21. Would You Mind Getting Off Me?

Avery’s POV

Hours had passed, each minute stretching endlessly as I paced back and forth across the dimly lit room. My muscles were knots of tension, cramping painfully from the relentless motion and the iron grip I maintained on the copper candlestick I had snatched from Liam's nightstand. It felt cold and heavy in my hands, a makeshift weapon against an unknown threat.

I was on edge, every nerve alight with the anticipation of danger. I half-expected the door to burst open at any moment, the bearer of that ominous note finally coming to fulfill their grim promise.

The silver cuffs around my wrists were a constant torment. They dug cruelly into my skin, drawing blood that trickled down my arms now. Each movement sent fresh waves of stinging pain shooting through me. The wolfsbane in my system was a cruel tormentor, its poison seeping into my veins like acid, making my head swim and my stomach churn. Tears streaked down my face, the culmination of stress and fear finally breaking thro