Exchanging Vows: The Swapped Wife Is a Top Shaman novel Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Chapter 22

Ivy’s Point of View

A servant appeared at the door. "Beta Edwin, the Luna requests everyone’s presence for the midday meal."

My mother quickly dried her eyes and smoothed down her hair. My father straightened his clothes, tugging at his collar like it was choking him. We all knew better than to keep Alpha Roland waiting. Even a few minutes of tardiness would be seen as disrespect.

The walk to the dining hall felt longer than I remembered. Every corridor brought back memories. Some good. Most painful. The corner where Seraphina had once tripped me in front of visiting dignitaries. The staircase where her friends had "accidentally" spilled ink on my dress before an important ceremony.

This place had never been kind to me.

The dining hall was already full when we arrived.

Alpha Roland sat at the head of the long table, looking every bit the powerful leader he believed himself to be. His robes were made of the finest silk, embroidered with the Crescent Moon Pack’s crest in silver thread. He surveyed the room like a king surveying his subjects.

Luna Camilla occupied the seat to his right, dripping with jewels and false smiles.

Bastian sat on the Alpha’s left side, dressed in Silvermoon black and silver. He looked comfortable. At home. Like he belonged at the head of the table rather than near the bottom where my family was relegated.

And Seraphina was glued to him as always. Her hand rested on his arm possessively. Her smile was radiant. She was playing the role of devoted wife perfectly.

The elders filled the seats closest to the main family. Gray-haired men and women who had served the pack for decades. Important. Respected. Valued.

And my parents?

They were shoved near the end of the table. Almost at the very last row. Like afterthoughts. Like servants who had been grudgingly allowed to dine with their betters. My mother’s face was carefully blank, but I could see the tension in her shoulders. The way her hands gripped her napkin too tightly.

Finn and I were placed even further back. Our seats might as well have been in the hallway. My brother’s jaw was clenched with suppressed anger. He was young, but he understood the insult perfectly.

I sat down without complaint. I had endured this treatment for almost twenty years. The pointed looks. The whispered insults. The casual cruelty disguised as tradition. The way people’s eyes would slide right past me like I didn’t exist.

But today it felt different. Heavier. More suffocating.

Maybe because I had tasted something different at the Silvermoon Pack. Luna Helena treating me with respect. Alpha Alaric acknowledging my worth. Guards bowing before me and calling me Young Madam.

Going back to being invisible was harder than I expected.

I looked at my father, sitting stiffly in his low-ranking seat. His back was straight, his expression carefully neutral. He had been enduring this for over forty years. Four decades of being pushed down. Overlooked. Dismissed. Watching his younger half-brother rise to power while he was kept in the shadows.

Please say yes to my plan, Father. Please.

I wanted so badly for him to be free. For all of us to be free. To never have to sit at the end of a table again, eating scraps while others feasted.

The meal began. Servants brought out dish after dish. Roasted meats glistening with fat. Fresh vegetables arranged in colorful patterns. Delicate pastries dusted with sugar. The best the Crescent Moon Pack had to offer.

Not that any of it reached our end of the table. By the time the platters got to us, they were half empty. The choicest cuts of meat had been taken. The freshest bread had been claimed. We got the leftovers.

I picked at my food without tasting it. Watched the main family laugh and celebrate. Listened to them toast Seraphina’s good fortune and Bastian’s promising future.

Like my wedding night humiliation was just a minor inconvenience. A bump in the road on their path to glory.

Seraphina caught my eye once across the table. She smiled sweetly and leaned closer to Bastian, whispering something in his ear. He laughed and kissed her cheek.

The display was clearly meant for me. Look what I have. Look what you lost.

I looked away. She wasn’t worth my attention.

When the meal finally ended, the servants cleared the plates and brought out more wine. The atmosphere grew more relaxed. More raucous. Voices rose as cups were emptied and refilled.

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