Chapter 1280

He lay on the moss, surrounded by bodies - limbs tangled, breasts pressed against his chest and face, thighs over his legs, hair covering his skin like a blanket of wild silk.

The island hummed.

And he heard it clearly now.

It wasn't just a song.

It was a heartbeat.

And he had become part of it.

Rose leaned over him, her face glowing with sweat and joy. "Now you understand."

He nodded. "It's not possession. It's communion."

She kissed him again, slow and deep.

"We were never lost," she whispered. "Just asleep."

The others curled around them, sighing, smiling, kissing each other lazily.

They were no longer a group of lovers.

They were a single living thing.

That night, they didn't return to the treehouse.