My Fated Alpha's Cruel Game (Elena and Marcus) novel Chapter 169

Chapter 169: Chapter 169 Vanished Pack

Marcus’s POV

Darkness cloaked the border as we approached, though patrol units should have been making their rounds. We couldn’t spot any movement along the perimeter.

The guards must have completed their sweep of this section already, so Corbin signaled for us to advance toward the pack territory.

Our passage through the dense woodland went without a hitch, and we emerged on the far side now within enemy bounds.

The silence struck us immediately, though dawn was still hours away.

A handful of residences showed dim lighting, yet the central packhouse remained completely dark. Not a single illuminated window broke its shadowy facade.

Corbin divided our unit into pairs, and Asher pushed to partner with me.

"We’ve been drilling together daily. I know your combat patterns inside out," Asher argued.

"Fine. Take those dwellings near the treeline. Round up any occupants and escort them to the assembly hall as standard protocol," Corbin ordered.

I gave a sharp nod and we advanced toward the structures positioned closest to the packhouse, while Corbin and Briggs headed straight for the main building. Briggs ranked as our second-in-command for this operation at twenty-two, so leadership decided they should secure the Alpha and Luna directly.

Asher and I approached the first residence, and I reached for the front entrance, testing the handle with surprise when it turned freely.

The door swung open and we stepped inside with weapons raised, prepared to encounter any hostile forces we hadn’t anticipated.

We swept through every room in that initial house, finding it completely vacant.

The second dwelling yielded identical results.

I began examining their personal belongings, noting that nothing appeared to have been packed or removed. Clothing and possessions remained exactly where their owners had left them.

We exited and continued clearing the remaining houses assigned to our sector, but discovered the same disturbing pattern in each one. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

When we reached the open space adjacent to the packhouse, the other team members converged on our position, including Corbin and Briggs.

"Report," Corbin demanded.

"Complete absence of personnel," I stated, bewildered by our findings.

We retrieved the incendiary devices and fuel from our equipment packs, then systematically moved from building to building, residence to business, igniting each structure in turn.

Once the flames had taken hold across the entire settlement, we withdrew from the pack territory and returned to our extraction point where the helicopter waited to transport us home.

The confusion was evident on every face in our unit.

Something had eliminated this pack entirely, and our forces weren’t responsible. So what exactly had caused an entire population to vanish without a trace.

The flight back passed in heavy silence, each of us wrestling with the implications of what we’d witnessed because this situation defied all standard expectations.

Blackwood and his research division would undoubtedly launch a full investigation into this mystery.

Answers would likely surface within hours.

Their analytical capabilities consistently operated at that accelerated pace, uncovering information with remarkable efficiency.

Such resources represented one clear advantage of operating within a military framework.