Stuck in an Island with Twelve Beautiful Women
Chapter 1098

Chapter 1098: Chapter 1098

"Knew all of us. Knew our names, our dreams. Knew what we wanted. And it offered that, wrapped in skin and kisses and heat, but it wasn’t Rose anymore. It was something inside her using her body to speak."

Jude took the bundle from the tree. Lucy flinched but didn’t stop him.

"We need to show Sophie," he said.

They returned to camp just before dawn. Sophie, Emma, and Natalie were huddled together, speaking in hushed tones. When Jude dropped the woven herb bundle at Sophie’s feet, her expression tightened instantly.

"It’s like the ones by the lake," she said. "The ones we thought were watcher offerings."

"They’re not," Lucy said. "They’re nests. Seeds. Anchors. They grow when someone falls."

Emma nudged it with her toe. "How many more do you think there are?"

"I don’t know," Jude said. "But if we can find and destroy them, "

"Maybe we cut off her connection to it," Sophie finished.

They buried the first one in ash and crushed the herbs. As they did, the morning shifted subtly. The laughter from the trio quieted. For just a breath of a moment, Rose looked up from where she lay against Zoey’s side, her eyes narrowing across the fire.

She knew.

The next day, Rose was everywhere. She moved through the camp like a dream, touching everyone, whispering softly, trailing her fingers across arms and necks. Her lips brushed Natalie’s cheek. Her hands lingered on Grace’s shoulder. She kissed Lucy on the forehead.

And Lucy smiled back.

Later that night, as Jude helped Emma hang fish to dry near the fire, he saw it, the smile.

Lucy stood by Rose, head tilted, lips curved just like Zoey’s.

He froze. "No..."

Emma followed his gaze. Her breath caught. "No. Not her too."

"We were too slow," Jude whispered.

They gathered again in secret, this time without Lucy.

"She’s gone," Natalie said bitterly.

Sophie’s hands shook. "It’s like a virus. A beautiful, seductive virus."

Emma’s eyes were sharp. "We need to stop underestimating her."

Susan stepped forward, voice calm. "Then we cut the root."

"We need to go back to where it started," Jude said. "The river. The place Rose fell."

Natalie shivered. "The waterfall."

"We go at night," Emma added. "She’s weakest when she sleeps."

"Assuming she sleeps," Sophie said.

But they all agreed. That night, as Rose curled around Layla, and Zoey whispered into Lucy’s ear, Jude and the others slipped into the trees, torches low, steps quiet. The forest felt heavier now. Almost like it was breathing with them.

When they reached the waterfall, the air changed.

There was something behind it, a cave, dark and pulsing with warmth.

Inside, they found it.

Roots.

Thick, pale, living roots that moved slightly even as they watched. And in the center of them was another bundle. Bigger. Wrapped in Rose’s dress.

They approached slowly, hearts thudding. Jude reached for it.

And behind them, someone spoke.

"I wouldn’t do that."

They turned.

Rose stood at the cave entrance, her eyes glowing faintly, her body lit by the shimmer of moonlight on the water.

"You’re not supposed to be here," she said.

And she smiled.

Rose stepped further into the cave, her bare feet making no sound on the damp stone. The light from their torches flickered across her skin, casting shadows that moved like smoke along the curves of her body. Behind her, the waterfall churned and roared, but it was the silence within that struck hardest. Jude stood frozen, his fingers just inches from the bundle wrapped in her old dress. Sophie, Emma, Natalie, and Susan spread out around him, hearts hammering against their ribs like trapped birds.

"You shouldn’t be here," Rose said again, her voice softer now, almost tender. "This place is sacred. It’s where I was reborn."

Sophie’s jaw clenched. "What are you?"

Rose tilted her head, the glowing shimmer in her eyes catching on the edges of torchlight. "I’m still me. Just more of me. The island helped me remember what I am."

Jude took a step forward, though his legs felt leaden. "We saw the changes. You’ve been... seducing them. Changing them."

"I’ve been freeing them," Rose said gently. "You don’t know how small we were. How scared. We were bound by love, yes, but also fear. Fear of losing, of not being enough, of growing old and dull. But this? This is the answer. No fear. No limits. Just fire. Just desire."

"You’re hurting them," Emma snapped. "You’re turning them into something they’re not."

"They’re becoming who they were meant to be," Rose replied. "I gave them the choice. And they all said yes."

Natalie stepped closer to Jude, touching his shoulder. "We came to stop this."

Rose’s eyes narrowed. "You’re not ready."

She raised her hand and the roots behind her pulsed, tightening slightly around the bundle. The cave grew warmer, a wet heat rising from the earth. The torch flames hissed and fluttered.

Jude tried to steady his breathing. "Rose, if you remember me, if you remember us, please stop this."

"I remember everything, Jude." Her voice softened again, almost mournful. "I remember how you held me that first night. How you whispered to me under the stars. That’s why I came back. Because I want you to be with me in this forever."

Sophie raised her torch higher. "Then let them go."

"You want them to suffer again?" Rose asked, taking a step forward. "You want Layla to doubt herself, Zoey to always wonder if she’s too much or not enough? I took that pain away. I took it from all of us."

Emma’s hand tightened on her blade. "And gave them what? Your smile? That dead, hollow look?"

Rose’s expression didn’t change, but the roots behind her twisted faster, pulling the bundle deeper.

"You can’t stop it," she said. "You can only join it."

She turned without another word and walked deeper into the cave. For a moment, no one moved.

Then Jude stepped forward. "We follow."