“Kill them? Kill my own kind?”

Those words played through his head a thousand times as he walked through the dense trees. Seraph knew he only lived to hunt, like the bird of prey he was. He betrayed his kind, helped humans deplete the population of hybrids even more than it already had. It ensured his own safety, why wouldn’t he take the opportunity?

A hybrid had been spotted in a forest few went into. It was a death wish to wander there. Dark trees, circling paths, and worst of all the threat of creatures. When hunters along the border admitted sightings of something barely human, a search team was sent. That search team: Seraph. He worked best alone, anyway. He knew well what to do, how to capture a hybrid. Most trusted a friendly face, someone just like them, falling into his grasp easily. Others were hesitant, but Seraph had worked beside humans long enough to know a few tricks.

It wasn’t the fact he was sent out that worried him. It was the fact they wanted this hybrid dead rather than caught. Kill them and he would be ensured safety for another few months. Fail and his thread of life would be snapped.

His feet crunched against dried leaves, wings scrunched closely to his body. His instincts were going crazy, telling him to be on guard. The hunting knife strapped to his thigh felt heavier and heavier with every step into the foliage. He heard something. His wings drooped, eyes narrowing. Seraph was on edge already. The footsteps seeming to quietly make their way towards him wasn’t helping. “Hide all you want…” the whisper fell from his lips.