Stuck in an Island with Twelve Beautiful Women
Chapter 859 - 861

Chapter 859: Chapter 861

The morning began like any other. The sun rose in the east, painting golden streaks across the forest canopy. Birds chirped lazily, and the wind rustled through the leaves in a song they had all grown used to over the years. Jude sat on the edge of the treehouse deck, legs dangling over the side, slowly weaving a length of rope with vine fibers. The warmth of the early sun rested against his bare shoulders. Below, he could hear the others moving around the camp, voices laughing, footsteps pattering across wooden walkways, pots clanking as breakfast was being prepared.

Grace was humming to herself as she folded some clothes near the drying line. Zoey was sharpening their small stash of tools. Emma and Scarlett were arguing again, this time about whether the woven basket could actually hold the amount of fruit Scarlett was claiming it could. Jude smiled faintly, not bothering to intervene. It was the kind of background noise that had become comforting, a sign that life, while still strange and dangerous, had rhythm.

Lucy appeared first. She climbed up the treehouse with an apple in one hand and a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"You always up here hiding?" she asked, dropping beside him with a soft thud.

"Hiding? I’m working," Jude said, lifting the rope to prove his point.

Lucy took the end of it, examining his knots before dropping it in his lap. "Mm. Your hands should be doing something else."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Like helping Scarlett with breakfast?"

She leaned in close, her lips nearly brushing his cheek. "Like making your wife feel appreciated."

Jude turned to her, a bit amused, a bit intrigued. "Aren’t you the one who told me last week I’m not allowed to flirt before breakfast?"

She grinned. "Forget the rules. Just... come here."

She kissed him. Deep, breathless, and sudden. Jude dropped the rope, his hand instinctively catching her waist as she pulled herself into his lap. It was intense, more intense than Lucy usually was in the mornings. Not that he was complaining, but it felt more intense. He simply gave up himself to her.

She was like a leopard hunting on her prey. He really enjoyed her mood and took her right on top of him. The touch of her soft body, the warmth of her breath, her body smell everything made him more attracted to her.

As though he was enjoying everything, he felt something different, something more like an old woman dealing with him. Still he decided to go with the wibe. She explored his body with her hands, like he did to her’s. They went into full pleasure mode within seconds. Jude just let her take incharge and enjoyed everything.

Then just as quickly as it started, it ended. She pulled away, blinking.

"What...?" she looked down, then back at him, as if waking up from sleep. "What was I just saying?"

Jude tilted his head. "You were making a strong case for morning kisses."

Her cheeks reddened slightly, and she stood, brushing off her dress. "Right. Sorry. I, uh, I’ll help with breakfast."

She was saying that with a blushed and confused face. Still she was in her horney side. She climbed down in a rush, not even looking back. Because she felt if she looks at him again she won’t be able to leave.

Jude frowned.

Odd.

The rest of the morning passed without much interruption. He tried to shake off Lucy’s strange behavior, maybe she was tired. Maybe she was just feeling spontaneous. He couldn’t deny he liked it, but something about the way she changed so suddenly afterward left him with a weird feeling.

Later that day, Jude went with Grace, Sophie, and Natalie to gather wild berries near the west edge of the forest. It was a safe zone, they had cleared it years ago and rarely saw anything stranger than a wandering lizard.

Sophie walked beside him, basket swinging gently in her grip. She was talking about the patterns she’d been noticing in the stars lately, her new obsession. Grace and Natalie were a little ahead, arguing about the difference between edible and "edible-if-you’re-desperate" berries.

Jude was half-listening when he noticed it.

A thin ribbon of something, a shimmer of blue, drifting near Sophie’s shoulder. It moved like smoke, but it didn’t rise. It slithered, almost like it had intent. A wisp of it curled around Sophie’s hair, and then... it vanished into her skin.

Jude stopped walking.

Sophie blinked, paused in her sentence, and then turned to him slowly. Her eyes shimmered, not with light, but with something intense. Her face flushed instantly. She dropped her basket without realizing it.

"I was just thinking," she said, stepping toward him, "how long it’s been since you kissed me."

Jude tilted his head. "You said that yesterday. Why do you have to ask this every time, no one is holding you back."

He kept a grin.

"Did I?" she whispered, her fingers already on his chest. "Then I’ll say it again."

She pressed against him. Not soft or teasing like Sophie usually was, but hungry. Urgent. Jude took a half step back, half in surprise, half in reaction. Her hands didn’t stop, they gripped his shirt, tugged it downward. He just started getting warm again but he it’s not the place.

"Sophie, "

"You don’t want me?" she asked, her voice low and thick.

"That’s not, " he hesitated. "This just... feels sudden."

She paused. Blinked. Took two steps back. Looked around, dazed.

"What...? What just happened.?"

Jude stared at her, lips slightly parted. "You don’t remember?"

She picked up her basket, confused. "I remember talking about the stars. Why? Did I... I don’t remember."

Jude looked at her suspiciously and asked "Sophie, did you black out or something?"

Before he could answer, Natalie screamed.

Both of them turned sharply. Grace and Natalie were a few paces away. Grace had tackled Natalie to the ground, and now the two of them were a tangle of limbs and curses. But it wasn’t a fight. It was something else. Natalie was pinned, and Grace, gentle, logical Grace, was straddling her, her face inches from hers, kissing her like she was gasping for air.

Jude rushed forward.

"Grace!"

Grace looked up at him with wild eyes, lips swollen, breath ragged.

And then, like a switch, she blinked, released Natalie, and scrambled back on her hands.

"I, I don’t know why I did that, " she stammered.

Natalie sat up, wide-eyed, wiping her mouth, clearly stunned. "What the hell was that?"

Jude stood still, watching the space where Grace had just been.

And there it was again.

A trace of blue. A shimmer like smoke, curling through the air for just a moment before it vanished into the leaves.

This time, he knew he hadn’t imagined it.

He said nothing the entire walk back.

The others noticed his silence, but they didn’t ask. He watched his wives through narrowed eyes, and studied them. Every word, every touch. It wasn’t that they were acting out of character exactly, it was that they were flipping like switches. Intense, raw, then confused, always forgetting what they’d just done.

By nightfall, it had happened three more times.

Emma cornered him while he was cleaning tools, pressed her body against his and whispered things she would usually only say after wine and long nights. Jude asked her what she was doing, and she blinked in confusion, said she was just coming to ask about sharpening the axe.

Scarlett kissed him without a word while passing him a water jug, her fingers trembling. Then, moments later, looked around like she didn’t know where she was.

Even Sophie again, while walking to the fire, clutched his hand tightly and whispered, "Don’t leave me tonight," with a voice full of tears. Then suddenly asked what time it was, like she’d never said anything.

And each time, he saw it.

The smoke. Just before. Always before.

It came and went like wind. It didn’t make a sound. No one else noticed it. No one remembered. Not a trace. Not even a question about it from the others. It was like he was alone in seeing it.

That night, they all ate together around the fire again. Laughter, stories, warmth. But Jude watched them all in silence, a polite smile on his lips, his heart quiet and tense in his chest.

Was the island playing games again? Was this just some strange side effect of being here too long? Was it him?

Or was something new watching them?

After dinner, one by one, his wives headed off to sleep. Some kissed him goodnight, others curled into the blankets early. Everything looked peaceful.

But Jude stood there, long after the fire burned low.

Staring into the trees.

Waiting for a flicker of blue.

Just one more trace to confirm that he wasn’t losing his mind.

Nothing came.

Not tonight.

But he knew.

Something was coming.

And this time, it wasn’t just in his dreams