Exchanging Vows: The Swapped Wife Is a Top Shaman

Chapter 30: Chapter 30

Ivy’s Point of View

The ceremony was over.

I lay on the altar, trembling and weak. But as the initial shock faded, I realized something surprising.

The pain was manageable.

My preparations had worked. The moonroot powder had protected my soul from shattering. The silverleaf had kept my mind anchored. The nightbloom had cushioned the worst of the spiritual trauma.

I was hurt. Exhausted. Burned in places where the wolfsbane chains had touched my skin.

But I was intact.

The same could not be said for Bastian.

Across the temple, he lay crumpled on his own altar. His face was ashen gray. Sweat poured down his forehead. His whole body convulsed with violent tremors.

He had no shaman’s protection. No secret preparations. He had endured the full force of the bond-breaking with nothing but his own strength.

And it had nearly destroyed him.

"Bastian!" Seraphina rushed to his side, tears streaming down her face. "Bastian, can you hear me?"

He groaned. A weak, pitiful sound.

Margot and Vivienne pushed through the crowd, their faces twisted with horror.

"My son!" Vivienne dropped to her knees beside him. "What have they done to my son?"

Margot’s eyes found me across the temple. Even from this distance, I could see the hatred burning in them.

"This is your fault!" She jabbed a finger in my direction. "You did this to him! You cursed him somehow!"

I was too tired to respond. Too drained to care.

Luna Helena helped me sit up. "Ignore her. We need to get you back to your room."

Alpha Alaric appeared at my other side. Together, they supported me as I stumbled off the altar.

"Where do you think you’re going?" Margot’s shrill voice followed us. "Your own son is lying there in agony, and you’re worried about her?"

Alpha Alaric didn’t turn around.

"You’re abandoning your flesh and blood for a stranger!" Margot screamed. "How can you be so heartless? So biased?"

Still, Alpha Alaric said nothing. He simply gestured to a nearby guard.

"Send Physician Aldric to tend to Bastian."

"Yes, Alpha."

Then we left. Margot’s curses echoed behind us, growing fainter with each step.

"Heartless monster! You’ll regret this! You’ll regret choosing her over your own son!"

The walk back to my residence felt endless. My legs could barely support my weight. Every step sent jolts of pain through my blistered skin.

By the time we reached my room, I could no longer speak. Could barely keep my eyes open.

"Put her on the bed," Luna Helena ordered. "Gently. Be careful of her burns."

Hands lifted me. Soft mattress beneath my back. Cool sheets against my feverish skin.

"Where’s the physician?" Luna Helena’s voice was tight with worry. "She needs treatment immediately."

"I’m here, Luna." An elderly man appeared at my bedside. Not Aldric. Someone else. Someone with kind eyes and gentle hands.

"Use whatever medicines you need," Luna Helena commanded. "I don’t care how expensive they are. Cost is no object. Just help her."

"Yes, my Luna."

The physician began his work. He cleaned my burns first, dabbing them with cool salves that smelled of lavender and aloe. The relief was immediate. The fire in my skin dimmed to a bearable warmth.

Then came the bandages. Soft white cloth wrapped carefully around my wrists, my ankles, my throat. Each wound was treated with meticulous care.

"She’s fortunate," the physician murmured as he worked. "I’ve seen wolves lose limbs from wolfsbane burns this severe. But her skin is already beginning to heal."

"Will she be alright?" Luna Helena hovered nearby, wringing her hands.

"With rest and proper care, yes. She’s remarkably resilient." He paused, studying my face. "Almost unnaturally so."

I kept my expression blank. The physician couldn’t know about my preparations. Couldn’t know about my shaman abilities. As far as anyone was concerned, I had simply been lucky.

He gave me something to drink. A bitter tea that made my head swim. Then another potion for the pain. And finally, a sleeping draught.

"Rest now," he said softly. "Your body needs time to recover."

I didn’t argue. Couldn’t have even if I wanted to.

The darkness took me.

When I woke, night had fallen.

The room was quiet. Moonlight streamed through the windows. Beside me, Dominic lay still as always, his breathing slow and steady.

I tried to move. My body protested immediately. Every muscle ached. Every joint complained.

But the pain was duller now. More distant. The physician’s medicines were doing their work.

I closed my eyes again, ready to drift back to sleep.

That’s when I felt it.

A touch.

Light. Gentle. Barely there.

Something brushing against my arm.

My eyes snapped open. I turned my head, searching for the source.

Dominic lay beside me. Motionless. His hand resting on the mattress between us.

Had I imagined it?

I stared at his fingers. Willing them to move. To twitch. To do anything.

Nothing.

But I could have sworn...

My eyelids grew heavy. The sleeping draught was still in my system, pulling me back down into unconsciousness.

’I’ll figure it out tomorrow,’ I thought drowsily. ’Tomorrow...’

Sleep claimed me once more.

Morning came with soft footsteps and whispered voices.

"Is she awake yet?"

"Not yet, Luna. But her color has improved significantly."

I opened my eyes slowly. Luna Helena stood at the foot of my bed, the physician beside her.

"Ivy!" Luna Helena rushed to my side. "How do you feel?"

"Better." My voice came out hoarse. Scratchy. But it was there. "Much better."

The physician approached and began his examination. He checked my pulse. Inspected my bandages. Pressed gently on various points along my arms and legs.

When he finished, his eyebrows were raised in amazement.

"Remarkable," he breathed. "Absolutely remarkable."

"What is it?" Luna Helena asked anxiously.

"Her recovery speed is extraordinary." The physician shook his head in disbelief. "The burns that should take weeks to heal are already closing. Her spiritual energy, which should be completely depleted, is already replenishing." He looked at me with something like awe. "At this rate, she’ll be moving freely within three days."

Three days. That was nothing. Most wolves took weeks to recover from a bond-breaking ceremony. Some took months.

Luna Helena clasped her hands together, relief flooding her face. "Thank the goddess."

I smiled weakly. "I told you I’d survive."

"You did more than survive." Luna Helena took my hand and squeezed it. "You thrived."

A knock came at the door. Nell entered, looking hesitant.

"Forgive the interruption, Luna. But I thought you might want to hear the news about Young Master Bastian."

Luna Helena’s expression cooled. "What about him?"

"He’s... not doing well." Nell glanced at me nervously. "The servants in his wing said he screamed in pain all night. No one got any sleep. The physicians have been with him constantly, but nothing seems to help."

I felt a small spark of satisfaction. Petty, perhaps. But after everything Bastian had done to me, I couldn’t bring myself to feel sorry for him.

"His mother and Lady Margot are beside themselves," Nell continued. "They’re demanding that the Alpha send for more physicians. More specialists. They say the ceremony was rigged somehow. That it was designed to hurt Bastian more than Young Madam."

Luna Helena scoffed. "The ceremony was identical for both of them. It’s not anyone’s fault that Ivy is stronger than Bastian."

"Of course, Luna."

"Is there anything else?"

"No, Luna. That’s all."

Nell bowed and left.

Luna Helena turned back to me, her expression softening. "Don’t worry about Bastian. Focus on your own recovery."

"I will."

"And once you’re strong enough to travel, I’m taking you to the Northern Forest. The healing springs there will help restore your strength completely."

I nodded, already feeling drowsy again. The conversation had tired me more than I expected.

Luna Helena noticed. "Rest now. I’ll check on you again this afternoon."

She left with the physician, closing the door softly behind them.

I lay in the quiet room, listening to Dominic’s steady breathing beside me.

Three days until I could move freely.

Then I could begin his treatments in earnest.

’Hold on,’ I thought, turning my head to look at his peaceful face. ’Just hold on a little longer.’

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