Rick's POV:

Today is his 17th birthday. On his last birthday, I had promised to take him to London and show him the city. He wanted to see the Big Ben and sit on the London Eye. He was my joy, yet it had been almost a year since I had seen his smile. I miss that smile. The smile that would light up our house, our world. And he fucking killed it. Yu. No, Venice. I haven't called him Yu since the past one year. All the love, admiration and respect I had for him? All gone down the drain. Till Rain comes back, and forgives him, I won't be able to do the same.

I turn around, as I feel a hand on my shoulder. Zander stands there, with a sad look in his eye. He knows exactly what is going through my head. He has been a blessing in disguise and has made the past year bearable. If it wasn't for him, I don't think I would have been able to withstand this crippling pain. And he has been there for my family as well. Dad and Pa consider him their second son. Plus, he is Sky's cousin, so that makes him another form of family. We had been just as devastated on Sky's birthday. I had never seen Pa so despondent. Two more days, and it would be one year since the babies were gone.

"It's his birthday today Zan," I tell him, tears in my eyes. "I know babe, and I know it hurts. But you have to be strong. Your parents need you." He is right. I nod and we go down the stairs together. The smell of chocolate cake permeates the air. I know Pa is making it because of Rain. He loved it. I go up behind my Pa and hug him. He pats my hand and says, "It's ok baby, I am fine. It's not like I am the only one missing him, right?" My dad walks in as he says that, and hugs both of us. "Group hug," I say, eliciting a smile from my parents as we remember Rain doing the same at every family big day.

We all get to the hospital, and I go to park the car. After doing so, I walk towards Rain's room, and I see Venice coming out of it. As I start to walk past him, completely avoiding him, he touches my arm. "Rick, how long will this go on?" he asks. "Till he forgives you, don't expect anything from me. He deserves to know that I love him more than anyone else in the world, more than my so-called best friend." I finally look at him and say, "You kept asking why he stopped talking to you. If he got his mark, means you got it too, and that also means that you kissed Pensri before that. You maybe our prince, but you are nothing more than a man whore. I can't believe I considered you my friend, my best friend. My brother was in pain, his heart broke every day, but being the Prophecy he is supposed to be, he never faltered, never let anyone see that. Instead, he moved away from you. That's why he stopped talking to you and hated you."

"How do you know all this?" he looked aghast at my words. "Well, while it's none of your business, I will still tell you. Sky told Zander and he told me. And I wish I had known. I wish I could have protected him. But I didn't get a chance, and I still don't know if I will get him back." I told him, my eyes overflowing. He stared at me, and I could see unshed tears in his eyes too, but my heart was hardened against him. I moved past him, and his hand caught mine again. Just as he was about to say something, Zan stepped up. "Don't," he said to Venice. "It's pointless saying anything today. Today is his birthday. The pain and heartbreak are worse today." Venice looked at him and let me go. I could hear their whispered conversation as I walked away.

Yu's POV:

"It's his birthday?" I asked Zander, Rick's mate. Rick had gone ahead to meet Rain, but Zander stayed back to talk to me. His eyes were tinged red as well like he had cried along with his mate. Mate. Mate. That word had become my world. He was supposed to be the reason for my existence and instead, I had become the reason for his near loss. If the Supernatural world lost him, the consequences would be worse than fatal. And I was responsible. Being the Prince, no one said that to my face, but their averted eyes and serious demeanours were clear indicators of my act of treason against the kingdom.

"Yes," Zander replied. "He turns 17 today. The whole family is in shock and trauma. You have to give them today to heal. It's hard as it is. But today, it's worse." I know exactly what he meant. My heart is shattering as well. I leave, without being able to say a word to him, to anyone. As I drive home, my mind goes back to an evening almost 7 years ago. We were all at Rick's house. We must have been around 12. We were sitting near the fireplace in the living room as we all drank Uncle Type's exceptional hot chocolate with whipped cream.

"Hey, this is delicious. Your Pa makes the best hot chocolate," I told Rick. "Oh, well, I didn't make it this time," Uncle Type spoke up. "Who did Khun Type?" Pensri asked. "Rain did. He loves to cook and is learning from me," Uncle Type smiled at us and then left the room, giving us all some snacks. Pensri scowled into her drink, while I was kind of surprised and awed as well. This guy is something else. He was always so sweet and everyone only said nice things about him. Suddenly Pensri leaned forward. "What are you thinking cutie?" she said and pecked me on the lips.

Just then Rain walked in. and I heard him gasp. We all turned around. His face was pale, almost ashen, his lips blue, and his eyes, oh my God, his eyes. They were like fire, golden and orange. He swayed a bit. Rick, the ever-protective elder brother, rushed towards him. At the same time, I felt an agonising pain around my heart. I watched as Rick tried to help him, but he held him off. 'I am ok,' he mouthed. Then he turned and looked at me, a searing look, filled with hate and hurt, and holding his head high, he walked out of the room, leaving me reeling in shock as to what had happened. When I reached home, I saw the partly formed mate mark and it was another shock to my senses. How on earth had this happened, I wondered.

