Exchanging Vows: The Swapped Wife Is a Top Shaman novel Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Chapter 15

Seraphina’s Point of View

I followed Margot’s maid through the corridors, irritation burning in my chest.

What could possibly be so urgent that it couldn’t wait until after breakfast? I had been making progress with Luna Helena. Building rapport. Trying to repair some of the damage from the past few days.

And now this.

Margot was waiting in her private sitting room, seated in a high-backed chair like a queen on her throne. Vivienne stood beside her, looking equally serious.

"Close the door," Margot ordered the maid. "And make sure no one disturbs us."

The maid bowed and left.

I stood there, confused. "Lady Margot, what’s this about? You pulled me away from breakfast with Luna Helena."

"That’s precisely why I called you here." Margot’s eyes were sharp. "Sit down, child."

I sat.

"You must never eat at Luna Helena’s residence again."

I blinked. "What? Why not?"

"Think about it." Margot leaned forward. "You are not her real daughter-in-law. You were supposed to marry Dominic, but instead you married Bastian. Her stepson."

"I don’t understand what that has to do with—"

"Helena despises Bastian," Vivienne cut in. "She always has. He’s a constant reminder that her husband took another woman to his bed. And now you’ve married him instead of her precious Dominic."

Margot nodded. "In her eyes, you’ve betrayed her son. Abandoned him for his half-brother. Do you really think she wouldn’t hold that against you?"

My stomach twisted. "You think she would... tamper with my food?"

"I think she’s capable of many things when it comes to protecting her son’s interests." Margot’s voice was cold. "She may seem gracious, but Helena is a wolf like the rest of us. And wolves bite when threatened."

I thought about the breakfast I had almost eaten. The porridge sitting in that bowl, untouched.

A chill ran down my spine.

"I understand," I said quietly. "I’ll be more careful from now on."

"See that you are." Margot waved her hand dismissively. "You may go."

********

Ivy’s Point of View

After Seraphina left, the dining room felt strangely quiet.

I stared at my bowl of porridge, my mind racing. The timing of Seraphina’s departure was too convenient. Too precise. Almost as if someone had planned it.

Margot pulled her away right before she could eat.

Why? What did Margot know that we didn’t?

I pushed the bowl away, my appetite gone. The silvervine root in the food troubled me deeply. If Luna Helena was being poisoned, she might not even know it. The effects were subtle at first. Easy to miss.

But who would want to make Luna Helena barren? She was already past her childbearing years. It didn’t make sense.

Unless...

Unless the poison wasn’t meant for Luna Helena at all.

The thought hit me like a punch to the gut. The weekly breakfasts. The tradition of the Alpha family wives gathering to eat together.

What if the poison was meant for us?

Before I could pursue this line of thinking, a servant knocked and entered.

"My Luna, Young Madam," she announced. "Physician Aldric from the royal palace has arrived for Young Master Dominic’s weekly treatment."

Luna Helena set down her tea cup. "Already? Very well. Have him proceed to Dominic’s chambers."

She rose from her seat and looked at me. "Come, Ivy. You should observe the treatment. As Dominic’s wife, you need to understand his condition."

I followed her through the estate, my mind still churning with questions about the poisoned food. But I pushed those thoughts aside for now. Dominic’s treatment was more important.

We arrived at the heir’s residence just as the physician was being escorted inside. Physician Aldric was an older man, perhaps sixty, with gray hair pulled back in a severe knot and deep-set eyes that had seen too much. He carried a leather bag filled with instruments and vials.

"Luna Helena." He bowed respectfully. "And this must be the young madam I’ve heard about."

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