Stuck in an Island with Twelve Beautiful Women
Chapter 1078

Chapter 1078: Chapter 1078

She didn’t ask about the others. Not about Rose, or Layla, or Zoey. She simply reached up and tucked a strand of his hair behind his ear, her fingers lingering there a moment longer than needed.

"I missed you last night," she said, quietly, her voice like the hush of wind through leaves.

"I didn’t sleep much," he admitted. "Too much to think about."

She nodded, her expression unreadable for a moment. Then she leaned in, kissed him slowly, a kiss that felt like breathing, necessary, anchoring, and real. For a long moment, they stayed there, their foreheads pressed together.

Footsteps on damp wood pulled them apart. Stella stepped out of the hut, blinking into the morning light. "Are we going out today?"

Jude nodded. "The cliffs again. We need to check if the water path’s changed."

Susan stood and stretched, her shirt riding up just enough to tease Jude’s gaze. She smiled knowingly and whispered, "Come back to me."

He didn’t say it, but the words pulsed in his chest. Always.

By mid-morning, they were on the move. Jude, Stella, Emma, and Sophie made one team, heading toward the cliffs. Rose, Layla, Zoey, and Grace had already taken off before dawn, not waiting for instructions. Jude hadn’t seen them leave, but the strange feeling that followed them lingered in the camp like the scent of fire long after the flames had gone.

Sophie walked beside him, unusually quiet. Emma and Stella kept ahead, arguing over whether they’d reach the waterfall before the sun hit its peak. Jude noticed Sophie glancing toward the trees more than usual.

"You think they’ll find anything?" Jude asked finally.

Sophie didn’t answer right away. Then she shook her head. "I think it’ll find them."

He felt a chill settle into his spine despite the warmth of the air. "You think it’s still following us?"

"I think it’s already here."

They found new claw marks near the cliffs. Not fresh, but newer than the ones before. They traced the rocks with their fingers, found broken branches bent at unnatural angles. But no blood. No scent. Just an eerie silence, broken only by the rush of the waterfall below.

Stella climbed a little higher, barefoot on the stone ledge, her balance perfect. "Nothing’s moved from yesterday," she called down. "But the trail east looks different."

"Everything looks different lately," Emma muttered. "Even the trees."

Sophie turned to Jude. "We should check the river junction. If something came through, it would’ve passed there."

They followed the sound of running water, threading between narrow paths until the sound of the waterfall roared in their ears. The air was damp, heavy, and charged. Stella was the first to notice it.

"There," she pointed. "Something moved."

They froze. A figure stood in the mist.

Not human.

But so close.

It turned slowly, its face veiled in a strange blur of smoke. Its limbs were too long, its eyes empty and bright. It made no sound.

Then it stepped back into the waterfall and disappeared behind the veil of water.

No one spoke. Jude’s heart thundered in his chest.

"Let’s get back," Sophie said. "Now."

They turned and moved fast, but careful. The air felt different. Heavier. Watching.

By the time they returned to the camp, the others were already back. Rose sat on a fallen log, hair wet, fingers idly combing through Layla’s curls. Zoey leaned against a tree with her shirt open, skin damp and glistening. Grace sat nearby, humming a tune that made Jude’s stomach twist, something too close to what he’d heard whispered in his dreams.

"Find anything?" Rose asked sweetly, but her smile didn’t touch her eyes.

"Nothing we can name," Sophie said, her tone neutral.

Jude sat beside her. Across the clearing, Layla and Zoey were laughing, touching fingers, eyes bright with mischief. They kissed, soft, slow, like they were drunk on something invisible. Grace joined them, laying her head in Zoey’s lap. For a moment, it was beautiful. Intimate. But to Jude, it felt like watching a fire devour everything slowly and joyfully.

Sophie leaned closer to him and whispered, "They weren’t like this before."

"I know."

"And we can’t stop it."

"I know."

That night, the stars shimmered brighter than usual. They ate together, stories flowing between them like wine. The laughter came easy, the touches easier. Rose sat between Zoey and Layla now, fingers tracing slow circles along their thighs. Grace kissed Stella’s neck as she passed, then pulled Susan into her lap and kissed her mouth deeply, to loud cheers and laughter. The firelight flickered, and all of it looked like a celebration. Like love.

But Jude saw something else beneath it. Something broken. Or breaking.

When most had drifted into the huts or curled together by the fire, Sophie sat beside Jude, her eyes locked on the trio, Rose, Layla, and Zoey, now sleeping tangled together, their bodies bare beneath the thin sheets, arms and legs indistinguishable from each other.

"They’re gone," she whispered.

"Not gone," Jude replied. "Changed."

"What changed them?"

"I don’t know yet."

"Will it change us too?"

He didn’t answer. He kissed her instead. Their kiss was soft, desperate. Not lust. Not seduction. It was a plea to remember. To remain themselves.

Later that night, while the forest whispered and the moon lit the trees like bones, Jude woke to find Sophie gone. He stood, stepping into the cool grass barefoot, his spear gripped tightly in his hand.

A rustle from the trees.

He followed.

Near the clearing’s edge, he saw her, Sophie, standing still, her back to him, her hair cascading over her shoulders. She was looking at something.

He stepped closer.

And froze.

Behind her, hidden in the darkness, the monster stood, taller now, eyes burning brighter than before. It reached out, not toward Sophie, but toward him. A long arm, stretching slowly. Reaching.

Then it vanished.

Sophie turned.

"I saw it," she said.

"I did too."

They returned together without speaking, their hands clasped tightly.