Stuck in an Island with Twelve Beautiful Women
Chapter 1069

Chapter 1069: Chapter 1069

The wind whispered over the tops of the trees, cool and dry, carrying the scent of moss, earth, and something else, something sweet and strange, faint like decaying flowers hidden deep in the forest. Jude sat by the river, feet dipped in the water, eyes vacant. The morning sun rose slow and golden, casting long shadows between the trees, painting the world in soft warmth that didn’t quite reach his chest. He hadn’t slept. Neither had Sophie. She hadn’t said much when she returned last night, only met his eyes and gave the smallest, almost imperceptible shake of her head. Not a no, something else. A warning. A fear she hadn’t found words for yet. Her silence spoke louder than anything.

He remembered the way Rose knelt in the clearing, hands joined with Layla and Zoey, and the way Sophie’s face looked afterward, pale, tight, like someone who had stared too long at a thing they weren’t supposed to see. Something was inside them. Something foreign and yet...intimately familiar. As though the island had reached out and pressed itself into their veins, into their breath, their blood.

Jude pulled his feet from the river, water trailing in delicate threads from his skin, and stood. He couldn’t stay still anymore. He needed to do something. Watch more closely. Talk to others. Search the area near the clearing Sophie had followed them to. But above all, he needed to know if it had spread further.

Back at the treehouse, the morning had begun in the usual lazy rhythm of waking bodies and soft greetings. Grace was pouring water into clay cups, Susan folding a blanket over her shoulder. Emma yawned and stretched like a cat in the corner, and Natalie was combing her fingers through tangled hair. The fire crackled faintly in the hearth, flickering light across their bare ankles.

Rose was sitting on the porch swing, laughing. Her voice was musical, almost too sweet, and Layla sat beside her, cheek resting against Rose’s shoulder. Zoey sat at their feet, one hand lazily stroking Rose’s thigh, the other tossing bits of dried leaf into the wind. It looked so normal, so relaxed, that Jude felt a pang of guilt in his gut for even suspecting anything. But then Rose turned her head, caught his eyes, and smiled. That smile again. Too wide. Too sure. The kind of smile a predator wears in the moment before it pounces.

He looked away quickly, moving past them, nodding once to Grace as he grabbed a strip of dried meat from the table and bit into it without tasting. Sophie emerged from the back, looking tired but steady, and sat beside Susan without a word.

For a while, nothing strange happened. The morning moved forward like any other. The women washed, tended to the herb garden, sorted tools and fixed a split basket handle. Jude helped Natalie patch the side of the treehouse where some vines had come loose during last week’s windstorm. For just a moment, he let himself believe things could be normal. That maybe what Sophie and he saw was something else, ritual, bonding, a new game they didn’t understand.

Then Zoey kissed Susan.

It wasn’t unusual for the girls to exchange kisses, friendship, affection, even teasing, but this kiss was slow. Deliberate. Deep. Susan blinked in surprise but didn’t pull away. When they parted, Rose clapped softly from the swing, and Layla laughed in a high, delighted tone.

"Your lips taste like lemons," Zoey whispered into Susan’s ear, tracing her fingers down her neck. "I like it."

Susan blushed furiously, giggling. Jude caught Sophie’s eye across the firepit. Her jaw was clenched.

"Alright," Jude said, his voice louder than it needed to be. "We could use some fresh mushrooms near the western cave. I’ll go check. Anyone want to come?"

He was hoping someone, anyone, would volunteer. Maybe Grace, or Natalie. But it was Rose who stood first.

"I’ll go," she said, brushing dust from her skirt.

Zoey stood next. "I’ll come too."

Layla followed a heartbeat later. "Me three."

Jude hesitated, then gave a stiff nod. "Fine."

They walked together in silence through the underbrush, stepping over roots and ducking beneath low branches. The cave was about fifteen minutes out, close to where the spring bubbled up between two split stones. He didn’t like having all three of them alone with him, but he needed to see what they would do. Maybe catch a glimpse of their secret when they didn’t think he was watching.

Rose walked ahead, humming softly. The same rhythm Sophie had described. Layla and Zoey moved behind him, their footsteps matching perfectly, never breaking pace.

When they reached the mossy rocks near the cave, Rose turned and tilted her head.

"Is this where you wanted the mushrooms?" she asked sweetly.

Jude nodded, crouching near a patch of damp earth. "Should be."

Layla crouched beside him, close enough he could feel her breath on his neck. "Do you think we’re strange, Jude?"

He froze, hands still.

"No," he lied. "Why would I think that?"

Zoey’s voice came from behind him. "You’ve been watching us."

"I watch everyone," he said, trying to keep his tone even. "It’s what I do."

Rose knelt in front of him now, her eyes fixed on his. "You’re trying to figure out what’s changed. Aren’t you?"

He looked at her, really looked. Her pupils seemed too large in the dappled light, her skin too flawless, too smooth. Like water polished stone. And yet, there was still Rose in there. Somewhere.

"I don’t know what you mean," he murmured.

She smiled again and reached for his hand, lacing her fingers through his.

"We’re not hiding anything from you," she said softly. "We just see things differently now. The island showed us something. Something beautiful. You’ll see it too."

He swallowed, his mouth dry.

"Let’s go back," he said quietly.

They stood without protest. Walked back just as silently.

The rest of the day passed with a surreal quality.