Mutual Territory: Mutual Territory, #1

By K.N. Reid

Aurora has two selves- the bloodthirsty werecat, and the calculating human. She's in danger of losing both of them.

 

Aurora's world turns upside down when she wakes up in a hospital bed, her memory shrouded in mystery. Unbeknownst to her, she belongs to an ancient race of shapeshifters known as Felin, and her abilities have started to manifest in chaotic ways.

 

New to her life as a werecat and struggling to understand it, Aurora is reluctant to undertake any sort of responsibility. Yet every day more Felin are disappearing, and rumors of the cult in the woods get sharper and deadlier. When it is revealed that she is the only one who can solve the mystery, Aurora risks everything to save her kin.

 

Join Aurora on her adventure through a brutal world where shadows conceal secrets, alliances are forged in unexpected places, and the strength within one shapeshifter sparks a revolution that will redefine the destiny of the Felin.

• Language: English
• Publisher: K.N. Reid
• Release date: Jan 25, 2024
• ISBN: 9798215641132

K.N. Reid

K.N. Reid is a trans, Black author who writes about travel and social justice. Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, they live as a nomad with their dog Nova. Reid is notorious for planning trips out months in advance and somehow never seeing your favorite classic movie. This is their first novel.

Book preview

Prologue

Dr. Pallici

Dr. Pallici tapped a combination on the security pad. The automatic doors swept her scrubs about her legs as they whisked open. She strode to the desk placed strategically in the center of the corridor and addressed the half dozen staff members who were gathered around it instead of doing their jobs. Besides the nurses who were assigned to the station, the timid college intern who assisted with remedial tasks and the skinny security guard who should have been doing rounds were there as well.

What is so important that you couldn’t take care of it yourselves? she asked. I’m on my lunch break.

Margaret was the one to address her, a frail but outspoken old woman. She never let patients push her around and was often called to help with resistant individuals. Ma’am, you need to see this, she said.

The desk allowed enough space for several nurses, office supplies, and screens. Papers were scattered about, and at least one of the three phones always seemed to be ringing. Right now they were all off the hook, lights blinking furiously to show that a caller on the other line was on hold. Through the computer monitors they could access the cameras, which surveyed the rooms of patients. Those in this ward needed to be monitored at all times to prevent them from interfering with their treatment plan, such as walking around when they are meant to be bedridden or causing self-harm.

After a nod from the guard, the intern fiddled with the keyboard. The center screen began to change, zipping backwards through time. Finally, it stopped to show a familiar patient’s room. The timecard in the corner showed that this event had occurred only a few minutes ago.

Pallici’s irritation faded. She should’ve known that this was the troublemaker. She scanned the room for signs of disarray. Each room was designed to create a pleasing atmosphere. The pale-yellow walls, wide windows, and entertainment system gave patients a feeling of home away from home. The camera was fixed on the bed in the center, which was developed using premium technology. The bed could be angled at the press of a button for convenience, and it automatically adjusted air pressure to help prevent aching or bedsores.

If only this patient would stay in bed. Aurora was a college-aged young woman who had been brought into Pallici’s care after having an episode at a public event. It seemed to be a seizure, but later tests showed no seizure activity in her brain. She would be a challenge to figure out, but Pallici had a hunch. It would take more observation to determine, but if her theory was correct, the girl would need to be transferred to a better-suited facility, the only one in the state that could help her. She would be revered for her research in the extremely rare health condition that this girl seemed to have.

On top of her medical condition, Aurora seemed to be struggling psychologically. She spent much of her time staring off into space or pacing back and forth. When approached by anyone other than kitchen staff, the young woman flew into a rage. She refused to take her medication willingly and had even attempted to escape. Her attitude and resulting actions were detrimental to her progress.

Suddenly, the patient’s left foot began to jerk. Like a puppet on a string, the rest of her body followed suit. Within a few moments, the young woman was writhing as if a demon were trying to escape her form. She shot upright so suddenly that everyone watching flinched. They kept deliberately straight faces as the patient vomited over the bedrail. Pallici was proud of her team for being professional. The girl was obviously in pain, nearly pitching forward as she retched violently.

Pallici checked the time again. The video was nearing two minutes. As a rule, seizing patients should not be left alone any longer. They were to be given the fluids and medications to deal with the situation physically, and sedated if necessary. Due to her behavior when dealing with staff, Aurora was to be sedated during every episode.

In the footage a male nurse stepped into the room, syringe in hand. He tilted his head and paused. Pallici had been in that same spot so many years ago, wondering whether to follow instructions and sedate the patient as soon as possible or follow his instinct and wait for her to lie still. Before he could move again, Aurora’s erratic movements slowed.

