Page 84 of Unleashing Mayhem

Matty was pretty certain they were going to capsize by the end—by Chaos’s hand if no one else’s—but he supposed that was what life jackets were for.

The morning sun was lovely, the days getting warm again as they approached another summer, and Matty was comfy enough in only his T-shirt, his hoodie left at home today.

The change of season meant ice cream and sunshine and more time at the beach, but Matty had learned this year thatwinter was his very favorite, and he was a little sad to fully let it go.

The town had emptied out like it always did come fall, and the days had been short and dark and cold. Matty and Nightmare had holed up in their cozy cottage, fucking and snuggling and watching every horror movie ever made. More than once, Sascha and Kai had been forced to come banging on their door to get them out of the house.

It had been perfect.

Matty had even come out of it with his GED, and next fall he was going to start taking a few college courses online, just to see what sparked his interest.

Matty was no longer Matteo Caruso either. Ivan had procured documents for Nightmare, and ever since the courthouse wedding, Matty was Matteo Night, married to Sarkaron Night. And if anyone thought it was weird he called his husband by their shared last name, no one said anything about it.

It was a small town, after all. There were bigger kooks than Matty and Nightmare running around.

Matty had worried a little bit about Nightmare managing with such prolonged domesticity, but it seemed it was basically impossible for his demon to get bored. If Nightmare ever got restless within the confines of Seacliff, he stepped into the dream realm and fed on human terror. And when he returned, he’d share the weird, horrific visions he’d been part of, if Matty was in the mood for them.

It was like having new horror stories always on tap, whenever Matty wanted them.

Matty’s favorites were when Nightmare found particularly vile, rotten souls, ones who were a danger to all the innocents around them. Then Nightmare would ask Matty for his desiredretribution, and he and the shadows would deliver it the next night.

So maybe Matty was still a little bloodthirsty at times, even with Dominico long gone. Nightmare didn’t seem to mind.

Not every day started out perfect. Some mornings Matty woke up and forgot Dominico was dead, old terror vibrating through his bones. But on the rare occasion Nightmare wasn’t already in bed to soothe him, the shadows were, a perfect reminder of everything that had changed since Matty had been that sad, scared, lost boy.

“I love you, Scary,” Matty said now as they walked together in the sun. He liked to say it every day when he was at his happiest, and right at this moment, he was feeling pretty damn happy.

Nightmare pressed a kiss to their clasped hands. “My heart,” he crooned.

Maybe one day Matty would want to travel as often as Cooper and Chaos did. Or perhaps he’d want to try living in a city again like Ivan and Nix. But for now, he was content to finally have a home that didn’t scare him. To have neighbors to say good morning to and locals who knew him and his mate by name.

And most of all, to have his demon—his soul’s perfect match—always at his side.

It was the kind of life dreams were made of, and Matty was going to enjoy every minute.

The end.