Title: The Last Straw
Pairing: Bella/Jake (story is Sam/Jake)
Rating: T
Genre: drama/humor
Word Count: 481
Prompt: Picture of news anchors with a story titled "Cheeseburger Stabbing"

AN: This week, Tricky Raven is doing a daily drabble challenge, so I'm writing 7 different 100 word drabbles. I plan to post them all in one chapter because they're so short, but today's prompt is one I actually expanded into a longer flash fic. So I'm posting it now.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

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The Last Straw

Bella and Emily sat quietly on the sidelines of a fight that had been brewing for months. The pack stepped back out of sheer instinct—the same instinct that kept the girls pinned back out of harm's way.

Jake stared down his alpha, nostrils flaring with each harsh breath. "Give me the fucking cheeseburger. NOW!" Bella's startled gasp at his tone and uncharacteristic cursing went wholly unnoticed by her mate, letting her know just how serious this fight truly was.

Sam's eyes narrowed at the blatant challenge, his human mind pushed down as his wolf rose to take over. The burger in question fell to the ground as the black and red wolves came together in an explosion of fur and teeth. Only one alpha would prevail.

Emily's arm wrapped around the younger girl's shoulders as their wolves moved deeper into the woods and out of sight. "Don't worry—they'll work this out and come back to us." Bella didn't miss the wobble in her voice or the way Emily's hand drifted down to cradle her swollen stomach, revealing her friend's doubt.

Paul was the first to snap out of it, and he herded the girls into the house, not wanting them to see what shape their mates would be in when they finally returned. Jared followed Kim inside, taking up a guard post on the front steps.

Quil glanced around as the pack followed the path of destruction into the woods, then scooped up the forgotten cheeseburger off the ground, quickly downing it in two large bites. Embry glanced back at him in exasperation. "Jake will kill you next for that, Quil."

The wolves sped up when the sounds of fighting came to an abrupt end, and they ran into the clearing to find Jake and Sam sitting about six feet apart in their human forms, trying to catch their breath as their wounds slowly knit together.

Jacob was the first to stand, a deep gash on his left side and a few smaller scratches on his leg the only indication he'd been in a fight at all. He walked over and stood in front of Sam until the older wolf raised his head slightly.

The pack gasped in unison at the sight of the ragged bite mark still bleeding on Sam's exposed throat. His eyes were unreadable as he took Jake's offered hand and stood to his feet, now a few inches shorter than his new alpha.

Jake's sunny grin broke the tension and he put his arm around Sam's neck, being careful not to jar the slowly healing injury. Sam shook his head as they started back to the house. "I can't believe you fought me for alpha over a stupid cheeseburger."

Embry snorted and cut his eyes toward his best friend. "By the way, if you're wondering where that burger went you should probably check with Quil…"