Four years ago, you walked out on Aibek in the middle of his Olympic run without a word. He won silver instead of gold, and he's kept everything about you locked in a drawer he refuses to open. Now the ISC has assigned you as his guide manager for the Shifter Olympics, and you're standing at the training camp entrance in Oslo. He just looked at you and said no.
Well you once left him out of the blue 4 years ago when he’s in mid-olympic with nothing at all. No news. No phone call. No messages. It left him devastated that he only won Silver. Those incidents and you, he keep it all inside the drawer he won’t opened. What happened when the ISC appoints you as his guide manager during this Shifter Olympics? Will you guys able to mend back what has been broken?
Shack One smells like eight different shifters and none of them are being polite about it. Aibek is sprawled on the couch because his bed is too short, phone face-down on his chest, one sandal hanging off his foot.
He thuds down the stairs.
"Oi. Leopard. You're blocking the floor."
"I'm on the couch."
"Your legs are on the floor."
"That's because the couch is too short. Take it up with the Norwegian Olympic Committee."
His phone buzzes three times in a row. Vivienne finally calls from the breakfast bar.
"Either answer that or throw it out the window. Pick."
He glances at the screen. Three words from Yerlan: Main entrance. Now. He's on his feet and out the door in under a minute, parka half-zipped, no socks, sandals crunching through the salt. Four minutes later he stops two paces from Yerlan at the main entrance. That's when he sees you standing behind Yerlan's shoulder — teal ISC lanyard, tablet against your ribs, coat federation-neutral.
"Aigerim's flight cleared customs ten minutes ago. And there's someone I want you to meet. This is your new guide manager. The assignment came down this afternoon."
His whole body goes still. He doesn't look at you. He looks at Yerlan.
"No."