Exchanging Vows: The Swapped Wife Is a Top Shaman novel Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Chapter 11

Ivy’s Point of View

The silence after their departure was almost peaceful.

Luna Helena stood by the window, watching the procession of servants carry Seraphina’s diminished dowry across the courtyard.

"Luna Helena," I said carefully. "May I ask you something?"

She turned, her gaze softening slightly. "Of course."

"It’s about Lady Margot."

Something flickered across Luna Helena’s face. Wariness, perhaps. Or resignation.

"What about her?"

I chose my words carefully. "I don’t understand her. Alpha Alaric is only her stepson. Which means Dominic and Bastian are merely her step-grandsons. She has no blood connection to either of them." I paused. "So why does she favor Bastian so strongly? Why does she seem so eager for Dominic to die?"

Luna Helena was quiet for a long moment. She turned back to the window, her reflection ghostly in the glass.

"Margot Ashford is a complicated woman," she said finally. "And her history with this pack is... not a pleasant one."

"What do you mean?"

Luna Helena sighed. "She was not always the Alpha’s stepmother. Before that, she was simply a servant girl with ambitions far above her station."

I waited, sensing there was more.

"The old Alpha, Alaric’s father, was a good man. A faithful mate. He loved his Luna deeply and never once looked at another woman." Luna Helena’s voice turned cold. "But Margot wanted power. Status. And she was willing to do anything to get it."

"What did she do?"

"She drugged him." The words came out flat. Matter-of-fact. "One night, she slipped something into his wine and climbed into his bed. By the time he realized what had happened, it was too late. The damage was done."

My stomach turned. "That’s..."

"Despicable? Yes." Luna Helena nodded grimly. "The old Alpha was furious. He wanted to have her executed for what she’d done. But the pack elders intervened. They said killing her would only create more scandal. More whispers. So instead, they forced him to take her as a concubine."

"A concubine." I repeated the word, understanding dawning. "So she got what she wanted after all."

"In a way. But not entirely." Luna Helena turned to face me. "The old Alpha never touched her again after that night. He refused to acknowledge her as anything more than a servant who had overstepped. And they never had any children together."

That explained a lot. Margot had clawed her way into a position of power through manipulation and deceit, but she had no heirs of her own. No blood legacy to carry on her ambitions.

"So she attached herself to Bastian instead," I said slowly. "Because Vivienne is also a concubine. They’re the same."

"Exactly." Luna Helena nodded. "Margot sees herself in Vivienne. Two women who used underhanded means to gain their positions. And she sees Bastian as the son she never had. If he becomes the heir, her faction gains power. Her influence grows."

"And Dominic threatens all of that."

"Dominic is my son. Helena’s legitimate heir." Luna Helena’s voice hardened. "As long as he lives, Margot’s schemes mean nothing. That’s why she’s so eager to see him fail. To see him die."

I absorbed this information, filing it away for later. Margot wasn’t just a nuisance. She was a genuine threat. A woman who had already proven she would do anything to get what she wanted.

Luna Helena seemed to read my thoughts. She stepped closer, placing a gentle hand on my shoulder.

"Ivy, listen to me carefully." Her voice was soft but serious. "I know Margot is difficult. I know she provokes you. But you must not engage with her directly. She is still an elder of this pack, and openly fighting with her will only make things harder for you."

"But she—"

"I know." Luna Helena squeezed my shoulder. "Believe me, I know. But right now, you need to be smart. Pick your battles. Don’t give her any ammunition to use against you."

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify