one last breath

The old wolf didn't even glance at the bundle he'd dropped, instead staring at him. Cassiel stared back, gaze hard. "Don't say it, mate," he told the old man, his voice low and warning. They were both quiet for a moment, then Cassiel continued in that same low tone. "You left my mum in a bad way. Pregnant, alone. Sick. Two of us survived." His expression turned harder. "My mum wasn't one of them." He was quiet again, then continued in a more conversational tone. "It hurts, don't it? Dying. I had to watch her die, alone, and there was nothing I could do about it. But you could have, couldn't you, old man? If you hadn't disappeared on her."