Chapter 2 : A New Mission

Theodora's POV When I made it up to the bridge, Benji had the call projected over the windows. His nose was buried in a book, the ship set on autopilot. Daxton had his arms folded, mid-conversation with the man taking up the screen. "I don't know why you insist on waiting for your subordinate, Captain Walker," the man stated, a sharpness to his tone. My brother often posed as the Captain of the Peacemaker, even though I was the one who called the shots. It didn't help that as soon as someone says "Captain Walker" they assume it was my brother and not me. Eventually, we leaned into it. I strode up to Daxton's side, bracing and leaning against the pilot's console. "We're a package deal," my brother replied. He glanced over at me and continued, "And now that she's here, you can continue." The gangly man frowned but resumed his spiel. "As I was saying, I am the Emissary of Ilios, calling you on behalf of Emporer Cyrus." I didn't say anything, bringing my eyebrows together to analyze the man on the screen. Not many planets were led by a monarchy, but I knew Ilios was home to royal daywalkers. What the fuck were they calling us for? "We have an emergency that requires a discrete hand," the Emissary continued. "The Peacemaker has a glowing reputation and the Emporer is requesting an audience." "What are the details of the job?" Daxton asked. The Emissary waved his hand to dismiss the question. "That is something that needs to be spoken about in person. Just know that you will be rewarded handsomely." I narrowed my eyes and Daxton looked back at me to ask what I thought about it silently. We didn't necessarily need another job right now, but with a high-profile client, they could either make or destroy our reputation. It was worth it to, at least, hear them out. I nodded once. Daxton subtly dipped his head and turned back to the Emissary. "Benji, how far are we from Ilios?" My pilot lowered his book to press a few buttons on his console. At first glance, Benji didn't look like a pilot, he looked like a potato farmer, but the man was a prodigy. Served with me during my last tour in the military and had my back during my rebellion. "We're not far. Approximately 4.37 lightyears. If we jump, it'll take about two days on Ilios." The Emissary seemed pleased as he released a breath of tension he had been holding. "Fantastic. I will inform set up an audience the next morning after your arrival. I will leave my personal information with your pilot. Travel safely," The Emissary said before ending the call. The screen blipped off, replacing it with the visual of stars. Now that…that was that view I fell in love with. "What do you think about that, Theo?" Daxton asked, taking a seat by the windows. I rolled my shoulders. "I think that was odd. But I think the juice will be worth the squeeze," I answered. "But just in case," I turned to Benji, "when we land, prepare a jumping protocol. I don't want any surprises." Benji flashed me a grin. "You got it." His dirty blond hair was mussed in several directions, giving him a boyish charm that landed him in more problems than it solved. I headed toward the sliding door. "Set course for Ilios. I'll see you for dinner." "Look forward to it, Cap!" *** As I prepared our grub, Ellie set the table, Daxton poured his signature cocktail into a communal pitcher and Benji helped me in the kitchen. He bumped against my hip, making me laugh as he took various items to the table. My hair was tied up into a bun. My holster and jacket were strewn across one of the couches, revealing my arm covered in thick back ink decorating the entirety of my skin from wrist to shoulder, sprawling across one of my shoulder blades. I prepared a thick hearty tomato soup to enjoy with freshly baked bread. Blush colored from the splash of cream. Simple and delicious. I saved the berries for dessert as a special treat before we dive headfirst into our next mission. The sliding doors to the ship's underbelly opened and instantly, every hair on my body stood on end. All of my nerve endings knew when Mads was in the same room with me and it was fucking exhausting. Heavy footfalls stepped closer and closer to the table as he made a throaty noise of delight. A coiled thread of desire formed in my stomach. It had been over six months since I ended it. He shouldn't still be affecting me like this. "I could smell this all the way from the engine room," Mads said, his voice deep and gravelly. "You've outdone yourself this time, Theo." My name still sounded so alluring on his lips. "Thanks," I replied, my back still to him. I had to prepare myself to turn around; fight the tingles in my thighs, how my scalp tightened, and ignore the pinpricks of excitement all over my skin. I heard chairs scrape against the rug as everyone took their seat, chattering excitedly about the tomato soup. With a deep breath, I turned around, meeting Mads's silver eyes instantly. They almost seemed to glow as his gaze trailed down my tattooed arm where my oversized shirt slid down my shoulder. Fuck, his eyes were always as hot as his hands were. Those hands knew how to push my buttons and tweak my senses until he had to press his hand against my mouth so the whole ship wouldn't hear me. As usual, he was covered in grease from his full day of work, thinly veiling the copious tattoos covering his entire body. Black ink weaved across his skin; unique designs I'd trace with my tongue. Mads stretched out, curling his arms around his head to elongate his already long legs and bulky arms. His coveralls were unzipped and tied around his waist at half-mast, revealing a white tank top stained with oil. His angular jaw was sprinkled with thick dark hair, trimmed short just like the hair on top of his head. Extended canines sat on top of his plush pink lower lip, but they never got in the way too much when I kissed him. Hell, I loved the way his teeth used to graze the sensitive skin along my throat. The moon is always full in space, but oddly enough, werewolves had evolved to be far less aggressive than their earth counterparts, even if they were suspended somewhere between being a man and an animal. But Mads knew when to be an animal and when to be a man. My mouth grew dry and I cleared my throat, setting the pot of soup in the center of our rectangular table. I took a seat across from Mads like I always did to not arouse suspicion. I tried to shake off the tingles, the sparks firing across my skin, but they only got harder to ignore. Also, I told him I was fine, so I needed to act fine, even if all I wanted was to feel his hot calloused hands on