Through the back window, I could see Astrid. She didn’t seem harmed at all, but she also wasn’t alone.

She was facing six guys in black kevlar body armor and tactical helmets, looking like black ops soldiers of some kind. A symbol adorned the chests of their armor, but I couldn’t quite make it out.

Five of the men were wearing night-vision goggles, but the sixth had removed his goggles and his helmet, and I could see his weather-beaten face, his bald head, and his grim expression.

They surrounded her in a loose semi-circle, each lining her up in the sights of their rifles.

What had I just stumbled into? What the hell was this?

The sheer insanity of the situation gave my fear no time to reach my mind.

In one smooth motion, I shoved the driver-side door open and jumped out of my vehicle before I ran to stand beside Astrid.

”Jeremy,” Astrid purred, and I noticed that her accent didn’t sound particularly Swedish. ”Nice to meet you.”

She didn’t seem the slightest bit terrified about six firearms being pointed at her. In fact, she was smiling, as though this was all some silly game.

”This isn’t exactly what I pictured for our first date,” I said from the side of my mouth as I kept my eyes on the armed men.

”Kid,” said the soldier who wasn’t wearing night-goggles, ”you need to get back in your vehicle and drive away from here. This doesn’t concern you.”

His bald head was so shiny it almost looked polished. A distinctive scar ran down one side of his face, and his eyes were gray and devoid of any emotion. He was clearly human, and seemed to be in command of the little group. The other soldiers also looked human; they didn’t have any telltale signs like tails, spines, horns, or beast-like ears that would give them away as Outworlders.

“You hear me?” the bald soldier said again to me when I didn’t answer.

I flicked my eyes from his granite stare to the symbol on his chest. I could see it now. It was a golden shield with a pentagram in the center, embossed into his chest armor.

I glanced at the other soldiers and confirmed that they were all wearing similar gear, each marked with the same symbol.

My stomach tightened as I recalled where I’d seen the emblem before.

”You guys are PentaTech?” I said aloud.

What the hell was a Silicon Valley corporation doing sending soldiers like this out here?

I could understand PentaTech employing mercenary soldiers—private security was a big industry these days—but why were they out here hunting beastkin?

The only groups I knew who tracked down and captured beastkin were monster hunting guilds, but they existed in other countries, not the fucking United States of America where freedom was guaranteed for both humans and Outworlders.