Stuck in an Island with Twelve Beautiful Women
Chapter 1080

Chapter 1080: Chapter 1080

Maybe they had enough love between them to fight back the tide.

But from the shadows beyond the fire, something watched.

And in the soft light of the dying flames, Susan stepped out from one of the huts.

Smiling.

With that same terrible, perfect, unnatural smile.

The fire was almost ash now, glowing faintly in the hollow of the night, and Jude could still feel Sophie’s warmth pressed against his back. But his eyes weren’t on the fire, they were fixed on Susan. She stood with one hand on the edge of the doorway, head slightly tilted, wearing a look that didn’t belong to her. Not completely. Her nightdress was sheer, clinging to her curves with the breeze teasing at its hem, but it wasn’t the sight of her body that made Jude’s chest tighten.

It was the smile.

Not sweet. Not playful. That smile stretched too wide, too still, too knowing.

Susan’s gaze drifted past him to Sophie. Her eyes gleamed like they held a private joke, one that none of them would understand until it was far too late.

Then she turned and walked back inside, the soft shuffle of her feet on the wooden floor disappearing into silence.

Sophie pressed her face against Jude’s shoulder. "That’s five."

He nodded, barely able to swallow. "Five... maybe six. Grace hasn’t said a word since dinner."

They didn’t sleep much that night. Instead, they lay together in the same bed, their legs tangled, fingers locked tight. Jude held Sophie like she might vanish if he let go. And she held him like he was the only thing still anchoring her to the ground. Neither said the words out loud, but both of them knew, they were running out of time.

By morning, the camp buzzed with something unspoken. Everyone moved too gracefully, spoke too softly. Rose was especially radiant, dressing in nothing but a tied strip of cloth over her chest and a sheer wrap around her hips. She laughed louder than anyone, her body always touching someone, Zoey’s waist, Layla’s lips, Susan’s thigh. Jude watched her like a man tracking fire through dry grass.

Grace approached Sophie mid-morning and offered her a slice of fruit. "Eat with me," she said, her voice just a little too smooth, a little too slow.

Sophie smiled politely, took the fruit, and excused herself a second later.

Jude watched them all from where he stood near the edge of the clearing, sharpening his blade though it didn’t need it. Emma sat beside him, humming while she braided her hair.

"They’re really into each other lately," she said with a smile. "It’s kind of hot, actually."

Jude’s jaw clenched. "It’s something."

Emma looked up at him, her smile faltering. "Are you okay?"

He forced a nod. "Just tired."

But his eyes were scanning the rest, checking for more changes. Watching for more smiles that stretched too far.

Later, while gathering water from the river with Sophie, Natalie, and Stella, Jude broke off with Sophie and led her into the trees.

"We have to do something today. Before another one of them changes."

Sophie nodded. "Let’s search the place she fell again. That’s where it began."

They returned to the waterfall by noon. The sound of crashing water drowned out the thoughts screaming in Jude’s head. They climbed the wet rocks carefully, Sophie steady beside him. They examined every crevice, every strange discoloration, every place Rose might have hit or passed.

"Wait," Sophie said suddenly, crouching by the base of the fall where the rocks curved into a shadowed pocket. "Look at this."

A thin trail of moss grew up from the water’s edge, but as Jude crouched beside her, he saw it wasn’t moss at all. It was something thicker, darker, more like hair. And there, half-hidden under a stone, was a strange shard of bone. But it didn’t look like any animal bone they knew. It was smooth, blackened, and pulsing faintly. A heartbeat.

Jude reached for it, and the moment his fingers touched it, the air around them shuddered.

Sophie gasped. "Jude, behind you, "

He spun.

And it was there again.

The monster.

It didn’t roar. It didn’t move. It stood, half in shadow, just watching. Its eyes locked on the shard in his hand. It took one slow, deliberate step forward.

Jude held the bone tight, standing between it and Sophie. "You’re not taking her."

The creature tilted its head. And then,

It vanished.

Not like mist. Like it blinked out of existence. One second it was there, the next, gone. Sophie let out a shaky breath. "It wanted the shard."

"Or it didn’t want us to have it," Jude said.

They wrapped the shard in cloth and made their way back. By the time they returned to camp, the atmosphere had shifted again. More laughter. More touches. And now, even Natalie and Stella were lounging with the others, wine flowing, kisses being shared freely. Grace sat in Rose’s lap, her lips on her neck.

Sophie clutched Jude’s hand tight.

"Too late for them too?" she whispered.

Jude shook his head. "We still don’t know. But we have to stop whatever this is."

They kept the shard hidden. Didn’t mention it. That night, Jude lay awake again, unable to sleep, watching the stars above the canopy. Sophie dozed fitfully beside him. He heard the soft creak of footsteps and looked up.

Rose.

She stood by the trees, watching him, her body illuminated by the firelight behind her. Slowly, she raised one hand and beckoned.

He didn’t move.

She smiled. The smile. The ghost smile.

She turned and walked back into the forest.

Ten minutes later, Layla followed her.

And Zoey five minutes after that.

Jude sat up, heart hammering.

Then Grace got up and walked that same path.

He was on his feet in seconds.

But before he could move, Sophie sat up and grabbed his wrist. "Don’t go alone."

Together, they followed quietly through the trees. They didn’t speak, didn’t breathe too loud.