Stuck in an Island with Twelve Beautiful Women
Chapter 1239

Chapter 1239: Chapter 1239

Stella and Susan were lounging near the trees, their bodies tangled together in some quiet embrace. Natalie stood a little ways off, plucking petals from a vine and watching them fall with eerie amusement.

Jude shifted, brushing his hand against Lucy’s.

"She’s gone too," Lucy whispered.

"I know."

"Emma was the strongest," Sophie added quietly. "If she fell, how are we supposed to resist?"

"We don’t resist yet," Jude murmured. "We watch."

"I’m tired of watching," Sophie hissed under her breath.

Jude’s eyes didn’t leave Rose. "We’re close to something. I can feel it."

Rose’s humming stopped.

She looked up, slowly, and her eyes met Jude’s across the clearing. That smile bloomed again - beautiful and haunting - and for a moment, he swore he could hear her voice in his head.

You’ll understand soon.

He stood abruptly. "I’m going for a walk."

"I’ll come," Lucy said.

Sophie hesitated, then nodded. "Me too."

They didn’t wait for permission.

The three of them slipped into the forest, deeper than they’d gone in days. The moment the sanctuary was behind them, the world shifted again. The trees leaned in, whispering with rustling leaves. The earth under their feet felt soft, unnaturally warm.

"Do you think it’s the island?" Sophie asked. "Or something inside it?"

Lucy shook her head. "It’s more than the island. It’s something old. Something that’s been waiting."

"Rose drowned," Jude said, voice low. "She went under. And when we found her, she came back with it inside her."

"You think it possessed her?" Sophie asked.

"I think she invited it," Lucy said darkly.

They walked in silence after that, deeper into the jungle, until they reached the place where the river split. The waterfall thundered nearby, mist curling through the trees like breath.

Jude stopped.

"She fell here," he murmured. "Right here. We pulled her out from there."

He crouched, placing his palm on the wet rock. "Something came out of this water. Something followed her back."

Lucy knelt beside him. "Then maybe we send it back."

Sophie stood behind them, eyes scanning the trees. "Or maybe it’s too late."

Jude looked up, meeting her gaze. "Not if we act fast."

"How?"

He looked at the water again, then to Lucy. "We get ahead of it. We find out what it wants."

Sophie crossed her arms. "And how do you propose we do that?"

Jude stood slowly. "We follow them."

Lucy stiffened. "You want to pretend to fall?"

"No. But we let them think we are," he said. "They’re watching. They know who’s still free. If we act like we’re slipping, they might let us in. And if they let us in..."

"We see it from the inside," Lucy finished.

Sophie looked between them, uneasy. "And what if it really takes us?"

Jude didn’t answer right away.

Then, slowly, he said, "Then at least we’ll know what we’re up against."

By the time they returned to camp, night had fully fallen. The sky above was dense with stars, but none of them blinked. They just... stared. Cold and still.

Rose met them near the edge of the clearing, arms open like she’d been waiting.

"There you are," she purred. "We were wondering if the forest took you."

Jude offered a tight smile. "Not this time."

Rose stepped closer, eyes flicking between the three of them. "You feel different."

Lucy tilted her head. "Do I?"

Rose leaned in, her nose just brushing Lucy’s hair. "Mmm. Maybe. Maybe not."

Sophie watched carefully, her fingers twitching at her side.

"Come," Rose said, turning away. "We’re celebrating tonight."

"Celebrating what?" Jude asked.

Rose looked over her shoulder, her smile widening. "A full circle."

No one asked what she meant.

Because they already knew.

Inside the sanctuary clearing, a fire had started without anyone lighting it. A deep violet flame, almost black at its heart, burning with no smoke and no heat.

The others were already dancing.

Layla spun with Susan, their bodies fluid and flushed. Stella and Natalie shared a kiss that lingered too long, and Emma watched from the side, her smile soft, fingers brushing her lips like she was remembering something secret.

Zoey stepped toward Jude, hands out. "Dance with me?"

He hesitated. Then took her hands.

They moved slowly, his body pressed lightly to hers, their rhythm slow, hypnotic. She smelled like jasmine and something darker. Her fingers curled around the back of his neck as she leaned in.

"I missed you," she whispered.

"I didn’t go far."

"But you’re back now."

He forced a smile. "I never left."

Her eyes studied him, her smile returning. "You’re starting to feel it, aren’t you?"

He swallowed. "Maybe."

Behind her, Lucy was dancing with Rose.

Their bodies moved like mirrors, hips swaying, eyes locked. Rose’s hands trailed down Lucy’s waist, slow and possessive. Lucy didn’t flinch. She leaned into it, let her fingers trace Rose’s jaw, let herself smile like she meant it.

It was an act.

Jude could see it in her eyes.

But no one else seemed to notice.

Sophie stood near the fire, swaying on her own, her gaze always on the others. Watching. Calculating.

The night went on like that.

Laughter. Touch. Heat without flame.

By the time the stars began to fade, several of the wives had slipped away, one by one, hand in hand.

Jude lay on the moss beside the fire, staring at the branches overhead. Lucy was beside him. Sophie just behind. They didn’t speak. They couldn’t.

Because Rose was watching.

They waited until the trees rustled.

Until they were sure she was gone.

Then Jude turned his head to Lucy. "Did you see it?"

She nodded. "It’s not just them anymore."

Sophie’s voice came in a whisper. "It’s the island."

Lucy rolled onto her side. "No. It’s deeper than that. It’s inside them."

"They’re not just acting," Jude said. "It’s becoming permanent."

Sophie sat up slowly. "We have to stop this."

"Tomorrow," Jude said. "We meet here. Just us. At the river."

"Then what?" Lucy asked.

He looked toward the dark treetops, where Rose had vanished hours earlier.

"Then we take her back."