Pallici found herself focusing on the patient’s bare feet. They seemed to be warping, like a balloon growing bigger. Her legs began to bend at an unnatural angle, kicking the blanket off completely. Aurora’s hands were also changing: her fingers grew thick while her nails lengthened to claw at the bed rail. Her entire body was growing, and the fabric of the thin white gown they allowed patients to wear ripped along her sides. As Pallici watched, her patient’s smooth caramel skin erupted into thick beige hair. Her face, still turned away from the camera, seemed to be lengthening. The EEG machine went crazy as Aurora tore away the sensors.

The subject of the video was no longer a woman but a large cat. It tumbled awkwardly over the guardrail and onto the floor, then recovered to stand with a fluid grace.

The nurse seemed rooted in place, the syringe clasped in a death grip between his fingers. Pallici wanted to shout for him to run, but the event had already occurred—she could do no more than watch.

As the beast leaped toward him, fangs bared in a snarl, he finally seemed to gain his senses and scramble towards the door. His frantic fingers failed twice to swipe his identity card, and for a moment she cursed the hospital system for leaving staff members with unstable patients and no quick exit. Thankfully when the door finally opened, the animal didn’t attack. Instead, it barreled over him to escape. Other cameras showed the chaos that ensued as it galloped down the hallway. Staff screeched and jumped out of its way. A few idiots tried to chase it. Somehow, it shoved open the door to the emergency exit and escaped.

The intern ended the video, and everyone looked to Pallici for directions. A few minutes ago her patient had transformed into an animal and escaped the ward. The press would bombard them with questions and photos. The families of the other patients would send worried phone calls and visits. Her senior manager would have many angry questions.

But Pallici’s excitement was stronger than her dread. Her theory had proven correct. She had some contacts of her own to make.

Chapter 1

Aurora

The morning was bright and airy, with perfect puffy clouds drifting lazily across the scenic blue sky. Aurora could almost hear the birdsong outside her window, praising the new day. Yet she did not move from her position flat on her back in this cage disguised as a bed. It was angled at 45 degrees, and the mattress pad was thin enough for her to feel the metal platform beneath her. The contraption moved every time she did, supposedly pumping pressurized air to support her body. The noise made Aurora grate her teeth. Plastic bars on either side made climbing out a chore, which by the time she completed someone will have swept into the room and shooed her back to bed.

Upon first waking, she had scoured the ceiling to find the camera, it’s bright red light blinking mockingly at her from the corner of the room. The nurse who responded when she tested the red call button claimed that these safety measures of confining Aurora to a robotic bed and watching her every move were for her own good. If she experienced another episode, they would be able to reach her quickly. Yet they only deepened the pool of mind-numbing boredom tinged with overwhelming anxiety that she had been drowning in for hours.

Even if she could leave the bed, she would not be able to go far. Her head was covered in nearly a hundred wires. They had been glued to her scalp without care, and her once beautiful hair was matted around them. The wires were held together by clips and led to two machines behind her. One was tall and thin, with no recognizable apparitions but for the standard doctor’s equipment such as a stethoscope and a blood pressure monitor hanging on a pole. The other was a boxy cabinet on wheels topped with a computer monitor. Though she couldn’t make sense of the constantly active lines and symbols, she guessed that it was monitoring her brain activity.

The machine seemed to breathe. It created a draft of warm air and constant mechanic hum that was a stark contrast to the frigid silence of the hospital room. Aurora ignored it in an attempt to prevent the heavy panic sitting in her stomach from bubbling over and consuming her.

It had been nearly a full day since Aurora had awoken in this room the night before, dazed and disoriented, stripped of her personal items and wrapped in a thin paper gown. With nothing else to do, she had dozed off. When sleep would no longer take her, she resorted to turning on the flatscreen television. She could not focus on it. Aurora found herself wondering what had happened. Her mind was a haze, unable to dredge up the details of what must have been a traumatic experience.

Throughout the night and into the morning, staff had entered and exited the room without acknowledging her, despite her demands to know what was going on and when she would be allowed to leave. By the time a nurse finally spoke to her, Aurora was seething.

The woman was short and squat, her words clipped. She sounded as if she would rather be doing anything else in the world than having this conversation. Aurora made no effort to hide her mutual resentment.

Full name and date of birth.

Aurora was pleased to find that she could recite the information without trouble. At least she hadn’t fully lost her memory.

What’re ya in for?

