Exchanging Vows: The Swapped Wife Is a Top Shaman novel Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Chapter 9

Seraphina’s Point of View

I stared at Ivy like I was seeing her for the first time.

This wasn’t the same girl I grew up with. This wasn’t the meek, pathetic little mouse who used to cower whenever anyone raised their voice. The Ivy I knew would never look at me with such cold defiance. She would never dare to make demands of me.

What the hell happened to her?

I searched her face for any sign of the weakness I’d exploited for years. The trembling lips. The downcast eyes. The hunched shoulders that made her look smaller than she already was.

None of it was there.

Back in the Crescent Moon Pack, she never fought back. Never. She let everyone walk all over her. The servants treated her worse than a dog and she just took it. She was pathetic. Spineless. She didn’t even have the courage to look me in the eye.

But now? Now she stood before me like she owned the world. Like she had never been afraid of anything in her life.

Was it all an act? Had she been pretending this whole time?

The thought made my blood run cold.

All those years. All those times I had mocked her, belittled her, treated her like garbage beneath my feet. What if she had been watching the entire time? Waiting. Playing a role while I showed her exactly who I really was.

No. Impossible. No one could pretend for that long.

But looking at her now, at the steel in her eyes and the confidence in her posture, I wasn’t so sure anymore.

Ivy tilted her head, studying me with an almost amused expression. "You look confused, cousin. Is something wrong?"

"Nothing’s wrong," I snapped. But my voice came out weaker than I intended.

"If you say so." She smiled, and it was nothing like the timid smiles I remembered. This smile had teeth. "Now, about my offer. Do you accept or not?"

Before I could answer, a commotion erupted outside.

*****

Ivy’s Point of View

"Where is that insolent girl?" A shrill voice pierced through the walls. "How dare a Beta’s daughter steal from an Alpha’s daughter!"

I recognized that voice immediately.

Margot Ashford. Alpha Alaric’s stepmother.

The doors burst open before Marcus or Theo could stop them. Margot swept into the residence like she owned the place, her entourage of servants flooding in behind her. Her face was twisted with righteous fury, her silk robes billowing dramatically.

"There she is!" Margot pointed at me like I was a criminal caught in the act. "The little thief who thinks she can take what doesn’t belong to her!"

Behind her, Vivienne glided in with considerably more grace but equal venom in her eyes. Bastian’s mother looked at me with barely concealed contempt.

"Miss Ivy," Vivienne said, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "We’ve heard some disturbing reports about your behavior today. Attacking servants? Confiscating property that isn’t yours? This is highly inappropriate conduct for someone in your position."

"My position?" I kept my voice level. "You mean as the wife of the heir?"

Margot let out a derisive snort. "Wife of a dying man, you mean. Don’t get above yourself, girl."

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