Shadow Mountain i walked in dark streets to punish myself

no one had ever tried to understand merrick before — the sensation of her prying was ecstasy. while he himself looked for weaknesses in the already compromised armour of those around him, this woman was not searching for those things in him.
he had not missed the minute change in her features, or perhaps he’d imagined it. had he unsettled her? merrick rather liked the idea. ”i know it’s what drove my sister away,” he answered, a somber note entering his voice. the loss of nunataq was still a great burden to bear, and he blinked rapidly to keep the angry tears from falling, glancing away from the stranger.
”it’s interesting that you find me so worthwhile when my mother didn’t,” merrick went on, composed, casual. a glint entering his copperburn eyes, the boy shifted against the stone at his back, wincing.  ”you probably don’t have children, do you? no.” no — if she did, she wouldn’t be here bandying words with him, trying to figure him out.
merrick watched the wolfess closely for a long moment. ”i almost killed my sister when she left me too. i wanted to. i wanted to go after her and beat her head against a tree until her skull broke.” his voice had dropped an octave, lost a good deal of its charm. ”that isn’t normal. and i knew that. so i left. i left because she was the last to abandon me, and i didn’t want to hurt her for it.”
saltwater made rivulets down his cheeks; the boy sniffed and smiled at the small angel haloed in the brief light. ”a sickness like this only has one cure.”