She thought about this, only to find that she was not entirely sure. She had gone from one setting to the other without consciousness in between. I ... fainted. Or ... had a seizure. Or ... something. It’s been happening for a few weeks now. I guess I had one in public and someone called an ambulance?

The nurse paused in scribbling on a pad of paper to raise her eyebrows. You don’t remember how you got here?

Aurora’s face heated. No. Maybe. It’s a blur.

Heaving a sigh, the woman strode to the door, where a myriad of papers and charts were posted. She looked one over, then returned. You were in the ER for approximately forty-eight hours before the doctor recommended you be transferred here.

She gave Aurora no time to process this information before continuing to question her. You that said you have been having these spells for a few weeks now. Why didn’t you see your primary practitioner before something like this happened?

Aurora felt her resolve grow. She straightened and lifted her chin, gritting her teeth when the mattress moved beneath her. I am a student with a job. I get my meager health insurance from my university and have many other things to do. I didn’t think that it would be a permanent problem and felt that visiting a hospital would not be worth the wait. As you can see, I was right. I’ve been here for nearly twelve hours without seeing a doctor or even being allowed to eat. I have class tomorrow ... probably. I need to look at a calendar. Either way, I don’t have time for this.

The nurse stared at her for a moment before she began scribbling once more. We’ll get you some food. You can’t leave until the doctor sees you. Looking at your chart, she wants to do some observations. The woman gestured to the wires connecting Aurora’s head to the machine. Don’t expect to leave until tomorrow.

The woman turned to leave, as if Aurora was simply going to follow her absurd demands without question.

I don’t need a diagnosis, Aurora said. You can’t make me stay. I’m an adult. She realized that her words made her sound like an indignant child more than anything else, but panic burned in her throat at the idea of being held in this bed any longer. Please give me my clothes and backpack.

The woman returned to the bed in three quick strides. She leaned close enough to Aurora’s face for her to smell something sour in her breath.

I don’t take orders from privileged kids, she said. You’ve already been stirring up trouble by tryin’ to get outta bed every hour. Then we gotta take away time from people who actually need help to come in here and tuck you back in. Now sit your ass down and wait.

Aurora was shocked. She found her throat dry, her mind empty of possible responses. The woman stomped out of the room. She attempted to slam the door, but the effect was lessened when it whooshed closed with a soft click. Aurora sat back in the bed. Was this a real hospital? No facility would allow patients to be treated with such disrespect. Perhaps they had declared her mad and placed her in a mental institution.

For the next few hours, Aurora stared at the ceiling tiles until they began to swim. Nurses dropped by about once an hour to fiddle with the machine, but she let them go without much thought. The room grew slightly warmer with the rising sun, then darker as it waned. Eventually the ever-present fluorescent lighting was the only source left.

Chapter 2

Aurora

H ello.

She started. She must have slept through the night. The room was bright with the light of a new day and a woman was standing beside her bed, clipboard tucked into the crook of her elbow, wearing a snide smile. Her thin blonde hair framed an aging face caked with makeup. This must be the doctor that she had been waiting for.

When she didn’t receive an answer the doctor chuckled, the kind you give to small children when they say something silly. She turned away to study a screen on the machine that held her captive. Aurora was suddenly more aware of it wheezing, and of the cables linking her to it.

I heard you gave my nurses a bit of an attitude, she said.

Aurora said nothing. Though she had just awoken, she felt anger growing within her. It was a deep, roiling emotion that made her skin heat. She struggled to breathe. She wanted nothing more than to strike the woman.

Perhaps seeing the change in her patient, the woman sobered. She dropped the fake smile and stepped slightly away from the bed.

My name is Dr. Pallici. I apologize for not being able to stop by yesterday, but I was very busy. It was a blessing in disguise, though, because we were able to observe you. I would have sworn your episode was a grand mal seizure, but we have detected no seizure activity in your brain over the last twelve hours. It’s actually quite perplexing.

I don’t care, Aurora said.

The doctor’s eyebrows furrowed, as if she did not understand her words.

"I’m not your science experiment. I won’t stay any longer. I’m fine now. The words came out too harshly. Aurora shook her head and cleared her throat. Give me the paperwork so I can go home, or I will leave on my own."

The doctor’s snide smile returned. Unfortunately, it’s no longer your decision. You are not psychologically sound. You’re a danger to yourself and others if you go home and this happens again. Would you want to go back to school and hurt your friends?

Aurora felt herself jerk over the bedrail and grab the woman’s arm. She had no thoughts, as if something else was in control of her body. The doctor stumbled back with a squeak of terror.

