one last breath

Listening to the young man speak, a dull ache in his chest joined the pain he'd already been feeling. He'd done so much wrong in his life, he should have known that the one time he'd ever sire a litter he'd screw it up. Just like he'd screwed up the rest of his life. Failed as a king, gotten his brother killed, failed to keep his family together. A failure as a son and a failure as a father. "I didn't know..." he began breathily, but trailed off. It didn't matter that he hadn't known. He'd still not been there when she, when they, had needed him. "I'm sorry." That was true, whether the boy believed him or not. He was sorry - sorry to have not been there, sorry not to have given them the chance to have a family. Sorry for everything. "I wish I... had time. I... I..." He broke off with a shudder of pain. "Would... would you a-at least tell me your name?"