Buried Ashes (MxM)

20-Confrontation

Mason

"Surprise!!!" the three voices yelled in unison. Aiden and I jumped back at the sudden sound.

There, just feet from my mate and I were my mom, Jackson, and Ben. A large happy birthday banner hung over their heads.

I couldn't explain why, but I felt my heartbeat quickening at the sight. I felt angry. I had been fed lies by these three all my life, that much was obvious. Yet here they stood; as if everything was normal. As if there was one ordinary thing about this fucked up situation. As if I was stupid enough to allow them to pull wool over my eyes.

Rage. 

That's what I felt.

"What the fuck is this?" I asked, my tone conveying the anger I felt at the sight.

"Mason Anthony!" my mother scolded me.

"It's your surprise birthday party, Mase," Ben chimed in.

I ran my fingers through my hair with a deep sigh, and Aiden rubbed my back with one hand while the other gripped the painting; the front of the canvas faced toward himself.

"Do any of you have anything you would like to tell me?" I asked, looking at each of them with a pointed glare. Ben's face contorted in concern as he gently held his swollen stomach, my mom looked at me in confusion, and Jackson stepped forward with a calm expression on his face.

"Mason, calm down, bud. Is everything alright?" he asked me softly.

"No! Everything is not alright! You of all people should know that!" I yelled as I stepped toward Jackson. "How fucking long did you think I'd buy it??"

"Mason, I don't know what you're talking about." Jackson's tone remained calm which only infuriated me more. I looked behind me, to Aiden, and reached for the picture in his hands. His eyes widened for a moment as I grabbed it from him, but he made no move to stop me. I flipped the frame, exposing the portrait painted on the front.

Ben gasped loudly before his hands flew to his face while he looked at the painting in horror. My mom's eyes widened as she stepped toward Ben, gripping his hands in a comforting manner. Jackson quickly concealed the look of shock that crossed his face for only a second as he drew in a subtle breath through his nostrils.

"Do any of you want to explain this?" I asked the three of them.

"Where did you find that?" Jackson asked quietly.

"Does it fucking matter where I found it? It exists! Why the fuck isn't Ben in this picture? Are you two even mates??" I asked, looking at them with eyes wide from anger. Some emotion began to show on Jackson's face at that comment. I was agitating him.

"Yes, Ben is my mate. He always has been and always will be," he said firmly.

"Then why are you my father?" I asked pointedly. It was my mom who gasped then. Aiden stepped forward and rubbed my arm. Jackson couldn't hold my gaze then, as he looked toward the floor.

"I have no clue where you would get such an absurd idea."

"You don't? Really? Would you like to explain to me why you were present for my entire childhood? Why you and Ben supported me in ways you have never supported any other child in this pack?"

"That's enough, Mason!" Jackson's deep voice rumbled.

"How about the fact that looking at me is like looking into a fucking mirror?? I am the only other person in this pack that shares your eye color, Jackson!"