Hello everyone! :D

Thank you sooooo much for reading this story! I'm so honoured for all the messages and love you all have been giving me. I appreciate it so much!

I had a few questions that were given to me about this story... so I decided to do an age chart for all of the characters and a short Q&A. Most of what I'm revealing about ages is not a spoiler, but the Q&A portion will. So for those who haven't read yet, please be cautioned and read only if you are interested :) the second half of this post is mainly for people who have read this story already.

Thank you once again!! And here we go...

Hazel-24

Kai-28

James & Jackson- 25

Mackenzie-13

Charlie-17

Henry-72 (his age when he passed away)

Rae-24

Nathan-52

Gerald-50

Cassandra-45

Luca-28

Natalie-26

SPOILERS BELOW for the Q&A

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

When I was writing Hazel's backstory or 'past,' her mother Evelyn became a central focus to me given the nature of the way she lost her. I did intend on revealing what happened to her father when she was with Kai after confronting her aunt, but to be honest I was a little upset having to re-edit that scene multiple times having lost a parent myself, so I decided to leave it out. Hazel's past is tragic, just like the Ravenwolf's family. And I wanted them all to eventually feel the love of a family again at the end of the novel. But without further ado...Hazel's father passed away when she was really young. She didn't have a chance to make many memories with him. Her only stories of him were when her mother shared them with her when she was curious. He died of a rare blood cancer when she was 2 years old. Her mother had only known her father for a year before Hazel was born.

Before Henry died, he prepared videos for each of his grand kids. He told Nathan he wanted to give the responsibility to Hazel about the right time they would need it in their lives...Each of the Ravenwolf grand kids were left individually catered messages. Henry was a kind-hearted man who never wanted anything more than his family to be happy, and he understood their personalities really well. So each of them were left with messages of love and care.

For Kai, he wanted him to be strong for the future ahead. He wanted him to open up his heart and to truly invest in his own happiness. He and his parents would have wanted that for him. And he reminded him that may one day he would find the right person that he could walk together with in this life.

For James, Henry encouraged him to continue his studies to become a Doctor. Henry was proud of his grandkids, but he was especially proud of how determined James was to do something different than the 'family business.' He also told him to take care of Jackson, Kai, and Charlie since he was the most level-headed one... but he also reminded him to make sure to take care of himself and to reach out when he needed help.

For Jackson... Henry had an incredible soft spot for this boy. He really wanted Jackson to grow and understand that he is an important and valued member in the family. He wanted to tell Jackson that it was okay to share his thoughts with the family and to trust in his brothers a little more. He encouraged him to balance the fun he wanted to in life have while pursuing something he was passionate about.

For Charlie... Henry also wished him nothing but a bright future ahead. He wanted him to branch out into the world and communicate with his family more when he needed support. He knew that he loved playing music and encouraged him to pursue his dreams.

And lastly, for Mackenzie... he admitted how hard it was to leave them, especially since they were all young. He told Mackenzie, similar to Charlie, to let her family know when she needed support. To continue pursuing her passions and dreams. And to always keep her heart open. He told Mackenzie that no matter what happened in the future that she always was surrounded by people who wanted the best for her.

No, Henry already had the will set in place. The only adjustments he made was that Hazel became the official heir for a period of one year during her stay. After a year she would inherit half a billion dollars and the rights to 'Ravenwolf Co.' would return to the eldest son, Kai.

Yes, it did come up later. I had intended on writing a few more chapters but I thought it would be too long. I'm thinking about writing a few bonus stories of a 'flash' forward to the future for this family. She does tell them of course, but that's after getting engaged with Kai. I may leave that as a bonus chapter :)

Yes, and Rae gave her a 'little hell' at first, in Rae fashion. But also because she is her family, Rae forgave her. She was remarkably surprised, of course, at the amount of money she received (and Hazel surprised her with many trips in the future so they could go and see art around the world together). At the end of the day, Rae was happy that Hazel has a family that loves her. Hazel, however, did not tell her the times she was injured because she didn't want Rae to be worried about her.

As some of you may be familiar with, a reverse harem 'theme' is when 3 or more characters have a romantic/sexual interest in the same character. Traditionally in mainstream anime and manga, a reverse harem can feature one person (usually a young girl/woman) who is surrounded by multiple guys either under the same roof or at her school/in her community, who show interest in her.

I have read and watched a lot of anime and manga for the past decade or more. Some of which of course include reverse harem's. So I am familiar with the theme. Depending on the story line, a reverse harem can either leave audiences hanging without 'pairing' a guy up with the main 'female' character, or they have her choose one guy and they get together during or slightly before the series ends. It depends whether or not it was based on an otome: like the Uta no Prince series or Kamigami no Asobi anime.

Some examples where the 'girl' chooses one person among a few suitors includes: Kamisama Kiss, Ouran Highschool Host Club, Hiiro No Kakeru, Fushigi Yuugi, and Yona of The Dawn. I'm sure there are more out there, but these are the examples I'm referring to.

The reason why I included the tag in this story was because Luca, Jackson, and Kai show interest in Hazel. In anime and manga (before reverse harem's were created), traditionally 'men/young boys' would be the centre of multiple women's affection. So because Hazel is the centre of the affection and care of multiple characters who show romantic interest in her, that is why I have included the tag.

I have been inspired by many genres over the years, and of course romance is something I am passionate about. Especially build-up romances and complex story lines. Reverse harem elements have always fascinated me so that is why some of what you will find in a reverse harem anime/manga is evident here.

I wanted to answer this mainly because a lot of people had commented about her lack of awareness during the times she wasn't asking for help or taking the potential danger she was in more seriously. So, here's my response... :)

Since now most of you know about Hazel's past, I'm hoping you understand the reason why she reacted during situations where she wasn't attentive to her own surroundings. I never wanted anyone to feel like her lack of self-preservation was because she was lacking common sense, but rather I wanted to display Hazel's inability to seek assistance when she is in trouble. As you know, although Hazel's selfless nature allows her to help people in need, she still often forgets about her own surroundings. I'm sure a lot of you can see this evident in many incidents during the story.

Since her internalized focus has been on how she can protect others as a result of her childhood trauma, her motives are often based in a desire of not wanting to lose anyone. She's still very courageous but like everyone else she has flaws. Hazel also hasn't had many people to rely on in her life, as you all know now, so for her to be the first person to go to other people for help is difficult for her. Especially since spending so much time trying to get her aunt to trust and accept her to no avail, Hazel may no have consciously realized it, but she stopped trying to let other people help her (even though she talks to Rae about many things, there's still a lot of emotional impact from losing her mother and being rejected by her aunt).

Part of her story is learning to balance the two and seek help when she needs it. And to realize there are people now around her she can rely on. Yes, sometimes Hazel gets fixated on things from time to time to a fault but that's why I wrote her the way she was. Yes, this novel does have some dramatic events, but at the heart of the story I want each character to feel love and trust again, especially Hazel.

*

I hope this clears up any potential questions someone might have about this story. Thank you once again for reading!!!! :) ALSO~~ If you have anymore questions let me know :) I can always add to this post :)