her to stop.
Divine intervention stepped in when the door opened, and standing in front of her was him . Without another thought, she flung herself into his arms, and clung to him, refusing to let go. Unable to hold them back any longer, she burst into tears.
Dar had come as soon as he heard the distress signal that automatically went off when someone tried to get out of the security door without using the DNA tracker.
Seeing it had come from the isolation chamber, he instinctively thought of Shara. He hadn’t expected to come upon her in hysterics. Dar held her closer, slipping his arm beneath her legs and lifting her into his arms.
Her shoulders shuddered with her sobs. Shara was obviously distressed and it made him wonder what had set her off this time.
Out of vengeance, Zavian had him running errands normally relegated to one of the newer zookeepers, which meant his co-workers were put in charge of Shara temporarily.
The few days he’d gone to her, Dar felt she was beginning to trust him. Now she was a hysteric mess and it angered him. Iosis approached looking fluster and… guilty?
Why?
“What happened?” Dar demanded.
“She’s unruly. I simply put her food in front of her and she attacked me. I’m going to recommend to Zavian that she be sent to the farm. I wouldn’t put her in with
- 27 -
Quark. She just might dismember him. Shara could probably take on a heka beast and win.” Iosis’s words were rushed and uneasy.
Dar narrowed his eyes. “Are you sure that’s all?” Iosis gasped, and then incredulity crossed his face. “Isn’t my word good enough for you? She’s an unstable creature. You’ve already seen it firsthand. She’s been in isolation for over a week, and at the rate she’s going she’ll never leave. The behavior neutralizer doesn’t work on her. I personally think she’s stupid.” Dar would have wrung his scrawny little neck, but Share’s distress could no longer be ignored. “Then it’s a good thing for you I’m the one who’ll be dealing with her from now on. I have sole responsibility for her.” Zavian though he was punishing Dar by putting him in charge of her, but it’s exactly what he wanted.
Iosis frowned. “Why did he choose you? I could have handled her.” Dar lifted a brow. “And you were doing such a great job just now,” he said, doing nothing to hide the sarcasm from his voice.
Iosis stammered, “A-and I suppose you could do a better job?”
“A wilka beast could do a better job.” The smaller man’s nostrils flared before he stormed off, the door slamming behind him with a loud thud.
Dar carried Shara back to her cell and immediately the foul smell hit him. The pen hadn’t been cleaned for days. What were the others thinking to leave the place in this condition? They didn’t treat the other animals this way, and Shara certainly didn’t deserve this. He made a mental note to have this particular cell cleaned from top to bottom, but in the meantime, he’d put her some place else.
He took her to the next stall, punched the code on the panel and took her inside.
When he would have placed her down on the hay, she refused to let him go and made whimpering sounds. Gently he disentangled himself from her tight grip. It flattered him that at least she trusted him enough to know he wouldn’t hurt her as he was sure Iosis had tried to do.
- 28 -
Something told him she wasn’t one to attack without reason. Dar wished he knew what was going on. Why was Iosis so eager to watch her even though it was clear Shara didn’t like him?
The musty scent she currently emitted told him not only did the others not clean her stall, they hadn’t given her the benefit of a wash down. He moved to the control panel and turned on the shower that came down into the center of the room. The side of the wall opened up revealing trays of soaps the zookeepers used on the animals, but Dar knew Shara could wash herself.
Once that was prepared for her, he knelt down