Poker Night

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Synopsis

DarkRiver lieutenant Nate hosts a poker night at his house, where the guys do a little party planning for Riley and Mercy's upcoming anniversary while playing the card game. The group is interrupted by Nate's young cubs, Roman and Julian, who end up joining for a round before Nate spends a little father/son time, tucking them into bed.

Review

"Poker Night" is a short story of only about seven pages in Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling world that takes place sometime after Kiss of Snow in the series chronology. It's written from the POV of Nate, lieutenant of the DarkRiver leopard pack. A bunch of guys from both DarkRiver and SnowDancer have gotten together for a poker night. As they play the game, they discuss what they could do to celebrate Riley and Mercy's upcoming first anniversary since the couple were the first inter-pack mating. They're interrupted by Nate's two young cubs, Roman and Julian, who join the game, after which Nate spends a little quality time with the kids, putting them to bed.

This was a nice little story. I liked the camaraderie between the males of the packs as they tease each other during their game. It was also great for them to show that they can engage in a little party planning and aren't leaving it all up to the females. Nate allowing Roman and Julian to be a part of the game and the ending where Nate takes time to put them to bed showcased some quality father/son bonding and was very sweet. We haven't seen a great deal of Nate and Tamsyn and their family in recent books, so it was nice to catch up with them. Overall, this was a good addition to the Psy-Changeling shorts. "Poker Night" used to be available for free on Nalini Singh's website, but I couldn't find it anymore. I read in in her Newsletter Exclusives, Vol. 1 anthology, which I obtained for free by signing up for her newsletter a while ago, so it might still be in there.

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Nalini Singh

Themes

Babies & Children