Stuck in an Island with Twelve Beautiful Women
Chapter 1488

Chapter 1488: Chapter 1488

"Is this it?" Lucy asked. "The change?"

"I don’t think it’s a warning," Natalie said. "It feels... like cleansing."

Rain began to fall, soft at first, then heavier. The roots in the clearing shimmered, absorbing the moisture like veins drinking life.

Stella emerged from the trees then, soaked and wild-eyed. She moved straight to Jude and Lucy, ignoring the others. "The tree... the one from the cave. It’s grown. It’s massive now. The roots have reached the surface. It’s coming."

"What is?" Jude asked, already knowing the answer.

Stella reached up and touched his chest, her hand over his heart. "The real beginning."

When night came, the rain didn’t stop.

But neither did the call.

One by one, the wives began to hum again. First Grace, then Stella, then Susan and Scarlet. Even Emma caught herself mouthing a wordless tune before stopping with a shiver. Lucy held tight to Jude, her body trembling.

"I don’t want to lose myself," she whispered.

"You won’t," he said, holding her close. "You’re the reason I haven’t."

But deep down, even he wasn’t sure anymore.

Not when the song was already inside them.

Lucy clung to Jude as though the rain itself might pull her away. Her skin was slick with water, her breath shallow against his neck, and her fingers pressed tight to his chest like she needed to feel his heartbeat to remember who she was. The song was everywhere now - not loud, but constant, layered into the rhythm of the wind, the droplets, the rustling leaves. It wasn’t coming from anyone anymore. It came from the island itself.

"I don’t want to become like them," Lucy whispered.

"You won’t," Jude said, pulling her tighter. "We won’t."

But even as he said it, he felt the unspoken lie beneath his promise. Something had already shifted. The touch of the others lingered in his body, in his mind - Rose’s kiss, Layla’s warmth, Stella’s voice when she sang. It wasn’t just memory. It was embedded now, rooted deep. Like the island was inside them, growing.

Lightning flashed over the trees, and for a moment everything turned silver. In that frozen moment, Jude saw them all - his wives - standing just beyond the clearing. Rose at the front, her wrap soaked and clinging to her like second skin. Layla beside her, lips parted slightly, hair slicked to her face. Zoey and Grace and Scarlet in a perfect row, all still, all watching. And behind them, the forest shifted like something alive.

Then the lightning vanished, and the darkness swallowed them whole again.

Lucy gasped and pulled back. "Did you see them?"

"Yes."

"They weren’t moving."

"They don’t have to."

The next morning brought a strange stillness, as though the storm had pressed a pause button on the world. The trees shimmered with dew, and the fog sat thick at the forest floor. No one spoke as they gathered in the clearing again. Sophie had circles under her eyes, Emma’s jaw was tight, and Natalie sat with her knees drawn to her chest.

"They’re close," Emma said. "I heard them again just before dawn."

Jude turned to her. "Did they say anything?"

"No. Just the melody. But it was in my head this time."

"They’re not trying to scare us," Sophie said. "They’re inviting us. It’s the same message every time."

"But what do they want us to become?" Lucy asked.

Jude didn’t have an answer. But that night, when he closed his eyes beside her, he dreamed again.

He stood beneath the tree from the cave, but now it stretched into the sky like a pillar holding up the heavens. Its bark pulsed with light, and from it hung vines that glowed gold. The wives surrounded it, their bodies bare, painted with symbols in oil and ash. They danced slowly, ritualistically, moving in circles around the roots. Their eyes glowed softly, and their smiles were warm, welcoming.

Rose stepped forward, nude and radiant, her skin slick with rain and her hair braided in intricate lines. She reached for Jude’s hand and placed it on her breast. "This is the heartbeat of the island," she whispered. "You feel it, don’t you?"

He did. It pulsed beneath his palm - steady, slow, eternal.

She leaned in, pressing her lips to his ear. "You don’t need to be afraid. We didn’t lose ourselves. We found everything."

He wanted to pull away. But his body didn’t listen.

She kissed him, and the world slipped.

Jude woke with a gasp, heart hammering. Lucy was already awake beside him, her body tense.

"I felt it too," she whispered. "All of it."

The rest of the day passed in silence. The group stayed close, cooking in quiet, checking the trees in shifts. No one sang. No one hummed. But the hum was still there. Low. Below everything.

And then, that night, they came.

Not all of them. Just two.

Rose. And Stella.

They stepped into the clearing without fear, without malice. Just presence. Stella’s long wrap trailed behind her like mist. Rose’s skin was glowing softly in the moonlight. They stopped a few feet from the fire.

"We won’t come closer," Rose said gently. "Not unless you call us."

Sophie stood. "What do you want?"

"Not to take you," Stella said. "To invite you. Tonight is the convergence."

"The what?" Jude asked.

Rose turned to him. "The tree has reached full bloom. The roots have stretched to every part of the island. It will never be more alive than it is tonight."

"And?" Lucy said.

"And those who join tonight... become part of the island forever."

Jude stepped forward. "What does that mean?"

"It means no more fear. No more hunger. No more isolation. We become what the island wants us to be. Together. Bound."

Emma’s voice was barely a whisper. "Like a hive."

Rose met her eyes. "Like a symphony."

Sophie crossed her arms. "And if we say no?"

Stella’s voice was calm. "Then you stay. Separate. Alone. Slowly fading, while the island sings louder every day."