When she realized what she had done, the anger drained from her body. Aurora drew back and stared, dumbfounded, at the angry red welts on the doctor’s arm. They looked larger than any bruises that a young woman should be able to inflict, as if something had taken over her body.

The doctor took a few more steps back. Her eyes were hard.

You are a danger to the public and yourself, she repeated. You will not be allowed to leave until I have properly diagnosed you and given you a treatment plan.

She left without allowing time to answer.

A staff member entered the room almost immediately, as if he had been waiting outside for her to leave. He carried a tray of food and a tiny plastic cup. The young man, who was about her age, wore scrubs and sneakers. He looked bone-tired, as if he had been working all day and was anticipating a long drive home. His caramel skin was framed by short sideburns, and his dark hair was a short but untamable tuft. He followed the customary practice of having her recite her name and age, as if to double-check that she hadn’t escaped and been replaced by a doppelgänger, before he finally offered her the tray of food.

Aurora felt her heart speed up with something similar to happiness for the first time since waking up in the hospital. She was suddenly aware that her stomach felt like it had been eating itself from the inside outcoupled with a headache that had grown from a pinprick above her eyebrow to a pulsing throb throughout her entire skull.

The nurse motioned for her to adjust her bed to a seated position, likely so she didn’t choke, and showed her how to extract the TV tray from the many attachments on the bed. Before allowing her to eat, he handed Aurora a tiny paper cup with a pill in it, alongside a larger one with water.

What is it? she asked.

The nurse shrugged a little too casually. Just something to help you sleep. We noticed that you were a little restless.

Aurora tried to protest but he cut her off. It's not optional. Doctor’s orders.

They stared at one another for a moment in a silent battle, but the young man won when he made a move as if to leave with her food.

Wait! Aurora said desperately. Fine.

She swallowed some of the given water, careful to stash the pill under her tongue. As if he could read her mind, the nurse ordered her to open her mouth and move her tongue around. He poured her more water and wordlessly handed her the cup. This time she swallowed the pill.

Finally, he left Aurora alone to her food and her thoughts. The plate boasted a carefully balanced meal with mashed potatoes, broiled chicken, broccoli, and fruit salad. While she had felt starved before, she didn’t rush. Instead, she absentmindedly tipped forkfuls into her mouth as she listened to the growing noise in her room. She had noticed the clock on the wall earlier but paid no attention to it. Now it began to tick louder and louder, taunting her with the reminder of ever passing time. What was time? What good was it to Aurora if she would never leave this room?

The clock was the only thing in her room which felt real. The ugly green couch started to melt into the garish yellow walls and the flatscreen television seemed to wobble on its axis. The glass panes of the window faded away. If only she had the willpower, Aurora could escape outside with the fading sun, but her limbs were ignoring her commands. She settled for staring longingly at the cityscape, her head pounding to the beat of the ticking clock.

Chapter 3

Aurora

The next day was a fever dream. Not trusting herself to interact with anyone humanely, Aurora ignored the staff when they entered to fiddle with her machine and took the pills when they were given to her with her evening meal.

Sometimes she found herself melting, swimming in the blank haze of her mind, the white brick of the walls blending with the speckled tiles of the floor. Once she awoke to Dr. Pallici and a few other staff members bending over her bed. They were obviously talking about her, but the combination of their hushed voices and her foggy brain prevented Aurora from understanding their words. She felt pain in the distance but could not identify where in her body it was coming from. She lost interest and drifted away once more.

Chapter 4

Aurora

Aurora woke with surprising clarity. She was acutely aware of the hollow silence in her hospital room, undermined by the breathing of the machine behind her and the groan of the mattress adjusting when she shifted to a seated position. Aurora’s bones felt heavy and her joints creaked. The late afternoon sun, normally soothing, felt as if it was searing her eyes.

How long has she been in this sterile prison? Without a calendar, digital device, or even verbal information, Aurora could only guess. She knew that it had to have been at least three days from the passing of the sun as she faded in and out of consciousness.

She knew that it had not been a natural sleep, and that they had been drugging her with those pills or even something stronger. She took stock of her body as well as she could while seated in bed. She glanced over her limbs and felt her torso for marks or abrasions. Aurora did not feel any physical pain, but she couldn’t shake the deep gut feeling that she had been wronged somehow.

It was clear that words and waiting were not enough. Aurora resolved to leave the hospital. There was no way that the staff had her best interests at heart, and she was beginning to doubt that this were even a legit facility. She needed to plan while she had control over her mind.

Aurora climbed out of bed. Her muscles were weary, but her heart pumped faster with the taste of freedom when her socked feet touched the tile. She knew she had about a minute before a nurse