Max wondered if he would ever see her again, filled with regret.
He still did not wish to give up so easily so he kept searching for any signs of them until he finally noticed that the group had been searching for Ash.
When he noticed that, he backed off a little and tried his best to avoid being found too.
If he was found by them after Ash had gotten away and was hiding then it would not be good if he was captured instead.
If Ash still wanted to protect him then it would be quite easy for the group to use him as bait to draw her out.
Since the group were searching for her then she must have gotten away or had been hidden away somewhere they could not easily find.
All that he could do was try to wait them out and remain hidden away from them until they went then he could attempt to find Ash after that if she was somewhere close by.
