<h4>Chapter 1278: Chapter 1278</h4>
Sophie screamed as she came, clenching tight around him, her whole body shuddering.
Lucy kissed her.
And then Jude came with a groan, gripping Sophie’s hips, pulling her flush against him.
They copsed into a tangle of limbs and sweat and breathlessughter.
Sophie turned her head, kissed Lucy again.
"I understand now," she whispered.
Lucy smiled. "I know."
Jude held them both.
And for the first time in days, he didn’t dream.
But outside, beyond the clearing, Rose stood beneath the trees, watching the moon.
And smiling.
Jude woke with the weight of both women still pressed against him - Lucy curled to his right, her cheek on his chest, one bare leg tangled with his. Sophiey to his left, her hand still gripping his wrist, her breathing slow and warm against his skin. The air smelled of sex, salt, and something sweeter... like the flowers that only bloomed at night here, thick and heady and wild.
Outside, the light had shifted. The moon had dipped behind clouds, and the fireflies that usually flickered near the treetops now hovered low, humming in slow, swirling patterns just outside the open shutters.
Something had changed again.
Jude untangled carefully, cing soft kisses on Lucy’s forehead and Sophie’s shoulder. Neither stirred, their bodies sated and limp, limbs glowing with the afterlight of their shared ecstasy.
He rose without dressing, padding to the edge of the treehouse and peering into the woods.
The fireflies weren’t random.
They were forming a path.
He watched them long enough to be sure, then quietly descended thedder.
The forest greeted him like a lover - warm and close, whispering promises he didn’t quite understand. The ground beneath his bare feet was soft, the moss damp and springy, pulsing faintly with the rhythm of the ind.
He followed the trail.
The lights wound through a familiar path, past the riverbank where Rose had first kissed him, through the grove where La once danced in the rain, and into the clearing with the twisted ck tree growing from the earth. The one Zoey had said was from her dream.
And there, bathed in a shaft of silver light, stood Grace.
She wasn’t alone.
Ste and La stood beside her, one on each side. All three were dressed in translucent wraps that clung to their skin like dew, glowing faintly. They were barefoot, hair wild and decorated with woven flowers and feathers.
Jude stopped just at the edge of the clearing.
Grace smiled at him - not the eerie, possessed smile he feared, but one that felt... shy. Open.
"We called you," she said softly.
He nodded. "I heard."
La stepped forward first. Her voice was low and melodic, like a luby. "We felt the change. With Sophie."
"You didn’t resist her," Ste said, stepping closer on the other side. "You let her in. And now the ind knows."
Grace reached for his hand. "It’s not a punishment. It’s an invitation."
"To what?" he asked.
"To let go," La whispered.
Ste reached out, fingers grazing his hip. "To let us in."
Jude’s pulse kicked.
All three of them moved at once - slow, fluid, surrounding him like water. Their fingers touched his skin gently, reverently. He should have backed away. But he didn’t. Their energy wasn’t violent. It was seductive, yes, but not overpowering.
It was worshipful.
Grace kissed his chest. La ran her hands down his back. Ste leaned in and kissed his neck, her lips warm and soft.
"You don’t have to choose," Grace whispered, her hands sliding down his stomach.
"You already have," Ste said.
La dropped to her knees in front of him.
Jude’s breath hitched. "What are you doing?"
"Weing you," La whispered. "Like you weed Sophie."
Grace kissed him deeply then, her mouth sweet and slow, her fingers sliding lower. Ste moved behind him, pressing against his back, kissing his shoulder, his spine, her hands stroking his sides. The heat of their bodies wrapped around him, and his skin ignited under their touch.
La’s lips found him - slow, hot, her tongue tracing the length of him. He groaned into Grace’s mouth, his knees buckling slightly as Ste supported him from behind. The rhythm of their touch matched the hum of the forest. Everything around them pulsed with heat and desire.
He was trembling.
La took him deeper, her lips tight, her hands stroking what her mouth couldn’t reach. Grace kissed down his chest, down his stomach, until she joined La between his legs. Ste’s hands curled around his hips as she kissed his neck and whispered, "Let it happen."
They were in sync - three lovers moving as one, mouths and hands working in rhythm. He cried out as Grace’s tongue circled his tip, then gave way to La again, her lips slick and greedy. Ste kissed his jaw, his temple, held him up while the pleasure surged through him.
He couldn’tst.
He didn’t want to.
When he came, it was with a groan so loud it echoed through the trees. La swallowed every drop, then pulled away slowly, licking her lips as Grace kissed his thighs and Ste wrapped her arms around his chest.
They lowered him to the moss like he was sacred.
And then they curled around him.
He didn’t sleep - but it felt like dreaming.
Voices moved in the air, soft andyered, ancient and melodic.
The ones who listen be. The ones who see choose. The ones who sing belong.
Judey in their arms, trembling, lost in the warmth and the strangefort of it.
And then he heard another voice.
You’re almost there.
Rose.
He opened his eyes.
The clearing was empty.
No La. No Grace. No Ste.
He sat up.
He was still naked, the moss damp beneath him. A faint shimmer danced across his skin - like gold dust, barely visible in the light.
He stood slowly and turned toward the path.
And there she was.
Rose.
Watching from the edge.
She was alone, dressed in nothing but her long ck hair. Her body was as he remembered - soft and strong, every curve still etched in his hands, every freckle known. Her golden eyes glowed faintly.