Den: What does one do when they're responsible for the death of their chosen mate? Kill a god, steal his powers, and reset the timeline, of course. What does one do when their chosen mate keeps throwing away his life to save the universe? Reset the timeline forty two times, obviously. I’m not letting Monet sacrifice himself because I made a mistake that ended the universe. I’m not letting any of my family sacrifice themselves to save the universe, and if I have to kill a thousand gods to save them from their hero-complexes? Done. I might be on the verge of villainy, but I have my priorities in line. Slean: What does a diviner do when the love of his mate’s life dies in the apocalypse? Kill three gods, steal their powers, and change the fate of the world, of course. What does he do when his mate’s the one responsible for starting the apocalypse? Everything he can to fix it, obviously. I’m not going to let the universe end. I’m not going to watch my family die because of my mate’s choices, and if I have to create a few new Aquinos to do it? Done. It might make me insane, but I’ll do anything for Den’s happiness, even if that means becoming the villain in my own story. Shah Mat is a 105k word MMMM paranormal romance. In the Aquino family, the boys all have tragic backstories; Den isn’t an exception. Content warning: Child imprisonment/harm, violence, consensual sharing and sex outside of the main relationship (open relationship), exhibitionism, voyeurism, light BDSM including rope bondage, horror descriptions (i.e. zombies). This book is number four in the Shattered Pawns series. THIS SERIES MUST BE READ IN ORDER.