my hips as he bent me over a countertop. I felt a rush of heat lick between my legs, making me press my thighs together even harder. And I swear I saw the smallest smile pull at the corner of Mads's lips. The fucker. I looked away from him, heat mottling my cheeks. I couldn't keep doing this. I couldn't keep being hung up on him. Daxton bumped my shoulder and my gaze snapped over to him. "You okay? You look a little warm." Warmth bloomed across my skin so deeply, I could feel it in the tips of my ears. "Yeah, just hot from the kitchen." The small smile dimpled on Mads's cheek widened as he suppressed a grin. My hand itched to smack it right off his face, but I held it back, resorting to distraction. "So who's hungry? I went through too much trouble for these tomatoes for it to go cold." All I needed to do was have sex. Find some poor sucker to use and get Mads out of my system. That'll solve all my problems. It had to. Daxton slapped a hand across my back. "It won't have time to get cold if I have my way with it," he stated as he reached for the ladle first, scooping steaming rich soup into his eager bowl. We all served ourselves, and the sounds of happy eating filled the room. Sipping and pouring the cocktail Daxton had prepared. I brought a spoonful of the creamy soup to my lips, indulging in the taste of it. The rich acidity of tomatoes enveloped my tongue in a savory dance. Delicious. There were numerous ways to get the nutrition we needed during space travel. There were supplements, injections, implants, nutrition bars, you name it, but none of them were near as fun or tasty as vitamins straight from the source. I dunked a chunk of bread into my soup, saying, "Our next mission is taking us to Ilios." Mads raised his thick eyebrows, taking another bite before asking, "The daywalker planet?" With my mouth full, I replied, "Yes." Ellie hummed from the other side of the table. "I've never met a daywalker before. Aren't they descendants of vampires?" "No," Mads answered, glancing over at Ellie's wide curious eyes. "Sure, they're bloodsuckers, but they developed a mutation that made them immune to the sun and left the rest of the vampires in the dust. Quite literally." Benji lifted his bowl to his lips, taking a big gulp and finishing his bowl of soup before ladling more. "And on top of that, they never leave Ilios. Something about their blood being valuable." I nodded. Not everyone on Ilios was a daywalker, only the royal family. Over the centuries, they developed a name for themselves mining precious metals. Filthy rich. Hoarding their wealth like dragons, never bothering to get involved in any of the galactic wars. They were neutral. But they also had my respect for being so neutral during wars that they welcomed and cared for refugees with open arms. Sure, they were bloodsuckers, but I couldn't call them heartless. Aside from that, no one knew much about the daywalkers. They kept their cards close to their chest. Among content chatter, we finished the entire pot of soup. Delighting in the delicacy. The fleeting nature of it all. I got up from my seat, gathering the berries and cream from the cooler. Everyone knew that produce had a short shelf life, unlike most rations we kept on the ship. We had to enjoy it while it was at its peak. Ellie jumped up from her seat, clearing some dishes to make room for dessert. Ruby red strawberries and deep indigo blackberries capped off the meal. One by one, everyone finished dinner, clearing the table and scattering across the ship to settle with full bellies. The only one left was Mads, who was on dish duty. He had filled the sink with water from our reserve, sudsing up a sponge to clean out the soup. It wasn't like anything was caked on. Unlike whenever Daxton would burn protein rations so badly it smelled like the ship was on fire. Yeah, that was the last time I ever let Daxton use the stove. I leaned against the doorframe, watching him longer than I should have. Tall and lean, various tattoos obscuring the mellow creaminess of his skin. "Am I doing the dishes to your liking, Theo?" he asked, rumbling as he looked over his shoulder at me. I had been standing here too long. I cleared my throat, pinkness warming my cheeks again. "Yeah. Sorry, don't mind me." "Well, if you're going to stare at me, you might as well help me." He grabbed a dish towel, tossing it over at me. I caught it, knees feeling weak as I tried to maintain my distance. "I guess that's only fair." I had to fight the wobbliness of my legs when he passed me dishes, fingers grazing mine before I dried them and set them on the rack. We continued like that in silence. The scent of the citrus soap wafted up my nose, melding with the way Mads always smelled—metallic like the machinery he worked on all day but with something heady and masculine, sinfully Mads. "What's bothering you?" he interrupted my thoughts, rinsing one final bowl and handing it over to me. He leaned against the countertop, towering over me with his stupidly long legs. I'm sure they'd be intimidated by his height if he did that to anyone else, but I never was. "Nothing is bothering me," I answered, but even I didn't believe myself. He made a throaty noise, drying his hands off on a towel before cupping my chin with his large hands. "I don't believe you." Warmth cascaded down my throat, goosebumps prickling every nerve ending. My heart started to hammer as I stared up at him, trying desperately not to stare at his plump pink lips. I can't do this. "Then don't believe me." I pulled away from him, noticing the disappointment in how his shoulders drooped. I had to get out of this room. I couldn't be this close to him. "You never talk to me anymore," Mads said. I turned away, pausing in the doorframe of the galley. "I can't, Mads. I just can't." Before I could scurry away back to my cabin and pretend I didn't care about him, he caught me by my shoulder. "Don't run away from me." I couldn't even look him in the eye. How pathetic is that? Mads sighed. "Do whatever you have to do, Theo. I miss my friend." My heart slammed against my ribcage, my eyes darting up to meet his. I didn't say anything. He released my shoulder, taking a joint from the pocket of his coveralls. "Whenever you want to talk, you know where to find me." Without another word, he tucked the joint between his lips and went through the bay doors toward the engine room. And all I could do was watch him leave. Fuck. I couldn't keep doing this. Stringing both of us along for something that wasn't going to happen. Something that couldn't happen. I needed to stop being so hung up over him and fast.