Now, in hindsight, which is probably worse than Karma, I recognise that look, that pain, that hurt and hate in his eyes at my betrayal. What I had done to him. 7 years. It must have been torture for him. My name had formed in his mark and knowing what I was doing must have caused him more pain than death. I couldn't stop beating myself up. I wish now I had reacted negatively to what Pensri did. I wish now I had pushed her away. I wish now that I had I gone ahead and asked someone the meaning of what had happened to me. I wish now I had confided in someone. I wish now I had been able to connect my pain to his anger. But as they say, hindsight is twenty-twenty. I had been a fool then and now I was nothing less than a broken man. My Queen was never going to forgive me, and I had to live with that knowledge. But I would win him back, I vowed to myself. Even if it took my entire lifetime.

Tharn's POV :

Rain had come to us after lots of difficulties. Rick had been a fairly easy delivery for Type, but with Rain, it was like the universe was stacked against us. Plus, the shock that Type had felt when Fiat had talked about aborting his baby had been acute. He couldn't even imagine doing something like that. After Ricky, several doctors had advised Type against another child, but he had been adamant, and knowing him, anything anyone would say would fall on deaf ears. So when he insisted on a 2nd child, while I did try to talk him out of it, I knew I would eventually give in. And I did. And despite all the difficulties that we faced, when Rain was placed in our arms, we felt peace in a way we never had. Our family felt so perfect and complete.

"Why Rain though?" Vegas asked me once. "I don't know. Type wanted to name him Varain. Rain seemed the best fit as a nickname," I replied. "It's funny though. He is the sunniest boy on the planet, with such a downer name," he laughed. And I laughed too, because nothing could be closer to the truth than that. As the kids grew up, more than once we noticed how close Rain and Sky were. We put it down to being friends from a very young age, just like Ricky and Venice, but it was different with them. These two boys had something very different, a connection that went beyond the naked eye. And when Rain had his accident, and Sky came back so suddenly, the news of them being the Prophecy and the Guardian, a lot of things began to make a lot of sense.

I looked at the sleeping boys. Venice had hugged Type and gone, his eyes not meeting mine. I knew he was ashamed, but then, even I had a kernel of guilt growing in my own heart. I had been meeting him after nearly 5 months, and I now realised what Type had meant when he had said that the boy had become a man. Venice had always been an extremely good looking boy, with those fantastic genes from the Theerpanayakul clan. But he looked so different now. Not that he was not handsome but seemed to have aged 10 years. "You all need to let go of Venice," Type said, suddenly distracting me from my thoughts. "What do you mean Ter?" I asked. "Tharn, Venice has paid a bigger price than all of us when it comes to Rain. Maybe it's time to forgive him. I know it will be hard, but we have to start somewhere, right?" he said. I looked at my mate and nodded. Yes, it would be difficult, but I needed to let go of the past at some point for sure.

Kinn's POV :

I looked at Vegas as we both sat in the conference room, sorting out whatever we needed for the upcoming meeting. Chai had convinced both of us that Venice and Ricky, as well Phoenix and Rome, needed to start grooming for their positions. While Phoenix would be the leader for Supernaturals in the Northern Hemisphere, and Rome for those in the Southern, Venice would be the overall authority. This was not how it was originally planned, but when the signs and portents were read by the Elders, it was made clear that Venice would be King, his mate the Prophecy who would lead us in battle. Questions about Ven's mate had always led to heated debates, several Elders not happy with the fact that Pensri had boasted that she would be the one to stand beside the king.

We had laughed it off, because knew the signs and stars under which Ven's mate would be born, and we had kept out eyes open, hoping for great results. Phoenix and Rome had decided that they wanted their own path, so they had left. Although we had all been heartbroken at their decision, it was a choice they had to make on their own. Now that Rome was back, having found his mate here, he would learn the ropes in a different way, learn to be a mate, and learn to rule. At first, Chai had been a little reluctant to give up his own status, but his position as Ro's consort gave him a higher position in the hierarchy of our world, he had finally decided to step into both roles until Ro was ready. It would be hard, but if there was someone we trusted who could do it, it was Chai.

So when he had suggested bringing Venice and Ricky fully on board, Vegas and I had given it a lot of thought, and finally decided that it actually made a lot of sense. So we had a meeting with the Elders, and while not everyone seemed totally happy with the idea of Venice taking over, they didn't completely protest on it, knowing that it was a good idea in the grander scheme of things. "So, do we call Phoenix back?" Vegas asked, pulling me out of my thoughts. "I think we should. But not right away. Let's start with Ven and Rick first. They need to be step 1, then we can go from there," I said. Vegas nodded. "You think I should talk to Ven?" he asked, looking pensive. I knew exactly what he meant. After that day, most of us had not spoken to the boy. In fact, Type had scolded us for ignoring him. We all had felt he had disappointed us, but Type said that if he could forgive Ven, why could we not? Type did make sense, but I think all of us were still missing Rain too much to consider forgiving Venice. Hopefully, when we started working with him, it would get better, and I said as much to Vegas. He nodded thoughtfully. "Maybe we should let go of what happened," was all he said, and I agreed with him. Eventually, Rain would come back, and he would need Ven as much as Ven needed him. We just had to wait patiently.