Carter flinched. How had she seen through him so easily? He figured he had gotten pretty good at lying over the years, given he was surrounded by criminals who Lived on Lies. "What makes you think I'm faking?"

"I don't feel emotion, but detecting lies is a useful survival skill.

The way your voice wavers, the way your jaw tenses, it is clear you don't like my offer. So think logically if you can. I ask quite little of you."

"Little?!" he snapped back, giving up on trying to keep calm. "You want me to stay here with you forever and raise a bunch of monster kids! How is that Little?!"

"You need not involve yourself in raising my young. I doubt there is anything someone Like you could teach them anyway.”

“Is that what you think of your own father?!" he shot back, not sure why he was offended by her words when he had no desire to be a father.

“My father desired to be a parent to me. He is a man of the forest, and taught my family many useful survival skills that were unknown to us.

Unlike you he is an ideal mate for my kind.“

Despite her lack of emotion he still felt insulted at the comparison, and now he was pretty sure why. He'd been looked down on all his life, he'd be damned if he was going to take more now that he was away from

Jiro. "If he's so wonderful then why not go and make him your mate?!

Isn't it true you monsters don't care about incest?!"

Unsurprisingly her expression showed no offense.

“That is true, but even so, incest is rare among most monsters," she stated plainly.

“However, even if I desired my father, which I do not, he lives with my mother far from here. If I abandon my territory for long I will lose it, but I must pass on my genes. You can allow me to do that."

He glowered and snapped at her again.

“You're asking me to give up my freedom for you!"

She folded her arms and sat down. "Freedom is a relative thing. We are all slaves to the needs of our bodies: food, water, shelter. If it is freedom from oppression you desire then I can provide that. You may move freely through my territory and do as you wish. All I ask of you is your sperm."

Carter rolled his eyes but sat down in front of her, feeling emotionally drained. "Yeah, unless someone better comes along right?"

"If it helps, someone more suitable coming here is unlikely. If by chance one does, I am willing to still let you stay in my territory, so long as you don't take too many resources."

He sighed yet again.