a sniff test.
I smirked. “Worried?”
“N-no,” she stammered softly before taking a nibble out of the crust. Her brow furrowed while she chewed. “What nutrient is this?”
“Bread.”
“Bread,” she repeated. “Like a carb?”
“Yup.” I enjoyed another mouthful of my creation while she set hers down on the plate.
“We’re not allowed to eat carbs,” she said, confusion evident in her voice. “They’re not nutritional for our body chemistry.”
I just stared at her. “Seriously? You’re going to argue with me over a sandwich?”
“I, no, I’m just… I don’t understand. Is this a test?”
“Yes,” I drawled. “It’s a test of my patience. Now eat the fucking sandwich, Willow.” “Not nutritional for our body chemistry”? What kind of bullshit is that?
No wonder she was so thin. Society had fucking starved her.
She tentatively ate another bite, her eyes on me the whole time as if she were afraid I might punish her for disobeying.
Where the hell did my fighter go? I preferred the chick with the hammer, not this breakable little doe. Had I choked it out of her? Because that would be disappointing.
Her nose scrunched as she continued to eat, her distaste showing.
What was there not to like about a damn sandwich?
“Do you need mayonnaise or something?” I asked her.
“Mayonnaise?” she repeated. “I don’t know. What is it?”
I waited for the punch line, yet it didn’t come. Because she was one hundred percent serious.
Wow. I knew Lilith was a bitch, but this took it to a whole new level.
“You’re probably not familiar with chocolate either, are you?”
Her blank stare gave me the answer before she whispered, “No.”
I shook my head and focused on my sandwich. She did the same, the two of us falling into a comfortable silence with her on the stool and me standing across from her. Having company was a little weird, but not entirely deplorable. Although, we definitely had to work on her exposure to old-world things.
No mayonnaise.
No bread.
No carbs.
“This is exactly why I wanted nothing to do with the new world order,” I told her conversationally. “While some part of it makes sense from a regulation standpoint, it’s a bit overstated and, frankly, boring as fuck. There’s no chase anymore. No excitement.” I sighed and set my empty plate in the sink just as my watch buzzed.
Frowning, I glanced down at the notification, then went to the monitor hooked into the wall beside my fridge to pull up the display.
Screen number one fourteen showed me the reason for the alert.
Damien.
He gave me a wave, knowing I’d see him on the camera, then he jogged up the walkway to my front door. I hit a button on the panel next to my screen, unlocking it for him.
When I turned toward Willow again, I found her gaping at my security system. “You should see the one in my office,” I told her. “This is just the baby version.” I had one of these in every room of the