His Omega Deal: Owned By My Stepbrother

A Healer With A Disorder

Chapter Five.

Xander’s POV.

“I’m sorry Alpha Xander but based on our sessions, it seems you’re dealing with a severe case of compulsive s****l disorder.”

My therapist’s fancy words played on a loop inside my head as I leaned against the polished bar at the edge of the wedding’s after party, a glass of expensive scotch in my hand.

Compulsive s****l disorder? I scoffed out loud in disgust and irritation, more like a fancy way of saying I was a broken, brilliant, f*****g s*x addict.

Nothing more than a freak who couldn’t control his most basic impulses.

The diagnosis wasn’t a surprise, the fear was. The fear that this time, I won’t be able to hide it. Not when I had a career to maintain, a reputation as a prodigy at Hopkins, not the trembling, needy animal underneath.

The urge had been there for as long as I could remember, like an itch that never really went away. I’d tried to outrun it, to drown it in work but it always caught up to me.

And whenever it did, it was always worse than the last time, leaving me disgusted at myself and so damn tired.

Over the years, I developed a habit, a private s*x club at the outskirts of town, where everyone attended with a mask and only cared about what they wanted,

Pleasure.

It was perfect and kept my desires in check until everything went sideways a month ago. One of the club’s workers had secretly been recording clients and blackmailing them with it, the revelation made me realize just how close I was to getting screwed over.

I could almost see the tabloid headlines and my pictures all over the internet.

I couldn’t go back there, the fear of exposure was the only thing stronger than the need, for a little while.

But the need came back. It always did and this time, it was stronger than before.

Sitting through this party, wearing this suit and this smile, felt like wearing someone else’s skin. Every second felt like hell and I kept counting down the minutes until I could be alone, until I could breathe.

I groaned out loud in frustration as I ran a hand over my face, aggressively. Every laugh felt too loud, and the sight of any woman in a summer dress sent a static buzz through my veins.

At that point, I was nothing but a ticking time bomb and that was where she came in.

Lydia.

She was perfect for my plan. Just like me, she had a whole lot to lose. Her mother’s new happiness, her promising future at Hopkins. She wouldn’t talk. She couldn’t. And she already knew what I was like. She’d felt it inside that elevator.

If I could channel this endless, burning need into just one person, maybe… just maybe I could control it. I could still be the brilliant surgeon and dutiful son. I could buy myself enough time to figure out a real cure, to fix whatever was broken inside of me.

One woman, at my beck and call, a plaything on my own terms, no risk at all. Just a private way to keep the beast inside me fed and under control.

It was selfish but… it was what I needed.

My eyes scanned through the crowd and the moment my eyes rested on her, I felt my entire body stiffen.

My wolf, Xan stirred restlessly at the sight of her and I could feel him straining against my restraint to seize control but I clenched my fists tightly, holding him back with every ounce of self control I had left.

Lydia looked gorgeous in the light blue dress she was wearing that clung to every curve of her body. Looking at her now, I felt a painful twist deep inside my stomach.

This was a terrible idea, especially now that she was my sister but the electrifying hum in my blood was—

“She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” My father’s voice sliced into my thoughts. My shoulders tensed up as I glanced to my side and saw him standing right next to me staring at Lydia.

He’d caught me staring.

I forced myself to take a slow drink, “Elena looks happy.” I said, deflecting.

“She does,” he agreed, his voice easy. Too easy.

Charles White never said anything without a point.

“And Lydia is a big part of that. She’s a good kid. Hardworking and sensible. Not like the usual crowd you… associate with.”

There it was. That judgemental, condescending tone of his.

He turned to me, his perfect smile firmly in place for anyone watching. But his eyes held no warmth, just the usual stone cold harshness,

“I mean it, Xander. Whatever… habits you have back at home, keep it to yourself. This union means a whole lot to me. I don’t want to lose my wife so keep yourself under control.”

You have no idea, I thought to myself, my grip around the glass becoming tighter. Getting it under control was all I ever thought about.

“Just being friendly, Dad,” I brought my glass to my lips to hide my faltering smile, “welcoming my new sister.”

“Be a good big brother and supervisor,” he responded, bringing his hand down heavily on my shoulder, “the polite and very distant kind. Am I clear?”

I clenched my jaw tightly to keep my words under a tight leash. My father had no idea about the diagnosis, the therapy, the raw, frantic need that drove it all.

He had built an empire based on a sparkling reputation. He loved me, in his distant, proud way but he loved his legacy more. If he ever found out… if the council even caught the slightest whisper about this…

“Crystal,” I replied, my tone flat. “Don’t worry Dad, your perfect step-daughter is totally safe with me.”

He studied my face for a while, searching for something, anything at all to give him a reason to believe I was lying but I kept my expression blank, an ability I mastered over the years..

“Good.” He finally spoke up, not looking at me, instead, his eyes drifted back to his Luna who was laughing with her daughter across the hall.

“See to it that she is.” He added with a tone that left no room for argument. With one tight, painful squeeze of my shoulder, he turned and walked away to mingle with the other guests.

I emptied my glass with one gulp.

The burning sensation that shot down my throat and radiated through my chest did nothing to calm the cold dread, that itchy restlessness that was rapidly spreading across my body.

His warning had just made the whole thing worse.

Being told no was the fastest way to make Xan want it even more.