“We’ll try to lure him tomorrow. Fresh meat, placed far from that corner. If he moves, we’ll send a team in.” He didn’t sound convinced. Noah pressed closer to the glass of the viewing gallery, watching King curl his massive body protectively around the dark shape.
For the first time, the boy’s awe of the lion was edged with fear—and something else, something even heavier. Pity. By the next morning, the zoo’s staff had shifted strategy. Ben admitted openly that nothing they’d tried so far had worked—King wasn’t budging, and forcing him risked disaster.